Update positioning assistance configuration

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to updating a positioning assistance configuration. A first device transmits a first request to a second device for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device. The first device is in a radio resource control inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device to receive multiple positioning reference signals from multiple positioning devices. In addition, the first device receives a first response from the second device including requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration. In this way, the first device can remain in a power saving mode while updating the positioning assistance configuration in a timely manner.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular, to an apparatus, method, device, and computer-readable storage medium for updating a positioning assistance configuration. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication networks are widely deployed and can support various types of service applications for terminal devices. At the same time, the location of the terminal device can be identified, so that a large number of commercial and non-commercial location-based services can be realized. Therefore, wireless positioning technology has developed rapidly and has received great attention.

[0003] Typically, in a wireless positioning system, one or more positioning devices (such as an access point (AP), a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a Node B in a new radio access (gNB), etc.) can transmit a positioning reference signal (PRS) to a terminal device, and the terminal device can perform positioning measurements on the received PRS. The terminal device can then calculate the position of the terminal device itself, or provide a positioning measurement report to a positioning server (such as a location management function (LMF)) so that the position can be derived from the measurement report. In such a wireless positioning system, the terminal device needs to receive a positioning assistance configuration from the positioning server. The positioning assistance configuration provides information for performing positioning measurements and includes parameters such as the positioning device that transmits the PRS, a receiving window for receiving the PRS, etc. Summary of the invention

[0004] In general, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for updating positioning assistance configuration. Embodiments that do not fall within the scope of the claims, if any, are to be construed as examples that are helpful for understanding the various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0005] In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to transmit a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device to a second device. The first device is in RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device to receive multiple positioning reference signals from multiple positioning devices. The first device is also caused to receive a first response including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration from the second device.

[0006] In a second aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to receive a first request from a first device for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device. The first device is in RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device to receive multiple positioning reference signals from multiple positioning devices. The second device is also caused to transmit to the first device a first response including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0007] In a third aspect, a third device is provided. The third device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to receive a second request from a second device for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of a first device. The first device is in RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device to receive multiple positioning reference signals from multiple positioning devices. The third device is also caused to transmit a second response to the second device including the requested positioning assistance data of the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes transmitting, at a first device, to a second device, a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device. The first device is in an RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device to receive multiple positioning reference signals from multiple positioning devices. The method also includes receiving, from the second device, a first response including requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes receiving, at a second device, from a first device, a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device. The first device is in an RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device to receive multiple positioning reference signals from multiple positioning devices. The method also includes transmitting to the first device a first response including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes receiving, at a third device, from a second device, a second request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of a first device. The first device is in an RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device to receive multiple positioning reference signals from multiple positioning devices. The method also includes transmitting. The method also includes transmitting to the second device a second response of the requested positioning assistance data including the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes a component for transmitting a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first apparatus to a second device. The first device is in an RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device to receive multiple positioning reference signals from multiple positioning devices. The first apparatus also includes a component for receiving a first response including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration from the second device.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes a component for receiving a first request from a first apparatus for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first apparatus. The first device is in an RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device to receive multiple positioning reference signals from multiple positioning devices. The second apparatus also includes a component for transmitting to the first apparatus a first response including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a third apparatus is provided. The third apparatus includes a component for receiving a second request from a second apparatus for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of a first apparatus. The first device is in an RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device to receive a plurality of positioning reference signals from a plurality of positioning devices. The third apparatus also includes a component for transmitting a second response including the requested positioning assistance data of the current positioning assistance configuration to the second apparatus.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a computer readable medium is provided, wherein the computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least execute the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least execute the method according to the fifth aspect.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, a computer readable medium is provided, wherein the computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least execute the method according to the sixth aspect.

[0017] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 shows an example communication network in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0020] Figure 2 An example signaling diagram illustrating a method of updating positioning assistance configuration between devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 3 Another example signaling diagram of a method of updating a positioning assistance configuration between devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 4 Another example signaling diagram of a method of updating a positioning assistance configuration between devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0023] Figure 5 Another example signaling diagram of a method of updating a positioning assistance configuration between devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0024] Figure 6 An example flow chart showing a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 7 An example flow chart showing a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 8 An example flow chart of a method implemented at a third device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0027] Fig. 9 shows a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0028] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and to help those skilled in the art understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various other ways except for the way described below.

[0031] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0032] In this disclosure, references to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and "an example embodiment" indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. In addition, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, those skilled in the art believe that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0033] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0034] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes", and / or "including" when used herein indicate the presence of the features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0035] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one, more, or all of the following:

[0036] (a) a pure hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation using only analog and / or digital circuits), and

[0037] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0038] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and

[0039] (ii) any portion of a hardware processor with software, including a digital signal processor, software and memory, which work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server)

[0040] Perform various functions, and

[0041] (c) Hardware circuits and / or processors, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may not be present when the software is not required for operation.

[0042] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular fourth device, or other computing device or fourth device.

[0043] The communications discussed herein may conform to any suitable standard, including but not limited to New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the first device and the fourth device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including but not limited to first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that may embody the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-mentioned systems.

[0044] The term "core device" refers to any device or entity that provides access and mobility management functions, session management function (SMF), user plane function (UPF), etc. By way of example and not limitation, the core device may be an AMF, SMF, UPF, etc. In other embodiments, the core device may be any other suitable device or entity.

[0045] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network through which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node (such as a femto, a micro), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial fourth device (such as a satellite fourth device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite), an aircraft fourth device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied.

[0046] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a tag with wireless communication capability, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera), a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop vehicle-mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0047] As used herein, the term "positioning device" refers to a node in a communication network that can transmit a reference signal (RS) (i.e., PRS) to a terminal device. The term "positioning device" may include, but is not limited to, a BS or AP, a gateway, a registration management entity, and other suitable devices in a communication system. A BS or AP may refer to, for example, a NodeB or NB, an eNodeB or eNB, a gNB, a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, a low-power node (such as a femto, a micro), etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In addition, the terms "RS" and "PRS" refer to signals that can be used to estimate the position or location of a device. In the current discussion, the terms "RS" and "PRS" are interchangeable.

[0048] The term "location server" refers to any function, module, unit, device or entity that provides location services. More specifically, the location server can provide positioning assistance configuration to the terminal device, receive and report measurement reports from the terminal device and calculate the location of the terminal device, provide the location of the terminal device to other network elements to achieve commercial and non-commercial location-based services, configure positioning devices, etc. The location server can be an independent physical device or a virtual module, unit or function. In some example embodiments, the location server can be implemented in a core device or a network device.

