Positioning reference signal adjustment based on repeated signal performance

Abstract

A method for adapting to repeated location reference signal reception degradation at a device includes: obtaining location reference signal pattern information indicating repeated degradation of the reception quality of the location reference signal; and based on the location reference signal pattern information, performing at least one of the following: transmitting one or more location reference signal related configuration parameters to a network entity; or transmitting a signal to a user equipment according to the one or more location reference signal related configuration parameters.

Description

[0001] background

[0002] Wireless communication systems have undergone several generations of development, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data radio service with Internet capabilities, fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax), and fifth-generation (5G) service. Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), and GSM TDMA variants.

[0003] The fifth-generation (5G) mobile standard demands higher data transmission speeds, a greater number of connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide tens of megabits per second (Mbps) of data rate to each of tens of thousands of users, and 1 gigabits per second (Gbps) to dozens of employees on an office floor. It should support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections to support large-scale sensor deployments. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be improved and latency significantly reduced compared to the current standard.

[0004] Overview

[0005] An example device includes: an interface configured to exchange wireless signals between the device and a user equipment; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the interface and the memory and configured to: obtain location reference signal pattern information indicating repeated degradation of the reception quality of a location reference signal; and via the interface and based on the location reference signal pattern information, perform at least one of the following: transmit one or more location reference signal related configuration parameters to a network entity; or transmit signals to the user equipment according to the one or more location reference signal related configuration parameters.

[0006] Implementations of such devices may include one or more of the following features: The processor is configured to determine a positioning reference signal silence mode based on the positioning reference signal pattern information and transmit an indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode to the user equipment via the interface. The indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode indicates one or more positioning reference signals to be repeatedly silenced. The processor is configured to transmit a deactivation message indicating the deactivation of the positioning reference signal silence mode to the user equipment via the interface. The deactivation message includes an indication of at least one positioning reference signal measurement reported by the user equipment to the device. The processor is configured to transmit at least one of aperiodic, on-demand, or semi-persistent positioning reference signals to the user equipment independently of the positioning reference signal silence mode. The indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode includes a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a corresponding amount of time for scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

[0007] Alternatively or concurrently, implementations of such devices may include one or more of the following features. The processor is configured to: predict signal degradation of a specific location reference signal scheduled for non-silent transmission; and respond to the predicted signal degradation of the specific location reference signal by at least one of: silencing the specific location reference signal; or avoiding measurement of the specific location reference signal. One or more scheduling location reference signal-related configuration parameters include at least one of location reference signal periodicity, offset, comb size, silence mode, or repetition factor.

[0008] Another example device includes: means for obtaining location reference signal pattern information indicating repeated degradation of the reception quality of a location reference signal; and means for performing at least one of the following based on the location reference signal pattern information: transmitting one or more location reference signal related configuration parameters to a network entity; or transmitting a signal to a user equipment based on the one or more location reference signal related configuration parameters.

[0009] Implementations of such devices may include one or more of the following features: The device includes: means for determining a positioning reference signal silence mode based on the positioning reference signal pattern information; and means for transmitting an indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode to a user equipment. The indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode indicates one or more positioning reference signals to be repeatedly silenced. The device includes means for transmitting a deactivation message to the user equipment indicating the deactivation of the positioning reference signal silence mode. The deactivation message includes an indication of at least one positioning reference signal measurement reported by the user equipment to the device. The device includes means for transmitting at least one of aperiodic, on-demand, or semi-persistent positioning reference signals to the user equipment independently of the positioning reference signal silence mode. The indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode includes a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a corresponding amount of time for scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

[0010] Alternatively or concurrently, implementations of such a device may include one or more of the following features. The device includes: a prediction device for predicting signal degradation of a specific positioning reference signal scheduled for non-silent transmission; and means for responding to the prediction of signal degradation of the specific positioning reference signal by at least one of: silencing the specific positioning reference signal; or avoiding measurement of the specific positioning reference signal. One or more configuration parameters associated with the scheduled positioning reference signal include at least one of positioning reference signal periodicity, offset, comb size, or repetition factor.

[0011] An example method for adapting to repeated location reference signal reception degradation at a device includes: obtaining location reference signal pattern information indicating repeated degradation of the reception quality of the location reference signal; and based on the location reference signal pattern information, performing at least one of the following: transmitting one or more location reference signal related configuration parameters to a network entity; or transmitting a signal to a user equipment according to the one or more location reference signal related configuration parameters.

[0012] Implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features: The method includes: determining a positioning reference signal silence mode based on the positioning reference signal pattern information; and transmitting an indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode to the user equipment. The indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode indicates one or more positioning reference signals to be repeatedly silenced. The method includes transmitting a deactivation message to the user equipment indicating the deactivation of the positioning reference signal silence mode. The deactivation message includes an indication of at least one positioning reference signal measurement reported by the user equipment to the device. The method includes transmitting at least one of aperiodic, on-demand, or semi-persistent positioning reference signals to the user equipment independently of the positioning reference signal silence mode. The indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode includes a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a corresponding amount of time for scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

[0013] Alternatively or concurrently, implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features. The method includes: predicting signal degradation of a specific location reference signal scheduled for non-silent transmission; and responding to the predicted signal degradation by at least one of the following: silencing the specific location reference signal; or avoiding measurement of the specific location reference signal. One or more configuration parameters associated with the scheduled location reference signal include at least one of location reference signal periodicity, offset, comb size, or repetition factor.

[0014] An example non-transient processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause a device's processor to perform the following operations to adapt to repeated location reference signal reception degradation: obtaining location reference signal pattern information indicating repeated degradation of the reception quality of the location reference signal; and based on the location reference signal pattern information, performing at least one of the following: transmitting one or more location reference signal-related configuration parameters to a network entity; or transmitting a signal to a user equipment according to the one or more location reference signal-related configuration parameters.

[0015] Implementations of such storage media may include one or more of the following features. The storage medium includes instructions configured to cause the processor to: determine a positioning reference signal silence mode based on the positioning reference signal pattern information; and transmit an indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode to the user equipment. The indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode indicates one or more positioning reference signals to be repeatedly silenced. The storage medium includes instructions configured to cause the processor to: transmit a deactivation message to the user equipment indicating the deactivation of the positioning reference signal silence mode. The deactivation message includes an indication of at least one positioning reference signal measurement reported by the user equipment to the device. The storage medium includes instructions configured to cause the processor to: transmit at least one of aperiodic, on-demand, or semi-persistent positioning reference signals to the user equipment independently of the positioning reference signal silence mode. The indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode includes a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a corresponding amount of time for scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

[0016] Alternatively or concurrently, implementations of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features. The storage medium includes instructions configured to cause the processor to: predict signal degradation of a specific location reference signal scheduled for non-silent transmission; and respond to the predicted signal degradation of the specific location reference signal by at least one of: silencing the specific location reference signal; or avoiding measurement of the specific location reference signal. One or more scheduling location reference signal-related configuration parameters include at least one of location reference signal periodicity, offset, comb size, or repetition factor.

[0017] An example user equipment includes: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured to: measure a positioning reference signal received via the transceiver; determine a signal degradation mode corresponding to repetitive signal degradation of the positioning reference signal; and transmit an indication of the signal degradation mode via the transceiver.

[0018] Implementations of such user equipment may include one or more of the following features: Indication of the signal degradation mode includes one or more positioning reference signal timing parameters. Indication of the signal degradation mode includes a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates relative degradation and corresponds to a corresponding amount of time for the scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

[0019] Another example of user equipment includes: means for measuring a positioning reference signal from a positioning reference signal source; means for determining a signal degradation mode corresponding to the repetitive signal degradation of the positioning reference signal; and means for transmitting an indication of the signal degradation mode to a network entity.

[0020] Implementations of such user equipment may include one or more of the following features: Indication of the signal degradation mode includes one or more positioning reference signal timing parameters. Indication of the signal degradation mode includes a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates relative degradation and corresponds to a corresponding amount of time for scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

[0021] An example method for providing an indication of signal degradation includes: measuring a positioning reference signal from a positioning reference signal source; determining a signal degradation pattern corresponding to repetitive signal degradation of the positioning reference signal; and transmitting an indication of the signal degradation pattern to a network entity.

[0022] Implementations of such devices may include one or more of the following features: The indication of the signal degradation mode includes one or more positioning reference signal timing parameters. The indication of the signal degradation mode includes a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates relative degradation and corresponds to a corresponding amount of time for the scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

[0023] An example non-transient processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor of a user-equipped device to perform the following operations to provide an indication of signal degradation: measuring a positioning reference signal from a positioning reference signal source; determining a signal degradation pattern corresponding to the repetitive signal degradation of the positioning reference signal; and transmitting an indication of the signal degradation pattern to a network entity.

[0024] Implementations of such storage media may include one or more of the following features: The indication of the signal degradation mode includes one or more positioning reference signal timing parameters. The indication of the signal degradation mode includes a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates relative degradation and corresponds to a corresponding amount of time for the scheduled positioning reference signal transmission. Brief description of the attached diagram

[0026] Figure 1 This is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0027] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The diagram shows a block diagram of the components of an example user equipment.

[0028] Figure 3 This is a block diagram of the components of an example send / receive point.

[0029] Figure 4 This is a block diagram of the components of the sample server, including various examples of the sample server. Figure 1 As shown in the image.

[0030] Figure 5 This is a simplified block diagram of an example user equipment.

[0031] Figure 6 This is a simplified block diagram of an example network entity.

[0032] Figure 7 This is a simplified diagram of an example environment with degraded reception of the repetitive positioning reference signal.

[0033] Figure 8 yes Figure 7 The timing diagram shows the location signal reception quality in the environment shown.

[0034] Figure 9 yes Figure 8 Explanation of the logical combination of the bit sequence of the positioning signal reception quality mode shown and the bit sequence of the existing positioning signal silent mode.

[0035] Figure 10 It is a simplified example of processing and signal flow used to determine location information.

[0036] Figure 11 It is a flowchart of a method for determining configuration parameters related to one or more positioning reference signals.

[0037] Figure 12 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing indications of signal degradation.

[0038] Detailed description

[0039] This paper discusses techniques for determining and using repetitive patterns to determine the positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, including the quality of the PRS reception. For example, a pattern of PRS reception quality associated with user equipment (e.g., received by and / or transmitted by it) can be determined based on data over time, such as PRS measurements and / or other measurements and / or other indicators or predictors of PRS reception quality. This pattern can be used to adjust one or more PRS configuration characteristics, such as a silent PRS mode. However, other examples can be implemented.

[0040] The projects and / or techniques described herein can provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as others not mentioned. For example, positioning accuracy can be improved by avoiding the use of low-quality and / or unreliable measurements to determine positioning. The energy consumed by measuring PRS with low reception quality can be reduced. Positioning determination accuracy can be improved and latency reduced. Equipment such as user equipment can perform operations without waiting for the user equipment to be able to perform positioning correctly. Other capabilities can be provided, and not every implementation according to this disclosure must provide any, let alone all, of the capabilities discussed.

[0041] Obtaining the location of a mobile device accessing a wireless network can be useful for many applications, including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, consumer asset tracking, and locating friends or family members. Existing positioning methods include those based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices or entities, including satellite carriers (SVs) and terrestrial radio sources in the wireless network, such as base stations and access points. Standardization for 5G wireless networks is expected to include support for various positioning methods that can utilize reference signals transmitted by base stations for location determination in a manner similar to how LTE wireless networks currently utilize Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) and / or Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRS).

[0042] This description may refer to a sequence of actions to be performed by elements such as a computing device. The various actions described herein can be performed by special-purpose circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. The sequence of actions described herein can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, will cause the associated processor to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the aspects described herein can be implemented in several different forms, all of which fall within the scope of this disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0043] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not specific to or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. Generally, such a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. The UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT”, “Client Equipment”, “Wireless Equipment”, “Subscriber Equipment”, “Subscriber Terminal”, “Subscriber Station”, “User Terminal” or “UT”, “Mobile Terminal”, “Mobile Station”, “Mobile Equipment”, or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks (such as the Internet) and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as via a wired access network, a WiFi network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0044] Depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, it may operate according to one of several RATs when communicating with the UE. Examples of base stations include access points (APs), network nodes, B-nodes, evolved B-nodes (eNBs), or generic B-nodes (gNodeBs, gNBs). Additionally, in some systems, the base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions, while in others, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0045] The UE can be implemented using any of several types of devices, including but not limited to printed circuit (PC) cards, dense flash memory devices, external or internal modems, wireless or wired telephones, smartphones, tablet devices, consumer asset tracking devices, asset tags, etc. The communication link through which the UE can send signals to the RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the RAN can send signals to the UE is called a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0046] As used herein, depending on the context, the terms "cell" or "sector" may correspond to one of multiple cells of a base station or to the base station itself. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a carrier) and may be associated with identifiers to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)). In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells and may be configured with different protocol types that provide access to different types of devices (e.g., Machine-Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). In some examples, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of the geographic coverage area on which a logical entity operates (e.g., a sector).

