On-demand reference signal for position-dependent measurements

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to "on-demand reference signals for location-related measurements." Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to apparatus and methods for implementing techniques for providing on-demand reference signals for location-related measurements of a user equipment (UE). The UE may receive location assistance data from a network server, wherein the location assistance data includes information about a plurality of downlink reference signals that may be used by the UE to perform location-related measurements. The UE may send a request for a reference signal to a base station. The reference signal is selected from a plurality of downlink reference signals of the location assistance data. In addition, the UE may receive a reference signal from the base station and perform location-related measurements based on the received reference signal.

Description

[0001] Related patent applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 168,874, filed on March 31, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art Technical Field

[0003] The described aspects generally relate to on-demand reference signals for location-dependent measurements.

[0004] Related fields

[0005] The location of a user equipment (UE) or mobile device in a wireless network or system can be used for many applications, such as emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating friends or family, etc. New wireless networks can provide positioning accuracy of one meter and below. However, measuring and reporting parameters used to identify the location of the UE can consume a large amount of device and network resources, such as bandwidth. It is desirable to have a solution to reduce resource usage while improving the efficiency of measuring and reporting parameters used to identify the location of the UE in a wireless network or system. Summary of the invention

[0006] Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to apparatus and methods for implementing techniques for providing on-demand reference signals for location-related measurements of user equipment (UE). The implemented techniques may be applicable to many wireless systems, such as wireless communication systems based on 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 15 (Rel-15), Release 16 (Rel-16), Release 17 (Rel-17), etc.

[0007] Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to a UE. The UE may include a transceiver configured to enable wireless communication with a base station and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver. The processor of the UE is configured to receive location assistance data from a network server that manages location functions. The location assistance data may be received according to a first location-related protocol between the UE and the network server, and may include information about multiple downlink reference signals that can be used by the UE to perform location-related measurements. The first location-related protocol is different from a second location-related protocol used by the network server to configure the base station. The processor is further configured to use the transceiver to send a request for a reference signal. In an embodiment, a reference signal from a base station is used as an example. In fact, the request may be for multiple reference signals from multiple base stations. The reference signal is selected from multiple downlink reference signals of the location assistance data. In addition, the processor is configured to receive a reference signal from the base station, and perform location-related measurements based on the received reference signal. In some examples, the processor is further configured to receive a request for location-related measurements to be provided by the UE from the network server, and report the location-related measurements to the network server, all according to the first location-related protocol.

[0008] In some examples, in order to send a request for a reference signal, the processor may be configured to select one or more reference signals from a plurality of downlink reference signals of the location assistance data, and request the selected one or more reference signals from the base station. The processor may be configured to send a request for a reference signal to the base station via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling, or layer 1 (L1) signaling. In some other examples, the processor is further configured to select one or more reference signals from a plurality of downlink reference signals of the location assistance data, and send a request indication regarding the selected one or more reference signals to the network server. The processor is then configured to receive a reference signal from the base station, wherein the received reference signal is among the selected one or more reference signals.

[0009] In some examples, the reference signal includes a positioning reference signal (PRS). The first location-related protocol between the UE and the network server may be an LTE positioning protocol (LPP). The second location-related protocol between the network server and the base station may be a new radio positioning protocol A (NRPPa) or an LTE positioning protocol A (LPPa). The wireless access protocol may be a fifth generation (5G) protocol, a new radio (NR) protocol, or a long term evolution (LTE) protocol. The location-related measurements may include one or more of: received signal strength indication (RSSI), round-trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), angle of arrival (AOA), or angle of departure (AOD).

[0010] In some examples, the location assistance data may include assistance data for supporting one or more positioning processes, including: observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA), downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD), multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT), assisted global navigation satellite system (A-GNSS), real-time kinematic positioning (RTK), precise point positioning (PPP), or differential GNSS (DGNSS). The multiple downlink reference signals of the location assistance data may include all reference signals that the UE can use to perform location-related measurements. The downlink reference signals in the multiple downlink reference signals of the location assistance data may include various flags, such as a first flag indicating whether the reference signal is currently being transmitted by a base station, a second flag indicating whether the reference signal can be dynamically triggered, a third flag indicating whether the reference signal can be dynamically triggered by a first location-related protocol, or a fourth flag indicating whether the reference signal can be dynamically triggered by a wireless access protocol. Information about the multiple downlink reference signals of the location assistance data includes an identifier associated with the downlink reference signal in the multiple downlink reference signals, and a transmission configuration of the base station associated with the downlink reference signal.

[0011] Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to a method performed by a network server that manages location functions. The method includes: sending a configuration for location-related measurements to a base station according to a first location-related protocol (e.g., NRPPa or LPPa); and sending location assistance data to a UE. The location assistance data may be sent to the UE according to a second location-related protocol (e.g., LPP) between the network server and the UE, and may include information about multiple downlink reference signals that can be used by the UE to perform location-related measurements. The method may also include receiving location-related measurements from the UE according to the second location-related protocol. The location-related measurements are obtained based on a reference signal selected from a plurality of downlink reference signals of the location assistance data.

