Positioning signal search window configuration in wireless communication systems

Abstract

A network node (18) sends assistance data (20) to a wireless device (12) indicating a search window (26) associated with a beamforming configuration. The search window (26) associated with the beamforming configuration may be a window within which a result (28) of a positioning measurement performed by the wireless device (12) on a positioning signal (20A) for the associated beamforming configuration is expected to fall. The wireless device (12) may check whether the result (28) of the performed positioning measurement falls within the indicated search window (26) and, based on the check, consider the result (28) valid or invalid depending on whether the result (28) falls or does not fall within the indicated search window (26), respectively.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates generally to wireless communication systems and, more particularly, to positioning signal window configuration in such systems. Background Art

[0002] A wireless device performs positioning measurements (e.g., observed time difference of arrival measurements) on one or more signals. Especially when the signals are in the higher frequency spectrum, positioning measurements can be prone to errors due to aliasing, sidelobes, and other error sources. To prevent such errors, a so-called search window can be configured to specify the range of possible positioning measurement results in the wireless device's current environment. For example, a search window for fine-grained positioning measurement results can be defined based on a rough understanding of the wireless device's location. Then, in these and other cases, the wireless device can consider the results of a positioning measurement valid only if the result falls within the search window. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Some embodiments herein configure a search window for positioning measurements to be performed on one or more signals. In this regard, some embodiments configure the search window based, inter alia, on the one or more beamforming configurations with which the one or more signals are transmitted. Some embodiments may tailor the search window to the beamforming configuration, for example, based on the understanding that different search windows may be optimal for different corresponding beamforming configurations. In these and other cases, some embodiments then improve positioning accuracy and / or reduce the processing requirements required for positioning.

[0004] More specifically, embodiments herein include a method performed by a network node. The method includes sending, from the network node to a wireless device, assistance data indicating a search window associated with a beamforming configuration. In some embodiments, the search window associated with the beamforming configuration is a window within which results of positioning measurements performed by the wireless device on positioning signals for the associated beamforming configuration are expected to fall.

[0005] In some embodiments, a beamforming configuration may be used to transmit positioning signals. In one such embodiment, the beamforming configuration may include at least one of any one or more of the following: the number of beams (if any) that may be used to transmit positioning signals; the width of the beam that may be used to transmit positioning signals; the elevation, tilt, orientation, and / or direction of the beam; the coverage area, footprint, and / or size of the beam; the shape of the coverage area, footprint, and / or size; the intra-beam distance of the beam; the inter-beam distance between the beam and another beam that may be used to transmit another positioning signal for which positioning measurements are to be performed; neighboring beam information; a transmit power level associated with the beam; a beam configuration-dependent measurement range associated with the beam; and the type of signal or channel that characterizes the beam.

[0006] In some embodiments, for example, positioning measurements will only be performed on positioning signals. In this case, the beamforming configuration associated with the search window can be the beamforming configuration that can be used to send positioning signals.

[0007] Nevertheless, in other embodiments, the positioning signal is a first positioning signal, and positioning measurements are performed on both the first positioning signal and a second positioning signal, for example, sent by the same radio network node or a different radio network node. For example, in one such embodiment, the second positioning signal is used as a reference for the positioning measurement, for example, as a reference link. Regardless, in this case, the beamforming configuration associated with the search window can be the first beamforming configuration that can be used to send the first positioning signal or the second beamforming configuration that can be used to send the second positioning signal. In these and other embodiments, for example, the positioning measurement can be an observed time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurement or a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0008] In either case, the search window can be associated with the beamforming configuration via a beam identifier, a synchronization signal block (SSB) identifier, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI), or a quasi-co-location (QCL) characteristic related to a signal, channel, or control resource set associated with a beam, a positioning reference signal set, or beam-specific resources.

[0009] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: determining a search window to be associated with the beamforming configuration based on the beamforming configuration used for positioning measurements. For example, in some embodiments, determining the search window comprises: determining the search window to be associated with the beamforming configuration based on beam information associated with the beam used to transmit the positioning signal. The beam information associated with the beam may include, for example, one or more of: an identifier of the beam; an identifier of a synchronization signal block transmitted on the beam; a quasi-co-location characteristic regarding a set of signal, channel, or control resources associated with the beam; a set of positioning signal resources; or beam-specific resources.

[0010] Alternatively or additionally, determining the search window may include determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window, depending on whether beamforming is used or not to send the positioning signal according to the beamforming configuration, or depending on whether the number of beams used to send the positioning signal according to the beamforming configuration is lower than a threshold or not lower than a threshold.

[0011] In other embodiments, determining the search window may include determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window, depending on whether a width of one or more beams used to transmit the positioning signal according to the beamforming configuration is below a threshold or not below a threshold, respectively, or depending on whether the positioning signal is transmitted in a first frequency range or a second frequency range, wherein the second frequency range is higher than the first frequency range.

[0012] Alternatively or additionally, determining the search window may include determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window narrower than the first search window, depending on whether a maximum inter-beam distance between a beam used for transmitting the positioning signal and a beam used for transmitting another positioning signal for which positioning measurements are performed, according to the beamforming configuration, is greater than a threshold or is not greater than a threshold, respectively. Alternatively, determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window narrower than the first search window may include determining whether a maximum inter-beam distance between a beam used for transmitting the positioning signal and a beam used for transmitting another positioning signal for which positioning measurements are performed, according to the beamforming configuration, is greater than a threshold or is not greater than a threshold, respectively.

[0013] Regardless of how the search window is determined, the method in some embodiments further includes receiving, from the wireless device, results of positioning measurements performed using assistance data. In one such embodiment, the method may accordingly include using the positioning results to perform one or more operational tasks. For example, in these and other embodiments, the method may include determining the location of the wireless device based on the results of the positioning measurements.

[0014] Embodiments herein also include a method performed by a wireless device. The method includes receiving assistance data from a network node indicating a search window associated with a beamforming configuration. In some embodiments, the search window associated with the beamforming configuration is a window within which a result of positioning measurements performed by the wireless device on positioning signals for the associated beamforming configuration is expected to fall.

[0015] In some embodiments, a beamforming configuration may be used to transmit positioning signals. In one such embodiment, the beamforming configuration includes at least one of any one or more of the following: the number of beams (if any) that may be used to transmit positioning signals; the width of the beam that may be used to transmit positioning signals; the elevation, tilt, orientation, and / or direction of the beam; the coverage area, footprint, and / or size of the beam; the shape of the coverage area, footprint, and / or size; the intra-beam distance of the beam; the inter-beam distance between the beam and another beam that may be used to transmit another positioning signal for which positioning measurements are to be performed; neighboring beam information; a transmit power level associated with the beam; a beam configuration-dependent measurement range associated with the beam; and the type of signal or channel that characterizes the beam.

[0016] In some embodiments, for example, positioning measurements will only be performed on positioning signals. In this case, the beamforming configuration associated with the search window can be the beamforming configuration that can be used to send positioning signals.

[0017] Nevertheless, in other embodiments, the positioning signal is a first positioning signal, and positioning measurements are performed on both the first positioning signal and a second positioning signal, for example, sent by the same radio network node or a different radio network node. For example, in one such embodiment, the second positioning signal is used as a reference for the positioning measurement, for example, as a reference link. Regardless, in this case, the beamforming configuration associated with the search window can be the first beamforming configuration that can be used to send the first positioning signal or the second beamforming configuration that can be used to send the second positioning signal. In these and other embodiments, for example, the positioning measurement can be an observed time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurement or a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0018] In either case, the search window can be associated with the beamforming configuration via a beam identifier, a synchronization signal block (SSB) identifier, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI), or a quasi-co-location (QCL) characteristic related to a signal, channel, or control resource set associated with a beam, a positioning reference signal set, or beam-specific resources.

[0019] The method in some embodiments further includes performing positioning measurements using the assistance data. In one such embodiment, the method may accordingly include performing one or more positioning tasks using the results of the positioning measurements. In these and other embodiments, for example, the method may include checking whether the results of the positioning measurements performed fall within a specified search window, and based on the checking, deeming the results of the positioning measurements valid or invalid depending on whether the results of the positioning measurements performed fall within the specified search window, respectively. Alternatively or additionally, the method may include reporting the results of the positioning measurements and / or determining the location of the wireless device based on the results of the positioning measurements.

[0020] Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatus, computer programs, and carriers for those computer programs. For example, embodiments herein include a network node, e.g., comprising communication circuitry and processing circuitry. The network node is configured to transmit assistance data from the network node to a wireless device indicating a search window associated with a beamforming configuration. In some embodiments, the search window associated with the beamforming configuration is a window within which results of positioning measurements performed by the wireless device on positioning signals for the associated beamforming configuration are expected to fall.

[0021] Embodiments herein also include a wireless device, e.g., including communication circuitry and processing circuitry. The wireless device is configured to receive assistance data from a network node indicating a search window associated with a beamforming configuration. In some embodiments, the search window associated with the beamforming configuration is a window within which results of positioning measurements performed by the wireless device on positioning signals for the associated beamforming configuration are expected to fall. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system according to some embodiments.

[0023] Figure 2 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a network node according to some embodiments.

[0024] Figure 3 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a wireless device according to some embodiments.

[0025] Figure 4 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a wireless device according to other embodiments.

[0026] Figure 5 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a wireless device according to yet other embodiments.

[0027] Figure 6is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a network node according to other embodiments.

[0028] Figure 7 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a network node according to yet other embodiments.

[0029] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a wireless device according to some embodiments.

[0030] Figure 9 is a block diagram of a network node according to some embodiments.

[0031] Figure 10 is a block diagram of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network architecture according to some embodiments.

[0032] Figure 11 is a block diagram of a New Radio (NR) network architecture according to some embodiments.

[0033] Figure 12 is a block diagram of a user equipment receiving multiple beams from a transmission point according to some embodiments.

[0034] Figure 13 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a network node according to other embodiments.

[0035] Figure 14 is a logic flow diagram of a method performed by a user device according to other embodiments.

[0036] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating determining a search window configuration adaptively to a beam configuration according to some embodiments.

[0037] Figure 16 is a block diagram illustrating inter-beam distance calculation according to some embodiments.

[0038] Figure 17 is a block diagram of a wireless communication network according to some embodiments.

[0039] Figure 18 is a block diagram of user equipment according to some embodiments.

[0040] Figure 19 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment according to some embodiments.

[0041] Figure 20 is a block diagram of a communication network with host computers according to some embodiments.

[0042] Figure 21 is a block diagram of a host computer according to some embodiments.

[0043] Figure 22is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment.

[0044] Figure 23 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment.

[0045] Figure 24 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment.

[0046] Figure 25 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Figure 1 A wireless communication system 10 is shown in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the system 10 is a 5G system. The system 10 may include a radio access network (RAN) 10A and a core network (CN) 10B. The radio access network 10A is shown as providing radio access to a wireless device 12 (e.g., a user equipment (UE)) via one or more radio network nodes. The radio access network 10A, in turn, provides access to the core network 10B, which may connect the wireless device 12 to one or more other networks or systems, such as the Internet.

[0048] Figure 1 The wireless device 12 is shown receiving one or more signals 20A, 20B from one or more radio network nodes 14A, 14B. In embodiments where the wireless device 12 receives multiple signals 20A, 20B, these signals 20A, 20B may be received from the same radio network node (e.g., radio network node 14A) or from different radio network nodes. Regardless, in some embodiments, at least some of the signals 20A, 20B are referred to as positioning signals, and the wireless device 12 performs positioning measurements on these positioning signals. The positioning signals may, for example, include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), etc. The positioning measurements may, for example, be radio access technology (RAT)-related positioning measurements, such as observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) measurements or reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements.

[0049] In some embodiments of this aspect, the wireless device 12 performs positioning measurements on only one positioning signal (e.g., only one of the one or more signals 20A, 20B). In other embodiments, the wireless device 12 performs positioning measurements on multiple positioning signals (e.g., multiple of the signals 20A, 20B). In one such embodiment, one of the multiple positioning signals can be used as a reference for the positioning measurement, for example, in the form of a reference link as described herein. Nevertheless, in another embodiment, none of the multiple positioning signals is used as a reference for the positioning measurement in the sense used herein. For example, positioning measurements can be performed on both signals 20A, 20B, where the result of the positioning measurement is a combination (e.g., an average) of the result of the positioning measurement performed on signal 20A and the result of the positioning measurement performed on signal 20B.

[0050] In any case, the one or more signals 20A, 20B are respectively transmitted according to one or more beamforming configurations. A beamforming configuration is a configuration according to which the respective signals 20A, 20B are beamformed, for example, such that the signals 20A, 20B are directionally transmitted in one or more spatial beams 22A, 22B. The beamforming configuration used to transmit a signal may include, for example, one or more of the following: (i) the number of beams (if any) in one or more spatial dimensions used to transmit the signal; (ii) the width of one or more beams used to transmit the signal; (iii) the elevation, tilt, orientation and / or direction of the one or more beams; (iv) the coverage area, footprint and / or size of the one or more beams; (v) the shape of the coverage area, footprint and / or size; (vi) one or more intra-beam distances of the one or more beams; (vii) inter-beam distances between the one or more beams; (viii) adjacent beam information; (ix) one or more transmit power levels associated with the one or more beams; (x) one or more beam configuration-related measurement ranges associated with the one or more beams; and / or (xi) one or more types of one or more signals or channels that characterize each of the one or more beams.

