Network Inference Synchronization for Positioning Measurements

Abstract

A wireless network including a user equipment (UE) and a base station is configured to perform location determination with low latency and is synchronized to a common time within the wireless network. The UE and the base station are configured to perform positioning measurements at a specific time point in a measurement period or within a window around the time point. The time point may be relative to a timing event within the wireless network, such as the start or end of a positioning reference signal window, or a specific message in a layer 1 or layer 2 transmission. A location server may be provided with positioning measurements or location estimates from the UE and provide location estimates to external clients within the measurement period.

Description

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

[0002] This application claims the benefit of and priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 011,869, filed on April 17, 2020, entitled “NETWORK-INFERRED SYNCHRONIZATION FOR POSITIONING MEASUREMENTS,” and U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 17 / 221,615, filed on April 2, 2021, entitled “NETWORK-INFERRED SYNCHRONIZATION FOR POSITIONING MEASUREMENTS,” both of which have been assigned to their assignees and are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications and the like. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems have evolved through generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including temporary 2.5G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-enabled wireless services, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are used, including cellular and personal communications service (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), global system for mobile access (GSM) variants of TDMA, and the like.

[0005] The fifth generation (5G) mobile standard calls for higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance, the 5G standard (also known as "New Radio" or "NR") is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to tens of thousands of users and 1 gigabit per second to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support large sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. As a result, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G / LTE standards. In addition, signaling efficiency should be improved and latency should be significantly reduced compared to current standards.

[0006] Certain location use cases require very high accuracy and low latency when providing the location of a mobile device to external clients. Examples include: smart (automated) factories and warehouses, which may need to know the location of tools, objects being manufactured, and packages with an accuracy of 10 centimeters (cms) or less and a latency of less than 1 second; drones, which may need to know their location to within one second with an accuracy of 1 meter; public safety first responders in hazardous locations (e.g., inside a burning or partially collapsed building); and use cases associated with moving vehicles and pedestrians (referred to as V2X). Other use cases associated with very high location accuracy may also have very low latency requirements due to the rapid deterioration of location accuracy for moving objects. For example, even at only 4mph (normal walking speed), an object will move 1.79 meters in 1 second, thereby negating the benefit of 1 meter location accuracy after less than 1 second. The desired accuracy and latency requirements for positioning information in use cases such as industrial control loops cannot be achieved with current wireless location solutions. Summary of the invention

[0007] A wireless network including a user equipment (UE) and a base station is configured to perform location determination with low latency and is synchronized to a common time within the wireless network. The UE and the base station are configured to perform positioning measurements at a specific time point in a measurement period or within a window near the time point. The time point may be relative to a timing event within the wireless network, such as the start or end of a positioning reference signal window, or a specific message in a layer 1 or layer 2 transmission. A location server may be provided with positioning measurements or position estimates from the UE and provide position estimates to external clients within the measurement period.

[0008] In one embodiment, a method for positioning a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, performed by an entity in the wireless network, includes: receiving a location request message, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference; receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network; performing the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first time point in the measurement period for performing the positioning measurement specified in the location request message; and sending a location report related to the positioning measurement to a location server.

[0009] In one embodiment, an entity in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network includes: an external interface, which is configured to communicate wirelessly with a network entity in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor, which is 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 measurement period and a first time point within the measurement period for performing positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference; receive a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network via the external interface; perform the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first time point within the measurement period specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurement; and send a location report related to the positioning measurement to a location server via the external interface.

[0010] In one embodiment, an entity in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network includes: a component for receiving a location request message, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point within the measurement period for performing positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference; a component for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network; a component 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 measurement period specified in the location request message; and a component for sending a location report related to the positioning measurement to a location server.

[0011] In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes program code stored thereon, the program code being 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 program code including: instructions for receiving a location request message, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point within the measurement period for performing positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference; program code for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network; program code for performing the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities at a first time point within the measurement period specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurement; and program code for sending a location report related to the positioning measurement to a location server.

[0012] In one embodiment, 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 PRS transmission request message including a measurement period and a time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period, wherein the time point is relative to a common time reference; and transmitting the PRS at the time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0013] In one embodiment, an entity in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network includes: an external interface, the external interface being configured to communicate wirelessly with a network entity in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor, the at least one processor being coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message via the external interface, the PRS transmission request message including a measurement period and a time point within the measurement period for transmitting the PRS, wherein the time point is relative to a common time reference; and transmit the PRS via the external interface at the time point within the measurement period for transmitting the PRS specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0014] In one embodiment, an entity in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network includes: a component for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the PRS transmission request message including a measurement period and a time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period, wherein the time point is relative to a common time reference; and a component for transmitting the PRS at the time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0015] In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes program code stored thereon, the program code being 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 program code including: instructions for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the PRS transmission request message including a measurement period and a time point within the measurement period for transmitting the PRS, wherein the time point is relative to a common time reference; and program code for transmitting the PRS at the time point within the measurement period for transmitting the PRS specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0016] In one embodiment, a method for positioning a user equipment (UE) within a wireless network, performed by a location server in the wireless network, includes: receiving a first location request message requesting the location of the UE from a first entity at a first time point within a measurement period; sending a second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE to one or more entities in the wireless network at a first time point within the measurement period received in the first location request message; receiving a location report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements performed for the UE at the first time point within the measurement period; determining a location estimate for the UE based on the location report; and sending the location estimate for the UE to the first entity.

[0017] In one embodiment, a location server in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network includes: an external interface, which is configured to communicate wirelessly with a network entity in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor, which is coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive a first location request message requesting the location of the UE from a first entity at a first time point within a measurement period via the external interface; send a second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE to one or more entities in the wireless network at a second time point via the external interface, wherein the second time point is relative to a common time reference and is synchronized to the first time point within the measurement period received in the first location request message; receive a location report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements performed for the UE at the second time point via the external interface; determine a location estimate for the UE based on the location report; and send a location estimate for the UE to the first entity via the external interface.

[0018] In one embodiment, a location server in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network includes: a component for receiving a first location request message requesting the location of the UE from a first entity at a first time point within a measurement period; a component for sending a second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE to one or more entities in the wireless network at a second time point, wherein the second time point is relative to a common time reference and is synchronized to the first time point within the measurement period received in the first location request message; a component for receiving a location report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements performed for the UE at the second time point; a component for determining a location estimate for the UE based on the location report; and a component for sending a location estimate for the UE to the first entity.

[0019] In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes 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 program code including: instructions for receiving a first location request message requesting the location of the UE from a first entity at a first time point within a measurement period; program code for sending a second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE to one or more entities in the wireless network at a second time point, wherein the second time point is relative to a common time reference and is synchronized to the first time point within the measurement period received in the first location request message; program code for receiving a location report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements performed for the UE at the second time point; program code for determining a location estimate for the UE based on the location report; and program code for sending a location estimate for the UE to the first entity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The drawings are presented to aid in the description of various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

[0021] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Example wireless network structures in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0023] Figure 3 A block diagram shows a design of a base station and a user equipment (UE), which may be Figure 1 One of the base stations and one of the UEs.

[0024] Figure 4 is a diagram of the structure of an exemplary subframe sequence with positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning opportunities.

[0025] Figure 5 An exemplary wireless communication system that implements positioning using time difference of arrival (TDOA) techniques is shown.

[0026] Figure 6 An exemplary wireless communication system that implements positioning using a round trip time (RTT) of multiple base stations (multi-RTT) technique is shown.

[0027] Figure 7 A motion control system is shown that may include a UE as a position sensor.

[0028] Figure 8An aligned timeline of controller, UE, base station, location server and common time is shown.

[0029] Fig. 9 It is a message flow used by a wireless network to perform positioning at a specific time point in a measurement period.

[0030] Fig.10 is a flow chart of an exemplary method performed by an entity in a wireless network for performing positioning of a UE at a specific point in time in a measurement period.

[0031] Fig.11 is a flow chart of an exemplary method performed by an entity in a wireless network for performing positioning of a UE at a specific point in time in a measurement period.

[0032] Fig.12 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for performing positioning of a UE at a specific time point in a measurement period performed by a location server in a wireless network.

[0033] Fig.13 A schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a UE capable of performing positioning at specific points in time in a measurement cycle is shown.

[0034] Fig.14 A schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a base station in a wireless network capable of performing positioning at a specific point in time in a measurement cycle is shown.

[0035] Fig.15 A schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a location server in a wireless network capable of performing positioning at specific points in time in a measurement cycle is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and in the relevant figures for various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid blurring the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0037] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to 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. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0038] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different technologies and techniques may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0039] In addition, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. In addition, it may be considered that the sequences of actions described herein are fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions, which, when executed, will cause or instruct the associated processor of the device to perform the functions described herein. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms, all of which are considered to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0040] 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). In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, tracking device, wearable device (e.g., smart watch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), transportation (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.), sensor, instrument, and other devices networked together in industrial applications (Industrial Internet of Things (IIot)). A UE may be mobile, or may be stationary (e.g., at certain times), and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal", "mobile station" or variations thereof. Typically, the UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can be connected to an external network such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0041] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs for communicating with a UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a new radio (NR) NodeB (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. In addition, in some systems, a base station may purely provide edge node signaling functions, while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which a UE may signal a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link through which a base station may signal a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to either a UL / reverse or DL / forward traffic channel.

[0042] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmission point or to multiple physical transmission points that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term "base station" refers to a single physical transmission point, the physical transmission point may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell of the base station. Where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical transmission points, the physical transmission point may be an antenna array of a base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). Where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, the physical transmission point may 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 point may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and a neighboring base station whose reference RF signal the UE is measuring.

[0043] Wireless positioning has been proposed for use cases that require high levels of accuracy and low latency. For example, one proposed implementation is a wireless positioning service for Industrial IoT (IIoT), where the UE may be or may be attached to or embedded in a tool, object, part or component used in a smart (automated) factory, or may be attached to or embedded in a package, object or component in a smart (automated) warehouse or refueling station. Such a UE may need to be located with high accuracy in order to allow fast, efficient and smooth operation of the smart factory, warehouse or refueling station. Industrial control loops that may be implemented in the "factory of the future" will rely on accurate positioning information. Several "service levels" with different requirements in terms of accuracy and latency have been specified (by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)), as indicated in Table 1.

[0044]

[0045] Table 1

[0046] Although various service level requirements shown in Table 1 have been proposed, it is currently unknown, for example, how to implement these requirements and integrate them in conventional industrial control loops.

[0047] For example, time-sensitive networking (TSN) is a set of standards being developed within the IEEE802.1 working group within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standards body. TSN targets 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, each node within the communication network needs to have a common understanding of time. Another component is scheduling and traffic shaping, for example, all nodes need to process and forward communication packets by following the same rules. Another component is communication path selection, where path reservations and fault tolerance are specified by shared rules. TSN was originally developed for Ethernet networks, but has been proposed to be extended to work with wireless networks such as fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks to exploit the full potential of industrial control combined with mobile sensors / actuators.

[0048] By including a wireless positioning system within the TSN framework, including UEs as sensors, low latency solutions can be included to enable isochronous control of classic industrial control problems. The TSN framework enables measurement synchronization on the order of 1 μs. However, for some industrial control situations and use cases outside of industrial control, measurement synchronization may not be as strict and therefore does not need to be operated within the TSN framework. When less stringent accuracy requirements (~100 μs) for measurement events are required, positioning measurements can be made using, for example, serving gNB timing or other network-based timing.

[0049] Figure 1 A 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, 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 may use only one core network, such as 5GC 190. Base station 102 may include a macro cell (a high power cellular base station) or a small cell (a low power cellular base station). A macro cell includes a base station. A small cell includes a femto cell, a pico cell, and a micro cell.

[0050] The base station 102 configured for 4G LTE (referred to as eNodeB (eNB)) (collectively referred to as Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) can interface with the EPC 160 via a backhaul link 132 (such as an S1 interface). The base station 102 configured for 5G NR (referred to as gNodeB (gNB)) (collectively referred to as Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) can interface with the 5GC 190 via a backhaul link 184. Among other functions, the base station 102 can also perform one or more of the following functions: delivery 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), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (such as through the EPC 160 or the 5GC 190) via a backhaul link 134 (such as an X2 interface). The backhaul link 134 may be wired or wireless.

[0051] The base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with the UE 104. Each of the base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell 102' can have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., through a certain frequency resource, referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) for distinguishing 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 other) that can provide access to different types of UEs. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) of a base station, as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a certain part of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0052] A network including both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved Node B (eNB) (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG). A communication link 120 between a base station 102 and a UE 104 may include an uplink (UL) (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, or transmit diversity. The communication link may be through one or more carriers. The base station 102 / UE 104 may use a spectrum of up to Y MHz (such as 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, 100 MHz, 400 MHz, etc.) bandwidth per carrier, and each carrier is allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of Yx MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (eg, more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​compared to UL).

[0053] In 5G, the frequency spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (from 450MHz to 6000MHz), FR2 (from 24250MHz to 52600MHz), FR3 (above 52600MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system, such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are called "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection reestablishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels. A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and can be used to provide additional radio resources. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example, those UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present 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 may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. 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. Because a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier on which a base station is communicating, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0054] Some UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use DL / UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be through various wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, FlashLinQ, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on IEEE 802.11 standards, LTE, or NR.

[0055] The small cell 102' may operate in a licensed or unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102' employing NR in the unlicensed frequency spectrum may increase coverage of the access network or increase capacity of the access network.

[0056] The base station 102, whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (such as a macro base station), may include an eNB, a gNodeB (gNB), or another type of base station. Certain base stations, such as gNB 180, may operate in the traditional sub-6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, or in near mmW frequencies for communicating with UE 104. When the gNB 180 operates in mmW frequencies or near mmW frequencies, the gNB 180 may be referred to as a millimeter wave or mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in the frequency band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW may extend down to 3 GHz frequencies with a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands (such as between 3 GHz-300 GHz) have extremely high path loss and short range. The mmW base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range.

[0057] Base station 180 may transmit beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182". UE 104 may also transmit beamformed signals to base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. Base station 180 may receive beamformed signals from UE 104 in one or more receive directions. Base station 180 and UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of base station 180 / UE 104. The transmit and receive directions of base station 180 may be the same or different. The transmit and receive directions of UE 104 may be the same or different.

[0058] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). Using 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, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device. In order to change the directionality of an RF signal when transmitting, 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, a network node can use an antenna array (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that produces a beam of RF waves that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antenna. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to a single antenna in the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas are added together to increase the radiation in the desired direction while canceling to suppress the radiation in the undesired direction.

[0059] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, a receiver may increase a gain setting and / or adjust a phase setting of an antenna array in a particular direction to amplify RF signals received from that direction (e.g., to increase the gain level of the RF signal). Thus, when a receiver is considered to be beamforming in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in the directions of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0060] For example, the EPC 160 may 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 security user plane location (SUPL) location platform (H-SLP) 170, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway 172. The MME 162 may communicate with a home subscriber server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. Typically, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. The E-SMLC 164 may support location determination of the UE, for example, using a 3GPP control plane (CP) location solution. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered 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 the IP service 176. IP services 176 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services. GMLC 168 may provide location access to the UE on behalf of an external client 169 (e.g., which may be within or be IP services 176). H-SLP 170 may support the SUPL User Plane (UP) location solution defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and may support location services for the UE based on subscription information stored in H-SLP 170 for the UE.

[0061] 5GC 190 may include H-SLP 191, access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 193, session management function (SMF) 194 and user plane function (UPF) 195, location management function (LMF) 196. AMF 192 may communicate with unified data management (UDM) 197. AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and 5GC 190, and for positioning functionality, it may communicate with LMF 196, which may support location determination of UE. In some embodiments, LMF 196 may be co-located with base station 102 in NG-RAN and may be referred to as location management component (LMC). GMLC 193 may be used to allow external clients 199 outside or inside IP service 198 to receive location information about UE. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets may be passed through UPF 195. UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. UPF 195 is connected to IP services 198. H-SLP 191 can also be connected to IP services 198. IP services 198 can include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services.