[0047] Reference Figure 1 Examples of communication system 100 include UE 105, UE 106, radio access network (RAN) 135 (here, fifth-generation (5G) next-generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN)), and 5G core network (5GC) 140. UE 105 and / or UE 106 can be, for example, IoT devices, location tracker devices, cellular phones, vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, buses, ships, etc.) or other devices. 5G networks can also be referred to as new radio (NR) networks; NG-RAN 135 can be referred to as 5G RAN or NR RAN; and 5GC 140 can be referred to as NG core network (NGC). Standardization of NG-RAN and 5GC is underway within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 can comply with current or future standards for 5G support from 3GPP. RAN 135 can be another type of RAN, such as 3G RAN, 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. UE 106 can be similarly configured and coupled to UE 105 to send and / or receive signals from similar other entities in system 100, but for simplicity of the figures, in Figure 1Such signaling is not indicated in this document. Similarly, for simplicity, the discussion focuses on UE 105. Communication system 100 can use information from constellation 185 of satellite carriers (SVs) 190, 191, 192, and 193 for a satellite positioning system (SPS) (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)), such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou, or some other local or regional SPS (such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Coverage Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)). Additional components of communication system 100 are described below. Communication system 100 may include additional or replacement components.

[0048] like Figure 1 As shown, NG-RAN 135 includes NR B-nodes (gNB) 110a, 110b and a next-generation evolved B-node (ng-eNB) 114, and 5GC 140 includes Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) 115, Session Management Functions (SMF) 117, Location Management Functions (LMF) 120 and Gateway Mobility Location Center (GMLC) 125. gNBs 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, each configured to conduct bidirectional wireless communication with UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to and configured to conduct bidirectional communication with AMF 115. gNBs 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 may be referred to as base stations (BS). AMF 115, SMF 117, LMF 120 and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client 130. SMF 117 can be used as the initial contact point for Service Control Functions (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions. Base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) can be macrocells (e.g., high-power cellular base stations), small cells (e.g., low-power cellular base stations), or access points (e.g., short-range base stations configured to use short-range technologies such as WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D)). (Communication via Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, etc.). One or more BSs (e.g., one or more of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) can be configured to communicate with UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of gNB 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic area (e.g., cell). Each cell can be divided into multiple sectors based on the base station antennas.

[0049] Figure 1A general explanation of each component is provided, wherein any or all of the components may be used appropriately, and each component may be repeated or omitted as needed. Specifically, although one UE 105 is explained, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be used in communication system 100. Similarly, communication system 100 may include a larger (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external client 130, and / or other components. The explained connections connecting the various components in communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0050] Although Figure 1 While 5G-based networks have been described, similar network implementations and configurations can be used for other communication technologies such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. The implementations described herein (for 5G technologies and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) can be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105), and / or provide location assistance to UE 105 (via GMLC 125 or other location servers), and / or calculate the location of UE 105 at a location-capable device (such as UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, or LMF 120) based on measurements of such directional transmissions received at UE 105. Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (evolved B-node) 114, and gNB (g B-node) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by or include these functions in various embodiments by various other location server functions and / or base station functions, respectively.

[0051] System 100 is capable of wireless communication because its components can communicate directly or indirectly (at least sometimes using wireless connections) via, for example, gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 and / or network 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other base transceiver stations). For indirect communication, the communication may be altered during transmission from one entity to another, for example, to change the header information of data packets, change the format, etc. UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be mobile wireless communication devices, but can communicate wirelessly and via wired connections. UE 105 can be any of the various devices, such as a smartphone, tablet computer, vehicle-based device, etc., but these are merely examples, as UE 105 does not need to be any of these configurations, and other configurations of the UE can be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or head-mounted devices, etc.). Other UEs, whether currently existing or developed in the future, may also be used. In addition, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) can be implemented within system 100 and can communicate with each other and / or with UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, core network 140, and / or external client 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. Core network 140 can communicate with external client 130 (e.g., a computer system), for example, to allow external client 130 (e.g., via GMLC 125) to request and / or receive location information about UE 105.

[0052] UE 105 or other devices can be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, multi-frequency Wi-Fi communication, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (vehicle-to-everything, e.g., V2P (vehicle to pedestrian), V2I (vehicle to infrastructure), V2V (vehicle to vehicle) etc.), IEEE (e.g., 802.11p). V2X communication can be cellular (Cellular-V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Connectivity)). System 100 can support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers simultaneously. Each modulated signal can be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on a different carrier and can carry pilot, overhead information, data, etc. UEs 105 and 106 can communicate with each other via UE-to-UE sidelink (SL) communication via transmission on one or more sidelink channels (such as the Physical Sidelink Synchronization Channel (PSSCH), Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), or Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH)).

[0053] UE 105 may include and / or may be referred to as a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), Secure User Plane Location Enabled (SUPL) terminal (SET), or some other name. Furthermore, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, smartphone, laptop device, tablet device, PDA, consumer asset tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, health monitor, security system, smart city sensor, smart meter, wearable tracker, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, although not required, UE 105 may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), etc. (BT), WiMAX, 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc., are used to support wireless communication. UE 105 can support wireless communication using a wireless local area network (WLAN), which can use, for example, digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable to connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet). Using one or more of these RATs allows UE 105 (e.g., via elements of 5GC 140) to support wireless communication. Figure 1 (not shown in the diagram) or possibly via GMLC 125, communicate with external client 130 and / or allow external client 130 (e.g., via GMLC 125) to receive location information about UE 105.

[0054] UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network in which the user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O (input / output) devices, and / or body sensors, and separate wired or wireless modems. An estimate of the location of UE 105 may be referred to as location, location estimate, location lock, lock, positioning, location estimation, or location lock, and may be geographic, providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) about UE 105, which may or may not include an elevation component (e.g., height above sea level; height above ground level, floor level, or basement level, or depth below). Alternatively, the location of UE 105 may be expressed as a municipal location (e.g., expressed as a postal address or designation of a point or smaller area within a building, such as a specific room or floor). The location of UE 105 may be expressed as an area or volume (geographically or municipally defined) in which UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of UE 105 can be expressed as a relative location, which includes, for example, distance and direction from a known location. A relative location can be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to an origin at a known location, which can be, for example, geographically, municipally, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated, for example, on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the term "location" may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of the UE, local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved, and then (if necessary) the local coordinates are converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude, and elevation above or below mean sea level).

[0055] UE 105 can be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. UE 105 can be configured to indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. D2D P2P links can use any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT) (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), etc.). Supported by (etc.). One or more UEs in a group of UEs using D2D communication may be within the geographic coverage area of ​​a Transmit / Receive Point (TRP) (such as one or more of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114). Other UEs in the group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may be unable to receive transmissions from the base station for other reasons. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without involving the TRP. One or more UEs in a group of UEs using D2D communication may be within the geographic coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs in the group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may be unable to receive transmissions from the base station for other reasons. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. TRP facilitates the scheduling of resources used for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without involving TRP.

[0056] Figure 1 The base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown include NRB nodes (referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b). Each pair of gNBs 110a and 110b in the NG-RAN 135 can be interconnected via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to UE 105 via wireless communication between UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 110a and 110b. gNBs 110a and 110b can use 5G to provide wireless communication access to the 5GC 140 on behalf of UE 105. Figure 1 In this context, it is assumed that the serving gNB of UE 105 is gNB 110a, but another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) may act as the serving gNB or as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105 if UE 105 moves to another location.

[0057] Figure 1The base station (BS) in NG-RAN 135 shown may include ng-eNB 114 (also referred to as a next-generation evolved B node). ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a and 110b in NG-RAN 135 via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured to act as a location-only beacon, transmitting signals to aid in determining the location of UE 105, but may not be able to receive signals from UE 105 or other UEs.

[0058] gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may each include one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a BS cell may include a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., share a processor but have separate antennas). System 100 may exclusively include macro TRPs, or system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro, pico, and / or femto TRPs. Macro TRPs may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. Pico TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. Femto or home TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and allow restricted access by terminals associated with that femto cell (e.g., a user's terminal in a residence).

[0059] As mentioned, although Figure 1 The diagram depicts a node configured to communicate according to 5G communication protocols, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (such as, for example, LTE or IEEE 802.11x protocols) can also be used. For example, in an evolved packet system (EPS) providing LTE radio access to UE 105, the RAN may include an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations containing evolved B-nodes (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may include an evolved packet core (EPC). The EPS may include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to... Figure 1 NG-RAN 135 and EPC corresponds to Figure 1 5GC 140.

[0060] gNB 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 can communicate with AMF 115; for positioning functionality, AMF 115 communicates with LMF 120. AMF 115 supports the mobility of UE 105 (including cell changes and handover) and can participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for UE 105. LMF 120 can communicate directly with UE 105, for example, wirelessly, or directly with gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. The LMF120 enables UE 105 positioning when it accesses NG-RAN 135, and supports various positioning protocols / methods, such as Auxiliary GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., Downlink (DL) OTDOA or Uplink (UL) OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cellular ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), and / or other positioning methods. The LMF120 can process location service requests for UE 105 received, for example, from AMF 115 or GMLC 125. The LMF120 can connect to AMF 115 and / or GMLC 125. The LMF120 may be referred to by other names, such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value-Added LMF (VLMF). The node / system implementing LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobility Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least a portion of the location functionality (including the derivation of the UE 105's location) can be performed at UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by UE 105 for signals transmitted by radio nodes (such as gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114), and / or auxiliary data provided to UE 105, for example, by LMF 120). AMF 115 can serve as a control node for handling signaling between UE 105 and core network 140, and can provide QoS (Quality of Service) streaming and session management. AMF 115 can support UE 105 mobility (including cell changes and handovers) and can participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105.

[0061] GMLC 125 can support location requests for UE 105 received from external client 130, and can forward such requests to AMF 115 for forwarding to LMF 120, or can forward them directly to LMF 120. A location response from LMF 120 (e.g., containing a location estimate for UE 105) can be returned to GMLC 125 directly or via AMF 115, and GMLC 125 can then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to external client 130. GMLC 125 is shown connected to both AMF 115 and LMF 120, but in some implementations it may not be connected to either AMF 115 or LMF 120.

[0062] like Figure 1 Further explanation is provided: the LMF 120 can use the new Radio Positioning Protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa) to communicate with gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. This new Radio Positioning Protocol A is defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa can be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, where NRPPa messages are transmitted via AMF 115 between gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and the LMF 120, and / or between ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120. Figure 1As further explained, LMF 120 and UE 105 can communicate using the LTE Location Protocol (LPP), which is defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. LMF 120 and UE 105 can also communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between UE 105 and LMF 120 via AMF 115 and UE 105's serving gNB 110a, 110b, or serving ng-eNB 114. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between LMF 120 and AMF 115 using the 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP), and between AMF 115 and UE 105 using the 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocols can be used to support the location of UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based location methods (such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID). The NRPPa protocol can be used to support the location of UE 105 using network-based location methods (such as E-CID) (e.g., in conjunction with measurements obtained by gNB110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or can be used by LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as defining parameters for directional SS transmissions from gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. LMF 120 can be co-located or integrated with the gNB or TRP, or it can be configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or TRP, located away from the gNB and / or TRP.

[0063] Using a UE-assisted positioning method, UE 105 can obtain location measurements and send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for calculating a location estimate for UE 105. For example, location measurements may include one or more of the following: Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round-Trip Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and / or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN AP. Location measurements may additionally or alternatively include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase for SV 190-193.

[0064] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE 105 can obtain a location measurement (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to a location measurement for a UE-assisted positioning method) and can calculate the location of UE 105 (e.g., by means of auxiliary data received from a location server (such as LMF 120) or broadcast by gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 or other base stations or APs).

[0065] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs can acquire location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or Time of Arrival (ToA) of signals transmitted by UE 105) and / or can receive measurements acquired by UE 105. These base stations or APs can then transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for calculating a location estimate for UE 105.

[0066] The information provided to the LMF 120 by the gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directional SS transmissions, as well as location coordinates. The LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information as supplementary data to the UE 105 in LPP and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140.

[0067] The LPP or NPP message sent from LMF 120 to UE 105 may instruct UE 105 to perform any of a variety of tasks, depending on the desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message may contain instructions for UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct UE 105 to obtain one or more measurements (e.g., beam ID, beamwidth, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within a specific cell supported by one or more of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station, such as eNB or WiFi AP). UE 105 can send these measurements back to LMF 120 via service gNB110a (or service ng-eNB 114) and AMF 115 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message).

[0068] As mentioned, while a communication system 100 is described in relation to 5G technology, the communication system 100 can be implemented to support other communication technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.) used to support and interact with mobile devices (such as UE 105) (e.g., to enable voice, data, location, and other functionalities). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 can be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, non-3GPP interoperability (N3IWF) functions in the 5GC 150 can be used. Figure 1 (Not shown) Connects 5GC 140 to a WLAN. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for UE 105 and may include one or more WiFi APs. Here, N3IWF may connect to the WLAN and other components in 5GC 140, such as AMF 115. In some embodiments, both NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in EPS, NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by E-UTRAN containing eNBs, and 5GC 140 may be replaced by EPC containing a Mobility Management Entity (MME) instead of AMF 115, an E-SMLC instead of LMF 120, and a GMLC similar to GMLC 125. In such EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa instead of NRPPa to send location information to and receive location information from eNBs in the E-UTRAN, and may use LPP to support UE 105's positioning. In these other embodiments, the location of UE 105 using directional PRS can be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, the difference being that the functions and procedures described herein for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115 and LMF120 can be applied alternatively to other network elements, such as eNB, WiFi AP, MME and E-SMLC, in some cases.