[0012] Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions. When executed by a processor of a UE, the instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium cause the UE to perform various operations. The operations include receiving location assistance data from a network server that manages location functions according to a first location-related protocol. The location assistance data may include information about multiple downlink reference signals that can be used by the UE to perform location-related measurements. The first location-related protocol is different from a second location-related protocol used by the network server to configure a base station. The operations also include sending a request for a reference signal. The reference signal is selected from multiple downlink reference signals of the location assistance data. In addition, the operations include: receiving a reference signal from a base station; performing location-related measurements based on the received reference signal; and reporting the location-related measurements to the network server according to the first location-related protocol.

[0013] The present invention is provided for the purpose of illustrating some aspects only, so as to provide an understanding of the subject matter described herein. Therefore, the above-mentioned features are only examples and should not be understood as narrowing the scope or essence of the subject matter in the present disclosure. Other features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present disclosure and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure and enable those skilled in the relevant art to make and use the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 1 A wireless communication system according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown, the wireless communication system including a user equipment (UE), a plurality of base stations coupled to a network server of a core network to provide on-demand reference signals for location-related measurements of the UE.

[0016] Figure 2 A block diagram of a UE for performing the functions described herein is shown according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 3 An exemplary sequence diagram illustrating operations performed by a UE, a base station, and a network server to provide an on-demand reference signal for location-related measurements of the UE in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0018] Figure 4 An example method performed by a UE to perform location-related measurements based on an on-demand reference signal in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0019] Figure 5 is an exemplary computer system for implementing some aspects or portions of the disclosure provided herein.

[0020] The present disclosure is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, generally, like reference numerals indicate identical or functionally similar elements. In addition, generally, the leftmost digit of a reference numeral identifies the drawing in which the reference numeral first appears. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The embodiments herein present an exemplary solution for providing on-demand reference signals for location-related measurements of user equipment (UE) in a wireless system (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) system, a new radio (NR) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a combination thereof, or some other wireless system). The location of the UE can be determined in various ways (e.g., a UE-assisted manner or a UE-based manner). In a UE-assisted location determination scheme, the UE may report location-related measurements to a network server that manages a location function (e.g., a location management function (LMF)), where the network server may calculate the UE location. On the other hand, in a UE-based location determination scheme, the UE may calculate the UE location based on location-related measurements performed by the UE without reporting such location-related measurements to a network server. The mechanisms described herein are applicable to both UE-assisted location determination and UE-based location determination of the UE. In some examples, operations may be described with respect to a UE-assisted location determination scheme. Those skilled in the art may easily adapt such operations to be applicable to a UE-based location determination scheme.

[0022] In a wireless system, a UE can perform location-related measurements based on a current reference signal received from a base station using the configuration and information provided in the location assistance data sent from a network server to the UE. Typically, a UE can use a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), which is always on and periodically transmitted from a base station. The network server does not need to start or stop the DL-PRS. Since the DL-PRS is always on, the UE only needs to receive location assistance data associated with the DL-PRS from the network server to perform location-related measurements, and report the UE's location-related measurements or calculated positions to the network server. The network server can request DL-PRS information from the base station to generate location assistance data and deliver it to the UE. However, the periodic DL-PRS that is always on can consume a lot of bandwidth resources and power of the UE and the base station.

[0023] According to the embodiments described herein, when location-related measurements are needed, the UE may request a reference signal from a base station (e.g., a next-generation Node B (gNB)) instead of using a periodic reference signal that is always on. Such reference signals may be referred to as on-demand reference signals or requested reference signals. When an on-demand reference signal is used for implementation, the base station or network server does not transmit a reference signal by default. Instead, the UE triggers the base station to transmit a reference signal when needed. For example, the UE may trigger the base station to transmit a reference signal after receiving a request to provide a location from a network server. Compared to periodic reference signals that are always on, on-demand reference signals can save network bandwidth, improve network efficiency, and also improve the accuracy of location-related measurements.

[0024] However, location-related measurements based on on-demand reference signals may have relatively long delays and low computational efficiency. Whenever a UE needs an on-demand reference signal to perform location-related measurements, a network server needs to configure the base station to send a reference signal to the UE, and further send location assistance data to the UE to be used by the UE to perform location-related measurements. Such a mechanism may result in repeated configuration of the base station and transmission of location assistance data, thereby resulting in a waste of system bandwidth and an increase in delay.

[0025] The embodiments of this document present an exemplary solution for providing an on-demand reference signal for location-related measurements of the UE to the UE. When location-related measurements are required based on the on-demand reference signal, the network server may configure a set of location assistance data for the base station and the UE instead of sending the location assistance data. Such location assistance data may include information about all possible reference signals to be used by the UE to perform location-related measurements. Therefore, such location assistance data only needs to be sent once, saved by the UE, and used by the UE later when location-related measurements need to be performed. When performing location-related measurements, the UE requests a reference signal from the base station and performs location-related measurements or calculations of the location based on the saved location assistance data. Therefore, the embodiments of this document present a solution that can reduce bandwidth and delay, which is used to provide an on-demand reference signal for location-related measurements of the UE to the UE. In some embodiments, the UE may turn off the on-demand capability and obtain the reference signal in other ways, for example, using a periodic reference signal that is always on or a randomly distributed reference signal.