[0062] A base station may also be referred to as a gNB, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), access point, base transceiver station, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), transmit receive point (TRP), or some other suitable term. Base station 102 provides an access point to EPC 160 or 5GC 190 for UE 104. Examples of UE 104 include cellular phones, smart phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, 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, healthcare equipment, implants, sensors / actuators, displays, or any other similarly functional devices. Some of UE 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (such as parking meters, gas pumps, ovens, vehicles, heart rate monitors, etc.). Some of the UEs 104 may be referred to as IIoT devices, such as sensors, instruments, and other devices networked together in industrial applications (e.g., within the plant 105). The UEs 104 may also be referred to as stations, mobile stations, subscriber stations, mobile units, subscriber units, wireless units, remote units, mobile devices, wireless devices, wireless communication devices, remote devices, mobile subscriber stations, access terminals, mobile terminals, wireless terminals, remote terminals, handsets, user agents, mobile clients, clients, or some other suitable terminology.

[0063] Figure 2A An example wireless network architecture 200 is shown. For example, the NGC 210 (also referred to as "5GC") can be functionally viewed as a control plane function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.) that operate in conjunction to form a core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the NGC 210, specifically to the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212. In additional configurations, the eNB 224 can also be connected to the NGC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. In addition, the eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of the eNBs 224 and the gNBs 222. The gNB 222 or the eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1communicate with any of the UEs 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 NGC 210 respectively to provide location assistance for 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 may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for 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.

[0064] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 250 is shown. For example, NGC 260 (also referred to as "5GC") may be functionally regarded as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, a user plane function (UPF) 262, a session management function (SMF) 266, an SLP 268, and an LMF 270, which 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 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 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 the gNB direct connectivity to 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 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 of the UEs depicted in []. The base stations in the new RAN 220 communicate with the AMF 264 via the N2 interface and with the UPF 262 via the N3 interface.

[0065] The functions of AMF include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between UE 204 and SMF 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between UE 204 and short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). AMF also interacts with authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204, and receives intermediate keys established due to UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), AMF retrieves security materials from AUSF. The functions of AMF also include security context management (SCM). SCM receives keys from SEAF, which are used to derive access network specific keys. The functionality of the AMF also includes location service management for regulatory services, transmission 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 an evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifier for interworking with the EPS, and notification of mobility events of the UE 204. In addition, the AMF also supports the functionality of non-3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access networks.

[0066] The functions of the UPF include acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection with a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, user plane quality of service (QoS) processing (e.g., UL / DL rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in DL), UL traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in UL and DL, DL packet buffering and DL data notification triggering, and issuing and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node.

[0067] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, service guidance configuration at UPF for routing services to the correct destination, policy part execution and QoS control, and downlink data notification. The interface on which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0068] Another optional aspect may include LMF 270, which may communicate with NGC 260 to provide location assistance for UE 204. 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 may each correspond to a single server. LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for UE 204, which may be connected to LMF 270 via a core network, NGC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown).

[0069] Figure 3 A block diagram of a design 300 of a base station 102 and a UE 104 is shown, which may be Figure 1 The base station 102 may be equipped with T antennas 334a through 334t, and the UE 104 may be equipped with R antennas 352a through 352r, where in general T ≥ 1 and R ≥ 1.

[0070] At the base station 102, the transmit processor 320 may receive data for one or more UEs from a data source 312, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on a channel quality indicator (CQI) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) data for each UE based at least in part 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 (CRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSS) and secondary synchronization signals (SSS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 330 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols (if applicable), and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MOD) 332a to 332t. Each modulator 332 may process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 332 may further 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 modulators 332a to 332t may be transmitted via T antennas 334a to 334t, respectively. According to various aspects described in more detail below, position coding may be used to generate synchronization signals to convey additional information.

[0071] At the UE 104, antennas 352a to 352r can receive downlink signals from the base station 102 and / or other base stations, and can provide received signals to demodulators (DEMOD) 354a to 354r, respectively. Each demodulator 354 can condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 354 can further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 356 can obtain received symbols from all R demodulators 354a to 354r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols (if applicable), and provide detected symbols. The receive processor 358 can process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE 104 to the data sink 360, and provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 380. The channel processor may determine reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), channel quality indicator (CQI), etc. In some aspects, one or more components of the UE 104 may be included in a housing.

[0072] On the uplink, at the UE 104, a transmit processor 364 may receive and process data from a data source 362 and control information from a controller / processor 380 (e.g., for reports 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 by a TX MIMO processor 366 (if applicable), further processed by modulators 354a through 354r (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 102. At the base station 102, uplink signals from the UE 104 and other UEs may be received by the antenna 334, processed by the demodulator 332, detected by the MIMO detector 336 (if applicable), and further processed by the receive processor 338 to obtain decoded data and control information sent 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 may be, for example, 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.

[0073] 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 perform one or more techniques for performing positioning measurements of the UE at specific points in time in a measurement period, 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 perform or direct, for example Fig.10 The process of 1000 or Fig.11 Course 1100 or Fig.12 The operations of process 1200 and / or other processes as described herein. Memories 342, 382, ​​and 392 may store data and program codes for base station 102, UE 104, and 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, the one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of base station 102, UE 104, or location server 390, may perform or direct, for example, Fig.10 The process of 1000 or Fig.11 Course 1100 or Fig.12 The operations of process 1200 and / or other processes as described herein. The scheduler 346 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0074] As indicated above, Figure 3 are provided as examples. Other examples may differ from those described in Figure 3 An example of description.

[0075] Figure 4 The structure of an exemplary subframe sequence 400 with positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning opportunities according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The subframe sequence 400 can 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 can be used in an LTE system, and the same or similar subframe sequences can be used in other communication technologies / protocols (such as 5G and NR). Figure 4 In FIG. 1 , time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis) as time increases from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis) as frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top. Figure 4As shown, the downlink and uplink radio frames 410 may each have a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms). For a downlink frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, in the example shown, the radio frame 410 is organized into ten subframes 412 each having a duration of 1 ms. Each subframe 412 includes two time slots 414, each of which is, for example, 0.5 ms in duration.

[0076] In the frequency domain, the available bandwidth may be divided into evenly spaced orthogonal subcarriers 416 (also referred to as "tones" or "frequency bins"). For example, for a normal length cyclic prefix (CP) using 15kHz spacing, the subcarriers 416 may be grouped into groups of twelve (12) subcarriers. A resource of one OFDM symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain (represented as a block of subframes 412) is referred to as a resource element (RE). Each grouping of 12 subcarriers 416 and 14 OFDM symbols is referred to as a resource block (RB), and in the above example, the number of subcarriers in a 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 the 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 (eg, 12 subcarriers) are called physical resource blocks (PRBs).

[0077] The base station can Figure 4 The frame configuration shown is similar or the same as the frame configuration to send a radio frame (e.g., radio frame 410) or other physical layer signaling sequence that supports a PRS signal (i.e., a downlink (DL) PRS) that can be measured and used for UE (e.g., any UE described herein) position estimation. Other types of wireless nodes in the wireless communication network (e.g., distributed antenna systems (DAS), remote radio heads (RRH), UEs, APs, etc.) can also be configured to transmit PRS signals (i.e., downlink (DL) PRS) in a similar or the same frame configuration as shown. Figure 4 The PRS signal is sent in a manner similar to (or the same as) that depicted in .

[0078] A set of resource elements used to transmit a PRS signal is referred to as a "PRS resource". A set of resource elements may span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., 1 or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot 414 in the time domain. For example, the hatched resource elements in the time slot 414 may be examples of two PRS resources. A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used for transmission of a PRS signal, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource identifier (ID). In addition, 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 (wherein a TRP may transmit one or more beams). Note that this has no effect on whether the UE knows the TRP and beam from which the signal is transmitted.

[0079] PRS may be sent in special positioning subframes grouped as positioning opportunities. A PRS opportunity is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., consecutive time slots) in which PRS is expected to be sent. Each periodically repeating time window may include a group of one or more consecutive PRS opportunities. Each PRS opportunity may include N PRS The PRS positioning opportunities of the cells supported by the base station may occur periodically at intervals, which are determined by T PRS milliseconds or subframes. As an example, Figure 4 shows the periodicity of positioning opportunities, where N PRS is equal to 4418, and T PRS Greater than or equal to 20420. In some aspects, T may be measured based on the number of subframes between the start of consecutive positioning opportunities. PRS Multiple PRS opportunities may be associated with the same PRS resource configuration, in which case each such opportunity is referred to as an "opportunity of the PRS resource" or the like.

[0080] PRS can be sent at constant power. PRS can also be sent at zero power (e.g., silence). When PRS signals between different cells overlap because they occur at the same or almost the same time, silence (turning off regularly scheduled PRS transmission) may be useful. In this case, PRS signals from some cells can be silenced, while PRS signals from other cells are sent (e.g., at constant power). Silence can help UEs perform signal acquisition and arrival time (TOA) and reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements on un-silenced PRS signals (by avoiding interference from muted PRS signals). For a specific cell, silence can be regarded as not sending PRS at a given positioning opportunity. A silence mode (also referred to as a silence sequence) can be signaled to a UE using a bit string (e.g., using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP)). For example, in a bit string that signals a silence mode, if the bit at position j is set to '0', the UE can infer that the PRS is silent for the jth positioning opportunity.

[0081] To further improve the audibility of the PRS, the positioning subframe may be a low-interference subframe transmitted without a user data channel. As a result, in an ideally synchronized network, the PRS may be interfered with by PRSs of other cells with the same PRS pattern index (i.e., with the same frequency shift) rather than by data transmission. If no PRS ID is assigned, the frequency shift may be defined as a function of the PRS ID of the cell or other transmission point (TP) (denoted as ), or defined as a function of the physical cell identifier (PCI) (denoted as ), which results in an effective frequency reuse factor of six (6).

[0082] To also 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 of consecutive PRS positioning occasions (or consecutive PRS subframes) can be changed via frequency hopping in a known and predictable manner. In addition, the cell supported by the 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, each with a specific number of subframes (N PRS ) and a specific periodicity (T PRS ). In some embodiments, one or more of the PRS configurations supported in a cell may be used for directional PRS, which may then have additional different characteristics, such as different transmission directions, different horizontal angle ranges, and / or different vertical angle ranges.

[0083] The PRS configuration (including PRS transmission / silencing schedule) as described above is signaled to the UE to enable the UE to perform PRS positioning measurements. It is not expected that the UE blindly performs detection of the PRS configuration.

[0084] Note that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may sometimes refer to a specific reference signal used for positioning in an LTE system. However, as used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" refer to any type of reference signal that may be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS signals in LTE, navigation reference signals (NRS), transmitter reference signals (TRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), etc.

[0085] Similar to the DL PRS transmitted by the base station discussed above, the UE 104 may transmit a UL PRS for positioning. The UL PRS may sometimes be referred to as a 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 may 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 embodiments, the DL PRS and the UL PRS are jointly received and transmitted to perform round trip time (RTT) positioning measurements (multi-RTT) using one or more base stations.

[0086] Figure 5 An exemplary wireless communication system 500 is shown that implements positioning using the time difference of arrival (TDOA) technique. Figure 5 In the example of , UE 104 is attempting to calculate an estimate of its location, or assist another entity (e.g., a base station or core network component, another UE, a location server, a third party application, etc.) in calculating an estimate of its location. UE 104 may wirelessly communicate with multiple base stations 102-1, 102-2, and 102-3 (collectively, base stations 102) using RF signals and standardized protocols for modulation of RF signals and exchange of information packets, which may correspond to Figure 1By extracting different types of information from the exchanged RF signals and utilizing the layout of the wireless communication system 500 (i.e., the location of the base stations, the geometry, etc.), the UE 104 can determine its position in a predefined reference coordinate system or assist in determining its position in a predetermined reference coordinate system. In one aspect, the UE 104 can specify its position using a two-dimensional coordinate system; however, the various aspects disclosed herein are not limited in this regard and may also be applicable to determining position using a three-dimensional coordinate system where additional dimensions are desired. Furthermore, it should be understood that although Figure 5 One UE 104 and three base stations 102 are shown, but there may be more UEs 104 and more or fewer base stations 102.

[0087] To support position estimation, the base station 102 may be configured to broadcast reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, CSI-RS, synchronization signals, etc.) to UEs 104 in its coverage area to enable the UEs 104 to measure characteristics of such reference RF signals. For example, the UEs 104 may use an OTDOA positioning method, and the UEs 104 may measure RSTD between specific reference RF signals (PRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) transmitted by different pairs of network nodes (e.g., the base stations 102, antennas of the base stations 102, etc.).

[0088] Typically, at a reference network node (e.g. Figure 5 1) and one or more neighbor network nodes (e.g., Figure 5 The RSTD is measured between base stations 102-2 and 102-3 in the example of UE 104). The reference network node remains the same for all RSTDs measured by UE 104 for any single positioning use of OTDOA, and will typically correspond to the serving cell of UE 104 or another nearby cell with good signal strength at UE 104. On the one hand, in the case where the measured network node is a cell supported by a base station, the neighbor network nodes will typically be cells supported by a different base station than the base station of the reference cell and may have good or poor signal strength at UE 104. The position calculation can be based on the measured time differences (e.g., RSTD) and knowledge of the locations and relative transmit timings of the network nodes (e.g., whether the network nodes are accurately synchronized or whether each network node transmits at some known time difference relative to the other network nodes).

[0089] To assist in positioning operations, a location server (e.g., LMF 196) may provide OTDOA assistance data to UE 104 for use with reference network nodes (e.g., Figure 5 ) and the neighbor network nodes relative to the reference network node (e.g., the base station 102-1 in the example of Figure 51 and 102-3 in the example of UE 102). For example, the assistance data may provide a center channel frequency of each network node, various reference RF signal configuration parameters (e.g., number of consecutive positioning subframes, periodicity of positioning subframes, quiet sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference RF signal ID, reference RF signal bandwidth), a 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 of UE 104 as a reference network node.

[0090] In one aspect, although a location server (e.g., LMF 196) can issue assistance data to UE 104, the assistance data can alternatively originate directly from the network node (e.g., base station 102) itself (e.g., in a periodically broadcast overhead message, etc.). Alternatively, UE 104 can detect neighbor network nodes itself without using assistance data.

[0091] exist Figure 5 In the example of FIG. 1 , the measured time difference between the reference cell of base station 102-1 and the neighboring 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 represents the transmission time of the reference RF signal from the transmit antennas of base stations 102-1, 102-2, and 102-3 to UE 104, respectively, and includes any measurement noise at UE 104. UE 104 can then convert the ToA measurements for different network nodes into RSTD measurements (e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 36.214 entitled "Physical Layer; Measurements") and (optionally) send them to positioning engine 101. Using (i) RSTD measurements, (ii) known absolute or relative transmit timing of each network node, (iii) known locations of physical transmit antennas of reference and neighboring network nodes, and / or (iv) directional reference RF signal characteristics such as transmit direction, the location of UE 104 can be determined (by UE 104 or positioning engine 101).

[0092] The ToA of the shortest path from UE 104 to base station i is i yes Where D i is the position (q i ) is the Euclidean distance between base station i at position (p) and UE 104 at position (p), c is the speed of light in air (299700 km / s), and q iIt is known from the cell information database. The Euclidean distance (i.e., the straight-line distance between two points) is given by:

[0093]

[0094] 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 of the first point (in radians) and the latitude of the second point (in radians), 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.

[0095] In order to identify the ToA of a reference RF signal sent by a given network node, the UE 104 first jointly processes all resource elements (REs) on the channel on which the network node (e.g., base station 102) sends the reference RF signal, and performs an inverse Fourier transform to convert the received RF signal to the time domain. The conversion of the received RF signal to the time domain is called an estimate of the channel energy response (CER). The CER shows the peaks on the channel that vary over time, so the earliest "important" peak should correspond to the ToA of the reference RF signal. Typically, the UE will use a noise-related quality threshold to filter out false local peaks, thereby correctly identifying important peaks on the channel. For example, the 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 a maximum of Y dB lower than the main peak on the channel. The UE 104 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.