[0051] Figure 1 A network node 18 is shown, for example, in the core network 10B. For example, the network node 18 may be a location server, such as one that implements a location management function (LMF), or may be configured to perform mobility management, such as an access and mobility function (AMF). Regardless, the network node 18 provides assistance data 20 to the wireless device 12. The assistance data 20 assists the wireless device 12 in performing positioning measurements. In practice, the wireless device 12 is configured to perform positioning measurements based on the assistance data 20.

[0052] In some embodiments, the assistance data 20 indicates a search window 26 within which a result 28 of a positioning measurement is expected. In some embodiments, the assistance data 20 includes a search window configuration 24 that configures the search window 26. The assistance data 20 may indicate the search window 26 (e.g., using the search window configuration 24) based on one or more parameters, such as the expected measurement result / value, the amount of expected measurement uncertainty, the absolute or relative expected center of the search window 26, the absolute or relative start time of the search window 26, the size of the search window 26, half the size of the search window 26, etc. Regardless, with such a search window 26 configured, the wireless device 12 may consider the result of a positioning measurement valid only if the result 28 falls within the search window 26. The wireless device 12 may, for example, perform a positioning measurement and then check whether the result of the positioning measurement falls within the search window 26. For example, where the positioning measurement is a timing-based measurement that produces a result in the time domain (e.g., an RSTD measurement or an OTDOA measurement), the search window 26 may specify a time window within which the result must fall in order for the result to be considered a valid result.

[0053] Notably, in some embodiments, the network node 18 determines the search window 26 to be indicated by the assistance data 20 based on the one or more beamforming configurations used to transmit the respective signals 20A, 20B. Some embodiments may tailor the search window 26 to the beamforming configuration, for example, based on the understanding that different search windows may be optimal for different respective beamforming configurations. In these and other cases, some embodiments then improve positioning accuracy and / or reduce the processing requirements required for positioning.

[0054] More specifically, in some embodiments where positioning measurements are performed only on signal 20A, search window 26 may be determined based on the beamforming configuration used to transmit signal 20A. In other embodiments where positioning measurements are to be performed on both signal 20A and signal 20B, search window 26 may be determined based on the beamforming configuration used to transmit signal 20A and / or the beamforming configuration used to transmit signal 20B.

[0055] For example, in some embodiments, the network node 18 configures a first search window or a second search window depending on whether beamforming is used or not used to transmit the one or more signals 20A, 20B according to the one or more beamforming configurations, or depending on whether the number of beams used to transmit the one or more signals 20A, 20B according to the one or more beamforming configurations is below a threshold or is not below a threshold, respectively. In other embodiments, the network node 18 configures a first search window or a second search window depending on whether the width of the one or more beams used to transmit the one or more signals 20A, 20B according to the one or more beamforming configurations is below a threshold or is not below a threshold, respectively.

[0056] In yet other embodiments, network node 18 configures a first search window or a second search window, respectively, depending on whether the one or more signals 20A, 20B are transmitted in a first frequency range or a second frequency range, wherein the second frequency range is higher than the first frequency range. Alternatively or additionally, network node 18 may configure a first search window or a second search window narrower than the first search window, respectively, depending on whether a maximum inter-beam distance between beams used to transmit the one or more signals 20A, 20B according to the one or more beamforming configurations is greater than a threshold or not greater than a threshold. In yet other embodiments, network node 18 may configure a first search window or a second search window narrower than the first search window, respectively, depending on whether coverage areas of beams used to transmit the one or more signals 20A, 20B according to the one or more beamforming configurations are greater than a threshold or not greater than a threshold.

[0057] Regardless, after the search window 26 has been determined in any of these or other ways, in some embodiments, the network node 18 indicates the search window 26 in the assistance data 20. The search window 26 indicated in the assistance data 20 may be associated with a beamforming configuration (e.g., a beamforming configuration that may be used to transmit a positioning signal for which positioning measurements are to be performed). For example, in some embodiments where positioning measurements are to be performed on signal 20A, the assistance data 20 may indicate that the search window 26 is associated with the beamforming configuration that may be used to transmit signal 20A. In other embodiments where positioning measurements are to be performed on both signal 20A and signal 20B, the assistance data 20 may indicate that the search window 26 is associated with the beamforming configuration that may be used to transmit signal 20A and / or the beamforming configuration that may be used to transmit signal 20B. In any case, the search window 26 may be associated with a beamforming configuration via a beam identifier, a synchronization signal block (SSB) identifier, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI), or a quasi-co-location (QCL) characteristic associated with a signal, channel, or control resource set associated with a beam, a positioning reference signal set, or beam-specific resources. In this case, the assistance data 20 may indicate an association with (i.e., be associated with) the indicated search window 26 by including the beam identifier, SSB identifier, TCI, or QCL characteristic in the assistance data 20.

[0058] In view of the above modifications and changes, Figure 2 A method performed by a network node 18 according to certain embodiments is depicted. The method includes sending assistance data 20 from the network node 18 to the wireless device 12 indicating a search window 26 associated with a beamforming configuration (block 200). In some embodiments, the search window 26 associated with the beamforming configuration is a window within which results 28 of positioning measurements performed by the wireless device 12 on the positioning signal 20A for the associated beamforming configuration are expected to fall.

[0059] In some embodiments, a beamforming configuration may be used to transmit positioning signal 20A. In one such embodiment, the beamforming configuration may include at least one of any one or more of the following: the number of beams (if any) that may be used to transmit positioning signal 20A; the width of beam 22A that may be used to transmit positioning signal 20A; the elevation, tilt, orientation, and / or direction of beam 22A; the coverage area, footprint, and / or size of beam 22A; the shape of the coverage area, footprint, and / or size; the intra-beam distance of beam 22A; the inter-beam distance between beam 22A and another beam 22B that may be used to transmit another positioning signal 20B for which positioning measurements are to be performed; neighboring beam information; a transmit power level associated with beam 22A; a beam configuration-related measurement range associated with beam 22A; and the type of signal or channel that characterizes the beam.

[0060] In some embodiments, for example, positioning measurements may only be performed on positioning signal 20A. In this case, the beamforming configuration associated with search window 26 may be the beamforming configuration that may be used to transmit positioning signal 20A.

[0061] Nevertheless, in other embodiments, positioning signal 20A is a first positioning signal 20A, and positioning measurements are performed on both the first positioning signal 20A and a second positioning signal 20B, for example, transmitted by the same radio network node or a different radio network node. In one such embodiment, for example, second positioning signal 20B is used as a reference for the positioning measurement, for example, as a reference link. Regardless, in this case, the beamforming configuration associated with search window 26 can be the first beamforming configuration that can be used to transmit first positioning signal 20A or the second beamforming configuration that can be used to transmit second positioning signal 20B. In these and other embodiments, for example, the positioning measurement can be a time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurement or a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0062] In either case, the search window 26 can be associated with the beamforming configuration via a beam identifier, a synchronization signal block (SSB) identifier, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI), or a quasi-co-location (QCL) characteristic related to a signal, channel, or control resource set associated with a beam, a positioning reference signal set, or beam-specific resources.

[0063] In some embodiments, the method further includes determining, based on the beamforming configuration, a search window 26 to be associated with the beamforming configuration for positioning measurements (block 200). For example, in some embodiments, determining the search window 26 (block 200) includes determining the search window 26 to be associated with the beamforming configuration based on beam information associated with the beam used to transmit the positioning signal. The beam information associated with the beam may include, for example, one or more of: an identifier of the beam; an identifier of a synchronization signal block transmitted on the beam; a quasi-co-location characteristic regarding a set of signal, channel, or control resources associated with the beam; a set of positioning signal resources; or beam-specific resources.

[0064] Alternatively or additionally, determining the search window 26 (block 200) may include determining that the search window 26 is the first search window or the second search window depending on whether beamforming is used or not used to send the positioning signal according to the beamforming configuration, or depending on whether the number of beams used to send the positioning signal according to the beamforming configuration is below a threshold or not below a threshold, respectively.

[0065] In other embodiments, determining the search window 26 (block 200) may include determining whether the search window 26 is the first search window or the second search window, depending on whether the width of one or more beams used to transmit the positioning signal according to the beamforming configuration is below a threshold or not below a threshold, respectively, or depending on whether the positioning signal is transmitted in a first frequency range or a second frequency range, respectively, where the second frequency range is higher than the first frequency range.

[0066] Alternatively or additionally, determining the search window 26 (block 200) may include determining that the search window 26 is a first search window or a second search window narrower than the first search window, depending on whether a maximum inter-beam distance between a beam used for transmitting the positioning signal and a beam used for transmitting another positioning signal for which positioning measurements are performed, respectively, is greater than a threshold or is not greater than a threshold, respectively. Alternatively, depending on whether coverage areas of the beam used for transmitting the positioning signal and the beam used for transmitting another positioning signal for which positioning measurements are performed, respectively, are greater than a threshold or are not greater than a threshold, respectively.

[0067] Regardless of how the search window 26 is determined, the method in some embodiments further includes receiving results 28 of positioning measurements performed using the assistance data 20 from the wireless device 12 (block 220). In one such embodiment, the method may accordingly include performing one or more operational tasks using the results 28 of the positioning measurements (block 230). For example, in these and other embodiments, the method may include determining a location of the wireless device 12 based on the results 28 of the positioning measurements.

[0068] Also in view of the above modifications and changes, Figure 3 A method performed by a wireless device 12 according to certain embodiments is depicted. The method includes receiving assistance data 20 from a network node 18 indicating a search window 26 associated with a beamforming configuration (block 300). In some embodiments, the search window 26 associated with the beamforming configuration is a window within which results 28 of positioning measurements performed by the wireless device 12 on the positioning signal 20A for the associated beamforming configuration are expected to fall.

[0069] In some embodiments, a beamforming configuration may be used to transmit positioning signal 20A. In one such embodiment, the beamforming configuration includes at least one of any one or more of the following: the number of beams (if any) that may be used to transmit positioning signal 20A; the width of beam 22A that may be used to transmit positioning signal 20A; the elevation, tilt, orientation, and / or direction of beam 22A; the coverage area, footprint, and / or size of beam 22A; the shape of the coverage area, footprint, and / or size; the intra-beam distance of beam 22A; the inter-beam distance between beam 22A and another beam 22B that may be used to transmit another positioning signal 20B for which positioning measurements are to be performed; neighboring beam information; a transmit power level associated with beam 22A; a beam configuration-related measurement range associated with beam 22A; and the type of signal or channel that characterizes the beam.

[0070] In some embodiments, for example, positioning measurements may only be performed on positioning signal 20A. In this case, the beamforming configuration associated with search window 26 may be the beamforming configuration that may be used to transmit positioning signal 20A.

[0071] Nevertheless, in other embodiments, positioning signal 20A is a first positioning signal 20A, and positioning measurements are performed on both the first positioning signal 20A and a second positioning signal 20B, for example, transmitted by the same radio network node or a different radio network node. In one such embodiment, for example, second positioning signal 20B is used as a reference for the positioning measurement, for example, as a reference link. Regardless, in this case, the beamforming configuration associated with search window 26 can be the first beamforming configuration that can be used to transmit first positioning signal 20A or the second beamforming configuration that can be used to transmit second positioning signal 20B. In these and other embodiments, for example, the positioning measurement can be a time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurement or a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0072] In either case, the search window 26 can be associated with the beamforming configuration via a beam identifier, a synchronization signal block (SSB) identifier, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI), or a quasi-co-location (QCL) characteristic related to a signal, channel, or control resource set associated with a beam, a positioning reference signal set, or beam-specific resources.

[0073] The method in some embodiments further includes performing positioning measurements using the assistance data 20 (block 310). In one such embodiment, the method may accordingly include performing one or more positioning tasks using the results 28 of the positioning measurements (block 320). In these and other embodiments, for example, the method may include checking whether the results 28 of the performed positioning measurements fall within the indicated search window 26, and, based on the checking, deeming the results 28 of the positioning measurements valid or invalid depending on whether the results 28 of the performed positioning measurements fall within the indicated search window 26, respectively. Alternatively or additionally, the method may include reporting the results 28 of the positioning measurements and / or determining the location of the wireless device 12 based on the results 28 of the positioning measurements.

[0074] In the above-described embodiment, the assistance data 20 includes a single search window configuration 24 indicating a search window 26 that the wireless device 12 will use to perform positioning measurements on a particular positioning signal 20A. However, in other embodiments, the assistance data 20 includes multiple search window configurations indicating different search windows within which positioning measurement results are expected for different corresponding beamforming configurations that may be used to transmit the one or more signals 20A, 20B. In this case, the wireless device 12 can then determine which of the different corresponding beamforming configurations to use to transmit the one or more signals 20A, 20B and then determine that the search window indicated by the assistance data 20 is for the determined beamforming configuration.

