Precision dilution of precision assisted reporting for low latency or on-demand positioning

Abstract

Techniques for wireless positioning are disclosed. In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) performs one or more positioning measurements of positioning reference signals (PRS) transmitted by at least one of one or more transmission-reception point (TRP) sets, where each of the one or more TRP sets satisfies an accuracy dilution of precision (DOP) threshold; and reports the one or more positioning measurements or location information derived from the one or more positioning measurements.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 030,613, filed May 27, 2020, entitled “DILUTION OF PRECISION-ASSISTED REPORTING FOR LOW LATENCY OR ON-DEMAND POSITIONING,” and U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 17 / 330,120, filed May 25, 2021, entitled “DILUTION OF PRECISION-ASSISTED REPORTING FOR LOW LATENCY OR ON-DEMAND POSITIONING,” both of which have been assigned to the assignee of this application and are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0003] Public background

[0004] 1. Public domain

[0005] The various aspects of this disclosure generally relate to wireless positioning.

[0006] 2. Relevant Technical Descriptions

[0007] Wireless communication systems have undergone several generations of development, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data radio service with Internet capabilities, and fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (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 Communications (GSM), etc.

[0008] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard (known as New Radio (NR)) demands higher data transmission speeds, a greater number of connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide tens of megabits per second (Mbps) of data rate to each of tens of thousands of users, and 1 gigabits per second (Gbps) to dozens of employees on an office floor. It should support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections to support large-scale sensor deployments. Therefore, 5G mobile communication should have significantly improved spectral efficiency compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be improved and latency significantly reduced compared to the current standard.

[0009] Overview

[0010] The following is a simplified overview relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, this overview should not be considered an exhaustive overview relating to all aspects of the conception, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements relating to all aspects of the conception or to depict the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the sole purpose of the following overview is to present, in a simplified form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects of the mechanism disclosed herein before the detailed description given below.

[0011] In one aspect, a wireless positioning method performed by a user equipment (UE) includes: performing one or more positioning measurements on a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted by at least one set of one or more transmit receiving points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more TRP sets satisfies a precision dilution (DOP) threshold; and reporting the one or more positioning measurements or location information derived from the one or more positioning measurements.

[0012] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: perform one or more positioning measurements of a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted by at least one set of one or more transmit receiving points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more TRP sets satisfies a precision dilution (DOP) threshold; and report the one or more positioning measurements or location information derived from the one or more positioning measurements.

[0013] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: means for performing one or more positioning measurements on a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted by at least one of one or more sets of transmit receiving points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more sets of TRPs satisfies a precision dilution (DOP) threshold; and means for reporting the one or more positioning measurements or location information derived from the one or more positioning measurements.

[0014] In one aspect, a non-transient computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: perform one or more positioning measurements of a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) transmitted by at least one of one or more Transmitter Receiver Points (TRPs), wherein each of the one or more TRPs satisfies a Precision Diluted (DOP) threshold; and report the one or more positioning measurements or location information derived from the one or more positioning measurements.

[0015] Other objectives and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. Brief description of the attached diagram

[0017] The accompanying drawings are provided to help describe various aspects of this disclosure, and the drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and not for limiting the aspects.

[0018] Figure 1 Example wireless communication systems based on various aspects of this disclosure are explained.

[0019] Figure 2A and 2B Example wireless network architectures based on various aspects of this disclosure are explained.

[0020] Figure 3A , 3B 3C is a simplified block diagram of several exemplary components that can be adopted in user equipment (UE), base stations, and network entities and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0021] Figures 4A to 4D This is a diagram illustrating example frame structures and channels within these frame structures according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 5 The positioning procedure based on Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) in an example wireless communication system according to various aspects of this disclosure is explained.

[0023] Figure 6An example wireless communication network is described, in accordance with aspects of this disclosure, in which multiple UEs can receive positioning reference signals (PRS) from multiple base stations.

[0024] Figure 7 and 8 An example call flow for calculating the location estimate of a UE, according to aspects of this disclosure, is explained.

[0025] Figure 9 Example methods for wireless positioning based on various aspects of this disclosure are explained.

[0026] Detailed description

[0027] Various aspects of this disclosure are provided below in the description and accompanying drawings of various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, elements well-known in this disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

[0028] The terms “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 superior to or better than the others. Similarly, the term “aspects of this disclosure” does not require that all aspects of this disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed.

[0029] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and arts. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to 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.

[0030] Furthermore, many aspects are described in the form of sequences of actions performed by elements of, for example, computing devices. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein can be performed by special-purpose circuitry (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequences of actions described herein can be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transient computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, will cause an associated processor of the device to perform the functions described herein. Thus, various aspects of this disclosure can be embodied in several different forms, all of which are contemplated to fall within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, for each aspect described herein, a corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0031] As used herein, 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) unless otherwise stated. Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset positioning device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT”, “Client Equipment”, “Wireless Equipment”, “Subscriber Equipment”, “Subscriber Terminal”, “Subscriber Station”, “User Terminal” or “UT”, “Mobile Equipment”, “Mobile Terminal”, “Mobile Station”, or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks (such as the Internet) and 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) (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard), and so on.

[0032] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with a UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively referred to as an Access Point (AP), Network Node, B-Node, Evolved B-Node (eNB), Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) B-Node (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may primarily be used to support radio access by the UE, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections with the supported UE. In some systems, the base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions, while in others, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which the UE can signal to the base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the base station can signal to the UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0033] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit / receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be located in the same place. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be a base station antenna corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple physical TRPs located in the same place, the physical TRP may be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or in the case of beamforming at the base station). When the term "base station" refers to multiple physical TRPs not located in the same place, the physical TRP 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 headend (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, physical TRPs not located in the same place may be the serving base station from which the UE receives measurement reports and neighboring base stations from which the UE is measuring its reference radio frequency (RF) signal. Since a TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmissions from or receptions at a base station should be understood as references to the specific TRP of that base station.

[0034] In some implementations that support UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's radio access (e.g., it may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections regarding the UE), but may instead transmit reference signals to the UE for measurement, and / or receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning tower (e.g., in the case of transmitting signals to the UE) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0035] An “RF signal” refers to an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information across the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of individual RF signals through a multipath channel, a receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same RF signal transmitted on different paths between the transmitter and receiver can be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal,” where the context clearly indicates that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0036] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of this disclosure is described. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. Base station 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base station may include an eNB and / or an ng-eNB (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or a gNB (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0037] Each base station 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with the core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via a backhaul link 122, and access one or more location servers 172 (e.g., location management function (LMF) or secure user plane positioning (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via the core network 170. The location server 172 can be part of the core network 170 or located outside the core network 170. Among other functions, the base station 102 can also perform functions related to one or more of the following: transmitting user data, radio channel cryptography and decoding, 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, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, location, and delivery of alarm messages. Base stations 102 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) through backhaul link 134 (which can be wired or wireless).

[0038] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each base station 102 can provide communication coverage for its respective geographical coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by base station 102 in each geographical coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a frequency resource, it is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.) and can be associated with identifiers (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), Enhanced Cell Identifier (ECI), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCI), Cell Global Identifier (CGI), etc.) to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access to different types of UEs (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or others). Since cells are supported by specific base stations, the term “cell” can refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting that logical communication entity, depending on the context. Additionally, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" are used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographical coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, in the sense that the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of a geographical coverage area 110.

[0039] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover areas), some geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' ("SC" labeled "small cell") may have geographic coverage areas 110' that substantially overlap with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell and macrocell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs) that provide service to a restricted group known as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0040] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technologies, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may use one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0041] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 communicating with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or a listen-before-speak procedure to determine whether the channel is available before communication.

[0042] Small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell base station 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as used by WLAN AP 150. Small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum can enhance access network coverage and / or increase access network capacity. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0043] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a millimeter-wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate in mmW and / or near-mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that contains radio frequency (RF). EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band are referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW extends down to a 3 GHz frequency with a 100 mm wavelength. Ultra-high frequency (SHF) bands extend between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, and are also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using mmW / near-mmW RF bands has high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near-mmW and beamforming for transmission. Accordingly, it will be understood that the foregoing explanations are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the aspects disclosed herein.

[0044] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing RF signals in a specific direction. Conventionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (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, thus providing the receiving device with a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal. To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an antenna array (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that generates a beam of RF waves, which can be "guided" to different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that radio waves from the separate antennas add together in the desired direction to increase radiation, while simultaneously canceling each other out in the undesired direction to suppress radiation.

[0045] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning they appear to the receiver (e.g., the UE) to have the same parameters regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network node are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived from information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of type QCL D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0046] 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 the gain setting of an antenna array and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a specific direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Thus, when a receiver is referred to as beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gain in other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. 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.

[0047] The transmit and receive beams can be spatially correlated. Spatial correlation means that the parameters of the second beam (e.g., the transmit or receive beam) used for the second reference signal can be derived from information about the first beam (e.g., the receive or transmit beam) of the first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam based on the parameters of the receive beam to transmit an uplink reference signal (e.g., a probe reference signal (SRS)) to that base station.

[0048] Note that, depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if a base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, then the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if a UE is forming a downlink beam, then the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving downlink reference signals. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if a base station is forming an uplink beam, then the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, while if a UE is forming an uplink beam, then the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0049] In 5G, the spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) operate is divided into several frequency ranges: FR1 (from 450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). The mmW band generally includes the FR2, FR3, and FR4 frequency ranges. Thus, the terms "mmW" and "FR2" or "FR3" or "FR4" are generally used interchangeably.