[0096] When UE 104 uses OTDOA measured time differences to obtain a position estimate itself, the necessary additional data (e.g., the locations and relative transmit timings of network nodes) may be provided by a location server (e.g., positioning engine 101) to UE 104. In some embodiments, a position estimate for UE 104 may be obtained from OTDOA measured time differences and from other measurements (e.g., measurements of signal timing from GPS or other GNSS satellites) made by UE 104 (e.g., by UE 104 itself or by positioning engine 101). In these embodiments, referred to as hybrid positioning, OTDOA measurements may help obtain a position estimate for UE 104, but may not fully determine the position estimate.

[0097] Uplink time difference of arrival (UTDOA) is a positioning method similar to OTDOA, but is based on an uplink reference RF signal, such as UL PRS or SRS, transmitted by a UE (e.g., UE 104). In addition, transmit and / or receive beamforming at the network node and / or UE 104 can enable wideband bandwidth with increased accuracy at the cell edge. Beam refinement can also exploit the channel reciprocity process in 5G NR.

[0098] Figure 6 An exemplary wireless communication system 600 is shown that implements positioning using a round trip time (RTT) (multi-RTT) technique of multiple base stations 102. For example, both the UE 104 and the base station 102 can transmit a PRS from which the Rx-Tx can be measured. For example, the base stations 102 can provide the UE 104 with the transmission time of their DL PRS signals and the arrival time of the UL PRS from the UE 104, and the UE 104 can determine the Rx-Tx and RTT of each base station 102 from these times.

[0099] In order to determine the location of the UE 104, some information about the network geometry must be known, such as the geographic location in a reference coordinate system of each base station 102. For UE-based positioning procedures, the network geometry may be provided to the UE 104 in any manner, such as, for example, providing the information in a beacon signal, using a server to provide the information, such as in positioning assistance data, providing the information using a uniform resource identifier, and the like.

[0100] As shown, the distances D1, D2, and D3 between UE 104 and respective base stations 102-1, 102-2, 102-3 are determined using RTT. Since the distance to each base station 102 is known and the location of each base station is known, the location of UE 104 can be solved using various known geometric techniques such as, for example, multilateration. Figure 6 It can be seen that circles 602, 604 and 606 centered at respective base stations 102-1, 102-2, 102-3 have radii equal to distances D1, D2 and D3. The location of UE 104 is ideally located at the common intersection of all circles 602, 604 and 606.

[0101] Other known positioning techniques may be performed using DL and / or UL wireless signals, such as angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD), to determine the location of the UE 104 .

[0102] UE 104 can be configured to synchronize location measurements to one or a limited number of time periods. If location measurements are to be performed periodically, UE 104 can perform measurements at a time instance or time period within a measurement cycle. For example, positioning measurements can be reported every 10ms from N different UEs. All UEs can periodically perform positioning measurements at the same time instance (e.g., at 4ms in a 10ms cycle), for example, with minimal jitter. The use of such synchronized measurements can enable more accurate tracking of UEs. For example, if, on the contrary, each UE performs positioning measurements arbitrarily within a 10ms period, or if each UE has an inconsistent concept of the measurement period, the tracking of the UE will be less accurate.

[0103] In one embodiment, synchronized positioning measurements may be supported if all UEs are configured to send UL PRS (SRS for positioning) and / or if all gNBs send DL PRS signals within a short time window at a desired time instance within the measurement period and positioning measurements are performed during the time window at the desired time instance.

[0104] As discussed above, the wireless system 100 can be used for precise positioning in various applications. For example, the UE 104 can be or can be attached to or embedded in a tool, object, part, or assembly used in a smart (automated) factory, or can be attached to or embedded in a package, object, or assembly in a smart (automated) warehouse or supply station or other non-industrial use case. For example, the UE 104 can be used in a motion control system, for example, as discussed in 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 22.804. Motion control systems are used to control the moving and / or rotating parts of a machine in a well-defined manner.

[0105] As an example, Figure 7A motion control system 700 is shown that may include a UE 104 as a position sensor. As shown, a motion controller 702 may periodically send a desired set point to one or several actuators 704, which may be, for example, a linear actuator or a servo drive. The actuator 704 performs a corresponding action on one or several processes 706, such as, for example, movement or rotation of one or more components. At the same time, a sensor 708 determines, for example, the current state of the process 706, such as the current position and / or rotation of one or more components. Some or all of the sensors 708 may include a UE 104 and a base station 102. Using wireless signals such as DL PRS and / or UL PRS, the UE 104 and / or the base station 102 may perform positioning measurements. The UE 104 and / or the base station 102 may provide a position report with information related to positioning measurements, such as positioning measurements (e.g., in a UE-assisted positioning process) or a position estimate (e.g., in a UE-based positioning process) to a location server 710. The location server 710 may determine a position estimate for the UE 104 based on the received position report. The location server 710 sends the actual value (e.g., the location of the UE 104) back to the motion controller 702. Thus, the sensors 708 (including the UE 104 and the gNB 102) and the location server 710 operate together, as shown in block 712, to measure the actual value of the sensor location and provide it to the motion controller 702.

[0106] Motion control is done in a strictly cyclic and deterministic way so that within a communication cycle time T cycle During this period, the motion controller 702 sends the updated setpoints to all 704 actuators, and when the sensors 708 include UE 104 and / or gNB 102, all sensors 708 send their actual values ​​back to the motion controller 702 via the location server 710. For example, during a duration of T cycleThe following steps are performed in a strictly cyclic manner within each communication cycle of . The motion controller 702 can issue set points to all actuators 704. The actuators 704 can obtain these set points and place them in internal buffers. All sensors including the UE 104 send their current actual values ​​from their internal buffers to the motion controller 702 via the location server 710. In addition, at a well-defined time point within the current cycle, the actuators 704 retrieve the latest set points received from the motion controller 702 from their internal buffers and act accordingly on the process 706. At the same time point, the 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 location server 710, which sends the new actual values ​​to the motion controller 702. A high level of synchronization may be desired for all devices (motion controller 702, sensors 708, actuators 704), especially for positioning measurements from sensors 708 (including UE 104 and / or gNB 102).

[0107] However, current wireless positioning cannot support the desired measurement synchronization. For example, current wireless positioning allows periodic reporting, for example, as described in 3GPP TS 37.355. Table 3 shows a portion of the field description from 3GPP TS 37.355.

[0108]

[0109]

[0110] Table 3

[0111] Therefore, periodic reporting as currently implemented under 3GPP TS 37.355 does support positioning measurements made at a certain period at a specific point in time, for example, so that the measurements can be synchronized at a high level of precision, such as 100 μs. For example, the reporting period under 3GPP TS 37.355 is too long, such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, and 64 seconds. In addition, the concept of "periodicity" under 3GPP TS 37.355 allows each node to have a different response time, so the desired synchronization cannot be achieved.

[0112] To achieve location measurements at a specific point in time, e.g., to enable synchronized positioning measurements, entities within the wireless network (e.g., serving and neighboring base stations 102, UE 104, and in some embodiments, a location server, e.g., LMF 196) may be assumed to be loosely synchronized at a common time, e.g., synchronized to within a few μs or tens of μs. The network synchronization accuracy (e.g., the time difference between different nodes in the network) may be much smaller than the duration of a time window around the desired point in time at which all positioning measurements are to be performed. For example, typically gNBs are synchronized to within a few μs in a time division duplex (TDD) system, and the time window around the desired point in time for positioning measurements may be around 200 μs.

[0113] In one embodiment, a wireless network (e.g., a location server such as LMF 196) may provide a configuration of a measurement period to a UE 104, and a time point within the period or measurement cycle at which positioning measurements are to be performed. In some embodiments, the UE 104 may be further provided with a time window around the time point during which positioning measurements are to be performed. In some embodiments, a report of location information such as a positioning measurement or a location estimate from the UE 104 may be sent to the location server at a specified time point or within a time window around the time point. Similarly, in some embodiments, a report of a location estimate from the location server to an external client (e.g., a controller in a motion control system) may be sent at a specified time point or within a time window around the time point. LPP and NRPPa may be used to provide signaling from a location server such as LMF 196 to a base station 102 such as a gNB and a UE 104. The LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 37.355, may be used to communicate positioning-related messages between a location server (e.g., LMF 196) and a UE 104. The New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) as defined in 3GPP TS 38.455 may be used to communicate positioning-related messages between a location server (e.g., LMF 196) and a base station 102 (e.g., gNB 102).

[0114] In some embodiments, the time point for positioning measurements and reporting positioning measurements and / or position estimates can be relative to a timing event in the wireless network. For example, the timing event can be sent in a wireless signal, for example, by a serving base station or another base station or UE 104. The specified time point can be a specified amount of time after the timing event, or equivalently a specified number of symbols. For example, an example of a timing event can be based on the transmission of a PRS, such as the start or end of a DL PRS or UL PRS window. In another example, the timing event can be an event in layer 1 (L1) (which is the physical (PHY) layer) or layer 2 (L2) (which is the medium access control (MAC) layer). For example, the timing event can be a semi-periodic channel state information resource set (CSI-RS) or SRS triggering downlink control information (DCI) or medium access control-control element (MAC-CE). In another example, the timing event can be a synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission event from a serving base station.

[0115] If entities in a wireless network are not synchronized in time, the entities can, for example, associate their time with a common time using a real-time difference. For example, the UE 104 can track the timing of each base station and determine the timing difference. The UE 104 can return the timing difference to a location server, such as the LMF 196, which can generate the real-time difference for the base station. The location server can provide the real-time difference to each of the base stations. The base stations can then associate their own time with a common time (e.g., the time of the serving base station). The base stations can then send a DL PRS or measure a UL PRS within a time window around the desired time point that is synchronized to the common time.

[0116] Figure 8 An alignment timeline 800 is shown that includes a motion controller 702 timeline 802, a UE 104 timeline 804, a base station 102 timeline 806, a location server 196 timeline 808, and a common time 810. As discussed above, the common time 810 can be a common time to which entities in the wireless network are synchronized. For example, the common time can be a global time, such as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or Global Positioning System (GPS) time. Alternatively, the common time can be a time internal to the wireless network, for example, based on the transmission timing of a base station 102 (such as a serving base station for UE 104). In the case where the common time is based on a time internal to the wireless network, synchronization of the base stations and, in some embodiments, the location server 196 may be necessary, for example using a real time difference. In some embodiments, the entities are synchronized to the common time 810 through the use of a real time difference. Timeline 800 shows a single control loop and shows events and actions performed by different entities relative to each other and the common time 810. The control loop can be periodic, so that Figure 8The events shown in can be repeated for a set number of cycles or until a termination message is issued.

[0117] As shown on controller timeline 802, the controller sends e.g. Figure 7 The actuator 704 shown in FIG. 1 provides a motion command that is globally synchronized, for example, based on a common time reference. In response, the actuator initiates motion. The UE 104 acts as a motion / position sensor, and thus, the UE 104 timeline 804 shows the start of motion aligned with the motion command on the controller timeline 802. After a period of time, the motion may be completed, as shown in the UE timeline 804. In some embodiments, the motion may continue through the entire control cycle.

[0118] As shown in base station timeline 806 and UE 104 timeline 804, base station 102 can send a signal including a common time reference, such as a timing event received by UE 104. For example, the timing event can be related to the transmission of a PRS, such as the start of a DL PRS window, or the end of a DL PRS window, such as in a previous cycle. In another example, the timing event can be a layer 1 or layer 2 event, such as the transmission of a CSI-RS, DCI, MAC-CE, or SSB. In some embodiments, UE 104 can send a timing event, for example, as the start (or end) of a UL PRS window. In another example, the timing event can include a portion or all of the normal transmission timing from base station 102, such as a signal or marker sent from base station 102 indicating the start of each of one or more consecutive subframes sent from base station 102.

[0119] At a specified point in time shown in common time 810, UE 104 and / or base station 102 (and Figure 8806 ) perform positioning measurements, as shown by sensor measurements on UE timeline 804 and base station timeline 806. For example, in some embodiments, UE 104 may perform only DL positioning measurements, or base station 102 (and possibly additional base stations) may perform only UL positioning measurements, or both DL and UL positioning measurements may be performed by UE 104 and base station 102 (and possibly additional base stations). As shown by common time 810, the time point may be related to the timing event by offset 812, which may be a specified amount of time (or equivalently, symbol). In some embodiments, the time point may be indicated by location server 196 to UE 104 (e.g., in an LPP message) and / or base station 102 and possibly to additional base stations (e.g., in an NRPPa message), in which case the timing event may be used by UE 104 and / or base station 102 (and possibly additional base stations) to help determine when the time point occurs, for example based on the known value of offset 812. In addition, as shown on the common time 810, a window 814 around a time point can be defined during which positioning measurements are to be performed. For example, the window 814 can be 200 μs. Thus, the positioning measurements of the UE 104 and the base station 102, as well as any other entities not shown, are closely aligned with the defined time point, for example within 100 μs.

[0120] Subsequently, the UE 104 and / or the base station 102 (and possibly additional base stations) issue positioning measurements to the location server 196, as shown by the issued sensor measurements on the UE timeline 804 and the base station timeline 806, and the received sensor measurements on the location server timeline 808. The positioning measurements may include, for example, a timestamp or an indication of a known time interval (e.g., a time delay) between performing the positioning measurement and a specified point in time. In some embodiments, additional messages may be sent between the UE 104 and the base station 102, for example, to provide measurement information, such as a transmission time or arrival time of a PRS signal. In addition, in some embodiments, such as a UE-based process, the UE 104 may determine a position estimate and the sensor measurements provided by the UE 104 may include the position estimate. In the UE-based process, the base station 102 or the location server 196 may additionally, for example, at a measurement report time (not at a measurement report time). Figure 8 1 (shown in FIG. 1 ) or just after the measurement reporting time, positioning measurements obtained by base station 102 (and possibly additional base stations) are sent to UE 104. UE 104 can then determine a position estimate based on both the positioning measurements obtained by base station 102 (and possibly additional base stations) and the positioning measurements obtained by UE 104.

[0121] As shown at common time 810, the transmission of positioning measurements by UE 104 and / or base station 102 may be at or before a defined point in time (e.g., a measurement reporting time). As shown at common time 810, the measurement reporting time may be related to the timing event by an offset 816, which may be a specified amount of time (or equivalently, symbols). In some implementations, the measurement reporting time may not be defined, but may be considered to occur immediately after the positioning measurement has been obtained in order to reduce latency.

[0122] The location server 196 determines a location estimate for the UE 104 based on the received positioning measurements. For example, the location server may determine the location estimate using the positioning measurements received from the UE 104 and / or the base station 102. Alternatively, the sensor measurements from the UE 104 may include a location estimate and the location server 196 may use the location estimate determined by the UE 104 and / or may confirm the location estimate. Subsequently, the location server 196 issues location information including the location estimate to the motion controller 702, as shown by the issued location information on the location server timeline 808 and the received location information on the controller timeline 802. The location information may include a timestamp for the positioning measurement or an indication of a known delay between performing the positioning measurement and a specified point in time. As shown by the common time 810, the transmission of the location information by the location server 196 may be at (or before) a defined point in time (e.g., an estimated reporting time). As shown by the common time 810, the estimated reporting time may be related to a previous event (e.g., a measurement reporting time, or more specifically, the time when the location server 196 receives the sensor measurement) by an offset 818, which may be a specified amount of time. In some implementations, the estimate reporting time may not be defined, but may be considered to occur immediately after location server 196 has obtained a location estimate in order to reduce latency.

[0123] The motion controller 702 may determine the next motion command, as shown by the next calculated motion command on the controller timeline 802, and the control loop may repeat. The time point within a cycle (i.e., control cycle), the measurement reporting time, and the estimated reporting time may be selected to provide sufficient time during the cycle for positioning measurements and all reporting to occur within the cycle.