[0069] As mentioned, in some embodiments, positioning functionality can be achieved at least in part using directional SS beams transmitted by base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) to determine the location of the UE (e.g., Figure 1 Within the range of UE 105. In some instances, the UE can use directional SS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, etc.) to calculate the UE's location.

[0070] Also refer to Figure 2UE 200 is an example of one of UEs 105 and 106, and includes a computing platform containing a processor 210, a memory 211 containing software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215 (which includes a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning device (PD) 219. The processor 210, memory 211, sensors 213, transceiver interface 214, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, and positioning device 219 can be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 220 (which can be configured for, for example, optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., camera 218, positioning device 219, and / or one or more sensors 213, etc.) can be omitted from UE 200. Processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 210 may include multiple processors, including a general-purpose / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of processors 230-234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, sensor processor 234 may include processors for RF (radio frequency) sensing (where one or more transmitted (cellular) wireless signals and reflections are used to identify, map, and / or track objects), and / or ultrasound, etc. Modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, one SIM (subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module) may be used by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by an end user of UE 200 to obtain connectivity. Memory 211 is a non-transient storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 211 stores software 212, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 210 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 212 may not be directly executable by processor 210, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause processor 210 to perform various functions. This description may refer to processor 210 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 210 performing software and / or firmware implementations. This description may refer to processor 210 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more of processors 230-234 performing that function.This description may refer to the UE 200 execution function as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the UE 200 performing that function. The processor 210 may include memory with stored instructions as a supplement to and / or replacement of memory 211. The functionality of the processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0071] Figure 2 The configuration of UE 200 shown is exemplary and not intended to limit this disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, an exemplary configuration of the UE includes one or more of processors 230-234 in processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Other exemplary configurations include one or more of processors 230-234 in processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver, and one or more of the following: (a) sensors 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PD 219, and / or wired transceiver.

[0072] UE 200 may include a modem processor 232, which may be capable of performing baseband processing on signals received and downconverted by transceiver 215 and / or SPS receiver 217. Modem processor 232 may also perform baseband processing on signals to be upconverted for transmission by transceiver 215. Alternatively or alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by processor 230 and / or DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0073] UE 200 may include sensors 213, which may include one or more of various types of sensors, such as one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g., collectively responding to acceleration of UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscopes). Sensors 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometers) to determine orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which may be used for any of a variety of purposes (e.g., supporting one or more compass applications). Environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones. Sensors 213 can generate analog and / or digital signals, and indications of these signals can be stored in memory 211 and processed by DSP 231 and / or processor 230 to support one or more applications (such as, for example, applications involving positioning and / or navigation operations).

[0074] Sensors 213 can be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by sensors 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based position determination, and / or sensor-assisted position determination. Sensors 213 can be used to determine whether the UE 200 is stationary or moving and / or whether to report certain useful information related to the mobility of the UE 200 to the LMF 120. For example, based on information obtained / measured by sensors 213, the UE 200 can notify / report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movement or that the UE 200 has moved, and report relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning implemented by sensors 213, or sensor-based position determination, or sensor-assisted position determination). In another example, for relative positioning information, sensors / IMUs can be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of another device relative to the UE 200, etc.

[0075] The IMU can be configured to provide measurements of the UE 200's direction of motion and / or velocity, which can be used for relative position determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU can detect the UE 200's linear acceleration and rotational velocity, respectively. The UE 200's linear acceleration and rotational velocity measurements can be integrated over time to determine the UE 200's instantaneous direction of motion and displacement. The instantaneous direction of motion and displacement can be integrated to track the UE 200's position. For example, an SPS receiver 217 (and / or some other means) can be used to determine the UE 200's reference position at a given moment, and measurements acquired from the accelerometers and gyroscopes after that moment can be used for dead reckoning to determine the UE 200's current position based on its movement (direction and distance) relative to that reference position.

[0076] (A) Magnetometers can determine the strength of magnetic fields in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of UE 200. For example, this orientation can be used to provide a digital compass for UE 200. (A) Magnetometers may include two-dimensional magnetometers configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. (A) Magnetometers may include three-dimensional magnetometers configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. (A) Magnetometers may provide means for sensing magnetic fields and, for example, providing magnetic field indications to processor 210.

[0077] Transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to one or more antennas 246 for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals 248 (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and converting signals from wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 248. Thus, wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 can be configured to transmit signals according to various radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., with TRP and / or one or more other devices), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone Systems), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, and WiFi Direct (WiFi-D). Zigbee, etc. New radios can use millimeter-wave frequencies and / or sub-6 GHz frequencies. Wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with network 135 to send communications to and receive communications from network 135. Wired transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wired receiver 254 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 250 may be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communication. Transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to transceiver interface 214 (e.g., via optical and / or electrical connections). Transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with transceiver 215.

[0078] Transceiver 215 can be configured to transmit and receive other types of signals. For example, transceiver 215 can be configured to transmit and receive radar, sonar, ultrasonic, and / or lidar signals, for example, under the control of sensor processor 234. Wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244, and / or antenna 246 may each include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and / or multiple antennas for transmitting and / or receiving appropriate signals, respectively.

[0079] User interface 216 may include one or more of a number of devices, such as, for example, speakers, microphones, display devices, vibration devices, keyboards, touchscreens, etc. User interface 216 may include any device that includes more than one of these devices. User interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications stored in the main memory of UE 200. For example, user interface 216 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 in response to actions from the user, for processing by DSP 231 and / or general-purpose processor 230. Similarly, applications in the main memory of UE 200 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 to present output signals to the user. User interface 216 may include audio input / output (I / O) devices, including, for example, speakers, microphones, digital-to-analog circuitry systems, analog-to-digital circuitry systems, amplifiers, and / or gain control circuitry systems (any device including more than one of these devices). Other configurations of the audio I / O devices may be used. Alternatively or concurrently, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors that respond to touch and / or pressure on, for example, the keyboard and / or touchscreen of the user interface 216.

[0080] SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) can receive and acquire SPS signal 260 via SPS antenna 262. Antenna 262 is configured to convert the wireless SPS signal 260 into a wired signal (e.g., an electrical or optical signal) and can be integrated with antenna 246. SPS receiver 217 can be configured to process the acquired SPS signal 260 fully or partially to estimate the location of UE 200. For example, SPS receiver 217 can be configured to determine the location of UE 200 by performing trilateration using SPS signal 260. SPS receiver 217 can be combined with general-purpose processor 230, memory 211, DSP 231 and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown) to process the acquired SPS signal fully or partially and / or calculate the estimated location of UE 200. Memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of SPS signal 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from wireless transceiver 240) for use during positioning operations. General-purpose processor 230, DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors, and / or memory 211 may provide or support a position engine for processing measurements to estimate the position of UE 200.

[0081] UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or moving images. Camera 218 may include, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device or a CMOS imager), lenses, analog-to-digital circuitry, frame buffers, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of the signals representing the captured images may be performed by a general-purpose processor 230 and / or a DSP 231. Alternatively or additionally, a video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of the signals representing the captured images. The video processor 233 may decode / decompress stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown), for example, a user interface 216.

[0082] Positioning device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the location of UE 200, the motion of UE 200, and / or the relative location of UE 200, and / or time. For example, PD 219 may communicate with SPS receiver 217, and / or include some or all of SPS receiver 217. PD 219 may appropriately cooperate with processor 210 and memory 211 to perform at least a portion of one or more positioning methods, although the description herein may only refer to PD 219 being configured to perform or to be performed according to a positioning method. PD 219 may additionally or alternatively be configured to: perform trilateration using ground-based signals (e.g., at least some signals 248), assist in obtaining and using SPS signal 260, or both, to determine the location of UE 200. PD 219 can be configured to determine the location of UE 200 using one or more other technologies (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., part of the UE's positioning beacon)), and can use a combination of technologies (e.g., SPS and terrestrial positioning signals) to determine the location of UE 200. PD 219 may include one or more sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, etc.) that sense the orientation and / or motion of UE 200 and provide an indication of such orientation and / or motion. Processor 210 (e.g., processor 230 and / or DSP 231) can be configured to use this indication to determine the motion of UE 200 (e.g., velocity vector and / or acceleration vector). PD 219 can be configured to provide an indication of the uncertainty and / or error of the determined positioning and / or motion. The functionality of PD 219 can be provided in a variety of ways and / or configurations, such as by a general-purpose / application processor 230, transceiver 215, SPS receiver 217 and / or another component of UE 200, and can be provided by hardware, software, firmware or various combinations thereof.

[0083] Also refer to Figure 3Examples of TRP 300 for gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 include a computing platform containing processor 310, memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and transceiver 315. Processor 310, memory 311 and transceiver 315 can be communicatively coupled to each other via bus 320 (which can be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., a wireless interface) may be omitted from the TRP 300. Processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 310 may include multiple processors (e.g., including such...). Figure 2 (The general-purpose / application processor, DSP, modem processor, video processor, and / or sensor processor shown). Memory 311 is a non-transient storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 311 stores software 312, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 310 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 312 may not be directly executable by processor 310, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause processor 310 to perform the functions.

[0084] This description may refer to processor 310 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 310 performing software and / or firmware implementations. This description may refer to processor 310 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more processors included in processor 310 performing that function. This description may refer to TRP 300 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components (e.g., processor 310 and memory 311) of TRP 300 (and thus one of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) performing that function. Processor 310 may include memory with stored instructions as a complement and / or alternative to memory 311. The functionality of processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0085] Transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals 348 (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and converting signals from wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 348. Thus, wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 can be configured to support various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, and WiFi Direct (WiFi-D). The wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with network 135 to send communications to and receive communications from LMF 120 (e.g., and / or one or more other network entities). The wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0086] Figure 3 The configuration of TRP 300 shown is exemplary and not intended to limit this disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses TRP 300 being configured to perform several functions or TRP 300 performing several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by LMF 120 and / or UE 200 (i.e., LMF 120 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0087] Also refer to Figure 4 Server 400 (where LMF 120 is an example) includes a computing platform containing processor 410, a memory 411 containing software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. Processor 410, memory 411, and transceiver 415 are communicatively coupled to each other via bus 420 (which may be configured for, for example, optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., a wireless interface) may be omitted from server 400. Processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 410 may include multiple processors (e.g., including such...). Figure 2 (The general-purpose / application processor, DSP, modem processor, video processor, and / or sensor processor shown). Memory 411 is a non-transient storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 411 stores software 412, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 410 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 412 may not be directly executable by processor 410, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause processor 410 to perform various functions. This description may refer to processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 410 performing software and / or firmware implementations. This description may refer to processor 410 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more processors included in processor 410 performing that function. This description may refer to server 400 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of server 400 performing that function. Processor 410 may include memory with stored instructions as a supplement to and / or replacement of memory 411. The functionality of processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0088] Transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals 448 (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and converting signals from wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 448. Thus, wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 can be configured to support various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, and WiFi Direct (WiFi-D). The wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with network 135 to send communications to and receive communications from TRP 300 (e.g., and / or one or more other network entities). The wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0089] The description herein may refer to processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as the implementation of software and / or firmware (stored in memory 411) performed by processor 410. The description herein may refer to server 400 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of server 400 (e.g., processor 410 and memory 411) performing the function.

[0090] Figure 4The configuration of server 400 shown is exemplary and not intended to limit this disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Additionally or alternatively, the description herein discusses server 400 being configured to perform several functions or server 400 performing several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., TRP 300 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0091] Positioning technology

[0092] For terrestrial positioning of UEs in cellular networks, techniques such as Advanced Forward Link Trilateral Measurement (AFLT) and Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) typically operate in a “UE-assisted” mode, where measurements of reference signals transmitted by the base station (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) are acquired by the UE and subsequently provided to a location server. The location server then calculates the UE's location based on these measurements and the known location of the base station. Because these techniques use a location server (rather than the UE itself) to calculate the UE's location, they are not frequently used in applications such as car or cellular phone navigation, which typically rely on satellite-based positioning instead.

[0093] UEs can use Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) to achieve high-precision positioning using Precise Point Positioning (PPP) or Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) techniques. These techniques use auxiliary data, such as measurements from ground-based stations. LTE Release 15 allows data to be encrypted so that only UEs subscribed to the service can read it. This auxiliary data changes over time. Therefore, a UE with a subscribed service may not be able to easily "crack" the encryption for other UEs by passing the data to them without paying for the subscription. This transmission needs to be repeated every time the auxiliary data changes.