[0049] Although the functions described herein may be performed in fixed and / or wireless network nodes in various example embodiments, in other example embodiments, the functions may be implemented in a user equipment device (such as a mobile phone or tablet, a laptop or desktop computer, a mobile IOT device or a fixed IOT device). For example, the user equipment device may be appropriately equipped with corresponding capabilities as described in conjunction with fixed and / or wireless network nodes. The user equipment device may be a user device and / or a control device, such as a chipset or a processor, which is configured to control the user equipment when installed therein. Examples of such functions include a bootstrapping server function and / or a home subscriber server, which may be implemented in a user equipment device by providing software to the user equipment device, the software being configured to cause the user equipment device to perform operations from the perspective of these functions / nodes.

[0050] As mentioned above, wireless positioning technology is developing rapidly and has received a lot of attention. In Release 16 of 3GPP, the following positioning solutions are specified for NR:

[0051] Downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA);

[0052] Uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA);

[0053] Downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD);

[0054] Uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA); and

[0055] Multi-cell round trip time (Multi-RTT).

[0056] In addition, in Release 16, some solutions are proposed to implement NR positioning solutions that are dependent on radio access technology (RAT) and independent of RAT. For example, a new PRS for downlink (DL) measurements and a new sounding reference signal (SRS) (SRS-P) for positioning for uplink (UL) measurements are introduced. The traditional solution for positioning solutions is network-based DL-TDOA, in which the terminal device measures the reference signal (e.g., PRS) time difference (RSTD) and reports the measurement results to a positioning server (such as LMF) via the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) and its serving network device (such as a serving gNB). In addition, in Release 16, the concept of UE-based positioning has been proposed. In a UE-based positioning solution, the terminal device is configured with a positioning assistance configuration (also called assistance data), which enables the terminal device to estimate its position locally. The positioning assistance configuration provides information for performing positioning measurements. For example, the positioning assistance configuration may include a DL PRS configuration and the geographic location of the positioning device.

[0057] In the 17th edition, more technical solutions are proposed to support the requirements of commercial applications such as IoT, such as high accuracy (horizontal and vertical), low latency, network efficiency (scalability, RS overhead, etc.), and device efficiency (power consumption, complexity, etc.).

[0058] In order to achieve low power consumption, the terminal device can be in a certain power saving mode (such as sleep mode, RRC inactive mode, RRC idle mode, etc.). Taking the RRC inactive mode (specified in 3GPP standards such as TS 38.331) as an example, when the terminal device is in the RRC inactive mode, the terminal device can receive PRS and paging messages, but cannot perform any data service transmission / reception with the serving gNB on channels (such as the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and any other channels that can be used for data transmission / reception). It can be seen that the terminal device in the RRC inactive mode only transmits some necessary interactions with the gNB.

[0059] UE-based positioning is possible in RRC inactive mode because the terminal device can measure DL signals (such as PRS) and obtain its position while maintaining low power consumption. As described above, in a UE-based positioning solution, the terminal device needs to receive a positioning assistance configuration from a positioning server via a network device. In addition, in current wireless communication systems, terminal devices may move at high speeds, and wireless communication conditions may change over time. For example, at time point T1, the terminal device is able to receive PRS from positioning devices A, B, and C. At time point T2, the terminal device moves to another location, at which the terminal may not be able to receive the PRS from positioning device A due to moving out of the coverage of positioning device A or due to the PRS from positioning device A being blocked, and the terminal device may receive the PRS from positioning device D. Therefore, the terminal device needs to update the positioning assistance configuration in a timely manner.

[0060] However, the conventional solution for updating the positioning assistance configuration is only supported for UEs in the RRC connected state. For example, in 3GPP Release 16, there are two solutions for a terminal device to receive the positioning assistance configuration of a DL PRS: broadcast via a network device and unicast through LPP signaling.

[0061] However, for solutions broadcast via network devices, the positioning assistance configuration needs to be broadcast regularly, which leads to a lot of overhead. However, there may be many times when no terminal device needs to update the positioning assistance configuration. Therefore, the solution broadcast via network devices introduces a lot of unnecessary resource usage. In addition, different terminal devices may require different positioning assistance configurations. Therefore, the cell-specific positioning assistance configuration may not meet the requirements for a specific terminal device.

[0062] In addition, for the solution of unicast via LPP signaling, the solution can be applied to terminal devices in connected mode. Therefore, if a terminal device in RRC inactive mode needs to update its positioning assistance configuration, the terminal device must first switch to connected mode, which will cause additional delay.

[0063] Therefore, it is now necessary to provide an effective mechanism for updating the positioning assistance configuration for a terminal device in a power saving mode, especially a terminal device in an RRC inactive mode.

[0064] In order to solve at least some of the above problems and other potential problems, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution for updating a positioning assistance configuration for a first device in an RRC inactive mode is proposed. In this solution, a first device in an RRC active mode transmits a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device to a second device (such as a network device), and receives the requested positioning assistance data from the second device. The received requested positioning assistance data can be used to update the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device. In summary, the present disclosure provides a solution for updating the positioning assistance configuration of a first device (such as a terminal device) in an RRC inactive mode. In this way, the terminal device can remain in a power saving mode while being able to update the positioning assistance configuration in a timely manner.

[0065] In the present disclosure, the expression / term "PRS" is used to describe the embodiments. It should be understood that the term "PRS" used herein is for illustrative purposes only without any limitation, and the present disclosure can be applied to solutions related to any type of RS. That is, the terms "PRS" and "RS" used herein are interchangeable.

[0066] Figure 1 An example communication network 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The network 100 includes a first device 110, second devices 120-1 to 120-4 (hereinafter collectively referred to as second devices 120 or individually as second devices 120), and a third device 130. Figure 1 As shown, the first device 110 can communicate with one or more second devices 120 via a physical communication channel or link, and the second device 120 can communicate with the third device 130 via a physical communication channel and link. In addition, the third device 130 can transmit information to the first device 110 via one or more second devices 120 according to a specific application scenario.

[0067] In some examples, the first device 110 is a terminal device, the second device 120 is a network device, and the third device 130 is a core device or an application server used as a location server. In such an example scenario, the first device 110 receives an RS (i.e., a PRS) from the second device 120. The third device 130 may provide a positioning assistance configuration for the first device 110. In addition, relative to the second device 120 (such as the second device 120-1) that is serving the first device 110, the first device 110 may be in an RRC inactive mode. In addition, the second device 120 may be any type of network device. For purposes of illustration only and without limitation, the second devices 120-1 to 120-3 are gNBs, and the second device 120-4 is a WiFi AP.

[0068] Furthermore, the first device 110 may move from one location to another over time. Figure 1 As shown, at time point T1, the first device 110 may receive PRSs from the second devices 120-1 to 120-3, and at time point T2, the first device 100 may receive PRSs from the second devices 120-1, 120-3, and 120-4.