[0124] Fig. 9The present invention is a message flow 900 having various messages issued between entities in a wireless system, including a UE 104, a serving base station 102s, a neighboring base station 102n, a location server 902, and an external client 904, which may be, for example, a controller in a motion control system. The serving base station 102s and the neighboring base station 102n are sometimes referred to as base stations 102. The UE 104 can be configured to perform UE-assisted positioning or UE-based positioning, in which the UE itself determines its position using, for example, assistance data provided to it, and the UE 104 can be configured to perform multi-cell RTT positioning (also referred to as multi-RTT positioning). In the message flow 900, it is assumed that the UE 104 and the location server 902 communicate using the LPP positioning protocol, although NPP or a combination of LPP and NPP or other future protocols (such as NRPPa) may also be used. It should be understood that the UE 104 can be performed. Fig. 9 Preliminary or additional conventional stages not shown in the diagram, such as capability requests and responses, requests for assistance data, etc.

[0125] At stage 1, the location server 902 receives a location request message from an external client 904, which requests one or more location estimates for the UE 104 within a measurement period (e.g., a control cycle) and at a specified time point within the measurement period. For example, the time point can be based on a global time, such as UTC or GPS time. The time point can be a time instance relative to a common time reference during which positioning measurements are to be performed. For example, the common time reference can be based on a global time. In another embodiment, the common time reference can be based on the transmission timing of a base station such as a serving base station 102s. Entities in the wireless network can be synchronized to a common time, which can include a common time reference. For example, the time point can be relative to a timing event in the wireless network, such as the transmission of a PRS, for example, the start or end of a PRS window, or a layer 1 or layer 2 event, such as the transmission of a CSI-RS, DCI, MAC-CE, or SSB. In the case where the common time is based on a time inside the wireless network, synchronization of the base stations and, in some embodiments, the location server 196 may be necessary, for example, using a real-time difference. For example, the location server 902 may convert a time point in global time to a common time reference based on timing events in the wireless network (e.g., based on the location server 902's knowledge of the relationship, which may be provided by measurements of base station timing, such as GPS time, received from the UE 104 and / or base station 102). The location request may also include a time window around the time point during which positioning measurements are to be performed. The location request may also include the time points at which the UE 104 and / or gNB 102 transmits location information and / or location estimates and / or the time points at which location estimates are to be transmitted to external clients 904. The location request may be used for periodic positioning of the UE 104 and may indicate, for example, a sequence of time points within each period for obtaining positioning measurements and reporting location information and location estimates.

[0126] At stage 2, location server 902 requests configuration information and base station 102 provides configuration information.

[0127] At stage 3a, UE 104 and / or base station 102 may receive a signal from base station 102. At stage 3b1 and / or 3b2, UE 104 and / or base station 102 may determine a timing difference between base stations 102, which is provided to location server 902 at stage 3c1 (e.g., using LPP) and / or at 3c2 (e.g., using NRPPa).

[0128] At stages 3d and 3e, the location server 902 determines the real-time difference for the base stations 102 and provides the real-time difference (e.g., using NRPPa) to the base stations 102. For example, if the base stations 102 are not synchronized with an external clock (e.g., UTC time or GPS time), the base stations 102 may use the real-time difference to correct any timing misalignment between the base stations 102. If the wireless network is synchronized with an external clock, stages 3a to 3e may not be required. Alternatively, the base stations 102 may use the real-time difference to help determine a common timing applicable to all base stations 102 (e.g., a common timing based on the timing of one of the base stations 102). The real-time difference may also be provided by the location server 902 to the UE 104 (e.g., at stage 4) to enable the UE 102 to determine the common timing (e.g., a common timing based on the timing of any one of the base stations 102).

[0129] At stage 4, the location server 902 sends a location request message (e.g., an LPP location request message) to the UE 104 via the serving base station 102s, for example, requesting location measurement for the UE 104. The location request may be used for periodic positioning of the UE 104, and may indicate, for example, a sequence of time points in each period for obtaining positioning measurements and reporting location information. In some embodiments, for example, at stage 4 or before stage 4 ( Fig. 9 ), the location server 902 may provide assistance data to the UE 104. In some embodiments, the location request message may include a PRS transmission request message to request the transmission of the UL PRS, or the PRS transmission request message may be separate from the location request message (e.g., may be sent by the base station 102 to the UE 104). The PRS transmission request may be used for periodic transmission of the PRS, and may indicate a time point in each period for transmitting the PRS. The location request message includes a measurement period and a time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurements based on the received DL PRS and / or transmitting the UL PRS. The location request message may also include a time window around the time point during which the positioning measurement is to be performed. The location request may also include a time point for reporting the positioning measurement. The time point may be relative to a common time reference, which may be a global time or may be internal to the network, such as the timing of a base station (such as the serving base station 102s).

[0130] At stage 5, the location server 902 may send a location request message (e.g., an NRPPa location request message) to the base station 102, e.g., to request location measurements for the UE 104. The location request may be used for periodic positioning of the UE 104 and may indicate, for example, a sequence of time points within each period for obtaining location measurements and reporting location information. In some embodiments, the location request message may include a PRS transmission request message to request the transmission of DL PRS, or the PRS transmission request message may be separate from the location request message. The PRS transmission request may be used for periodic transmission of PRS and may indicate the time points within each period for transmitting PRS. The location request message includes a measurement period and time points within the measurement period for performing location measurements based on received UL PRS and / or transmitting DL PRS. The location request message may also include a time window near the time points during which location measurements are to be performed. The location request may also include the time points for reporting location measurements. The time points may be relative to a common time reference, which may be global time or may be internal to the network, such as the timing of a base station (such as the serving base station 102s).

[0131] At stage 6, the serving base station 102s may send a timing event. For example, the timing event may be the transmission of a layer 1 or layer 2 event, such as the transmission of CSI-RS, DCI, MAC-CE, or SSB. In some embodiments, the timing event may be related to the transmission of PRS, e.g., the start or end of the PRS window shown in stages 7 and 8, in which case stage 5 need not be performed. In another example, the timing event may include a part or all of the normal transmission timing from the base station 102s, such as a signal or marker transmitted from the base station 102s indicating the start of each of one or more consecutive subframes transmitted from the base station 102s.

[0132] At stage 7, for example, if the location request in stage 5 indicates that the base station 102 is to transmit DL PRS, the base station 102 may transmit DL PRS. The transmission of DL PRS may be aligned with the time points of the location measurements specified in the location request message of stage 5. In some embodiments, for example, in a previous measurement period, the start of the transmission of DL PRS or the end of the transmission of DL PRS may be used as a timing event.

[0133] At stage 8, for example, if the location request in stage 4 indicates that the UE 104 is to transmit UL PRS, the UE 104 may transmit UL PRS. The transmission of UL PRS may be aligned with the time points of the location measurements specified in the location request message of stage 4. In some embodiments, for example, in a previous measurement period, the start of the transmission of UL PRS or the end of the transmission of UL PRS may be used as a timing event.

[0134] At stage 9a, the UE 104 performs positioning measurements using the received DL PRS. Positioning measurements are performed at time points within the measurement period specified in the location request in stage 4. In some embodiments, positioning measurements may be performed within a time window around the time points specified in the location request in stage 4, which may be relative to the timing events shown in stage 5 or discussed in stages 7 and 8. 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.

[0135] At stages 9b and 9c, the base station 102 may perform positioning measurements using the received UL PRS. The positioning measurements are performed at a time point within a measurement period specified in the location request in stage 5, which may be relative to the timing events shown in stage 5 or discussed in stages 7 and 8. In some embodiments, the positioning measurements may be performed within a time window around the time point specified in the location request in stage 5. The base station 102 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.

[0136] At stage 10, the base station 102 or the serving base station 102s or the location server 196 may send positioning information, such as the positioning measurements performed at stages 9b and 9c, the transmission time of the DL PRS and the arrival time of the UL PRS, to the UE 104, and the UE 104 may use the positioning information for positioning methods such as Rx-Tx, RTT or multi-cell RTT. When the location server 902 sends the positioning information to the UE 104 at stage 10, stage 10 may occur after stage 13.

[0137] At stage 11, UE 104 may optionally determine a position estimate using positioning measurements performed at stage 9a and positioning information received at stage 10, as well as the location of base station 102, which may be provided in provided assistance data, for example, provided at stage 4.

[0138] At stage 12, UE 104 may send a location information report to location server 902 (e.g., using LPP). The location information report may provide the location measurement and / or location estimate from stage 11, if determined, and may include a timestamp for the location measurement or an indication of a known time interval between performing the positioning measurement and a point in time within the measurement period. The location information report may be provided at or before a time point specified for the location information report in the location request in stage 4, which may be relative to a timing event as shown in stage 5 or discussed in stages 7 and 8.

[0139] At stage 13, the base station 102 may send a location information report to the location server 902 (e.g., using NRPPa). The location information report may provide a location measurement and may include a timestamp for the location measurement or an indication of a known time interval between performing the positioning measurement and a point in time within the measurement period. The location information report may be provided at or before a time point specified for the location information report in the location request in stage 5, which may be relative to a timing event shown in stage 5 or discussed in stages 7 and 8.

[0140] At stage 14 , location server 1102 may determine a location estimate for UE 104 based on positioning measurements received in location information reports from stages 12 and 13 , or may verify the location estimate for UE 104 if received in location information reports at stage 12 .

[0141] At stage 15, the location server 1102 may provide a location report including a location estimate for the UE 104 to the external client 904. The location report may include a timestamp for the positioning measurement or an indication of a known time interval (e.g., a time delay) between performing the positioning measurement and a point in time within the measurement period. The location report may be provided at or before the time point specified for the location report in the location request in stage 1, which may be relative to a previous event, such as receiving location information in stages 12 and 13.

[0142] Fig.10 A flow chart of an exemplary method 1000 performed by an entity in a wireless network for performing positioning of a user equipment (eg, UE 104) within a wireless network is shown.

[0143] At block 1002, an entity receives a location request message, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurements for a UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference, such as Fig. 9 At block 1004, a positioning reference signal (PRS) is received from one or more other entities in the wireless network, such as Fig. 9 At block 1006, the positioning measurement is performed using the PRS from the one or more other entities at a first time point in the measurement period specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurement, for example, as Fig. 9 At block 1008, a location report related to positioning measurements is sent to a location server, such as Fig. 9 Stages 12 and 13 of this document are discussed in more detail below.

[0144] In one embodiment, the location request message may also include a second time point within the measurement period for providing the location report, wherein the location report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point, wherein the second time point may be relative to the common time reference, for example, Fig. 9 as discussed at stages 4, 5, 12 and 13 of the present invention.

[0145] In one embodiment, the common time reference may be based on the transmission timing of the base station, for example, Fig. 9 For example, the base station may be a serving base station, such as Fig. 9 As discussed in Phase 1 of

[0146] In one embodiment, the entity in the wireless network may be a UE and the PRS is a downlink PRS, such as Fig. 9 Stages 4 and 7 are discussed in this section.

[0147] In one embodiment, the entity in the wireless network is a base station (e.g., base station 102) and the PRS is an uplink PRS, e.g., Fig. 9 Stages 5 and 8 of this document are discussed in more detail below.

[0148] In one embodiment, the location request message may also include a window near a first time point in the measurement period for performing the positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities is performed within the window near the first time point, for example, Fig. 9 as discussed at stages 4, 5, 9a, 9b and 9c.

[0149] In one embodiment, the common time reference may be a timing event in the wireless network, such as Fig. 9 For example, a timing event in a wireless network may be a layer 1 event or a layer 2 event, such as Fig. 9For example, the timing event in the wireless network may be one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a semi-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB), such as Fig. 9 as discussed in Stages 6, 7 and 8 of the .

[0150] In one embodiment, an entity and one or more other entities in a wireless network may be synchronized to a common time, e.g. Figure 8 and Fig. 9 The common time may include a common time reference, such as Figure 8 Chuhe Fig. 9 As discussed in Phase 1 of

[0151] In one embodiment, the entity may be a UE and the one or more other entities may be one or more base stations, wherein the one or more other entities in the wireless network are not synchronized in time. The UE may determine a timing difference between two or more base stations and send the timing difference to a location server to generate or update a real-time difference to be provided by the location server to at least one of the two or more base stations and another UE or a combination thereof, for example, Figure 8 In Fig. 9 as discussed in Stages 3a to 3e of the present invention.

[0152] In one embodiment, the entity may be a UE and the one or more other entities may be one or more base stations, and the UE may determine a position estimate for the UE based on positioning measurements, and a position report associated with the positioning measurements includes the position estimate for the UE, e.g. Fig. 9 The UE may receive positioning measurements from at least one of a location server, a serving base station, the one or more other entities, or a combination thereof, wherein a position estimate for the UE is also determined based on the positioning measurements received from at least one of the location server, the serving base station, the one or more other entities, or a combination thereof, for example, Fig. 9 Stages 10 and 11 are discussed at

[0153] In one embodiment, the position report associated with the positioning measurement may be a positioning measurement, such as Fig. 9 Stages 12 and 13 of this document are discussed in more detail below.

[0154] In one embodiment, a request to send a PRS is received at a first time point in a measurement period, for example, Fig. 9The PRS is sent to the one or more other entities at the first time point for sending the PRS within the measurement period specified in the location request message, for example, Fig. 9 Stages 7 and 8 of this document are discussed in more detail below.

[0155] In one embodiment, the position report associated with the positioning measurement may include a timestamp for the positioning measurement or an indication of a known time interval between performing the positioning measurement and a first time point in the measurement period, such as Fig. 9 Stages 12 and 13 of this document are discussed in more detail below.

[0156] In one embodiment, the UE may be a sensor in a motion control system, for example, Figure 7 discussed in .

[0157] Fig.11 A flow chart of an exemplary method 1100 performed by an entity in a wireless network for performing positioning of a user equipment (eg, UE 104) within a wireless network is shown.

[0158] At block 1102, an entity receives a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message (e.g., an NRPPa message sent by a location server such as LMF 196), the PRS transmission request message including a measurement period and a time point within the measurement period for transmitting the PRS, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference, such as Fig. 9 At block 1104, the PRS is sent at a time point for sending the PRS within the measurement period specified in the PRS send request message, for example, Fig. 9 Stages 7 and 8 of this document are discussed in more detail below.

[0159] In one embodiment, the common time reference may be based on the transmission timing of a base station (e.g., base station 102), for example, Fig. 9 For example, the base station may be a serving base station, such as Fig. 9 As discussed in Phase 1 of

[0160] In one embodiment, the entity in the wireless network may be a UE and the PRS is an uplink PRS, such as Fig. 9 Stages 4 and 8 of this document are discussed in more detail below.

[0161] In one embodiment, the entity in the wireless network may be a base station and the PRS is a downlink PRS, e.g. Fig. 9 Stages 5 and 7 of this document are discussed in more detail below.

[0162] In one implementation, the PRS transmission request message may further include a window near a time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period, wherein the PRS is transmitted during the window near the time point, for example, Fig. 9 Stages 4 and 5 of this document are discussed in more detail below.

[0163] In one embodiment, the common time reference may be a timing event in the wireless network, such as Fig. 9 For example, a timing event in a wireless network may be a layer 1 event or a layer 2 event, such as Fig. 9 For example, the timing event in the wireless network may be one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a semi-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB), such as Fig. 9 as discussed in Stages 6, 7 and 8 of the .

[0164] In one embodiment, the UE may be a sensor in a motion control system, for example, Figure 7 discussed in .

[0165] Fig.12 A flow chart of an exemplary method 1200 performed by a location server (e.g., LMF 196) in a wireless network for performing positioning of a user equipment (e.g., UE 104) within a wireless network is shown.

[0166] At block 1202, a location server receives a first location request message from a first entity requesting the location of the UE at a first point in time within a measurement period, such as Fig. 9 At block 1204, a second location request message is sent to one or more entities in the wireless network at a second time point requesting positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the second time point is relative to a common time reference and is synchronized to a first time point within a measurement period received in the first location request message, for example, Fig. 9 At block 1206, a location report is received from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements performed for the UE at the second point in time, for example, Fig. 9 At block 1208, a position estimate for the UE is determined based on the positioning report, e.g., Fig. 9 At block 1210, a location estimate for the UE is sent to the first entity, for example, Fig. 9as discussed at stage 15 of this document.

