Time-Sensitive Networking for Localization

Abstract

A wireless network including a user equipment (UE) and a base station is configured to perform positioning determination with low latency and high availability within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework. For example, the UE can be integrated as a sensor in a motion control system or a similar application. The UE and the base station are synchronized with a TSN clock and are configured to perform positioning measurements at specific time points within the TSN framework. For example, the time point can be a global sampling point at which all sensor nodes in the TSN framework perform positioning measurements. A location server can be provided with positioning measurements or positioning estimates from the UE and provide the positioning estimate to an external client, such as a motion controller in a motion control system.

Description

[0001] Priority Claimed Under 35 U.S.C. § 119

[0002] This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 011,863, filed Apr. 17, 2020, and entitled “TIME SENSITIVE NETWORKING FOR POSITIONING,” and U.S. Non - Provisional Application No. 17 / 221,619, filed Apr. 2, 2021, and entitled “TIME SENSITIVE NETWORKING FOR POSITIONING,” both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present application and are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0003] 1. Field of the Disclosure

[0004] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and the like.

[0005] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0006] Wireless communication systems have evolved through many generations, including first - generation analog wireless telephone services (1G), second - generation (2G) digital wireless telephone services (including intermediate 2.5G networks), third - generation (3G) wireless services with high - speed data Internet capabilities, and fourth - generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), GSM variants of TDMA, etc.

[0007] The fifth - generation (5G) mobile standard requires higher data transmission speeds, more connection numbers, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the 5G standard of the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (also known as “New Radio” or “NR”), it is designed to provide a data rate of tens of megabits per second to each of thousands of users and a data rate of 1 gigabit per second to dozens of employees on an office floor. To support large - scale sensor deployments, thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, compared with the current 4G / LTE standard, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communication should be significantly improved. In addition, compared with the current standard, the signaling efficiency should be improved and the latency should be greatly reduced.

[0008] Certain positioning use cases require very high precision and low latency when providing the location of a mobile device to an external client. Examples include: smart (automated) factories and warehouses where the location of tools, items being manufactured, and packages may need to be known with a precision of 10 centimeters (cm) or less and a latency of no more than 1 second; drones that may need to know their location to within 1 meter in one second; public safety first responders at hazardous locations (e.g., inside a burning or partially collapsed building); and user cases associated with moving vehicles and pedestrians (known as V2X). Other user cases associated with very high location precision may also have very low latency requirements due to the rapid deterioration of the location precision of a moving object. For example, even at a speed of 4 miles per hour (normal walking speed), an object may move 1.79 meters in 1 second, so the benefit of 1-meter location precision is negated after less than 1 second. Current wireless positioning solutions cannot achieve the precision and latency requirements for positioning information in use cases such as industrial control loops. Summary of the Invention

[0009] A wireless network including a user equipment (UE) and a base station is configured to perform positioning determination with low latency and high availability within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework. For example, the UE may be integrated as a sensor in a motion control system or a similar application. The UE and the base station are synchronized with a TSN clock and are configured to perform positioning measurements at specific time points within the TSN framework. For example, the time point may be a global sampling point at which all sensor nodes in the TSN framework perform positioning measurements. A location server may be provided with positioning measurements or positioning estimates from the UE and provide the positioning estimate to an external client, such as a motion controller in a motion control system.

[0010] In one implementation, a method for positioning a user equipment (UE) within a wireless network, performed by an entity in the wireless network, includes: receiving a location request message that includes a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework for performing a positioning measurement for the UE; receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network; performing a positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurement; and sending a location information report related to the positioning measurement to a location server.

[0011] In one implementation, an entity in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, includes: an external interface configured to wirelessly communicate with network entities in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive a location request message via the external interface, the location request message including a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework for performing positioning measurements for the UE; receive positioning reference signals (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network via the external interface; perform positioning measurements using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing positioning measurements; and send a location information report related to the positioning measurements to a location server via the external interface.

[0012] In one implementation, an entity in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, includes: means for receiving a location request message, the location request message including a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework for performing positioning measurements for the UE; means for receiving positioning reference signals (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network; means for performing positioning measurements using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing positioning measurements; and means for sending a location information report related to the positioning measurements to a location server.

[0013] In one implementation, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor of an entity in a wireless network to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) in the wireless network, includes: program code including instructions for receiving a location request message, the location request message including a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework for performing positioning measurements of the UE; program code for receiving positioning reference signals (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network; program code for performing positioning measurements using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing positioning measurements; and program code for sending a location information report related to the positioning measurements to a location server.

[0014] In one implementation, a method for positioning a user equipment (UE) within a wireless network, performed by an entity in the wireless network, includes: receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message including a first time point for transmitting the PRS within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework; and transmitting the PRS at the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in a location request message.

[0015] In one implementation, an entity in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, the entity includes an external interface, configured to wirelessly communicate with a network entity in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor, coupled to the external interface, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, via the external interface, a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message including a first time point for transmitting the PRS within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework; and transmit, via the external interface, the PRS at the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0016] In one implementation, an entity in a wireless network, implemented to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, the entity includes: means for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message including a first time point for transmitting the PRS within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework; and means for transmitting the PRS at the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0017] In one implementation, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in an entity in a wireless network to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes: program code including instructions for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message including a first time point for transmitting the PRS within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework; and program code for transmitting the PRS at the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0018] In one implementation, a method for positioning a user equipment (UE) within a wireless network by a location server in the wireless network includes: receiving, from a first entity, a first location request message that requests the location of the UE at a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework; sending, to one or more entities in the wireless network, a second location request message that requests positioning measurements for the UE to be performed at the first time point received in the first location request message; receiving, from the one or more entities, a location information report based on the positioning measurements for the UE performed at the first time point; determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the location information report; and sending the positioning estimate for the UE to the first entity.

[0019] In one implementation, a location server in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, includes: an external interface configured to wirelessly communicate with network entities in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, via the external interface, from a first entity, a first location request message that requests the location of the UE at a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework; send, via the external interface, to one or more entities in the wireless network, a second location request message that requests positioning measurements for the UE to be performed at the first time point received in the first location request message; receive, via the external interface, from the one or more entities, a location information report based on the positioning measurements for the UE performed at the first time point; determine a positioning estimate for the UE based on the location information report; and send, via the external interface, the positioning estimate for the UE to the first entity.

[0020] In one implementation, a location server in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, the location server includes: means for receiving, from a first entity, a first location request message that requests the location of the UE at a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework; means for sending, to one or more entities in the wireless network, a second location request message that requests positioning measurements for the UE to be performed at the first time point received in the first location request message; means for receiving, from the one or more entities, a location information report based on the positioning measurements for the UE performed at the first time point; means for determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the location information report; and means for sending the positioning estimate for the UE to the first entity.

[0021] In one implementation, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a location server in a wireless network to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including: program code including instructions for receiving a first location request message from a first entity, the first location request message requesting the location of the UE at a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework; program code for sending a second location request message to one or more entities in the wireless network, the second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE to be performed at the first time point to be received in the first location request message; program code for receiving a location information report from one or more entities based on the positioning measurements for the UE performed at the first time point; program code for determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the location information report; and program code for sending the positioning estimate for the UE to the first entity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The drawings are presented to assist in describing various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided only to illustrate the aspects and not to limit them.

[0023] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0024] Figure 2A and 2B An example wireless network structure in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0025] Figure 3 A block diagram of the design of a base station and a user equipment (UE) is illustrated, and the base station and the user equipment (UE) can be Figure 1 one of the base stations and one of the UEs in

[0026] Figure 4 A structural diagram of an example subframe sequence having positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning opportunities is shown.

[0027] Figure 5 An exemplary wireless communication system implementing positioning using time difference of arrival (TDOA) technology is illustrated.

[0028] Figure 6 An exemplary wireless communication system implementing positioning using round-trip time (RTT) (multi-RTT) technology in the case of multiple base stations is illustrated.

[0029] Figure 7 A motion control system in a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework including a UE that can include a positioning sensor is illustrated.

[0030] Figure 8 Illustrates 5G and TSN clock distribution models for clock synchronization.

[0031] Figure 9 Illustrates a timeline for alignment of a controller, UE, base station, location server, and TSN time.

[0032] Figure 10 Is a message flow of a wireless network for performing positioning within the TSN framework.

[0033] Figure 11 Is a flowchart of an exemplary method for performing UE positioning within the TSN framework by an entity in a wireless network.

[0034] Figure 12 Is a flowchart of an exemplary method for performing UE positioning within the TSN framework by an entity in a wireless network.

[0035] Figure 13 Is a flowchart of an exemplary method for performing UE positioning within the TSN framework by a location server in a wireless network.

[0036] Figure 14 Shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a UE capable of performing positioning within the TSN framework.

[0037] Figure 15 Shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a base station in a wireless network capable of performing positioning within the TSN framework.

[0038] Figure 16 Shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a location server in a wireless network capable of performing positioning within the TSN framework. Detailed Description

[0039] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description of various examples provided for illustrative purposes and the associated drawings. Alternative aspects can be contemplated without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure more relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0040] As used herein, the words "exemplary" and / or "example" mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Similarly, the term "aspect of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed features, advantages, or modes of operation.

[0041] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different technologies and processes may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips (chips) that may be referred to throughout the following specification may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, partly depending on the particular application, partly depending on the desired design, partly depending on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0042] In addition, many aspects are described in accordance with action sequences to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It should be recognized that the various actions described in this application may be performed by a specific circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executable by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the action sequences described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, can cause or direct the associated processor of the device to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each aspect described herein, a corresponding form of any such aspect may be described in this application as, for example, "logic" configured to perform the described actions.

[0043] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, tracking device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.), sensors, instruments, and other devices that are networked together in industrial applications (Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)). The UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used in this application, the term "UE" can be interchangeably referred to as "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber equipment", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or "UT", "mobile terminal", "mobile station", or variants thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other connection mechanisms to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), and so on.

[0044] The base station can operate according to one of several RATs for communicating with the UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and can alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. Additionally, in some systems, the base station can provide a pure edge node signaling function, while in other systems, the base station can provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which the UE sends signals to the base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link by which the base station sends signals to the UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to the UL / reverse or DL / forward traffic channel.

[0045] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmission point or can be multiple physical transmission points that may or may not be co-located. For example, in the case where the term "base station" refers to a single physical transmission point, the physical transmission point can be the antenna of the base station corresponding to the cell of the base station. In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical transmission points, the physical transmission points can be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., an antenna array such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or in the case where the base station employs beamforming). In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, the physical transmission points can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical transmission points can be the serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and an adjacent base station whose reference RF signal the UE is measuring.

[0046] Wireless positioning has been proposed for use cases that require high precision and low latency. For example, one proposed implementation is a wireless positioning service for industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), where the UE can be or can be attached to or embedded in some tool, object, part, or component used in a smart (automated) factory, or can be attached to or embedded in a package, object, or component in a smart (automated) warehouse or supply station. Such a UE may need to be positioned with high precision to allow for the fast, efficient, and smooth operation of the smart factory, warehouse, or supply station. Industrial control loops that can be implemented in the "factory of the future" will rely on accurate positioning information. As indicated in Table 1, several "service levels" with different requirements in terms of precision and latency have been specified (by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)).

[0047]

[0048]

[0049]

[0050] Table 1

[0051] Although these requirements for various service levels shown in Table 1 have been proposed, it is not currently understood how to implement these requirements, for example, and how to integrate them into traditional industrial control loops.

[0052] Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is a set of standards being developed within the IEEE 802.1 working group of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association. The goal of TSN is very low latency and high availability for real-time control flows in industrial facilities. There are three basic components in the TSN specification. One component is time synchronization, for example, requiring every node within the communication network to have a common understanding of time. Another component is scheduling and traffic shaping, for example, requiring all nodes to process and forward communication packets by following the same rules. Another component is communication path selection, where path reservation and fault tolerance are specified by shared rules. TSN was originally developed for Ethernet but has been proposed to be extended to operate with wireless networks such as fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks to leverage the full potential of the combination of industrial control and mobile sensors / actuators. However, existing wireless network solutions do not seem to be able to implement the time synchronization component required by TSN.

[0053] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example wireless network 100 is shown. The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes a base station 102, a UE 104, and one or more core networks, which are shown as an evolved packet core (EPC) 160 and a fifth-generation core (5GC) 190. Although two core networks are shown, the wireless communication system can use only one core network, such as 5GC 190. The base station 102 can include a macro cell (high-power cellular base station) or a small cell (low-power cellular base station). The macro cell includes the base station. The small cell includes a femto cell, a pico cell, and a micro cell.

[0054] The base station 102 configured for 4G LTE, known as eNodeB (eNB) (collectively the evolved universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN)), can interface with the EPC 160 via a backhaul link 132 such as the S1 interface. The base station 102 configured for 5G NR, known as gNodeB (gNB) (collectively the next-generation RAN (NG-RAN)), can interface with the 5GC 190 via a backhaul link 184. In addition to other functions, the base station 102 can perform one or more of the following functions: transmission of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions such as handover, dual connectivity, inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), user and device tracking, radio access network information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (such as via the EPC 160 or 5GC 190) via a backhaul link 134 such as the X2 interface. The backhaul link 134 can be wired or wireless.

[0055] The base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with the UE 104. Each base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographical coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographical coverage areas 110. For example, the small cell 102’ can have a coverage area 110’ that overlaps with the coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on certain frequency resources known as carrier frequencies, component carriers, carriers, frequency bands, etc.), and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others), and different protocol types can provide access for different types of UEs. In some cases, the term “cell” can also refer to the geographical coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within certain parts of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0056] A network that includes both small cells and macro cells can be known as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network can also include a Home evolved Node B (eNB) (HeNB) that can serve a restricted group known as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG). The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 can include an uplink (UL) (also known as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 or a downlink (DL) (also known as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 can use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, or transmit diversity. The communication link can be through one or more carriers. The base station 102 / UE 104 can use a spectrum with a bandwidth of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, 100 MHz, 400 MHz, etc.) per carrier, allocated in carrier aggregation with a total of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction. The carriers can be adjacent to each other or not. The allocation of carriers for the DL and UL can be asymmetric (such as more or fewer carriers can be allocated for the DL compared to the UL).

[0057] In 5G, the spectrum in which radio nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges, FR1 (from 450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 and the UE 104 / 182 perform the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiate the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels. The secondary carrier is the carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2), which can be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and the secondary carrier can be used to provide additional radio resources. The secondary carrier may only contain necessary signaling information and signals, e.g., those UE-specific signals may not exist in the secondary carrier because both the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carriers. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. For example, this is done to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether it is a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier on which a certain base station communicates, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0058] Some UEs 104 can communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication links 158. The D2D communication links 158 can use the DL / UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication links 158 can use one or more sidelink channels, such as the physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), the physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). D2D communication can be through various wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, FlashLinQ, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0059] The small cell 102’ can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102’ can adopt NR and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as that used by Wi-Fi APs. The small cell 102’ adopting NR in unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage of the access network or increase the capacity of the access network.