[0069] It should be understood that although the third device 130 is shown as a separate device relative to the second device 120, in some other example embodiments, the third device 130 may be implemented in the second device 120. In this case, the second device 120 will function as a location server in addition to functioning as a network device.

[0070] It should also be understood that the number of first devices, second devices, and third devices is for illustration purposes only and does not present any limitation. Communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of first devices, second devices, and third devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0071] The following will refer to Figure 2 Describe the principles and implementation of the present disclosure in detail. Figure 2 An example signaling diagram 200 of a method for updating a positioning assistance configuration between devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The method may be implemented at any suitable device according to a specific implementation. For illustration purposes only, the signaling diagram 200 is described as being performed in a manner such as Figure 1 The first device 110, the second device 120 and the third device 130 are implemented as shown. In addition, the first device 110 is used as a terminal device, the second device 120 is used as a network device, and the third device 130 is used as a location server in a core device or an application server. In addition, in this specific example embodiment, the first device 110 is in RRC inactive mode and receives PRS from one or more second devices 120.

[0072] In addition, the first device 110 can maintain the current positioning assistance configuration locally. The positioning assistance configuration provides information for performing positioning measurements. For example, the positioning assistance configuration may include a DL PRS configuration, a geographic location of the positioning device, a receiving window for receiving PRS, etc. In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may maintain the positioning assistance configuration in the form of a list including information of the positioning device. In some example embodiments, the current positioning assistance configuration is obtained from the third device 130 and is used to receive multiple PRSs from multiple positioning devices (such as multiple second devices 120).

[0073] The first device 110 may first determine 210 whether a condition is met. In other words, the first device 110 may determine whether the first device 110 needs to update the current auxiliary positioning assistance configuration.

[0074] In some example embodiments, if first device 110 determines that the signal strength value of at least one of the plurality of PRSs is below a threshold, first device 110 may determine that the condition is satisfied. The threshold may be a preconfigured parameter representing an acceptable signal strength value for calculating / estimating the location of first device 110.

[0075] For example, the first device 110 first receives PRS from the second devices 120-1 to 120-3. Then, the first device 110 moves to another location and detects that the PRS from the second device 120-3 is below a threshold. There are many events that may cause the PRS from the second device 120 to be below a threshold.

[0076] For example, the first device 110 moves to the edge of the coverage of the second device 120-3. As another example, the PRS from the second device 120-3 has been blocked by some obstacles. Another example scenario is that the PRS from the second device 120-3 lacks quasi-co-location (QCL) information. Still another example scenario is that the expected reference signal time difference (RSTD) is out of date. It should be understood that the above examples are given for illustrative purposes without any limitation, and other events may also cause the signal strength values ​​of multiple PRSs to be lower than the threshold.

[0077] Alternatively or additionally, if the first device 110 determines that the first device 110 cannot receive at least a portion of the PRS from the second device 120 according to the current assisted positioning assistance configuration, the first device 110 may determine that the condition is satisfied.

[0078] As an example embodiment, the first device 110 first receives PRSs from the second devices 120-1 to 120-3. Then, the first device 110 moves to another location and detects that the first device 110 cannot receive the PRSs from the second device 120-3. There are many events that may cause at least one of the PRSs from the second device 120 to be unable to be received.

[0079] One example scenario is that the first device 110 moves out of the coverage of the second device 120-3. Another example scenario is that the PRS from the second device 120-3 has been blocked by some obstacles. Another example scenario is that the QCL information is missing about the PRS from the second device 120-3. Another example scenario is that the RSTD is out of date. It should be understood that the above examples are given for illustrative purposes without any limitation, and other events may also cause the first device 110 to be unable to receive the PRS from the second device 120.

[0080] Alternatively or additionally, if the first device 110 detects another positioning device that is not included in the current auxiliary positioning assistance configuration, the first device 110 may determine that the condition is satisfied.

[0081] As an example embodiment, the first device 110 first receives PRS from the second devices 120-1 to 120-3. Then, the first device 110 moves to another location and detects the second device 120-4, for example, detects the PRS or pilot or other signal from the second device 120-4. There are many events that may cause the first device 110 to detect another positioning device.

[0082] One example embodiment is that the first device 110 moves into the coverage of the second device 120-4. Another example embodiment is that the second device 120-4 may have been previously hidden from the first device 110. It should be understood that the above examples are given for illustrative purposes without any limitation, and other events may also cause the first device 110 to detect additional positioning devices.

[0083] Alternatively or additionally, the first device 110 may periodically update the current positioning assistance configuration. In such an example embodiment, the first device 110 may maintain a timer and determine that the condition is satisfied in response to a timeout of the timer.

[0084] It should be understood that the above conditions are provided for the purpose of illustration without any limitation. The first device 110 may trigger the process for updating the current positioning assistance configuration based on any suitable conditions. In addition, the above conditions and other suitable conditions may be used alone or in combination.

[0085] In this way, the first device 110 can monitor and trigger a process for updating the positioning assistance configuration. In this way, once the current positioning assistance configuration is not suitable or can be improved, the first device can trigger a process for updating the positioning assistance configuration regardless of whether it is in RRC mode.

[0086] If the first device 110 determines that the condition is met, the first device 110 transmits 220 a first request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration. In this way, the first device 110 can notify its positioning server that the first device 110 needs to update its current positioning assistance configuration. It should be understood that the first device 110 can communicate directly with the location server, or communicate with the location server via the second device 120, and the second device 120 can enable communication with the location server. Regardless of whether the location server receives the first request from the first device 110 or from the second device 120, the location server can understand that the terminal device 110 needs to update its current positioning assistance configuration. In this specific example embodiment, the first device 110 transmits a first request to the second device 120 to notify the location server that the terminal device 110 needs to update its current positioning assistance configuration.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the first request may include an indication that at least one of the above conditions is satisfied. For example, the indication indicates that the condition that the signal strength value of at least one positioning reference signal in the plurality of positioning reference signals is below a threshold is satisfied. For example, the first request includes an indication that the PRS from the second device 120-3 is below a threshold.

[0088] Alternatively or additionally, the first request includes an indication that the first device 110 cannot receive at least a portion of the PRS according to the current positioning assistance configuration.For example, the first request includes an indication indicating that at least one of the PRSs from the second device 120-3 cannot be received.

[0089] Alternatively or additionally, the first request includes an indication that the first device 110 detects an additional positioning device different from the plurality of positioning devices according to the current positioning assistance configuration. For example, the first request includes an indication indicating that the second device 120-4 is detected.

[0090] It should be understood that the requirement to update the current positioning assistance configuration can be expressed in any form using any suitable parameters.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the first request may include an LPP message for updating the positioning assistance configuration. The LPP message may be a general LPP message or a newly defined LPP message (such as AssistanceDataUpdateRequest).

