Determine the location of the target UE using assisted UE signaling

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for measuring at a target user equipment (UE) and reporting by the target UE one or more positioning signals sent from one or more auxiliary UEs to the target UE. The target UE may receive positioning signals from the auxiliary UE based on communications received at the target UE. The target UE may continue to use the positioning signals received from the target UE to perform positioning measurements. The positioning measurement results may be used by the target UE to estimate the position of the target UE itself, or the positioning measurement results may be sent to another entity within a wireless communication system for estimating the physical position of the UE. The processing of multiple positioning signals received from various sources and the processing of situations where, for example, a transmit receive point (TRP) and an auxiliary UE may schedule overlapping positioning signals are also discussed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application generally relates to wireless communication systems including measuring and / or reporting, by a target user equipment (UE), positioning signals transmitted from an assisting UE to a target UE of the wireless communication system. Background Art

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G) or New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, which is generally referred to as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) by industry organizations; and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs), which is generally referred to as Wi-Fi by industry organizations. In the 3GPP radio access network (RAN) in an LTE system, a base station may include a RAN node such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly referred to as an evolved Node B, an enhanced Node B, an eNodeB, or an eNB) and / or a radio network controller (RNC) in the E-UTRAN, which communicates with a wireless communication device referred to as a user equipment (UE). In the fifth generation (5G) wireless RAN, the RAN nodes may include 5G nodes, NR nodes (also called next generation Node B or g NodeB (gNB)).

[0003] The RAN uses radio access technologies (RATs) to communicate between RAN nodes and UEs. The RAN may include a global system for mobile communications (GSM), an enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), a universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), and / or an E-UTRAN, which provides access to communication services through a core network. Each RAN in the RAN operates according to a specific 3GPP RAT. For example, GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RAT, UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT, and NG-RAN implements 5G RAT. In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement 5G RAT.

[0004] The frequency bands for 5G NR can be divided into two different frequency ranges. Frequency range 1 (FR1) may include frequency bands operating at frequencies below 6 GHz, some of which may be used by previous standards and may potentially be expanded to cover new spectrum products from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. Frequency range 2 (FR2) may include frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The frequency bands in the millimeter wave (mmWave) range of FR2 may have a smaller range but potentially higher available bandwidth than the frequency bands in FR1. The skilled person will recognize that these frequency ranges, which are provided by way of example, may vary from time to time or region to region. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit(s) in a reference number refers to the drawing number that first introduces the element.

[0006] Figure 1 A wireless communication system according to an embodiment is shown.

[0007] Figure 2 A wireless communication system according to an embodiment is shown.

[0008] Figure 3 A method of a target UE according to an implementation is shown.

[0009] Figure 4 A method of a target UE according to an implementation is shown.

[0010] Figure 5 A method of assisting a UE according to an embodiment is shown.

[0011] Figure 6 A method of assisting a UE according to an embodiment is shown.

[0012] Figure 7 A method of assisting a UE according to an embodiment is shown.

[0013] Figure 8 A method of a base station according to an embodiment is shown.

[0014] Fig. 9 A method of a base station according to an embodiment is shown.

[0015] Fig.10 A method of a base station according to an embodiment is shown.

[0016] Fig.11 A UE according to an implementation scheme is shown.

[0017] Fig.12 A network node according to an embodiment is shown.

[0018] Fig.13 An exemplary service-based architecture is shown in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0019] Fig.14 Components according to an embodiment are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Accurate data about the physical location of the UE may be useful at one or more entities (e.g., UE, base station, etc.) of the wireless communication system in which the UE operates. For example, knowing the physical location of the UE with high accuracy may be helpful so that tracking, handover, and other functions of the wireless communication network that are directly related to the physical operation of the UE within the wireless communication system are improved (corresponding to high accuracy). As another example, user applications (e.g., applications that operate at least in part on one or more of the UE, base station, or another entity of the wireless communication system) that operate on or within the wireless communication system and can further communicate with other entities within the wireless communication system with respect to such location information may also benefit from access to information about the physical location of the UE with high accuracy. It should also be noted that the process of determining the location of the UE within the wireless communication system involves the use of system resources (e.g., it may involve the use of signaling resources between the UE and the base station, and / or processing resources at one or more of the UE, base station, and / or another entity of the wireless communication system, etc.). Thus, to the extent that the speed at which signaling and / or processing related to UE positioning occurs can be improved (e.g., made faster), applications that use such data can be improved (e.g., by having these applications access UE location data faster so that they can improve the speed at which their UE positioning related processes are completed). Furthermore, to the extent that fewer overall resources of a wireless communication system corresponding to signaling and / or processing used to determine an accurate location of a UE can be used, efficiency (e.g., power usage) at a UE, a base station, and / or another entity of the wireless communication system can be improved (e.g., less overall power can be used). Thus, it has been recognized that procedures for improved accuracy, reduced latency, network efficiency, device efficiency, and improved integrity (any one or more of) related to determining a UE's location would be valuable to operators and users of such wireless communication systems.