[0094] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measurements (e.g., TDOA, Angle of Arrival (AoA), etc.) to a positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has a Base Station Almanac (BSA) containing multiple "entries" or "records," one record per cell, where each record contains the geographic cell location, but may also include other data. Identifiers of the "records" among the multiple "records" in the BSA can be referenced. The BSA and measurements from the UE are used to calculate the UE's positioning.

[0095] In conventional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own location, thus avoiding sending measurements to the network (e.g., a location server), which improves latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of the gNB (more broadly, the base station)). BSA information can be encrypted. However, since BSA information changes much less frequently than, for example, PPP or RTK auxiliary data described above, it may be easier (compared to PPP or RTK information) to make BSA information available to UEs that have not subscribed and are paying for decryption keys. The transmission of reference signals by the gNB makes BSA information potentially accessible to crowdsourcing or driving attacks, thus essentially enabling BSA information to be generated based on in-the-field and / or over-the-top observations.

[0096] Positioning technologies can be characterized and / or evaluated based on one or more criteria, such as positioning accuracy and / or latency. Latency is the time elapsed between the event that triggers the determination of positioning-related data and the availability of that data at the positioning system interface (e.g., the interface of the LMF120). The latency for the availability of positioning-related data during positioning system initialization is called the First Time Locked (TTFF) and is greater than the latency after the TTFF. The reciprocal of the time elapsed between two consecutive availability of positioning-related data is called the update rate, i.e., the rate at which positioning-related data is generated after the first lock. Latency can depend on (e.g., the UE's) processing capabilities. For example, assuming an allocation of 272 PRBs (Physical Resource Blocks), the UE can report its processing capabilities as the duration (in time units, e.g., milliseconds) of DL PRS symbols that it can process per T time units (e.g., T ms). Other examples of capabilities that may affect latency are the number of TRPs the UE can process for its PRS, the number of PRS the UE can process, and the UE's bandwidth.

[0097] One or more of many different positioning techniques (also known as positioning methods) can be used to determine the location of an entity (such as one of UE105, 106). Known positioning techniques include RTT, multiple RTT, OTDOA (also known as TDOA, and including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), Enhanced Cellular Identifier (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses the time it takes for a signal to travel from one entity to another and back to determine the distance between the two entities. This distance, plus the known location of the first entity and the angle (e.g., azimuth) between the two entities, can be used to determine the location of the second entity. In multiple RTT (also known as multi-cell RTT), multiple distances from one entity (e.g., UE) to other entities (e.g., TRP) and the known locations of these other entities can be used to determine the location of this one entity. In TDOA, the travel time difference between an entity and other entities can be used to determine the relative distance to these other entities, and those relative distances, combined with the known locations of these other entities, can be used to determine the location of this one entity. Angle of arrival and / or angle of departure can be used to help determine the location of an entity. For example, the angle of arrival or angle of departure of a signal, combined with the distance between devices (a distance determined using signals (e.g., signal travel time, signal received power, etc.)) and the known location of one of these devices, can be used to determine the location of another device. The angle of arrival or angle of departure can be an azimuth angle relative to a reference direction (such as true north). The angle of arrival or angle of departure can be a zenith angle relative to directly upward from the entity (i.e., radially outward from the Earth's center). E-CID uses the identity of the serving cell, timing advance (i.e., the difference between the receive and transmit times at the UE), estimated timing and power of detected neighboring cell signals, and possible angles of arrival (e.g., the angle of arrival of signals from the base station at the UE, or vice versa) to determine the location of the UE. In TDOA, the time difference of arrival of signals from different sources at the receiving device, along with the known locations of these sources and the known offsets of the transmission times from these sources, are used to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0098] In network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on serving cells of two or more adjacent base stations (and typically the serving base station, as at least three base stations are required). These one or more base stations transmit the RTT measurement signals on low-reuse resources (e.g., resources used by the base station to transmit system information) allocated by the network (e.g., a location server, such as an LMF 120). The UE records the arrival time (also referred to as reception time, time received, or time of arrival (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE's current downlink timing (e.g., as derived by the UE from DL signals received from its serving base station), and (e.g., when instructed by its serving base station) transmits a shared or individual RTT response message (e.g., an SRS (probe reference signal) for positioning, i.e., UL-PRS) to these one or more base stations, and may transmit the time difference T between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message. Rx-sTx (i.e., UE T) Rx-Tx or UE Rx-Tx This is included in the payload of each RTT response message. The RTT response message will include a reference signal from which the base station can infer the ToA of the RTT response. This is achieved by comparing the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station with the difference T between the ToA of the RTT response at the base station and the time difference T. Tx-Rx Time difference T with UE report Tx-Rx The base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE. From the propagation time, the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station by assuming that the propagation time is the speed of light.

[0099] UE-centric RTT estimation is similar to network-based methods, except that the UE transmits uplink RTT measurement signals (e.g., when instructed by a serving base station), which are received by multiple base stations near the UE. Each involved base station responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include in its payload the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal at the base station and the transmission time of the RTT response message from the base station.

[0100] For both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the side performing RTT calculation (network or UE) typically (but not always) transmits first messages or signals (e.g., RTT measurement signals), while the other side responds with one or more RTT response messages or signals, which may include the difference between the ToA of the first message or signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message or signal.

[0101] Multiple RTT (Round-Trip Toll) technology can be used to determine location. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) may emit one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and multiple second entities (e.g., other TSPs, such as base stations and / or UEs) may receive signals from the first entity and respond to those received signals. The first entity receives responses from the multiple second entities. The first entity (or another entity, such as an LMF) may use the responses from the second entities to determine the distance to the second entities, and may use the multiple distances and the known locations of the second entities to determine the location of the first entity via trilateration.

[0102] In some instances, additional information in the form of angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD) can be obtained, which defines a straight-line direction (e.g., it can be in a horizontal plane or in three dimensions) or a possible (e.g., the UE's direction as seen from the base station's location) range of directions. The intersection of the two directions can provide another estimate of the UE's location.

[0103] For positioning techniques that use PRS (Location Reference Signal) signals (e.g., TDOA and RTT), the PRS signals transmitted by multiple TRPs are measured, and the arrival time, known transmission time, and known location of the TRPs are used to determine the distance from the UE to the TRP. For example, RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) can be determined for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs, and these RSTDs are used in TDOA techniques to determine the UE's location. The Location Reference Signal may be referred to as the PRS or PRS signal. PRS signals are typically transmitted using the same power, and PRS signals with the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency shift) may interfere with each other, such that a PRS signal from a more distant TRP may be overwhelmed by a PRS signal from a closer TRP, thus the signal from the more distant TRP may not be detected. PRS silencing can be used to help reduce interference by silencing some PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signal, e.g., reducing it to zero and thus not transmitting the PRS signal). In this way, the UE can more easily detect the weaker PRS signal (at the UE) without interference from a stronger PRS signal. The term RS and its variations (e.g., PRS, SRS) may refer to one or more reference signals.

[0104] Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) include a downlink PRS (DL PRS, often simply referred to as PRS) and an uplink PRS (UL PRS) (which may be referred to as the SRS (Detection Reference Signal) used for positioning). PRS may include PN codes (pseudo-random codes) or be generated using PN codes (e.g., scrambling the PN codes with another signal), making the PRS source usable as a pseudo-satellite. PN codes can be unique for a PRS source (at least unique within a specified area, ensuring that the same PRS from different PRS sources does not overlap). PRS may include PRS resources of a frequency layer or a set of PRS resources. The DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply frequency layer) is a collection of DL PRS resource sets from one or more TRPs, whose PRS resources share common parameters configured by the higher-level parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer, DL-PRS-ResourceSet, and DL-PRS-Resource. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the DL PRS resource set and DL PRS resources within that frequency layer. Each frequency layer also has a DL PRS cyclic prefix (CP) for the DL PRS resource set and DL PRS resources within that frequency layer. In 5G, a resource block occupies 12 consecutive subcarriers and a specified number of symbols. Furthermore, the DL PRS point A parameter defines the frequency of the reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of the resource block), where DL PRS resources belonging to the same DL PRS resource set have the same point A, and all DL PRS resource sets belonging to the same frequency layer have the same point A. The frequency layers also have the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size value (i.e., the frequency of the PRS resource element for each symbol, such that for comb N, every Nth resource element is a PRS resource element). The PRS resource set is identified by the PRS resource set ID and can be associated with a specific TRP (identified by the cell ID) transmitted by the base station's antenna panel. A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set can be associated with an omnidirectional signal and / or with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (where a base station can transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam, and thus, a PRS resource (or simply a resource) can also be referred to as a beam. This does not imply at all whether the UE is aware of the base station and beam transmitting the PRS.

[0105] The TRP can be configured, for example, by instructions received from a server and / or by software within the TRP, to transmit DL PRS according to a schedule. Based on this schedule, the TRP can transmit DL PRS intermittently (e.g., periodically at consistent intervals from the initial transmission). The TRP can be configured to transmit one or more PRS resource sets. A resource set is a collection of PRS resources across a TRP, wherein these resources have the same periodicity, a shared silent mode configuration (if any), and the same cross-slot repetition factor. Each PRS resource set comprises multiple PRS resources, wherein each PRS resource comprises multiple resource elements (REs), which may reside in multiple resource blocks (RBs) within N (or more) consecutive symbols in a time slot. An RB is a set of REs spanning one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain and a number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain (12 for 5G). Each PRS resource is configured with an RE offset, a time slot offset, a symbol offset within a time slot, and the number of consecutive symbols that the PRS resource can occupy within a time slot. The RE offset defines the initial RE offset of the first symbol within a DL PRS resource in the frequency range. The relative RE offsets of the remaining symbols within a DL PRS resource are defined based on this initial offset. The slot offset is the starting slot of the DL PRS resource relative to the slot offset of the corresponding resource set. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting slot. Transmitted REs can be repeated across slots, with each transmission referred to as a repetition, allowing for multiple repetitions within a PRS resource. DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP, and each DL PRS resource has a DL PRS resource ID. The DL PRS resource ID in a DL PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (although a TRP can transmit one or more beams).

[0106] PRS resources can also be defined by quasi-coexistence and starting PRB parameters. The quasi-coexistence (QCL) parameter defines any quasi-coexistence information of the DLPRS resource with other reference signals. The DL PRS can be configured to be QCL type D with DL PRS or SS / PBCH (Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel) blocks from serving or non-serving cells. The DL PRS can also be configured to be QCL type C with SS / PBCH blocks from serving or non-serving cells. The starting PRB parameter defines the starting PRB index of the DLPRS resource relative to reference point A. The granularity of the starting PRB index is one PRB, and the minimum value can be 0 and the maximum value is 2176 PRBs.

[0107] A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources with the same periodicity, the same silent mode configuration (if any), and the same cross-slot repetition factor. Each time all repetitions of all PRS resources in a PRS resource set are configured for transmission is called an "instance". Therefore, an "instance" of a PRS resource set is a specified number of repetitions for each PRS resource and a specified number of PRS resources within the PRS resource set, such that the instance is completed once the specified number of repetitions have been transmitted for each of the specified number of PRS resources. An instance can also be referred to as an "opportunity". A DLPRS configuration, including DL PRS transmission scheduling, can be provided to the UE to facilitate DL PRS measurement (or even enable the UE to measure DL PRS).

[0108] Multiple frequency layers of a PRS can be aggregated to provide an effective bandwidth greater than any bandwidth of any individual layer. Multiple frequency layers belonging to component carriers (which can be coherent and / or separate) and satisfying criteria such as quasi-coexistence (QCL) and having the same antenna port can be stitched together to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for DL ​​PRS and UL-PRS), thereby improving the accuracy of time-of-arrival measurements. Stitching involves combining PRS measurements on individual bandwidth segments into a unified fragment so that the stitched PRS can be considered as taken from a single measurement. In the case of QCL, different frequency layers behave similarly, resulting in a larger effective bandwidth for the stitched PRS. A larger effective bandwidth (which may be referred to as the bandwidth of the aggregated PRS or the frequency bandwidth of the aggregated PRS) provides better time-domain resolution (e.g., the resolution of TDOA). An aggregated PRS comprises a collection of PRS resources, and each PRS resource in the aggregated PRS may be referred to as a PRS component, and each PRS component may be transmitted on different component carriers, frequency bands, or frequency layers, or on different portions of the same frequency band.

[0109] RTT positioning is an active positioning technology because RTT uses positioning signals sent by the TRP to the UE and by the UE (participating in RTT positioning) to the TRP. The TRP can send a DL-PRS signal received by the UE, and the UE can send an SRS (Probe Reference Signal) signal received by multiple TRPs. The Probe Reference Signal may be referred to as SRS or SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, coordinated positioning can be used, where the UE sends a single UL-SRS for positioning received by multiple TRPs, instead of sending a separate UL-SRS for positioning for each TRP. A participating TRP will typically search for UEs currently residing on that TRP (the served UE, where the TRP is the serving TRP) and also search for UEs residing on neighboring TRPs (neighbor UEs). A neighboring TRP can be a TRP of a single BTS (e.g., gNB), or it can be a TRP of a single BTS and a TRP of a single BTS. For RTT positioning (including multi-RTT positioning), the DL-PRS and UL-SRS positioning signals in the PRS / SRS positioning signal pair used to determine the RTT (and thus the distance between the UE and the TRP) may occur close to each other in time, so that the errors caused by UE movement and / or UE clock drift and / or TRP clock drift are within acceptable limits. For example, the signals in the PRS / SRS positioning signal pair may be transmitted from the TRP and the UE within approximately 10 ms of each other. In cases where the SRS positioning signal is being transmitted by the UE and the PRS and SRS positioning signals are transmitted close to each other in time, it has been found that this may lead to radio frequency (RF) signal congestion (which may result in excessive noise, etc.) (especially if many UEs are concurrently attempting positioning), and / or computational congestion at the TRP where many UEs are concurrently attempting to measure.