[0026] Figure 1 A wireless communication system 100 according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown, which includes a UE 101, a plurality of base stations coupled to a network server of a core network 110 to provide on-demand reference signals for location-related measurements of the UE. Figure 2A block diagram of a UE (e.g., UE 101) for performing the functions described herein is shown. The wireless communication system 100 is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the disclosed aspects. The wireless communication system 100 may include, but is not limited to, UE 101, base station (BS) 103a, base station 103b, and network servers 105 and 107 as part of a core network 110. UE 101 communicates with base station 103a via a communication interface 111a, and communicates with base station 103b via a communication interface 111b. Base station 103a and base station 103b are part of a radio access network (RAN) 103. Communication interface 111a and communication interface 111b may be wireless communication interfaces defined by a radio access protocol (e.g., a 5G protocol, an NR protocol, or an LTE protocol, or other wireless protocols).

[0027] In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be an NR system, an LTE system, a 5G system, some other wireless system, or a combination thereof. Although many examples are described herein in the context of an NR system or an LTE system, the wireless communication system 100 is not limited to an NR system or an LTE system. Instead, the wireless communication system 100 may be any communication system that can provide on-demand reference signals for location-related measurements of UEs, or perform other functions described in the present disclosure. Other network entities (e.g., network controllers, relay stations) not shown may be present in the wireless communication system 100, but those skilled in the art will understand this. The wireless communication system 100 can support a wide range of use cases, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), and enhanced vehicle-to-everything communications (eV2X).

[0028] According to some aspects, UE 101 can be fixed or mobile. UE 101 can be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop, a desktop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, an ultrabook, a medical device or equipment, a biometric sensor or device, a wearable device (a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry such as a smart ring or a smart bracelet), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a vehicle component, a smart meter, an industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a machine type communication (MTC) device, an evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless medium. For example, MTC and eMTC devices may include robots, drones, location tags, etc.

[0029] According to some aspects, the base station 103a and the base station 103b of the RAN 103 may be fixed stations or mobile stations. The base station 103a and the base station 103b may also be referred to as other names, such as a base transceiver system (BTS), an access point (AP), a transmit / receive point (TRP), an evolved node B (eNB), a next generation node B or a new radio node B (gNB), a next generation evolved node B (ng-eNB), a 5G node B (NB) or other equivalent terms, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. In some examples, the base station 103a and the base station 103b may be interconnected to each other and / or to other base stations or network nodes in the network through various types of backhaul interfaces (such as direct physical connections, wireless connections, virtual networks, etc.). In some examples, the base station 103a or the base station 103b may be used as a positioning beacon only, which may transmit a signal (e.g., a positioning reference signal (PRS)), and / or may broadcast assistance data to assist the positioning of the UE 101, but may not be able to receive signals from the UE 101 or from other UEs. There may be other base stations within the RAN 103, which are not shown.

[0030] In some examples, base station 103a may include multiple antenna beams, such as beam 123 and beam 125, which may be formed by multiple antenna elements. In addition, according to configuration 106, a wide beam (e.g., beam 123) may be divided into multiple narrow beams, such as beam 122 and beam 124. The various beams may be configured according to configuration 106, which may be received from network server 107. The beams may have identifiers or be identified by numbers to distinguish them. For example, beam 123 and beam 125 may be identified as beam 1 and beam 2, while beam 122 and beam 124 may be identified as beam 1-1 and beam 1-2. The number of wide beams or narrow beams shown is only an example and is not limiting. According to the configuration used for base station 103b, base station 103b may have similar beams.

[0031] According to some aspects, base station 103a and base station 103b may be coupled to a network server 105 that manages the mobility of UE 101, which may be further coupled to a network server 107 that manages the location function of UE 101. Network server 105 and network server 107 are shown as two separate entities of core network 110. In some examples, network server 105 and network server 107 may be implemented as one server or one entity to perform the functions described herein. Network server 105 may be an access and mobility management function (AMF) that supports the mobility of UE 101, including cell changes and handovers. Network server 105 may also participate in supporting signaling connections or data and voice bearers for UE 101. Network server 107 may be a location management function (LMF), a location manager (LM), a location function (LF), a commercial LMF (CLMF), a value-added LMF (VLMF), or some other function.

[0032] According to some aspects, the network server 107 can receive location-related measurements and assistance information from the base station 103a, the base station 103b, and the UE 101 via the network server 105. The network server 107 can support positioning of the UE 101 when the UE 101 accesses the RAN 103. The network server 107 can support various positioning procedures or methods, such as Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), DL-TDOA (Downlink Time Difference of Arrival), DL-AoD (Downlink Angle of Departure), Multi-RTT (Multi-cell Round Trip Time), Real-Time Kinematic Positioning (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), or other positioning procedures.

[0033] According to some aspects, the network server 107 may deliver the location assistance data 102 to the UE 101 according to a first location-related protocol 108 between the UE 101 and the network server 107. Additionally, the network server 107 may configure the base station 103a by delivering the configuration 106 to the base station 103a using a second location-related protocol 109 between the network server 107 and the base station 103a. The first location-related protocol 108 may be different from the second location-related protocol 109. In some examples, the first location-related protocol 108 may include the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) or the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa), and the second location-related protocol 109 may include the New Radio Positioning Protocol (NRPP) or the New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa).