[0050] In multi-carrier systems (such as 5G), one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier," "anchor carrier," "primary serving cell," or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers," "secondary serving cells," or "SCell." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by UE 104 / 182 and on the cell in which UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all shared control channels as well as control channels that vary from UE to UE, and can be a carrier on a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2), which can be configured once an RRC connection is established between UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and can be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier on an unlicensed frequency. Secondary carriers may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, signaling information and signals that vary from UE to UE may not be present in the secondary carrier, since both the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 within a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. For example, this is done to balance the load on different carriers. Since a “serving cell” (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier that a base station is using for communication, the terms “cell,” “serving cell,” “component carrier,” “carrier frequency,” etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0051] For example, still refer to Figure 1 One of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows UE104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, in a multi-carrier system, two 20MHz aggregated carriers would theoretically result in twice the data rate (i.e., 40MHz) compared to the data rate obtained from a single 20MHz carrier.

[0052] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a UE 164, which can communicate with a macrocell base station 102 on a communication link 120 and / or with an mmW base station 180 on an mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support PCells and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0053] exist Figure 1 In the examples, any of the UEs being explained (for simplicity) Figure 1 A single UE 104 (shown as a single UE) may receive signal 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting spacecraft (SV) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, SV 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that allows UE 104 to use as an independent source of location information. Satellite positioning systems typically include transmitter systems (e.g., SV 112) positioned such that a receiver (e.g., UE 104) can determine its location on or above the Earth based at least in part on positioning signals (e.g., signal 124) received from these transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a set number of repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) codes. While transmitters are typically located in SV 112, they may sometimes be located at ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signal 124 from SV 112 to derive geographic location information.

[0054] In satellite positioning systems, the use of signal 124 can be amplified through various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which may be associated with or otherwise enabled to work with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential correction, etc., such as, for example, Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Coverage Service (EGNOS), Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), GPS-assisted Geographic Augmentation Navigation or GPS and Geographic Augmentation Navigation System (GAGAN), etc. Therefore, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0055] On one hand, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In the NTN, SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to elements in the 5G network, such as the modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or network nodes in the 5GC. This element will then provide access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as internet web servers and other user equipment. In this way, UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112 as a replacement or supplement to receiving communication signals from ground base station 102.

[0056] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) that are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "side links"). Figure 1 In the example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with a UE 104 connected to a base station 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity from this link), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity from this link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can use any known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D)). (etc.) to support.

[0057] Figure 2AExample wireless network architecture 200 is explained. For example, 5GC 210 (also known as Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally considered as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which operate collaboratively to form the core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB 222 to 5GC 210, specifically to user plane function 212 and control plane function 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, ng-eNB 224 can also connect to 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to control plane function 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane function 212. Furthermore, ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with gNB 222 via backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next-generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more ng-eNBs 224 and one or more gNBs 222. The gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0058] Another optional aspect may include location server 230, which can communicate with 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to UE 204. 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 extending across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. Location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for UE 204, which UE 204 can connect to via the core network, 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not explained). Furthermore, location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, it may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a business server).

[0059] Figure 2B Another example wireless network architecture, 250.5GC 260, was explained (which can correspond to...). Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 in the document can be functionally viewed as a control plane function (provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264) and a user plane function (provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262), which operate collaboratively to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, session management (SM) message transmission between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any UE described herein) and session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, short message service (SMS) message transmission between UE 204 and short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). AMF 264 also interacts with the authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204, and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In cases where authentication is based on the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AMF Module. The AMF 264 also includes Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF, which it uses to derive a key that varies depending on the access network. The AMF 264's functionality also includes: location service management for regulatory services, location service message transmission between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), location service message transmission between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, EPS bearer identifier allocation for interoperability with the Evolved Packet System (EPS), and UE 204 mobility event notification. Additionally, the AMF 264 supports functionality for non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0060] The functions of UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable), acting as an external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session point interconnecting to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., strobing, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 may also support the transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and a location server (such as SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0061] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, traffic bootstrapping configuration at UPF 262 for routing traffic to the correct destination, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface used by SMF 266 to communicate with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0062] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules extending across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not explained). SLP 272 supports similar functionality to LMF 270, but while LMF 270 can communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to convey signaling messages but not voice or data), SLP 272 can communicate with UE 204 and external clients on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP). Figure 2B (Not shown in the image) Communication.

[0063] User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect 5GC 260 (and in particular UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively) to one or more gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 in NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 of NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via backhaul connection 223, which is referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 on a radio interface, which is referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0064] The functionality of gNB 222 is divided between gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226 and one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228. The interface 232 between gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions such as transmitting user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, and session management, in addition to those functions specifically allocated to gNB-DU 228. More specifically, gNB-CU 226 manages the radio resource control (RRC), serving data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of gNB 222. gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that manages the radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers of gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, while a cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. Therefore, UE 204 communicates with gNB-CU 226 via RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, and with gNB-DU 228 via RLC, MAC, and PHY layers.

[0065] Figure 3A , 3B The explanation of 3C includes UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of UE 302). Figure 2A and 2B Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) in the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure (such as private networks) depicted herein support file transfer operations as taught herein. It will be appreciated that these components can be implemented in different types of devices (e.g., in ASICs, in System-on-Chip (SoCs), etc.) in different implementations. The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Furthermore, a given device may include one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0066] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, to provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for suppressing transmission, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) (such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc.). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356 for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB)) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a time / frequency resource set in a specific spectrum) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured, according to a specified RAT, in various ways to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and each includes one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0067] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each further include one or more short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide access via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, etc.). A means for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for suppressing transmission, etc.) such as PC5, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), Wireless Access in Vehicle Environments (WAVE), Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.). Short-range transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured, according to a specified RAT, in various ways to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, short-range transceivers 320 and 360 each include one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be WiFi transceivers, transceiver and / or Transceivers, NFC transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0068] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may be provided with means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. When satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. When satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request information and operations from other systems as appropriate, and in at least some cases perform calculations to determine the respective locations of UE 302 and base station 304 using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.

[0069] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, to provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 on one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 on one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or to communicate with other network entities 306 on one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0070] Transceivers can be configured to communicate over wired or wireless links. A transceiver (whether wired or wireless) includes a transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., implementing the transmitter and receiver circuitry in a single device), in some implementations it may include separate transmitter and receiver circuitry, or in other implementations it may be implemented in a different manner. The transmitter and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., in some implementations, network transceivers 380 and 390) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which permit the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit beamforming as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which permit the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366) so that the corresponding device can only receive or transmit at a given time, rather than both simultaneously. Wireless transceivers (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include network listening modules (NLMs) for performing various measurements.

[0071] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) can generally be characterized as "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver can be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers generally involves signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) generally involves signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0072] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with operations as disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. Processors 332, 384, and 394 can therefore provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry systems, or various combinations thereof.

[0073] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include memory circuitry that respectively implements memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Memories 340, 386, and 396 thus provide means for storage, means for retrieval, means for maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may respectively include positioning components 342, 388, and 398. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuitry as part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, which, when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by processors 332, 384, and 394 (or modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), enable UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A The possible locations of the positioning component 342 are described. The positioning component 342 may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a self-contained component. Figure 3B The possible locations of the positioning component 388 are described. The positioning component 388 may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a self-contained component. Figure 3C The possible locations of the positioning component 398 are described. The positioning component 398 may be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a self-contained component.

[0074] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide means for sensing or detecting motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite receivers 330. As an example, sensors 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate position in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0075] Additionally, UE 302 includes a user interface 346, which provides means for providing instructions to the user (e.g., audible and / or visual instructions) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates sensing devices such as keypads, touchscreens, microphones, etc.). Although not shown, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0076] Referring more specifically to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 may be provided to processor 384. One or more processors 384 may implement functionality for the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)) broadcasting, RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (cryptography, cryptographic decoding, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with upper-layer PDU delivery, error correction via Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC Service Data Units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0077] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 implement Layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer-1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) decoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domains, and subsequently combined using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator can be used to determine the coding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. These channel estimates can be derived from reference signals transmitted by UE 302 and / or channel condition feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. Transmitter 354 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate an RF carrier for transmission.

[0078] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives signals via its respective antenna(s) 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on this information to recover any spatial stream destined for UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 302, they can be combined by receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. This frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. Symbols on each subcarrier, along with a reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the signal constellation points most likely to be transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on a channel estimate calculated by a channel estimator. These soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the original data and control signals transmitted by base station 304 over the physical channel. This data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332 that implement Layer 3 (L3) and Layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0079] In the uplink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, cipher decoding, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0080] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by base station 304, one or more processors 332 provide RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) capture, RRC connectivity, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (cryptography, cryptographic decoding, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with upper-layer PDU delivery, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0081] The channel estimate derived by the channel estimator from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 can be used by the transmitter 314 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by the transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate the RF carrier for transmission.

[0082] Uplink transmissions are handled at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver function at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals via its respective antenna(s) 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides that information to one or more processors 384.