[0092] In some example embodiments, wherein the first device is served by a second device (such as the second device 120-4) and another second device (such as the first device 120-1). In addition, the first device 110 is in a radio resource control inactive mode relative to the other second device (such as the second device 120-1). Since the transmission between the first device 110 and the other second device (such as the second device 120-1) is restricted, the first device 110 may transmit a first request to the second device 120-4. In such an example embodiment, the other second device may be a WiFi AP or Bluetooth (BT), and the first request may be an IP packet.

[0093] In this way, even if the first device 110 is in RRC active mode, the first device may trigger a procedure for updating its positioning assistance configuration.

[0094] Alternatively, if the second device 120 (such as the second device 120-1) is a serving network device and the first device 110 is in an RRC inactive mode relative to the second device 120, the signaling interaction between the first device 110 and the second device 120 is limited. In this case, the first device 110 can update the current positioning assistance configuration via an improved random access (RA) procedure.

[0095] In some example embodiments, a 4-step RA may be used. During the 4-step RA process, four messages may be exchanged between terminal device 120 and network device 110, including a RA preamble / PRACH message (i.e., message 1 or Msg1), a RA response message (i.e., message 2 or Msg2), a scheduled transmission message (i.e., message 3 or Msg3), and a contention resolution message (i.e., message 4 or Msg4). In addition, some data may be included in the message.

[0096] In an example embodiment of a 4-step RA, the first device 110 may use Message 3 as a first request. As an example embodiment, the first device 110 transmits Message 3 including an LPP message, for example, via a small data transfer (SDT).

[0097] Furthermore, in some example embodiments, the first device 110 transmits message 1 of the 4-step RA using pre-configured resources, such as pre-configured PRACH resources, where the pre-configured resources may indicate that message 3 of the 4-step RA procedure will be used as a first request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the preconfigured resource is a preconfigured sequence (such as a preamble). In some other example embodiments, the preconfigured resource is a preconfigured frequency. Then, the second device 120-1 will be informed that the first device 110 needs to perform a process for updating the current positioning assistance configuration. Then, the second device 120-1 can transmit 230 message 2 of the 4-step random access process to the first device 110, and wait for message 3.

[0099] Alternatively, a 2-step RA may also be used. In a 2-step RA, the first device 110 and the second device 120 exchange two messages, namely, message A and message B. In addition, the first device 100 may support early data transmission (EDT) during the 2-step RA, so that the first device 110 may transmit some data using message A. In an example embodiment of a 2-step RA, the first device 110 may use message A as a first request. More specifically, the first device 110 sends message A including an LPP message, for example, via a small data transmission (SDT). In addition, message A may be transmitted via preconfigured resources, wherein the preconfigured resources may indicate that message A of the 2-step random access procedure is used as a first request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration. In some example embodiments, the preconfigured resources are preconfigured sequences (such as preambles). In some other example embodiments, the preconfigured resources are preconfigured frequencies. The second device 120 will then be notified that message A is a request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration, and the second device 120 may then parse message A.

[0100] It should be understood that the above-mentioned pre-configured resources are provided for illustrative purposes without any limitation, and in other example embodiments, other suitable resources may be used to indicate that message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure or message A of the 2-step RA is used as the first request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0101] In this way, by improving the traditional RA process, the first device 110 can transmit the network device. It should be understood that this improved RA does not trigger the actual traditional access process.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may include a module or unit that functions as a location server. Therefore, the second device 120 may generate the requested positioning assistance data by itself.

[0103] Alternatively, the second device 120 may obtain the requested positioning assistance data from the third device 130 (such as a core device or an application server that functions as a location server). More specifically, the second device 120 transmits 250 a second request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device 110 according to the first request, and then receives 260 from the third device 130 a second response including the requested positioning assistance data of the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the second request is an LPP message for updating the positioning assistance configuration and accordingly, the second response is an LPP message having a data container including the requested positioning assistance data.

[0105] In addition, in the case where the first request includes an LPP message for updating the positioning assistance configuration and the second device 120 needs to obtain the requested positioning assistance data, the second device 120 first extracts the LPP message from the first request and transmits the extracted LPP message to the third device 130 as a second request.

[0106] After acquiring the requested positioning assistance data, the second device 120 may transmit 270 a first response including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0107] In some example embodiments, if the first request includes an indication that a signal strength value of at least one PRS among the plurality of PRSs (e.g., the PRS of the second device 120-3) is below a threshold or that the first device 110 is unable to receive at least a portion of the PRSs (e.g., the PRS of the second device 120-3) according to the current positioning assistance configuration, the first response may include the requested positioning assistance data for the specific positioning device (e.g., the second device 120-3).

[0108] In some example embodiments, if the first request includes an indication that the first device 110 detects an additional positioning device (e.g., the second device 120-4) different from the plurality of positioning devices according to the current positioning assistance configuration, the first response may include the positioning assistance configuration of the specific positioning device (e.g., the second device 120-4). Alternatively, the first request may include a complete positioning assistance configuration for the first device 110.

[0109] In some example embodiments, if the first request at 240 is message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure, then correspondingly, the first response at 270 is message 4 of the 4-step random access procedure.

[0110] Furthermore, in the case of a 4-step RA procedure, if the second device 120 needs to obtain additional positioning assistance configuration from the third device 130, the second device 120 must wait to send message 4 until it receives the LPP container from the third device 130, which results in the first device 110 also having to wait for a response to message 1. In the current specification, the UE is configured with a ra-ContentionResolutionTimer, which sets the time the UE waits for message 4 before considering the RA attempt failed. Currently, this value in NR can be set in a range of values ​​from 8 to 64 subframes. Depending on the deployment and latency between the third device 130 (such as a location server) and the second device 120 (such as a gNB), this value should be appropriately selected to allow the LMF time to respond to the gNB. In general, the duration of the message transmitted between gNB / LMF is expected to be around 4ms. In the case where the cell has a short ra-ContentionResolutionTimer and does not want to change it for positioning purposes, Message 4 may include a pointer indicating the configured DL resources, and then the first device 110 may receive the LPP message AssistanceDataUpdate from the configured DL resources. In this way, the first device 110 may complete the RACH procedure within the ra-ContentionResolutionTimer.

[0111] Alternatively, the first device 110 performing the above 4-step RA procedure for updating the current positioning assistance configuration may also be specified to use a ra-ContentionResolutionTimer that is longer than the cell-specific configuration (eg, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer=sf64).

[0112] Alternatively, if the first request at 240 is message A of a 2-step random access procedure, then correspondingly, the first response at 270 is message B of a 2-step random access procedure. Alternatively, if the first request at 240 is an IP packet, then correspondingly, the first response at 270 is an IP packet.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 updates 280 the current positioning assistance configuration with the received requested positioning assistance data. In some example embodiments, if too many positioning devices / gNBs / resources are maintained in memory, the first device 110 deletes invalid / obsolete / unnecessary positioning assistance configurations. In addition, the first device 110 continues to be in RRC inactive mode. The first device 110 may then perform DL positioning in UE-based and RRC inactive mode.