[0110] RTT positioning can be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, UE 200 determines the RTT and corresponding distance to each of TRPs 300, and determines the location of UE 200 based on the distance to TRP 300 and the known location of TRP 300. In UE-assisted RTT, UE 200 measures a positioning signal and provides the measurement information to TRP 300, and TRP 300 determines the RTT and distance. TRP 300 provides the distance to a location server (e.g., server 400), and the server (e.g., based on the distance to different TRPs 300) determines the location of UE 200. RTT and / or distance may be determined by TRP 300, which receives signals from UE 200, by TRP 300 in conjunction with one or more other devices (e.g., one or more other TRP 300 and / or server 400), or by one or more devices other than TRP 300 that receive signals from UE 200.

[0111] 5G NR supports various positioning technologies. Native NR positioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL-only positioning, UL-only positioning, and DL+UL positioning. Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. Combined DL+UL positioning methods include RTT with a single base station and RTT with multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

[0112] Location estimation (e.g., for a UE) may be referred to by other names, such as location estimate, location, positioning, location lock, lock, etc. Location estimation can be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible altitude), or it can be municipal and include street addresses, postal addresses, or some other verbal description of location. Location estimation can be further defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible altitude). Location estimation may include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including the area or volume that the expected location would be included with a specified or default confidence level).

[0113] Repeated positioning signal degradation

[0114] PRS configuration parameters provide flexibility for configuring PRS for one or more UEs. PRS configuration parameters include, for example, resource periodicity, interleaving mode (e.g., comb size and RE offset between symbols), repetition factor, repetition mode, and silent mode. PRS configuration can be shared by multiple UEs or can vary from UE to UE.

[0115] In some cases, repeated degradation of PRS (uplink and / or downlink) reception may occur. For example, a UE may repeatedly move and thus repeatedly have one or more line-of-sight (LOS) periods and one or more non-line-of-sight (NLOS) periods interleaved with the TRP that transmits DL-PRS to and / or receives UL-PRS from the UE. Additionally or alternatively, there may be one or more reasons for signal degradation other than LOS / NLOS, such as interference with one or more other signals (e.g., transmitted by the TRP, the UE, and / or devices other than the TRP or the UE).

[0116] Reference Figure 5 And further refer to Figure 1-4 UE 500 includes a processor 510, an interface 520, and a memory 530, which are communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 540. UE 500 may include... Figure 5 Some or all of the components shown, and may include one or more other components, such as Figure 2 Any of the components shown may be used such that UE 200 can be an example of UE 500. Processor 510 may include one or more components of processor 210. Interface 520 may include one or more components of transceiver 215, such as wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246, or wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246, or wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246. Additionally or alternatively, interface 520 may include wired transmitter 252 and / or wired receiver 254. Interface 520 may include SPS receiver 217 and antenna 262. Memory 530 may be configured similarly to memory 211, for example, including software having processor-readable instructions configured to cause processor 510 to perform functions.

[0117] The description herein may refer only to the processor 510 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as the processor 510 performing software and / or firmware implementations (stored in memory 530). The description herein may refer to the UE 500 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the UE 500 (e.g., processor 510 and memory 530) performing the function. The processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530 and, where appropriate, with interface 520) includes a PRS degradation mode determination and reporting unit 560, referred to herein as the PRS DPDR unit 560. The PRS DPDR unit 560 may be configured to perform one or more functions for receiving and / or transmitting positioning reference signals (DL-PRS and / or UL-PRS and / or side-link PRS (SL-PRS) (although the discussion herein focuses on DL-PRS and UL-PRS)), obtaining measurements of the positioning reference signals, determining the PRS degradation mode, reporting the PRS measurements, and / or reporting the determined PRS degradation mode. The term PRS can refer to one or more positioning reference signals and can be appropriately applied to UL-PRS, DL-PRS, or SL-PRS.

[0118] Reference Figure 6 And further refer to Figure 1-5 Network Entity 600 (which can be) Figure 3 The example of TRP 300 shown is as follows. Figure 4 The server 400 shown (e.g., an example of an LMF or a combination thereof) includes a processor 610, an interface 620, and a memory 630 that are communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 640. The network entity 600 may include... Figure 6 Some or all of the components shown, and may include one or more other components, such as Figure 3 and / or Figure 4 Any of the components shown. Interface 620 may include one or more components of transceiver 315 and / or transceiver 415 (e.g., wired transceivers 350, 450 and / or wireless transceivers 340, 440). Memory 630 may be configured similarly to memory 311 and / or memory 411, for example, including software having processor-readable instructions configured to cause processor 610 to perform functions.

[0119] This description may refer only to the processor 610 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as the processor 610 executing software and / or firmware (stored in memory 630). This description may refer to the network entity 600 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the network entity 600 (e.g., processor 610 and memory 630) performing that function. The processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and, where appropriate, interface 620) includes a PRS degradation mode determination unit 660 (referred to herein as PRS DPD unit 660) and a PRS configuration unit 670. The PRS degradation mode determination unit 660 may be configured to perform one or more functions for receiving and / or transmitting positioning reference signals (UL-PRS and / or DL-PRS), measuring the positioning reference signals, and determining the PRS degradation mode. PRS configuration unit 670 may be configured to perform one or more functions to determine (including redetermine) one or more PRS parameters and / or PRS features, and to transmit PRS and / or cause another device to transmit PRS according to the determined PRS configuration. For example, if network entity 600 is only an example of server 400, PRS configuration unit 670 may be configured to send features of the PRS configuration to TRP 300 for TRP 300 to implement in the PRS configuration, or to communicate with TRP 300 to negotiate the PRS configuration with TRP 300. As another example, if network entity 600 includes TRP 300, PRS configuration unit 670 may be configured to determine the PRS configuration (possibly based on PRS features received from server 400) to implement the PRS configuration (e.g., by transmitting DL-PRS according to the PRS configuration), and to send the PRS configuration to UE 500 to schedule PRS reception and / or transmission at UE 500.

[0120] Reference Figure 7 and Figure 8 And further refer to Figure 1-6Example environment 700 has repetitive PRS signal degradation, and PRS mode 800 can be determined based on this degradation. Environment 700 is an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environment and is an example of an environment with repetitive PRS signal degradation, but it is not limiting of this disclosure. Many other environments are possible. In environment 700, UE 710 and UE 720, as examples of UE 500, have repetitive movement. UE 710 moves back and forth along line 790 and UE 720 moves in loop 792. UEs 710 and 720 are configured to send PRS to and / or receive PRS from TRP 730, which is an example of TRP 300. As UE 720 moves around the loop, UE 720 alternates between areas where PRS is acceptable and areas where PRS is degraded. In areas with acceptable PRS, UE 720 receives DL-PRS transmitted from TRP 730 with acceptable quality (e.g., RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) above a threshold), and / or TRP 730 receives UL-PRS transmitted from UE 720 with acceptable quality. In areas with degraded PRS, UE 720 receives DL-PRS transmitted from TRP 730 with unacceptable quality (e.g., RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) below a threshold), and / or TRP 730 receives UL-PRS transmitted from UE 720 with unacceptable quality. Although areas with acceptable and degraded (unacceptable) DL-PRS reception quality may differ from areas with acceptable and degraded UL-PRS reception quality, for simplicity of discussion, areas with acceptable and degraded PRS are assumed to be the same for both uplink and downlink. In the example shown, UE 720 travels along ring 792 during time t9, where objects 750, 760, and 780 are positioned between UE 720 and TRP 730, resulting in an NLOS condition between times t1 and t2, between times t5 and t6, and between times t7 and t8, respectively. Another object 770 is not positioned between UE 720 and TRP 730, but due to signal interference between the PRS and one or more signals transmitted by object 770, the PRS exchange between UE 720 and TRP 730 is degraded between times t3 and t4. The combined degradation caused by objects 750, 760, 770, and 780 produces a (repeatedly degraded) PRS mode 800. Similarly, the PRS exchanged between UE 710 and TRP 730 may be repeatedly degraded due to objects 740 and 750, although the PRS mode of UE 710 is not shown.

[0121] PRS DPDR unit 560 and / or PRS DPD unit 660 can determine the acceptable or degraded state of the PRS to determine PRS mode 800. For example, PRS DPDR unit 560 can use one or more explicit measurements and / or one or more implicit indications (e.g., made by the PRS unit of processor 510) to determine the acceptable or degraded state of the PRS. For example, PRSDPDR unit 560 can obtain one or more measurements of the received DL-PRS and / or can receive one or more indications of the measured UL-PRS from TRP 730, and analyze the PRS measurements to determine acceptable and degraded PRS reception. PRS measurements may include, for example, SNR (signal-to-noise ratio), SINR (signal-to-interference ratio), RSRP, confidence level, etc. Alternatively or alternatively, the PRS DPDR unit 560 may be configured to make a LOS / NLOS determination based on one or more measurements (e.g., one or more images captured by a camera and analyzed by the processor 510), and determine that the PRS is degraded if the UE is NLOS relative to the TRP 730. Alternatively or alternatively, the PRS DPDR unit 560 may be configured to use LPP warnings / error messages indicating the difference in measurement quality. As another example, the PRS DPDR unit 560 may be able to use the relative positions of the UEs 720, 710 to help determine the PRS degrade, for example, the LOS / NLOS relative to the TRP 730. The PRS DPDR unit 560 may, for example, use the relative positions of the UEs 720, 710, the position of the UE 710, and the positions of the objects 750, 760, 780 to determine the LOS / NLOS of the UE 720. As another example, the PRS DPDR unit 560 may use the UE 720 trajectory (velocity and direction) of the UE 720 to determine the PRS degrade. For example, PRS DPDR unit 560 can use the past trajectory of UE 720, the current time, and the location of objects 750, 760, and 780 to determine the LOS / NLOS state. Alternatively, PRS DPDR unit 560 can be configured to determine that UE 720 and another UE are using the same transmission (Tx) beam from TRP 730 and can therefore be aligned. UE 720 may therefore be blocked by TRP 730 if it moves further away from TRP 730. As another example, a scheduler (in this example, part of object 780) can schedule or at least know the movement of entities within environment 700. The scheduler can provide messages indicating scheduled movement within environment 700, and PRS DPDR unit 560 can use the scheduled movement information along with knowledge of the location of TRP 730 to determine PRS degradation, such as the LOS / NLOS of UE 720 and TRP 730.

[0122] The PRS DPDR unit 560 can be configured to analyze one or more explicit measurements and / or one or more implicit indications, thereby combining multiple measurements / indications from each algorithm to determine whether the PRS is acceptable or degraded at any given time. For example, the PRS DPDR unit 560 can be trained using the location of UE 720 as input and the corresponding signal quality as output (e.g., acceptable / unacceptable (degraded) classification) and / or using distance from a reference time (e.g., relative to the position of UE 720 at which it is located). Figure 7 The algorithm, trained using the time t0 corresponding to the UE 720 position shown as input and signal quality as output, implements artificial intelligence. The PRS DPDR unit 560 can use the current position and / or time within one cycle of ring 792 as input to predict whether the PRS is acceptable / unacceptable (degraded). Similarly, the PRS DPD unit 660 can be configured to determine the acceptable or degraded state of the PRS by acquiring and analyzing one or more explicit measurements and / or one or more implicit information regarding the PRS signal quality. For example, the PRS DPD unit 660 can be configured to measure one or more indications of received UL-PRS and / or received measured DL-PRS from UE 720, and analyze one or more of these measurements and / or one or more other explicit measurements and / or one or more implicit indications as discussed above to determine or predict acceptable and degraded PRS states.

[0123] PRS DPDR unit 560 and / or PRS DPD unit 660 can be configured to determine PRS pattern 800. PRS pattern 800 indicates repeated acceptable and degraded PRS reception. Therefore, PRS DPDR unit 560 and / or PRS DPD unit 660 can be configured to use the determination of acceptable / degraded PRS states over time to determine the repetitive nature of acceptable / degraded PRS states to determine pattern 800 (or any other PRS state pattern, pattern 800 being an example pattern for interpretive purposes). PRS DPDR unit 560 can be configured to apply one or more machine learning algorithms (e.g., neural networks) to determine the original information from which the acceptable / degraded PRS states are determined and / or the determined acceptable / degraded PRS states over multiple repetitions of pattern 800 to determine pattern 800. For example, the original information (e.g., location, time from a reference time, etc.) can be stored in a historical log of the original information and can be used as training data for the algorithm along with the corresponding acceptable / degraded states. The PRS DPDR unit 560 can be configured to use machine learning (e.g., neural networks) to correct mode 800 (e.g., to suggest one or more modifications (e.g., to the path of UE 500) to change mode 800). Alternatively or additionally, the PRS DPD unit 660 can be configured to apply one or more machine learning algorithms (e.g., neural networks) to the measured PRS to determine mode 800. UE 500 and / or network entity 600 can additionally or additionally provide information about mode 800 (e.g., the mode, measurements from which mode 800 is derived, etc.) to one or more other entities that can implement neural networks (e.g., through information crowdsourcing). These entities can use this information to improve one or more neural networks (e.g., by training and / or fine-tuning the neural network using the provided information).