[0083] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, cipher decoding, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from UE 302. IP packets from the one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0084] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 are in Figure 3A , 3BThe components shown in 3C are various and can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it will be understood that the components described may have different functionalities in different designs. Specifically, Figures 3A to 3C The various components are optional in the replacement configuration, and various aspects include configurations that can vary due to design choices, cost, equipment usage, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In such cases, a specific implementation of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., wearable devices, tablets, PCs, or laptops may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but no cellular capabilities), or short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., cellular only), or satellite receiver 330, or sensors 344, etc. In another example, in Figure 3B In such cases, a specific implementation of base station 304 may omit WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only), or satellite receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, explanations of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0085] Various components of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can be communicatively coupled to each other on data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can form or be part of the communication interfaces of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, when different logical entities are implemented in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality are incorporated into the same base station 304), data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can provide communication between them.

[0086] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components can be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, Figure 3A , 3BThe various components of 3C can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by that circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and / or memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). Furthermore, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and / or memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, actions, and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memory components 340, 386, and 396, positioning components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0087] In some designs, network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 may be a network operator or operation different from the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC210 / 260). For example, network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that may be configured to communicate with UE 302 via base station 304 or independently of base station 304 (e.g., on a non-cellular communication link, such as WiFi).

[0088] Various frame structures can be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 4A Figure 400 illustrates an example of a downlink frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 4B Figure 430 illustrates an example of a channel within a downlink frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 4C Figure 450 is an example illustrating an uplink frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 4DFigure 480 illustrates an example of a channel within an uplink frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0089] LTE, and in some cases NR, utilizes OFDM on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option to use OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are often referred to as frequency modulation, frequency slots, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Generally, modulation symbols are transmitted in the frequency domain for OFDM and in the time domain for SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing can be 15 kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Therefore, for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, the nominal FFT size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth can also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband can cover 1.08MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20MHz, there can be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands, respectively.

[0090] LTE supports single-parameter design (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR supports multiple parameter designs (μ), for example, subcarrier spacings of 15kHz (μ=0), 30kHz (μ=1), 60kHz (μ=2), 120kHz (μ=3), and 240kHz (μ=4) or larger can be available. Within each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per time slot. For a 15kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one time slot per subframe, 10 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 1 millisecond (ms), a symbol duration of 66.7 microseconds (μs), and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size is 50. For a 30kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two time slots per subframe, 20 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 0.5ms, a symbol duration of 33.3μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size of 100. For a 60kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four time slots per subframe, 40 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 0.25ms, a symbol duration of 16.7μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size of 200. For a 120kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight time slots per subframe, 80 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 0.125ms, a symbol duration of 8.33μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size of 400. For a 240kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 time slots per subframe and 160 time slots per frame. The time slot duration is 0.0625ms, the symbol duration is 4.17μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 800.

[0091] exist Figures 4A to 4D In the example, a 15kHz parameter design is used. Therefore, in the time domain, a 10ms frame is divided into 10 equal-sized subframes, each 1ms in size, and each subframe includes one time slot. Figures 4A to 4D In the diagram, time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0092] A resource grid can be used to represent time slots, each time slot comprising one or more concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also known as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE corresponds to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. Figures 4A to 4DIn the parameter design, for a normal cyclic prefix, the RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, the RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0093] Some REs carry downlink reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS). DL-RS may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSB), etc. Figure 4A Example locations of REs carrying PRS (labeled "R") are explained.

[0094] The set of resource elements (REs) used for PRS transmission is called a "PRS resource". The resource element set can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (such as one or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, the PRS resource occupies a consecutive PRB in the frequency domain.

[0095] The transmission of PRS resources within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also known as "comb density"). The comb size N represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / frequency modulation spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size 'N', the PRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol in the PRB. For example, for comb size -4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes -2, -4, -6, and -12 are supported by DL-PRS. Figure 4A An example PRS resource configuration for comb tooth 6 (which spans 6 symbols) is explained. That is, the position of the shaded RE (marked as "R") indicates the PRS resource configuration for comb tooth 6.

[0096] Currently, DL-PRS resources can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a single time slot using a full-frequency-domain interleaving mode. DL-PRS resources can be configured in any downlink or flexible (FL) symbol configured by higher layers within a time slot. For all REs of a given DL-PRS resource, there may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE). The following are the symbol-by-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 on 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-bit comb teeth -2:{0,1}; 4-bit comb teeth -2:{0,1,0,1}; 6-bit comb teeth -2:{0,1,0,1,0,1}; 12-bit comb teeth -2:{0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1}; 4-bit comb teeth -4:{0,2,1,3}; 12-bit comb teeth -4:{0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}; 6-bit comb teeth -6:{0,3,1,4,2,5}; 12-bit comb teeth -6:{0,3,1,4,2,5,0,3,1,4,2,5}; and 12-bit comb teeth -12:{0,6,3,9,1,7,4,10,2,8,5,11}.

[0097] A “PRS resource set” is a group of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. Furthermore, PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and associated with a specific TRP (identified by the TRP ID). Additionally, PRS resources in a PRS resource set share the same periodicity, a common silent mode configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as “PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor”) across time slots. Periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource in the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource in the next PRS instance. The periodicity can have a length chosen from the following: 2^μ*{4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,160,320,640,1280,2560,5120,10240} time slots, where μ=0,1,2,3. The repetition factor can have a length chosen from {1,2,4,6,8,16,32} time slots.

[0098] In a PRS resource set, a PRS resource ID is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP can transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam, and thus, a "PRS resource" (or simply a "resource") can also be referred to as a "beam". Note that this does not imply whether the UE is aware of the TRP and the beam transmitted on it by the PRS.

[0099] A “PRS instance” or “PRS timing” is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive time slots) in which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS timing may also be referred to as a “PRS positioning timing,” “PRS positioning instance,” “positioning timing,” “positioning instance,” “positioning repetition,” or simply “timing,” “instance,” or “repetition.”

[0100] A “positioning frequency layer” (also simply “frequency layer”) is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets with identical values ​​for certain parameters across one or more TRPs. Specifically, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning all parameter designs supported by PDSCH are also supported by PRS), the same point A, the same downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The point A parameter uses the value of the parameter “ARFCN-ValueNR” (where “ARFCN” stands for “Absolute Radio Channel Number”) and is an identifier / code specifying the pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth can have a granularity of 4 PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource sets can be configured per frequency layer per TRP.

[0101] The concept of a frequency layer is somewhat similar to that of component carriers and bandwidth portions (BWPs), but the difference is that component carriers and BWPs are used by a single base station (or macrocell base station and small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while a frequency layer is used by several (often three or more) base stations to transmit PRS (Positioning Signals). A UE can indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when sending its positioning capabilities to the network (such as during an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) session). For example, a UE can indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0102] Figure 4BExamples of various channels within the downlink time slot of a radio frame are explained. In NR, the channel bandwidth, or system bandwidth, is divided into multiple BWPs. A BWP is a set of adjacent PRBs selected from a subset of shared RBs designed for a given carrier with given parameters. Generally, a maximum of four BWPs can be specified in both the downlink and uplink. That is, a UE can be configured to have up to four BWPs in the downlink and up to four BWPs in the uplink. Only one BWP (uplink or downlink) can be active at a given time, meaning that the UE can only receive or transmit on one BWP at a time. In the downlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be equal to or greater than the bandwidth of the SSB, but it may or may not contain an SSB.

[0103] Reference Figure 4B The Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) is used by the UE to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identity. The Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the aforementioned DL-RS. The Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) carrying the MIB can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form the SSB (also known as SS / PBCH). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the downlink system bandwidth and the System Frame Number (SFN). The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information (such as System Information Blocks (SIBs)) not transmitted through the PBCH, and paging messages.

[0104] The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries downlink control information (DCI) within one or more Control Channel Elements (CCEs). Each CCE includes one or more RE Group (REG) bundles (which can span multiple symbols in the time domain). Each REG bundle includes one or more REGs, and each REG corresponds to 12 resource elements (one resource block) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain. The physical resource set used to carry the PDCCH / DCI is called the Control Resource Set (CORESET) in NR. In NR, the PDCCH is confined to a single CORESET and transmitted along with its own DMRS. This enables UE-specific beamforming for the PDCCH.

[0105] exist Figure 4BIn the example, each BWP has one CORESET, and this CORESET spans three symbols in the time domain (although it can be only one or two symbols). Unlike the LTE control channel, which occupies the entire system bandwidth, in NR, the PDCCH channel is localized to a specific region in the frequency domain (i.e., the CORESET). Therefore, Figure 4B The frequency components of the PDCCH shown are interpreted in the frequency domain as fewer than a single BWP. Note that although the interpreted CORESETs are contiguous in the frequency domain, they do not need to be contiguous. Additionally, a CORESET can span fewer than three symbols in the time domain.

[0106] The DCI within the PDCCH carries information about uplink resource allocation (persistent and non-persistent) and a description of the downlink data transmitted to the UE (referred to as uplink grant and downlink grant, respectively). More specifically, the DCI indicates the resources scheduled for downlink data channels (e.g., PDSCH) and uplink data channels (e.g., PUSCH). Multiple (e.g., up to eight) DCIs can be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIs can have one of several formats. For example, different DCI formats exist for uplink scheduling, downlink scheduling, uplink transmit power control (TPC), etc. The PDCCH can be transmitted by 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs to accommodate different DCI payload sizes or coding rates.

[0107] like Figure 4C As explained, some REs (denoted as "R") carry DMRS for channel estimation at the receiver (e.g., a base station, another UE, etc.). The UE may, for example, additionally transmit SRS in the last symbol of the time slot. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may transmit the SRS on one of the comb teeth. Figure 4C In the example, the SRS described is a comb tooth-2 on a symbol. The SRS can be used by the base station to obtain Channel State Information (CSI) for each UE. CSI describes how the RF signal propagates from the UE to the base station and represents the combined effects of scattering, fading, and power attenuation over distance. The system uses SRS for resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management, etc.