[0114] In this way, the terminal device can remain in power saving mode while being able to update the positioning assistance configuration in a timely manner.

[0115] Figures 3 to 5 Three example signaling diagrams of a method for updating a positioning assistance configuration between devices for different scenarios are shown, which are shown for a better understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that Figures 3 to 5 The signaling diagram is given for illustrative purposes and does not suggest any limitation.

[0116] Example for updating the current secondary configuration via a 4-step RA

[0117] Figure 3 An example signaling diagram 300 of a method for updating a positioning assistance configuration between devices through a 4-step RA is shown. For illustration purposes only, the signaling diagram 300 is described as follows. Figure 1 The first device 110, the second device 120-1 and the third device 130 are implemented as shown. In addition, the first device 110 is used as a terminal device, the second device 120-1 is used as a serving network device, and the third device 130 is used as a location server in a core device or an application server. In addition, in this specific example embodiment, the first device 110 is in an RRC inactive mode relative to the second device 120-1, and receives a PRS from one or more second devices 120.

[0118] The first device 110 first determines 310 whether a condition is satisfied. The condition may be, for example, Figure 2 Any suitable condition discussed in the example embodiments of . For example, first device 110 receives a PRS or pilot or other signal from second device 120-4. If first device 110 determines that the condition is met, first device 110 transmits 320 4 message 1 of RA (i.e., physical random access channel (PRACH)) to second device 120-1. In addition, message 1 is transmitted using a preconfigured PRACH resource (e.g., sequence).

[0119] When receiving message 1 from first device 110, second device 120-1 will know that the RA initiated by first device 110 is not a legacy RA because message 1 is transmitted using preconfigured PRACH resources. Second device 120-1 will transmit 330 message 2 of a 4-step RA to first device 110 and wait for message 3 of a 4-step RA.

[0120] The first device 110 transmits 340 message 3 of the 4-step RA to the second device 120-1. In addition, the message 3 includes an LPP message for updating the positioning assistance configuration. The LPP message is transmitted as the SDT of the message 3 of the 4-step RA. In addition, the LPP message may indicate that the first device 110 is able to receive a signal from the second device 120-4 and wants to obtain a DL PRS configuration for the second device 120-4.

[0121] The second device 120-1 will extract the LPP message for updating the positioning assistance configuration from the message 3 of the 4-step RA and forward 350 the extracted LPP message to the third device 130. In this particular embodiment, the LPP message is transparent at the second device 120-1. The second device 120-1 only knows that it is an LPP message and does not decode the LPP message.

[0122] The third device 130 receives the extracted LPP message and generates a positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-4. Then, the third device 130 transmits 360 an LPP response having a data container including the positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-4.

[0123] Then, the second device 120-1 transmits 370 a message 4 to the first device 110. The message 4 includes a positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-4.

[0124] The first device 110 updates 380 its current positioning assistance configuration with the received positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-4. The first device 110 may then receive the PRS from the second device 120-4 and continue to perform UE-based positioning. After this process, the first device 110 continues to remain in an inactive mode relative to the second device 120-1.

[0125] Example for updating the current secondary configuration via 2-step RA

[0126] Figure 4 An example signaling diagram 400 of a method for updating a positioning assistance configuration between devices through a 2-step RA is shown. For illustration purposes only, the signaling diagram 300 is described as being performed in the following manner: Figure 1 The first device 110, the second device 120-1 and the third device 130 are implemented as shown. In addition, the first device 110 is used as a terminal device, the second device 120-1 is used as a serving network device, and the third device 130 is used as a location server in a core device or an application server. In addition, in this specific example embodiment, the first device 110 is in an RRC inactive mode relative to the second device 120-1, and receives a PRS from one or more second devices 120.

[0127] The first device 110 first determines 410 whether a condition is satisfied. The condition may be, for example, Figure 2 Any suitable condition discussed in the example embodiments of . For example, first device 110 receives a PRS or pilot or other signal from second device 120-4. If first device 110 determines that the condition is met, first device 110 transmits 420 2 message A of step RA to second device 120-1. In addition, message A is transmitted using pre-configured PRACH resources (e.g., sequences).

[0128] When receiving the message A from the first device 110, since the message A is transmitted using the pre-configured PRACH resources, the second device 120-1 will know that the RA initiated by the first device 110 is not a conventional RA.

[0129] In addition, message A includes an LPP message for updating the positioning assistance configuration. The LPP message is transmitted as the SDT of message A. In addition, the LPP message may indicate that first device 110 may receive a signal from second device 120-4 and wants to acquire a DL PRS configuration for second device 120-4.

[0130] The second device 120-1 will extract the LPP message for updating the positioning assistance configuration from message A and forward 430 the extracted LPP message to the third device 130. In this particular embodiment, the LPP message is transparent at the second device 120-1. The second device 120-1 only knows that it is an LPP message and does not decode the LPP message.

[0131] The third device 130 receives the extracted LPP message and generates a positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-4. Then, the third device 130 transmits 440 an LPP response having a data container including the positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-4.

[0132] Then, the second device 120-1 transmits 450 a message B to the first device 110. The message B includes the positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-4.

[0133] The first device 110 updates 460 its current positioning assistance configuration with the received positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-4. The first device 110 may then receive the PRS from the second device 120-4 and continue to perform UE-based positioning. After this process, the first device 110 continues to remain in an inactive mode relative to the second device 120-1.

[0134] Example for updating the current auxiliary configuration via a WiFi AP

[0135] Figure 5An example signaling diagram 500 of a method for updating a positioning assistance configuration between devices via a WiFi AP is shown. For illustration purposes only, the signaling diagram 300 is described as being used in the example Figure 1 The first device 110, the second device 120-1, the second device 120-4 and the third device 130 are implemented as shown. In addition, the first device 110 is used as a terminal device, the second device 120-1 is used as a service network device, and the third device 130 is used as a location server in a core device or an application server. In addition, in this specific example embodiment, the first device 110 is served by the second device 120-1 and the second device 120-4. In addition, the first device 110 is in RRC inactive mode relative to the second device 120-1, and receives PRS from one or more second devices 120.

[0136] The first device 110 first determines 510 whether a condition is satisfied. The condition may be as follows Figure 2 The IP message may be any suitable condition discussed in the example embodiments of . For example, first device 110 first receives PRS from second devices 120-1 to 120-3. Then, first device 110 moves to another location and detects that the PRS from second device 120-3 is below a threshold due to QCL loss. In addition, the IP message may indicate that the PRS signal from second device 120-3 is below a threshold.