[0124] PRS configuration unit 670 can be configured to reconfigure the PRS configuration based on PRS mode 800 of the PRS acceptable / degraded state. For example, PRS configuration unit 670 can determine one or more PRS parameters (such as periodicity, offset, silent mode, comb size, interleaving, etc.) based on mode 800 to reduce the use of degraded PRS in determining the positioning information of UE 500 (e.g., pseudorange, positioning estimation, RSRP, etc.). For example, PRS configuration unit 670 can determine one or more PRS configuration parameters to help avoid PRS transmission and / or measurement during periods when degraded PRS reception will occur. Using degraded PRS can reduce the accuracy of positioning information, for example, due to multipath signals that generate inaccurate pseudorange or other positioning information (e.g., RSRP, etc.). Therefore, by eliminating the use of one or more degraded PRS, the accuracy of positioning information can be improved.

[0125] PRS DPDR unit 560 and / or PRS DPD unit 660 can be configured to determine the PRS silence mode based on PRS mode 800 of the PRS acceptable / degraded state. The PRS configuration can include a PRS silence mode. PRS DPDR unit 560 and / or PRS DPD unit 660 can determine a new silence mode based on mode 800. If PRS DPDR unit 560 determines a new silence mode, it can send a message to network entity 600 to recommend the new silence mode. The PRS silence mode can have various configurations and / or be at various granularity levels. For example, the PRS silence mode can be based on time (e.g., having ON (no silence) time and OFF (silence) time) and / or can be between timings, within timings, between time slots, within time slots, at the frame level, at the subframe level, at the multi-symbol level, or at the single-symbol level, etc. For these examples, the PRS silence mode can be a sequence of binary bits indicating whether to silence each time period, each part of a time period, each time slot, each part of a time slot, each symbol group, or each symbol. For example, logic one (1) can indicate that the corresponding information should not be silenced, and logic zero (0) can indicate that the corresponding information should be silenced (the corresponding information should not be transmitted). PRS mode 800 can be represented by a sequence of binary bits (which may be referred to as a bit sequence), wherein each bit (e.g., via logic zero) indicates that the PRS should be silenced during the corresponding time period, or (e.g., via logic one) indicates that the scheduled silence of the PRS should not be changed during the corresponding time period.

[0126] Also refer to Figure 9 A new silent mode can be determined using PRS mode 800 and an existing silent mode (if any). If no existing PRS silent mode exists, then (repeatedly downgraded) PRS mode 800 can be used as the new silent mode. If a PRS silent mode already exists, the new silent mode can be determined, for example, by logically combining the bit sequence representing the existing PRS silent mode with the bit sequence representing PRS mode 800 (such as that determined by PRS DPDR unit 560 and / or PRS DPD unit 660, or obtained by PRS DPDR unit 560 from PRS DPD unit 660 (or vice versa)). For example, as Figure 9As shown, the bit sequence 910 of PRS mode 800 can be combined with the bit sequence 920 of the existing PRS silent mode via a logical AND operation (where a bit value "1" indicates no silence and a bit value "0" indicates silence) to generate a new bit sequence 930 corresponding to the new PRS silent mode. PRS DPDR unit 560 can determine the new bit sequence 930 and / or can send an indication of PRS mode 800 (e.g., bit sequence 910) to PRS DPD unit 660, from which the new silent mode can be determined. Similarly, PRS DPD unit 660 can determine a new silent mode (e.g., new bit sequence 930) (based on the current silent mode and signal degradation mode) and send the new silent mode to UE 500 so that UE 500 can replace the existing silent mode with the new silent mode. Alternatively or concurrently, the PRS DPD unit 660 may send to the UE 500 an indication (e.g., bit sequence 910) of the PRS mode 800 (determined by network entity 600 or otherwise obtained (e.g., received from UE 500 or another UE) and the UE 500 may use the bit sequence 920 (of the existing silent mode) and the bit sequence 910 (of the PRS mode) received (or determined) by the UE 500 from network entity 600 to determine a new silent mode (e.g., a new bit sequence 930). Bit sequences 910, 920, and 930 are examples for illustrative purposes only, and other bit sequences are possible. For example, given a potentially long time period associated with bit sequence 910, the bit sequence 920 of the existing silent mode may be more detailed (e.g., at the timing, slot, or even symbol level). The new bit sequence 930 effectively indicates which parts of the existing silent mode are not transmitted (i.e., should be skipped).

[0127] Please refer to again Figure 6 and 8 And further refer to Figure 1-57. The PRS DPD unit 660 can be configured not to send one or more DL-PRS and / or not to measure one or more UL-PRS. For example, the PRS DPD unit 660 can determine that a new PRS degradation exists or will occur that is not reflected in PRS mode 800 and / or is not accounted for in the existing PRS configuration. The PRS DPD unit 660 can respond to this determination by selectively silencing the DL-PRS and / or selectively not measuring the UL-PRS. This may be transparent to the UE 500 and may be a temporary solution during positioning procedures in response to a newly discovered PRS degradation that the PRS configuration has not yet been updated (e.g., because a new PRS mode has not yet been established, and therefore the PRS configuration has not been reconfigured). In practice, the new PRS degradation may not be a reproducible degradation, and therefore PRS mode 800 may not change, but the use of non-repeating PRS degradation is avoided, which can improve the accuracy of the positioning procedure.

[0128] Please refer to again Figure 5 and 8 And further refer to Figure 1-4 6 and 7, PRS DPDR unit 560 can be configured to send link condition information for determining PRS degradation and / or send a report of PRS mode 800. For example, PRS DPDR unit 560 can be configured to send one or more link condition reports (e.g., one or more direct measurements) to network entity 600. The report may include indications of degraded PRS, for example, instead of including measurements of acceptable PRS but not degraded PRS. Additionally or alternatively, the report may include information elements (IE) / messages to indicate that a link has degraded PRS reception (e.g., it is NLOS). As another example, PRS DPDR unit 560 can be configured to send a report of PRS mode 800 indicating a repeating pattern of acceptable and degraded PRS. PRS DPDR unit 560 can be configured to report PRS mode 800 in various ways. For example, the PRS DPDR unit 560 can be configured to report PRS mode 800 in the form of PRS parameters, such as periodicity, offset, ON time, OFF time, comb size, interleaving, etc., for example, where the ON and / or OFF times are defined in the form of the number of slots, subframes, and / or frames. As another example, the PRS DPDR unit 560 can be configured to report PRS mode 800 in the form of a bit sequence (such as bit sequence 910). However, the bit sequence of PRS mode 800 can be provided with a different granularity than PRS, for example, bits for each slot, subframe, frame, PRS timing, etc.

[0129] The PRS mode 800, which is acceptable and degraded, can change over time. For example, one or more objects may be moved, removed, and / or introduced into environment 700, and / or the movement mode of UE 720 may change, and / or the signaling of object 770 may change, and / or object 770 may be removed or stop signaling, and / or one or more other objects that generate signals may be introduced, etc. Therefore, deviations from the PRS configuration based on PRS mode 800 can be implemented to explore whether one or more changes that cause repeated PRS degradation have occurred. For example, PRS can be sent on demand (e.g., periodically, semi-persistently, and / or aperiodically) regardless of PRS mode 800. On-demand PRS can be different from the PRS applicable to silent mode. Measurements of such on-demand PRS with unacceptable quality or the lack thereof may indicate that degradation of mode 800 still exists, or that different degradations of mode 800 exist. Measurements of acceptable quality for this type of PRS can indicate that PRS reception is now acceptable at the time of on-demand, non-periodic, or semi-persistent PRS and / or at the location of the measuring device. Devices that determine repeated PRS degradation (e.g., PRS DPDR unit 560 and / or PRS DPD unit 660) can change PRS mode 800 based on the amount of time and / or the number of times the threshold occurs for the PRS reception performance to change from degraded to acceptable PRS reception performance. PRS DPDR unit 560 and / or PRS DPD unit 660 can redetermine acceptable PRS and PRS-degraded PRS modes and appropriately redetermine the corresponding silent mode. As another example of deviating from the silent mode determined based on PRS mode 800 to explore different PRS modes, an activation / deactivation message can be transmitted from network entity 600 to UE 500 or from UE 500 to network entity 600, indicating whether to activate or deactivate the silent mode based on PRS mode 800. For example, network entity 600 can send an activation / deactivation message to UE 500 to temporarily deactivate, for example, the PRS silent mode corresponding to bit sequence 910 and / or the PRS silent mode corresponding to the new bit sequence 930, such that the PRS that would be silent if bit sequences 910 and 930 were active would be transmitted and measured. The activation / deactivation message and / or another message can indicate the specific PRS to be measured and the measurement of the reported PRS (including for on-demand and / or semi-persistent PRS). For example, the number of PRS measurements that can be reported may be limited. Therefore, a reporting message can indicate one or more PRS measurements to be included in the PRS measurement report, such that if any PRS measurement included in the PRS measurement report is removed, the removed PRS measurement will not include the specified PRS(s). PRS measurements can include link measurements and / or link quality measurements.

[0130] Reference Figure 10 And further refer to Figure 1-9The processing and signal flow 1000 for determining location information includes the stages shown. Process 1000 is an example, and stages can be added, removed, and / or rearranged within process 1000. In stage 1010, network entity 600 may send a PRS configuration message 1012 to UE 500 containing PRS configuration information (e.g., offset, periodicity, repetition factor, silence mode, comb size, interleaving, etc.). In stage 1020, network entity 600 and UE 500 may exchange PRS in one or more DL-PRS messages 1022 and / or one or more UL-PRS messages 1024, based on the PRS configuration indicated in PRS configuration message 1012. In stage 1030, network entity 600 and UE 500 exchange one or more measurement reports 1032 (i.e., UE 500 may send one or more measurement reports to network entity 600 and / or network entity 600 may send one or more measurement reports to UE 500). In stage 1040 (which is optional), UE 500 may determine repeated PRS reception degradation (if any), may determine the PRS mode corresponding to the repeated PRS reception degradation, and may send a PRS mode message 1042 indicating the PRS mode (e.g., PRS mode 800) to network entity 600. PRS mode message 1042 may include a recommendation for a PRS silent mode based on the PRS degradation mode. In stage 1050 (which is optional), network entity 600 may determine repeated PRS reception degradation (if any), may determine the PRS mode corresponding to the repeated PRS reception degradation, and may send a PRS mode message 1052 indicating the PRS mode (e.g., PRS mode 800) to UE 500. Network entity 600 may determine the degradation mode using observations / measurements performed by network entity 600, including the degradation mode (if any) reported by UE 500 in PRS mode message 1042. In phases 1040 and / or 1050, one or more pieces of information (e.g., explicit measurements and / or implicit information) can be used to determine the PRS degradation pattern discussed above (e.g., using machine learning). In phase 1060, network entity 600 determines a PRS reconfiguration message 1062 with a reconfigured PRS configuration (e.g., one or more new PRS configuration parameters, such as periodicity, offset, repetition factor, silence mode, comb size, interleaving, etc.) and sends it to UE 500. In phase 1070, network entity 600 and UE 500 can use the reconfigured PRS configuration to exchange one or more PRS messages 1072 and / or one or more measurement reports 1074, similar to phases 1020 and 1030.In stages 1080 and 1090, network entity 600 and / or UE 500 can determine location information (e.g., pseudorange, measurement, location estimation, etc. of UE 500) and can exchange one or more location information messages 1082 and 1092. Procedure 1000 can return to stage 1020 and can implement a deviance from the reconfigured silent mode to, for example, in response to on-demand, aperiodic, or semi-persistent PRS, or in response to a suspension of the PRS-based silent mode based on PRS degradation, to perform link condition exploration.

[0131] operate

[0132] Reference Figure 11 And further refer to Figure 1-10 The method 1100 for adapting to the degradation of repeated positioning reference signal reception at the device includes the stages shown. However, method 1100 is merely an example and not a limitation. Method 1100 can be modified, for example, by having stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, executed concurrently, and / or by having a single stage split into multiple stages.