[0108] Currently, SRS resources with comb tooth sizes of 2, 4, or 8 can span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 consecutive symbols within a time slot. The following are the symbol-by-symbol frequency offsets for the currently supported SRS comb tooth patterns. 1-bit comb tooth -2: {0}; 2-bit comb tooth -2: {0,1}; 4-bit comb tooth -2: {0,1,0,1}; 4-bit comb tooth -4: {0,2,1,3}; 8-bit comb tooth -4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}; 12-bit comb tooth -4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}; 4-bit comb tooth -8: {0,4,2,6}; 8-bit comb tooth -8: {0,4,2,6,1,5,3,7}; and 12-bit comb tooth -8: {0,4,2,6,1,5,3,7,0,4,2,6}.

[0109] The set of resource elements used for SRS transmission is called an "SRS resource" and is identified by the parameter "SRS-ResourceId (SRS-ResourceId)". The resource element set can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, an SRS resource occupies a consecutive PRB. An "SRS resource set" is a group of SRS resources used for SRS signal transmission and is identified by the SRS resource set ID ("SRS-ResourceSetId").

[0110] Generally, the UE transmits a SRS so that the receiving base station (serving base station or neighboring base station) can measure the channel quality between the UE and the base station. However, the SRS can also be specifically configured as an uplink positioning reference signal for use in uplink-based positioning procedures, such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), round-trip time (RTT), uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA), etc. As used herein, the term "SRS" can refer to an SRS configured for channel quality measurement or an SRS configured for positioning purposes. When it is necessary to distinguish between the two types of SRS, the former may be referred to herein as "SRS-for-communication" and / or the latter as "SRS-for-positioning".

[0111] Several enhancements to the previously defined SRS have been proposed for “SRS-for-positioning” (also known as “UL-PRS”), such as new interleaving patterns within SRS resources (other than a single symbol / comb tooth - 2), new comb tooth types for SRS, new sequences of SRS, larger sets of SRS resources per component carrier, and larger numbers of SRS resources per component carrier. Additionally, the parameters “SpatialRelationInfo” and “PathLossReference” are configured based on downlink reference signals or SSBs from adjacent TRPs. Furthermore, an SRS resource can be transmitted outside the active BWP, and an SRS resource can span multiple component carriers. Moreover, SRS can be configured in RRC connected states and transmitted only within the active BWP. Furthermore, frequency hopping, repetition factors, single antenna ports, and new SRS lengths (e.g., 8 and 12 symbols) may not be present. It is also possible to have open-loop power control but no closed-loop power control, and to use comb-8 (i.e., SRS transmitted every eighth subcarrier in the same symbol). Finally, the UE can transmit via the same transmit beam from multiple SRS resources for UL-AoA. All of these are features outside the current SRS framework, which is configured via higher-layer RRC signaling (and potentially triggered or activated via MAC control elements (CE) or DCI).

[0112] Figure 4D Examples of various channels within uplink slots of a frame according to various aspects of this disclosure are described. A Random Access Channel (RACH) (also referred to as a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH)) may be configured based on the PRACH within one or more slots of the frame. A PRACH may include six consecutive RB pairs within a slot. The PRACH allows the UE to perform initial system access and achieve uplink synchronization. A Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) may be located at the edge of the uplink system bandwidth. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, CSI reports, channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. A Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) carries data and may additionally be used to carry buffer status reports (BSR), power clearance reports (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0113] Note that the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" can also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc., as defined in LTE and NR. Additionally, the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" can refer to downlink or uplink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise indicated by the context. If further distinction is needed regarding the type of PRS, downlink positioning reference signals may be referred to as "DL-PRS," while uplink positioning reference signals (e.g., positioning SRS, PTRS) may be referred to as "UL-PRS." Furthermore, for signals that can be transmitted in both uplink and downlink (e.g., DMRS, PTRS), these signals may be prefixed with "UL" or "DL" to distinguish direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" can be distinguished from "DL-DMRS."

[0114] NR supports several cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, the UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from paired base stations (referred to as Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) or Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) measurements) and reports these differences to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in auxiliary data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known locations of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity can estimate the UE's location.

[0115] For DL-AoD positioning, the positioning entity uses beam reports from the UE regarding received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmitted beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base stations(s). The positioning entity can then estimate the UE's location based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base stations.

[0116] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but it is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., detection reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurement and the angle of the receive beam to determine the angle between the UE and (the) base stations. Based on the determined angle and the known location of the base stations, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0117] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include Enhanced Cellular ID (E-CID) positioning and Multiple Round Trip (RTT) positioning (also known as "Multi-Cell RTT"). In an RTT procedure, the initiator (base station or UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to the responder (UE or base station), which then transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the initiator. The RTT response signal includes the difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal (referred to as the receive-to-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference). The initiator calculates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response signal (referred to as the transmit-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference). The propagation time (also known as "time of flight") between the initiator and the responder can be calculated from the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx time differences. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and the responder can be determined. For multi-RTT positioning, the UE executes RTT procedures with multiple base stations so that the UE's location can be determined based on the known locations of each base station (e.g., using multilateral positioning). RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning technologies (such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD) to improve location accuracy.

[0118] The E-CID positioning method is based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identifiers, estimated timings, and signal strengths of detected neighboring base stations. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0119] To assist in the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide auxiliary data to the UE. For example, auxiliary data may include: the identifier of the base station (or the cell / TRP of the base station) from which the reference signal is measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning subframes, the periodicity of the positioning subframes, the silence sequence, the frequency hopping sequence, the reference signal identifier, the reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, auxiliary data may be derived directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes without using auxiliary data.

[0120] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, auxiliary data may further include the expected RSTD value and associated uncertainty, or a search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the expected RSTD value may range from ±500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any resources used for positioning measurements are in FR1, the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may range from ±32 μs. In other cases, when all resources used for positioning measurements are in FR2, the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may range from ±8 μs.

[0121] Location estimation can be referred to by other names, such as location estimation, location, positioning, location locking, locking, etc. Location estimation can be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible elevation), or it can be municipal and include street addresses, postal addresses, or some other verbal description of location. Location estimation can be further defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible elevation). Location estimation can include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including the area or volume that the location is expected to be included with a specified or default confidence level).

[0122] As a specific example Figure 5 The example wireless communication system 500 according to various aspects of this disclosure describes a positioning procedure based on Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA). The TDOA-based positioning procedure can be an observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) positioning procedure (as in LTE) or a downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning procedure (as in 5G NR). Figure 5In the example, UE 504 (e.g., any UE described herein) is attempting to calculate an estimate of its location (referred to as "UE-based" positioning) or assisting 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 (referred to as "UE-assisted" positioning). UE 504 may communicate (e.g., send information to or receive information from a base station) with one or more of a plurality of base stations 502 (e.g., any combination of base stations described herein) (labeled as "BS1" 502-1, "BS2" 502-2, and "BS3" 502-3).

[0123] To support location estimation, base station 502 can be configured to broadcast location reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) to UE 504 within its coverage area, enabling UE 504 to measure the characteristics of such reference signals. In a TDOA-based location procedure, UE 504 measures the time difference (referred to as Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) or TDOA) between specific downlink reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) transmitted by different pairs of base stations 502, and reports these RSTD measurements to a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) or calculates the location estimate itself from these RSTD measurements.

[0124] Generally, in a reference cell (e.g., by...) Figure 5 The example base station 502-1 supports cells and one or more neighboring cells (e.g., by...). Figure 5 RSTD is measured between the cells supported by base stations 502-2 and 502-3 in the example. For any single location use for TDOA, the reference cell remains the same for all RSTDs measured by UE 504 and will typically correspond to either the serving cell of UE 504 or another nearby cell with good signal strength at UE 504. On the other hand, neighboring cells are typically cells supported by base stations different from the base station of the reference cell and may have good or poor signal strength at UE 504. Location calculation may be based on the measured RSTD and knowledge of the location and relative transmission timing of the base stations 502 involved (e.g., whether base stations 502 are accurately synchronized or whether each base station 502 transmits with some known time offset relative to other base stations 502).

[0125] To assist TDOA-based positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP272) may provide UE 504 with auxiliary data for a reference cell and neighboring cells relative to the reference cell. For example, the auxiliary data may include identifiers (e.g., PCI, VCI, CGI, etc.) for each cell in the set of cells that UE 504 intends to measure (here, the cells supported by base station 502). The auxiliary data may also provide the center channel frequency of each cell, various reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning slots, the periodicity of positioning slots, silence sequences, frequency hopping sequences, reference signal identifiers, reference signal bandwidth), and / or other cell-related parameters applicable to the TDOA-based positioning protocol. The auxiliary data may also indicate the serving cell of UE 504 as the reference cell.

[0126] In some cases, the auxiliary data may also include "expected RSTD" parameters along with their uncertainties, which provide UE 504 with information about the expected RSTD values ​​that UE 504 will measure between the reference cell and each neighboring cell at its current location. The expected RSTD, along with its associated uncertainties, can define a search window for UE 504 to measure the expected RSTD values ​​within its range. In some cases, the expected RSTD value may range from ±500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may range from ±32 μs when any resources used for positioning measurements are in FR1. In other cases, the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may range from ±8 μs when all resources used for positioning measurements are in FR2.