[0137] If the first device 110 determines that the condition is met, the first device 110 transmits 510 an IP message for updating the current positioning assistance configuration to the second device 120-4. In addition, before transmitting the IP message, a UE / LAN proximity procedure may be performed between the second device 120-4 and the first device 110. Similar to message 3 of the 4-step RA and message A of the 2-step RA, the IP message may include an LPP message for updating the positioning assistance configuration.

[0138] The second device 120-4 generates a request for updating the positioning assistance configuration. As an example, the second device 120-4 generates the request for updating the positioning assistance configuration by extracting the LPP message for updating the positioning assistance configuration from the IP message received at 520. Then, the second device 120-4 transmits 530 the request to the third device 130.

[0139] The third device 130 receives the request from the second device 120-4 and generates an updated positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-3. Then, the third device 130 transmits 540 a response having the updated positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-3 to the second device 120-4. For example, the request and response exchanged between the second device 120-4 and the third device 130 are LPP requests and LPP responses.

[0140] Then, the second device 120-4 transmits 550 a response (eg, an IP packet) including the configuration of the second device 120-3 to the first device 110. The response includes the updated positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-3.

[0141] The first device 110 updates 560 its current positioning assistance configuration with the received positioning assistance configuration of the second device 120-3. Then, the first device 110 can update the positioning assistance configuration and can then receive the PRS from the second device 120-3. Therefore, the first device 110 is able to update its current positioning assistance configuration without switching to the RRC active mode and also without performing the RA procedure.

[0142] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a first device 110 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to the method 600 from the perspective of the first device 110. Figure 1 Method 600 is described. It should be understood that method 600 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the shown blocks may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0143] At block 610, first device 110 transmits a first request to second device 120 at first device 110 to update a current positioning assistance configuration of first device 110. First device 110 is in RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by first device 110 to receive multiple positioning reference signals from multiple positioning devices.

[0144] At block 620 , the first device 110 receives a first response from the second device 120 including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 transmitting the first request includes: determining whether at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: a signal strength value of at least one positioning reference signal among the plurality of positioning reference signals is lower than a threshold, at least one positioning reference signal among the plurality of positioning reference signals cannot be received, and another positioning device different from the plurality of positioning devices is detected according to the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device 110. Based on the determination that at least one of the above conditions is satisfied, the first device 110 transmits the first request to the second device 120.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the first request includes an indication that at least one of the above conditions is satisfied.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the first request comprises an LPP message for updating a positioning assistance configuration.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is served by the second device 120 and is in an RRC inactive mode relative to the second device 120, and the first request is message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure and the first response is message 4 of the 4-step random access procedure.

[0149] In some example embodiments, first device 110 transmits message 1 of a 4-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources to second device 120. The pre-configured resources indicate that message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure will be used as a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration; and message 2 of the 4-step random access procedure is received from second device 120. First device 110 transmits message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure to second device 120 to update the current positioning assistance configuration of first device 110.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 transmits to the second device a message A of a 2-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources, the pre-configured resources indicating that the message A of the 2-step random access procedure is used as a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the preconfigured resources include at least one of: a preconfigured preamble; and a preconfigured frequency.

[0152] In some example embodiments, first device 110 is served by second device 120 and is in RRC inactive mode relative to second device 120, and the first request is message A of a 2-step random access procedure and the first response is message B of the 2-step random access procedure.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is served by the second device 120 and the fourth device and is in an RRC inactive mode with respect to the fourth device.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 updates the current positioning assistance configuration using the received requested positioning assistance data.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is a terminal device, and the second device 120 is a network device or a location server.

[0156] Figure 7 FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at the second device 120 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to the method 700 from the perspective of the second device 120. Figure 1 Method 700 is described. It should be understood that method 700 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the shown blocks may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0157] At block 710, the second device 120 receives a first request from the first device 110 for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device 110. The first device 110 is in RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device 110 to receive a plurality of positioning reference signals from a plurality of positioning devices.

[0158] At block 720 , the second device 120 transmits to the first device 110 a first response including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the first request includes an indication that at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: a signal strength value of at least one of the multiple positioning reference signals is lower than a threshold; at least one of the multiple positioning reference signals is not received; quasi-co-location information is missing; an expected RSTD reference signal time difference is out of date; and an additional positioning device different from the multiple positioning devices is detected according to the current positioning assistance configuration of the first positioning device 110.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the first request comprises an LPP message for updating a positioning assistance configuration.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is served by the second device 120 and is in an RRC inactive mode relative to the second device 120; and

[0162] Wherein the first request is message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure and the first response is message 4 of the 4-step random access procedure.

[0163] In some example embodiments, second device 120 receives message 1 of a 4-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources from first device 110. The pre-configured resources indicate that message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure will be used as a first request for updating a positioning assistance configuration. In addition, second device 120 transmits message 2 of the 4-step random access procedure to first device 110. In addition, second device 120 receives message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure from first device 110 for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of first device 110.

[0164] In some example embodiments, first device 110 is served by second device 120 and is in RRC inactive mode relative to second device 120, and the first request is message A of a 2-step random access procedure and the first response is message B of the 2-step random access procedure.

[0165] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 receives a message A of a 2-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources from the first device. The pre-configured resources indicate that the message A of the 2-step random access procedure is used as a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration.

[0166] In some example embodiments, the preconfigured resources include at least one of: a preconfigured preamble; and a preconfigured frequency.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is served by the second device 120 and the fourth device and is in an RRC inactive mode with respect to the fourth device.

[0168] In some example embodiments, second device 120 transmits to third device 130 a second request to update a current positioning assistance configuration of first device 110 according to the first request. Furthermore, upon receiving a second response including the requested positioning assistance data from third device 130, the second device transmits a first response to first device 110 based on the received second response.

[0169] In some example embodiments, the second request is an LPP message for updating positioning assistance configuration, and the second response is an LPP message having a data container including the requested positioning assistance data.

[0170] In some example embodiments, the first request includes an LPP message for updating the positioning assistance configuration, and the second device 120 transmitting the second request includes: extracting the LPP message from the first request; and transmitting the extracted LPP message to the third device 130 as the second request.

[0171] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is a terminal device, and the second device 120 is a network device or a positioning server.

[0172] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example method 800 implemented at a third device 130 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to the method 800 from the perspective of the third device 130. Figure 1 Method 800 is described. It should be understood that method 800 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the shown blocks may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0173] At block 810, the third device 130 receives a second request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device 110 from the second device 120 or the first device 110. The first device 110 is in RRC inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration is used by the first device 110 to receive multiple positioning reference signals from multiple positioning devices.