[0167] In one embodiment, the first time point may be relative to a common time reference, wherein the second time point is the same as the first time point, e.g. Fig. 9 As discussed in Phase 1 of

[0168] In one embodiment, the common reference time may be based on the transmission timing of the base station, for example, Fig. 9 For example, the base station may be a serving base station, such as Fig. 9 As discussed in Phase 1 of

[0169] In one embodiment, the first location request message may include a third time point within the measurement period for providing the location estimate, wherein the third time point is relative to the common time reference, wherein the location estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the third time point, for example, Fig. 9 As discussed in Phase 1 of

[0170] In one embodiment, the first location request message may further include a window near a second time point in the measurement period for providing a location estimate for the UE, wherein the second location request message sent to the one or more entities includes the window near the second time point, and wherein the positioning measurement for the UE received in the location report is performed within the window near the second time point, for example, Fig. 9 As discussed in Phase 1 of

[0171] In one embodiment, the common time reference may be a timing event in the wireless network, such as Fig. 9 For example, a timing event in a wireless network may be a layer 1 event or a layer 2 event, such as Fig. 9 For example, the timing event in the wireless network may be one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a semi-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB), such as Fig. 9 as discussed in Stages 6, 7 and 8 of the .

[0172] In one embodiment, the position report based on the positioning measurement for the UE may be one of 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 a combination thereof, and the position estimate for the UE is determined using the positioning measurement for the UE received in the positioning report, for example, as Fig. 9 as discussed at stages 12, 13 and 14 of the present invention.

[0173] In one embodiment, the location report based on the positioning measurement for the UE may be a location estimate for the UE determined by the UE, such as Fig. 9 as discussed in Stage 12 of this document.

[0174] In one embodiment, the position report based on the positioning measurement for the UE may include a timestamp for the positioning measurement or an indication of a known delay between the time when the positioning measurement is performed and a second time point in the measurement period, and wherein the position estimate for the UE includes an indication of a known delay between the timestamp for the positioning measurement or the time when the positioning measurement is performed and the second time point in the measurement period, for example, Fig. 9 as discussed at stages 12, 13 and 15 of .

[0175] In one embodiment, the UE and the location server may be sensors, and the first entity may be a motion controller in a motion control system, such as Figure 7 discussed in .

[0176] Fig.13 UE 1300 (eg, which may be Figure 1104) is a schematic block diagram of certain exemplary features of a UE 104 (shown in FIG. 104), the UE 1300 being configured to perform positioning within a wireless network, for example, at defined time points within a measurement period, as described herein. In one example, the UE 1300 may be a sensor in a motion control system. The UE 1300 may, for example, include: one or more processors 1302, a memory 1304, an external interface (e.g., a wireless network interface) such as at least one wireless transceiver 1310, which may be operably coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1320 and the memory 1304 using one or more connections 1306 (e.g., a bus, a line, an optical fiber, a link, etc.). The UE 1300 may also include a clock 1316, which may be synchronized with the wireless network at a common time. The UE 1300 may also include additional items not shown, such as a user interface that may include, for example, a display, a keypad or other input device (such as a virtual keypad on a display), through which a user may interact with the UE, or a satellite positioning system receiver. In certain example embodiments, all or part of the UE 1300 may take the form of a chipset or the like. Wireless transceiver 1310 may include, for example, a transmitter 1312 capable of transmitting one or more signals over one or more types of wireless communication networks and a receiver 1314 capable of receiving one or more signals transmitted over one or more types of wireless communication networks.

[0177] In some embodiments, UE 1300 may include an antenna 1311, which may be internal or external. UE antenna 1311 may be used to send and / or receive signals processed by wireless transceiver 1310. In some embodiments, UE antenna 1311 may be coupled to wireless transceiver 1310. In some embodiments, measurements of signals received (sent) by UE 1300 may be performed at the connection point between UE antenna 1311 and wireless transceiver 1310. For example, the measurement reference point for the received (sent) RF signal measurement may be the input (output) end of receiver 1314 (transmitter 1312) and the output (input) end of UE antenna 1311. In a UE 1300 having multiple UE antennas 1311 or an antenna array, the antenna connector may be considered as a virtual point representing the aggregate output (input) of multiple UE antennas. In some embodiments, UE 1300 may measure received signals including signal strength and TOA measurements, and the raw measurements may be processed by one or more processors 1302.

[0178] The one or more processors 1302 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1302 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein by implementing one or more instructions or program codes 1308 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as the medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 1302 may represent one or more circuits that can be configured to perform at least a portion of a data signal calculation step or process related to the operation of the UE 1300.

[0179] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may store instructions or program code 1308, which contain executable code or software instructions that, when executed by one or more processors 1302, cause the one or more processors 1302 to operate as a special-purpose computer that is programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in the UE 1300, the medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by one or more processors 1302 to perform the methods described herein. Although the components or modules are shown as software executable by one or more processors 1302 in the medium 1320, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in the memory 1304 or may be dedicated hardware in or outside the one or more processors 1302.

[0180] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the media 1320 and / or memory 1304 and be utilized by the one or more processors 1302 to manage the communications and functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the media 1320 and / or memory 1304 as shown in the UE 1300 is exemplary only, and thus the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated and / or structured in a different manner, depending on the implementation of the UE 1300.

[0181] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include a location request module 1322, which when implemented by one or more processors 1302 configures the one or more processors 1302 to receive a location request message from a location server, for example, via the wireless transceiver 1310, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurements for the UE. The location request message may additionally or alternatively request the transmission of a ULPRS at a first time point in the measurement period. The location request message may include, for example, an additional time point for providing a location report to the location server. The time point may be relative to a timing event in the wireless network, such as the start or end of a PRS window, a semi-periodic CSI-RS, an SRS triggering a DCI or a MAC-CE or an SSB. The location request message may also include a window around the first time point in the measurement period.

[0182] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include a timing event module 1324, which, when implemented by the one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to monitor or generate timing events in the wireless network, such as the start or end of a PRS window, semi-periodic CSI-RS, SRS triggering DCI or MAC-CE or SSB.

[0183] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include a time point module 1326, which, when implemented by the one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to perform specific actions, such as sending a UL PRS, performing positioning measurements, and position reporting at a requested time point or within a window near a time point relative to a detected timing event (e.g., after a specified amount of time (or number of symbols) after the timing event).

[0184] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include a DL PRS receiving module 1328 , which when implemented by the one or more processors 1302 configures the one or more processors 1302 to receive, via the wireless transceiver 1310 , a DL PRS transmitted by one or more base stations.

[0185] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include a UL PRS transmission module 1330, which when implemented by the one or more processors 1302 configures the one or more processors 1302 to transmit a plurality of UL PRSs, such as SRSs for positioning, via the wireless transceiver 1310. The one or more processors 1302 may be configured to transmit the UL PRS at a requested time point within the measurement period.

[0186] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include a positioning measurement module 1332 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to perform positioning measurements using received DL PRS and / or UL PRS at requested time points within a measurement period. For example, the positioning measurement may be, for example, TOA, RSTD, OTDOA, Rx-Tx, RSRP, RTT, multi-RTT, AoA, or AoD.

[0187] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include a location information module 1334 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to receive location information from one or more base stations via the wireless transceiver 1310. For example, the location information may include positioning measurements that include the transmission time of the transmitted DL PRS and the arrival time of the received UL PRS.

[0188] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include a positioning estimation module 1336 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to estimate the location of the UE 1300 during a UE-based positioning process using the positioning measurements performed by the UE 1300, the location information provided by the base station, and, for example, the location of the base station received in the assistance data, which may be received together with the location request message or in a separate assistance data provision message.

[0189] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include a timestamp module 1338 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to associate the positioning measurement with the time at which the positioning measurement is performed using a timestamp or with an indication of a known delay between the performance of the positioning measurement and a first time point within the measurement period.

[0190] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include a reporting module 1340 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to send a location report related to the positioning measurement (which may be a positioning measurement and / or a position estimate and a timestamp) or an indication of a known delay between the performance of the positioning measurement and a first time point within the measurement period to a location server via the wireless transceiver 1310. The location report may be sent at or before a specified time point (e.g., relative to a timing event).

[0191] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include a timing difference module 1342, which, when implemented by the one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to determine the timing difference between base stations based on signals received from the base stations and send the timing difference to a location server to generate a real-time difference to be provided to two or more base stations.

[0192] Depending on the application, the methods described herein can be implemented in various ways. For example, the methods can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementations, one or more processors 1302 can be implemented in 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 combinations thereof.

[0193] For firmware and / or software implementations, the methods can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium that tangibly embodies instructions can be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1320 or memory 1304 connected to and executed by one or more processors 1302. The memory can be implemented within one or more processors or outside 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 type of memory or a particular amount of memory, or the type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0194] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functionality may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 1308 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as media 1320 and / or memory 1304. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program 1308. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium including program code 1308 stored thereon may include program code 1308 for supporting positioning of a UE at a specified time point in a measurement period in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. Non-transitory computer-readable media 1320 includes physical computer storage media. 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 desired program code 1308 in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer; disk and disc as used herein include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0195] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 1320, instructions and / or data may also be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in the communication device. For example, the communication device may include a wireless transceiver 1310 with signals indicating 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 with signals indicating information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0196] Memory 1304 can represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 1304 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 being separated from one or more processors 1302 in this example, it should be understood that all or part of the main memory can be set within one or more processors 1302 or otherwise co-located / coupled with it. Secondary memory can include, for example, memory of the same or similar type as the main memory and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as, for example, disk drives, optical disk drives, tape drives, solid-state memory drives, etc.

[0197] In some embodiments, the secondary memory may be operable to receive, or be configured to be coupled to, a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1320. Thus, in some exemplary embodiments, the methods and / or apparatus presented herein may take the form of all or a portion of a computer-readable medium 1320, which may include computer-implemented code 1308 stored thereon, which, if executed by one or more processors 1302, may be operably enabled to perform all or a portion of the example operations described herein. The computer-readable medium 1320 may be part of the memory 1304.

[0198] An entity in a wireless network, such as a UE 1300, may be configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network and may include a component for receiving a location request message, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point within the measurement period for performing positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference, the component may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1304 and / or media 1320, such as a location request module 1322. A component for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1304 and / or media 1320, such as a DL PRS receiving module 1328. The means for performing the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities at a first time point within a measurement period specified in the location request message for performing the positioning measurement may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1304 and / or media 1320, such as a timing event module 1324, a time point module 1326, and a positioning measurement module 1332. The means for sending a location report related to the positioning measurement to a location server may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1304 and / or media 1320, such as a reporting module 1340.

[0199] In one embodiment, the entity is the UE, and the one or more other entities include one or more base stations, wherein the one or more other entities in the wireless network are not synchronized in time. The UE may also include a component for determining a timing difference between two or more base stations, which may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1304 and / or medium 1320 (such as a timing difference module 1342). The component for sending the timing difference to the location server for generating or updating a real-time difference provided by the location server to at least one of the two or more base stations and another UE or a combination thereof may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1304 and / or medium 1320 (such as a timing difference module 1342).

[0200] In one embodiment, the entity may be a UE and the one or more other entities include one or more base stations, and the UE may also include a component for determining a position estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurement, which component may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions (such as a position estimation module 1336) in memory 1304 and / or media 1320. The position report related to the positioning measurement may include a position estimate for the UE.

[0201] In one embodiment, the entity may also include a component for receiving positioning measurements from a location server, a serving base station, at least one of the one or more other entities, or a combination thereof, and wherein determining a position estimate for the UE is also based on the positioning measurements received from at least one of the location server, the serving base station, the one or more other entities, or a combination thereof, the component may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions (such as a location information module 1334) in the memory 1304 and / or the medium 1320.

[0202] In one embodiment, the entity may also include a means for receiving a request to send a PRS at a first point in time within the measurement period, which means may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1304 and / or medium 1320, such as a location request module 1322. The means for sending the PRS to the one or more other entities at the first point in time for sending the PRS within the measurement period specified in the location request message may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1304 and / or medium 1320, such as a UL PRS sending module 1330.

[0203] An entity in a wireless network, such as a UE 1300, may be configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network and may include a component for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the PRS transmission request message including a measurement period and a time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period, wherein the time point is relative to a common time reference, the component may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 1304 and / or a medium 1320, such as a location request module 1322. The component for transmitting the PRS at the time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period specified in the PRS transmission request message may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 1304 and / or a medium 1320, such as a UL PRS transmission module 1330.

[0204] Fig.14 A base station 1400 (eg, which may be Figure 11400 is a schematic block diagram of certain exemplary features of a base station 102 (shown in FIG. 1400 ), the base station 1400 being configured to perform positioning for a UE within a wireless network, for example, at a defined time point within a measurement period, as described herein. In one example, the UE may be a sensor in a motion control system. The base station 1400 may, for example, include: one or more processors 1402, a memory 1404, external interfaces such as at least one wireless transceiver 1410 (e.g., a wireless network interface) and a communication interface 1418 (e.g., a wired or wireless network interface to other base stations and / or a core network and a location server), which may be operably coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1420 and the memory 1404 using one or more connections 1406 (e.g., a bus, a line, an optical fiber, a link, etc.). The base station 1400 may also include a clock 1416, which may be synchronized in time with a common time. In certain example embodiments, all or part of the base station 1400 may take the form of a chipset or the like. Wireless transceiver 1410 may, for example, include a transmitter 1412 enabled to transmit one or more signals over one or more types of wireless communication networks and a receiver 1414 for receiving one or more signals transmitted over one or more types of wireless communication networks.

[0205] In some embodiments, the base station 1400 may include an antenna 1411, which may be internal or external. The UE antenna 1411 may be used to send and / or receive signals processed by the wireless transceiver 1410. In some embodiments, the UE antenna 1411 may be coupled to the wireless transceiver 1410. In some embodiments, the measurement of the signal received (sent) by the base station 1400 may be performed at the connection point between the antenna 1411 and the wireless transceiver 1410. For example, the measurement reference point for the received (sent) RF signal measurement may be the input (output) end of the receiver 1414 (transmitter 1412) and the output (input) end of the antenna 1411. In a base station 1400 having multiple antennas 1411 or an antenna array, the antenna connector may be considered as a virtual point representing the aggregate output (input) of multiple UE antennas. In some embodiments, the base station 1400 may measure the received signal including signal strength and TOA measurements, and the raw measurements may be processed by one or more processors 1402.

[0206] The one or more processors 1402 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1402 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein by implementing one or more instructions or program codes 1408 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as the medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 1402 may represent one or more circuits that may be configured to perform at least a portion of a data signal calculation step or process related to the operation of the base station 1400.

[0207] The medium 1420 and / or memory 1404 may store instructions or program code 1408, which contain 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 that is programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in the base station 1400, the medium 1420 and / or memory 1404 may 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 components or modules are shown as software in the medium 1420 that can be executed by one or more processors 1402, it should be understood that the components or modules can be stored in the memory 1404 or can be dedicated hardware in or outside the one or more processors 1402.

[0208] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 1420 and / or memory 1404 and be utilized by the one or more processors 1402 to manage communications and functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the medium 1420 and / or memory 1404 as shown for the base station 1400 is exemplary only, and thus the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated and / or structured in a different manner, depending on the implementation of the base station 1400.

[0209] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a location request module 1422, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to receive a location request message from a location server, for example, via the communication interface 1418, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point within the measurement period for performing positioning measurements for the UE. The location request message may additionally or alternatively request the transmission of a DLPRS at a first time point within the measurement period. The location request message may include, for example, an additional time point for providing a location report to a location server. The time point may be relative to a timing event in a wireless network, such as the start or end of a PRS window, a semi-periodic CSI-RS, an SRS triggering a DCI or MAC-CE or SSB. The location request message may also include a window near the first time point within the measurement period.

[0210] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a timing event module 1424, which, when implemented by the one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to monitor or generate timing events in the wireless network, such as the start or end of a PRS window, semi-periodic CSI-RS, SRS triggering DCI or MAC-CE or SSB.