[0127] TDOA auxiliary information may also include positioning reference signal configuration information parameters, which allow UE 504 to determine when the positioning reference signal timing will appear on the signals received from each neighboring cell relative to the positioning reference signal timing used for the reference cell, and to determine the reference signal sequence transmitted from each cell to measure the reference signal arrival time (ToA) or RSTD.

[0128] On the one hand, while location servers (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) can send auxiliary data to UE 504, alternatively, the auxiliary data can originate directly from base station 502 itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages, etc.). Alternatively, UE 504 can detect neighboring base stations on its own without using auxiliary data.

[0129] UE 504 (e.g., based in part on auxiliary data (if provided)) can measure and (optionally) report the RSTD between received reference signals from base station 502. Using RSTD measurements, the known absolute or relative transmission timing of each base station 502, and the known locations of reference and neighboring base stations 502, the network (e.g., location server 230 / LMF 270 / SLP272, base station 502) or UE 504 can estimate the location of UE 504. More specifically, the RSTD of neighboring cell “k” relative to reference cell “Ref” can be given as (ToA_k – ToA_Ref). Figure 5 In the example, the RSTD measured between the reference cell of base station 502-1 and the cells of neighboring base stations 502-2 and 502-3 can be represented as T2–T1 and T3–T1, where T1, T2, and T3 represent the ToA of the reference signals from base stations 502-1, 502-2, and 502-3, respectively. UE 504 (in the case that UE 504 is not a location entity) may then send the RSTD measurements to a location server or other location entity. The location of UE 504 (determined by UE 504 or the location server) can be determined using (i) the RSTD measurements, (ii) the known absolute or relative transmission timing of each base station 502, (iii) the known location of base station 502, and / or (iv) the characteristics of the directional reference signal (such as the direction of transmission).

[0130] On one hand, position estimation can specify the position of UE 504 in a two-dimensional (2D) coordinate system; however, the aspects disclosed herein are not limited to this and can also be applied to determining the position estimate using a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system when additional dimensions are desired. Additionally, although Figure 5 The explanation describes one UE 504 and three base stations 502, but as will be understood, there may be more UE 504s and more base stations 502.

[0131] Still refer to Figure 5 When UE 504 uses RSTD to obtain a location estimate, the location server may provide UE 504 with necessary additional data (e.g., the location of base station 502 and relative transmission timing). In some implementations, the location estimate of UE 504 may be obtained (e.g., by UE 504 itself or by the location server) from RSTD and from other measurements performed by UE 504 (e.g., measurements of signal timing from GPS or other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites). In these implementations (referred to as hybrid positioning), RSTD measurements may contribute to obtaining the location estimate of UE 504, but may not fully determine that location estimate.

[0132] The quality of location estimates obtainable from a group of transmitters (e.g., base stations, WLAN APs, GNSS satellites, positioning beacons, etc.) can be quantified using a metric called Diluted Optimum (DOP). DOP is a well-known metric that represents the impact of the transmitter's geometry relative to the target UE on the accuracy of positioning measurements. The DOP metric is calculated using the known location of the transmitter and at least a coarse location of the UE.

[0133] More specifically, wireless signals from transmitters typically have a fixed precision. Therefore, the relative transmitter-receiver geometry plays a crucial role in determining the accuracy of the receiver's estimated location. Due to the relative geometry of any given transmitter and receiver, the precision of the transmitted signal translates into a corresponding component (i.e., x, y, z) in each of the three positional dimensions measured by the receiver. The precision of multiple transmitters, when considering the receiver, is combined based on the relative positions of these transmitters to determine the level of precision in each dimension measured by the receiver. When the transmitters appear close together from the receiver's perspective (e.g., multiple transmitters may be spatially separated but appear in a line from the receiver's perspective), this geometry is considered weak and the DOP value is high. When the transmitters are far apart from the receiver's perspective, this geometry is strong and the DOP value is low. Therefore, a low DOP value indicates better positional accuracy resulting from a wider angular spacing between the transmitters used to calculate the receiver's location. Other factors that can increase the effective DOP are obstacles, such as nearby mountains or buildings.

[0134] Several DOP variants exist, including Geometric Dilution (GDOP), Horizontal Dilution (HDOP), Vertical Dilution (VDOP), Positioning (3D) Dilution (PDOP), and Temporal Dilution (TDOP). GDOP is used to represent 3D positioning and timing uncertainties, while PDOP is used only to represent 3D positioning uncertainties and TDOP is used only to represent timing uncertainties. VDOP is used to represent vertical positioning uncertainties.

[0135] As mentioned above, a good (i.e., low) DOP value is generally related to the spatial distribution of transmitters relative to the target UE and the measurement uncertainty of each link between the UE and each transmitter (which may be based on link quality). Figure 6An example wireless communication network 600 is described, in which multiple UEs according to aspects of this disclosure can receive PRS from multiple base stations. Specifically, a first UE 604-1 and a second UE 604-2 (collectively referred to as UE 604) may be able to detect and process PRS transmitted by base stations 602-1, 602-2, 602-3, 602-4, and 602-5 (collectively referred to as base station 602). In one aspect, base station 602 may periodically or on demand (e.g., when instructed by a location server or requested by UE 604) transmit PRS so that UE 604 in its coverage area can measure the properties of those PRS (e.g., ToA, RSTD, Rx-Tx time difference, AoA, etc.) for positioning purposes. As will be appreciated, although Figure 6 The explanation mentions two UEs 604 and five base stations 602, but there may be more or fewer than two UEs 604 and five base stations 602.

[0136] exist Figure 6 In the example, base station subsets 602-1, 602-2, 602-3, and 602-5 are likely to provide good (or at least sufficient) DOP for UE 604-1, while base station subsets 602-3, 602-4, and 602-5 are likely to provide good (or at least sufficient) DOP for UE 604-2. Measuring the PRS from base stations 602 whose location is highly "correlated" (i.e., with low spatial distribution) with other base stations 602 from the perspective of UE 604 is unlikely to improve the positioning quality of UE 604. Therefore, for UE 604-1, since base station 602-4 is essentially in a line with base station 602-3 from the perspective of UE 604-1, adding base station 602-4 to the set of base stations 602 that UE 604-1 is measuring will be unlikely to (at least significantly) improve the location estimation for UE 604-1. Similarly, for UE 604-2, since base station 602-1 and base station 602-2 are essentially in a line from the perspective of UE 604-2, adding base station 602-1 to the set of base stations 602 that UE 604-2 is measuring will be unlikely (at least significantly) to improve the location estimation for UE 604-2. Note that the reference to "measuring base station" more specifically refers to measuring the PRS from that base station.

[0137] UE 604 can measure signals from several base stations 602 ( Figure 6In the case of a strong signal from five base stations (as in a dense network deployment), the target UE 604 may not need to process the PRS from all available base stations 602 in order to estimate (or be able to estimate) its location. Instead, selecting a subset of base stations 602 that meet a quality metric (e.g., the DOP threshold) may be sufficient. Therefore, since base station sets 602-1, 602-2, 602-3, and 602-5 provide a good DOP for UE 604-1, UE 604-1 is able to measure the PRS from only these base stations 602 to calculate (or enable another location entity to calculate) its location. Similarly, since base station sets 602-3, 602-4, and 604-5 provide a good DOP for UE 604-2, UE 604-2 is able to measure the PRS from only these base stations 602 to calculate (or enable another location entity to calculate) its location.

[0138] Therefore, this disclosure provides techniques for selecting a set of TRPs to measure PRS from which to optimize DOP, particularly in dense network deployments. Such techniques are particularly beneficial in low latency and / or on-demand location scenarios because reducing the number of PRS measurements that the UE needs to report reduces processing time and signaling overhead, and thus reduces latency. Furthermore, by optimizing the DOP value, the accuracy of location estimation can be maintained (or at least not significantly reduced) even with fewer reported measurements.

[0139] As noted above, the DOP value is based on the spatial distribution of transmitters (e.g., TRPs) relative to the target UE and the measurement uncertainty of each link between the UE and each transmitter. Therefore, in order to calculate the DOP value, it is necessary to determine at least the approximate location of the target UE and the location of the involved TRPs (i.e., the TRPs from which the UE is measuring the PRS), as well as the link quality associated with these involved TRPs. Figure 7 and 8 An example call flow is explained, in which this information is shared between the UE and the LMF so that one or the other can identify the set of TRPs for optimizing DOP and use the identified set of TRPs to compute a high-quality, low-latency location estimate.

[0140] Figure 7 An example call flow 700 for calculating the location estimate of UE 704 (e.g., any UE described herein) according to various aspects of this disclosure is explained.

[0141] At 705, UE 704 determines its coarse location and reports it to LMF 770. LMF 770 may correspond to a core network entity, such as location server 230, LMF 270, or SLP 272, or it may be part of the RAN and located at the serving TRP. Alternatively, UE 704 may measure the PRS from all TRPs whose received PRS signal strength is above a certain threshold (e.g., RSRP threshold). Such TRPs are referred to as “available” or “measurable” TRPs. Another option is for UE 704 to determine its coarse location based on the PRS transmitted by one or more measured TRPs. For example, UE 704 may perform an E-CID procedure with a single TRP, or a DL-TDOA or multi-RTT procedure with three TRPs (but with lower precision requirements). Alternatively, UE 704 may simply report the identifier of its serving TRP. As another alternative, UE 704 can use inertial navigation (e.g., pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR)) to determine its approximate location and report it to LMF 770.