[0060] The base station 102, whether it is a small cell 102’ or a large cell (such as a macro base station), can include an eNB, a gNodeB (gNB) or another type of base station. Some base stations such as gNB 180 can operate in the traditional sub-6 GHz spectrum, millimeter wave (mmW) frequency or near mmW frequency for communicating with the UE 104. When the gNB 180 operates in mmW or near mmW frequency, the gNB 180 can be referred to as a millimeter wave or mmW base station. The extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. The range of EHF is from 30 GHz to 300 GHz, and the wavelength is between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. The radio waves in this frequency band can be called millimeter waves. Near mmW can extend down to the 3 GHz frequency with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and is also called centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands (such as between 3Ghz - 300 Ghz) have extremely high path loss and short range. The mmW base station 180 can utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range.

[0061] The base station 180 can send beamformed signals to the UE 104 in one or more transmission directions 182’. The UE 104 can receive beamformed signals from the base station 180 in one or more reception directions 182”. The UE 104 can also send beamformed signals to the base station 180 in one or more transmission directions. The base station 180 can receive beamformed signals from the UE 104 in one or more reception directions. The base station 180 and the UE 104 can perform beam training to determine the optimal reception and transmission directions for each of the base station 180 and the UE 104. The transmission and reception directions for the base station 180 can be the same or not the same. The transmission and reception directions for the UE 104 can be the same or not the same.

[0062] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing RF signals in a specific direction. Conventionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thus providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device. To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an antenna array (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates an RF beam that can be "controlled" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas in the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the individual antennas add together to increase the radiation in the desired direction while canceling to suppress the radiation in the unwanted directions.

[0063] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify the RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting of an antenna array and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a specific direction to amplify the RF signals received from that direction (e.g., to increase the gain level of the RF signals received from that direction). Thus, when it is said that the receiver beamforms in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is higher relative to the beam gains in other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest relative to all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength for the RF signals received from that direction (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.).

[0064] As an example, the EPC 160 can include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) 164, a Serving Gateway 166, a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 168, a Home Subscriber Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (H-SLP) 170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. The MME 162 can communicate with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that processes signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. Generally, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. The E-SMLC 164 can support the location determination of the UE, for example, using the 3GPP Control Plane (CP) location solution. All User Internet Protocol (IP) packets are sent through the Serving Gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN Gateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 is connected to an IP service 176. The IP service 176 can include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services. The GMLC 168 can provide location access to the UE on behalf of an external client 169 (e.g., that can be within the IP service 176). The H-SLP 170 can support the SUPL User Plane (UP) location solution defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), and can support location services for the UE based on the subscription information for the UE stored in the H-SLP 170.

[0065] The 5GC 190 may include an H-SLP 191, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 192, a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 193, a Session Management Function (SMF) 194, a User Plane Function (UPF) 195, and a Location Management Function (LMF) 196. The AMF 192 may communicate with a Unified Data Management (UDM) 197. The AMF 192 is a control node that processes signaling between the UE 104 and the 5GC 190, and for positioning functions, the AMF 192 may communicate with the LMF 196, which may support UE location determination. In some implementations, the LMF 196 may be co-located with the base station 102 in the NG-RAN and may be referred to as a Location Management Component (LMC). The GMLC 193 may be used to allow external clients 199 outside or inside the IP service 198 to receive location information about the UE. All User Internet Protocol (IP) packets may be transported through the UPF 195. The UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The UPF 195 is connected to the IP service 198. The H-SLP 191 may also be connected to the IP service 198. The IP service 198 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services.

[0066] A base station may also be referred to as a gNB, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), access point, base station transceiver station, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), transmission reception point (TRP), or some other suitable term. Base station 102 provides an access point for UE 104 to EPC 160 or 5GC 190. Examples of UE 104 include cellular phones, smart phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), satellite radios, global positioning systems, multimedia devices, video devices, digital audio players (such as MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, tablet computers, smart devices, wearable devices, vehicles, electric meters, gas pumps, large or small kitchen appliances, health devices, implants, sensors / actuators, displays, or any other device with similar functionality. Some of UE 104 may be referred to as Internet of Things (IoT) devices (such as parking meters, gas pumps, toasters, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). In industrial applications, such as within factory 105, some UE 104 may be referred to as IoT devices, such as sensors, instruments, and other devices connected together. UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, cell phone, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable term.

[0067] Figure 2A An example wireless network structure 200 is illustrated. For example, NGC 210 (also referred to as "5GC") may be functionally regarded as the control plane function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and the user plane function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.) that cooperate to form the core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB 222 to NGC 210, and specifically to the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212. In an alternative configuration, eNB 224 may also be connected to NGC 210 via NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Additionally, eNB 224 may communicate directly with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNB222, while other configurations include one or more of both eNB 224 and gNB 222. gNB 222 or eNB 224 may communicate with UE204 (e.g., Figure 1communicate with any UE depicted in []. Another optional aspect may include one or more location servers 230a, 230b (sometimes collectively referred to as location server 230) (which may correspond to LMF 196), which may communicate with the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212 in the NGC 210 respectively to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively each may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, NGC 210, and / or via the Internet (not shown). Additionally, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network, such as in the new RAN 220.

[0068] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 250 is illustrated. For example, the NGC 260 (also referred to as "5GC") may be functionally regarded as a control plane function provided by the access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, the user plane function (UPF) 262, the session management function (SMF) 266, the SLP 268, and the LMF 270 that cooperate to form the core network (i.e., NGC 260). The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the ng-eNB 224 to the NGC 260, and specifically to the UPF 262 and the AMF 264 respectively. In an additional configuration, the gNB 222 may also be connected to the NGC 260 via the control plane interface 265 to the AMF 264 and the user plane interface 263 to the UPF 262. Additionally, the eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223 with or without a direct connection of the gNB to the NGC 260. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNB 222s, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. The gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 any UE depicted in []). The base stations of the new RAN 220 communicate with the AMF 264 via the N2 interface and with the UPF 262 via the N3 interface.

[0069] The functions of the AMF include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between the UE 204 and the SMF 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF also interacts with the authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives the intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) user identity module (USIM), the AMF retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF also include security context management (SCM). SCM receives the key from the SEAF, and SCM uses this key to derive access network specific keys. The functions of the AMF also include location service management for regulatory services, sending of location service messages between the UE 204 and the location management function (LMF) 270 (which may correspond to the LMF 196), and between the new RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifiers for interconnection with the EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Additionally, the AMF also supports functions for non-3GPP access networks.

[0070] The functions of the UPF include acting as an anchor point for mobility within / across RATs (if applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection with data networks (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic control), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., UL / DL rate enforcement, reflected QoS marking in DL), UL traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport layer packet marking in UL and DL, DL packet buffering and triggering of DL data notification, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node.

[0071] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic control at the UPF to route traffic to the appropriate destination, partial policy enforcement and control of QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is referred to as the N11 interface.

[0072] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may communicate with the NGC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively each may correspond to a single server. The location server 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may be connected to the LMF 270 via the core network, the NGC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown).

[0073] Figure 3 FIG. 300 is a block diagram of a design of a base station 102 and a UE 104, which may be one of the base stations and one of the UEs in Figure 1 . The base station 102 may be equipped with T antennas 334a to 334t, and the UE 104 may be equipped with R antennas 352a to 352r, where typically T≥1 and R≥1.

[0074] At the base station 102, a transmit processor 320 may receive data from a data source 312 for one or more UEs, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for each UE at least partially based on a channel quality indicator (CQI) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for each UE at least partially based on the MCS selected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. The transmit processor 320 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI), etc.) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, etc.), and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 320 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRSs)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSSs) and secondary synchronization signals (SSSs)). If applicable, a transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 330 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 332a to 332t. Each modulator 332 may process its respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 332 may also process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The T downlink signals from the modulators 332a to 332t may be transmitted via the T antennas 334a to 334t, respectively. According to various aspects described in more detail below, location coding may be utilized to generate synchronization signals to convey additional information.

[0075] At the UE 104, antennas 352a through 352r may receive downlink signals from the base station 102 and / or other base stations, and may provide the received signals to demodulators 354a through 354r, respectively. Each demodulator 354 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, down-convert, and digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 354 may also process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 356 may obtain the received symbols from all R demodulators 354a through 354r, perform MIMO detection (if applicable) on the received symbols, and provide the detected symbols. The receive processor 358 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide the decoded data for the UE 104 to the data sink 360, and provide the decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 380. The channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP), a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a channel quality indicator (CQI), etc. In some aspects, one or more components of the UE 104 may be included in a housing.

[0076] On the uplink, at the UE 104, the transmit processor 364 may receive and process data from the data source 362 and control information from the controller / processor 380 (e.g., for reporting including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.). The transmit processor 364 may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 364 may be precoded (if applicable) by the TX MIMO processor 366, further processed (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, etc.) by the modulators 354a through 354r, and transmitted to the base station 102. At the base station 102, the uplink signals from the UE 104 and other UEs may be received by the antennas 334, processed by the demodulator 332, detected (if applicable) by the MIMO detector 336, and further processed by the receive processor 338 to obtain the decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 104. The receive processor 338 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 339 and provide the decoded control information to the controller / processor 340. The base station 102 may include a communication unit 344 and communicate with a location server 390 via the communication unit 344. The location server 390, for example, may be the LMF 196 or the E-SMLC 164. The location server 390 may include a communication unit 394, a controller / processor 391, and a memory 392.

[0077] Figure 3The controller / processor 340 of the base station 102, the controller / processor 380 of the UE 104, and / or the controller / processor 391 of the location server 390 may perform one or more techniques associated with performing UE positioning within the TSN framework, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 340 of the base station 102, the controller / processor 380 of the UE 104, and / or the controller / processor 391 of the location server 390 may execute or direct, for example Figure 11 procedure 1100, Figure 12 procedure 1200, Figure 13 procedure 1300, and / or the operations of other procedures as described herein. Memories 342, 382, and 392 may store data and program codes for the base station 102, the UE 104, and the location server 390, respectively. In some aspects, memory 342, and / or memory 382, and / or memory 392 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions for wireless communication. For example, when run by one or more processors of the base station 102, the UE 104, or the location server 390, the one or more instructions may execute or direct, for example Figure 11 procedure 1100, Figure 12 procedure 1200, or Figure 13 procedure 1300, and / or the operations of other procedures as described herein. The scheduler 346 may schedule the UE for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0078] As described above, provide Figure 3 as an example. Other examples may be different from those described with respect to Figure 3 description.

[0079] Figure 4 FIG. shows the structure of an exemplary subframe sequence 400 with positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning opportunities according to aspects of the present disclosure. The subframe sequence 400 may be applicable to the broadcast of PRS signals from a base station (e.g., any base station described herein) or other network nodes. The subframe sequence 400 may be used in an LTE system, and the same or similar subframe sequences may be used in other communication technologies / protocols (such as 5G and NR). In Figure 4 , time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis), with time increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top. As Figure 4As shown, the downlink and uplink radio frames 410 may each have a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms). For the downlink frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, in the example shown, the radio frame 410 is organized into ten subframes 412, each with a duration of 1 ms. Each subframe 412 includes two time slots 414, each with a duration of, for example, 0.5 ms.

[0080] In the frequency domain, the available bandwidth may be divided into equally spaced orthogonal subcarriers 416 (also referred to as "tones" or "bins"). For example, for a conventional length cyclic prefix (CP) using, for example, a 15 kHz spacing, the subcarriers 416 may be grouped into groups of twelve (12) subcarriers. A resource having an OFDM symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain (represented as a block of the subframe 412) is called a resource element (RE). Each grouping of twelve subcarriers 416 and fourteen OFDM symbols is called a resource block (RB), and in the example above, the number of subcarriers in the resource block may be written as For a given channel bandwidth, the number of available resource blocks on each channel 422, also referred to as the transmit bandwidth configuration 422, is indicated as For example, for a 3 MHz channel bandwidth in the above example, the number of available resource blocks on each channel 422 is given by Note that the frequency components of a resource block (e.g., twelve subcarriers) are called physical resource blocks (PRBs).

[0081] The base station may transmit a radio frame (e.g., radio frame 410) supporting a PRS signal (i.e., downlink (DL) PRS) or other physical layer signaling sequences according to a frame configuration similar to or the same as the frame configuration shown in Figure 4 The PRS signal can be measured and used for UE (e.g., any UE described herein) positioning estimation. Other types of wireless nodes in the wireless communication network (e.g., distributed antenna systems (DAS), remote radio heads (RRH), UEs, APs, etc.) may also be configured to transmit PRS signals configured in a manner similar (or the same) to the manner described in Figure 4

[0082] ​A set of resource elements for PRS signal transmission is referred to as a "PRS resource". The set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., 1 or more) consecutive symbols within slot 414 in the time domain. For example, the cross-hatched resource elements in slot 414 can be an example of two PRS resources. A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource identifier (ID). Additionally, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same transmit-receive point (TRP). The PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (where the TRP can transmit one or more beams). Note that this has no impact on whether the UE knows the TRP and beam from which the signal is transmitted.

[0083] PRS can be transmitted in dedicated positioning subframes grouped as positioning occasions. A PRS occasion is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., consecutive slots) in which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. Each periodically repeating time window can include a set of one or more consecutive PRS occasions. Each PRS occasion can include a number N PRS of consecutive positioning subframes. The PRS positioning occasions for a cell supported by a base station can occur periodically at an interval represented in milliseconds or subframes by a number T PRS . As an example, Figure 4 illustrates the periodicity of the positioning occasions, where N PRS is equal to 4418 and T PRS is greater than or equal to 20420. In some aspects, T can be measured according to the number of subframes between the starts of consecutive positioning occasions PRS . Multiple PRS occasions can be associated with the same PRS resource configuration, in which case each such occasion is referred to as an "occasion of a PRS resource", etc.

[0084] The PRS can be transmitted at a constant power. The PRS can also be transmitted at zero power (i.e., silenced). When PRS signals between different cells overlap by occurring at the same or nearly the same time, silencing the periodically scheduled PRS transmission can be useful. In such a case, the PRS signals from some cells can be silenced while the PRS signals from other cells are transmitted (e.g., at a constant power). Silencing can assist the UE (by avoiding interference from the silenced PRS signals) in signal acquisition and time-of-arrival (TOA) and reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements of the non-silenced PRS signals. Silencing can be considered as non-transmission of the PRS for a given positioning occasion for a specific cell. The silencing mode (also referred to as the silencing sequence) can be signaled to the UE using a bit string (e.g., using the LTE positioning protocol (LPP)). For example, in the bit string used to signal the silencing mode, if the bit at position j is set to "0", the UE can infer that the PRS is silenced at the j-th positioning occasion.