[0133] In stage 1110, method 1100 includes obtaining location reference signal pattern information indicating repeated degradation of the reception quality of the location reference signal. Obtaining the location reference signal pattern information may include at least one of the following: receiving the location reference signal pattern information from a UE, receiving the location reference signal pattern information from a network entity, or determining the location reference signal pattern information from multiple measurements of the location reference signal. For example, UE 500 (e.g., PRS DPDR unit 560) and / or network entity 600 (e.g., PRS DPD unit 660) may obtain one or more measurements of one or more PRS made over time to determine repeated degradation of the PRS reception quality (e.g., such as using one or more machine learning algorithms in one or more neural networks). Additionally or alternatively, UE 500 may receive one or more indications of the PRS reception quality from network entity 600 (or another UE) and / or network entity 600 may receive one or more indications of the PRS reception quality from UE 500 (or another network entity). Alternatively or alternatively, UE 500 and / or network entity 600 may obtain one or more other explicit measurements of PRS reception quality and / or one or more implicit indications of PRS reception quality. UE 500 and / or network entity 600 may analyze (e.g., using machine learning) the explicit measurements and / or (e.g., implicit indications) to determine location reference signal pattern information indicating recurring degradation of PRS reception quality. Alternatively or alternatively, UE 500 may receive one or more indications of location signal patterns from network entity 600 and / or network entity 600 may receive one or more indications of location signal patterns from UE 500. Processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., radio receiver 244 and antenna 246)) may include means for obtaining location reference signal pattern information. Alternatively or alternatively, processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and interface 620 (e.g., radio receiver and antenna)) may include means for obtaining location reference signal pattern information.

[0134] In phase 1120, method 1100 includes performing at least one of the following: transmitting one or more positioning reference signal-related configuration parameters to a network entity; or transmitting signals to a user equipment based on the one or more positioning reference signal-related configuration parameters. The network entity may be a network entity from which positioning reference signal mode information is received, or may be different from such a network entity. For example, if the network entity is a server (e.g., LMF), the PRS configuration unit 670 may send positioning reference signal-related configuration parameters (e.g., PRS mode message 1052) to the TRP via interface 620, or if the network entity 600 is the TRP, the PRS configuration unit 670 may send PRS configuration (e.g., PRS mode message 1052) and / or signals (e.g., DL PRS) to the UE 500. Processor 610 (e.g., processor 410 or processor 310) (possibly in combination with memory 630 (e.g., memory 411 or memory 311) and interface 620 (e.g., transceiver 415 or transceiver 315)) may include means for transmitting one or more positioning reference signal related configuration parameters to another network entity and / or transmitting signals to the UE according to one or more modified parameters. As another example, PRS DPDR unit 560 may transmit positioning reference signal related configuration parameters (e.g., PRS mode message 1042) to the TRP or UE (e.g., for sidelink positioning) via interface 520 or may transmit signals according to modified parameters (e.g., transmitting UL PRS to TRP 300 or SL PRS to another UE 500). The processor 510 (which may be combined with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246)) may include means for transmitting one or more positioning reference signal related configuration parameters to a network entity and / or transmitting signals to the UE based on the positioning reference signal related configuration parameters.

[0135] Implementations of method 1100 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, method 1100 may include: determining a positioning reference signal silence mode based on positioning reference signal mode information; and transmitting an indication of the positioning reference signal silence mode to the user equipment. For example, PRS DPD unit 660 may determine the PRS silence mode based on PRS mode 800 and send an indication of the configuration of the PRS silence mode to UE 500 via interface 620. The silence mode may be a mode implemented by TRP 300, or it may be a mode used to derive the silence mode used by TRP 300, for example, it may be a degraded bit sequence to be combined (e.g., logically) with a bit sequence of an existing silence mode to determine a new silence mode. The determined silence mode may be one of one or more positioning reference signal related configuration parameters. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) may include means for determining a PRS silence mode, and processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and interface 620) may include means for transmitting an indication of the PRS silence mode to the UE. In a further example implementation, the indication of a location reference signal silence mode indicates one or more location reference signals to be repeatedly silenced. For example, a downlink silence mode may indicate one or more downlink location reference signals to be repeatedly silenced by the UE. In another example, an uplink silence mode may indicate one or more uplink location reference signals to be repeatedly silenced by the UE. In yet another further example implementation, method 1100 may include transmitting a deactivation message to the UE indicating the deactivation of a location reference signal silence mode. For example, the PRS configuration unit 670 may (appropriately generate and) send a message to the UE 500 to notify the UE 500 that a PRS silent mode based on repeated downgraded PRS reception is being disabled, thereby allowing exploration of whether a previously downgraded PRS is currently downgraded and therefore whether the current silent mode should be changed. The processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and interface 620 (e.g., a wireless transmitter and antenna)) may include means for transmitting a deactivation message. The deactivation message may indicate one or more PRS measurements for the UE to report to a first network entity. In another further example implementation, method 1100 may include transmitting aperiodic, on-demand, and / or semi-persistent positioning reference signals to the UE independently of the positioning reference signal silent mode. For example, the PRS configuration unit 670 may (appropriately generate and) send aperiodic, on-demand, or semi-persistent PRS that will be silenced in the current silent mode, thereby allowing exploration of whether a previously downgraded PRS is currently downgraded and therefore whether the current silent mode should be changed. Deactivation messages can be used in conjunction with PRS’s aperiodic, on-demand, and / or semi-persistent delivery.Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and interface 620 (e.g., a wireless transmitter and antenna)) may include means for transmitting at least one of aperiodic, on-demand, or semi-persistent PRS. In another further example implementation, an indication of a location reference signal silence mode may include a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates relative degradation and corresponds to a corresponding amount of time for scheduled location reference signal transmission. For example, PRS DPD unit 660 may determine a bit sequence (such as bit sequence 910) where each bit indicates whether to silence or not, and corresponds to a corresponding time period corresponding to the corresponding time of the acceptable PRS and the degraded PRS in PRS mode 800.

[0136] Additionally or alternatively, implementations of method 1100 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, method 1100 may include: predicting signal degradation of a specific location reference signal scheduled for non-silencing transmission; and responding to the predicted future PRS degradation by at least one of: silencing the specific PRS; or avoiding measurement of the specific PRS. For example, network entity 600 may determine that a PRS scheduled for transmission and not silenced will have degraded reception quality and may use this information to determine whether to silence the PRS or not measure the PRS (e.g., UL PRS). Network entity 600 may use one or more machine learning algorithms (e.g., as neural networks) to predict signal degradation. For example, one or more algorithms may be trained with actual UE movement as input and signal degradation results. For the algorithms, scheduled UE movement may be provided as input to obtain predicted signal degradation as output. Additionally or alternatively, network entity 600 and / or UE 500 may provide information (e.g., PRS measurement) to an entity implementing the neural network to predict signal degradation of a specific scheduled PRS. Processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530) may include means for predicting signal degradation. Alternatively, processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) may include means for predicting signal degradation. To silence a PRS, network entity 600 may silence or cause a DL-PRS or UL-PRS scheduled to be transmitted by a network entity (e.g., TRP 300) or scheduled to be transmitted by UE 500. To cause another entity to silence a PRS, a network entity may send an instruction message to the entity to which the PRS is to be silenced to silence a specified PRS. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and possibly with interface 620 (e.g., wireless transmitter 342 and antenna 346)) may include means for silencing a specific PRS. To avoid measurement of a specific PRS, UE 500 may not acquire one or more signal samples or may ignore one or more signal samples so that one or more corresponding measurements are not acquired. Processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530) may include means for avoiding measurements of a specific PRS. In another example implementation, one or more scheduled positioning reference signal-related configuration parameters may include at least one of positioning reference signal periodicity, offset, comb size, or repetition factor.

[0137] Alternatively or concurrently, implementations of method 1100 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, method 1100 includes: changing one or more scheduled location reference signal-related configuration parameters to one or more location reference signal-related configuration parameters based on location reference signal pattern information. For example, network entity 600 (e.g., PRS configuration unit 670) (and / or UE 500) may change existing values ​​of scheduled PRS configuration characteristics (e.g., periodicity, offset, repetition factor, silent mode, etc.) to different values. (e.g.) PRS configuration characteristics (e.g., silent mode) may apply to multiple UEs or may vary depending on the specific UE. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) (or processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530)) may include means for changing one or more scheduled PRS configuration characteristics.

[0138] Reference Figure 12 And further refer to Figure 1-11 Method 1200, which provides instructions for signal degradation, includes the phases shown. However, method 1200 is merely an example and not a limitation. Method 1200 can be modified, for example, by having phases added, removed, rearranged, combined, executed concurrently, and / or by splitting a single phase into multiple phases.

[0139] In stage 1210, method 1200 includes obtaining a measurement of a positioning reference signal received from a positioning reference signal source. For example, a PRS DPDR unit 560 may obtain the measurement from a PRS unit (e.g., part of processor 510) that measures the PRS transmitted from TRP 300. The PRS DPDR unit 560 may be part of the PRS unit or may be separate from the PRS unit. The PRS DPDR unit 560 may obtain and / or analyze the PRS measurement in response to the detection of inconsistencies (e.g., changes in signal strength, quality, etc. exceeding a threshold and / or signal measurements (e.g., signal strength, quality, etc.) falling below a threshold). Processor 510 (possibly combined with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246)) may include means for measuring the PRS.

[0140] At stage 1220, method 1200 includes determining a signal degradation pattern corresponding to repetitive signal degradation of the positioning reference signal. For example, PRS DPDR unit 560 may analyze multiple PRS measurements and / or one or more other explicit measurements and / or one or more implicit indications to determine, for example, using a machine learning algorithm, a PRS degradation pattern over time (a degraded PRS reception pattern). Processor 510 (possibly combined with memory 530 and / or with interface 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246)) may include means for determining the signal degradation pattern. A signal degradation pattern does not imply or require an increase in the degradation pattern.

[0141] In phase 1230, method 1200 includes transmitting an indication of a signal degradation mode to a network entity. For example, UE 500 may transmit parameters of the mode (e.g., time periods corresponding to acceptable and degraded PRS), or a bit sequence indicating acceptable and degraded PRS and corresponding time periods, or a bit sequence indicating a recommended silence mode corresponding to the signal degradation mode, etc. Processor 510 (possibly combined with memory 530 and / or interface 520 (e.g., radio receiver 244 and antenna 246)) may include means for transmitting the indication of the signal degradation mode.

[0142] Implementations of method 1200 may include one or more of the following features. For example, an indication of a signal degradation mode may include one or more positioning reference signal timing parameters. The timing parameters may be time periods or moments and may be transmitted along with corresponding PRS receive quality indications and / or silent recommendations, etc. In another example implementation, the indication of a signal degradation mode includes a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates relative degradation and corresponds to a corresponding amount of time for the scheduled positioning reference signal transmission. The binary bit sequence may have multiple granularity levels, such as slot level, subframe level, frame level, timing level, etc.

[0143] Other considerations

[0144] Other examples and implementations fall within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the above-described functions can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwired, or any combination thereof. Features implementing the functions can also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed such that different parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0145] As used herein, the singular forms of “a,” “some,” and “the” also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and / or “containing” indicate the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0146] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a description of a function or operation “based on” an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the described item or condition and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions other than the described item or condition.

[0147] Similarly, as used herein, the "or" used in an enumeration of items followed by "at least one of" or "one or more of" indicates a disjunctive enumeration, such that an enumeration of, for example, "at least one of A, B, or C" or "one or more of A, B, or C" represents A or B or C or AB (A and B) or AC (A and C) or BC (B and C) or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination having more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a reference to an item (e.g., a processor) being configured to perform a function with respect to at least one of A or B indicates that the item can be configured to perform a function with respect to A, or can be configured to perform a function with respect to B, or can be configured to perform a function with respect to both A and B. For example, the phrase "the processor is configured to measure at least one of A or B" indicates that the processor can be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or can be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or can be configured to measure both A and B (and can be configured to select which or both of A and B to measure). Similarly, a description of a device for measuring at least one of A or B includes: a device for measuring A (which may or may not measure B), or a device for measuring B (which may or may not be configured to measure A), or a device for measuring A and B (which may be able to select which or both of A and B to measure). As another example, a description of an item (e.g., a processor) being configured to perform at least one of function X or function Y indicates that the item can be configured to perform function X, or can be configured to perform function Y, or can be configured to perform both function X and function Y. For example, the phrase "the processor is configured to measure at least one of X or Y" indicates that the processor can be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or can be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or can be configured to measure X and measure Y (and can be configured to select which or both of X and Y to measure).

[0148] Substantial modifications can be made to suit specific requirements. For example, custom hardware can be used, and / or specific elements can be implemented in the hardware, in processor-executed software (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connections to other computing devices (such as network input / output devices) can be employed. Unless otherwise stated, the interconnected or communicating components (functionally or otherwise) shown in the figures and / or discussed herein are communicatively coupled. That is, they can be directly or indirectly connected to enable communication between them.

[0149] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may appropriately omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components. For example, features described with reference to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of a configuration may be combined in a similar manner. Furthermore, technology evolves, and thus many elements are examples and do not limit the scope of this disclosure or the claims.

[0150] A wireless communication system is a system in which communication is transmitted wirelessly, that is, through the atmospheric space via electromagnetic waves and / or sound waves rather than through wires or other physical connections. A wireless communication network may not necessarily transmit all communications wirelessly, but may be configured to transmit at least some communications wirelessly. Furthermore, the term "wireless communication device" or similar terms do not require that the device be functionally exclusively or uniformly primarily used for communication, or that the device is a mobile device, but rather indicate that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (one-way or two-way), for example, including at least one radio (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver) for wireless communication.