[0075] In still other embodiments, the wireless device 12 itself determines the search window 26 based on the beamforming configuration used to transmit the signals 20A, 20B. The wireless device 12 may determine the search window 26 in the same manner as described above for the network node 18.

[0076] In view of the above modifications and changes, Figure 4A method performed by a wireless device 12 according to certain embodiments is depicted. The method includes receiving assistance data 20 from a network node 18 indicating different search windows within which results of positioning measurements performed by the wireless device 12 on one or more signals 20A, 20B are expected for different respective beamforming configurations that may be used to transmit the one or more signals 20A, 20B (block 400). In some embodiments, the method further includes performing positioning measurements using the assistance data 20 (block 410).

[0077] In some embodiments, the method further includes determining which of the different respective beamforming configurations to use to transmit the one or more signals 20A, 20B (block 402), and determining that the search window indicated by the assistance data 20 is for the determined beamforming configuration (block 404).

[0078] In some embodiments, the method further includes performing one or more positioning tasks based on the determined search window (block 420). The one or more positioning tasks may include, for example, checking whether a result of the positioning measurement is within the determined search window.

[0079] In some embodiments, the method further comprises reporting the results of the positioning measurements to a network node. In other embodiments, the method may comprise determining the location of the wireless device 12 based on the results of the positioning measurements.

[0080] In some embodiments, the beamforming configuration for sending positioning signals includes one or more of the following: the number of beams (if any) in one or more spatial dimensions used to send the one or more positioning signals; the width of the one or more beams used to send the one or more positioning signals; the elevation, tilt, orientation and / or direction of the one or more beams; the coverage area, coverage zone and / or size of the one or more beams; the shape of the coverage area, coverage zone and / or size; one or more intra-beam distances of the one or more beams; the inter-beam distance between the one or more beams; adjacent beam information; one or more transmit power levels associated with the one or more beams; one or more beam configuration-related measurement ranges associated with the one or more beams; and one or more types of one or more signals or channels that characterize each of the one or more beams.

[0081] In some embodiments, the positioning measurement is an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) measurement or a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0082] Figure 5A method performed by the wireless device 12 according to other specific embodiments is depicted. The method includes determining, based on one or more beamforming configurations used to transmit one or more signals 20A, 20B, a search window within which results of positioning measurements performed on the one or more signals 20A, 20B are expected (Block 500).

[0083] In some embodiments, different beams have corresponding beam configurations and are associated with different corresponding beam information. In one such embodiment, the determining comprises determining a search window based on beam information associated with one or more beams used to transmit the one or more positioning signals. In one embodiment, the beam information associated with a beam comprises one or more of the following: an identifier of the beam; an identifier of a synchronization signal block transmitted on the beam; a quasi-co-location characteristic regarding a set of signal, channel, or control resources associated with the beam; a set of positioning signal resources; or beam-specific resources.

[0084] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window, depending on whether beamforming is used or not to send the one or more positioning signals according to the one or more beamforming configurations, or depending on whether the number of beams used to send the one or more positioning signals is lower than a threshold or not lower than a threshold according to the one or more beamforming configurations.

[0085] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes: determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window depending on whether the width of one or more beams used to send the one or more positioning signals according to the one or more beamforming configurations is lower than a threshold or not lower than a threshold.

[0086] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes: determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window, depending on whether the one or more positioning signals are sent in the first frequency range or the second frequency range, respectively, wherein the second frequency range is higher than the first frequency range.

[0087] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, positioning measurements are performed on first and second positioning signals transmitted using a first beamforming configuration and a second beamforming configuration, wherein the first positioning signal is a reference signal for positioning measurements. In one such embodiment, determining includes determining a search window based on the second beamforming configuration or based on both the first and second beamforming configurations. For example, in one embodiment, determining includes determining which of the first and second beamforming configurations is associated with the widest beam, the highest frequency range, and / or the largest subcarrier spacing, and determining the search window based on the determined beamforming configuration.

[0088] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes determining whether the search window is a first search window or a second search window narrower than the first search window, depending on whether the maximum inter-beam distance between beams used to send the one or more positioning signals according to the one or more beamforming configurations is higher than a threshold or not higher than a threshold.

[0089] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes determining whether the search window is a first search window or a second search window narrower than the first search window, depending on whether the coverage areas of the beams used to send the one or more positioning signals are greater than a threshold or not greater than a threshold according to the one or more beamforming configurations.

[0090] Regardless, in some embodiments, the method further includes performing positioning measurements using the assistance data 20 (block 510).

[0091] In some embodiments, the method further includes performing one or more positioning tasks based on the determined search window (block 520). The one or more positioning tasks may include, for example, checking whether a result of the positioning measurement is within the determined search window.

[0092] In some embodiments, the method further comprises reporting the results of the positioning measurements to a network node. In other embodiments, the method may comprise determining the location of the wireless device 12 based on the results of the positioning measurements.

[0093] In some embodiments, the beamforming configuration for sending positioning signals includes one or more of the following: the number of beams (if any) in one or more spatial dimensions used to send the one or more positioning signals; the width of the one or more beams used to send the one or more positioning signals; the elevation, tilt, orientation and / or direction of the one or more beams; the coverage area, coverage zone and / or size of the one or more beams; the shape of the coverage area, coverage zone and / or size; one or more intra-beam distances of the one or more beams; the inter-beam distance between the one or more beams; adjacent beam information; one or more transmit power levels associated with the one or more beams; one or more beam configuration-related measurement ranges associated with the one or more beams; and one or more types of one or more signals or channels that characterize each of the one or more beams.

[0094] In some embodiments, the positioning measurement is an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) measurement or a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0095] Figure 6 A method performed by a network node 18 according to yet other specific embodiments is depicted. The method includes sending, from the network node 18 to a wireless device 12, assistance data 20 indicating different search windows within which results of positioning measurements performed by the wireless device 12 on the one or more signals 20A, 20B are expected for different respective beamforming configurations that may be used to transmit the one or more signals 20A, 20B (block 600). In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, from the wireless device 12, results of the positioning measurements performed using the assistance data 20 (block 610).

[0096] In some embodiments, the method further includes using the results of the positioning measurements to perform one or more operational tasks (block 620). The one or more operational tasks may include, for example, determining the location of the wireless device 12 based on the results of the positioning measurements.

[0097] In some embodiments, different beams have corresponding beam configurations and are associated with different corresponding beam information. In one such embodiment, the determining comprises determining a search window based on beam information associated with one or more beams used to transmit the one or more positioning signals. In one embodiment, the beam information associated with a beam comprises one or more of the following: an identifier of the beam; an identifier of a synchronization signal block transmitted on the beam; a quasi-co-location characteristic regarding a set of signal, channel, or control resources associated with the beam; a set of positioning signal resources; or beam-specific resources.

[0098] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window, depending on whether beamforming is used or not to send the one or more positioning signals according to the one or more beamforming configurations, or depending on whether the number of beams used to send the one or more positioning signals is lower than a threshold or not lower than a threshold according to the one or more beamforming configurations.

[0099] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes: determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window depending on whether the width of one or more beams used to send the one or more positioning signals according to the one or more beamforming configurations is lower than a threshold or not lower than a threshold.

[0100] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes: determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window, depending on whether the one or more positioning signals are sent in the first frequency range or the second frequency range, respectively, wherein the second frequency range is higher than the first frequency range.

[0101] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, positioning measurements are performed on first and second positioning signals transmitted using a first beamforming configuration and a second beamforming configuration, wherein the first positioning signal is a reference signal for positioning measurements. In one such embodiment, determining includes determining a search window based on the second beamforming configuration or based on both the first and second beamforming configurations. For example, in one embodiment, determining includes determining which of the first and second beamforming configurations is associated with the widest beam, the highest frequency range, and / or the largest subcarrier spacing, and determining the search window based on the determined beamforming configuration.

[0102] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes determining whether the search window is a first search window or a second search window narrower than the first search window, depending on whether the maximum inter-beam distance between beams used to send the one or more positioning signals according to the one or more beamforming configurations is higher than a threshold or not higher than a threshold.

[0103] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes determining whether the search window is a first search window or a second search window narrower than the first search window, depending on whether the coverage areas of the beams used to send the one or more positioning signals are greater than a threshold or not greater than a threshold according to the one or more beamforming configurations.

[0104] In some embodiments, the beamforming configuration for sending positioning signals includes one or more of the following: the number of beams (if any) in one or more spatial dimensions used to send the one or more positioning signals; the width of the one or more beams used to send the one or more positioning signals; the elevation, tilt, orientation and / or direction of the one or more beams; the coverage area, coverage zone and / or size of the one or more beams; the shape of the coverage area, coverage zone and / or size; one or more intra-beam distances of the one or more beams; the inter-beam distance between the one or more beams; adjacent beam information; one or more transmit power levels associated with the one or more beams; one or more beam configuration-related measurement ranges associated with the one or more beams; and one or more types of one or more signals or channels that characterize each of the one or more beams.

[0105] In some embodiments, the positioning measurement is an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) measurement or a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0106] Figure 7 A method performed by a network node 18 according to yet other specific embodiments is depicted. The method includes determining, based on one or more beamforming configurations used to transmit one or more signals 20A, a search window 26 within which results of positioning measurements performed on the one or more signals 20A, 20B are expected (block 700). The method also includes sending assistance data 20 indicating the determined search window 26 to a wireless device 12 (block 705). In some embodiments, the method also includes receiving, from the wireless device 12, results 28 of positioning measurements performed using the assistance data 20 (block 710).

[0107] In some embodiments, the method further includes performing one or more operational tasks using the results 28 of the positioning measurements (block 720). The one or more operational tasks may include, for example, determining the location of the wireless device 12 based on the results 28 of the positioning measurements.

[0108] In some embodiments, different beams have corresponding beam configurations and are associated with different corresponding beam information. In one such embodiment, the determining comprises determining a search window based on beam information associated with one or more beams used to transmit the one or more positioning signals. In one embodiment, the beam information associated with a beam comprises one or more of the following: an identifier of the beam; an identifier of a synchronization signal block transmitted on the beam; a quasi-co-location characteristic regarding a set of signal, channel, or control resources associated with the beam; a set of positioning signal resources; or beam-specific resources.

[0109] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window, depending on whether beamforming is used or not to send the one or more positioning signals according to the one or more beamforming configurations, or depending on whether the number of beams used to send the one or more positioning signals is lower than a threshold or not lower than a threshold according to the one or more beamforming configurations.

[0110] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes: determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window depending on whether the width of one or more beams used to send the one or more positioning signals according to the one or more beamforming configurations is lower than a threshold or not lower than a threshold.

[0111] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes: determining whether the search window is the first search window or the second search window, depending on whether the one or more positioning signals are sent in the first frequency range or the second frequency range, respectively, wherein the second frequency range is higher than the first frequency range.

[0112] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, positioning measurements are performed on first and second positioning signals transmitted using a first beamforming configuration and a second beamforming configuration, wherein the first positioning signal is a reference signal for positioning measurements. In one such embodiment, determining includes determining a search window based on the second beamforming configuration or based on both the first and second beamforming configurations. For example, in one embodiment, determining includes determining which of the first and second beamforming configurations is associated with the widest beam, the highest frequency range, and / or the largest subcarrier spacing, and determining the search window based on the determined beamforming configuration.

[0113] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes determining whether the search window is a first search window or a second search window narrower than the first search window, depending on whether the maximum inter-beam distance between beams used to send the one or more positioning signals according to the one or more beamforming configurations is higher than a threshold or not higher than a threshold.

[0114] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the determination includes determining whether the search window is a first search window or a second search window narrower than the first search window, depending on whether the coverage areas of the beams used to send the one or more positioning signals are greater than a threshold or not greater than a threshold according to the one or more beamforming configurations.

[0115] In some embodiments, the beamforming configuration for sending positioning signals includes one or more of the following: the number of beams (if any) in one or more spatial dimensions used to send the one or more positioning signals; the width of the one or more beams used to send the one or more positioning signals; the elevation, tilt, orientation and / or direction of the one or more beams; the coverage area, coverage zone and / or size of the one or more beams; the shape of the coverage area, coverage zone and / or size; one or more intra-beam distances of the one or more beams; the inter-beam distance between the one or more beams; adjacent beam information; one or more transmit power levels associated with the one or more beams; one or more beam configuration-related measurement ranges associated with the one or more beams; and one or more types of one or more signals or channels that characterize each of the one or more beams.

[0116] In some embodiments, the positioning measurement is an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) measurement or a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0117] The embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatuses. The embodiments herein, for example, include a wireless device 12 configured to perform any steps of any embodiment described above for the wireless device 12 .

[0118] The embodiment also includes a wireless device 12 comprising a processing circuit and a power supply circuit. The processing circuit is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the wireless device 12. The power supply circuit is configured to provide power to the wireless device 12.

[0119] Embodiments also include a wireless device 12 comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above with respect to the wireless device 12. In some embodiments, the wireless device 12 also includes communication circuitry.