[0021] Figure 1 A wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment is shown. The wireless communication system 100 includes a transmit receive point (TRP) 102, a target UE 104, and an assisting UE 106. Figure 1 In an implementation scheme, the TRP 102 is configured to send a TRP positioning signal 108 to the target UE 104, and the auxiliary UE 106 is configured to send an auxiliary UE positioning signal 110 to the target UE 104.

[0022] In some embodiments, the TRP 102 provides downlink (DL) signaling from the core network of the wireless communication system 100 to one or more UEs (e.g., the target UE 104 and / or the auxiliary UE 106) of the wireless communication system 100. The TRP may additionally (or alternatively) receive uplink (UL) signaling from one or more UEs (e.g., the target UE 104 and / or the auxiliary UE 106) to the core network of the wireless communication system 100. It is contemplated that in some embodiments, a base station (e.g., a gNB, an eNB, or another type of base station) of the wireless communication system 100 may be the TRP 102. In other embodiments, the base station may alternatively be an entity within the wireless communication system 100 that is separate from the TRP 102, wherein the TRP 102 handles functions within the wireless communication system 100 that are directly related to signaling to and / or from one or more UEs as indicated by the base station. It is contemplated that the embodiments discussed herein may be applicable to any of these situations.

[0023] The target UE 104 may be configured to receive and measure one or more signals from another entity within the wireless communication system 100 for positioning purposes. Such signals may be referred to herein as "positioning signals," and the corresponding measurements made at the target UE 104 may be referred to as "positioning measurements." Possible positioning measurements that the target UE 104 may make on such received positioning signals include the time of arrival of the received positioning signal, the signal strength / quality of the received positioning signal (e.g., the RSRP of the positioning signal), and / or the angle of arrival of the received positioning signal. The UE may then 1) use this data itself to calculate its physical position, and / or 2) communicate this data to another entity within the wireless communication system 100 so that such data may be used to calculate the UE's position. Examples of possible positioning methods using such positioning measurements may be found in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.305 (Version 16.1, July 2020). The wireless communication system 100 may schedule the transmission of a TRP positioning signal 108 to a target UE 104 directly (eg, via a base station of the wireless communication system 100 that is the TRP 102 or in communication with the TRP) for measurement purposes.

[0024] It has been recognized that by receiving additional positioning signals at the target UE 104, rather than just the TRP positioning signal 108, the determination of the position of the target UE 104 can be made more accurate (or in some cases, a new determination is made possible). For example, the reception (and subsequent measurements) of the additional positioning signals by the target UE 104 can ultimately lead to a more accurate determination of the position of the target UE 104 compared to an approach in which fewer positioning signals are measured at the target UE 104. The reception and subsequent measurements of the additional positioning signals over previous approaches may be particularly useful in situations in which one or more of the positioning signals received at the target UE 104 for one or more positioning measurements are not optimal (e.g., the positioning signals have low RSRP, or there is no line of sight from the target UE 104 to the transmitter of the positioning signal). Thus, the additional positioning signals can help the wireless communication system 100 overcome any errors and / or inaccuracies that would otherwise be driven by a suboptimal environment.