[0211] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a time point module 1426, which, when implemented by the one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to perform specific actions, such as sending a DL PRS, performing positioning measurements, and position reporting at a requested time point or within a window near a time point relative to a detected timing event (e.g., after a specified amount of time (or number of symbols) after the timing event).

[0212] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a DL PRS transmission module 1428, which when implemented by the one or more processors 1402 configures the one or more processors 1402 to transmit the DL PRS via the wireless transceiver 1410. The one or more processors 1402 may be configured to transmit the DL PRS at a requested time point within the measurement period.

[0213] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a UL PRS reception module 1430 , which when implemented by the one or more processors 1402 configures the one or more processors 1402 to receive a UL PRS, such as an SRS for positioning, from a UE via the wireless transceiver 1410 .

[0214] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a positioning measurement module 1432, which when implemented by the one or more processors 1402 configures the one or more processors 1402 to perform positioning measurements using the received UL PRS and / or DL ​​PRS at a requested time point within a measurement period. For example, the positioning measurement may be, for example, TOA, RSTD, OTDOA, Rx-Tx, RSRP, RTT, multi-RTT, AoA, or AoD.

[0215] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a location information module 1434, which when implemented by the one or more processors 1402 configures the one or more processors 1402 to send location information to the UE via the wireless transceiver 1410. For example, the location information may include positioning measurements including the transmission time of the transmitted DL PRS and the arrival time of the received UL PRS.

[0216] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a timestamp module 1438, which, when implemented by the one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to associate a positioning measurement with a time at which the positioning measurement was performed using a timestamp or with an indication of a known time interval between performing the positioning measurement and a first time point within a measurement period.

[0217] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a reporting module 1440 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1402, configures the one or more processors 1402 to send a location report associated with a positioning measurement (which may be a positioning measurement and a timestamp) or an indication of a known delay between performing the positioning measurement and a first point in time within a measurement period to a location server via the communication interface 1418. The location report may be sent at or before a specified point in time (e.g., relative to a timed event).

[0218] The medium 1420 and / or the memory 1404 may include a real-time difference module 1442, which when implemented by the one or more processors 1402 configures the one or more processors 1402 to receive the real-time difference from the location server, for example, via the communication interface 1418. The one or more processors 1402 may be configured to use the real-time difference to synchronize in time with other entities in the wireless network.

[0219] Depending on the application, the methods described herein may be implemented in various ways. For example, the methods may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementations, 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.

[0220] For firmware and / or software implementations, the methods can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium that tangibly embodies instructions can be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1420 or memory 1404 connected to and executed by one or more processors 1402. The memory can be implemented within one or more processors or outside 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 type of memory or a particular amount of memory, or the type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0221] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functionality may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 1408 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 1420 and / or the 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 including program code 1408 stored thereon may include program code 1408 for supporting positioning of a UE at a specified time point in a measurement period 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 desired program code 1408 in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer; disk and disc as used herein include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0222] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 1420, instructions and / or data may also be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in the communication device. For example, the communication device may include a wireless transceiver 1410 with signals indicating 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 with signals indicating information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0223] 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 being separated from one or more processors 1402 in this example, it should be understood that all or part of the main memory can be set inside one or more processors 1402 or otherwise co-located / coupled with it. Secondary memory can include, for example, memory of the same or similar type as the main memory and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as, for example, disk drives, optical disk drives, tape drives, solid-state memory drives, etc.

[0224] In some embodiments, the secondary memory may be operable to receive, or be configured to be coupled to, a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1420. Thus, in some example embodiments, the methods and / or apparatus presented herein may take the form of all or a portion of a computer-readable medium 1420, which may include computer-implementable code 1408 stored thereon, which, if executed by one or more processors 1402, may be operably enabled to perform all or a portion of the example operations described herein. The computer-readable medium 1420 may be part of the memory 1404.

[0225] An entity in a wireless network, such as a base station 1400, may be configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network and may include a component for receiving a location request message, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point within the measurement period for performing positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference, the component may be, for example, a communication interface 1418 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1404 and / or medium 1420, such as a location request module 1422. The component 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 executable code or software instructions in memory 1404 and / or medium 1420, such as a UL PRS reception module 1430. The 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 measurement period 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 executable code or software instructions in the memory 1404 and / or the medium 1420, such as the timing event module 1424, the time point module 1426, and the positioning measurement module 1432. The means for sending a location report related to the positioning measurement to the location server may be, for example, the communication interface 1418 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1404 and / or the medium 1420, such as the reporting module 1440.

[0226] In one embodiment, the entity may also include a means for receiving a request to send a PRS at a first point in time within the measurement period, which means may be, for example, a communication interface 1418 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1404 and / or media 1420, such as a location request module 1422. The means for sending the PRS to the one or more other entities at the first point in time for sending the PRS within the measurement period specified in the location request message may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1410 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1404 and / or media 1420, such as a DL PRS sending module 1428.

[0227] An entity in a wireless network, such as a base station 1400, may be configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network and may include a component for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the PRS transmission request message including a measurement period and a time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference, the component may be, for example, a communication interface 1418 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1404 and / or medium 1420, such as a location request module 1422. The component for transmitting the PRS at the time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period specified in the PRS transmission request message may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 1410 and one or more processors 1402 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1404 and / or medium 1420, such as a DL PRS transmission module 1428.

[0228] Fig.15 FIG. 1 shows a location server 1500 (eg, Figure 1 196 in the LMF 196), the location server 1500 is configured to perform positioning for a UE within a wireless network, for example, at a defined time point within a measurement period, as described herein. In one example, the UE can be a sensor in a motion control system. The location server 1500 can, for example, include: one or more processors 1502, a memory 1504, an external interface, which can include an external interface 1518 (for example, a wired or wireless network interface to a base station and / or entity in a core network), which can be operably coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1520 and the memory 1504 via one or more connectors 1506 (for example, a bus, line, optical fiber, link, etc.). The location server 1500 can also include a clock 1516, which can be synchronized with the wireless network at a common time. In certain example embodiments, all or part of the location server 1500 can take the form of a chipset or the like.

[0229] The one or more processors 1502 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1502 may 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 some embodiments, the one or more processors 1502 may represent one or more circuits that may be configured to perform at least a portion of a data signal computing program or process related to the operation of the location server 1500.

[0230] The medium 1520 and / or memory 1504 may store instructions or program code 1508 that contain 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 that is programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in the location server 1500, the medium 1520 and / or 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 components or modules are shown as software in the medium 1520 that may be executed by one or more processors 1502, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in the memory 1504 or may be special-purpose hardware in or outside of the one or more processors 1502.

[0231] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the media 1520 and / or memory 1504 and be utilized by the one or more processors 1502 to manage the communications and functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the media 1520 and / or memory 1504 as shown for the location server 1500 is exemplary only, and thus the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated and / or structured in a different manner, depending on the implementation of the location server 1500.

[0232] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a location request receiving module 1522, which when implemented by the one or more processors 1502 configures the one or more processors 1502 to receive a location request message from another entity such as a controller, for example, via the external interface 1518, the location request message requesting the location of the UE at a first time point within the measurement period. The location request message may include, for example, an additional time point for providing a location report to a location server or providing a location estimate to a requesting entity. The time point may be relative to a timing event in the wireless network, such as the start or end of a PRS window, a semi-periodic CSI-RS, an SRS triggering a DCI or a MAC-CE or an SSB. The location request message may also include a window around the first time point within the measurement period.

[0233] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a location request sending module 1524, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to send a location request message to the UE and / or the base station, for example, via the external interface 1518, and the location request message requests a positioning measurement for the UE performed at a first time point within a measurement period received in the first location request message. The location request message may additionally or alternatively request that a PRS be sent at a first time point within the measurement period. The location request message may include, for example, an additional time point for providing a location report to a location server. The time point may be relative to a timing event in the wireless network, such as the start or end of a PRS window, a semi-periodic CSI-RS, an SRS triggering a DCI or a MAC-CE or an SSB. The location request message may also include a window near the first time point within the measurement period.

[0234] The medium 1520 and / or memory 1504 may include a timed event module 1526, which when implemented by the one or more processors 1502 configures the one or more processors 1502 to monitor timed events in a wireless network, such as when a location report is received from a UE or one or more base stations.

[0235] The medium 1520 and / or memory 1504 may include a time point module 1528 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to perform specific actions, such as sending a position estimate at or before a requested time (e.g., after a specified amount of time after a timed event).

[0236] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a location information receiving module 1530, which when implemented by the one or more processors 1502 configures the one or more processors 1502 to receive a location report with location information from the UE and / or one or more base stations via the external interface 1518. For example, the location information may include a positioning measurement performed by the UE and / or one or more base stations at a requested point in time, a position estimate determined by the UE, and a timestamp associated with the time when the positioning measurement was performed or an indication of a known delay between performing the positioning measurement and a first point in time within a measurement period.

[0237] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a position estimation module 1532, which, when implemented by the one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to determine a position estimate for the UE, for example by using position measurements performed by the UE and / or a base station and the location of the base station or using a position estimate provided by the UE to generate a position estimate for the UE.

[0238] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a timestamp module 1534, which, when implemented by the one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to associate a timestamp for a positioning measurement or an indication of a known delay between performing a positioning measurement and a first point in time within a measurement cycle with a position estimate.

[0239] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a reporting module 1536 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to send a position estimate to a requesting entity via the external interface 1518, the position estimate may include an indication of a time window or a known delay between performing a positioning measurement and a first time point within a measurement period. The position report may be sent at or before a specified time point (e.g., relative to a timed event).

[0240] The medium 1520 and / or the memory 1504 may include a timing difference module 1538, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1502, configures the one or more processors 1502 to receive the timing difference between base stations based on the signal received from the base station from the UE via the external interface 1518, determine the real-time difference between the base stations, and send the real-time difference to two or more base stations via the external interface 1518.

[0241] Depending on the application, the methods described herein can be implemented in various ways. For example, the methods can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementations, one or more processors 1502 can be implemented in 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 combinations thereof.

[0242] For firmware and / or software implementations, the methods can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium that tangibly embodies 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 connected to and executed by one or more processors 1502. The memory can be implemented within one or more processors or outside 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 type of memory or a particular amount of memory, or the type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0243] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functionality may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 1508 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as media 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 may include program code 1508 for supporting positioning of a UE at a specified time point in a measurement period in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. Non-transitory computer-readable media 1520 includes physical computer storage media. 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 desired program code 1508 in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer; disk and disc as used herein include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0244] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 1520, instructions and / or data may also be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in the communication device. For example, the communication device may include an external interface 1518 with signals indicating 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 with signals indicating information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0245] Memory 1504 can represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 1504 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 being separated from one or more processors 1502 in this example, it should be understood that all or part of the main memory can be set inside one or more processors 1502 or otherwise co-located / coupled with it. Secondary memory can include, for example, memory of the same or similar type as the main memory and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as, for example, disk drives, optical disk drives, tape drives, solid-state memory drives, etc.

[0246] In some embodiments, the secondary memory may be operable to receive, or be configured to be coupled to, a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1520. Thus, in some exemplary embodiments, the methods and / or apparatus presented herein may take the form of all or a portion of a computer-readable medium 1520, which may include computer-implementable code 1508 stored thereon, which, if executed by one or more processors 1502, may be operably enabled to perform all or a portion of the example operations described herein. The computer-readable medium 1520 may be part of the memory 1504.

[0247] A location server in a wireless network, such as location server 1500, may be configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network and may include means for receiving a first location request message from a first entity requesting the location of the UE at a first point in time within a measurement period, such as an external interface 1518 and one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or medium 1520, such as a location request receiving module 1522. Means for sending a second location request message to one or more entities in the wireless network at a second point in time requesting positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the second point in time is relative to a common time reference and is synchronized to the first point in time within the measurement period received in the first location request message, such as an external interface 1518 and one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or medium 1520, such as a location request sending module 1524. The means for receiving a location report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements performed for the UE at the second point in time may be, for example, an external interface 1518 and one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or media 1520, such as a location information receiving module 1530. The means for determining a location estimate for the UE based on the location report may be, for example, one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or media 1520, such as a location estimation module 1532. The means for sending a location estimate for the UE to the first entity may be, for example, an external interface 1518 and one or more processors 1502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1504 and / or media 1520, such as a reporting module 1536.

[0248] Throughout the specification, references to "one example," "example," "some examples," or "exemplary embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with that 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," "example," "in some examples," or "in some embodiments," or other similar phrases appearing throughout the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same feature, example, and / or limitation. Furthermore, particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in one or more examples and / or features.

[0249] Some parts of the detailed description included herein are presented according to the algorithm or symbolic representation of the operation of the binary digital signal stored in the memory of a specific device or a special computing device or platform. In the context of this particular specification, once the term specific device, etc. is programmed to perform a specific operation according to the instruction from the program software, it includes a general-purpose computer. Algorithmic description or symbolic representation is an example of the technology used by ordinary technicians in signal processing or related fields to convey the essence of their work to other technicians in the field. Algorithms are here and generally considered to be a self-consistent sequence of operations or similar signal processing that lead to desired results. In this context, operations or processing involve physical manipulation of physical quantities. Generally, although not necessarily, such quantities can take the form of electrical or magnetic signals that can be stored, transmitted, combined, compared or otherwise manipulated. It has been proven that sometimes in principle, for general reasons, such signals are referred to as bits, data, values, elements, symbols, characters, items, numbers, etc. It is convenient. However, it should be understood that all these or similar terms will be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise specifically stated, it will be apparent from the discussion herein that it should be understood that throughout the specification, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," etc. refer to the actions or processes of a specific device, such as a special purpose computer, a special purpose computing device, or a similar special purpose electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, which are typically represented as physical electrical or magnetic quantities in a memory, register, or other information storage device, a transmitting device, or a display device of a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device.

[0250] 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 appreciate that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, methods and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the art have not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the claimed subject matter.

[0251] The terms "and," "or," and "and / or," as used herein, may include a variety of meanings that are also contemplated to depend, at least in part, on the context in which such terms are used. Generally, "or," when used with an associative list such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C (used herein in an inclusive sense) as well as A, B, or C (used herein in an exclusive sense). 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. It should be noted, however, that this is merely an illustrative example, and claimed subject matter is not limited to this example.

[0252] Although what is currently considered to be exemplary features has been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various other modifications may be made, and equivalents may be substituted, without departing from the claimed subject matter. In addition, 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.

[0253] According to the present specification, embodiments may include different combinations of features. Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0254] Clause 1. A method, performed by an entity in a wireless network, for positioning a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0255] receiving a location request message, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference;

[0256] receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network;

[0257] 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 measurement period specified in the location request message; and

[0258] A location report associated with the positioning measurement is sent to a location server.

[0259] Clause 2. A method according to clause 1, wherein the location request message also includes a second time point within the measurement period for providing the location report, wherein the location report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point, wherein the second time point is relative to the common time reference.

[0260] Clause 3. A method according to any one of clauses 1 or 2, wherein the common time reference is based on a transmit timing of a base station.

[0261] Clause 4. The method of clause 3, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0262] Clause 5. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the entity in the wireless network includes the UE and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0263] Clause 6. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0264] Clause 7. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the location request message also includes a window near the first time point within the measurement period for performing the positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities is performed within the window near the first time point.

[0265] Clause 8. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0266] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein the timed events in the wireless network comprise layer 1 events or layer 2 events.

[0267] Clause 10. A method according to clause 8, wherein the timing event in the wireless network includes one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0268] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the entity and the one or more other entities in the wireless network are synchronized to a common time.

[0269] Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein the common time comprises the common time reference.

[0270] Clause 13. A method as set forth in any of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities comprise one or more base stations, wherein the one or more other entities in the wireless network are not synchronized in time, the method further comprising:

[0271] determining a timing difference between two or more base stations; and

[0272] The timing difference is sent to the location server for use in generating or updating a real-time difference provided by the location server to at least one of the two or more base stations and another UE or a combination thereof.

[0273] Clause 14. A method as set forth in any of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities comprise one or more base stations, the method further comprising:

[0274] determining a position estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurements;

[0275] The location report associated with the positioning measurement includes the location estimate for the UE.