[0120] The embodiment also includes a wireless device 12 comprising a processing circuit and a memory. The memory comprises instructions executable by the processing circuit, whereby the wireless device 12 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the wireless device 12.

[0121] In addition, embodiments include user equipment (UE). The UE includes an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals. The UE also includes a radio front-end circuit connected to the antenna and the processing circuit and configured to condition the signal transmitted between the antenna and the processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to perform any steps of any embodiment described above for the wireless device 12. In some embodiments, the UE also includes an input interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to allow information to be input into the UE for processing by the processing circuit. The UE may include an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information processed by the processing circuit from the UE. The UE may include a battery connected to the processing circuit and configured to power the UE.

[0122] The embodiments herein also include a network node 18 configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 18 .

[0123] The embodiment further comprises a network node 18 comprising a processing circuit and a power supply circuit. The processing circuit is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 18. The power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the network node 18.

[0124] The embodiment further comprises a network node 18 comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above with respect to the network node 18. In some embodiments, the network node 18 further comprises communication circuitry.

[0125] The embodiment further comprises a network node 18 comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory comprises instructions executable by the processing circuitry, whereby the network node 18 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 18.

[0126] More specifically, the above-mentioned apparatus can perform the methods and any other processing herein by implementing any functional device, module, unit or circuit. In one embodiment, for example, the apparatus includes corresponding circuits or circuit systems configured to perform the steps shown in the method figures. In this regard, the circuits or circuit systems may include circuits dedicated to performing certain functional processing and / or one or more microprocessors in combination with a memory. For example, the circuits may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers and other digital hardware (which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), dedicated digital logic, etc.). The processing circuits may be configured to execute program code stored in a memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. In several embodiments, the program code stored in the memory may include program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols, as well as instructions for executing one or more techniques described herein. In embodiments employing a memory, the memory stores program code that, when executed by one or more processors, performs the techniques described herein.

[0127] For example, Figure 8 1 shows a wireless device 12 implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the wireless device 12 includes processing circuitry 810 and communication circuitry 820. The communication circuitry 820 (e.g., radio circuitry) is configured to send information to and / or receive information from one or more other nodes, for example, via any communication technology. Such communication may occur via one or more antennas, which may be internal or external to the wireless device 12. The processing circuitry 810 is configured to perform the operations described above, for example, by executing instructions stored in memory 830. Figure 3 、 Figure 4 and / or Figure 5 In this regard, the processing circuit 810 may implement certain functional devices, units or modules.

[0128] Figure 9 1 shows a network node 18 as implemented according to one or more embodiments. As shown, the network node 18 includes processing circuitry 910 and communication circuitry 920. Communication circuitry 920 is configured to send information to and / or receive information from one or more other nodes, for example, via any communication technology. Processing circuitry 910 is configured to perform the operations described above, for example, by executing instructions stored in memory 930. Figure 2 、 Figure 6 and / or Figure 7 In this regard, the processing circuit 910 may implement certain functional devices, units or modules.

[0129] Those skilled in the art will also understand that the embodiments herein also include corresponding computer programs.

[0130] The computer program includes instructions that, when executed on at least one processor of a device, cause the device to perform any of the above-mentioned corresponding processes. In this regard, the computer program may include one or more code modules corresponding to the above-mentioned devices or units.

[0131] The embodiment also includes a carrier containing such a computer program, which may include an electric signal, an optical signal, a radio signal or a computer-readable storage medium.

[0132] In this regard, the embodiments herein also include a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer-readable (storage or recording) medium, and the computer program product includes instructions that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform as described above.

[0133] The embodiment also includes a computer program product, which includes a program code portion, and when the computer program product is executed by a computing device, the program code portion is used to perform the steps of any embodiment herein. The computer program product can be stored on a computer readable recording medium.

[0134] Additional embodiments will now be described.For illustrative purposes, at least some of these embodiments may be described as applicable to certain contexts and / or wireless network types, but these embodiments are equally applicable to other contexts and / or wireless network types not explicitly described.

[0135] For example, some embodiments are applicable to user equipment (UE) positioning in Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. Such positioning is an important feature due to its potential for large-scale commercial applications (e.g., smart transportation, entertainment, industrial automation, robotics, teleoperation, healthcare, smart parking, etc.) and its relevance to the United States (US) Federal Communications Commission (FCC) E911 requirements.

[0136] In some embodiments, positioning is performed in a manner such as Figure 10 The architecture shown is performed in the context of LTE. Direct interaction occurs between the UE and the location server (Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center or E-SMLC) via the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP). In addition, there may be interaction between the location server and the eNodeB via the LPPa protocol, which is supported to some extent by interaction between the eNodeB and the UE via the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol.

[0137] According to some embodiments, the following positioning techniques are considered in LTE. First, the enhanced cell ID technology uses cell ID information to associate the UE with the service area of the serving cell, and then uses additional information to determine a finer granularity position. Second, the assisted global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology uses information obtained by the UE, which is supported by auxiliary information provided to the UE from the E-SMLC. Third, in the OTDOA (Observed Time Difference of Arrival) technology, the UE estimates the time difference of reference signals from different base stations and sends the estimated time difference to the E-SMLC for multi-point positioning. Fourth, in the UTDOA (Uplink TDOA) technology, the UE is requested to send a specific waveform detected by multiple position measurement units (e.g., eNBs) at known locations. These measurements are forwarded to the E-SMLC for multi-point positioning.

[0138] In some embodiments, positioning is Figure 11 The illustrated architecture is implemented in the context of a 3GPP New Radio (NR) network. The Location Management Function (LMF) is a location server in NR, such as network node 18. Interactions between the location server and the radio network node occur via the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) protocol. Interactions between the radio network node and devices are supported via the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol.

[0139] In some embodiments, NR positioning reference signals (e.g., new positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TSR), synchronization signals similar to LTE) are sent via beams. For example, Figure 12 A UE is shown receiving multiple beams from a transmission point. The UE performs beam-specific reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements based on reference signals used for positioning (e.g., PRSs transmitted via different beams).

[0140] Some embodiments herein address the challenges of existing downlink positioning methods, whereby each radio network node transmits PRS using a pre-planned configuration, and these PRSs are transmitted at regular intervals. Some embodiments in this regard include an E-SMLC location server that provides PRS configuration details to the UE using LPP. The location server may also include OTDOA assistance data (AD) to facilitate the UE in performing TDOA estimation. Specifically, some embodiments provide the UE with a better expected RSTD value and / or a narrower search window in the assistance data, for example, to mitigate any position error or thereby substantially improve the position estimate. The expected RSTD and the search window 26, illustrated by the expected RSTD uncertainty, may be described within the assistance data as follows. See, for example, 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 36.355 v15.4.0.

[0141] expected RSTD

[0142] If PRS is sent:

[0143] This field indicates the RSTD value that the target device expects to measure between this cell and the auxiliary data reference cell. The expectedRSTD field takes into account the expected propagation time difference and the transmission time difference of the PRS positioning opportunities between the two cells. The RSTD value can be negative and is calculated as (expectedRSTD-8192). The resolution is 3×T s , where T s =1 / (15000*2048) seconds.

[0144] If PRS is not sent:

[0145] This field indicates the RSTD value that the target device expects to measure between this cell and the auxiliary data reference cell. The expectedRSTD field takes into account the expected propagation time difference and the transmission time difference between the two cells. The RSTD value can be negative and is calculated as (expectedRSTD-8192). The resolution is 3'T s , where T s =1 / (15000*2048) seconds.

[0146] expected RSTD-Uncertainty

[0147] If PRS is sent:

[0148] This field indicates the uncertainty in the expectedRSTD value. The uncertainty is related to the location server's a priori estimate of the target device's location. The expectedRSTD and expectedRSTD-Uncertainty together define the search window for the target device.

[0149] The scaling factor of the expectedRSTD-Uncertainty field is 3×T s , where T s =1 / (15000*2048) seconds.

[0150] The target device may assume that the start of the PRS occasion group of the neighboring cell's PRS configuration with the longest PRS occasion group period (NOTE) is received within the search window.

[0151] The size of the search window is [-expectedRSTD-Uncertainty×3×T s,expectedRSTD-Uncertainty×3×T s ], and T REF +1ms×N+(expectedRSTD-8192)×3×T s As the center,

[0152] Where T REF The reception time of the start of the first PRS occasion group of the first PRS configuration of the auxiliary data reference cell at the target device antenna connector, when the EARFCN of the neighboring cell is equal to the EARFCN of the auxiliary data reference cell, N=0, otherwise N=prs-SubframeOffset.

[0153] If PRS is not sent:

[0154] This field indicates the uncertainty in the expectedRSTD value. The uncertainty is related to the location server's a priori estimate of the target device's location. The expectedRSTD and expectedRSTD-Uncertainty together define the search window for the target device. The expectedRSTD-Uncertainty field has a scaling factor of 3×T s , where T s =1 / (15000*2048) seconds.

[0155] If T x is the reception time of the start of subframe X of the auxiliary data reference cell at the target device antenna connector, then the target device can assume that the start of the subframe closest to subframe X of the neighboring cell is in the range of size [-expectedRSTD-Uncertainty×3×T s ,expectedRSTD-Uncertainty×3×T s ]T x +(expectedRSTD 8192)×3×T s Received within the center search window.

[0156] In NR, the exact reference signals used for positioning have not yet been specified. Depending on the characteristics of the transmitted PRS and the network implementation, it may happen that the delay differences between some received PRS pairs that are originally relevant for positioning are significantly different from the theoretical or expected values covered by the PRS signals. In particular, in FR2, it is expected that UEs may encounter aliasing, mmWave-length sidelobe transmissions when performing time of arrival (TOA) estimation, using larger subcarrier spacing and larger inter-site distances (such as in urban macro (UMa) environments). In such scenarios, the network should provide better support to the UE than is done in LTE, especially filtering out any outliers to enable narrowing of the RSTD search window and eliminating aliasing.

[0157] As how it can be determined based on the beamforming configuration Figure 1 , some embodiments advantageously adapt the search window configuration for positioning measurements (e.g., RSTD) to the beamforming transmission configuration of the radio signal used for positioning measurements. This adaptation may include selecting from a set of predefined search window configurations based on the beam configuration, or determining one or more parameters of the search window configuration based on the beam configuration. This may be particularly important because larger bandwidths will be used in NR. This is to better assist the UE in receiving positioning signals and keep UE complexity (e.g., memory, sampling rate, reception and search algorithms, etc.) at an acceptable level.

[0158] In one example, the search window is determined by a network node, such as network node 18. The search window is then provided to a UE, such as wireless device 12, to assist the UE in performing positioning measurements.

[0159] In another example, the search window is determined by the UE itself and used to perform positioning measurements. In this case, the UE can determine the beam configuration used to send positioning signals from the network and adaptively determine the search window configuration.

[0160] The search window configuration affects the measurement accuracy, the time taken for the measurement, and / or the amount of UE resources consumed for the measurement. Under certain assumptions about the search window configuration (which may effectively imply that a first search window configuration may be used but a second search window configuration may not be used), the UE may also be required and tested to meet certain requirements (e.g., measurement accuracy requirements, measurement period requirements, measurement reporting requirements, etc.).

[0161] In general, some embodiments then provide the UE with better expected RSTD values in the assistance data to mitigate any position error or thereby substantially improve the position estimate.Some embodiments are also contemplated to remove aliasing and outliers.

[0162] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. First, some embodiments may provide better expected RSTD values and narrower search windows by taking beams into account, thereby improving positioning accuracy. Second, some embodiments remove outliers. By understanding more accurate RSTD expected values, TOA for aliased pulse outliers may be removed to a large extent. Outliers may also exist due to the erroneous detection of strong noise samples as pulses. Such false pulses may also be discarded because they are inconsistent with the provided expected RSTD values. Third, some embodiments provide the possibility of providing more accurate positioning assistance data to the UE.

[0163] As Figure 2 and / or Figure 7 An example of the method in Figure 13 The steps of the method are shown from the perspective of a network node, such as the network node 18. The network node may be, for example, a location server or a base station or an Operation and Maintenance (O&M) node or a Self Organizing Network (SON) node.

[0164] In step 1300, in one example, the network node determines a reference link for the UE based on an indication or message from the UE or another network node (e.g., its serving base station, a mobility management entity (MME), etc.). The reference link may also be a preferred reference link indicated by the UE for positioning measurements.

[0165] This step may also include determining a need for at least one UE to perform positioning measurements, for example, based on an explicit or implicit indication from the UE or another network node or a request for assistance data received from the UE.

[0166] In step 1310 , the network node may determine a search window configuration for a UE performing positioning measurements based on a reference link and adapting whether and how to use a beam to transmit a positioning signal.

[0167] The determination may include calculation, determination based on predefined rules, preconfigured tables, or criteria. For example, under similar conditions and / or for the same reference link and / or for the same positioning measurement (e.g., RSTD between the same cell or beam), the determination may also include loading or retrieving an earlier used configuration from memory.

[0168] In another example, the network node may determine the search window based on a message from another network node when the other network node determines or calculates the search window configuration (see related embodiments in step 1320 when one network node provides the information to another network).