[0034] According to some aspects, UE 101 may receive location assistance data 102 from network server 107 according to a first location-related protocol 108. Location assistance data 102 may include assistance data to support one or more of the positioning processes including: OTDOA, DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, Multi-RTT, A-GNSS, RTK, PPP, DGNSS, AOA, AOD or other positioning processes. In some examples, location assistance data 102 may include information about multiple downlink reference signals from BS 103a and BS 103b that may be used by UE 101 to perform location-related measurements. In some examples, the reference signal in the multiple downlink reference signals of location assistance data 102 may be a positioning reference signal (PRS), NR PRS, or some other reference signal. In some examples, PRS may be designed to deliver high accuracy, coverage, and interference avoidance and suppression. For example, PRS may have a larger delay spread range because PRS may be received from neighboring base stations that may be farther away for location estimation. A larger delay spread range for PRS can be achieved by covering the entire NR bandwidth and transmitting PRS on multiple symbols that can be aggregated to cumulative power. The density of subcarriers occupied in a given PRS symbol can be referred to as the comb size. There can be several configurable comb-based PRS patterns for combs - 2, 4, 6, and 12, suitable for different scenarios serving different use cases. Each base station can transmit reference signals in a different set of subcarriers to avoid interference.

[0035] In some examples, the multiple downlink reference signals of the location assistance data 102 may include all reference signals that the UE can use to perform location-related measurements. Some reference signals are currently being transmitted by the base station, and some other reference signals may not be currently transmitted, but may be potentially enabled to be transmitted at a later time. Therefore, at any time or location, the multiple downlink reference signals of the location assistance data 102 include reference signals that can be used by the UE 101 to perform location-related measurements. The base station 103a or 103b does not generate reference signals that are not included in the multiple downlink reference signals of the location assistance data 102 for the UE 101 to perform location-related measurements. According to an embodiment, since the location assistance data 102 may include all required reference signals that the UE 101 can use to perform location-related measurements, the location assistance data 102 may be sent to the UE 101 once and stored in the UE 101 without being retransmitted again. Therefore, the efficiency of the location-related measurements performed by the UE 101 may be improved. Additionally or alternatively, updates may be optionally sent.

[0036] According to some aspects, the information about multiple downlink reference signals may include an identifier associated with a downlink reference signal in the multiple downlink reference signals, and a transmission configuration of a base station associated with the downlink reference signal. For example, Table 1 below shows information about multiple downlink reference signals of the position assistance data 102. As shown, reference signal 1 may have identifier 1 and may be transmitted by base station 1 (e.g., base station 103a) using beam 123; while reference signal 3 may have identifier 3 and may be transmitted by base station 1 antenna 1-1 (e.g., base station 103a) using beam 122.

[0037] Table 1

[0038]

[0039]

[0040] In addition, the reference signals in the multiple downlink reference signals may include various tags to show the operating characteristics of the reference signals. In some examples, reference signal 1 includes tag 1 to indicate whether reference signal 1 is currently being transmitted by base station 1. Reference signal 2 includes tag 2 to indicate whether reference signal 2 can be dynamically triggered. Triggering the reference signal may include starting and stopping the transmission of the reference signal. Reference signals may be further classified according to how they can be dynamically triggered. Reference signal 3 includes tag 3 to indicate whether reference signal 3 can be dynamically triggered by a first location-related protocol. Reference signal 4 includes tag 4 to indicate whether reference signal 4 can be dynamically triggered by a wireless access protocol. If the reference signal can be triggered by a wireless access protocol, additional indicators or tags may be defined to distinguish whether the reference signal can be triggered by layer 1 (L1) signaling or upper layer signaling (e.g., by radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling). Various tags (e.g., tag 1, tag 2, tag 3, and tag 4) are shown as examples. Various embodiments may include subsets of tags. Additional labels or indicators may also be defined, not shown.

[0041] According to some aspects, UE 101 may send a request 112 for a reference signal to base station 103a, wherein the reference signal is selected from a plurality of downlink reference signals of position assistance data 102. Request 112 may be sent using a transceiver of UE 101 according to a wireless access protocol. The wireless access protocol may be a fifth generation (5G) protocol, a new radio (NR) protocol, or a long term evolution (LTE) protocol. UE 101 may send request 112 to base station 103a via RRC signaling, MAC-CE signaling, or L1 signaling.

[0042] According to some aspects, UE 101 may receive a requested reference signal, such as reference signal 113, from base station 103a. Base station 103a may be configured to send reference signal 113 according to configuration 106. Using received reference signal 113, UE 101 may perform location-related measurements 104. In some examples, location-related measurements 104 may include one or more of: received signal strength indication (RSSI), round trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), AOA, AOD, or other location-related measurements.

[0043] According to some aspects, UE 101 can report location-related measurements 104 to network server 107 according to first location-related protocol 108. Network server 107 can determine the location of UE 101 based on location-related measurements 104. Additionally and alternatively, UE 101 can determine the location of UE 101 based on location-related measurements 104.