[0142] On the one hand, if the TRP is measured to determine its approximate location, then UE 704 may not need to measure PRS from all available TRPs, provided that UE 704 knows the location of the TRP. In this case, without measuring the actual PRS transmission, UE 704 can estimate the quality metric (e.g., signal strength) it expects for the PRS measurement it would otherwise perform.

[0143] In 710, the LMF 770 configures the DOP threshold, the maximum number (N) of TRPs to be measured and reported, the maximum number (K) of TRP sets, and the locations of those N TRPs for the UE 704. In one aspect, these values ​​can be selected / determined based on the coarse location of the UE 704. For example, based on the coarse location of the UE 704, the LMF 770 might be able to identify a set of N TRPs that could cause the DOP of the UE 704 to be below a certain high threshold DOP value. The LMF 770 can then use these values ​​to configure the UE 704. For example, the LMF 770 (or other server) can provide the UE 704 with the locations of these TRPs in the Base Station Almanac (BSA), and the UE 704 can store the BSA in its local memory. The received BSA can be a subset of a larger base station database residing on an almanac server or location server (e.g., the LMF 770). Note that the identifiers and locations of the TRPs can be stored in the UE 704's memory and reused, even if initially obtained from a server.

[0144] The DOP threshold can be any type of DOP (such as GDOP, HDOP, PDOP, VDOP, etc.). For example, if UE 704 needs to determine (or is able to determine) a 3D position estimate, it can use GDOP or PDOP. As another example, if UE 704 is equipped with a barometer capable of determining the vertical position of UE 704, it can use HDOP.

[0145] The set of N TRPs for which LMF 770 provides location information can be some or all of the TRPs measured by UE 704 in 705. Note that the location of a TRP is typically the location of the base station to which that TRP belongs. For security reasons, this location may not be an absolute location but can be a relative location, indicating the relative position of the TRPs with respect to each other. Alternatively, the location can be a coarse location, which, while provided in absolute value, does not provide enough detail to reveal the specific location of the TRP. As another alternative, where security is not a concern, the location can be the absolute location of the TRP with a typical level of detail.

[0146] Note that different positioning frequency layers will have different DOPs. Therefore, the selection of TRPs can be further based on the frequency layer (e.g., selecting TRPs on the same or different frequency layers). Furthermore, the DOP can be determined on a frequency layer basis.

[0147] The maximum number of TRP sets (K) is the maximum number of TRP sets per iteration used to identify the minimum set of TRPs that satisfy the DOP threshold. This value can be based on the maximum number of TRPs to be measured (N), the processing capacity of the UE 704, and / or the latency requirements of the location session. For example, a higher K value may benefit from a higher N value, but a higher K value may also require more processing capacity and higher latency.

[0148] although Figure 7 The explanation describes how the LMF 770 configures the DOP threshold, the maximum number of TRPs, the maximum number of TRP sets, and the location of TRPs for the UE 704. However, some of these values ​​can be negotiated between the UE 704 and the LMF 770 (e.g., based on UE capabilities, detectable TRPs, etc.), specified in applicable standards, configured by the servicer TRP, or determined by the UE 704.

[0149] For example, if the DOP threshold is not provided by configuration or relevant standards, UE 704 can calculate the nominal value based on its measurements of all available TRPs and determine the DOP value itself in 705. For example, UE 704 can set a DOP threshold that is no more than 25% worse than using all available TRPs.

[0150] After operation 710, UE 704 knows its approximate location, the locations of N measurable TRPs, and the link quality between UE 704 and each of the N measurable TRPs (by measuring the PRS from each TRP or estimating the link quality based on the known location of the TRP). Using this information, UE 704 can calculate the DOP for different sets of TRPs.

[0151] Therefore, in step 715, UE 704 iteratively selects at most K sets of TRPs comprising M TRPs (where M is less than or equal to N) and computes the associated DOP for each set. That is, in each iteration, UE 704 selects at most K sets of TRPs comprising M TRPs. On one hand, the number of iterations can be based on permutations of K and M, provided that each set includes at least the number of TRPs required to compute the location estimate (e.g., 3 for 2D location estimation and 4 for 3D estimation). However, UE 704 does not need to iterate on every permutation of K and M. Instead, in each iteration, UE 704 can increase or decrease the number of TRP sets and / or the number of TRPs per set from some initial value (which can be configured or selected by UE 704).

[0152] As a specific example where K=4 and N=6, in the first iteration, UE 704 can select four TRP sets, each containing three TRPs, and calculate the DOP for each TRP set. In the second iteration, UE 704 can select three TRP sets, each containing four TRPs, and calculate the DOP for each TRP set. In the third iteration, UE 704 can select two TRP sets, each containing five TRPs, and calculate the DOP for each TRP set. As another example, also with K=4 and N=6, the UE can iterate over all permutations of "4" and "6" where each set has at least three TRPs. Therefore, UE 704 can select one TRP set containing six TRPs, three TRP sets each containing four TRPs, and four TRP sets each containing three TRPs. As will be appreciated, other choices are possible in this example.

[0153] At 720, UE 704 determines which TRP sets among the TRP sets identified in 715 meet the DOP threshold. This could be some or all of these TRP sets. UE 704 can also prioritize or rank the TRP sets that meet the DOP threshold based on the number of TRPs in each TRP set, with TRP sets having fewer TRPs having higher priority. If multiple TRP sets have the fewest TRPs and meet the DOP threshold, UE 704 can additionally rank these TRP sets based on their DOPs. For example, if the DOP threshold is a high DOP threshold (meaning UE 704 is trying to find TRP sets with DOPs below the threshold), sets with DOPs closer to that threshold will have lower priority. If the DOP threshold is a low DOP threshold (meaning UE 704 is trying to find TRP sets with DOPs equal to the threshold), sets with DOPs closer to that threshold will have higher priority.

[0154] In 725, UE 704 identifies the set of highest priority TRPs that meet the DOP threshold. This may be the set of TRPs with the fewest TRPs and the best DOP. Figure 7 In the example, the set includes TRP 702.

[0155] At 735, UE 704 optionally measures the PRS that was optionally transmitted by TRP 702 in the highest priority TRP set at 730. Operations 730 and 735 are optional because UE 704 may have already measured the PRS from TRP 702 in the highest priority TRP set during operation 705. However, UE 704 may measure these TRPs again, or may perform additional processing on the PRS measured at 730 (e.g., calculating RSTD, AoA, etc.). Specifically, for RTT positioning procedures, UE 704 may have already transmitted an RTT response signal, or may transmit an RTT response signal once the highest priority TRP set is identified. In either case, UE 704 may calculate the Rx-Tx (receive-transmit) time difference measurement based on when the PRS was measured (at 705 or 730) and when the RTT response signal was transmitted (at or before 730). Note that the PRS measured in 705 and / or 730 can be a periodic PRS or an on-demand PRS transmitted by TRP702 in response to a request from LMF770 or UE 704.

[0156] At 740, UE 704 reports the identifier of the highest priority TRP set identified at 725 and the PRS measurement performed on the highest priority TRP set at 705 or 730. Alternatively, UE 704 may report the identifier of all measured TRPs and all PRS measurements for all TRPs, or the identifier of the TRP set that meets the threshold, and the PRS measurements for TRPs in only the TRP set that meets the DOP threshold. As another alternative, UE 704 may report location information derived from these measurements, such as RSTD, Rx-Tx time difference, or AoA measurements, or the actual location estimate of UE 704.

[0157] UE 704 may transmit measurement reports(s) to LMF 770. If LMF 770 is part of the core network, UE 704 may send reports(s) to LMF 770 via LPP signaling. If LMF 770 is located at a serving TRP, UE may send reports(s) via physical layer (e.g., UCI) or layer 2 (e.g., MAC-CE) signaling. Note that if each TRP (e.g., TRP 702 of the highest priority TRP set) transmits PRS on multiple PRS resources, UE 704 may be configured to report the set of TRPs and the set of PRS resources within each TRP that meets the DOP threshold.

[0158] In 745, LMF 770 optionally calculates the location estimate of UE 704 based on measurement reports received from UE 704. This operation is optional because, as stated above, UE 704 can calculate and report its location estimate. In either case, upon request, LMF 770 may forward the location estimate to an external client (e.g., a third-party application or service, such as an emergency call service).

[0159] Figure 8 An example call flow 800 for calculating the location estimate of UE 804 (e.g., any UE described herein) according to various aspects of this disclosure is explained. More specifically, Figure 8 Commentary and Figure 7 Compared to a more user-centric approach.

[0160] At 805, UE 804 determines its coarse location. On one hand, UE 804 may measure the PRS from all TRPs whose received PRS signal strength is above a certain threshold (e.g., RSRP threshold). On the other hand, UE 804 may determine its coarse location based on the PRS transmitted by one or more measured TRPs. For example, UE 804 may perform an E-CID procedure with a single TRP, or a DL-TDOA or multi-RTT procedure with three TRPs (but with lower accuracy requirements). Alternatively, UE 804 may simply use the location of its serving TRP as its location. As yet another alternative, UE 804 may use inertial navigation (e.g., PDR) to determine its coarse location.

[0161] On the one hand, if the TRP is measured to determine its approximate location, then UE 804 may not need to measure PRS from all available TRPs, provided that UE 804 knows the location of the TRP. In this case, without measuring the actual PRS transmission, UE 804 can estimate the quality metric (e.g., signal strength) it expects for the PRS measurement it would otherwise perform.