[0025] Thus, it has been recognized that entities other than, for example, the TRP 102 (which itself may be a base station of the wireless communication system 100) may be used to provide one or more of these additional positioning signals to the target UE 104. In some embodiments, the target UE 104 may receive an auxiliary UE positioning signal 110, for example, from an auxiliary UE 106 (in addition to or in lieu of any TRP positioning signal 108 from the TRP 102). Any of these positioning signals may be signals that the target UE 104 may measure in order to provide data for a positioning method, as described above (and possibly adjusted to take into account the fact that the auxiliary UE positioning signal 110 is sent from the auxiliary UE 106 rather than from, for example, the TRP 102). Although Figure 1 For simplicity, a single assisting UE 106 is shown sending a single assisting UE positioning signal 110, but it is contemplated that any number of assisting UEs may each send any number of assisting positioning signals to the target UE 104 for measurement at the target UE 104, so that the measurement results can be used to determine the position of the target UE 104 in the manner described.

[0026] The assisting UE positioning signal 110 sent from the assisting UE 106 may be a type of positioning signal that is already used for other purposes in the wireless communication system 100. For example, in some cases, the assisting UE positioning signal 110 may be a DL Positioning Reference Signal (DL-PRS), a Sounding Reference Signal for Positioning (Pos-SRS), another type of Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), or some other signal that may also be used in the wireless communication system 100 for one or more communications, such as between the target UE 104 and the TRP 102. It is also contemplated that a new type of positioning signal may be developed for use as the assisting UE positioning signal 110. The new type of positioning signal may be, for example, a symbol used in a flexible symbol.

[0027] In some embodiments, the target UE 104 receives a communication indicating that the target UE 104 will receive a positioning signal from the auxiliary UE 106. The communication may be in the form of a dynamic indication and / or a static configuration setting. For example, a base station (e.g., which acts as TRP 102, or alternatively, acts through TRP 102) may dynamically indicate to the target UE 104 that the target UE expects (e.g., is ready to receive and measure) an auxiliary UE positioning signal 110 from the auxiliary UE 106. This may be useful in the case where the base station knows and / or controls the auxiliary UE 106 and wants to achieve additional accuracy relatively immediately, which is possible by using the positioning signal sent by the auxiliary UE 106 to the target UE 104. It is also contemplated that the dynamic indication of the expected auxiliary UE positioning signal 110 may arrive from the auxiliary UE 106 instead. This dynamic indication to the target UE 104 may reach the target UE 104 via downlink control information (DCI) from the TRP 102, as sidelink control information (SCI) from the secondary UE 106, or by using data in a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

[0028] In other embodiments, the communication indicating that the target UE 104 will receive the positioning signal from the assisting UE 106 may arrive in the form of a static configuration parameter. The configuration parameter may be implemented such that, for example, once the target UE 104 later enters the range of the assisting UE positioning signal 110 from the assisting UE 106 and / or later receives the assisting UE positioning signal, the target UE 104 will correctly receive and measure the assisting UE positioning signal 110. This may be useful in situations where the target UE 104 may leave the range of the TRP 102 but still expects the target UE 104 to be able to receive the positioning signal from the assisting UE 106 in the future. For example, an emergency responder using the target UE 104 may enter a building where the target UE 104 is outside the range of the TRP 102 but still within the range of the assisting UE 106. In these cases, a target UE 104 that has been configured (e.g., by the TRP 102) to receive assisting UE positioning signals 110 from an assisting UE 106 will still be able to use such assisting UE positioning signals 110 received from the assisting UE 106 for measurements (e.g., for positioning calculations at the target UE 104 or for communication backhaul to the assisting UE 106 (the assisting UE may then forward such data to another entity of the wireless communication system 100, such as a base station), etc.). It is also contemplated that in some cases, static configuration parameters may be sent from the assisting UE 106 to the target UE 104. Such static configuration parameters may be sent to the target UE 104 as a DCI from the TRP 102, as an SCI from the assisting UE 106, or by using data in a MAC-CE.

[0029] The dynamic indication and / or static configuration of the target UE 104 for performing positioning measurements using the assisted UE positioning signal 110 from the assisted UE 106 may depend on the UE capabilities. The capabilities may have been previously transmitted by the target UE 104 in a UE capability information message prior to receiving the assisted UE positioning signal 110 from the assisted UE 106. The UE capability information message may be transmitted to either the TRP 102 and / or the assisted UE 106. The UE capability information message may indicate whether the target UE 104 is capable of measuring the assisted UE positioning signal 110 from the assisted UE 106 for positioning purposes.