[0044] According to some aspects, additionally and alternatively, UE 101 may perform further operations. In some examples, UE 101 may select one or more reference signals from a plurality of downlink reference signals associated with position assistance data 102, and request the selected one or more reference signals from base station 103a. For example, UE 101 may request reference signal 3 or reference signal 4 from a set of reference signals shown in Table 1, because reference signal 3 and reference signal 4 are narrow beams, which may provide higher accuracy of position-related measurements. UE 101 may send a selection indication of one or more reference signals directly to base station 103a according to a wireless protocol between base station 103a and UE 101. Additionally and alternatively, UE 101 may send an indication of the selected one or more reference signals to network server 107. After receiving such an indication, network server 107 may instruct base station 103 to send a reference signal from the selected one or more reference signals to UE 101, and UE 101 may receive a reference signal from the base station, wherein the received reference signal is in the selected one or more reference signals.

[0045] According to some aspects, it can be based on Figure 2UE 101 is implemented according to the block diagram shown. UE 101 may have an antenna panel 217, which includes one or more antenna elements to form various antenna beams, such as beam 119, which are coupled to transceiver 203 and controlled by processor 209. In detail, transceiver 203 may include radio frequency (RF) circuit 216, transmission circuit 212, and reception circuit 214. RF circuit 216 may include multiple parallel RF chains, which are used to perform one or more of the transmission or reception functions, each RF chain is connected to one or more antenna elements in the antenna panel. In addition, processor 209 may be communicatively coupled to memory device 201, which is further coupled to transceiver 203. Various data may be stored in memory device 201. In some examples, memory device 201 may store the above-mentioned location assistance data 102 and location-related measurements 104. Memory device 201 may include instructions that, when executed by processor 209, perform the location-related functions described herein. Alternatively, processor 209 may be "hard coded" to perform the location-related functions described herein.

[0046] Figure 3 An exemplary sequence diagram 300 is shown that illustrates operations performed by UE 101, base station 103a, and network server 107 to provide on-demand reference signals for location-related measurements of UE 101, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The operations performed by UE 101 may be performed or controlled by processor 209 in coordination with other components of UE 101. Processor 209 may be "hard-coded" to perform the operations described below for UE 101, or processor 209 may execute instructions stored in memory 201 to perform the operations described below for UE 101.

[0047] At 301, the network server 107 may send a configuration for location-related measurements to the base station 103a according to a location-related protocol. The configuration may include a beam configuration for the base station 103a and may be shared by the base station and neighboring base stations. For example, the network server 107 may send a configuration 106 for location-related measurements to the base station 103a according to a second location-related protocol 109. In some examples, after receiving the configuration 106, the base station 103a may configure the beam 123 and the beam 125 based on some preconfigurations (i.e., predefined configurations) for reference signals (e.g., Table 1). In some embodiments, the configuration 106 may be the same configuration shared by multiple base stations (e.g., shared by the base station 103a and the base station 103b). In some examples, different configurations 106 may be sent to different base stations. In some examples, the configuration 106 may be customized for the UE 101 so that different UEs 101 may have different configurations 106. In some examples, base station 103a may configure only a portion of the beams, such as beam 123 and beam 125, for transmission to UE 101.

[0048] At 302, network server 107 may send a request to UE 101 for location-related measurements to be performed by UE 101 according to a location-related protocol. For example, network server 107 may send a request to UE 101 for location-related measurements to be performed and provided by UE 101 according to LPP.

[0049] At 303, the network server 107 may send location assistance data to the UE 101 according to a location-related protocol. The location assistance data includes information about a plurality of downlink reference signals that may be used by the UE to perform location-related measurements and provided by the base station 103a. For example, the network server 107 may send the location assistance data 102 to the UE 101 according to the LPP. The location assistance data 102 may include information about a plurality of downlink reference signals, such as the information shown in Table 1.

[0050] At 304, UE 101 may select one or more reference signals from a plurality of downlink reference signals for position assistance data. For example, UE 101 may decide to select a reference signal with a narrow beam configuration to obtain higher accuracy, such as reference signal 3 or reference signal 4 having a transmission configuration using beam 1-1 or beam 1-2 (these beams are narrow beam 122 or narrow beam 124).

[0051] At 305, UE 101 may send a request for the selected one or more reference signals to the base station. For example, UE 101 may send a request for reference signal 3 or reference signal 4 according to the wireless protocol of interface 111a, the reference signal 3 or reference signal 4 having a transmission configuration using beam 1-1 or beam 1-2 (these beams are narrow beam 122 or narrow beam 124). In some examples, UE 101 may simply send a request for a reference signal to base station 103a without specifying which reference signal to send. Base station 103a may select a reference signal and send the selected reference signal to UE 101. The wireless protocol may be one of a 5G protocol, an NR protocol, or an LTE protocol.

[0052] At 306, as an alternative, UE 101 may send an indication of the selected one or more reference signals to network server 107. For example, UE 101 may send an indication to network server 107 to request reference signal 3 or reference signal 4 having a transmission configuration using beam 1-1 or beam 1-2 (these beams are narrow beam 122 or narrow beam 124).

[0053] At 307, the network server 107 may send a request or instruction to the base station 103a for the selected reference signal to be sent to the UE 101. For example, the network server 107 may indicate to the base station 103a reference signal 3 or reference signal 4 having a transmission configuration using beam 1-1 or beam 1-2 (these beams are narrow beam 122 or narrow beam 124). In doing so, the base station 103a may turn off wide beam 123 and wide beam 125.