[0276] Clause 15. The method according to clause 14 further includes receiving positioning measurements from a location server, a serving base station, at least one of the one or more other entities or a combination thereof, and wherein determining the position estimate for the UE is also based on the positioning measurements received from at least one of the location server, the serving base station, the one or more other entities or a combination thereof.

[0277] Clause 16. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 15, wherein the position report related to the positioning measurement includes the positioning measurement.

[0278] Clause 17. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 16, further comprising:

[0279] receiving a request to send a PRS at the first time point within the measurement period; and

[0280] The PRS is sent to the one or more other entities at the first time point for sending the PRS within the measurement period specified in the location request message.

[0281] Clause 18. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 17, wherein the position report associated with the positioning measurement includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement or an indication of a known time interval between performing the positioning measurement and the first time point within the measurement period.

[0282] Clause 19. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 18, wherein the location request message is used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0283] Clause 20. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 19, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0284] Clause 21. An entity in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0285] an external interface configured to wirelessly communicate with a network entity in the wireless network;

[0286] at least one memory;

[0287] at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

[0288] receiving, via the external interface, a location request message, the location request message comprising a measurement period and a first time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference;

[0289] receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network via the external interface;

[0290] 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 measurement period specified in the location request message; and

[0291] A location report related to the positioning measurement is sent to a location server via the external interface.

[0292] Clause 22. An entity according to clause 21, wherein the location request message also includes a second time point within the measurement period for providing the location report, wherein the location report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point, wherein the second time point is relative to the common time reference.

[0293] Clause 23. An entity as described in any of clauses 21 or 22, wherein the common time reference is based on a transmit timing of a base station.

[0294] Clause 24. The entity of clause 23, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0295] Clause 25. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 21 to 24, wherein the entity in the wireless network comprises the UE and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0296] Clause 26. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 21 to 24, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0297] Clause 27. An entity according to any one of clauses 21 to 26, wherein the location request message also includes a window near the first time point within the measurement period for performing the positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities is performed within the window near the first time point.

[0298] Clause 28. An entity as recited in any one of Clauses 21 to 27, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0299] Clause 29. The entity of Clause 28, wherein the timed event in the wireless network comprises a layer 1 event or a layer 2 event.

[0300] Clause 30. An entity according to clause 28, wherein the timing event in the wireless network includes one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0301] Clause 31. The entity of any of clauses 21 to 30, wherein the entity and the one or more other entities in the wireless network are synchronized to a common time.

[0302] Clause 32. The entity of clause 31, wherein the common time comprises the common time reference.

[0303] Clause 33. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 21 to 32, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities comprise one or more base stations, wherein the one or more other entities in the wireless network are not synchronized in time, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

[0304] determining a timing difference between two or more base stations; and

[0305] The timing difference is sent to the location server via the external interface for use in generating or updating a real-time difference provided by the location server to at least one of the two or more base stations and another UE or a combination thereof.

[0306] Clause 34. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 21 to 33, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities comprise one or more base stations, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

[0307] determining a position estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurements;

[0308] The location report associated with the positioning measurement includes the location estimate of the UE.

[0309] Clause 35. An entity according to clause 34, wherein the at least one processor is also configured to receive positioning measurements from at least one of a location server, a serving base station, the one or more other entities, or a combination thereof, and wherein the position estimate for the UE is also determined based on the positioning measurements received from the at least one of the location server, the serving base station, the one or more other entities, or a combination thereof.

[0310] Clause 36. An entity as described in any of clauses 21 to 35, wherein the position report related to the positioning measurement includes the positioning measurement.

[0311] Clause 37. An entity according to any one of clauses 21 to 36, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

[0312] receiving, via the external interface, a request to send a PRS at the first time point within the measurement period; and

[0313] The PRS is sent to the one or more other entities via the external interface at the first time point for sending the PRS within the measurement period specified in the location request message.

[0314] Clause 38. An entity according to any one of clauses 21 to 37, wherein the position report related to the positioning measurement includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement or an indication of a known time interval between performing the positioning measurement and the first time point within the measurement period.

[0315] Clause 39. An entity as described in any of clauses 21 to 38, wherein the location request message is used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0316] Clause 40. An entity as described in any of Clauses 21 to 39, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0317] Clause 41. An entity in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0318] A component for receiving a location request message, wherein the location request message includes a measurement period and a first time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference;

[0319] means for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network;

[0320] means for performing the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities at the first point in time for performing the positioning measurement within the measurement period specified in the location request message; and

[0321] Means for sending a location report related to said positioning measurement to a location server.

[0322] Clause 42. An entity according to clause 41, wherein the location request message also includes a second time point within the measurement period for providing the location report, wherein the location report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point, wherein the second time point is relative to the common time reference.

[0323] Clause 43. An entity as set forth in any of Clauses 41 or 42, wherein the common time reference is based on a transmit timing of a base station.

[0324] Clause 44. The entity of clause 43, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0325] Clause 45. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 41 to 44, wherein the entity in the wireless network comprises the UE and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0326] Clause 46. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 41 to 44, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0327] Clause 47. An entity according to any one of clauses 41 to 46, wherein the location request message also includes a window within the measurement period near the first time point for performing the positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities is performed within the window near the first time point.

[0328] Clause 48. An entity as recited in any one of Clauses 41 to 47, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0329] Clause 49. The entity of Clause 48, wherein the timed event in the wireless network comprises a layer 1 event or a layer 2 event.

[0330] Clause 50. An entity according to clause 48, wherein the timing event in the wireless network includes one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0331] Clause 51. The entity of any of clauses 41 to 50, wherein the entity and the one or more other entities in the wireless network are synchronized to a common time.

[0332] Clause 52. The entity of Clause 51, wherein the common time comprises the common time reference.

[0333] Clause 53. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 41 to 52, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities comprise one or more base stations, wherein the one or more other entities in the wireless network are not synchronized in time, the entity further comprising:

[0334] means for determining a timing difference between two or more base stations; and

[0335] means for sending the timing difference to the location server for use in generating or updating a real time difference provided by the location server to at least one of the two or more base stations and another UE or a combination thereof.

[0336] Clause 54. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 41 to 53, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities comprise one or more base stations, the entity further comprising:

[0337] means for determining a position estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurements;

[0338] The location report associated with the positioning measurement includes the location estimate for the UE.

[0339] Clause 55. The entity according to clause 54 further includes a component for receiving positioning measurements from a location server, a serving base station, at least one of the one or more other entities or a combination thereof, and wherein the component for determining the position estimate for the UE also uses the positioning measurements received from the at least one of the location server, the serving base station, the one or more other entities or a combination thereof.

[0340] Clause 56. An entity as described in any of clauses 41 to 55, wherein the position report related to the positioning measurement includes the positioning measurement.

[0341] Clause 57. An entity according to any one of Clauses 41 to 56, further comprising:

[0342] means for receiving a request to send a PRS at the first point in time within the measurement period; and

[0343] means for sending the PRS to the one or more other entities at the first time point for sending the PRS within the measurement period specified in the location request message.

[0344] Clause 58. An entity according to any one of clauses 41 to 57, wherein the position report related to the positioning measurement comprises a timestamp for the positioning measurement or an indication of a known time interval between performing the positioning measurement and the first time point within the measurement period.

[0345] Clause 59. An entity as described in any of clauses 41 to 58, wherein the location request message is used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0346] Clause 60. An entity as described in any of clauses 41 to 59, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0347] Clause 61. A non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being 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 program code comprising instructions for:

[0348] receiving a location request message, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference;

[0349] receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network;

[0350] 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 measurement period specified in the location request message; and

[0351] A location report associated with the positioning measurement is sent to a location server.

[0352] Clause 62. A non-transitory storage medium according to clause 61, wherein the location request message also includes a second time point within the measurement period for providing the location report, wherein the location report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point, wherein the second time point is relative to the common time reference.

[0353] Clause 63. The non-transitory storage medium of any one of clauses 61 or 62, wherein the common time reference is based on a transmit timing of a base station.

[0354] Clause 64. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 63, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0355] Clause 65. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 61 to 64, wherein the entity in the wireless network comprises the UE, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0356] Clause 66. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 61 to 64, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0357] Clause 67. A non-temporary storage medium according to any one of clauses 61 to 66, wherein the location request message also includes a window near the first time point within the measurement period for performing the positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities is performed within the window near the first time point.

[0358] Clause 68. The non-transitory storage medium of any one of clauses 61 to 67, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0359] Clause 69. The non-transitory storage medium of Clause 68, wherein the timed event in the wireless network comprises a layer 1 event or a layer 2 event.

[0360] Clause 70. A non-temporary storage medium according to clause 68, wherein the timing event in the wireless network comprises one of: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0361] Clause 71. The non-transitory storage medium of any of Clauses 61 to 70, wherein the entity and the one or more other entities in the wireless network are synchronized to a common time.

[0362] Clause 72. The non-transitory storage medium of Clause 71, wherein the common time comprises the common time reference.

[0363] Clause 73. A non-transitory storage medium as described in any of clauses 61 to 72, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities include one or more base stations, wherein the one or more other entities in the wireless network are not synchronized in time, and the program code further includes instructions for:

[0364] determining a timing difference between two or more base stations; and

[0365] The timing difference is sent to the location server for use in generating or updating a real-time difference provided by the location server to at least one of the two or more base stations and another UE or a combination thereof.

[0366] Clause 74. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 61 to 73, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities include one or more base stations, the program code further comprising instructions for:

[0367] determining a position estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurements;

[0368] The location report associated with the positioning measurement includes the location estimate for the UE.

[0369] Clause 75. According to the non-temporary storage medium of clause 74, the program code also includes instructions for receiving positioning measurements from a location server, a serving base station, at least one of the one or more other entities or a combination thereof, and wherein the program code also includes instructions for determining that the position estimate for the UE also uses the positioning measurements received from at least one of the location server, the serving base station, the one or more other entities or a combination thereof.

[0370] Clause 76. The non-transitory storage medium of any one of clauses 61 to 75, wherein the position report related to the positioning measurement comprises the positioning measurement.

[0371] Clause 77. The non-transitory storage medium of any one of clauses 61 to 76, wherein the program code further comprises instructions for:

[0372] receiving a request to send a PRS at the first time point within the measurement period; and

[0373] The PRS is sent to the one or more other entities at the first time point for sending the PRS within the measurement period specified in the location request message.

[0374] Clause 78. A non-transitory storage medium according to any one of clauses 61 to 77, wherein the position report associated with the positioning measurement includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement or an indication of a known time interval between performing the positioning measurement and the first time point within the measurement period.

[0375] Clause 79. A non-transitory storage medium as described in any of clauses 61 to 78, wherein the location request message is used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0376] Clause 80. The non-transitory storage medium of any one of clauses 61 to 79, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0377] Clause 81. A method performed by an entity in a wireless network for positioning a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0378] receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the PRS transmission request message including a measurement period and a time point in the measurement period for transmitting the PRS, wherein the time point is relative to a common time reference; and

[0379] The PRS is transmitted at the time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0380] Clause 82. The method of clause 81, wherein the common time reference is based on a transmit timing of a base station.

[0381] Clause 83. The method of clause 82, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0382] Clause 84. The method of any of clauses 81 to 83, wherein the entity in the wireless network comprises the UE, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0383] Clause 85. The method of any of clauses 81 to 83, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0384] Clause 86. A method according to any one of clauses 81 to 85, wherein the PRS transmission request message further includes a window around the time point within the measurement period for transmitting the PRS, wherein the PRS is transmitted during the window around the time point.

[0385] Clause 87. The method of any one of clauses 81 to 86, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0386] Clause 88. The method of clause 87, wherein the timed events in the wireless network comprise layer 1 events or layer 2 events.

[0387] Clause 89. A method according to clause 87, wherein the timing event in the wireless network includes one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0388] Clause 90. A method as described in any of clauses 81 to 89, wherein the location request message is used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0389] Clause 91. A method as described in any of clauses 81 to 90, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0390] Clause 92. An entity in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0391] an external interface configured to wirelessly communicate with a network entity in the wireless network;

[0392] at least one memory;

[0393] at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

[0394] receiving, via the external interface, a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the PRS transmission request message comprising a measurement period and a time point in the measurement period for transmitting the PRS, wherein the time point is relative to a common time reference; and

[0395] The PRS is transmitted at the time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period specified in the PRS transmission request message via the external interface.

[0396] Clause 93. The entity of clause 92, wherein the common time reference is based on a transmit timing of a base station.

[0397] Clause 94. The entity of clause 93, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0398] Clause 95. The entity of any of clauses 92 to 94, wherein the entity in the wireless network comprises the UE and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0399] Clause 96. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 92 to 94, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0400] Clause 97. An entity according to any one of clauses 92 to 96, wherein the PRS transmission request message further comprises a window around the time point within the measurement period for transmitting the PRS, wherein the PRS is transmitted during the window around the time point.

[0401] Clause 98. An entity as described in any of clauses 92 to 97, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0402] Clause 99. The entity of Clause 98, wherein the timed event in the wireless network comprises a layer 1 event or a layer 2 event.

[0403] Clause 100. An entity according to clause 98, wherein the timing event in the wireless network includes one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0404] Clause 101. An entity as described in any of clauses 92 to 100, wherein the location request message is used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0405] Clause 102. An entity as described in any of clauses 92 to 101, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0406] Clause 103. An entity in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0407] A component for receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, wherein the PRS transmission request message includes a measurement period and a time point in the measurement period for transmitting the PRS, wherein the time point is relative to a common time reference; and

[0408] A means for transmitting the PRS at the time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0409] Clause 104. The entity of clause 103, wherein the common time reference is based on a transmit timing of a base station.

[0410] Clause 105. The entity of clause 104, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0411] Clause 106. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 103 to 105, wherein the entity in the wireless network comprises the UE, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0412] Clause 107. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 103 to 106, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0413] Clause 108. An entity as described in any of clauses 103 to 107, wherein the PRS transmission request message further includes a window around the time point within the measurement period for transmitting the PRS, wherein the PRS is transmitted during the window around the time point.

[0414] Clause 109. The entity of any of clauses 103 to 108, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0415] Clause 110. The entity of Clause 109, wherein the timed event in the wireless network comprises a layer 1 event or a layer 2 event.

[0416] Clause 111. An entity according to clause 109, wherein the timing event in the wireless network includes one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0417] Clause 112. An entity as set forth in any of clauses 103 to 111, wherein the location request message is for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0418] Clause 113. An entity as described in any of clauses 103 to 112, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0419] Clause 114. A non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being 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 program code comprising instructions for:

[0420] receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission request message, the PRS transmission request message including a measurement period and a time point in the measurement period for transmitting the PRS, wherein the time point is relative to a common time reference; and

[0421] The PRS is transmitted at the time point for transmitting the PRS within the measurement period specified in the PRS transmission request message.

[0422] Clause 115. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 114, wherein the common time reference is based on a transmit timing of a base station.

[0423] Clause 116. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 115, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0424] Clause 117. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 114 to 116, wherein the entity in the wireless network comprises the UE, and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

[0425] Clause 118. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 114 to 116, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a base station and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

[0426] Clause 119. A non-transitory storage medium according to any one of clauses 114 to 118, wherein the PRS transmission request message further comprises a window near the time point within the measurement period for transmitting the PRS, wherein the PRS is transmitted during the window near the time point.

[0427] Clause 120. The non-transitory storage medium of any one of clauses 114 to 119, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0428] Clause 121. The non-transitory storage medium of Clause 120, wherein the timed event in the wireless network comprises a layer 1 event or a layer 2 event.