[0030] The assisting UE 106 may be configured to send one or more positioning signals to the target UE 104, and / or the target UE 104 may be configured to receive one or more positioning signals from the assisting UE 106 in a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic manner. For example, the base station may send a radio resource control (RRC) configuration to the assisting UE 106, the RRC configuration instructing the assisting UE 106 to send one or more positioning signals to the target UE 104 in a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic manner. In addition, the base station may send an RRC configuration to the target UE 104, the RRC configuration instructing the target UE 104 to receive one or more positioning signals from the assisting UE 106 in a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic manner. Alternatively, the target UE 104 may be preconfigured to receive one or more positioning signals from the assisting UE 106 in a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic manner. In these cases, the assisting UE 106 may be commanded by the base station to transmit one or more positioning signals in a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic manner that matches the pre-configuration of the target UE 104. Examples of possible periodic signal types that may be configured to be transmitted in a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic manner include (but are not limited to) DL-PRS signals, Pos-SRS signals, and other SRS signals (and other possible signals).

[0031] In the case of a positioning signal configured to be sent by the assisting UE 106 to the target UE 104 in a semi-persistent or periodic manner, the sending of such positioning signals by the assisting UE 106 and / or the receiving of such positioning signals by the target UE 104 may be triggered or activated by downlink control information (DCI) from a base station to either device. In some cases, the receiving of such positioning signals by the target UE 104 from the assisting UE 106 may be triggered or activated by sidelink control information (SCI) from the assisting UE 106 to the target UE 104. In addition, in some cases, the sending of such positioning signals by the assisting UE 106 to the target UE 104 may be triggered or activated by SCI from the target UE 104 to the assisting UE 106.

[0032] The dynamic indication and / or static configuration of the target UE 104 for receiving the assisting UE positioning signal 110 from the assisting UE 106 may indicate one or more symbol directions on which the positioning signal may be sent from the assisting UE 106 to the target UE 104. For example, the communication may indicate that the assisting UE positioning signal 110 is to be received from the assisting UE 106 on symbols designated for use in the DL direction (also discussed herein as "DL symbols"), the UL direction (also discussed herein as "UL symbols"), or in the flexible (UL or DL) direction (also discussed herein as "flexible symbols") (or any combination of these). This information may arrive at the target UE 104 in a DCI from the TRP 102, as an SCI from the assisting UE 106, or by using data in a MAC-CE. In some embodiments, the communication of the one or more symbol directions on which the assisting UE positioning signal 110 is to be received is consistent with a UE capability information message that previously indicated the symbol directions (UL, DL, flexible) on which the target UE 104 may receive the assisting UE positioning signal 110 from the assisting UE 106.

[0033] The assisting UE positioning signal 110 transmitted by the assisting UE 106 may be of a type and / or waveform corresponding to the direction of the symbol on which the assisting UE positioning signal 110 is transmitted (e.g., the direction of the symbol communicated to the target UE 104 as described above). For example, if the assisting UE positioning signal 110 is transmitted on a DL symbol, the assisting UE positioning signal 110 may be transmitted as a DL-PRS in a cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) waveform, or as some other positioning signal (in its corresponding waveform such as a discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) waveform or any other suitable waveform) that is conventionally associated with / transmitted in the DL direction between the target UE 104 and the TRP 102. In other cases, if the assisted UE positioning signal 110 is sent on UL symbols, the assisted UE positioning signal 110 may be sent as a Pos-SRS in a Zadoff-Chu sequence, or as some other positioning signal (in its corresponding waveform) that is traditionally associated with / sent in the UL direction between the target UE 104 and the TRP 102. For another example, if the assisted UE positioning signal 110 is sent on a flexible symbol, the assisted UE positioning signal 110 may be a new positioning symbol (in the corresponding waveform) that can be sent in a flexible direction.

[0034] It is also contemplated that a combination of two or more positioning signals otherwise used in the wireless communication system 100 may be sent as the assisting UE positioning signal 110. In some embodiments, the selection of the positioning signal for use as the assisting UE positioning signal 110 is consistent with a UE capability information message that previously indicated the types of signals that the target UE 104 may measure for positioning purposes when sent from the assisting UE 106.