[0169] In step 1320, the network node provides the search window configuration to the UE or another network node. This may also include including it in assistance data (e.g., positioning assistance data or OTDOA assistance data). The determined search window may be associated with one or more beam-based measurements or corresponding beam configurations, for example, by: a beam ID, a synchronization signal block (SSB) ID, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI), or a quasi-co-location (QCL) characteristic of a signal / channel / CORESET (control resource set) associated with the beam, a PRS resource set, or resources that may be beam-specific. Thus, even within the same cell, measurements on different beams may be configured with different search windows.

[0170] Providing the search window configuration may include signaling the search window configuration to one or more UEs via dedicated signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) or protocol between the location server and the UE), multicast, or broadcast (e.g., in common system information or on-demand system information).

[0171] The determined search window configuration may be provided to another network node, for example from a base station or SON / O&M node to a location server or from a location server to a base station. The receiving network node may then use this information to configure the search window in the UE.

[0172] In step 1330, some UEs may perform positioning measurements in response to the received assistance data including the search window configuration, and report one or more results of the positioning measurements to the network node or another network node. Alternatively or additionally, some UEs may perform positioning measurements and use them for one or more operational tasks, such as for UE positioning or location-based or location-aware services.

[0173] As Figure 3 and / or Figure 5 An example of the method in Figure 14 Steps from a UE perspective are shown according to some embodiments.

[0174] For the case of obtaining the search window configuration from the network node, see the network node embodiment ( Figure 13 ) in the corresponding steps.

[0175] For the case where the UE autonomously determines the search window configuration, the UE can determine the network beam configuration (e.g., detect the beam and / or receive beam-related configuration from the network) and adaptively determine the search window configuration based on similar principles described for the network node.

[0176] Other embodiments herein include methods for adaptively determining a search window configuration based on a beam configuration, such as for implementing Figure 2 Frame 200, Figure 5 Frame 500, Figure 7 Frame 700, Figure 13 Step 1310, and / or Figure 14 Step 1400.

[0177] In one embodiment, the location server or UE determines the search window configuration based on the beam configuration of one or more cells or transmission points, where the beam configuration may include one or more of the following:

[0178] Reference links,

[0179] the number of beams (e.g., total, vertical, horizontal, etc.),

[0180] Beamwidth,

[0181] Beam elevation, tilt, orientation, direction,

[0182] Beam coverage area or coverage zone and its dimensions, e.g. 2D beam coverage area or 3D beam coverage,

[0183] the shape of the beam coverage area or coverage zone (e.g., polygonal, elliptical, circular, etc.),

[0184] The maximum distance within the coverage of a single beam (also known as "intra-beam distance"),

[0185] inter-beam distance (e.g., which may be determined based on the number of beams being transmitted by each base station, the inter-site distance, and the intra-beam distance),

[0186] Neighboring beam information (e.g., for a given beam, a list of its neighboring beams, or a set of first-level neighbors, second-level neighbors, etc., where second-level neighbors are farther than first-level neighbors but closer than third-level neighbors),

[0187] The transmit power level associated with the beam,

[0188] Beam configuration related measurement range, measurement report mapping table, or minimum / maximum beam-based RSTD values supported in the network,

[0189] The type of signal / channel (e.g., SSB or Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS)) that characterizes the beam, so that other signals / channels are assumed to be transmitted via the same beam if they have certain co-location or quasi-co-location characteristics with these signals / channels.

[0190] Consider various examples of rules for determining a search window configuration. In one example, if beamforming is used, a first search window configuration is determined, and if beamforming is not used or the number of beams is below a threshold, a second search window configuration is determined.

[0191] In another example, if a first beamforming configuration is used (eg, with a wider beam), a first search window configuration is determined, and if a second beamforming configuration is used (eg, with a narrower beam), a second search window configuration is determined.

[0192] In yet another example, if the positioning measurement is to be performed in a first frequency range (e.g., FR1) characterized by a number of beams below a threshold or no beamforming, a first search window configuration is determined, and if the positioning measurement is to be performed in a second frequency range (e.g., FR2) above the first frequency range, a second search window configuration is determined, wherein the second frequency range is typically characterized by the use of beamforming or the number of beams above a threshold.

[0193] In yet another example, if a reference (first) link is associated with a first beamforming configuration and a second link to be measured for positioning is associated with a second beamforming configuration, the second search window configuration may be determined based on a function of at least the second beamforming configuration or based on a function of the first beamforming configuration and the second beamforming configuration (e.g., based on the widest beam configuration, the highest carrier frequency, the maximum subcarrier spacing (SCS), etc.).

[0194] In another example, when the expected inter-beam distance between measured beams is smaller, a narrower search window may be determined.

[0195] In another example, if the coverage areas of beam 2 and beam 4 are farther apart, a smaller expected time difference can be determined between beam 1 and beam 3 if the coverage areas of beam 1 and beam 3 are closer than those of beam 2 and beam 4 (for example, all four beams can belong to the same cell; beam 1 and beam 2 can belong to a first cell, beam 3 and beam 4 can belong to a second cell; any three beams can belong to three different cells, and the remaining beam belongs to one of the three cells; all four beams can belong to different cells).

[0196] Consider an example for determining the search window configuration adaptively to the beam configuration. Figure 15 It is shown that different beam coverage can lead to different RSTD measurements and uncertainties between different beams of two cells. After the base station sends a beam scanning procedure, the UE position can be approximated based on a certain beam area (the UE can report measurements based on one or more different beams, or can at least indicate the best beam seen by the UE). Based on the number of beams the base station is transmitting and based on the intra-beam distance L (which depends on the beam width), the inter-beam distance can also be approximated; in particular, in the case of D3; the distance between beam 1 and beam 6 is as follows Figure 15 shown.

[0197] D3=D1+2L

[0198] D2=D1-2L

[0199] In one embodiment, the beam geometry (tilt, orientation) can be used to calculate the inter-beam distance, such as Figure 16 Here, α and θ are the beam tilt / orientation. The inter-beam distance can be calculated using other known parameters (beam length, inter-site distance, and angle using characteristics such as the Rhombus characteristic).

[0200] The calculated inter-beam distance can therefore be used to determine the expected RSTD value.

[0201] Time = distance / speed of light

[0202] Therefore, if the distance calibration is good, better time components such as RSTD can be calculated.

[0203] The RSTD search window can be provided by considering the UE’s neighboring beams. Figure 16 If the beam is in beam 2, the expected RSTD search window can be [D1 / c, D3 / c], and the expected RSTD can be D2 / c. The size of the search window can also depend on the maximum expected inter-beam distance, etc. The beams may or may not be on the same carrier frequency and may or may not be transmitted from the same location or the same transmission point.

[0204] As used herein, the term "positioning measurements" may include any type of measurement on which the location of the wireless device 12 is based. For example, positioning measurements may include, for example, any of the following: timing-based positioning measurements, TDOA, TOA, RSTD, OTDOA measurements, UE Rx-Tx measurements involving measuring signals from neighboring cells, etc.

[0205] In this document, the term "reference link" may include any link used as a reference for positioning measurements. For example, the reference link may be, for example, one or more of the following: a serving cell, a reference cell (which may be different from the serving cell in some examples), a serving beam, an optimal beam, a reference beam (which may be different from the serving beam or the optimal beam in some examples), a reference carrier frequency and / or frequency range (e.g., FR1 and FR2), a reference bandwidth portion, etc. The reference link may also be one of the two links used for positioning measurements, for example, TDOA would be a measurement between the reference link and the other link. The reference link may also be the link with respect to or based on which the search window is determined.

[0206] In this document, the term "search window configuration" may include the configuration of a search window within which the result of a positioning measurement is expected. The search window configuration may thus be the configuration of a window of possible positioning measurement results, within which the actual positioning measurement result is searched. The search window configuration may be implemented as, for example, one or more parameters related to the following: an expected measurement value, an amount of expected measurement uncertainty, an absolute or relative expected center of the search window, an absolute or relative start time of the search window, the size of the search window (e.g., in units of Tc, where Tc is defined in TS 38.211), half the size of the search window (e.g., in units of Tc), expected RSTD, expected RSTD uncertainty, a measurement report mapping table for beam-based RSTD measurements, a measurement report resolution, and / or a corresponding RSTD range (e.g., minimum and maximum RSTD), etc. Therefore, unless explicitly stated, the "first search window configuration" and the "second search window configuration" may have at least one different value for the above parameters, where these values are determined adaptively to the corresponding beamforming configuration. For example, different resolutions / step sizes and / or different RSTD measurement report mappings may be used to define the expected RSTD for the first and second search window sizes or the first and second search window configurations.

[0207] As used herein, the term "positioning signal" may include any type of signal on which positioning measurements are performed. A positioning signal may include, for example, any signal or channel to be received by a UE for performing positioning measurements, such as a downlink reference signal, a PRS, an SSB, a synchronization signal, a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS), a CSI-RS, etc. In some embodiments, a positioning signal is a signal (e.g., a PRS) dedicated and / or specifically configured for positioning measurements. In one example, a positioning signal may be configured using a sequence based on a signal ID (e.g., a PRS ID), a resource set, a resource within a resource set, or a periodic (or aperiodic) sequence.

[0208] In this document, the term "beamforming" may include any of the following: the possibility of transmitting radio signals in different directions without physically moving the antenna, a cell consisting of or including multiple beams, transmitting two or more SSBs from the same location in a single cell, using analog beamforming in a transmitting node, using digital beamforming in a transmitting node, using hybrid beamforming in a transmitting node, the possibility of transmitting different signals in two or more different directions from the same location in the same cell, transmitting signals from different transmitter branches (including one or more antenna elements), or directional transmissions in the millimeter wave frequency range or FR2 or above 6 GHz. The UE may determine and / or report the number of detected beams for each cell or each carrier. There may also be UE measurement capabilities in terms of the maximum number of beams that the UE is expected to be able to process simultaneously. In some cases, the beam may be associated with an SSB ID (on carriers where SSBs are present) or other signal IDs such as a DM-RS ID or CSI-RS ID (e.g., on carriers where SSBs are not transmitted but other signals are used to distinguish beams). In addition, the positioning signal can be associated with the beam via TCI configuration or co-location or quasi-co-location (QCL) characteristics of the signal, channel or CORESET transmitted via beam directionality (e.g., co-location or quasi-co-location with the corresponding SSB and / or CSI-RS).

[0209] In this document, the terms "beamforming configuration" and "beam configuration" may be used interchangeably.

[0210] The term "base station" is generally used to refer to a network node or transmission point that transmits radio signals. This can be a base station, gNB, transmission point (TP), transceiver point (TRP), a transmitter with a distributed antenna system, a remote radio head (RRH), a positioning beacon, another UE or device that transmits radio signals to be used by other UEs for positioning, etc. A base station can communicate with other network nodes, such as another base station, a location server, etc.

[0211] The term "location server" is used herein to refer to a network node with positioning functionality (eg, with the ability to provide assistance data and / or request positioning measurements and / or calculate position based on positioning measurements). A location server may or may not reside in a base station.

[0212] While the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein relate to wireless networks (e.g., Figure 17 For simplicity, Figure 17The wireless network shown in FIG. 1 only depicts network 1706, network nodes 1760 and 1760b, and WDs 1710, 1710b, and 1710c. In practice, a wireless network may also include any additional components suitable for supporting communications between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device (e.g., a landline phone, a service provider, or any other network node or terminal device). Of the components shown, network node 1760 and wireless device (WD) 1710 are depicted in additional detail. A wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices, facilitating the wireless devices to access and / or use services provided by or via the wireless network.

[0213] A wireless network may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and / or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, a wireless network may be configured to operate according to a particular standard or other type of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of a wireless communication network may implement communication standards such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards such as IEEE 802.11 standards; and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and / or ZigBee standards.

[0214] The network 1706 may include one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

[0215] The network node 1760 and the WD 1710 include various components described in more detail below. These components work together to provide network node and / or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connectivity in a wireless network. In various embodiments, a wireless network may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via a wired connection or a wireless connection).

[0216] As used herein, a network node refers to a device that is capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or with other network nodes or devices in a wireless network to enable and / or provide wireless access to the wireless device and / or perform other functions (e.g., management) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations can be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or in other words, based on their transmit power levels), so they can also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station can be a relay node or a relay host node that controls a relay. A network node can also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU) (sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH)). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station can also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Still further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment (e.g., an MSR BS), a network controller (e.g., a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC)), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a core network node (e.g., an MSC, an MME), an O&M node, an OSS node, a SON node, a positioning node (e.g., an E-SMLC), and / or an MDT. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node, as described in more detail below. However, more generally, a network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) that is capable of, configured, arranged, and / or operable to enable and / or provide access to a wireless network to a wireless device, or to provide a service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network.