[0085] To further improve the audibility of the PRS, the positioning subframe can be a low-interference subframe transmitted without user data channels. As a result, in an ideal synchronized network, the PRS may be interfered with by the PRS of other cells having the same PRS pattern index (i.e., having the same frequency offset), rather than interference from data transmission. The frequency offset can be defined as a function of the PRS ID for the cell or other transmission point (TP) (denoted as ), or if no PRS ID is assigned, it is defined as a function of the physical cell identifier (PCI) (denoted as ), which results in an effective frequency reuse factor of six (6).

[0086] To further improve the audibility of the PRS (e.g., when the PRS bandwidth is limited, such as only six resource blocks corresponding to a 1.4 MHz bandwidth), the frequency band used for consecutive PRS positioning occasions (or consecutive PRS subframes) can be changed in a known and predictable manner via frequency hopping. Additionally, a cell supported by a base station can support more than one PRS configuration, where each PRS configuration can include a different frequency offset (vshift), a different carrier frequency, a different bandwidth, a different code sequence, and / or a different sequence of PRS positioning occasions having a specific number of subframes (N PRS ) and a specific period (T PRS ) for each positioning occasion. In some implementations, one or more of the PRS configurations supported in a cell can be used for directional PRS and can then have additional different characteristics, such as different transmission directions, different horizontal angle ranges, and / or different vertical angle ranges.

[0087] As described above, the PRS configuration including PRS transmission / silence scheduling is signaled to the UE so that the UE can perform PRS positioning measurements. It is not desirable for the UE to blindly perform the detection of the PRS configuration.

[0088] Note that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may sometimes refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in the LTE system. However, as used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to the PRS signal in LTE, the navigation reference signal (NRS), the transmitter reference signal (TRS), the cell-specific reference signal (CRS), the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), the primary synchronization signal (PSS), the secondary synchronization signal (SSS), etc.

[0089] Similar to the DL PRS transmitted by the base station discussed above, the UE 104 can transmit a UL PRS for positioning. The UL PRS can sometimes be referred to as the sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning. Using the DL PRS received from the base station and / or the UL PRS transmitted to the base station, the UE can perform various positioning methods, such as time of arrival (TOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), reference signal received power (RSRP), time difference between signal reception and transmission (Rx-Tx), angle of arrival (AoA), or angle of departure (AoD), etc. In some implementations, the DL PRS and the UL PRS are jointly received and transmitted to perform round-trip time (RTT) positioning measurements (multi-RTT) in the case of one or more base stations.

[0090] Figure 5 An exemplary wireless communication system 500 that uses the time difference of arrival (TDOA) technique to achieve positioning is illustrated. In Figure 5 the example, the UE 104 is attempting to calculate an estimate of its position, or assist another entity (e.g., a base station or a core network component, another UE, a location server, a third-party application, etc.) in calculating an estimate of its position. The UE 104 can wirelessly communicate with multiple base stations 102-1, 102-2, and 102-3 (collectively referred to as base stations 102) using RF signals and a standardized protocol for the modulation and exchange of information packets for the RF signals. The multiple base stations 102-1, 102-2, and 102-3 can correspond to Figure 1Any combination of base stations 102 in. By extracting different types of information from the exchanged RF signals and leveraging the layout of the wireless communication system 500 (i.e., the location, geometry, etc. of the base stations), the UE 104 can determine its position in a predefined reference coordinate system or assist in determining its position. In one aspect, the UE 104 can use a two-dimensional coordinate system to specify its location; however, the aspects disclosed herein are not limited thereto and can also be applicable to determining the position using a three-dimensional coordinate system if additional dimensions are required. Additionally, although Figure 5 FIG. illustrates one UE 104 and three base stations 102, it should be understood that there can be more UE 104s and more or fewer base stations 102.

[0091] To support location estimation, the base stations 102 can be configured to broadcast reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, CSI-RS, synchronization signals, etc.) to the UE 104s in their coverage areas so that the UE 104s can measure the characteristics of such reference RF signals. For example, the UE 104 can use the OTDOA location method, and the UE 104 can measure the RSTD between specific reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) transmitted by different pairs of network nodes (e.g., base stations 102, antennas of base stations 102, etc.).

[0092] Generally, the RSTD is measured between a reference network node (e.g., Figure 5 base station 102-1 in the example of Figure 5 and one or more neighboring network nodes (e.g.,

[0093] base stations 102-2 and 102-3 in the example of Figure 5 For all RSTDs used for any single location using OTDOA measured by the UE 104, the reference network node remains the same and typically corresponds to the serving cell for the UE 104 or another nearby cell with good signal strength at the UE 104. In one aspect, in the case where the measured network nodes are cells supported by a base station, the neighboring network nodes are typically cells supported by a base station different from the base station of the reference cell and can have good or poor signal strength at the UE 104. The position calculation can be based on the measured time difference (e.g., RSTD) and the knowledge of the positions and relative transmission timings of the network nodes (e.g., regarding whether the network nodes are precisely synchronized or whether each network node transmits with some known time difference relative to other network nodes).

[0093] To assist in the location operation, a location server (e.g., LMF 196) can be used for a reference network node (e.g., Figure 5 base station 102-1 in the example of Figure 5In the example of (base stations 102-2 and 102-3), the OTDOA assistance data is provided to the UE 104. For example, the assistance data may provide the center channel frequency of each network node, various reference RF signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning subframes, the periodicity of positioning subframes, the silence sequence, the frequency hopping sequence, the reference RF signal ID, the reference RF signal bandwidth), the network node global ID, and / or other cell-related parameters applicable to OTDOA as described above. The OTDOA assistance data may also indicate the serving cell for the UE 104 as the reference network node.

[0094] In one aspect, while a location server (e.g., LMF 196) may send the assistance data to the UE 104, alternatively, the assistance data may directly originate from the network node itself (e.g., base station 102) (e.g., in a periodically broadcast overhead message, etc.). Alternatively, the UE 104 may detect the adjacent network nodes themselves without using the assistance data.

[0095] In Figure 5 the example, the measured time difference between the reference cell of base station 102-1 and the adjacent cells of base stations 102-2 and 102-3 is represented as τ 2 τ 1 and τ 3 τ 1 where τ 1 τ 2 and τ 3 respectively represent the transmission times of the reference RF signals from the transmission antennas of base stations 102-1, 102-2, and 102-3 to the UE 104, and include any measurement noise at the UE 104. Then, the UE 104 may convert the ToA measurements for different network nodes into RSTD measurements (e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 36.214 titled "Physical layer; Measurements") and (optionally) send them to a location server (e.g., LMF 196). Using (i) the RSTD measurements, (ii) the known absolute or relative transmission timings of each network node, (iii) the known positions of the physical transmission antennas of the reference and adjacent network nodes, and / or (iv) the directional reference RF signal characteristics (such as the transmission direction), the location of the UE 104 can be determined (by the UE 104 or the location server (e.g., LMF 196)).

[0096] The ToA T for the shortest path from base station i at the UE 104 i is where D i is the one with the position (q i) the Euclidean distance between base station i and UE 104 with location (p), c is the speed of light in air (299700 km / s), and q i is known through the cell information database. The Euclidean distance (i.e., the straight-line distance between two points) is given by:

[0097]

[0098] where D is the distance between two points on the Earth's surface, R is the radius of the Earth (6371 km), are the latitude (in radians) of the first point and the latitude (in radians) of the second point, respectively, and β 1 , β 2 are the longitude (in radians) of the first point and the latitude (in radians) of the second point, respectively.

[0099] To identify the ToA of the reference RF signal sent by a given network node, UE 104 first jointly processes all resource elements (REs) on the channel on which the network node (e.g., base station 102) is sending the reference RF signal, and performs an inverse Fourier transform to convert the received RF signal into the time domain. The conversion of the received RF signal into the time domain is referred to as the estimation of the channel energy response (CER). The CER shows the peak varying with time on the channel, and thus the earliest "valid" peak should correspond to the ToA of the reference RF signal. Generally, the UE will use a quality threshold related to noise to filter out spurious local peaks, thereby presumably correctly identifying the valid peak on the channel. For example, UE 104 can select a ToA estimate that is the earliest local maximum of the CER, which is at least X dB higher than the median of the CER and at most Y dB lower than the main peak on the channel. UE104 determines the CER for each reference RF signal from each network node in order to determine the ToA of each reference RF signal from different network nodes.

[0100] When UE 104 obtains a positioning estimate itself using OTDOA to measure the time difference, the necessary additional data (e.g., the location of the network node and the relative transmission timing) can be provided to UE 104 by a location server (e.g., LMF 196). In some implementations, the positioning estimate for UE 104 can be obtained (e.g., by UE 104 itself or by a location server (e.g., LMF 196)) from the OTDOA measured time difference and other measurements made by UE 104 (e.g., measurements of the signal timing from GPS or other GNSS satellites). In these implementations known as hybrid positioning, OTDOA measurements can contribute to obtaining a positioning estimate for UE 104, but may not be able to fully determine the positioning estimate.

[0101] Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UTDOA) is a positioning method similar to OTDOA, but based on uplink reference RF signals, such as UL PRS or SRS transmitted by a UE (such as UE 104). Additionally, transmit and / or receive beamforming at the network node and / or UE 104 can enable the broadband bandwidth at the cell edge to be used for increased precision. Beam refinement can also utilize the channel reciprocity process in 5G NR.

[0102] Figure 6 An exemplary wireless communication system 600 is illustrated that implements positioning using the Round-Trip Time (RTT) (multi-RTT) technique in the case of multiple base stations 102. For example, both the UE 104 and the base stations 102 can transmit PRS, from which the Rx-Tx can be measured. For example, the base stations 102 can provide the UE 104 with the transmission times of their DL PRS signals and the arrival times of the UL PRS from the UE 104, and the UE 104 can determine the Rx-Tx and RTT for each base station 102 from these times.

[0103] To determine the location of the UE 104, certain information about the network geometry must be known, such as the geographical location of each base station 102 in a reference coordinate system. For UE-based positioning procedures, the network geometry can be provided to the UE 104 in any way, for example, providing this information in a beacon signal, using a server (such as in positioning assistance data) to provide this information, using a Uniform Resource Identifier to provide this information, etc.

[0104] As shown in the figure, the distances D1, D2, and D3 between the UE 104 and each of the base stations 102-1, 102-2, 102-3 are determined using RTT. Given the distances to each base station 102 and the locations of each base station known, various known geometric techniques (such as trilateration) can be used to solve for the location of the UE 104. From Figure 6 it can be seen that the radii of the circles 602, 604, and 606 centered on each of the base stations 102-1, 102-2, 102-3 are equal to the distances D1, D2, and D3. The location of the UE 104 ideally lies at the common intersection of all the circles 602, 604, and 606.

[0105] Other known positioning techniques can be performed to determine the location of the UE 104 using DL and / or UL radio signals (such as Angle of Arrival (AoA) or Angle of Departure (AoD), etc.).

[0106] As described above, the wireless system 100 can be used in various applications for precise positioning. For example, the UE 104 can be or can be attached to or embedded in tools, objects, parts, or components used in a smart (automated) factory, or can be attached to or embedded in packages, objects, or components in a smart (automated) warehouse or supply station. For example, the UE 104 can be used in a motion control system, such as, for example, as discussed in 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 22.804. A motion control system is used to control the motion and / or rotating parts of a machine in a well-defined manner.

[0107] Figure 7 Illustrated by way of example is a motion control system 700 that can include the UE 104 as a positioning sensor. As shown, the motion controller 702 can periodically send desired set points to one or more actuators 704, which can be, for example, linear actuators or servo drives. The actuators 704 perform corresponding actions on one or more processes 706, such as, for example, the movement or rotation of one or more components. At the same time, the sensor 708 determines the current state of the process 706, such as, for example, the current positioning and / or rotation of one or more components. Some or all of the sensors 708 can include the UE 104 and the base station 102. Using wireless signals such as DL PRS and / or UL PRS, the UE 104 and / or the base station 102 can perform positioning measurements. The UE 104 and / or the base station 102 can provide a position report with information related to the positioning measurements to the position server 710, such as positioning measurements (e.g., in a UE-assisted positioning process) or positioning estimates (e.g., in a UE-based positioning process). The position server 710 can determine a positioning estimate for the UE 104 based on the received position report. The position server 710 sends the actual value (e.g., the position of the UE 104) back to the motion controller 702. Thus, the sensors 708 (including the UE 104 and the gNB 102) and the position server 710 operate together (as shown in block 712) to measure the actual value of the sensor position and provide it to the motion controller 702.

[0108] Motion control is performed in a strictly cyclic and deterministic manner such that during one communication cycle time T cycle the motion controller 702 sends updated set points to all actuators 704, and when the sensors 708 include the UE 104 and / or the gNB 102, all sensors 708 send their actual values back to the motion controller 702 via the position server 710. For example, during the duration T cycleWithin each communication cycle, the following steps are executed in a strictly cyclic manner. The motion controller 702 can send setpoints to all actuators 704. The actuators 704 can acquire these setpoints and place them in an internal buffer. All sensors including the UE 104 send their current actual values from their internal buffers to the motion controller 702 via the position server 710. Additionally, at a well-defined time point within the current cycle (commonly referred to as the "global sampling point"), the actuators 704 retrieve the latest setpoints received from the motion controller 702 from their internal buffers and act on the process 706 accordingly. At the same time, sensors 708 including the UE 104 and / or the gNB 102 measure the current state of the process 706 and provide measurement information to the position server 710, which sends new actual values to the motion controller 702. A very high synchronization with respect to the global sampling point is expected between all involved devices (motion controller 702, sensors 708, actuators 704), e.g., on the order of 1 μs.

[0109] For example, Table 2 provides typical values for the number of nodes, cycle time, and payload size for printing presses, machine tools, or packaging machines, which are for several application areas of motion control systems.

[0110]

[0111] Table 2

[0112] To integrate the wireless network in the TSN framework, the time between the two systems is synchronized. The TSN framework has been completely redefined and extended to wireless networks such as 5G.

[0113] Figure 8Figure 800 shows a 5G and TSN clock distribution model via a 5G system (5GS) 801, as described in 3GPP TR 23.501. To support TSN time synchronization, the 5GS is integrated with an external network as a TSN bridge as described in 3GPP TR 23.501. The 5GS can be modeled as an entity compliant with IEEE 802.1AS. For TSN synchronization, the entire E2E 5G system can be considered an IEEE 802.1AS "time-aware system". Only the TSN Transceivers (TTs) at the edge of the 5G system 801 need to support IEEE 802.1AS operations. The UE 104, gNB 102, UPF 195, NW-TT 802, and DS-TT 804 are synchronized with the 5G Grandmaster (GM) clock 806 (i.e., the 5G internal system clock), which keeps these network elements in sync. The TTs 802 and 804 located at the edge of the 5G system 801 can perform all functions related to IEEE 802.1AS, such as (g)PTP support, timestamping, Best Master Clock Algorithm (BMCA), rate.