[0174] At block 820 , the third device 130 transmits a second response including the requested positioning assistance data of the current positioning assistance configuration to the second device 120 or the first device 110 .

[0175] In some example embodiments, the second request is an LPP message for updating positioning assistance configuration, and the second response is an LPP message having a data container including the requested positioning assistance data.

[0176] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is a terminal device, the second device 120 is a network device, and the third device 130 is a location server.

[0177] Fig. 9 900 is a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 900 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The first device 110, the second device 120 or the third device 130 shown. As shown in the figure, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 940 coupled to the processor 910, and one or more transmitters (transmitters) and / or receivers (receivers) (TX / RX) 940 coupled to the processor 910.

[0178] The TX / RX 940 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 940 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements.

[0179] Processor 910 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 900 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0180] The memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 924, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power outages.

[0181] The computer program 930 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 910. The program 930 may be stored in the ROM 1020. The processor 910 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 930 into the RAM 922.

[0182] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 930 so that the device 900 may execute a reference Figures 3 to 8 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. Example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0183] In some example embodiments, the program 930 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in the device 900 (such as in the memory 920) or in other storage devices accessible to the device 900. The device 900 may load the program 930 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 922 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Fig.10 An example of a computer readable medium 1000 is shown which may be in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has a program 930 stored thereon.

[0184] In general, various example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented using hardware, while other aspects may be implemented using firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the example embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0185] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a target real processor or a target virtual processor to perform the above reference Figures 2 to 8Method 300 and method 800 described herein. Typically, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various example embodiments, the functionality of program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. The machine executable instructions of program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0186] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, enables the function / operation specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be realized. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0187] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0188] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer floppy disks, hard disks, random access memories (RAM), read-only memories (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0189] In addition, although operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence or performing all of the operations shown to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular example embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate example embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single example embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single example embodiment may also be implemented in multiple example embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0190] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: transmitting, to a second device, a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device, the first device being in a radio resource control inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration being used by the first device to receive a plurality of positioning reference signals from a plurality of positioning devices; as well as A first response is received from the second device including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

2. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to transmit the first request by: Determine whether at least one of the following conditions is met: The signal strength value of at least one positioning reference signal among the multiple positioning reference signals is lower than a threshold, At least one positioning reference signal among the multiple positioning reference signals fails to be received, Quasi-co-location information is lost, The expected RSTD reference signal time difference is out of date; as well as According to the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device, detecting another positioning device different from the plurality of positioning devices; as well as Based on a determination that at least one of the conditions is satisfied, the first request is transmitted to the second device. 3 . The first device of claim 2 , wherein the first request includes an indication that at least one of the conditions is satisfied. 4 . The first device of claim 1 , wherein the first request comprises a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message for updating a positioning assistance configuration.

5. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is served by the second device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the second device; and Wherein the first request is message 3 of a 4-step random access procedure, and the first response is message 4 of the 4-step random access procedure.

6. The first device of claim 5, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to transmit the first request by: transmitting to the second device a message 1 of the four-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources, wherein the pre-configured resources indicate that the message 3 of the four-step random access procedure will be used as the first request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration; receiving message 2 of the 4-step random access procedure from the second device; as well as The message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure is transmitted to the second device to update the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device.

7. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is served by the second device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the second device; and The first request is message A of a 2-step random access procedure, and the first response is message B of the 2-step random access procedure.

8. The first device of claim 7, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to transmit the first request by: A message A of the 2-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources is transmitted to the second device, the pre-configured resources indicating that the message A of the 2-step random access procedure is used as the first request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

9. The first device according to claim 6 or 8, wherein the pre-configured resources include at least one of the following: Preconfigured preamble, and Preconfigured frequency.

10. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is served by the second device and a fourth device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the fourth device.

11. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the first device to: The current positioning assistance configuration is updated using the received requested positioning assistance data.

12. The first device according to claim 1, wherein The first device is a terminal device, and The second device is a network device or a location server.

13. A second device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to: receiving, from a first device, a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device, the first device being in a radio resource control inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration being used by the first device to receive a plurality of positioning reference signals from a plurality of positioning devices; as well as A first response including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration is transmitted to the first device.

14. The second device of claim 13, wherein the first request includes an indication that at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: The signal strength value of at least one positioning reference signal among the multiple positioning reference signals is lower than a threshold, At least one positioning reference signal among the multiple positioning reference signals fails to be received, Quasi-co-location information is lost, The expected RSTD reference signal time difference is out of date, and According to the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device, an additional positioning device different from the plurality of positioning devices is detected.

15. The second device of claim 13, wherein the first request comprises a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message for updating a positioning assistance configuration.

16. The second device according to claim 13, wherein the first device is served by the second device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the second device; and Wherein the first request is message 3 of a 4-step random access procedure, and the first response is message 4 of the 4-step random access procedure.

17. The second device of claim 16, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to receive the first request by: receiving, from the first device, a message 1 of the 4-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources, the pre-configured resources indicating that the message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure is to be used as the first request for updating the positioning assistance configuration; transmitting message 2 of the four-step random access procedure from the second device to the first device; as well as The message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure is received from the first device for updating the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device.

18. The second device according to claim 13, wherein the first device is served by the second device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the second device; and The first request is message A of a 2-step random access procedure, and the first response is message B of the 2-step random access procedure.

19. The second device of claim 18, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to receive the first request by: A message A of the 2-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources is received from the first device, the pre-configured resources indicating that the message A of the 2-step random access procedure is used as the first request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

20. The second device according to claim 17 or 19, wherein the preconfigured resources include at least one of the following: Preconfigured preamble, and Preconfigured frequency.

21. The second device of claim 13, wherein the first device is served by the second device and a fourth device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the fourth device.

22. The second device of claim 13, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to transmit the first response by: transmitting, to a third device, a second request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device according to the first request; and Based on a determination that a second response including the requested positioning assistance data is received from the third device, the first response is transmitted to the first device based on the received second response.

23. The second device of claim 22, wherein the second request is a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message for updating positioning assistance configuration, and the second response is a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message having a data container, the data container including the requested positioning assistance data.

24. The second device according to claim 23, The first request includes a long term evolution positioning protocol message for updating positioning assistance configuration, and The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to transmit the second request in the following manner: extracting the long term evolution positioning protocol message for updating positioning assistance configuration; and The extracted Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message is transmitted to the third device as the second request.

25. The second device according to claim 13, wherein The first device is a terminal device, and The second device is a network device or a location server.

26. A third device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the third device to: receiving, from a second device or a first device, a second request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device, the first device being in a radio resource control inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration being used by the first device to receive a plurality of positioning reference signals from a plurality of positioning devices; as well as A second response including the requested positioning assistance data of the first device is transmitted to the second device or the first device.