[0217] exist Figure 17 In FIG. 1 , the network node 1760 includes a processing circuit 1770, a device-readable medium 1780, an interface 1790, an auxiliary device 1784, a power supply 1786, a power supply circuit 1787, and an antenna 1762. Figure 17The network node 1760 shown in the example wireless network of FIG. 1760 may represent a device that includes a combination of the hardware components shown, but other embodiments may include network nodes with different combinations of components. It should be understood that the network node includes any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Furthermore, while the components of the network node 1760 are depicted as a single box within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in reality, the network node may include multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., the device readable medium 1780 may include multiple separate hard drives and multiple RAM modules).

[0218] Similarly, network node 1760 may be comprised of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have its own corresponding components. In certain scenarios where network node 1760 includes multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of these separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered a single, separate network node in some instances. In some embodiments, network node 1760 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such an embodiment, some components may be replicated (e.g., separate device-readable media 1780 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1762 may be shared by all RATs). Network node 1760 may also include multiple sets of the various components shown for different wireless technologies (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies) integrated into network node 1760. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within network node 1760 .

[0219] The processing circuitry 1770 is configured to perform any determinations, calculations, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by the network node. These operations performed by the processing circuitry 1770 may include processing information obtained by the processing circuitry 1770 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information and making a determination based on the results of the processing.

[0220] The processing circuit 1770 may include one or more combinations of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic, which is operable to provide network node 1760 functionality alone or in combination with other network node 1760 components (e.g., device-readable medium 1780). For example, the processing circuit 1770 may execute instructions stored in the device-readable medium 1780 or in a memory within the processing circuit 1770. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1770 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

[0221] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1770 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1772 and baseband processing circuitry 1774. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1772 and baseband processing circuitry 1774 may be located on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (e.g., a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1772 and baseband processing circuitry 1774 may be located on the same chip, chipset, board, or unit.

[0222] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 1770 executing instructions stored on device-readable media 1780 or memory within processing circuitry 1770. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 1770, for example, in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable medium. In any of these embodiments, processing circuitry 1770 may be configured to perform the described functionality regardless of whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 1770 or to other components of network node 1760, but may be enjoyed by network node 1760 as a whole and / or by end users and the wireless network as a whole.

[0223] Device-readable medium 1780 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including, but not limited to, permanent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a flash drive, a compact disk (CD), or a digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that can be used by processing circuit 1770. Device-readable medium 1780 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc., and / or other instructions that can be executed by processing circuit 1770 and used by network node 1760. Device-readable medium 1780 may be used to store any computations performed by processing circuit 1770 and / or any data received via interface 1790. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1770 and device-readable medium 1780 may be considered integrated.

[0224] Interface 1790 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network node 1760, network 1706, and / or WD 1710. As shown, interface 1790 includes port / terminal 1794 for sending and receiving data to and from network 1706, for example, via a wired connection. Interface 1790 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1792, which can be coupled to antenna 1762 or, in some embodiments, be part of antenna 1762. Radio front-end circuitry 1792 includes filter 1798 and amplifier 1796. Radio front-end circuitry 1792 can be connected to antenna 1762 and processing circuitry 1770. Radio front-end circuitry can be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1762 and processing circuitry 1770. Radio front-end circuitry 1792 can receive digital data, which is then transmitted to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front-end circuitry 1792 can use a combination of filters 1798 and / or amplifiers 1796 to convert digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna 1762. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1762 can collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 1792. The digital data can be passed to processing circuitry 1770. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0225] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1760 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 1792; instead, the processing circuit 1770 may include the radio front-end circuit and may be connected to the antenna 1762 without the need for a separate radio front-end circuit 1792. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuit 1772 may be considered part of the interface 1790. In other embodiments, the interface 1790 may include one or more ports or terminals 1794, the radio front-end circuit 1792, and the RF transceiver circuit 1772 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the interface 1790 may communicate with the baseband processing circuit 1774 as part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0226] Antenna 1762 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1762 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 1790 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1762 may include one or more omnidirectional, sectored, or flat panel antennas operable to transmit / receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. Omnidirectional antennas can be used to transmit / receive radio signals in any direction, sectored antennas can be used to transmit / receive radio signals to / from devices within a specific area, and flat panel antennas may be line-of-sight antennas for transmitting / receiving radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some cases, using more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In some embodiments, antenna 1762 may be separate from network node 1760 and may be connected to network node 1760 via an interface or port.

[0227] Antenna 1762, interface 1790 and / or processing circuit 1770 can be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signals can be received from a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1762, interface 1790 and / or processing circuit 1770 can be configured to perform any transmitting operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signals can be sent to a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network device.

[0228] Power circuit 1787 may include or be coupled to power management circuitry and is configured to provide power to the components of network node 1760 to perform the functions described herein. Power circuit 1787 may receive power from power source 1786. Power source 1786 and / or power circuit 1787 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 1760 in a form suitable for each component (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). Power source 1786 may be included in power circuit 1787 and / or network node 1760 or external to power circuit 1787 and / or network node 1760. For example, network node 1760 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as a cable, whereby the external power source provides power to power circuit 1787. As another example, power circuit 1786 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated into power circuit 1787. The battery may provide backup power if the external power source fails. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

[0229] Alternative embodiments of network node 1760 may include beyond Figure 17 , which may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1760 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into the network node 1760 and to allow information to be output from the network node 1760. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions with respect to the network node 1760.

[0230] As used herein, a wireless device (WD) refers to a device that is capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with a network node and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise specified, the term WD may be used interchangeably with user equipment (UE) in this article. Wireless transmission may include using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information through the air to send and / or receive wireless signals. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, a WD may be designed to send information to a network in a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from a network. Examples of WDs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, portable computers, portable embedded devices (LEEs), portable installation devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, and the like. A WD may, for example, support device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, and vehicle-to-anything (V2X) communication by implementing the 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, and in this case may be referred to as a D2D communication device. As another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another WD and / or network node. In this case, the WD may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which in the 3GPP context may be referred to as an MTC device. As a specific example, a WD may be a UE that implements the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices (e.g., electricity meters), industrial machines, or household or personal devices (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearable devices (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other device that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions associated with its operation. As described above, WD may represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. In addition, as described above, WD may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

[0231] As shown, wireless device 1710 includes antenna 1711, interface 1714, processing circuitry 1720, device-readable medium 1730, user interface device 1732, auxiliary device 1734, power supply 1736, and power supply circuitry 1737. WD 1710 may include multiple groups of one or more of the components shown for different wireless technologies supported by WD 1710 (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, NB-IoT, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to name a few). These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets as the other components within WD 1710.

[0232] Antenna 1711 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals and is connected to interface 1714. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 1711 may be separate from WD 1710 and may be connected to WD 1710 via an interface or port. Antenna 1711, interface 1714, and / or processing circuit 1720 may be configured to perform any receive or transmit operation described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data, and / or signal may be received from a network node and / or another WD. In some embodiments, the radio front-end circuit and / or antenna 1711 may be considered an interface.

[0233] As shown, interface 1714 includes radio front-end circuitry 1712 and antenna 1711. Radio front-end circuitry 1712 includes one or more filters 1718 and an amplifier 1716. Radio front-end circuitry 1714 is connected to antenna 1711 and processing circuitry 1720 and is configured to condition signals transmitted between antenna 1711 and processing circuitry 1720. Radio front-end circuitry 1712 may be coupled to antenna 1711 or be part of antenna 1711. In certain alternative embodiments, WD 1710 may not include a separate radio front-end circuitry 1712; instead, processing circuitry 1720 may include radio front-end circuitry and be connected to antenna 1711. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1722 may be considered part of interface 1714. Radio front-end circuitry 1712 may receive digital data, which will be transmitted over a wireless connection to other network nodes or WDs. Radio front-end circuitry 1712 can use a combination of filters 1718 and / or amplifiers 1716 to convert digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna 1711. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1711 can collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 1712. The digital data can be passed to processing circuitry 1720. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0234] The processing circuit 1720 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic, which is operable to provide WD 1710 functionality alone or in combination with other WD 1710 components (e.g., device-readable medium 1730). Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, the processing circuit 1720 may execute instructions stored in the device-readable medium 1730 or in a memory within the processing circuit 1720 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0235] As shown, processing circuitry 1720 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry 1722, baseband processing circuitry 1724, and application processing circuitry 1726. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may include different components and / or different combinations of components. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1720 of WD 1710 may include a system-on-chip (SoC). In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1722, baseband processing circuitry 1724, and application processing circuitry 1726 may be implemented on separate chips or chipsets. In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry 1724 and application processing circuitry 1726 may be combined into a single chip or chipset, and RF transceiver circuitry 1722 may be implemented on a separate chip or chipset. In yet another alternative embodiment, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1722 and baseband processing circuitry 1724 may be implemented on the same chip or chipset, and application processing circuitry 1726 may be implemented on a separate chip or chipset. In other alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1722, baseband processing circuitry 1724, and application processing circuitry 1726 may be combined in the same chip or chipset. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1722 may be part of interface 1714. RF transceiver circuitry 1722 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 1720.

[0236] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by the WD may be provided by processing circuitry 1720, which executes instructions stored on device-readable medium 1730, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 1720, for example, in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium. In any of these specific embodiments, processing circuitry 1720 may be configured to perform the described functionality regardless of whether instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 1720 or to other components of WD 1710, but are enjoyed by WD 1710 as a whole and / or by the end user and the wireless network as a whole.

[0237] The processing circuitry 1720 may be configured to perform any determinations, calculations, or similar operations (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being performed by the WD. These operations performed by the processing circuitry 1720 may include processing information obtained by the processing circuitry 1720 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with information stored by the WD 1710, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information and making a determination based on the results of the processing.

[0238] Device-readable medium 1730 is operable to store computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc., and / or other instructions executable by processing circuit 1720. Device-readable medium 1730 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions usable by processing circuit 1720. In some embodiments, processing circuit 1720 and device-readable medium 1730 may be considered integrated.

[0239] User interface device 1732 can provide components that allow a human user to interact with WD 1710. This interaction can take many forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. User interface device 1732 is operable to generate output to the user and allow the user to provide input to WD 1710. The type of interaction can vary depending on the type of user interface device 1732 installed in WD 1710. For example, if WD 1710 is a smartphone, the interaction can be performed via a touch screen; if WD 1710 is a smart meter, the interaction can be performed through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alarm (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface device 1732 may include input interfaces, devices, and circuits, as well as output interfaces, devices, and circuits. User interface device 1732 is configured to allow information to be input into WD 1710 and is connected to processing circuit 1720 to allow processing circuit 1720 to process the input information. The user interface device 1732 may include, for example, a microphone, proximity or other sensors, keys / buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port or other input circuits. The user interface device 1732 is also configured to allow information to be output from the WD 1710 and to allow the processing circuit 1720 to output information from the WD 1710. The user interface device 1732 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, a vibration circuit, a USB port, a headphone jack or other output circuits. By using one or more input and output interfaces, devices and circuits of the user interface device 1732, the WD 1710 can communicate with the end user and / or wireless network and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

[0240] Auxiliary devices 1734 are operable to provide more specific functions that may not typically be performed by a WD. This may include specialized sensors for measuring for various purposes, interfaces for other types of communication such as wired communication, etc. The inclusion and types of components of auxiliary devices 1734 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0241] In some embodiments, power source 1736 may be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery cell. WD 1710 may also include power circuitry 1737 for delivering power from power source 1736 to various components of WD 1710, which require power from power source 1736 to perform any functions described or indicated herein. In some embodiments, power circuitry 1737 may include power management circuitry. Power circuitry 1737 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in this case, WD 1710 may be connected to the external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as a power cable. In some embodiments, power circuitry 1737 may also be operable to deliver power from the external power source to power source 1736. This may be used, for example, to charge power source 1736. Power circuitry 1737 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modifications to the power from power source 1736 to make it suitable for the various components of WD 1710 being powered.

[0242] Figure 18 One embodiment of a UE according to various aspects described herein is shown. As used herein, a "user equipment" or "UE" may not necessarily have a "user" in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated equipment. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but may not be, or may not initially be, associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart meter). UE 18200 may be any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including an NB-IoT UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. As Figure 18 As shown, UE 1800 is an example of a WD configured for communication according to one or more communication standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and / or 5G standards. As previously mentioned, the terms WD and UE may be used interchangeably. Therefore, although Figure 18 It is UE, but the components discussed in this article are also applicable to WD and vice versa.