[0114] The 5G and TSN clock distribution model 800 describes two synchronization systems under consideration: 5GS 801 synchronization and TSN domain 820 synchronization, as well as the Master (M) port and Slave (S) port considered when the TSN Grandmaster (GM) clock 822 is located in the TSN working domain 821. 5GS 801 synchronization can be used for NG RAN synchronization, for example, as specified in 3GPP TS 38.331. TSN domain 820 synchronization provides synchronization services to the TSN network and can follow IEEE 802.1AS. These two synchronization processes can be considered independent of each other, and the gNB 102 (and in some implementations, the location server 803 (which can be the LMF 196) may only need to be synchronized with the 5G GM clock 806. To enable TSN synchronization, the 5GS 801 can calculate the measured dwell time between the TTs 802 and 804 and add it to the correction field (CF) of the synchronization packet in the TSN working domain.

[0115] Therefore, time synchronization between the TSN domain and the wireless network (e.g., the 5GC domain) is possible. However, current wireless positioning cannot support the synchronization required within the TSN working domain. For example, current wireless positioning allows periodic reporting, as described in 3GPP TS 37.355, for example. Table 3 shows the field description section from 3GPP TS 37.355.

[0116]

[0117]

[0118] Table 3

[0119] Therefore, the periodic reporting currently implemented under 3GPP TS 37.355 does not support motion control systems or other use cases, such as those defined by 3GPP TR 22.804 as discussed above. For example, the reporting periods under 3GPP TS 37.355 are too long, e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, and 64 seconds, while a few milliseconds are required for motion control systems (such as those discussed above). In addition, the "period" concept under 3GPP TS 37.355 allows each node to have a different response time, and accordingly, the synchronization required within the control loop for motion control systems as discussed above cannot be achieved.

[0120] To integrate a wireless positioning system (e.g., UE 104) as a sensor within a TSN framework for motion control or other similar use cases, the positioning measurements performed by UE 104 and / or the base station 102 can be performed at well - defined time points (such as global sampling points) within the current cycle (e.g., control loop) (as discussed in reference Figure 7 ) to provide the desired synchronization. The well - defined time point can be, for example, a phase within the period, and this time point can also be referred to as the burst arrival time.

[0121] Similar to the time - sensitive communication (TSC) assistance information containing burst arrival time discussed in 3GPP TS 23.501, the request / provide location information LPP message type should contain optional additional information with the time point (e.g., global sampling point), which allows tracking the period and phase where the desired positioning is fixed.

[0122] Using the defined time point for positioning measurements can be used for both UE - assisted or UE - based positioning processes. Additionally, the defined time point can be used for reporting positioning estimates. For example, as Figure 7 shown, the location server 710 will eventually return the positioning estimate to the motion controller 702, and thus, it may be beneficial for the location server 710 to have access to the defined time point (e.g., global sampling point).

[0123] In addition, the time delay can be determined, for example, based on the timestamps provided together with the positioning measurements and / or positioning estimates, e.g., the time interval between the positioning measurement at the defined time point (e.g., global sampling point) and the position fix reaching the motion controller.

[0124] Therefore, UE 104, the base station 102, and the location server 710 can share the concept of a well - defined time point (e.g., global sampling point) during the measurement period and can be time - synchronized according to the TSN framework.

[0125] Figure 9 Alignment timeline 900 is illustrated including controller 702 timeline 902, UE 104 timeline 904, base station 102 timeline 906, location server 196 timeline 908, and TSN time 910. Controller 702, UE 104, base station 102, and in some implementations location server 196 are time synchronized based on the TSN framework (e.g., TSN time). Timeline 900 illustrates a single control loop and shows events and actions performed by different entities with respect to each other and TSN time 910. The control loop can be periodic, and thus, Figure 9 the events shown in can repeat for a set number of loops or until a termination message is issued.

[0126] As shown on controller timeline 902, controller 702 provides, for example, Figure 7 the actuator 704 shown in with a globally synchronized motion command. In response, the actuator starts the motion. UE 104 acts as a motion / location sensor, and correspondingly, UE timeline 904 shows the start of the motion aligned with the motion command on controller timeline 902. After a period of time, the motion can be completed, as shown on UE timeline 904. In some implementations, the motion can continue throughout the control loop.

[0127] At the global sampling points shown in TSN time 910, UE 104 and / or base station 102 perform positioning measurements, as shown by the sensor measurements on UE timeline 904 and base station timeline 906. For example, in some implementations, only DL positioning measurements can be performed by UE 104, or only UL positioning measurements can be performed by base station 102, or both DL and UL positioning measurements can be performed by UE 104 and base station 102. As shown, the positioning measurements are tightly aligned with defined time points (e.g., global sampling points), e.g., within 1 μs. Subsequently, UE 104 and / or base station 102 send the positioning measurements to location server 196, as shown by the sending sensor measurements on UE timeline 904 and base station timeline 906 and the receiving sensor measurements on location server timeline 908. The positioning measurements can include, for example, timestamps. In some implementations, additional messages can be sent between UE 104 and base station 102, e.g., providing measurement information such as the transmission time or arrival time of the PRS signal. Additionally, in some implementations (e.g., UE-based processes), UE 104 can determine a positioning estimate, and the sensor measurements provided by UE 104 can include this positioning estimate. As shown on TSN time 910, the sending of the positioning measurements by UE 104 and / or base station 102 can be at (or before) a defined time point (e.g., measurement report time).

[0128] Location server 196 determines a location estimate for UE 104 based on received location measurements. For example, location server 196 may use location measurements received from UE 104 and / or base station 102 to determine the location estimate. Alternatively, sensor measurements from UE 104 may include a location estimate, and location server 196 may use the location estimate determined by UE 104 and / or may confirm the location estimate. Subsequently, location server 196 sends location information including the location estimate to controller 702, as shown by the sent location information on location server timeline 908 and the received location information on controller timeline 902. The location information may include a timestamp for the location measurement. As shown at TSN time 910, the sending of the location information by location server 196 may be at (or before) a defined time point (e.g., the estimated reporting time). Controller 702 may determine the next motion command, as shown by the next motion command calculated on controller timeline 902, and may repeat the control loop.

[0129] Figure 10 Message flow 1000 is a message flow with various messages sent between entities in a wireless system, the entities including UE 104, serving base station 102s, neighboring base station 102n, location server 1002, and external client 1004, where external client 1004 may be, for example, motion controller 702. Serving base station 102s and neighboring base station 102n are sometimes referred to as base station 102. Message flow 1000 additionally illustrates a TSN timeline that shows the time points when specific actions are to occur. UE 104 may be configured to perform UE-assisted positioning or UE-based positioning, where the UE itself determines its location using, for example, the assistance data provided to it, and may be configured to perform multi-cell RTT positioning. In message flow 1000, it is assumed that UE 104 and location server 1002 communicate using the LPP positioning protocol, although it is also possible to use NPP or a combination of LPP and NPP or other future protocols such as NRPPa. It should be understood that preparatory or additional conventional phases, such as capability requests and responses, requests for assistance data, etc., which are not shown Figure 10 may be performed.

[0130] In stage 1, location server 1002 receives a location request message from external client 1004. The location request message requests one or more location estimates for UE 104 at a point in time within the TSN framework for performing location measurements. For example, the point in time can be a global sampling point. The global sampling point can include a period and a stage within the period at which location measurements are to be performed. For example, the period can be a TSN cycle, and the stage can be a moment within the cycle or TSN cycle. The location request can also include a point in time for the location information and / or location estimate. The location request can be used for periodic location of the UE and can indicate, for example, a sequence of points in time within each period for obtaining location measurements and reporting location information and location estimates.

[0131] In stage 2, location server 1002 requests configuration information, and base station 102 provides the configuration information.

[0132] In stage 3, location server 1002 sends a location request message to UE 104 via serving base station 102s, e.g., requesting the location of the UE. The location request can be used for periodic location of the UE and can indicate, for example, a sequence of points in time within each period for obtaining location measurements and reporting location information. In some implementations, location server 1002 can provide assistance data to UE 104. In some implementations, the location request message can include a PRS transmission request message requesting the transmission of UL PRS, or the PRS transmission request message can be separate from the location request message. The PRS transmission request can be used for periodic transmission of PRS and can indicate the point in time within each period for transmitting PRS. The location request message includes a point in time within the TSN framework for performing location measurements based on the received DL PRS and / or transmitted UL PRS. The location request can also include a point in time for reporting location measurements.

[0133] In stage 4, location server 1002 can send a location request message to base station 102, e.g., requesting the location of the UE. The location request can be used for periodic location of the UE and can indicate, for example, a sequence of points in time within each period for obtaining location measurements and reporting location information. In some implementations, the location request message can include a PRS transmission request message requesting the transmission of DL PRS, or the PRS transmission request message can be separate from the location request message. The PRS transmission request can be used for periodic transmission of PRS and can indicate the point in time within each period for transmitting PRS. The location request message includes a point in time within the TSN framework for performing location measurements based on the received UL PRS and / or transmitted DL PRS. The location request can also include a point in time for reporting location measurements.

[0134] In stage 5, the base station 102 may send DL PRS. For example, if the location request in stage 4 indicates that the base station 102 sends DL PRS. The transmission of DL PRS may be aligned with the time point for positioning measurement specified in the location request message in stage 4.

[0135] In stage 6, the UE 104 may send UL PRS. For example, if the location request in stage 3 indicates that the UE 104 sends UL PR. The transmission of UL PRS may be aligned with the time point for positioning measurement specified in the location request message in stage 3.

[0136] In stage 7a, the UE 104 performs positioning measurements using the received DL PRS. The positioning measurements are performed at the time point for positioning measurement, which may be a global sampling point as specified in the positioning request in stage 3 shown on the TSN timeline. The UE 104 may perform positioning methods such as time of arrival (TOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), reference signal received power (RSRP), time difference between signal reception and transmission (Rx - Tx), etc.

[0137] In stages 7b and 7c, the base station 102 may perform positioning measurements using the received UL PRS. The positioning measurements are performed at the time point for positioning measurement, which may be a global sampling point as specified in the positioning request in stage 4 shown on the TSN timeline. The base station 104 may perform positioning methods such as time of arrival (TOA), reference signal received power (RSRP), time difference between signal reception and transmission (Rx - Tx), etc.

[0138] In stage 8, the base station 102 may send positioning information to the UE 104, such as the positioning measurements performed in stages 7b and 7c, the transmission time of DL PRS, and the arrival time of UL PRS. This information may be used by the UE 104 for positioning methods such as Rx - Tx, RTT, and multi - RTT.

[0139] In stage 9, the UE 104 optionally uses the positioning measurements performed in stage 7a, the positioning information received in stage 8, and the location of the base station 102 to determine a positioning estimate. The location of the base station 102 may be provided, for example, in the assistance data provided in stage 3.

[0140] In stage 10, the UE 104 may send a location information report to the location server 1002. The location information report may provide positioning measurements from stage 9 and / or a positioning estimate (if determined), and may include a timestamp for the positioning measurement. The location information report may be provided in the location request in stage 3, at or before the time point specified for the location information report, as shown on the TSN timeline.

[0141] In stage 11, the base station 102 may send a location information report to the location server 1002. The location information report may provide positioning measurements and may include a timestamp for the positioning measurement. The location information report may be provided in the location request in stage 4, at or before the time point specified for the location information report, as shown on the TSN timeline.

[0142] In stage 12, the location server 1002 may determine a positioning estimate for the UE 104 based on the positioning measurements received in the location information reports from stages 10 and 11, or may verify the positioning estimate for the UE if a positioning estimate for the UE is received in the location information report in stage 10.

[0143] In stage 13, the location server 1002 may provide a location report to the external client 1004, the location report including a positioning estimate for the UE 104. The location report may include a timestamp for the positioning measurement. The location report may be provided in the location request in stage 1, at or before the time point specified for the location report, as shown on the TSN timeline.

[0144] Figure 11 A flowchart of an exemplary method 1100 performed by entities in a wireless network for performing the positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network is shown.

[0145] At block 1102, the entity receives a location request message that includes a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework for performing positioning measurements of the UE, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 stages 3 and 4. At block 1104, positioning reference signals (PRSs) are received from one or more other entities in the wireless network, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 stages 5 and 6. At block 1106, positioning measurements are performed using the PRSs from one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing positioning measurements, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 stages 7a, 7b, and 7c. At block 1108, a location information report related to the positioning measurement is sent to the location server, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10as discussed in phases 10 and 11.

[0146] In one implementation, the location request message may further include a second time point for providing a location information report, where the location information report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 phases 3, 4, 10, and 11.

[0147] In one implementation, the entity in the wireless network may be a UE, and the PRS is a downlink PRS, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 phases 5 and 7a.

[0148] In one implementation, the entity in the wireless network may be a base station, and the PRS is an uplink PRS, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 phases 6, 7b, and 7c.

[0149] In one implementation, the wireless network and the TSN framework may be synchronized in time, e.g., as discussed in Figure 9 and 10 discussed in.

[0150] In one implementation, the first time point for performing positioning measurements within the TSN framework specified in the location request message may be a global sampling point, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 phases 1, 7a, 7b, and 7c. The global sampling point may be a period and a phase. For example, the period may be a TSN cycle, and the phase may be a moment within the period, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 phases 1, 7a, 7b, and 7c.

[0151] In one implementation, the entity may be a UE, and one or more other entities may be one or more base stations, and the UE may determine a positioning estimate for the UE based on positioning measurements, and the location information report related to the positioning measurements may include the positioning estimate for the UE, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 phases 9 and 10. The UE may also receive positioning measurements from one or more other entities, where the positioning estimate for the UE is further determined based on the positioning measurements received from one or more other entities, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 phases 8 and 9.

[0152] In one implementation, the location information report related to the positioning measurements may be the positioning measurements, e.g., as Figure 10 discussed in phase 10.

[0153] In one implementation, the entity may also receive a request to send a PRS, the request including a first time point for sending the PRS within the TSN framework, and may send the PRS to one or more other entities at the first time point for sending the UL PRS within the TSN framework specified in the location request message, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 phases 3 and 5 or phases 4 and 6 of

[0154] In one implementation, the location information report related to the positioning measurement may include a timestamp for the positioning measurement, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 phases 10 and 11 of

[0155] In one implementation, the UE is a sensor in a motion control system using the TSN framework, e.g., as Figure 7 and 10 discussed in

[0156] Figure 12 FIG. 1200 shows a flow chart of an exemplary method 1200 performed by an entity in a wireless network for performing positioning of a user equipment (UE) in the wireless network.