[0054] At 308, UE 101 may receive the requested reference signal from base station 103a. For example, UE 101 may receive reference signal 3 having a transmission configuration using beam 1-1, which is narrow beam 122.

[0055] At 309, UE 101 may perform location-related measurements based on the received reference signal. For example, UE 101 may measure the received reference signal to make location-related measurements 104, such as RSRP.

[0056] At 310, UE 101 may report location-related measurements 104 to network server 107 according to a first location-related protocol.

[0057] Figure 4An exemplary method 400 performed by a UE to perform location-related measurements based on an on-demand reference signal according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The method 400 may be performed by the processor 209 of the UE 101 alone or by executing instructions stored in the memory 201 .

[0058] At 402, UE 101 may receive location assistance data from a network server that manages location functions, wherein the location assistance data includes information about a plurality of downlink reference signals that may be used by the UE to perform location-related measurements. For example, UE 101 may receive location assistance data 102 from network server 107. In an embodiment, location assistance data 102 is sent from network server 107 and passes through a base station (e.g., base station 103a) to UE 101. As will be understood based on the discussion herein, any communication between network server 107 and UE 101 may be transmitted through a base station serving the UE. When a base station performs routine functions in a communication between network server 107 and UE 101, the functions performed by the base station may not be explicitly stated.

[0059] At 404, UE 101 may send a request for a reference signal to a base station, wherein the reference signal is selected from a plurality of downlink reference signals of the location assistance data. For example, UE 101 may send a request 112 for a reference signal to base station 103a, wherein the reference signal is selected from a plurality of downlink reference signals of the location assistance data 102.

[0060] UE 101 may receive the requested reference signal from the base station at 406. For example, UE 101 may receive the requested reference signal, such as reference signal 113, from base station 103a.

[0061] At 408, UE 101 may perform location-related measurements based on the received reference signal. For example, UE 101 may perform location-related measurements 104 based on received reference signal 113. In some examples, location-related measurements 104 may include one or more of RSSI, RTT, RSTD, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, or other location-related measurements.

[0062] For example, one or more computer systems (such as Figure 5 The various aspects can be implemented using a computer system 500 as shown. The computer system 500 can be any computer capable of performing the operations described herein, such as Figure 1 to Figure 2 The UE 101, the base station 103a or the base station 103b, and Figure 3 to Figure 4The computer system 500 includes one or more processors (also referred to as central processing units or CPUs), such as processor 504. Processor 504 is connected to a communication infrastructure 506 (e.g., a bus). Computer system 500 also includes user input / output devices 503, such as a monitor, keyboard, pointing device, etc., that communicate with communication infrastructure 506 through user input / output interface 502. Computer system 500 also includes main memory or primary storage 508, such as random access memory (RAM). Main memory 508 may include one or more levels of cache. Main memory 508 has control logic components (e.g., computer software) and / or data stored therein.

[0063] The computer system 500 may also include one or more secondary storage devices or memories 510. The secondary storage 510 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 512 and / or a removable storage device or drive 514. The removable storage drive 514 may be a floppy disk drive, a tape drive, an optical drive, an optical storage device, a tape backup device, and / or any other storage device / drive.

[0064] The removable storage drive 514 may interact with a removable storage unit 518. The removable storage unit 518 includes a computer usable or readable storage device having computer software (control logic) and / or data stored thereon. The removable storage unit 518 may be a floppy disk, a magnetic tape, a compact disk, a DVD, an optical storage disk, and / or any other computer data storage device. The removable storage drive 514 reads from and / or writes to the removable storage unit 518 in a well-known manner.

[0065] According to some aspects, secondary memory 510 may include other devices, tools, or other methods for allowing computer programs and / or other instructions and / or data to be accessed by computer system 500. Such devices, tools, or other methods may include, for example, a removable storage unit 522 and an interface 520. Examples of removable storage unit 522 and interface 520 may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM or PROM) and an associated socket, a memory stick and USB port, a memory card and an associated memory card slot, and / or any other removable storage unit and associated interface.

[0066] In some examples, the main memory 508, the removable storage unit 518, and the removable storage unit 522 may store instructions that, when executed by the processor 504, cause the processor 504 to perform operations for a UE or a base station (e.g., Figure 1 to Figure 2 The operation of the UE 101, base station 103a or base station 103b shown, and Figure 3 to Figure 4 The operations described in .

[0067] The computer system 500 may also include a communication or network interface 524. The communication interface 524 enables the computer system 500 to communicate and interact with any combination of remote devices, remote networks, remote entities, etc. (individually and collectively referenced by reference numeral 528). For example, the communication interface 524 may allow the computer system 500 to communicate with the remote device 528 via a communication path 526, which may be wired and / or wireless and may include any combination of a LAN, a WAN, the Internet, etc. Control logic components and / or data may be transmitted to and from the computer system 500 via the communication path 526. The operation of the communication interface 524 may be performed by a wireless controller and / or a cellular controller. The cellular controller may be a separate controller to manage communications according to different wireless communication technologies. The operations in the foregoing aspects may be implemented in various configurations and architectures. Thus, some or all of the operations in the foregoing aspects may be performed in hardware, software, or in both hardware and software. In some aspects, a tangible, non-transitory apparatus or article of manufacture includes a tangible, non-transitory computer usable or readable medium having stored thereon control logic components (software), also referred to herein as computer program products or program storage devices. This includes, but is not limited to, computer system 500, main memory 508, auxiliary memory 510, and removable storage units 518 and 522, and tangible articles of manufacture embodying any combination of the foregoing. Such control logic components, when executed by one or more data processing devices (such as computer system 500), cause such data processing devices to operate as described herein.