[0243] exist Figure 18In the embodiment, UE 1800 includes a processing circuit 1801, which is operatively coupled to an input / output interface 1805, a radio frequency (RF) interface 1809, a network connection interface 1811, a memory 1815 including a random access memory (RAM) 1817, a read-only memory (ROM) 1819 and a storage medium 1821, a communication subsystem 1831, a power supply 1833 and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 1821 includes an operating system 1823, an application 1825 and data 1827. In other embodiments, the storage medium 1821 may include other similar types of information. Some UEs may use Figure 18 All of the components shown in the , or only a subset of these components may be used. The level of integration between components may vary from one UE to another. In addition, some UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0244] exist Figure 18 , processing circuitry 1801 can be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuitry 1801 can be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute machine instructions stored as a machine-readable computer program in memory, such as: one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., implemented in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors (e.g., microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs)) together with appropriate software; or any combination thereof. For example, processing circuitry 1801 can include two central processing units (CPUs). The data can be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0245] In the depicted embodiment, the input / output interface 1805 can be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or both. The UE 1800 can be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 1805. The output device can use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a USB port can be used to provide input to and output from the UE 1800. The output device can be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. The UE 1800 can be configured to use an input device via the input / output interface 1805 to allow a user to capture information into the UE 1800. The input device can include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a touchpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. The presence-sensitive display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from the user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device can be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

[0246] exist Figure 18 In the embodiment of the present invention, the RF interface 1809 can be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as transmitters, receivers, and antennas. The network connection interface 1811 can be configured to provide a communication interface to the network 1843a. The network 1843a can include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 1843a can include a Wi-Fi network. The network connection interface 1811 can be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface, which are used to communicate with one or more other devices through a communication network according to one or more communication protocols (e.g., Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, etc.). The network connection interface 1811 can implement receiver and transmitter functions suitable for a communication network link (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively can be implemented separately.

[0247] RAM 1817 can be configured to interface with processing circuit 1801 via bus 1802 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as operating systems, applications, and device drivers. ROM 1819 can be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuit 1801. For example, ROM 1819 can be configured to store unchanged low-level system code or data for basic system functions stored in non-volatile memory, such as basic input and output (I / O), startup, or receiving keystrokes from a keyboard. Storage medium 1821 can be configured to include memory, such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, floppy disk, hard disk, removable tape cartridge, or flash drive. In one example, storage medium 1821 can be configured to include operating system 1823, application 1825 such as a web browser application, widget or gadget engine or another application, and data files 1827. The storage medium 1821 may store any one of a variety of operating systems or a combination of operating systems for use by the UE 1800 .

[0248] Storage medium 1821 can be configured to include multiple physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drive, an internal hard drive, a Blu-ray disc drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smart card memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM / RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 1821 can allow UE 1800 to access computer-executable instructions, applications, etc. stored on a temporary or non-transitory storage medium to download or upload data. An article of manufacture, such as an article utilizing a communication system, can be tangibly embodied in storage medium 1821, which can include device-readable media.

[0249] exist Figure 18In the embodiment of the present invention, processing circuit 1801 can be configured to communicate with network 1843b using communication subsystem 1831. Network 1843a and network 1843b can be one or more identical networks or one or more different networks. Communication subsystem 1831 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with network 1843b. For example, communication subsystem 1831 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with another device (e.g., another WD, UE) capable of wireless communication or one or more remote transceivers of a base station of a radio access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.18, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc.). Each transceiver can include a transmitter 1833 and / or a receiver 1835 to respectively implement transmitter or receiver functions suitable for a RAN link (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.). In addition, the transmitter 1833 and receiver 1835 of each transceiver can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively can be implemented separately.

[0250] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 1831 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication (such as use of a global positioning system (GPS) for determining location), another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 1831 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. The network 1843b may include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 1843b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a near-field network. The power supply 1813 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 1800.

[0251] The features, benefits, and / or functionality described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 1800, or divided among multiple components of UE 1800. Furthermore, the features, benefits, and / or functionality described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 1831 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Furthermore, the processing circuit 1801 may be configured to communicate with any of these components via bus 1802. In another example, any of these components may be represented by program instructions stored in a memory that, when executed by the processing circuit 1801, perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of these components may be divided between the processing circuit 1801 and the communication subsystem 1831. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of these components may be implemented in software or firmware, while the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0252] Figure 19 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment 1900 in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device, which may include virtualized hardware platforms, storage devices, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device) or component thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., by one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers executed on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0253] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 1900 hosted by one or more hardware nodes 1930. Furthermore, in embodiments where the virtual nodes are not radio access nodes or do not require radio connectivity (e.g., core network nodes), the network nodes may be fully virtualized at this point.

[0254] These functions may be implemented by one or more applications 1920 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.), which are operable to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein. The applications 1920 run in a virtualized environment 1900, which provides hardware 1930 including processing circuitry 1960 and memory 1990. The memory 1990 contains instructions 1995 executable by the processing circuitry 1960, whereby the applications 1920 are operable to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and / or functions disclosed herein.

[0255] The virtualization environment 1900 includes general-purpose or specialized network hardware devices 1930, which include a set of one or more processors or processing circuits 1960, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or specialized processors. Each hardware device may include memory 1990-1, which may be non-persistent storage for temporarily storing instructions 1995 or software executed by the processing circuits 1960. Each hardware device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 1970, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interfaces 1980. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent machine-readable storage media 1990-2 having stored therein software 1995 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuits 1960. The software 1995 may include any type of software, including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 1950 (also known as hypervisors), software for executing virtual machines 1940, and software that enables them to perform the functions, features, and / or benefits described in connection with some embodiments described herein.

[0256] The virtual machines 1940 include virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and can be run by corresponding virtualization layers 1950 or hypervisors. Different embodiments of instances of the virtual devices 1920 can be implemented on one or more of the virtual machines 1940, and the implementation can be done in different ways.

[0257] During operation, processing circuitry 1960 executes software 1995 to instantiate a hypervisor or virtualization layer 1950, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 1950 may present a virtual operating platform that appears to virtual machines 1940 as networked hardware.

[0258] like Figure 19As shown, hardware 1930 can be a standalone network node with common or specialized components. Hardware 1930 can include antenna 19225 and implement some functions through virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1930 can be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., in a data center or customer premises equipment (CPE)), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed by management and orchestration (MANO) 19100, which oversees, among other things, the lifecycle management of applications 1920.

[0259] In some contexts, hardware virtualization is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to unify numerous network device types onto industry-standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that can be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0260] In the context of NFV, a virtual machine 1940 can be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executed on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each virtual machine 1940 and the portion of hardware 1930 that executes the virtual machine (which can be hardware dedicated to the virtual machine and / or hardware shared by the virtual machine and other virtual machines in virtual machines 1940) form a separate virtual network element (VNE).

[0261] Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions running in one or more virtual machines 1940 on top of the hardware network infrastructure 1930 and corresponds to Figure 19 Application in 1920.

[0262] In some embodiments, one or more radio units 19200, each including one or more transmitters 19220 and one or more receivers 19210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 19225. The radio units 19200 may communicate directly with the hardware nodes 1930 via one or more suitable network interfaces, and may be used in conjunction with virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or base station.

[0263] In some embodiments, some signaling may be implemented using a control system 19230 , which may alternatively be used for communications between the hardware node 1930 and the radio unit 19200 .

[0264] Figure 20 A telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 20According to an embodiment, a communications system includes a telecommunications network 2010 (e.g., a 3GPP-type cellular network), which includes an access network 2011 (e.g., a radio access network) and a core network 2014. Access network 2011 includes multiple base stations 2012a, 2012b, and 2012c (e.g., NBs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless access points), each of which defines a corresponding coverage area 2013a, 2013b, and 2013c. Each base station 2012a, 2012b, and 2012c is connectable to core network 2014 via a wired or wireless connection 2015. A first UE 2091 located in coverage area 2013c is configured to wirelessly connect to or be paged by the corresponding base station 2012c. A second UE 2092 located in coverage area 2013a is also wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 2012a. Although multiple UEs 2091 , 2092 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where only one UE is in the coverage area or only one UE is connected to the corresponding base station 2012 .

[0265] Telecommunications network 2010 itself is connected to a host computer 2030, which can be implemented as hardware and / or software on a standalone server, a cloud-based server, a distributed server, or as processing resources in a server cluster. Host computer 2030 can be owned or controlled by a service provider, or operated by or on behalf of a service provider. Connections 2021 and 2022 between telecommunications network 2010 and host computer 2030 can extend directly from core network 2014 to host computer 2030, or can be made via an optional intermediary network 2020. Intermediary network 2020 can be one or a combination of public, private, or carrier networks; if present, intermediary network 2020 can be a backbone network or the Internet; specifically, intermediary network 2020 can include two or more subnetworks (not shown).

[0266] Figure 20The communication system as a whole implements a connection between connected UEs 2091, 2092 and a host computer 2030. This connection can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 2050. The host computer 2030 and the connected UEs 2091, 2092 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 2050, using the access network 2011, the core network 2014, any intermediate networks 2020, and possibly other infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 2050 can be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 2050 passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 2012 may not be informed, or may not need to be informed, of the past routing of incoming downlink communications with data originating from the host computer 2030 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 2091. Similarly, base station 2012 need not be aware of the future routing of outgoing uplink communications originating from UE 2091 to host computer 2030 .

[0267] Now refer to Figure 21 1 and 2 to describe example implementations of the UE, base station, and host computer discussed in the previous paragraphs according to an embodiment. Figure 21 1. A host computer is shown communicating with a user device via a base station via a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. In the communication system 2100, the host computer 2110 includes hardware 2115, which includes a communication interface 2116, which is configured to establish and maintain a wired or wireless connection for interfaces with different communication devices of the communication system 2100. The host computer 2110 also includes a processing circuit 2118, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. Specifically, the processing circuit 2118 may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 2110 also includes software 2111, which is stored in the host computer 2110 or accessible by the host computer 2110 and executable by the processing circuit 2118. The software 2111 includes a host application 2112. The host application 2112 is operable to provide services to a remote user (e.g., UE 2130), which is connected via an OTT connection 2150 terminated at the UE 2130 and the host computer 2110. In providing services to the remote user, the host application 2112 may provide user data sent using the OTT connection 2150.

[0268] The communication system 2100 also includes a base station 2120 provided in the telecommunication system, the base station 2120 including hardware 2125 that enables it to communicate with the host computer 2110 and with the UE 2130. The hardware 2125 may include: a communication interface 2126 for establishing and maintaining wired or wireless connections for interfaces with different communication devices of the communication system 2100; and a radio interface 2127 for establishing and maintaining connections with at least the network devices located in the coverage area ( Figure 21 The communication interface 2126 may be configured to facilitate a connection 2160 to the host computer 2110. The connection 2160 may be direct, or it may pass through the core network ( Figure 21 The base station 2120 may also include hardware 2125 (not shown) and / or one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 2125 of the base station 2120 also includes processing circuitry 2128, which may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 2120 also includes software 2121 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0269] The communication system 2100 also includes the UE 2130 already mentioned. Its hardware 2135 may include a radio interface 2137, which is configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 2170 with a base station serving the coverage area in which the UE 2130 is currently located. The hardware 2135 of the UE 2130 also includes a processing circuit 2138, which may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or a combination thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 2130 also includes software 2131, which is stored in the UE 2130 or accessible by the UE 2130 and executable by the processing circuit 2138. The software 2131 includes a client application 2132. The client application 2132 is operable to provide services to human or non-human users via the UE 2130 with the support of the host computer 2110. In the host computer 2110, a host application 2112 executing can communicate with a client application 2132 executing via an OTT connection 2150 terminated at the UE 2130 and the host computer 2110. When providing services to a user, the client application 2132 can receive request data from the host application 2112 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 2150 can transmit both the request data and the user data. The client application 2132 can interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0270] Notice, Figure 21 The host computer 2110, base station 2120 and UE 2130 shown can be respectively Figure 20 The host computer 2030, one of the base stations 2012a, 2012b, 2012c and one of the UEs 2091, 2092 are similar or identical. That is, the internal workings of these entities may be similar to Figure 21 shown, and independently, the surrounding network topology can be Figure 20 network topology.

[0271] exist Figure 21 , an OTT connection 2150 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate communication between a host computer 2110 and a UE 2130 via a base station 2120, without explicitly mentioning any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure can determine this routing, which can be configured to be hidden from the UE 2130, from the service provider operating the host computer 2110, or from both. While the OTT connection 2150 is active, the network infrastructure can also make decisions to dynamically change the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or network reconfiguration).

[0272] The wireless connection 2170 between the UE 2130 and the base station 2120 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improves the performance of an OTT service provided to the UE 2130 using the OTT connection 2150, where the wireless connection 2170 forms the last leg in the OTT connection 2150.

[0273] For the purpose of monitoring the data rate, latency, and other factors improved by one or more embodiments, a measurement process may be provided. There may also be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 2150 between the host computer 2110 and the UE 2130 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and / or network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 2150 may be implemented in software 2111 and hardware 2115 of the host computer 2110 or in software 2131 and hardware 2135 of the UE 2130, or in both. In an embodiment, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with a communication device through which the OTT connection 2150 passes; the sensor may participate in the measurement process by providing the values of the monitored quantities exemplified above or providing the values of other physical quantities that the software 2111, 2131 can use to calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Reconfiguration of OTT connection 2150 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, and the like; this reconfiguration need not affect base station 2120 and may be unknown or imperceptible to base station 2120. Such processes and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates host computer 2110's measurement of throughput, propagation time, latency, and the like. This measurement may be implemented as follows: software 2111 and 2131 enables the sending of messages (specifically, empty or "dummy" messages) using OTT connection 2150 while monitoring propagation time, errors, and the like.