[0429] Clause 122. A non-temporary storage medium according to clause 120, wherein the timing event in the wireless network includes one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0430] Clause 123. A non-transitory storage medium as described in any of clauses 114 to 122, wherein the location request message is used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0431] Clause 124. The non-transitory storage medium of any one of clauses 114 to 123, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

[0432] Clause 125. A method performed by a location server in a wireless network for positioning a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0433] receiving, at a first time point within a measurement period, from a first entity a first location request message requesting a location of the UE;

[0434] sending, at a second point in time, to one or more entities in the wireless network, a second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the second point in time is relative to a common time reference and is synchronized to the first point in time within the measurement period received in the first location request message;

[0435] receiving a location report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements performed for the UE at the second point in time;

[0436] determining a position estimate for the UE based on the position report; and

[0437] The position estimate for the UE is sent to the first entity.

[0438] Clause 126. The method of clause 125, wherein the first point in time is relative to the common time reference, wherein the second point in time is the same as the first point in time.

[0439] Clause 127. The method of any of clauses 125 or 126, wherein the common time reference is based on a transmit timing of a base station.

[0440] Clause 128. The method of clause 127, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0441] Clause 129. A method according to any one of clauses 125 to 128, wherein the first location request message also includes a third time point within the measurement period for providing the location estimate, wherein the third time point is relative to the common time reference, and wherein the location estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the third time point.

[0442] Clause 130. A method according to any one of clauses 125 to 129, wherein the first location request message also includes a window near the second time point within the measurement period for providing the position estimate for the UE, wherein the second location request message sent to the one or more entities includes the window near the second time point, and wherein the positioning measurement for the UE received in the location report is performed within the window near the second time point.

[0443] Clause 131. The method of any one of clauses 125 to 130, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0444] Clause 132. The method of clause 131, wherein the timed events in the wireless network comprise layer 1 events or layer 2 events.

[0445] Clause 133. A method according to clause 131, wherein the timing event in the wireless network includes one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0446] Clause 134. A method according to any one of clauses 125 to 133, wherein the location report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes one or a combination of positioning measurements performed by the UE based on a downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) received by the UE, and positioning measurements performed by a base station based on an uplink (UL) PRS sent by the UE; and wherein determining the position estimate of the UE includes generating the position estimate using the positioning measurement for the UE received in the location report.

[0447] Clause 135. A method as described in any of clauses 125 to 134, wherein the position report based on the positioning measurements for the UE includes the position estimate for the UE determined by the UE.

[0448] Clause 136. A method according to any one of clauses 125 to 135, wherein the location report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes an indication of a known delay between a timestamp for the positioning measurement or a time at which the positioning measurement is performed and the second time point within the measurement period, and wherein the position estimate of the UE includes an indication of the known delay between a timestamp for the positioning measurement or a time at which the positioning measurement is performed and the second time point within the measurement period.

[0449] Clause 137. A method as described in any of clauses 125 to 136, wherein the first location request message and the second location request message are used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0450] Clause 138. A method as described in any of clauses 125 to 137, wherein the UE and the location server are sensors and the first entity is a motion controller in a motion control system.

[0451] Clause 139. A location server in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0452] an external interface configured to wirelessly communicate with a network entity in the wireless network;

[0453] at least one memory;

[0454] at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

[0455] receiving, via the external interface, from a first entity at a first time point within a measurement period, a first location request message requesting a location of the UE;

[0456] Sending, via the external interface, a second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE to one or more entities in the wireless network at a second time point, wherein the second time point is relative to a common time reference and is synchronized to the first time point within the measurement period received in the first location request message;

[0457] receiving, via the external interface, a location report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements performed for the UE at the second point in time;

[0458] determining a position estimate for the UE based on the position report; and

[0459] The position estimate for the UE is sent to the first entity via the external interface.

[0460] Clause 140. The location server of clause 139, wherein the first point in time is relative to the common time reference, and wherein the second point in time is the same as the first point in time.

[0461] Clause 141. A location server as described in any of clauses 139 or 140, wherein the common time reference is based on the transmission timing of a base station.

[0462] Clause 142. The location server of clause 141, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0463] Clause 143. A location server according to any one of clauses 139 to 142, wherein the first location request message also includes a third time point within the measurement period for providing the location estimate, wherein the third time point is relative to the common time reference, and wherein the location estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the third time point.

[0464] Clause 144. A location server according to any one of clauses 139 to 143, wherein the first location request message also includes a window near the second time point within the measurement period for providing the position estimate for the UE, wherein the second location request message sent to the one or more entities includes the window near the second time point, and wherein the positioning measurements for the UE received in the location report are performed within the window near the second time point.

[0465] Clause 145. The location server of any one of clauses 139 to 144, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0466] Clause 146. The location server of clause 145, wherein the timed events in the wireless network comprise layer 1 events or layer 2 events.

[0467] Clause 147. A location server according to any one of clauses 139 to 146, wherein the timing event in the wireless network includes one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0468] Clause 148. A location server according to any one of clauses 139 to 147, wherein the location report based on the positioning measurements of the UE includes one or a combination of 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; and wherein the position estimate for the UE is determined using the positioning measurements for the UE received in the location report.

[0469] Clause 149. A location server as described in any of clauses 139 to 148, wherein the location report based on the positioning measurements for the UE includes the position estimate for the UE determined by the UE.

[0470] Clause 150. A location server according to any one of clauses 139 to 149, wherein the location report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes a timestamp for the positioning measurement or an indication of a known delay between the time when the positioning measurement is performed and the second time point within the measurement period, and wherein the position estimate of the UE includes the timestamp for the positioning measurement or the indication of the known delay between the time when the positioning measurement is performed and the second time point within the measurement period.

[0471] Clause 151. A location server as described in any of clauses 139 to 150, wherein the first location request message and the second location request message are used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0472] Clause 152. A location server as described in any of clauses 139 to 151, wherein the UE and the location server are sensors and the first entity is a motion controller in a motion control system.

[0473] Clause 153. A location server in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment (UE) within the wireless network, comprising:

[0474] means for receiving, at a first point in time within a measurement period, from a first entity a first location request message requesting a location of the UE;

[0475] means for sending, at a second point in time, to one or more entities in the wireless network, a second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the second point in time is relative to a common time reference and is synchronized to the first point in time within the measurement period received in the first location request message;

[0476] means for receiving a position report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements performed for the UE at the second point in time;

[0477] means for determining a position estimate for the UE based on the position report; and means for sending the position estimate for the UE to the first entity.

[0478] Clause 154. The location server of clause 153, wherein the first point in time is relative to the common time reference, and wherein the second point in time is the same as the first point in time.

[0479] Clause 155. A location server as described in any of clauses 153 or 154, wherein the common time reference is based on the transmission timing of a base station.

[0480] Clause 156. The location server of clause 155, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0481] Clause 157. A location server according to any one of clauses 153 to 156, wherein the first location request message also includes a third time point within the measurement period for providing the location estimate, wherein the third time point is relative to the common time reference, and wherein the location estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the third time point.

[0482] Clause 158. A location server according to any one of clauses 153 to 157, wherein the first location request message also includes a window near the second time point within the measurement period for providing the position estimate for the UE, wherein the second location request message sent to the one or more entities includes the window near the second time point, and wherein the positioning measurement of the UE received in the location report is performed within the window near the second time point.

[0483] Clause 159. The location server of any one of clauses 153 to 158, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0484] Clause 160. The location server of any one of clauses 153 to 159, wherein the timed event in the wireless network comprises a layer 1 event or a layer 2 event.

[0485] Clause 161. A location server according to clause 160, wherein the timing event in the wireless network includes one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0486] Clause 162. A location server according to any one of clauses 153 to 161, wherein the location report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes one or a combination of positioning measurements performed by the UE based on a downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) received by the UE, and positioning measurements performed by a base station based on an uplink (UL) PRS sent by the UE; and wherein the component for determining the position estimate for the UE includes a component for generating the position estimate using the positioning measurement for the UE received in the location report.

[0487] Clause 163. A location server as described in any of clauses 153 to 162, wherein the location report based on the positioning measurements for the UE includes the position estimate for the UE determined by the UE.

[0488] Clause 164. A location server according to any one of clauses 153 to 163, wherein the location report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes an indication of a known delay between a timestamp for the positioning measurement or a time at which the positioning measurement is performed and the second time point within the measurement period, and wherein the position estimate for the UE includes an indication of the known delay between a timestamp for the positioning measurement or a time at which the positioning measurement is performed and the second time point within the measurement period.

[0489] Clause 165. A location server as described in any of clauses 153 to 164, wherein the first location request message and the second location request message are used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0490] Clause 166. A location server as described in any of clauses 153 to 165, wherein the UE and the location server are sensors and the first entity is a motion controller in a motion control system.

[0491] Clause 167. A non-transitory storage medium comprising 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 program code comprising instructions for:

[0492] receiving, at a first time point within a measurement period, from a first entity a first location request message requesting a location of the UE;

[0493] sending, at a second point in time, to one or more entities in the wireless network, a second location request message requesting positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the second point in time is relative to a common time reference and is synchronized to the first point in time within the measurement period received in the first location request message;

[0494] receiving a location report from the one or more entities based on the positioning measurements performed for the UE at the second point in time;

[0495] determining a position estimate for the UE based on the position report; and

[0496] The position estimate for the UE is sent to the first entity.

[0497] Clause 168. A non-transitory storage medium as described in Clause 167, wherein the first point in time is relative to the common time reference, and wherein the second point in time is the same as the first point in time.

[0498] Clause 169. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 167 or 168, wherein the common time reference is based on a transmit timing of a base station.

[0499] Clause 170. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 169, wherein the base station is a serving base station for the UE.

[0500] Clause 171. A non-transitory storage medium according to any one of clauses 167 to 170, wherein the first location request message also includes a third time point within the measurement period for providing the location estimate, wherein the third time point is relative to the common time reference, and wherein the location estimate is sent to the first entity at or before the third time point.

[0501] Clause 172. A non-temporary storage medium according to any one of clauses 167 to 171, wherein the first location request message also includes a window near the second time point within the measurement period for providing the position estimate for the UE, wherein the second location request message sent to the one or more entities includes the window near the second time point, and wherein the positioning measurement of the UE received in the location report is performed within the window near the second time point.

[0502] Clause 173. The non-transitory storage medium of any one of clauses 167 to 172, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

[0503] Clause 174. The non-transitory storage medium of Clause 173, wherein the timed event in the wireless network comprises a layer 1 event or a layer 2 event.

[0504] Clause 175. A non-temporary storage medium according to clause 173, wherein the timing event in the wireless network includes one of the following: the start or end of a downlink PRS window, a half-periodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS) triggering downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) or a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0505] Clause 176. A non-temporary storage medium according to any one of clauses 167 to 175, wherein the location report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes one or a combination of positioning measurements performed by the UE based on a downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) received by the UE, and positioning measurements performed by a base station based on an uplink (UL) PRS sent by the UE; and wherein the instructions for determining the position estimate for the UE include instructions for generating the position estimate using the positioning measurement for the UE received in the location report.

[0506] Clause 177. A non-transitory storage medium as described in any of clauses 167 to 176, wherein the position report based on the positioning measurements for the UE includes the position estimate for the UE determined by the UE.

[0507] Clause 178. A non-temporary storage medium according to any one of clauses 167 to 177, wherein the position report based on the positioning measurement for the UE includes an indication of a known delay between a timestamp for the positioning measurement or a time when the positioning measurement is performed and the second time point within the measurement period, and wherein the position estimate for the UE includes an indication of the known delay between a timestamp for the positioning measurement or a time when the positioning measurement is performed and the second time point within the measurement period.

[0508] Clause 179. A non-transitory storage medium as described in any of clauses 167 to 178, wherein the first location request message and the second location request message are used for periodic positioning of the UE.

[0509] Clause 180. The non-transitory storage medium of any one of clauses 167 to 179, wherein the UE and the location server are sensors and the first entity is a motion controller in a motion control system.

[0510] Therefore, it is intended that the claimed subject matter not be limited to the particular examples disclosed, but that such 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, include: receiving a location request message, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference; receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network; 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 measurement period specified in the location request message; and A location report associated with the positioning measurement is sent to a location server.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the location request message also includes a second time point within the measurement period for providing the location report, wherein the location report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point, and wherein the second time point is relative to the common time reference. The method of claim 1 , wherein the common time reference is based on transmit timing of network nodes. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the entity in the wireless network comprises the UE, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a network node and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the location request message further comprises a window within the measurement period near the first time point for performing the positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities is performed within the window near the first time point.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity and the one or more other entities in the wireless network are synchronized to a common time.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities include one or more network nodes, wherein the one or more other entities in the wireless network are not synchronized in time, the method further comprising: include: determining a timing difference between two or more network nodes; as well as The timing difference is sent to the location server for use in generating or updating a real-time difference to be provided by the location server to at least one of the two or more network nodes and another UE, or a combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities include one or more network nodes, the method further comprising: include: determining a position estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurements; The location report associated with the positioning measurement includes the location estimate for the UE.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the position report associated with the positioning measurement includes the positioning measurement.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: include: receiving a request to send a PRS at the first time point within the measurement period; as well as The PRS is sent to the one or more other entities at the first time point for sending the PRS within the measurement period specified in the location request message.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the position report associated with the positioning measurement comprises a timestamp for the positioning measurement or an indication of a known time interval between performing the positioning measurement and the first point in time within the measurement period. The method of claim 1 , wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

15. An entity in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment UE within the wireless network, include: an external interface configured to wirelessly communicate 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: receiving, via the external interface, a location request message, the location request message comprising a measurement period and a first time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference; receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network via the external interface; 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 measurement period specified in the location request message; as well as A location report related to the positioning measurement is sent to a location server via the external interface.

16. An entity according to claim 15, wherein the location request message also includes a second time point within the measurement period for providing the location report, wherein the location report is sent to the location server at or before the second time point, and wherein the second time point is relative to the common time reference.

17. The entity of claim 15, wherein the common time reference is based on transmit timing of network nodes.

18. The entity of claim 15, wherein the entity in the wireless network comprises the UE, and the PRS is a downlink PRS.

19. The entity of claim 15, wherein the entity in the wireless network is a network node and the PRS is an uplink PRS.

20. An entity according to claim 15, wherein the location request message also includes a window around the first time point within the measurement period for performing the positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the positioning measurement using the PRS from the one or more other entities is performed within the window around the first time point.

21. The entity of claim 15, wherein the common time reference comprises a timing event in the wireless network.

22. The entity of claim 15, wherein the entity and the one or more other entities in the wireless network are synchronized to a common time.

23. The entity of claim 15, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities comprise one or more network nodes, wherein the one or more other entities in the wireless network are not synchronized in time, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determining a timing difference between two or more network nodes; and The timing difference is sent to the location server via the external interface for use in generating or updating a real-time difference to be provided by the location server to at least one of the two or more network nodes and another UE, or a combination thereof.

24. The entity of claim 15, wherein the entity is the UE and the one or more other entities comprise one or more network nodes, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determining a position estimate for the UE based on the positioning measurements; The location report associated with the positioning measurement includes the location estimate for the UE.

25. The entity of claim 15, wherein the position report related to the positioning measurement includes the positioning measurement.

26. The entity of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receiving, via the external interface, a request to send a PRS at the first time point within the measurement period; and The PRS is sent to the one or more other entities via the external interface at the first time point for sending the PRS within the measurement period specified in the location request message.

27. The entity of claim 15, wherein the position report related to the positioning measurement comprises a timestamp for the positioning measurement or an indication of a known time interval between performing the positioning measurement and the first point in time within the measurement period.

28. The entity of claim 15, wherein the UE is a sensor in a motion control system.

29. An entity in a wireless network configured to perform positioning of a user equipment UE within the wireless network, include: A component for receiving a location request message, wherein the location request message includes a measurement period and a first time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurements for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference; 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 point in time for performing the positioning measurement within the measurement period specified in the location request message; as well as Means for sending a location report related to said positioning measurement to a location server.

30. A non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being 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 program code comprising instructions for: receiving a location request message, the location request message including a measurement period and a first time point in the measurement period for performing positioning measurement for the UE, wherein the first time point is relative to a common time reference; receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) from one or more other entities in the wireless network; 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 measurement period specified in the location request message; and A location report associated with the positioning measurement is sent to a location server.

31. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, in, The instructions can be executed by one or more processors to cause the processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-14.

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