[0157] At block 1202, the entity receives a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the request message including a first time point for sending the PRS within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 phases 3 and 4 of Figure 10 At block 1204, the PRS is sent at the first time point for sending the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the location request message, e.g., as discussed in

[0158] phases 5 and 6 of Figure 10 In one implementation, the entity in the wireless network may be a UE, and the PRS is an uplink PRS, e.g., as discussed in

[0159] In one implementation, the entity in the wireless network may be a base station, and the PRS is a downlink PRS, e.g., as discussed in Figure 10 phases 6 of

[0160] In one implementation, the wireless network and the TSN framework are time-synchronized, e.g., as in Figure 9 and 10 discussed in

[0161] In one implementation, the first time point for sending the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the location request message includes a global sampling point, e.g., as in Figure 10discussed in Stages 1, 7a, 7b, and 7c. The global sampling point can be a period and a stage. For example, the period can be a TSN cycle, and the stage can be a moment within the cycle, e.g., as in Figure 10 discussed in Stages 1, 7a, 7b, and 7c.

[0162] In one implementation, the UE can be a sensor in a motion control system, e.g., as in Figure 7 and 10 discussed.

[0163] Figure 13 FIG. 1300 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for performing positioning of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network by a location server in the wireless network.

[0164] At block 1302, the location server receives a first location request message from a first entity requesting the location of the UE at a first time point within a Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) framework, e.g., as in Figure 10 discussed in Stage 1. At block 1304, at the first time point received in the first location request message, a second location request message is sent to one or more entities in the wireless network requesting positioning measurements for the UE, e.g., as in Figure 10 discussed in Stages 3 and 4. At block 1306, based on the positioning measurements performed for the UE at the first time point, a location information report is received from one or more entities, e.g., as in Figure 10 discussed in Stages 10 and 11. At block 1308, a positioning estimate for the UE is determined based on the positioning report, e.g., as in Figure 10 discussed in Stage 12. At block 1310, the positioning estimate for the UE is sent to the first entity, e.g., as in Figure 10 discussed in Stage 13.

[0165] In one implementation, the first location request message may further include a second time point for providing the positioning estimate, where the positioning estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the second time point, e.g., as in Figure 10 discussed in Stages 1 and 13.

[0166] In one implementation, the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time, e.g., as in Figure 9 and 10 discussed.

[0167] In one implementation, the first time point within the TSN framework can be a global sampling point, e.g., as in Figure 10discussed in phases 1, 7a, 7b, and 7c. The global sampling point can be a period and a phase. For example, the period can be a TSN cycle, and the phase can be a moment within the period. For example, as in Figure 10 discussed in phases 1, 7a, 7b, and 7c.

[0168] In one implementation, the position information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE can include positioning measurements performed by the UE based on the downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) received by the UE, positioning measurements performed by the base station based on the uplink (UL) PRS sent by the UE, or a combination thereof, and determining the positioning estimate for the UE can include: using the positioning measurements for the UE received in the positioning report to generate the positioning estimate. For example, as in Figure 10 discussed in phases 10, 11, and 12.

[0169] In one implementation, the position information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE can be the positioning estimate for the UE determined by the UE. For example, as in Figure 10 discussed in phases 9 and 10.

[0170] In one implementation, the position information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE can include a timestamp for the positioning measurement, and wherein the positioning estimate for the UE includes the timestamp for the positioning measurement. For example, as in Figure 10 discussed in phases 10, 11, and 13.

[0171] In one implementation, the UE and the position server are sensors in a motion control system using the TSN framework, and the first entity is the motion controller therein. For example, as Figure 10 discussed in.

[0172] Figure 14 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of the UE 1400, which can be, for example, Figure 1The UE 104 shown in [description] is configured to perform positioning within a wireless network (e.g., in a TSN framework) as described herein. In one example, the UE 1400 may be a sensor in a motion control system that uses the TSN framework. The UE 1400 may include, for example, one or more processors 1402, a memory 1404, an external interface (e.g., a wireless network interface) such as at least one wireless transceiver 1410, which may be operatively coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1420 and the memory 1404 via one or more connections 1406 (e.g., buses, lines, optical fibers, links, etc.). The UE 1400 may also include a clock 1416, which may be synchronized in time with a TSN clock. The UE 1400 may also include additional items not shown, such as a user interface, which may include, for example, a display, a keyboard, or other input devices (such as a virtual keyboard on the display) through which a user may interact with the UE or a satellite positioning system receiver. In certain example implementations, all or part of the UE 1400 may take the form of a chipset or the like. The wireless transceiver 1410 may include, for example, a transmitter 1412 and a receiver 1414, where the transmitter 1412 is capable of transmitting one or more signals via one or more types of wireless communication networks, and the receiver 1414 receives one or more signals transmitted via the one or more types of wireless communication networks.

[0173] In certain embodiments, the UE 1400 may include an antenna 1411, which may be internal or external. The UE antenna 1411 may be used to transmit and / or receive signals processed by the wireless transceiver 1410. In certain embodiments, the UE antenna 1411 may be coupled to the wireless transceiver 1410. In certain embodiments, measurements of signals received (transmitted) by the UE 1400 may be performed at the connection point between the UE antenna 1411 and the wireless transceiver 1410. For example, a reference measurement point for RF signal measurements for reception (transmission) may be the input (output) terminal of the receiver 1414 (transmitter 1412) and the output (input) terminal of the UE antenna 1411. In a UE 1400 having multiple UE antennas 1411 or an antenna array, the antenna connector may be regarded as a virtual point representing the aggregated output (input) of the multiple UE antennas. In certain embodiments, the UE 1400 may measure received signals including signal strength and TOA measurements, and the raw measurements may be processed by one or more processors 1402.

[0174] One or more processors 1402 can be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, one or more processors 1402 can be configured to perform the functions discussed herein by implementing one or more instructions or program code 1408 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as medium 1420 and / or memory 1404. In some embodiments, one or more processors 1402 can represent one or more circuits configurable to perform at least a portion of the data signal computing processes or processing related to the operation of UE 1400.

[0175] Medium 1420 and / or memory 1404 can store instructions or program code 1408 that include executable code or software instructions that, when executed by one or more processors 1402, cause the one or more processors 1402 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in UE 1400, medium 1420 and / or memory 1404 can include one or more components or modules that can be implemented by one or more processors 1402 to perform the methods described herein. Although the component or module is shown as software in medium 1420 executable by one or more processors 1402, it should be understood that the component or module can be stored in memory 1404 or can be special-purpose hardware in or outside of one or more processors 1402.

[0176] Multiple software modules and data tables can reside in medium 1420 and / or memory 1404 and be utilized by one or more processors 1402 to manage both the communications and functions described herein. It should be appreciated that the organization of the contents of medium 1420 and / or memory 1404 as shown in UE 1400 is merely exemplary, and thus, the functions of the modules and / or data structures can be combined, separated, and / or structured in different ways depending on the implementation of UE 1400.

[0177] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a location request module 1422 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to receive, e.g., via the wireless transceiver 1410, a location request message from a location server, the location request message including a first time point for performing positioning measurements for the UE within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework. The location request message may additionally or alternatively request the transmission of UL PRS at the first time point within the TSN framework. The location request message may include additional time points, e.g., for providing a location report to the location server. The time point may be a global sampling point. The global sampling point may include a period and a phase within the period at which to perform positioning measurements. For example, the period may be a TSN cycle, and the phase may be a moment within the period or TSN cycle.

[0178] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a time point module 1424 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to monitor the clock 1416 to perform a specific action, such as positioning measurements and location reporting, at the requested time point within the TSN framework.

[0179] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a DL PRS receiving module 1426 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to receive DL PRS transmitted by one or more base stations via the wireless transceiver 1410.

[0180] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a UL PRS transmitting module 1428 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to transmit multiple UL PRS, e.g., SRS for positioning, via the wireless transceiver 1410. The one or more processors 1402 may be configured to transmit UL PRS at the requested time point within the TSN framework.

[0181] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a positioning measurement module 1430 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to perform positioning measurements using the received DL PRS and / or UL PRS at the requested time point within the TSN framework. For example, the positioning measurement may be, e.g., TOA, RSTD, OTDOA, Rx-Tx, RSRP, RTT, multi-RTT, AoA, or AoD.

[0182] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a location information module 1432 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to receive location information from one or more base stations via the wireless transceiver 1410. The location information may include, for example, positioning measurements that include the transmission time of the transmitted DLPRS and the arrival time of the received UL PRS.

[0183] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a positioning estimation module 1434 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to estimate the positioning of the UE 1400 during a UE-based positioning process using positioning measurements performed by the UE 1400 and location information provided by the base station, as well as the location of the base station received, for example, in the assistance data, which may be received together with the location request message or in a separate assistance data provision message.

[0184] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a timestamp module 1436 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to associate the positioning measurements with the time at which the positioning measurements were performed using timestamps.

[0185] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a reporting module 1438 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to send a location report related to the positioning measurements and timestamps to a location server via the wireless transceiver 1410, where the positioning measurements may be positioning measurements and / or positioning estimates.

[0186] The methods described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, these methods may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, one or more processors 1402 may be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

[0187] For firmware and / or software implementations, the methods may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium that tangibly embodies instructions may be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in or run by a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1420 or memory 1404 that is connected to or within one or more processors 1402. The memory may be implemented within or external to the one or more processors. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory and is not limited to any particular memory type or number of memories, or the type of medium storing the memories.

[0188] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 1408 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as medium 1420 and / or memory 1404. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program 1408. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium that includes program code 1408 stored thereon may include program code 1408 to support positioning a UE in a TSN framework in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer-readable medium 1420 includes physical computer storage media. The storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code 1408 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer; as used herein, disk and optical disks include compact disk (CD), laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disk, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and optical disks reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0189] In addition to storage on computer-readable medium 1420, the instructions and / or data may be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in a communication device. For example, the communication device may include a wireless transceiver 1410 having signals indicative of the instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium having signals indicative of information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0190] Memory 1404 can represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 1404 can include, for example, main memory and / or secondary memory. Main memory can include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, etc. Although shown as separate from one or more processors 1402 in this example, it should be understood that all or part of the main memory can be provided within one or more processors 1402 or otherwise collocated / coupled with one or more processors 1402. Secondary memory can include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as the main memory and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as disk drives, optical disk drives, tape drives, solid state memory drives, etc.

[0191] In some implementations, the secondary memory is operably received or otherwise configurable to be coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1420. Similarly, in some exemplary implementations, the methods and / or apparatuses presented herein can take the form of all or part of a computer-readable medium 1420, which can include computer-executable code 1408 stored thereon, and which, if executed by one or more processors 1402, is operably capable of performing all or part of the exemplary operations described herein. The computer-readable medium 1420 can be part of the memory 1404.

[0192] Entities in a wireless network, such as UE 1400, may be configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network and may include components for receiving a location request message that includes a first time point for performing positioning measurements for the UE within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework. The components may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1410 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in a memory 1404 and / or a medium 1420, such as a location request module 1422. The components for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1410 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in a memory 1404 and / or a medium 1420, such as a DL PRS receiving module 1426. The components for performing positioning measurements using the PRS from one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message may be, for example, one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in a memory 1404 and / or a medium 1420, such as a time point module 1424 and a positioning measurement module 1430. The components for sending a location information report related to the positioning measurements to a location server may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1410 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in a memory 1404 and / or a medium 1420, such as a reporting module 1428.

[0193] In some implementations, the entity may further include components for determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurements, which may be, for example, one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in a memory 1404 and / or a medium 1420, such as a positioning estimate 1434, where the location information report related to the positioning measurements includes the positioning estimate for the UE. In one example, the entity may further include components for receiving positioning measurements from one or more other entities, which may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1410 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in a memory 1404 and / or a medium 1420, such as a location information module 1432, where the positioning estimate for the UE is further determined based on the positioning measurements received from one or more other entities.

[0194] In some implementations, the entity may further include components for receiving a request to send a PRS, the request including a first time point for sending the PRS within the TSN framework. The components may be, for example, the wireless transceiver 1410 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in the memory 1404 and / or the medium 1420 (such as the location request module 1422). The components for sending the PRS to one or more other entities at the first time point for sending the UL PRS within the TSN framework specified in the location request message may be, for example, the wireless transceiver 1410 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in the memory 1404 and / or the medium 1420 (such as the UL PRS sending module 1428).

[0195] An entity in a wireless network (such as the UE 1400) may be configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network and may include components for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the PRS transmission request message including a first time point for sending the PRS within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework. The components may be, for example, the wireless transceiver 1410 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in the memory 1404 and / or the medium 1420 (such as the location request module 1422). The components for sending the PRS at the first time point for sending the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message may be, for example, the wireless transceiver 1410 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in the memory 1404 and / or the medium 1420 (such as the UL PRS sending module 1428).

[0196] Figure 15 A schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a base station 1500 is shown. The base station 1500 may be, for example Figure 1The base station 102 shown in [description] is configured to perform positioning for a UE within a wireless network (e.g., within a TSN framework) as described herein. In one example, the UE can be a sensor in a motion control system using the TSN framework. For example, the base station 1500 can include one or more processors 1502, a memory 1504, an external interface such as at least one wireless transceiver 1510 (e.g., a wireless network interface), and a communication interface 1518 (e.g., a wired or wireless network interface to other base stations and / or a core network and a location server), which can be operatively coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1520 and the memory 1504 via one or more connections 1506 (e.g., a bus, a line, an optical fiber, a link, etc.). The base station 1500 can also include a clock 1516, which can be synchronized with the TSN clock in time. In certain example implementations, all or part of the base station 1500 can take the form of a chipset or the like. The wireless transceiver 1510 can include, for example, a transmitter 1512 and a receiver 1514, where the transmitter 1512 is capable of transmitting one or more signals via one or more types of wireless communication networks, and the receiver 1514 receives one or more signals transmitted via the one or more types of wireless communication networks.

[0197] In certain embodiments, the base station 1500 can include an antenna 1511, which can be internal or external. The antenna 1511 can be used to transmit and / or receive signals processed by the wireless transceiver 1510. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1511 can be coupled to the wireless transceiver 1510. In certain embodiments, measurements of signals received (transmitted) by the base station 1500 can be performed at the connection point between the antenna 1511 and the wireless transceiver 1510. For example, the reference measurement point for RF signal measurements for reception (transmission) can be the input (output) terminal of the receiver 1514 (transmitter 1512) and the output (input) terminal of the antenna 1511. In a base station 1500 having multiple antennas 1511 or an antenna array, the antenna connector can be regarded as a virtual point representing the aggregated output (input) of multiple UE antennas. In certain embodiments, the base station 1500 can measure received signals including signal strength and TOA measurements, and the raw measurements can be processed by one or more processors 1502.

[0198] One or more processors 1502 can be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, one or more processors 1502 can be configured to perform the functions discussed herein by implementing one or more instructions or program codes 1508 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as the medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504. In certain embodiments, one or more processors 1502 can represent one or more circuits configurable to perform at least a part of the data signal calculation processes or processing related to the operation of the base station 1500.