[0274] Figure 22 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be a reference Figure 20 and Figure 21 For the sake of simplicity of this disclosure, only the host computer, base station and UE described in this section will be included. Figure 22 In step 2210, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 2211 of step 2210 (which may be optional), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 2220, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 2230 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station sends the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer to the UE. In step 2240 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0275] Figure 23is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be a reference Figure 20 and Figure 21 For the sake of simplicity of this disclosure, only the host computer, base station and UE described in this section will be included. Figure 23 In step 2310 of the method, a host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 2320, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission may be via a base station. In step 2330 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0276] Figure 24 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be a reference Figure 20 and Figure 21 For the sake of simplicity of this disclosure, only the host computer, base station and UE described in this section will be included. Figure 24 . In step 2410 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 2420, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 2421 (which may be optional) of step 2420, the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 2411 (which may be optional) of step 2410, the UE executes a client application that provides user data in response to the input data provided by the received host computer. When providing user data, the executed client application may also take into account user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, the UE initiates transmission of the user data to the host computer in sub-step 2430 (which may be optional). In step 2440 of the method, the host computer receives user data sent from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

[0277] Figure 25 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be a reference Figure 20 and Figure 21 For the sake of simplicity of this disclosure, only the host computer, base station and UE described in this section will be included. Figure 25In step 2510 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step 2520 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 2530 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0278] Any suitable steps, methods, features, functions or benefits disclosed herein may be performed by one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device may include a plurality of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented by processing circuits, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers and other digital hardware (which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), dedicated digital logic, etc.). The processing circuit may be configured to execute program code stored in a memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory device, optical storage device, etc. The program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols, and instructions for executing one or more technologies described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuit may be used to cause the corresponding functional units to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0279] Thus, in view of the above, embodiments herein generally include a communication system comprising a host computer. The host computer may include processing circuitry configured to provide user data. The host computer may also include a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE). The cellular network includes a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the base station being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the base station.

[0280] In some embodiments, the communication system further comprises a base station.

[0281] In some embodiments, the communication system further comprises a UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0282] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing user data. In this case, the UE includes a processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0283] Embodiments herein also include a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE). The method includes providing user data at the host computer. The method may also include initiating, at the host computer, a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network including the base station. The base station performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the base station.

[0284] In some embodiments, the method further includes: at the base station, sending user data.

[0285] In some embodiments, the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application. In this case, the method further comprises: at the UE, executing a client application associated with the host application.

[0286] The embodiments herein also include a user equipment (UE), the UE being configured to communicate with a base station. The UE comprises a radio interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to execute any of the embodiments described above for the UE.

[0287] Embodiments herein also include a communication system comprising a host computer. The host computer includes processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE). The UE includes a radio interface and processing circuitry. Components of the UE are configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the UE.

[0288] In some embodiments, the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

[0289] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application to provide user data. The processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0290] Embodiments also include a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE). The method includes: providing user data at the host computer; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network including the base station. The UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the UE.

[0291] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving, at the UE, user data from the base station.

[0292] Embodiments herein also include a communication system comprising a host computer. The host computer includes a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station. The UE includes a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the UE is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the UE.

[0293] In some embodiments, the communication system further comprises a UE.

[0294] In some embodiments, the communication system further comprises a base station. In this case, the base station comprises: a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE; and a communication interface configured to forward user data carried by the transmission from the UE to the base station to the host computer.

[0295] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data.

[0296] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application to provide the request data, and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to provide the user data in response to the request data.

[0297] Embodiments herein also include a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE). The method includes: receiving, at the host computer, user data transmitted from the UE to the base station. The UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the UE.

[0298] In some embodiments, the method further includes: at the UE, providing user data to the base station.

[0299] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: executing, at the UE, a client application to provide user data to be transmitted. The method may further comprise: executing, at the host computer, a host application associated with the client application.

[0300] In some embodiments, the method further includes: executing a client application at the UE; and receiving input data for the client application at the UE. The input data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application. The user data to be sent is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

[0301] Embodiments also include a communication system comprising a host computer. The host computer includes a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station. The base station includes a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the base station is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the base station.

[0302] In some embodiments, the communication system further comprises a base station.

[0303] In some embodiments, the communication system further includes a UE, which is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0304] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, and the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data to be received by the host computer.

[0305] Furthermore, an embodiment includes a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE). The method includes: at the host computer, receiving user data from the base station, the user data originating from a transmission that the base station has received from the UE. The UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the UE.

[0306] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving, at the base station, user data from the UE.

[0307] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: at the base station, initiating transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

[0308] Generally, unless clearly given and / or different meanings are implied from the context in which the term is used, all terms used in this article will be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field. Unless otherwise clearly stated, all references to one / an / described element, equipment, assembly, device, step, etc. should be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance in element, equipment, assembly, device, step, etc. Unless a step must be clearly described as being after or before another step and / or implicitly a step must be after or before another step, the steps of any method disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order disclosed. Where appropriate, any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may be applicable to any other embodiment, and vice versa. By description, other purposes, features and advantages of the attached embodiments will be apparent.

[0309] The term unit may have a conventional meaning in the field of electronic products, electrical devices and / or electronic equipment, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing various tasks, processes, calculations, output and / or display functions, etc. (such as those described herein).

[0310] As used herein, the term "A and / or B" encompasses embodiments having A alone, B alone, or both A and B. Thus, the term "A and / or B" may equivalently mean "at least one of any one or more of A and B."

[0311] Some embodiments contemplated herein are described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. The subject matter of the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A method performed by a network node (18), the method comprising: Based on a beamforming configuration for positioning measurements, determining (200) a search window (26) to be associated with the beamforming configuration; as well as Assistance data (20) is sent (210) from the network node (18) to a wireless device (12), the assistance data (20) indicating the search window (26), wherein the search window (26) is a window within which results of positioning measurements performed by the wireless device (12) on positioning signals are expected to fall for an associated beamforming configuration.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The search window (26) is associated with the beamforming configuration via: a beam identifier, a synchronization signal block identifier, a transmission configuration indicator, or a quasi-co-location characteristic associated with a signal, channel, or control resource set, wherein the signal, channel, or control resource set is associated with a beam, a positioning reference signal set, or beam-specific resources.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determining includes determining a search window (26) to be associated with the beamforming configuration based on beam information associated with a beam used to transmit the positioning signal, wherein the beam information associated with the beam includes one or more of: an identifier of the beam; an identifier of a synchronization signal block transmitted on the beam; quasi-co-location characteristics of a set of signal, channel, or control resources associated with the beam; Positioning signal resource set; or The beam-specific resources.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determination comprises determining whether the search window (26) is the first search window or the second search window, depending on whether beamforming is used or not used to send the positioning signal according to the beamforming configuration, or depending on whether the number of beams used to send the positioning signal according to the beamforming configuration is below a threshold or not below a threshold, respectively.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determining includes determining whether the search window (26) is the first search window or the second search window by: Depending on whether the width of one or more beams used to transmit the positioning signal according to the beamforming configuration is below a threshold or not below a threshold, respectively; or It depends respectively on whether the positioning signal is sent in a first frequency range or a second frequency range, wherein the second frequency range is higher than the first frequency range.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The determining includes determining whether the search window (26) is a first search window or a second search window narrower than the first search window by: depending on whether a maximum inter-beam distance between a beam used for transmitting the positioning signal and a beam used for transmitting another positioning signal for which the positioning measurement is performed according to the beamforming configuration is above a threshold or not above a threshold, respectively; or The distance between the coverage areas of the beam used for transmitting the positioning signal and the beam used for transmitting the further positioning signal for which the positioning measurement is performed is greater than a threshold or not greater than a threshold, respectively, depends on whether the distance between the coverage areas of the beam used for transmitting the positioning signal and the beam used for transmitting the further positioning signal for which the positioning measurement is performed is greater than a threshold or not greater than a threshold, respectively.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The positioning signal is a first positioning signal, wherein the positioning measurement is to be performed by the wireless device (12) on both the first positioning signal and the second positioning signal, and wherein the beamforming configuration is a first beamforming configuration that can be used to send the first positioning signal or a second beamforming configuration that can be used to send the second positioning signal.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The second positioning signal is to be used as a reference for the positioning measurements.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: Based on both the first beamforming configuration and the second beamforming configuration, a search window to be associated with the first beamforming configuration for the positioning measurement is determined (26).

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein The first positioning signal and the second positioning signal are sent by the same radio network node.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein: The first positioning signal and the second positioning signal are sent by different radio network nodes.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The beamforming configuration can be used to transmit the positioning signal and includes at least one of any one or more of the following: the number of beams that can be used to transmit the positioning signal, if such beams exist; the width of a beam that can be used to transmit the positioning signal; the elevation, tilt, orientation and / or direction of the beam; the coverage area, footprint, and / or size of the beam; the shape of the coverage area, footprint and / or dimensions; an intra-beam distance of the beam; an inter-beam distance between the beam and another beam that can be used to transmit another positioning signal for which the positioning measurements are to be performed; Adjacent beam information; a transmit power level associated with the beam; a beam configuration-dependent measurement range associated with the beam; as well as The type of signal or channel that characterizes the beam.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The positioning measurement is a time difference of arrival TDOA measurement or a reference signal time difference RSTD measurement.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: receiving (220) from the wireless device (12) a result of the positioning measurement performed using the assistance data (20); as well as One or more operational tasks are performed (230) using the results of the positioning measurements.

15. A method performed by a wireless device (12), the method comprising: receiving (300) assistance data (20) from a network node (18), the assistance data (20) indicating a search window (26) associated with a beamforming configuration, wherein the search window (26) is a window within which results of positioning measurements performed on positioning signals by the wireless device (12) are expected to fall for the associated beamforming configuration; and The positioning measurements are performed (310) using the assistance data (20).

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The search window (26) is associated with the beamforming configuration via: a beam identifier, a synchronization signal block identifier, a transmission configuration indicator, or a quasi-co-location characteristic associated with a signal, channel, or control resource set, wherein the signal, channel, or control resource set is associated with a beam, a positioning reference signal set, or beam-specific resources.

17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: checking whether the result of the performed positioning measurement falls within the indicated search window (26); as well as According to the check, the result of the positioning measurement is considered valid or invalid depending on whether the result falls or does not fall within the indicated search window (26), respectively.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein The positioning signal is a first positioning signal, wherein the positioning measurement is to be performed by the wireless device (12) on both the first positioning signal and the second positioning signal, and wherein the beamforming configuration is a first beamforming configuration that can be used to send the first positioning signal or a second beamforming configuration that can be used to send the second positioning signal.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The second positioning signal is to be used as a reference for the positioning measurements.

20. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 19, wherein The first positioning signal and the second positioning signal are sent by the same radio network node.

21. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 19, wherein The first positioning signal and the second positioning signal are sent by different radio network nodes.

22. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 19, wherein The beamforming configuration can be used to transmit the positioning signal and includes at least one of any one or more of the following: the number of beams that can be used to transmit the positioning signal, if such beams exist; the width of a beam that can be used to transmit the positioning signal; the elevation, tilt, orientation and / or direction of the beam; the coverage area, footprint, and / or size of the beam; the shape of the coverage area, footprint and / or dimensions; an intra-beam distance of the beam; an inter-beam distance between the beam and another beam that can be used to transmit another positioning signal for which the positioning measurements are to be performed; Adjacent beam information; a transmit power level associated with the beam; a beam configuration-dependent measurement range associated with the beam; as well as The type of signal or channel that characterizes the beam.

23. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein The positioning measurement is a time difference of arrival TDOA measurement or a reference signal time difference RSTD measurement.

24. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, further comprising at least one of any one or more of the following: Reporting the results of the positioning measurements to a network node (18); performing (320) one or more operational tasks using the results of the positioning measurements; and The position of the wireless device (12) is determined based on the results of the positioning measurements.

25. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a network node (18), cause the network node (18) to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

26. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a wireless device (12), cause the wireless device (12) to perform the method according to any one of claims 15 to 24.

27. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a network node (18), cause the network node (18) to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

28. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a wireless device (12), cause the wireless device (12) to perform the method according to any one of claims 15 to 24.

29. A network node (18), comprising: Communication circuit (920); as well as The processing circuit (910) is configured to: Based on the beamforming configuration used for positioning measurements, determining a search window to be associated with the beamforming configuration (26); and Assistance data (20) is sent from the network node (18) to a wireless device (12), the assistance data (20) indicating the search window (26), wherein the search window (26) is a window within which results of positioning measurements performed by the wireless device (12) on positioning signals are expected to fall for an associated beamforming configuration.

30. The network node (18) according to claim 29, the processing circuit (910) being configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 14.

31. A wireless device (12), comprising: Communication circuit (820); as well as The processing circuit (810) is configured to: receiving assistance data (20) from a network node (18), the assistance data (20) indicating a search window (26) associated with a beamforming configuration, wherein the search window (26) is a window within which results of positioning measurements performed on positioning signals by the wireless device (12) are expected to fall for the associated beamforming configuration; and The positioning measurements are performed using the assistance data (20).

32. The wireless device (12) of claim 31 , the processing circuit (810) being configured to perform the method of any one of claims 16 to 24.

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