[0162] At 810, LMF 870 provides the location of the measurable TRP to UE 804. LMF 870 may correspond to a core network entity, such as location server 230, LMF 270, or SLP 272, or it may be part of the RAN and located at the serving TRP. LMF 870 may provide the location based on a request from UE 804 identifying the measurable TRP. For security reasons, this location may not be an absolute location but may be a relative location, indicating the relative position of the TRPs with respect to each other. Alternatively, the location may be a coarse location, which, while provided in absolute value, does not provide sufficient detail to reveal the specific location of the TRP. As another alternative, where security is not a concern, the location may be the absolute location of the TRP with a typical level of detail.

[0163] In 815, UE 804 determines the DOP threshold, the maximum number of TRPs to be measured (N), and the maximum number of TRP sets (K). On the one hand, these values ​​can be selected / determined based on the coarse location of UE 804, the processing capacity of UE 804, latency requirements, accuracy requirements, etc.

[0164] The DOP threshold can be any type of DOP (such as GDOP, HDOP, PDOP, VDOP, etc.). For example, if UE 804 needs to determine (or is able to determine) a 3D position estimate, it can use GDOP or PDOP. As another example, if UE 804 is equipped with a barometer capable of determining the vertical position of UE 804, it can use HDOP.

[0165] The TRP set, comprising N TRPs, can be some or all of the TRPs measured by UE 804 in 805. The maximum number of TRP sets (K) is the maximum number of TRP sets per iteration used to identify the minimum TRP set that satisfies the DOP threshold. This value can be based on the maximum number of TRPs to be measured (N), the processing capacity of UE 804, and / or the latency requirements of the location session.

[0166] Although Figure 8 The explanation states that UE 804 determines the DOP threshold, the maximum number of TRPs, and the maximum number of TRP sets. However, some of these values ​​can be negotiated between UE 804 and LMF 870 (e.g., based on UE capabilities, measurable TRPs, etc.), specified in applicable standards, or configured by the service provider TRP.

[0167] For example, if the DOP threshold is not provided by configuration or relevant standards, UE 804 can calculate the nominal value and determine the DOP value itself based on its measurements of all available TRPs in 805. For example, UE 804 can set a DOP threshold that is no more than 25% worse than using all available TRPs.

[0168] After operation 815, UE 804 knows its approximate location, the locations of N measurable TRPs, and the link quality between UE 804 and each of those N measurable TRPs (by measuring the PRS from each TRP or estimating the link quality based on the known location of the TRP). Using this information, UE 804 can calculate the DOP for different sets of TRPs, as referenced above. Figure 7 As described. Specifically, operations 820 to 850 are the same as operations 715 to 745, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be described again here.

[0169] Note that, although Figure 7 and 8 The explanation of UE 704 / 804's DOP value calculation has been provided. However, on one hand, UE 704 / 804 could instead report all its measurements to LMF 770 / 870 so that LMF 770 / 870 could calculate the DOP value. However, the drawback of this technique is that it does not reduce overhead. Nevertheless, it can reduce latency, depending on the processing power of UE 704 / 804.

[0170] Figure 7 and 8 The explained process can be repeated over time as needed due to UE mobility. Furthermore, the LMF 770 / 870 can use the received measurement reports to refine which TRPs and how many TRPs are used to configure the UE 704 / 804 for future positioning sessions.

[0171] The technology disclosed herein is extendable to angle-based positioning methods, such as AoA and AoD positioning methods, and joint positioning methods, such as joint TDOA and AoA positioning methods. More specifically, the operations described above implicitly assume that only distance or timing information is used to calculate DOP. However, for angle-based or joint positioning methods, mechanisms exist for determining DOP in a joint manner using both timing and angle information. For example, if both timing and angle information are available for certain PRS resources, the UE can calculate an appropriate DOP metric. That is, in addition to the timing information determined by the UE, the UE will also receive the angle of the PRS transmitted by the TRP (e.g., as auxiliary data from the LMF, or directly from the TRP). In one aspect, the UE can recommend that the transmitting TRP provide angle information for only a selected subset of the PRS resources rather than all PRS resources in such scenarios.

[0172] The technology disclosed herein can also be extended to uplink scenarios. For UL-PRS (e.g., SRS for positioning) transmissions, the serving TRP or LMF can configure the UE to transmit on a subset of beams based on a calculated DOP value. This can be done transparently, and the optimized result can be provided to the UE as a configuration. Thus, in one aspect, the LMF or serving TRP can provide the UE with a target DOP value, which can be used (if appropriate, per resource) to determine a power control command for UL-PRS transmissions for the UE. This power control command can be provided to the UE as part of a configuration from the LMF or serving TRP. This enables a distant TRP (including the TRP that would improve the DOP value) to receive UL-PRS with the desired SNR. That is, if including a more distant TRP in the uplink positioning session would improve the DOP of the positioning session, the UE can increase its transmit power (at least in the direction of the more distant TRP) so that the more distant TRP can measure the UL-PRS from the UE.

[0173] Figure 9 An example method 900 for wireless positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure is explained. In one aspect, method 900 can be performed by a UE (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0174] In 910, the UE performs one or more positioning measurements on the PRS transmitted by at least one of one or more TRP sets (such as in...). Figure 7 705 or 735 and Figure 8 (805 or 840), wherein each of the one or more TRP sets satisfies the DOP threshold (as referenced). Figure 7 720 and Figure 8(As described in 825). In one aspect, operation 910 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, wherein any or all of the components may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0175] At 920, the UE reports the location information derived from or based on one or more positioning measurements (such as in...). Figure 7 740 or Figure 8 (845). In one aspect, operation 920 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, wherein any or all of the components may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0176] As will be understood, the technical advantage of Method 900 lies in the improved DOP and thus the improved positioning accuracy.

[0177] In the detailed description above, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as an intention to have more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, aspects of this disclosure may include fewer features than those of the individual example clauses disclosed. Therefore, the appended clauses should thus be considered as incorporated into this description, where each clause may be a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer in its respective clause to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspects of that dependent clause are not limited to that specific combination. It will be appreciated that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of the dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or any feature combined with other dependent and independent clauses. The aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations unless explicitly stated or readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an insulator and a conductor). Furthermore, it is intended that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause is not directly subordinate to that independent clause.

[0178] Examples of implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0179] Clause 1. A wireless positioning method performed by a user equipment (UE) comprising: identifying one or more sets of transmit receiving points (TRPs), each TRP set satisfying a precision dilution (DOP) threshold; performing one or more positioning measurements on a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted by at least one of the one or more TRP sets; and reporting the one or more positioning measurements or location information derived from the one or more positioning measurements.

[0180] Clause 2. The method as described in Clause 1, wherein the number of TRPs in each of the one or more TRP sets is less than a threshold N.

[0181] Clause 3. The method as described in Clause 2 further comprises: iteratively selecting K sets of TRPs, each comprising M TRPs, from which the UE can measure PRS, wherein M is less than or equal to the threshold N; and wherein the UE identifies the one or more TRP sets from the iteratively selected K sets of TRPs, each comprising M TRPs.

[0182] Clause 4. The method as described in Clause 3 further comprises: during each iteration, measuring the PRS of each TRP from the respective set of K TRPs comprising M TRPs to determine the DOP of each set of K TRPs comprising M TRPs.

[0183] Clause 5. The method as described in Clause 4 further comprises: during each iteration, assigning a priority to the corresponding TRP set comprising M TRPs based on the DOP of each of the K TRP sets comprising M TRPs, wherein the at least one TRP set has the highest priority among the K TRP sets comprising M TRPs selected in all iterations.

[0184] Clause 6. The method of any one of Clauses 3 to 5, wherein: the UE iteratively selects each of K sets of TRPs comprising M TRPs until the smallest set of TRPs comprising M TRPs that satisfies the DOP threshold is identified, and the at least one set of TRPs is the smallest set of TRPs comprising M TRPs.

[0185] Clause 7. The method of any one of Clauses 3 to 6 further comprises: assigning a priority to each of the K TRP sets, each comprising M TRPs, selected iteratively, wherein the at least one TRP set has the highest priority among all the K TRP sets, each comprising M TRPs, selected iteratively.

[0186] Clause 8. The method as described in any one of Clauses 3 to 7 further includes: receiving N, M, and K from a serving base station or location server.

[0187] Clause 9. The method of any one of Clauses 3 to 8, wherein the UE selects a smaller K and a larger M in each successive iteration.

[0188] Clause 10. The method as described in any one of Clauses 3 to 8, wherein the UE selects a larger size K and a smaller size M in each successive iteration.

[0189] Clause 11. The method as described in any one of Clauses 3 to 8, wherein the UE selects a smaller K and a smaller M in each successive iteration.

[0190] Clause 12. The method as described in any one of Clauses 2 to 11 further includes: receiving the threshold N from a serving base station or a location server.

[0191] Clause 13. The method of any one of Clauses 1 to 12 further comprises: determining the coarse location of the UE, wherein the one or more TRP sets are identified based on the coarse location of the UE.

[0192] Clause 14. The method of Clause 13 further includes: transmitting the coarse location to a serving base station or location server, wherein the identifier of the one or more TRP sets includes an identifier for receiving the one or more TRP sets from the serving base station or location server.

[0193] Clause 15. The method as described in Clause 14, wherein the UE determines the identifier for receiving the one or more TRP sets based on the following on multiple location sessions: the one or more TRP sets will satisfy the DOP threshold based on the UE's approximate location.

[0194] Clause 16. The method of any one of Clauses 13 to 15, wherein the UE determines the approximate location based on measurements of a reference signal transmitted by a single TRP.