[0068] Based on the teachings contained in this disclosure, it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art how to use the Figure 5 The various aspects of the present disclosure may be made and used with data processing devices, computer systems, and / or computer architectures other than those shown. In particular, the various aspects may operate with software, hardware, and / or operating system implementations other than those described herein.

[0069] It should be understood that the Detailed Description section, rather than the Summary and Abstract sections, is intended to be used to interpret the claims. The Summary and Abstract sections may set forth one or more but not all exemplary aspects of the present disclosure as contemplated by the inventors, and thus are not intended to limit the present disclosure or the appended claims in any way.

[0070] Although the present disclosure has been described herein with reference to exemplary aspects of exemplary fields and applications, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Other aspects and modifications are possible and are within the scope and essence of the present disclosure. For example, and without limiting the generality of this paragraph, the various aspects are not limited to the software, hardware, firmware and / or entities shown in the figures and / or described herein. In addition, the various aspects (whether or not explicitly described herein) have significant practicality for fields and applications outside the examples described herein.

[0071] Various aspects have been described herein with the aid of functional building blocks that illustrate the implementation of specific functions and their relationships. For ease of description, the boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein. Alternative boundaries may be defined as long as the specified functions and relationships (or their equivalents) are properly performed. In addition, alternative aspects may perform functional blocks, steps, operations, methods, etc., in an order different from that described herein.

[0072] References herein to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an exemplary embodiment," or similar phrases indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the relevant art to incorporate such feature, structure, or characteristic into other aspects, whether or not explicitly mentioned or described herein.

[0073] The breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary aspects, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

[0074] For one or more embodiments or examples, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods described in the Examples section below. For example, circuitry associated with a screw-on device, router, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described in the Examples section below.

[0075] As described above, various aspects of the present technology may include collecting and using data available from various sources, thereby (for example) improving or enhancing functionality. The present disclosure contemplates that, in some instances, these collected data may include personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data may include demographic data, location-based data, phone numbers, email addresses, Twitter IDs, home addresses, data or records related to the user's health or fitness level (e.g., vital sign measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or any other identifying information or personal information. The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information data in the present technology can be used to benefit users.

[0076] The present disclosure envisions that entities responsible for collecting, analyzing, disclosing, transmitting, storing or otherwise using such personal information data will comply with established privacy policies and / or privacy practices. Specifically, such entities should implement and adhere to privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining the privacy and security of personal information data. Such policies should be easily accessible to users and should be updated as the collection and / or use of data changes. Personal information from users should be collected for the legitimate and reasonable purposes of the entity and not shared or sold outside of these legitimate uses. In addition, such collection / sharing should only be done after receiving the user's informed consent. In addition, such entities should consider taking any necessary steps to defend and safeguard access to such personal information data and ensure that others who have access to personal information data comply with their privacy policies and processes. In addition, such entities may subject themselves to third-party assessments to demonstrate their compliance with widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adjusted to specific types of personal information data collected and / or accessed, and to applicable laws and standards that include specific considerations of jurisdiction. For example, in the United States, the collection or access of certain health data may be governed by federal and / or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), while health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Therefore, different privacy practices should be maintained in each country for different types of personal data.

[0077] Regardless of the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates implementation schemes in which users selectively block the use or access of personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates providing hardware elements and / or software elements to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, the present technology may be configured to allow users to selectively participate in "opt-in" or "opt-out" of collecting personal information data at any time during (for example) registration for a service or thereafter. In addition to providing "opt-in" and "opt-out" options, the present disclosure contemplates providing notifications related to access or use of personal information. For example, a user may be notified that their personal information data will be accessed when downloading an application, and then reminded again just before the personal information data is accessed by the application.

[0078] In addition, it is an object of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risks can be minimized by limiting data collection and deleting data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including in certain health-related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect the privacy of users. De-identification can be facilitated by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of stored data (e.g., collecting location data at the city level rather than at the address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data between users), and / or other methods when appropriate.

[0079] Thus, while the present disclosure may broadly cover the use of personal information data to implement one or more of the various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that various embodiments may also be implemented without access to such personal information data. That is, various embodiments of the present technology will not fail to function properly due to the lack of all or part of such personal information data.

Claims

1. A user equipment UE, comprising: a transceiver configured to enable wireless communication with a base station; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to: receiving location assistance data from a network server managing a location function according to a first location-related protocol, wherein the location assistance data comprises information about a plurality of downlink reference signals that can be used by the UE to perform location-related measurements; sending, using the transceiver, a request for a reference signal from the base station, wherein the reference signal is selected from the plurality of downlink reference signals in the position assistance data; receiving a requested reference signal from the base station; as well as performing position-dependent measurements based on the received reference signal, The first location-related protocol is different from a second location-related protocol used by the network server to configure the base station.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein in order to send the request for the reference signal, the processor is configured to: The request for the reference signal is sent to the network server according to the first location-related protocol or to the base station according to a wireless access protocol.

3. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: A request is received from the network server according to the first location-related protocol for the location-related measurements to be provided by the UE.

4. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: The location-related measurements are reported to the network server according to the first location-related protocol.

5. The UE of claim 1 , wherein to send the request for the reference signal, the processor is configured to: selecting one or more reference signals from the plurality of downlink reference signals based on the information in the position assistance data; and The selected one or more reference signals are requested from the base station.

6. The UE of claim 1, wherein the reference signal is a first reference signal, and the processor is further configured to send a second request to the base station not to send a second reference signal from the base station for the location-related measurement, wherein the second reference signal is selected from the multiple downlink reference signals of the location assistance data.

7. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: selecting one or more reference signals from the plurality of downlink reference signals based on the information in the position assistance data; sending an indication of the selected one or more reference signals to the network server; and The reference signal is received from the base station, wherein the received reference signal is among the selected one or more reference signals.

8. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the reference signal comprises a positioning reference signal PRS, The first location-related protocol between the UE and the network server is a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP), and The second location-related protocol between the network server and the base station is the New Radio Positioning Protocol ANRPPa or the LTE Positioning Protocol A LPPa.

9. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the location-related measurements include one or more of the following: received signal strength indication RSSI, round-trip signal propagation time RTT, reference signal time difference RSTD, reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, arrival angle AOA or departure angle AOD.

10. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the location assistance data comprises assistance data for supporting one or more positioning processes, the positioning process comprising: Observed time difference of arrival OTDOA, downlink time difference of arrival DL-TDOA, downlink angle of departure DL-AoD, multi-cell round-trip time multi-RTT, assisted global navigation satellite system A-GNSS, real-time kinematic positioning RTK, precise point positioning PPP or differential GNSSDGNSS.

11. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the information about the plurality of downlink reference signals comprises: A first flag indicating whether a reference signal among the multiple downlink reference signals is currently being transmitted by the base station, a second flag indicating whether the reference signal can be dynamically triggered, a third flag indicating whether the reference signal can be dynamically triggered by the first location-related protocol, or a fourth flag indicating whether the reference signal can be dynamically triggered by a wireless access protocol.

12. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the information about the multiple downlink reference signals of the position assistance data includes an identifier associated with a downlink reference signal in the multiple downlink reference signals, and a transmission configuration of the base station associated with the downlink reference signal.

13. A method of operating a network server to manage location functions, comprising: sending a configuration for location-related measurements to a base station according to a first location-related protocol; sending location assistance data to a user equipment UE according to a second location-related protocol, wherein the location assistance data comprises information about a plurality of downlink reference signals that can be used by the UE to perform location-related measurements; receiving, from the UE, an indication of one or more reference signals selected from the plurality of downlink reference signals of the position assistance data; transmitting to the base station a received indication of the one or more reference signals; as well as Location-related measurements are received from the UE according to the second location-related protocol, wherein the location-related measurements are based on a reference signal selected from the one or more reference signals and the reference signal is sent by the base station to the UE.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: A request for the location-related measurements to be provided by the UE is sent to the UE according to the second location-related protocol.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the location-related measurements include one or more of: received signal strength indication RSSI, round trip signal propagation time RTT, reference signal time difference RSTD, reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, angle of arrival AOA, or angle of departure AOD.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein the reference signal comprises a positioning reference signal (PRS), The first location-related protocol between the network server and the base station is the New Radio Positioning Protocol ANRPPa or the LTE Positioning Protocol ALPPa, and The second location-related protocol between the UE and the network server is the LTE Positioning Protocol LPP.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the configuration for location-related measurements sent to the base station to configure the base station comprises a beam configuration for the base station and is shared by the base station and neighboring base stations.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, which, when executed by a processor of a user equipment (UE), causes the UE to perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving location assistance data from a network server managing a location function according to a first location-related protocol, wherein the location assistance data comprises information about a plurality of downlink reference signals that can be used by the UE to perform location-related measurements; sending a request for a reference signal from a base station, wherein the reference signal is selected from the plurality of downlink reference signals in the position assistance data; receiving a requested reference signal from the base station; performing position-dependent measurements based on the received reference signal; as well as reporting the location-related measurements to the network server according to the first location-related protocol, The first location-related protocol is different from a second location-related protocol used by the network server to configure the base station.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the request for the reference signal is sent in accordance with a radio access protocol selected from a fifth generation (5G) protocol, a new radio (NR) protocol, or a long term evolution (LTE) protocol; The location-related measurements include one or more of the following: received signal strength indication RSSI, round-trip signal propagation time RTT, reference signal time difference RSTD, reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, angle of arrival AOA or angle of departure AOD, wherein the first location-related protocol between the UE and the network server is LTE Positioning Protocol LPP or LTE Positioning Protocol A LPPa, and The second location-related protocol between the network server and the base station is New Radio Positioning Protocol NRPP; or New Radio Positioning Protocol A NRPPa.

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