[0199] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may store instructions or program code 1508, which includes executable code or software instructions that, when executed by one or more processors 1502, cause the one or more processors 1502 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in base station 1500, the medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by one or more processors 1502 to perform the methods described herein. Although the component or module is shown as software executable by one or more processors 1502 in the medium 1520, it should be understood that the component or module may be stored in the memory 1504 or may be dedicated hardware within or outside one or more processors 1502.

[0200] Multiple software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 and be utilized by one or more processors 1502 to manage both the communications and functions described herein. It should be appreciated that the organization of the content of the medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 as shown in base station 1500 is merely exemplary, and thus, the functions of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or structured in different ways depending on the implementation of the base station 1500.

[0201] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a location request module 1522 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to receive a location request message from a location server, for example, via the communication interface 1518, the location request message including a first time point for performing positioning measurements of a UE within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework. The location request message may additionally or alternatively request the transmission of a DL PRS at the first time point within the TSN framework. The location request message may include additional time points, for example, for providing a location report to the location server. The time point may be a global sampling point. The global sampling point may include a period and a phase within the period at which to perform positioning measurements. For example, the period may be a TSN cycle, and the phase may be a moment within the period or TSN cycle.

[0202] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a time point module 1524 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to monitor the clock 1516 to perform a specific action, such as positioning measurements and location reporting, at the requested time point within the TSN framework.

[0203] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a DL PRS transmission module 1526, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to transmit DL PRS via the wireless transceiver 1510. The one or more processors 1502 may be configured to transmit DL PRS at a requested time point within the TSN framework.

[0204] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a UL PRS reception module 1528, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to receive UL PRS from a UE via the wireless transceiver 1510, such as SRS for positioning.

[0205] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a positioning measurement module 1530, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to perform positioning measurements using the received UL PRS and / or DL PRS at a requested time point within the TSN framework. For example, the positioning measurement may be, for example, TOA, RSTD, OTDOA, Rx-Tx, RSRP, RTT, multi-RTT, AoA, or AOD.

[0206] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a location information module 1532, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to send location information to a UE via the wireless transceiver 1510. The location information may, for example, include positioning measurements that include the transmission time of the transmitted DL PRS and the arrival time of the received UL PRS.

[0207] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a timestamp module 1536, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to associate the positioning measurement with the time at which the positioning measurement was performed using a timestamp.

[0208] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a reporting module 1538, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to send a location report related to the positioning measurement to a location server via the communication interface 1518, and the location report may be the positioning measurement and the timestamp.

[0209] The methods described herein can be implemented by various means according to the application. For example, these methods can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, one or more processors 1502 can be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

[0210] For a firmware and / or software implementation, the methods can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions can be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1520 or memory 1504 that is connected to or run by one or more processors 1502. The memory can be implemented within the one or more processors or external to the one or more processors. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory and is not limited to any particular memory type or number of memories, or the type of medium storing the memories.

[0211] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions can be stored as one or more instructions or program code 1508 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as medium 1520 and / or memory 1504. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program 1508. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium including program code 1508 stored thereon can include program code 1508 to support positioning a UE in a TSN framework in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer-readable medium 1520 includes physical computer storage media. The storage media can be any available medium accessible by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code 1508 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer; as used herein, disk and optical disks include compact disks (CDs), laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray disks, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0212] In addition to storage on computer-readable medium 1520, the instructions and / or data may be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in a communication device. For example, the communication device may include a wireless transceiver 1510 having signals indicative of the instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium having signals indicative of information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0213] Memory 1504 may represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 1504 may include, for example, primary memory and / or secondary memory. Primary memory may include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, etc. Although shown as separate from one or more processors 1502 in this example, it should be understood that all or part of the primary memory may be provided within one or more processors 1502 or otherwise collocated / coupled with one or more processors 1502. Secondary memory may include, for example, the same or similar types of memory as primary memory and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as disk drives, optical drives, tape drives, solid-state memory drives, etc.

[0214] In some implementations, the secondary memory is operatively receptive or otherwise configurable to be coupled to non-transitory computer-readable medium 1520. Similarly, in some exemplary implementations, the methods and / or apparatus presented herein may take the form of all or part of computer-readable medium 1520, which may include computer-implementable code 1508 stored thereon, which, if executed by one or more processors 1502, is operatively capable of performing all or part of the exemplary operations described herein. Computer-readable medium 1520 may be part of memory 1504.

[0215] Entities in a wireless network, such as base station 1500, may be configured to perform positioning of user equipment (UE) within the wireless network and may include components for receiving a location request message that includes a first time point for performing positioning measurements for the UE within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework. The components may be, for example, communication interface 1518 and one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or medium 1520, such as location request module 1522. The components for receiving positioning reference signals (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network may be, for example, wireless transceiver 1510 and one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or medium 1520, such as UL PRS reception module 1528. The components for performing positioning measurements using PRS from one or more other entities at the first time point for performing positioning measurements within the TSN framework specified in the location request message may be, for example, one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or medium 1520, such as time point module 1524 and positioning measurement module 1530. The components for sending a location information report related to the positioning measurements to a location server may be, for example, communication interface 1518 and one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or medium 1520, such as reporting module 1538.

[0216] In some implementations, the entity may also include components for receiving a request to send PRS, the request including a first time point for sending PRS within the TSN framework. The components may be, for example, communication interface 1518 and one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or medium 1520, such as location request module 1522. The components for sending PRS to one or more other entities at the first time point for sending UL PRS within the TSN framework specified in the location request message may be, for example, wireless transceiver 1510 and one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or medium 1520, such as DL PRS transmission module 1526.

[0217] Entities in a wireless network, such as base station 1500, may be configured to perform positioning of user equipment (UE) within the wireless network and may include components for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request, the PRS transmission request message including a first time point for transmitting the PRS within a time-sensitive network (TSN) frame. The components may be, for example, communication interface 1518 and one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or medium 1520, such as location request module 1522. The components for transmitting the PRS at the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN frame specified in the PRS transmission request message may be, for example, wireless transceiver 1510 and one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or medium 1520, such as DL PRS transmission module 1526.

[0218] Figure 16 illustrates a schematic block diagram showing certain exemplary features of a location server 1600 (e.g., Figure 1 the LMF 196 in), the location server being configured to perform positioning for a UE within a wireless network (e.g., in the TSN frame described herein). In one example, the UE may be a sensor in a motion control system using the TSN frame. The location server 1600 may include, for example, one or more processors 1602, a memory 1604, an external interface, which may include a communication interface 1618 (e.g., a wired or wireless network interface to a base station and / or entity in the core network), the communication interface being operatively coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1620 and the memory 1604 via one or more connections 1606 (e.g., a bus, a line, an optical fiber, a link, etc.). The location server 1600 may also include a clock 1616, which may be synchronized in time with the TSN clock. In certain example implementations, all or part of the location server 1600 may take the form of a chipset or the like.

[0219] One or more processors 1602 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, one or more processors 1602 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein by implementing one or more instructions or program code 1608 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as medium 1620 and / or memory 1604. In certain embodiments, one or more processors 1602 may represent one or more circuits configurable to perform at least a portion of the data signal computational processes or processing related to the operation of the location server 1600.

[0220] The medium 1620 and / or the memory 1604 may store instructions or program code 1608 that includes executable code or software instructions that, when executed by one or more processors 1602, cause the one or more processors 1602 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in the location server 1600, the medium 1620 and / or the memory 1604 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by one or more processors 1602 to perform the methods described herein. Although the component or module is shown as software executable by one or more processors 1602 in the medium 1620, it should be understood that the component or module may be stored in the memory 1604 or may be special-purpose hardware in or outside of one or more processors 1602.

[0221] Multiple software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 1620 and / or the memory 1604 and be utilized by one or more processors 1602 to manage both the communications and functions described herein. It should be appreciated that the organization of the content of the medium 1620 and / or the memory 1604 as shown in the location server 1600 is merely exemplary, and thus, the functions of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or structured in different ways depending on the implementation of the location server 1600.

[0222] The medium 1620 and / or the memory 1604 may include a location request receiving module 1622 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1602, configures the one or more processors 1602 to receive, for example via the communication interface 1618, a location request message from another entity such as a controller, the location request message requesting the location of the UE at a point in time within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework. The location request message may include additional points in time, e.g., for providing a location report to the location server and for a positioning estimate to be returned to the entity. The point in time may be a global sampling point. The global sampling point may include a period and a phase within the period at which to perform positioning measurements. For example, the period may be a TSN cycle, and the phase may be a moment within the period or TSN cycle.

[0223] The medium 1620 and / or the memory 1604 may include a location request sending module 1624, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1602, configures the one or more processors 1602 to send, for example via the communication interface 1618, a location request message to the UE and / or the base station, the location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE performed at that point in time. The sent location request message may include additional points in time, for example, the point in time for providing a location report to the location server. The point in time may be a global sampling point. The global sampling point may include a period and a phase within the period at which positioning measurements are to be performed. For example, the period may be a TSN cycle, and the phase may be a moment within the period or the TSN cycle.

[0224] The medium 1620 and / or the memory 1604 may include a point in time module 1626, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1602, configures the one or more processors 1602 to monitor the clock 1616 to perform actions such as reporting a positioning estimate at the requested point in time in the TSN framework.

[0225] The medium 1620 and / or the memory 1604 may include a location information receiving module 1628, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1602, configures the one or more processors 1602 to receive, via the communication interface 1618, a location report with location information from the UE and / or one or more base stations. For example, the location information may include positioning measurements performed by the UE and / or one or more base stations at the requested point in time, a positioning estimate determined by the UE, and a timestamp associated with the time of performing the positioning measurements.

[0226] The medium 1620 and / or the memory 1604 may include a positioning estimate module 1630, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1602, configures the one or more processors 1602 to determine a positioning estimate for the UE, for example, by using the positioning measurements performed by the UE and / or the base station and the location of the base station, or by using the positioning estimate provided by the UE to generate a positioning estimate for the UE.

[0227] The medium 1620 and / or the memory 1604 may include a timestamp module 1632, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1602, configures the one or more processors 1602 to associate a timestamp for the positioning measurement with the positioning estimate.

[0228] The medium 1620 and / or the memory 1604 may include a reporting module 1634 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1602, configures the one or more processors 1602 to send a location estimate, which may include a timestamp, to a requesting entity via the communication interface 1618.

[0229] The methods described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, these methods may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, one or more processors 1602 may be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

[0230] For a firmware and / or software implementation, the methods may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1620 or memory 1604 that is connected to or run by one or more processors 1602. The memory may be implemented within the one or more processors or external to the one or more processors. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory and is not limited to any particular memory type or number of memories, or the type of medium storing the memories.

[0231] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functionality can be stored as one or more instructions or program code 1608 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as medium 1620 and / or memory 1604. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program 1608. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium including program code 1608 stored thereon can include program code 1608 to support positioning a UE in a TSN framework in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer-readable medium 1620 includes physical computer storage media. The storage media can be any available media accessible by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code 1608 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer; as used herein, disk and optical disks include compact disk (CD), laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disk, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically with a laser. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0232] In addition to storage on the computer-readable medium 1620, the instructions and / or data can be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in a communication device. For example, the communication device can include a communication interface 1618 having signals indicative of the instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functionality outlined in the claims. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium having signals indicative of information for performing the disclosed functionality.

[0233] Memory 1604 can represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 1604 can include, for example, primary memory and / or secondary memory. Primary memory can include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, etc. Although shown as separate from one or more processors 1602 in this example, it should be understood that all or part of the primary memory can be provided within one or more processors 1602 or otherwise collocated / coupled with one or more processors 1402. Secondary memory can include, for example, memory of the same or similar type as primary memory and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as disk drives, optical disk drives, tape drives, solid-state memory drives, etc.

[0234] In some implementations, the secondary storage may be operatively coupled to receive or otherwise configured to couple to the non-transitory computer-readable medium 1620. Similarly, in some exemplary implementations, the methods and / or apparatuses presented herein may take the form of all or part of a computer-readable medium 1620, which may include computer-executable code 1608 stored thereon, which, if executed by one or more processors 1602, is operatively capable of performing all or part of the exemplary operations described herein. The computer-readable medium 1620 may be part of the memory 1604.

[0235] A location server in a wireless network, such as location server 1600, may be configured to perform the positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network and may include components for receiving a first location request message from a first entity, the request message requesting the location of the UE at a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework, which components may be, for example, the communication interface 1618 and one or more processors 1602 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in the memory 1604 and / or the medium 1620, such as the location request receiving module 1622. The components for sending a second location request message to one or more entities in the wireless network may be, for example, the communication interface 1618 and one or more processors 1602 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in the memory 1604 and / or the medium 1620, such as the location request sending module 1624, the request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE to be performed at the first time point received in the first location request message. The components for receiving a location information report from one or more entities based on the positioning measurements for the UE performed at the first time point may be, for example, the communication interface 1618 and one or more processors 1602 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in the memory 1604 and / or the medium 1620, such as the location information receiving module 1628. The components for determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the location information report may be, for example, one or more processors 1602 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in the memory 1604 and / or the medium 1620, such as the positioning estimate module 1630. The components for sending the positioning estimate of the UE to the first entity may be, for example, the communication interface 1618 and one or more processors 1602 having dedicated hardware or implementing runnable code or software instructions in the memory 1604 and / or the medium 1620, such as the reporting module 1634.

[0236] References throughout this specification to "one example", "an example", "certain examples", or "exemplary implementations" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the feature and / or example may be included in at least one feature and / or example of the claimed subject matter. Thus, the phrases "in one example", "an example", "in certain examples", or "in certain implementations", or other similar phrases that appear throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same feature, example, and / or limitation. Additionally, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in one or more examples and / or features.

[0237] Certain portions of the detailed description included herein are presented in terms of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on binary digital signals stored within a memory of a particular apparatus or a dedicated computing device or platform. In the context of this particular specification, the term particular apparatus etc. includes a general purpose computer that, once programmed, performs particular operations in accordance with instructions from program software. The algorithmic descriptions or symbolic representations are examples of techniques used by those skilled in the signal processing or related arts to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here generally considered to be a self-consistent sequence of operations or similar signal processing leading to a desired result. In this context, the operations or processes involve physical manipulations of physical quantities. Typically, though not necessarily, these quantities may take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transmitted, combined, compared, or otherwise controlled. For primarily general reasons, it has sometimes proven convenient to refer to such signals as bits, data, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, numerals, etc. However, it should be understood that all such or similar terms will be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise specifically stated, as will be apparent from the discussion herein, it should be understood that throughout the specification, discussions using terms such as "processing", "computing", "calculating", "determining", etc. refer to the actions or processes of a particular apparatus, such as a special purpose computer, a dedicated computing device, or a similar dedicated electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a special purpose computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device is capable of controlling or transforming signals that are typically represented as physical electronic or magnetic quantities within a memory, a register, or other information storage device, a transmitting device, or a display device of the special purpose computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device.