[0195] Clause 17. The method of any one of Clauses 13 to 15, wherein the UE determines the approximate location based on measurements of reference signals transmitted by a plurality of TRPs.

[0196] Clause 18. The method as described in any one of Clauses 16 to 17 further comprises: determining a quality metric associated with the reference signal based on the measurement of the reference signal.

[0197] Clause 19. The method of any one of Clauses 16 to 18, wherein the measurement includes a positioning measurement and the reference signal includes a PRS.

[0198] Clause 20. The method as described in any one of Clauses 1 to 19 further includes: receiving the DOP threshold from a serving base station or location server.

[0199] Clause 21. The method of any one of Clauses 1 to 19 further comprises: determining the DOP threshold based on the measurement of PRS from all TRPs detectable by the UE.

[0200] Clause 22. The method of any one of Clauses 1 to 21, wherein the report comprises: reporting the one or more positioning measurements to a location server.

[0201] Clause 23. The method as described in Clause 22 further includes: reporting the identifier of the measured PRS resource of one or more TRPs in the at least one TRP set.

[0202] Clause 24. The method as described in Clause 23, wherein the location server determines a set of TRPs in the at least one set of TRPs for use in a future location session with the UE.

[0203] Clause 25. The method of any one of Clauses 1 to 24, wherein the report comprises: reporting the location information to a location server, wherein the location information includes a location estimate of the UE.

[0204] Clause 26. The method as described in any one of Clauses 1 to 25, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include timing measurements and angle measurements of the PRS.

[0205] Clause 27. The method of any one of Clauses 1 to 26, wherein the DOP threshold includes a geographic precision dilution (GDOP) threshold, a horizontal precision dilution (HDOP) threshold, a vertical precision dilution (VDOP) threshold, a location precision dilution (PDOP) threshold, or a time precision dilution (TDOP) threshold.

[0206] Clause 28. An apparatus comprising: a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the memory, the at least one transceiver, and the at least one processor being configured to perform a method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 27.

[0207] Clause 29. An apparatus for performing a method pursuant to any one of Clauses 1 to 27.

[0208] Clause 30. A non-transient computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions including at least one instruction for causing a computer or processor to perform a method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 27.

[0209] Examples of additional implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0210] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and skills. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or light particles, or any combination thereof.

[0211] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are described above in a generalized manner in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0212] The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or executed using a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), ASIC, field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternative embodiments, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0213] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Example storage media are coupled to a processor so that the processor can read and write information from / to the storage medium. In alternatives, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). In alternatives, the processor and storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0214] In one or more examples, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on or through a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Similarly, any connection is also legitimately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then such coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used in this article, disks and discs include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital multi-purpose discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0215] Although the foregoing disclosure illustrates illustrative aspects of this disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions in the method claims according to the aspects of this disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of this disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, pluralism is also contemplated unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: selecting a plurality of K sets of transmission-reception points (TRPs) each comprising M TRPs from among all TRPs from which the UE can measure positioning reference signals (PRSs), wherein M is less than or equal to a threshold N; assigning a priority to each of the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs, and identifying one set of TRPs from among the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs that has a highest priority; performing one or more positioning measurements of PRSs transmitted by at least one set of TRPs from among one or more sets of TRPs, wherein each set of TRPs from among the one or more sets of TRPs satisfies a dilution of precision (DOP) threshold, and wherein the at least one set of TRPs is the highest priority set comprising M TRPs; and reporting the one or more positioning measurements or position information derived from the one or more positioning measurements.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: measuring PRS from each TRP in each of the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs to determine a DOP for each of the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein: the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs are selected until a smallest set of M TRPs satisfying the DOP threshold is identified, and the at least one set of TRPs is the smallest set of M TRPs.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving N, M, and K from a serving base station or a location server.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a smaller size K and a larger size M are selected with each successive selection of the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a larger size K and a smaller size M are selected with each successive selection of the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein a smaller size K and a smaller size M are selected with each successive selection of the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting a coarse position to a serving base station or a location server; and receiving identifiers of the one or more sets of TRPs from the serving base station or the location server based on the coarse position of the UE.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the identifiers of the one or more sets of TRPs are received based on a determination over a plurality of positioning sessions that the one or more sets of TRPs will satisfy the DOP threshold based on the coarse position of the UE.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: ​ determining the coarse position based on measurements of reference signals transmitted by a single TRP, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) position of the UE, an inertial navigation position of the UE, reference signals transmitted by one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access points, or any combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: determining a quality metric associated with the reference signal based on the measurements of the reference signal.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining the coarse position based on measurements of reference signals transmitted by multiple TRPs.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising: determining a quality metric associated with the reference signal based on the measurements of the reference signal.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving the DOP threshold from a serving base station or a location server.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining the DOP threshold based on measurements of PRS from all TRPs detectable by the UE.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein a set of TRPs of the TRPs in the at least one set of TRPs is determined by a location server for a future positioning session with the UE.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the DOP threshold comprises a geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) threshold, a horizontal dilution of precision (HDOP) threshold, a vertical dilution of precision (VDOP) threshold, a positional dilution of precision (PDOP) threshold, a time dilution of precision (TDOP) threshold, or any combination thereof.

18. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: select a plurality of K sets of transmission-reception points (TRPs) each comprising M TRPs of all TRPs from which the UE can measure positioning reference signals (PRSs), where M is less than or equal to a threshold N; assign a priority to each of the plurality of K sets of M TRPs, and identify one set of TRPs having a highest priority from the plurality of K sets of M TRPs; perform one or more positioning measurements of PRSs transmitted by at least one set of TRPs of one or more sets of TRPs, where each set of TRPs of the one or more sets of TRPs satisfies a dilution of precision (DOP) threshold, and where the at least one set of TRPs is the highest priority set comprising M TRPs; and report the one or more positioning measurements or position information derived from the one or more positioning measurements.

19. The UE of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: measure a PRS from each TRP of each set of K sets of M TRPs to determine a DOP for each set of K sets of M TRPs.

20. The UE of claim 18, wherein: the plurality of K TRP sets each comprising M TRPs is selected until a smallest TRP set comprising M TRPs that satisfies the DOP threshold is identified, and the at least one TRP set is the smallest TRP set comprising M TRPs.

21. The UE of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive N, M, and K from a serving base station or a location server.

22. The UE of claim 18, wherein a smaller size K and a larger size M are selected with each successive selection of the plurality of K TRP sets each comprising M TRPs.

23. The UE of claim 18, wherein a larger size K and a smaller size M are selected with each successive selection of the plurality of K TRP sets each comprising M TRPs.

24. The UE of claim 18, wherein a smaller size K and a smaller size M are selected with each successive selection of the plurality of K TRP sets each comprising M TRPs.

25. The UE of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit a coarse position to a serving base station or a location server via the at least one transceiver; and receive an identifier of the one or more TRP sets from the serving base station or the location server via the at least one transceiver based on the coarse position of the UE.

26. The UE of claim 25, wherein the identifier of the one or more TRP sets is received based on a determination over multiple positioning sessions that the one or more TRP sets will satisfy the DOP threshold based on the coarse position of the UE.

27. The UE of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine the coarse position based on measurements of reference signals transmitted by a single TRP, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) position of the UE, an inertial navigation position of the UE, reference signals transmitted by one or more wireless local area network (WLAN) access points, or any combination thereof.

28. The UE of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a quality metric associated with the reference signals based on the measurements of the reference signals.

29. The UE of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine the coarse position based on measurements of reference signals transmitted by multiple TRPs.

30. The UE of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a quality metric associated with the reference signals based on the measurements of the reference signals.

31. The UE of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive the DOP threshold from a serving base station or a location server.

32. The UE of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determining the DOP threshold based on measurements of PRS from all TRPs detectable by the UE.

33. The UE of claim 18, wherein the set of TRPs of the at least one set of TRPs is determined by a location server for a future positioning session with the UE.

34. The UE of claim 18, wherein the DOP threshold comprises a geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) threshold, a horizontal dilution of precision (HDOP) threshold, a vertical dilution of precision (VDOP) threshold, a positional dilution of precision (PDOP) threshold, a time dilution of precision (TDOP) threshold, or any combination thereof.

35. A user equipment (UE), comprising: means for selecting a plurality of K sets of transmission reception points (TRPs) each comprising M TRPs from which the UE can measure positioning reference signals (PRSs) of all TRPs, wherein M is less than or equal to a threshold N; means for assigning a priority to each set of the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs, and identifying one set of TRPs having a highest priority from the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs; means for performing one or more positioning measurements of PRS transmitted by at least one set of TRPs of the one or more sets of TRPs, wherein each set of the one or more sets of TRPs satisfies a dilution of precision (DOP) threshold, and wherein the at least one set of TRPs is the highest priority set comprising M TRPs; and means for reporting the one or more positioning measurements or position information derived from the one or more positioning measurements.

36. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: select a plurality of K sets of transmission reception points (TRPs) each comprising M TRPs from which the UE can measure positioning reference signals (PRSs) of all TRPs, wherein M is less than or equal to a threshold N; assign a priority to each set of the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs, and identify one set of TRPs having a highest priority from the plurality of K sets of TRPs each comprising M TRPs; perform one or more positioning measurements of PRS transmitted by at least one set of TRPs of the one or more sets of TRPs, wherein each set of the one or more sets of TRPs satisfies a dilution of precision (DOP) threshold, and wherein the at least one set of TRPs is the highest priority set each comprising M TRPs; and report the one or more positioning measurements or position information derived from the one or more positioning measurements.

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