27. The third device of claim 26, wherein the second request is a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message for updating positioning assistance configuration, and the second response is a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message having a data container, the data container including the requested positioning assistance data.

28. The third device according to claim 26, wherein The first device is a terminal device, The second device is a network device, and The third device is a location server.

29. A method for communication, comprising: transmitting, at a first device and to a second device, a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device, the first device being in a radio resource control inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration being used by the first device to receive a plurality of positioning reference signals from a plurality of positioning devices; as well as A first response is received from the second device including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the first device transmitting the first request comprises: Determine whether at least one of the following conditions is met: A signal strength value of at least one positioning reference signal among the multiple positioning reference signals is lower than a threshold; At least one positioning reference signal among the multiple positioning reference signals fails to be received, Quasi-co-location information is lost, The expected RSTD reference signal time difference is out of date; as well as According to the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device, detecting another positioning device different from the plurality of positioning devices; as well as Based on a determination that at least one of the conditions is satisfied, the first request is transmitted to the second device.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the first request includes an indication that the at least one of the conditions is satisfied.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the first request comprises a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message for updating a positioning assistance configuration.

33. The method according to claim 29, wherein the first device is served by the second device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the second device; and Wherein the first request is message 3 of a 4-step random access procedure, and the first response is message 4 of the 4-step random access procedure.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the first device transmitting the first request comprises: transmitting to the second device a message 1 of the four-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources, wherein the pre-configured resources indicate that the message 3 of the four-step random access procedure will be used as the first request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration; receiving message 2 of the 4-step random access procedure from the second device; as well as The message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure is transmitted to the second device to update the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device.

35. The method according to claim 29, wherein the first device is served by the second device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the second device; and The first request is message A of a 2-step random access procedure, and the first response is message B of the 2-step random access procedure.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the first device transmitting the first request comprises: A message A of the 2-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources is transmitted to the second device, the pre-configured resources indicating that the message A of the 2-step random access procedure is used as the first request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

37. The method according to claim 34 or 36, wherein the pre-configured resources include at least one of the following: Preconfigured preamble; and Preconfigured frequency.

38. The method of claim 29, wherein the first device is served by the second device and a fourth device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the fourth device.

39. The method of claim 29, further comprising: The current positioning assistance configuration is updated using the received requested positioning assistance data.

40. The method of claim 29, wherein The first device is a terminal device, and The second device is a network device or a location server.

41. A method for communication, comprising: receiving, at a second device and from a first device, a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device, the first device being in a radio resource control inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration being used by the first device to receive a plurality of positioning reference signals from a plurality of positioning devices; as well as A first response including the requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration is transmitted to the first device.

42. The method of claim 41 , wherein the first request includes an indication that at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: The signal strength value of at least one positioning reference signal among the multiple positioning reference signals is lower than a threshold, At least one positioning reference signal among the multiple positioning reference signals fails to be received, Quasi-co-location information is lost, The expected RSTD reference signal time difference is out of date, and According to the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device, an additional positioning device different from the plurality of positioning devices is detected.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the first request comprises a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message for updating a positioning assistance configuration.

44. The method according to claim 41, wherein the first device is served by the second device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the second device; and Wherein the first request is message 3 of a 4-step random access procedure, and the first response is message 4 of the 4-step random access procedure.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the second device receiving the first response comprises: receiving, from the first device, a message 1 of the 4-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources, the pre-configured resources indicating that the message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure is to be used as the first request for updating the positioning assistance configuration; transmitting message 2 of the four-step random access procedure from the second device to the first device; as well as The message 3 of the 4-step random access procedure is received from the first device for updating the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device.

46. ​​The method according to claim 41, wherein the first device is served by the second device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the second device; and The first request is message A of a 2-step random access procedure, and the first response is message B of the 2-step random access procedure.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the second device receiving the first response from the first device comprises: A message A of the 2-step random access procedure transmitted using pre-configured resources is received from the first device, the pre-configured resources indicating that the message A of the 2-step random access procedure is used as the first request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

48. The method according to claim 45 or 47, wherein the pre-configured resources include at least one of the following: Preconfigured preamble; and Preconfigured frequency.

49. The method of claim 41, wherein the first device is served by the second device and a fourth device and is in the radio resource control inactive mode relative to the fourth device.

50. The method of claim 41, wherein the second device transmitting the first response comprises: Transmitting to a third device a second request for updating the current positioning assistance configuration of the first device according to the first request; as well as Based on a determination that a second response including the requested positioning assistance data is received from the third device, a first response is transmitted to the first device based on the received second response.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein the second request is a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message for updating positioning assistance configuration, and the second response is a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message having a data container including the requested positioning assistance data.

52. The method according to claim 51, The first request includes a long term evolution positioning protocol message for updating positioning assistance configuration, and The second device transmitting the second request includes: extracting the long term evolution positioning protocol message from the first request; as well as The extracted Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message is transmitted to the third device as the second request.

53. The method of claim 41, wherein The first device is a terminal device, and The second device is a network device or a location server.

54. A method for communication, comprising: receiving, at a third device and from a second device or a first device, a second request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device, the first device being in a radio resource control inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration being used by the first device to receive a plurality of positioning reference signals from a plurality of positioning devices; as well as A second response including the requested positioning assistance data of the first device is transmitted to the second device or the first device.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the second request is a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message for updating positioning assistance configuration, and the second response is a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message having a data container including the requested positioning assistance data.

56. The method of claim 54, wherein The first device is a terminal device, The second device is a network device, and The third device is a positioning server.

57. A first device for communication, comprising: means for transmitting to a second device a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first apparatus, the first apparatus being in a radio resource control inactive mode and the current positioning assistance configuration being used by the first apparatus to receive a plurality of positioning reference signals from a plurality of positioning devices; as well as Means for receiving, from the second device, a first response comprising requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

58. A second device for communication, comprising: means for receiving, from a first apparatus, a first request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first apparatus, the first apparatus being in a radio resource control inactive mode and the current positioning assistance configuration being used by the first apparatus to receive a plurality of positioning reference signals from a plurality of positioning devices; as well as Means for transmitting, to the first device, a first response comprising requested positioning assistance data for updating the current positioning assistance configuration.

59. A third device for communication, comprising: means for receiving, from a second device or a first device, a second request for updating a current positioning assistance configuration of the first device, the first device being in a radio resource control inactive mode, and the current positioning assistance configuration being used by the first device to receive a plurality of positioning reference signals from a plurality of positioning devices; as well as Means for transmitting, to the second device or the first device, a second response comprising the requested positioning assistance data of the first device.

60. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to any one of claims 29 to 40.

61. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to any one of claims 41 to 53.

62. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to any one of claims 54 to 56.

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