[0238] In the foregoing detailed description, numerous specific details have been set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods and apparatuses known to those skilled in the art have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring the claimed subject matter.

[0239] The terms "and", "or", and "and / or" as used herein may include a variety of meanings, and it is contemplated that these meanings will depend at least in part on the context in which these terms are used. Typically, if used in connection with a list (such as A, B, or C), "or" is intended to mean A, B, and C in the inclusive sense herein, as well as A, B, or C in the exclusive sense herein. Additionally, the term "one or more" as used herein may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or may be used to describe a plurality or some other combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and the claimed subject matter is not limited to this example.

[0240] While the presently considered exemplary features have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various other modifications may be made without departing from the claimed subject matter, and equivalents may be substituted. Additionally, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation to the teachings of the claimed subject matter without departing from the central concept described herein.

[0241] In view of this description, embodiments may include different combinations of features. The following numbered clauses describe implementation examples:

[0242] Clause 1. A method for positioning a user equipment (UE) within a wireless network by an entity in the wireless network, comprising:

[0243] Receiving a location request message, the location request message including a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework for performing positioning measurements for the UE;

[0244] Receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network;

[0245] Performing a positioning measurement using the PRS from one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing positioning measurements; and

[0246] Sending a location information report related to the positioning measurement to a location server.

[0247] Clause 2. The method according to clause 1, wherein the location request message further includes a second time point for providing the location information report, wherein the location information report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point.

[0248] Clause 3. The method according to any one of clauses 1 or 2, wherein the entity in the wireless network includes the UE, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0249] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 - 3, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0250] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 - 4, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

[0251] Clause 6. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 - 5, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurement includes a global sampling point.

[0252] Clause 7. The method according to Clause 6, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

[0253] Clause 8. The method according to Clause 7, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0254] Clause 9. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 - 8, wherein the entity is the UE, and the one or more other entities include one or more base stations, and the method further comprises:

[0255] Determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurement;

[0256] wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes a positioning estimate for the UE.

[0257] Clause 10. The method according to Clause 9, further comprising: receiving positioning measurements from the one or more other entities, and wherein determining the positioning estimate for the UE is further based on the positioning measurements received from the one or more other entities.

[0258] Clause 11. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 - 10, wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes the positioning measurement.

[0259] Clause 12. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 - 11, further comprising:

[0260] Receiving a request to send a PRS, the request including a first time point within the TSN framework for sending the PRS; and

[0261] Sending a PRS to the one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework for sending a UL PRS specified in the location request message.

[0262] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 - 12, wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement.

[0263] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 1-13, wherein the location request message is used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0264] Clause 15. The method according to any one of Clauses 1-14, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

[0265] Clause 16. An entity in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0266] An external interface, configured to communicate wirelessly with network entities in the wireless network;

[0267] At least one memory;

[0268] At least one processor, coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

[0269] Receive a location request message via the external interface, the location request message including a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework for performing positioning measurements for the UE;

[0270] Receive a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network via the external interface;

[0271] Perform positioning measurements using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurements; and

[0272] Send a location information report related to the positioning measurements to a location server via the external interface.

[0273] Clause 17. The entity according to Clause 16, wherein the location request message further includes a second time point for providing the location information report, and the location information report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point.

[0274] Clause 18. The entity according to any one of Clauses 16 or 17, wherein the entity in the wireless network includes the UE, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0275] Clause 19. The entity according to any one of Clauses 16-18, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0276] Clause 20. An entity according to any one of Clauses 16 - 19, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

[0277] Clause 21. An entity according to any one of Clauses 16 - 20, wherein a first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing positioning measurements includes a global sampling point.

[0278] Clause 22. The entity according to Clause 21, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

[0279] Clause 23. The entity according to Clause 22, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0280] Clause 24. An entity according to any one of Clauses 16 - 23, wherein the entity is the UE, and the one or more other entities include one or more base stations, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

[0281] Determine a positioning estimate for the UE based on positioning measurements;

[0282] wherein a location information report related to the positioning measurements includes a positioning estimate for the UE.

[0283] Clause 25. The entity according to Clause 24, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive positioning measurements from the one or more other entities, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to further determine a positioning estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurements received from the one or more other entities.

[0284] Clause 26. An entity according to any one of Clauses 16 - 25, wherein a location information report related to the positioning measurements includes the positioning measurements.

[0285] Clause 27. An entity according to any one of Clauses 16 - 26, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

[0286] Receive a request to transmit a PRS via the external interface, the request including a first time point within the TSN framework for transmitting the PRS; and

[0287] Transmit a PRS to the one or more other entities via the external interface at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for transmitting a UL PRS.

[0288] Clause 28. An entity according to any one of Clauses 16 - 27, wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement.

[0289] Clause 29. An entity according to any one of Clauses 16 - 28, wherein the location request message is used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0290] Clause 30. An entity according to any one of Clauses 16 - 29, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

[0291] Clause 31. An entity in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0292] means for receiving a location request message, the location request message including a first time point within a time - sensitive network (TSN) framework for performing a positioning measurement for the UE;

[0293] means for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network;

[0294] means for performing a positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurement; and

[0295] means for sending a location information report related to the positioning measurement to a location server.

[0296] Clause 32. The entity according to Clause 31, wherein the location request message further includes a second time point for providing the location information report, wherein the location information report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point.

[0297] Clause 33. The entity according to any one of Clauses 31 or 32, wherein the entity in the wireless network includes the UE, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0298] Clause 34. The entity according to any one of Clauses 31 - 33, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0299] Clause 35. The entity according to any one of Clauses 31 - 34, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are time - synchronized.

[0300] Clause 36. An entity according to any one of Clauses 31 - 35, wherein a first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurement includes a global sampling point.

[0301] Clause 37. An entity according to Clause 36, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

[0302] Clause 38. An entity according to Clause 37, wherein the period is a TSN cycle and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0303] Clause 39. An entity according to any one of Clauses 31 - 38, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities include one or more base stations, and the entity further includes:

[0304] Components for determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurement;

[0305] wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes a positioning estimate for the UE.

[0306] Clause 40. An entity according to Clause 39, further including: components for receiving positioning measurements from the one or more other entities, and wherein the components for determining a positioning estimate for the UE also use the positioning measurements received from the one or more other entities.

[0307] Clause 41. An entity according to any one of Clauses 31 - 40, wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes the positioning measurement.

[0308] Clause 42. An entity according to any one of Clauses 31 - 41, further including:

[0309] Components for receiving a request to send a PRS, the request including a first time point within the TSN framework for sending the PRS; and

[0310] Components for sending a PRS to the one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework for sending a UL PRS specified in the location request message.

[0311] Clause 43. An entity according to any one of Clauses 31 - 42, wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement.

[0312] Clause 44. An entity according to any one of Clauses 31 - 43, wherein the location request message is for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0313] Clause 45. An entity according to any one of Clauses 31 - 44, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

[0314] Clause 46. A non - transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor of an entity in a wireless network to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) in the wireless network, the program code including instructions for performing the following operations:

[0315] Receive a location request message, the location request message including a first time point within a time - sensitive network (TSN) framework for performing positioning measurements for the UE;

[0316] Receive positioning reference signals (PRSs) from one or more other entities in the wireless network;

[0317] At the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurements, perform positioning measurements using the PRSs from one or more other entities; and

[0318] Send a location information report related to the positioning measurements to a location server.

[0319] Clause 47. The non - transitory storage medium according to Clause 46, wherein the location request message further includes a second time point for providing the location information report, and wherein the location information report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point.

[0320] Clause 48. The non - transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 46 or 47, wherein the entity in the wireless network includes the UE, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0321] Clause 49. The non - transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 46 - 48, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0322] Clause 50. The non - transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 46 - 49, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are time - synchronized.

[0323] Clause 51. The non - transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 46 - 50, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing positioning measurements includes a global sampling point.

[0324] Clause 52. The non - transitory storage medium according to Clause 51, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

[0325] Clause 53. The non-transitory storage medium according to Clause 52, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0326] Clause 54. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 46 - 53, wherein the entity is the UE, and the one or more other entities include one or more base stations, and the program code further includes instructions for determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurement;

[0327] wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes a positioning estimate for the UE.

[0328] Clause 55. The non-transitory storage medium according to Clause 54, the program code further includes instructions for receiving positioning measurements from one or more other entities, and wherein the instructions for determining a positioning estimate for the UE also use the positioning measurements received from the one or more other entities.

[0329] Clause 56. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 46 - 55, wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes the positioning measurement.

[0330] Clause 57. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 46 - 56, the program code further includes instructions for performing the following operations:

[0331] Receiving a request to send a PRS, the request including a first time point for sending the PRS within the TSN framework; and

[0332] Sending a PRS to the one or more other entities at the first time point for sending a UL PRS within the TSN framework specified in the location request message.

[0333] Clause 58. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 46 - 57, wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement.

[0334] Clause 59. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 46 - 58, wherein the location request message is for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0335] Clause 60. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 46 - 59, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

[0336] Clause 61. A method for positioning a user equipment (UE) within a wireless network by an entity in the wireless network, comprising:

[0337] Receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the PRS transmission request message including a first time point for transmitting the PRS within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework; and

[0338] Transmitting the PRS at the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0339] Clause 62. The method according to Clause 61, wherein the entity in the wireless network includes the UE, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0340] Clause 63. The method according to any one of Clauses 61 or 62, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0341] Clause 64. The method according to any one of Clauses 61-63, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

[0342] Clause 65. The method according to any one of Clauses 61-64, wherein the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message includes a global sampling point.

[0343] Clause 66. The method according to Clause 65, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

[0344] Clause 67. The method according to Clause 66, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0345] Clause 68. The method according to any one of Clauses 61-67, wherein the PRS transmission request message is for periodic PRS transmission.

[0346] Clause 69. The method according to any one of Clauses 61-68, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0347] Clause 70. An entity in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0348] An external interface, configured to communicate wirelessly with network entities in the wireless network;

[0349] At least one memory;

[0350] At least one processor, coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

[0351] Receive a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message via the external interface, the PRS transmission request message including a first time point for transmitting the PRS within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework; and

[0352] Transmit the PRS via the external interface at the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0353] Clause 71. The entity according to clause 70, wherein the entity in the wireless network includes the UE, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0354] Clause 72. The entity according to any one of clauses 70 or 71, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0355] Clause 73. The entity according to any one of clauses 70-72, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

[0356] Clause 74. The entity according to any one of clauses 70-73, wherein the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message includes a global sampling point.

[0357] Clause 75. The entity according to clause 74, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

[0358] Clause 76. The entity according to clause 75, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0359] Clause 77. The entity according to any one of clauses 70-76, wherein the PRS transmission request message is for periodic PRS transmission.

[0360] Clause 78. The entity according to any one of clauses 70-77, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0361] Clause 79. An entity in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, includes:

[0362] Components for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the PRS transmission request message including a first time point for transmitting the PRS within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework; and

[0363] A component for transmitting the PRS at a first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0364] Clause 80. The entity according to Clause 79, wherein the entity in the wireless network includes the UE, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0365] Clause 81. The entity according to any one of Clauses 79 or 80, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0366] Clause 82. The entity according to any one of Clauses 79 - 81, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

[0367] Clause 83. The entity according to any one of Clauses 79 - 82, wherein the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message includes a global sampling point.

[0368] Clause 84. The entity according to Clause 83, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

[0369] Clause 85. The entity according to Clause 84, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0370] Clause 86. The entity according to any one of Clauses 79 - 85, wherein the PRS transmission request message is for periodic PRS transmission.

[0371] Clause 87. The entity according to any one of Clauses 79 - 86, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0372] Clause 88. A non - transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor of an entity in a wireless network to perform the positioning of a user equipment (UE) in the wireless network, the program code including instructions for performing the following operations:

[0373] Receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the PRS transmission request message including a first time point for transmitting the PRS within a time - sensitive network (TSN) framework; and

[0374] Transmitting the PRS at the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0375] Clause 89. The non-transitory storage medium according to Clause 88, wherein the entity in the wireless network includes the UE, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0376] Clause 90. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 88 or 89, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0377] Clause 91. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 88-90, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

[0378] Clause 92. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 88-91, wherein the first time point for transmitting the PRS within the TSN framework specified in the PRS transmission request message includes a global sampling point.

[0379] Clause 93. The non-transitory storage medium according to Clause 92, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

[0380] Clause 94. The non-transitory storage medium according to Clause 93, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0381] Clause 95. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 88-94, wherein the PRS transmission request message is for periodic PRS transmission.

[0382] Clause 96. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 88-95, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0383] Clause 97. A method for positioning a user equipment (UE) within a wireless network, performed by a location server in the wireless network, comprising:

[0384] Receiving a first location request message from a first entity, the first location request message requesting the location of the UE at a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework;

[0385] Sending a second location request message to one or more entities in the wireless network, the second location request message requesting a positioning measurement for the UE to be performed at the first time point received in the first location request message;

[0386] Receiving a location information report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurement for the UE performed at the first time point;

[0387] Determine a positioning estimate for the UE based on the location information report; and

[0388] Send the positioning estimate for the UE to the first entity.

[0389] Clause 98. The method according to clause 97, wherein the first location request message further includes a second time point for providing a positioning estimate, and wherein the positioning estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the second time point.

[0390] Clause 99. The method according to any one of clauses 97 or 98, wherein the radio network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

[0391] Clause 100. The method according to any one of clauses 97 - 99, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework includes a global sampling point.

[0392] Clause 101. The method according to clause 100, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

[0393] Clause 102. The method according to clause 101, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0394] Clause 103. The method according to any one of clauses 97 - 102, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes: positioning measurement performed by the UE based on a downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) received by the UE, positioning measurement performed by a base station based on an uplink (UL) PRS transmitted by the UE, or one of their combinations; and wherein determining the positioning estimate for the UE includes using the positioning measurement for the UE received in the location information report to generate the positioning estimate.

[0395] Clause 104. The method according to any one of clauses 97 - 103, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes a positioning estimate for the UE determined by the UE.

[0396] Clause 105. The method according to any one of clauses 97 - 104, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement, and wherein the positioning estimate for the UE includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement.

[0397] Clause 106. The method according to any one of clauses 97 - 105, wherein the first location request message and the second location request message are for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0398] Clause 107. A method according to any one of Clauses 97 - 106, wherein the UE and the location server are sensors in a motion control system using the TSN framework, and the first entity is a motion controller in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

[0399] Clause 108. A location server in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0400] An external interface, configured to communicate wirelessly with network entities in the wireless network;

[0401] At least one memory;

[0402] At least one processor, coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

[0403] Receive, via the external interface, a first location request message from a first entity, the first location request message requesting the location of the UE at a first time point within a time - sensitive network (TSN) framework;

[0404] Send, via the external interface, a second location request message to one or more entities in the wireless network, the second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE to be performed at the first time point received in the first location request message;

[0405] Receive, via the external interface, a location information report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements for the UE performed at the first time point;

[0406] Determine a positioning estimate for the UE based on the location information report; and

[0407] Send, via the external interface, the positioning estimate for the UE to the first entity.