[0151] Specific details are provided in this description to offer a thorough understanding of the example configurations (including implementations). However, these configurations can be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring these configurations. This description provides only example configurations and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of the configurations provides a description for implementing the techniques. Various changes can be made to the function and arrangement of the elements.

[0152] As used herein, the terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any medium that participates in providing data that enables a machine to operate in a particular manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may involve providing instructions / code to (such as) processors for execution, and / or being used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as signals). In many implementations, processor-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical discs and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0153] After describing several example configurations, various modifications, substitutions, constructs, and equivalents can be used. For example, the above elements can be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the invention. Furthermore, several operations may be performed before, during, or after considering the above elements. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0154] A statement whose value exceeds (or is greater than or higher than) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement whose value meets or exceeds a second threshold slightly greater than the first threshold. For example, in the resolution of the computing system, the second threshold is one value higher than the first threshold. A statement whose value is less than the first threshold (or within or below the first threshold) is equivalent to a statement whose value is less than or equal to a second threshold slightly lower than the first threshold. For example, in the resolution of the computing system, the second threshold is one value lower than the first threshold.

Claims

1. A device, comprising: an interface configured to communicate wireless signals between the device and a user equipment; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the interface and the memory and configured to: obtain positioning reference signal pattern information indicative of a repetition pattern corresponding to positioning reference signal communication between the device and another entity, the positioning reference signal pattern information having an acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality and a degradation of positioning reference signal reception quality, the degradation comprising a loss of line of sight between the device and the other entity, or an interference with at least one positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof, wherein the repetition pattern comprises an alternating occurrence of the acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality and the degraded positioning reference signal reception quality according to at least one of a location or a time; and conduct, via the interface and based on the positioning reference signal pattern information, at least one of: transmitting one or more positioning reference signal related configuration parameters to a network entity; or transmitting a signal to the user equipment in accordance with the one or more positioning reference signal related configuration parameters.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine a positioning reference signal muting pattern based on the positioning reference signal pattern information and transmit, via the interface, an indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern to the user equipment.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern indicates one or more positioning reference signals to be repeatedly muted.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to transmit, via the interface, a deactivation message to the user equipment indicating a deactivation of the positioning reference signal muting pattern.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the deactivation message comprises an indication of at least one positioning reference signal measurement for the user equipment to report to the device.

6. The device of claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to transmit, to the user equipment, at least one of an aperiodic positioning reference signal, an on-demand positioning reference signal, or a semi-persistent positioning reference signal independent of the positioning reference signal muting pattern.

7. The device of claim 2, wherein the indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern comprises a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a respective amount of time of scheduled positioning reference signal transmissions.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: predict a signal degradation of a particular positioning reference signal scheduled to be transmitted without muting; and respond to predicting the signal degradation of the particular positioning reference signal by at least one of: muting the particular positioning reference signal; or avoiding a measurement of the particular positioning reference signal.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein one or more scheduled positioning reference signal related configuration parameters comprise at least one of a positioning reference signal periodicity, an offset, a comb size, a muting pattern, or a repetition factor. ​ 10. An apparatus, comprising: means for obtaining positioning reference signal pattern information indicative of a repetition pattern, the repetition pattern corresponding to positioning reference signal exchange between the apparatus and another entity, the positioning reference signal pattern information having an acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality and a degradation of positioning reference signal reception quality, the degradation comprising a loss of line of sight between the apparatus and the other entity, or an interference with at least one positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof, wherein the repetition pattern comprises an alternating occurrence of the acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality and the degraded positioning reference signal reception quality according to at least one of a location or a time; and first means for transmitting, based on the positioning reference signal pattern information, at least one of: one or more positioning reference signal related configuration parameters to a network entity; or a signal to a user equipment according to the one or more positioning reference signal related configuration parameters.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: means for determining, based on the positioning reference signal pattern information, a positioning reference signal muting pattern; and second means for transmitting, to the user equipment, an indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern indicates one or more positioning reference signals to be repeatedly muted.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising third means for transmitting, to the user equipment, a deactivation message indicating a deactivation of the positioning reference signal muting pattern.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the deactivation message comprises an indication of at least one positioning reference signal measurement for the user equipment to report to the apparatus.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising fourth means for transmitting, to the user equipment, at least one of an aperiodic positioning reference signal, an on-demand positioning reference signal, or a semi-persistent positioning reference signal independent of the positioning reference signal muting pattern.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern comprises a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a respective amount of time of a scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: a prediction means for predicting a signal degradation of a particular positioning reference signal scheduled to be transmitted without muting; and means for responding to the prediction means predicting the signal degradation of the particular positioning reference signal by at least one of: muting the particular positioning reference signal; or avoiding a measurement of the particular positioning reference signal.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein one or more scheduled positioning reference signal related configuration parameters comprise at least one of a positioning reference signal periodicity, an offset, a comb size, or a repetition factor.

19. A method of adapting to repeated positioning reference signal reception degradation at an apparatus, the method comprising: obtaining positioning reference signal pattern information indicative of a repetition pattern corresponding to positioning reference signal transfer between the device and another entity, the positioning reference signal pattern information having an acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality and a degradation of positioning reference signal reception quality, the degradation comprising a loss of line of sight between the device and the other entity, or an interference with at least one positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof, wherein the repetition pattern comprises an alternating occurrence of the acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality and the degraded positioning reference signal reception quality according to at least one of a location or a time; and transmitting, based on the positioning reference signal pattern information, at least one of one or more positioning reference signal related configuration parameters to a network entity or a signal to a user equipment according to the one or more positioning reference signal related configuration parameters.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: determining, based on the positioning reference signal pattern information, a positioning reference signal muting pattern; and transmitting, to the user equipment, an indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern indicates one or more positioning reference signals to be repeatedly muted.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising transmitting, to the user equipment, a deactivation message indicating a deactivation of the positioning reference signal muting pattern.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the deactivation message comprises an indication of at least one positioning reference signal measurement for the user equipment to report to the device.

24. The method of claim 20, further comprising transmitting, to the user equipment, at least one of an aperiodic positioning reference signal, an on-demand positioning reference signal, or a semi-persistent positioning reference signal independent of the positioning reference signal muting pattern.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern comprises a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a respective amount of time of a scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising: predicting a signal degradation of a particular positioning reference signal scheduled to be transmitted without muting; and responding to the prediction of the signal degradation of the particular positioning reference signal by at least one of: muting the particular positioning reference signal; or avoiding a measurement of the particular positioning reference signal.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein one or more scheduled positioning reference signal related configuration parameters comprise at least one of a positioning reference signal periodicity, an offset, a comb size, a muting pattern, or a repetition factor.

28. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor of a device to perform operations to adapt to a repetitive positioning reference signal reception degradation: obtaining positioning reference signal pattern information indicative of a repetition pattern corresponding to positioning reference signal transfer between the device and another entity, the positioning reference signal pattern information having an acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality and a degradation of positioning reference signal reception quality, the degradation comprising a loss of line of sight between the device and the other entity, or an interference with at least one positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof, wherein the repetition pattern comprises an alternating occurrence of the acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality and the degraded positioning reference signal reception quality according to at least one of a location or a time; and transmitting, based on the positioning reference signal pattern information, at least one of one or more positioning reference signal related configuration parameters to a network entity or a signal to a user equipment according to the one or more positioning reference signal related configuration parameters.

29. The storage medium of claim 28, further comprising instructions for configuring the processor to: determine a positioning reference signal muting pattern based on the positioning reference signal pattern information; and transmit, to the user equipment, an indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern.

30. The storage medium of claim 29, wherein the indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern indicates one or more positioning reference signals to be repeatedly muted.

31. The storage medium of claim 29, further comprising instructions for configuring the processor to: transmit, to the user equipment, a deactivation message indicating a deactivation of the positioning reference signal muting pattern.

32. The storage medium of claim 31, wherein the deactivation message comprises an indication of at least one positioning reference signal measurement for the user equipment to report to the device.

33. The storage medium of claim 29, further comprising instructions for configuring the processor to: transmit, to the user equipment, at least one of an aperiodic positioning reference signal, an on-demand positioning reference signal, or a semi-persistent positioning reference signal independent of the positioning reference signal muting pattern.

34. The storage medium of claim 29, wherein the indication of the positioning reference signal muting pattern comprises a binary bit sequence, wherein each bit in the binary bit sequence indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a respective amount of time of a scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

35. The storage medium of claim 28, further comprising instructions for configuring the processor to: predict a signal degradation of a particular positioning reference signal scheduled to be transmitted without muting; and respond to predicting the signal degradation of the particular positioning reference signal by at least one of: muting the particular positioning reference signal; or avoiding a measurement of the particular positioning reference signal.

36. The storage medium of claim 28, wherein one or more scheduled positioning reference signal related configuration parameters comprise at least one of a positioning reference signal periodicity, an offset, a comb size, a muting pattern, or a repetition factor.

37. A user equipment, comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured to: measure at least one positioning reference signal received via the transceiver; determine a signal degradation pattern indicative of a repeating pattern, the signal degradation pattern having an acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality of the at least one positioning reference signal and a degradation of the positioning reference signal reception quality of the at least one positioning reference signal, the degradation comprising a loss of line of sight between the user equipment and a source of the at least one positioning reference signal, or an interference with the at least one positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof, wherein the repeating pattern comprises an alternating occurrence of the acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality and the degraded positioning reference signal reception quality according to at least one of a location or a time; and transmit, via the transceiver, an indication of the signal degradation pattern.

38. The user equipment of claim 37, wherein the indication of the signal degradation pattern comprises one or more positioning reference signal timing parameters.

39. The user equipment of claim 37, wherein the indication of the signal degradation pattern comprises a sequence of binary bits, wherein each bit in the sequence of binary bits indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a respective amount of time of a scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

40. A user equipment, comprising: means for measuring at least one positioning reference signal from a source of the positioning reference signal; means for determining a signal degradation pattern indicative of a repeating pattern, the signal degradation pattern having an acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality of the at least one positioning reference signal and a degradation of the positioning reference signal reception quality of the at least one positioning reference signal, the degradation comprising a loss of line of sight between the user equipment and a source of the at least one positioning reference signal, or an interference with the at least one positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof, wherein the repeating pattern comprises an alternating occurrence of the acceptable positioning reference signal reception quality and the degraded positioning reference signal reception quality according to at least one of a location or a time; and means for transmitting, to a network entity, an indication of the signal degradation pattern.

41. The user equipment of claim 40, wherein the indication of the signal degradation pattern comprises one or more positioning reference signal timing parameters.

42. The user equipment of claim 40, wherein the indication of the signal degradation pattern comprises a sequence of binary bits, wherein each bit in the sequence of binary bits indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a respective amount of time of a scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

43. A method of providing an indication of signal degradation, the method comprising: measuring, at a user equipment, at least one positioning reference signal from a source of the positioning reference signal; determining, at a user equipment, a signal degradation pattern indicative of a repeating pattern, the signal degradation pattern having an acceptable positioning reference signal received quality of the at least one positioning reference signal and a degradation of the positioning reference signal received quality of the at least one positioning reference signal, the degradation comprising a loss of line of sight between the user equipment and a source of the at least one positioning reference signal, or an interference with the at least one positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof, wherein the repeating pattern comprises an alternating occurrence of the acceptable positioning reference signal received quality and the degraded positioning reference signal received quality according to at least one of a location or a time; and transmitting, from the user equipment to a network entity, an indication of the signal degradation pattern.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the indication of the signal degradation pattern comprises one or more positioning reference signal timing parameters.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein the indication of the signal degradation pattern comprises a sequence of binary bits, wherein each bit in the sequence of binary bits indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a respective amount of time of a scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

46. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor of a user equipment to perform operations to provide an indication of signal degradation: measuring at least one positioning reference signal from a source of the positioning reference signal; determining a signal degradation pattern indicative of a repeating pattern, the signal degradation pattern having an acceptable positioning reference signal received quality of the at least one positioning reference signal and a degradation of the positioning reference signal received quality of the at least one positioning reference signal, the degradation comprising a loss of line of sight between the user equipment and a source of the at least one positioning reference signal, or an interference with the at least one positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof, wherein the repeating pattern comprises an alternating occurrence of the acceptable positioning reference signal received quality and the degraded positioning reference signal received quality according to at least one of a location or a time; and transmitting, to a network entity, an indication of the signal degradation pattern.

47. The storage medium of claim 46, wherein the indication of the signal degradation pattern comprises one or more positioning reference signal timing parameters.

48. The storage medium of claim 46, wherein the indication of the signal degradation pattern comprises a sequence of binary bits, wherein each bit in the sequence of binary bits indicates a relative degradation and corresponds to a respective amount of time of a scheduled positioning reference signal transmission.

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