[0408] Clause 109. The location server according to Clause 108, wherein the first location request message further includes a second time point for providing the positioning estimate, wherein the positioning estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the second time point.

[0409] Clause 110. The location server according to any one of Clauses 108 or 109, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

[0410] Clause 111. The location server according to any one of Clauses 108 - 110, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework includes a global sampling point.

[0411] Clause 112. A location server according to Clause 111, wherein the global sampling points include a period and a phase.

[0412] Clause 113. A location server according to Clause 112, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0413] Clause 114. A location server according to any one of Clauses 108 - 113, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes: a positioning measurement performed by the UE based on a downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) received by the UE, a positioning measurement performed by a base station based on an uplink (UL) PRS sent by the UE, or one of a combination thereof; and wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine a positioning estimate for the UE by generating the positioning estimate by using the positioning measurement for the UE received in the location information report.

[0414] Clause 115. A location server according to any one of Clauses 108 - 114, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes a positioning estimate for the UE determined by the UE.

[0415] Clause 116. A location server according to any one of Clauses 108 - 115, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement, and wherein the positioning estimate for the UE includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement.

[0416] Clause 117. A location server according to any one of Clauses 108 - 116, wherein the first location request message and the second location request message are for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0417] Clause 118. A location server according to any one of Clauses 108 - 117, wherein the UE and the location server are sensors in a motion control system using the TSN framework, and the first entity is a motion controller in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

[0418] Clause 119. A location server in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0419] means for receiving a first location request message from a first entity, the first location request message requesting the location of the UE at a first time point within a time - sensitive network (TSN) framework;

[0420] A component for sending a second location request message to one or more entities in the wireless network, the second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE to be performed at a first time point received in the first location request message;

[0421] A component for receiving a location information report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements for the UE performed at the first time point;

[0422] A component for determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the location information report; and

[0423] A component for sending the positioning estimate for the UE to the first entity.

[0424] Clause 120. The location server according to Clause 119, wherein the first location request message further includes a second time point for providing a positioning estimate, and wherein the positioning estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the second time point.

[0425] Clause 121. The location server according to any one of Clauses 119 or 120, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

[0426] Clause 122. The location server according to any one of Clauses 119-121, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework includes a global sampling point.

[0427] Clause 123. The location server according to Clause 122, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

[0428] Clause 124. The location server according to Clause 123, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0429] Clause 125. The location server according to any one of Clauses 119-124, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurements for the UE includes: positioning measurements performed by the UE based on downlink (DL) positioning reference signals (PRSs) received by the UE, positioning measurements performed by a base station based on uplink (UL) PRSs sent by the UE, or one of a combination thereof; and wherein the component for determining a positioning estimate for the UE includes a component for generating the positioning estimate using the positioning measurements for the UE received in the location information report.

[0430] Clause 126. A location server according to any one of Clauses 119 - 125, wherein a location information report based on location measurements for the UE includes a location estimate for the UE determined by the UE.

[0431] Clause 127. A location server according to any one of Clauses 119 - 126, wherein a location information report based on location measurements for the UE includes a timestamp for the location measurements, and wherein a location estimate for the UE includes a timestamp for the location measurements.

[0432] Clause 128. A location server according to any one of Clauses 119 - 127, wherein the first location request message and the second location request message are for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0433] Clause 129. A location server according to any one of Clauses 119 - 128, wherein the UE and the location server are sensors in a motion control system using the TSN framework, and the first entity is a motion controller in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

[0434] Clause 130. A non - transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor of a location server in a wireless network to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) in the wireless network, the program code including instructions for performing the following operations:

[0435] Receiving a first location request message from a first entity, the first location request message requesting the location of the UE at a first time point within a time - sensitive network (TSN) framework;

[0436] Sending a second location request message to one or more entities in the wireless network, the second location request message requesting location measurements for the UE to be performed at the first time point received in the first location request message;

[0437] Receiving a location information report from the one or more entities based on location measurements for the UE performed at the first time point;

[0438] Determining a location estimate for the UE based on the location information report; and

[0439] Sending the location estimate for the UE to the first entity.

[0440] Clause 131. The non-transitory storage medium according to Clause 130, wherein the first location request message further includes a second time point for providing a positioning estimate, and wherein the positioning estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the second time point.

[0441] Clause 132. The non-transitory storage medium according to Clause 130 or 131, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

[0442] Clause 133. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 130 - 132, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework includes a global sampling point.

[0443] Clause 134. The non-transitory storage medium according to Clause 133, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

[0444] Clause 135. The non-transitory storage medium according to Clause 134, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

[0445] Clause 136. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 130 - 125, wherein the position information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes: positioning measurement performed by the UE based on the downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) received by the UE, positioning measurement performed by the base station based on the uplink (UL) PRS sent by the UE, or one of their combinations; and wherein the program code including instructions for determining the positioning estimate for the UE includes instructions for generating the positioning estimate using the positioning measurement for the UE received in the position information report.

[0446] Clause 137. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 130 - 136, wherein the position information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes the positioning estimate for the UE determined by the UE.

[0447] Clause 138. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 130 - 137, wherein the position information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement, and wherein the positioning estimate for the UE includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement.

[0448] Clause 139. The non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 130 - 138, wherein the first location request message and the second location request message are for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0449] Clause 140. A non-transitory storage medium according to any one of Clauses 130-139, wherein the UE and the location server are sensors in a motion control system using the TSN framework, and the first entity is a motion controller in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

[0450] Accordingly, it is intended that the claimed subject matter is not limited to the specific examples disclosed, but that the claimed subject matter may also include all aspects falling within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for positioning a user equipment (UE) within a wireless network, performed by an entity in the wireless network, comprising: receiving a location request message, the location request message including a first time point within a Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) framework for performing positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurements includes a global sampling point; receiving positioning reference signals (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network; performing the positioning measurements using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurements; and sending a location information report related to the positioning measurements to a location server.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the location request message further includes a second time point for providing the location information report, wherein the location information report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the entity in the wireless network includes the UE, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the entity in the wireless network is a base station, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the wireless network and the TSN framework are time synchronized.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the entity is the UE, and the one or more other entities include one or more base stations, the method further comprising: determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurements; wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurements includes the positioning estimate for the UE.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: receiving positioning measurements from the one or more other entities, and wherein determining the positioning estimate for the UE is further based on the positioning measurements received from the one or more other entities.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the location information report related to the positioning measurements includes the positioning measurements.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a request to send PRS, the request including the first time point within the TSN framework for sending the PRS; and sending PRS to the one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for sending uplink PRS.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the location information report related to the positioning measurements includes a timestamp for the positioning measurements.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the location request message is used for periodic positioning of the UE.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the UE is a sensor in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

15. An entity in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment UE within the wireless network, comprising: an external interface, configured to communicate wirelessly with one or more network entities in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor, coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive a location request message via the external interface, the location request message including a first time point within a time-sensitive network TSN framework for performing positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurements includes a global sampling point; receive a positioning reference signal PRS from one or more other entities in the wireless network via the external interface; perform the positioning measurements using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurements; and send a location information report related to the positioning measurements to a location server via the external interface.

16. The entity according to claim 15, wherein, the location request message further includes a second time point for providing the location information report, wherein the location information report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point.

17. The entity according to claim 15, wherein, the entity in the wireless network includes the UE, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

18. The entity according to claim 15, wherein, the entity in the wireless network is a base station, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

19. The entity according to claim 15, wherein, the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

20. The entity according to claim 15, wherein, the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

21. The entity according to claim 20, wherein, the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

22. The entity according to claim 15, wherein, the entity is the UE, and the one or more other entities include one or more base stations, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a positioning estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurements; wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurements includes the positioning estimate for the UE.

23. The entity according to claim 22, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to receive positioning measurements from the one or more other entities, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to further determine a positioning estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurements received from the one or more other entities.

24. The entity according to claim 15, wherein, the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes the positioning measurement.

25. The entity according to claim 15, wherein, the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a request to send a PRS via the external interface, the request including the first time point for sending the PRS within the TSN framework; and send a PRS to the one or more other entities at the first time point for sending a UL PRS within the TSN framework specified in the location request message via the external interface.

26. The entity according to claim 15, wherein, the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement.

27. The entity according to claim 15, wherein, the location request message is for periodic positioning of the UE.

28. The entity according to claim 15, wherein, the UE is a sensor in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

29. An entity in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment UE within the wireless network, comprising: means for receiving a location request message, the location request message including a first time point within a time-sensitive network TSN framework for performing a positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the first time point for performing the positioning measurement within the TSN framework specified in the location request message includes a global sampling point; means for receiving a positioning reference signal PRS from one or more other entities in the wireless network; means for performing the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first time point for performing the positioning measurement within the TSN framework specified in the location request message; and means for sending a location information report related to the positioning measurement to a location server.

30. The entity according to claim 29, wherein, the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities include one or more base stations, and the entity further includes: means for determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurement; wherein the location information report related to the positioning measurement includes the positioning estimate for the UE.

31. The entity according to claim 29, further comprising: means for receiving a request to send a PRS, the request including the first time point for sending the PRS within the TSN framework; and means for sending a PRS to the one or more other entities at the first time point for sending a UL PRS within the TSN framework specified in the location request message.

32. A method for positioning a user equipment (UE) within a wireless network by a location server in the wireless network, comprising: receiving, from a first entity, a first location request message that requests a location of the UE at a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework includes a global sampling point; sending, to one or more entities in the wireless network, a second location request message that requests positioning measurements for the UE to be performed at the first time point received in the first location request message; receiving, from the one or more entities, a location information report based on the positioning measurements for the UE performed at the first time point; determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the location information report; and sending the positioning estimate for the UE to the first entity.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein the first location request message further includes a second time point for providing the positioning estimate, wherein the positioning estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the second time point.

34. The method according to claim 32, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are synchronized in time.

35. The method according to claim 32, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

37. The method according to claim 32, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurements for the UE includes: positioning measurements performed by the UE based on a downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) received by the UE, positioning measurements performed by a base station based on an uplink (UL) PRS sent by the UE, or one of a combination thereof; and wherein determining the positioning estimate for the UE includes using the positioning measurements for the UE received in the location information report to generate the positioning estimate.

38. The method according to claim 32, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurements for the UE includes a positioning estimate for the UE determined by the UE.

39. The method according to claim 32, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurements for the UE includes a timestamp for the positioning measurements, and wherein the positioning estimate for the UE includes the timestamp for the positioning measurements.

40. The method according to claim 32, wherein the first location request message and the second location request message are for periodic positioning of the UE.

41. The method according to claim 32, wherein the UE and the location server are sensors in a motion control system using the TSN framework, and the first entity is a motion controller in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

42. A location server in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising: an external interface configured to communicate wirelessly with one or more network entities in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, via the external interface, a first location request message from a first entity, the first location request message requesting the location of the UE at a first time point within a time-sensitive network (TSN) framework, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework includes a global sampling point; send, via the external interface, a second location request message to one or more entities in the wireless network, the second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE to be performed at the first time point received in the first location request message; receive, via the external interface, a location information report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements for the UE performed at the first time point; determine a positioning estimate for the UE based on the location information report; and send, via the external interface, the positioning estimate for the UE to the first entity.

43. The location server according to claim 42, wherein the first location request message further includes a second time point for providing the positioning estimate, wherein the positioning estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the second time point.

44. The location server according to claim 42, wherein the wireless network and the TSN framework are time-synchronized.

45. The location server according to claim 42, wherein the global sampling point includes a period and a phase.

46. The location server according to claim 45, wherein the period is a TSN cycle, and the phase is a moment within the period.

47. The location server according to claim 42, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurements for the UE includes: positioning measurements performed by the UE based on a downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) received by the UE, positioning measurements performed by a base station based on an uplink (UL) PRS sent by the UE, or one of a combination thereof; and wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine the positioning estimate for the UE by being configured to generate the positioning estimate using the positioning measurements for the UE received in the location information report.

48. The location server according to claim 42, wherein the location information report based on the positioning measurements for the UE includes the positioning estimate for the UE determined by the UE.

49. The location server according to claim 42, wherein The location information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement, and wherein the positioning estimate for the UE includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement.

50. The location server according to claim 42, wherein, the first location request message and the second location request message are for periodic positioning of the UE.

51. The location server according to claim 42, wherein, the UE and the location server are sensors in a motion control system using the TSN framework, and the first entity is a motion controller in a motion control system using the TSN framework.

52. A location server in a wireless network, configured to perform positioning of a user equipment UE within the wireless network, comprising: means for receiving a first location request message from a first entity, the first location request message requesting the location of the UE at a first time point within a time-sensitive network TSN framework, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework includes a global sampling point; means for sending a second location request message to one or more entities in the wireless network, the second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE to be performed at the first time point received in the first location request message; means for receiving a location information report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements for the UE performed at the first time point; means for determining a positioning estimate for the UE based on the location information report; and means for sending the positioning estimate for the UE to the first entity.

53. The location server according to claim 52, wherein, the location information report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes: positioning measurements performed by the UE based on a downlink DL positioning reference signal PRS received by the UE, positioning measurements performed by a base station based on an uplink UL PRS sent by the UE, or one of a combination thereof; and wherein the means for determining the positioning estimate for the UE includes means for generating the positioning estimate using the positioning measurements for the UE received in the location information report.

54. A non-transitory storage medium, including program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor of an entity in a wireless network to perform positioning of a user equipment UE within the wireless network, the program code including instructions for performing the following operations: receiving a location request message, the location request message including a first time point within a time-sensitive network TSN framework for performing positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurements includes a global sampling point; receiving positioning reference signals PRS from one or more other entities in the wireless network; At a first time point within the TSN framework specified in the location request message for performing location measurements, perform the location measurements using PRS from the one or more other entities; and Send a location information report related to the location measurements to a location server.

55. A non-transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor of a location server in a wireless network to perform positioning of a user equipment UE within the wireless network, the program code including instructions for performing the following operations: Receive a first location request message from a first entity, the first location request message requesting the location of the UE at a first time point within a time-sensitive network TSN framework, wherein the first time point within the TSN framework includes a global sampling point; Send a second location request message to one or more entities in the wireless network, the second location request message requesting location measurements for the UE to be performed at the first time point received in the first location request message; Receive a location information report from the one or more entities based on the location measurements for the UE performed at the first time point; Determine a location estimate for the UE based on the location information report; And Send the location estimate for the UE to the first entity.

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