[0035] In addition, in cases involving receiving multiple assisting UE positioning signals from one or more assisting UEs (e.g., within a relatively short time span, although not necessarily overlapping), the TRP 102, assisting UE 106, or another element of the wireless communication system 100 may transmit a communication to the target UE 104 that dynamically instructs and / or statically configures the target UE 104 to obtain and report measurements from a subset of positioning signals from the set of such received positioning signals. As described above, this communication may be performed as part of or in addition to the communication to the target UE 104. Such a subset of measured and reported positioning signals may be referred to herein as a "reporting subset" of the set of received positioning signals.

[0036] The communication may include a reference signal received power (RSRP) or other threshold value, such that the reporting subset is a subset of positioning signals received at an RSRP equal to and / or above the threshold value. Alternatively, the communication may include a limit on the number of positioning signals to be reported, such that the reporting subset is a subset of the best signals (e.g., as measured by RSRP) up to that number.

[0037] The communication may include source prioritization information for the report subsets. For example, the communication may instruct the target UE 104 that it should prioritize reporting of positioning signals from the TRP 102 over positioning signals from one or more auxiliary UEs (such as the auxiliary UE 106). As another example of source prioritization information, the communication may instruct the target UE 104 that it should prioritize measurements and / or reports of an auxiliary UE with lower mobility over another auxiliary UE with higher mobility. The communication may also instruct the target UE 104 to make these determinations between received positioning signals with similar signal quality (e.g., making these determinations after first eliminating positioning signals with weaker RSRP from the set of all received positioning signals). It is also contemplated that the source prioritization information may instruct the use of multiple methods and / or method combinations of these or other methods.

[0038] In some embodiments, prioritization information used to make the selection of positioning signals for the target UE to use to determine its position or report its measurements to another entity may be specified in the standard. For example, the standard may specify that positioning signals from the TRP are prioritized over positioning signals from assisting UEs; or positioning signals are prioritized based on signal strength, where signals with higher signal strengths are prioritized over signals with lower signal strengths. It is also contemplated that the standard may define prioritization information to reflect multiple methods (and / or combinations of methods) in these or other methods.

[0039] In some embodiments, the auxiliary UE 106 receives a communication indicating that the auxiliary UE 106 is to transmit a positioning signal to the target UE 104. The communication may be in the form of a dynamic indication and / or a static configuration setting. For example, a base station (e.g., which acts as a TRP 102, or alternatively acts through a TRP 102) may dynamically indicate to the auxiliary UE 106 that it is to transmit an auxiliary UE positioning signal 110 to the target UE 104. This may be useful in the case where the base station knows and / or controls the auxiliary UE 106 and wants to achieve additional accuracy relatively immediately, which is possible by using the positioning signal sent by the auxiliary UE 106 to the target UE 104. It is also contemplated that the dynamic indication of transmitting the auxiliary UE positioning signal 110 may arrive from the target UE 104 instead. This dynamic indication to the auxiliary UE 106 may arrive at the auxiliary UE 106 from the TRP 102 via a DCI, from the target UE 104 in an SCI, or by using data in a MAC-CE. The assisting UE 106 may schedule the transmission of one (or more) assisting UE positioning signals, including the assisting UE positioning signal 110 , accordingly.

[0040] In other embodiments, the communication indicating that the auxiliary UE 106 is to transmit a positioning signal to the target UE 104 may arrive in the form of a static configuration parameter. The configuration parameter may be implemented such that, for example, the auxiliary UE 106 will transmit the auxiliary UE positioning signal 110 to the target UE 104 at a later time. This may be useful in cases where the auxiliary UE 106 may leave the range of the TRP 102 but still expects the target UE 104 to be able to receive positioning signals from the auxiliary UE 106 in the future. In these cases, the auxiliary UE 106 that has been configured (e.g., by the TRP 102) to transmit the auxiliary UE positioning signal 110 to the target UE 104 will still be able to contribute to the positioning calculation at the target UE 104. It is also contemplated that in some cases, a static configuration parameter may be sent from the target UE 104 to the auxiliary UE 106. Such a static configuration parameter may be sent to the auxiliary UE 106 from the TRP 102 as a DCI, from the target UE 104 in an SCI, or by using data in a MAC-CE.

[0041] The dynamic indication and / or static configuration of the assisting UE 106 for sending the assisting UE positioning signal 110 to the target UE 104 for positioning measurements may depend on the UE capabilities. The capabilities may have been previously transmitted by the assisting UE 106 in a UE capability information message before transmitting the assisting UE positioning signal 110 to the target UE 104. The UE capability information message may be transmitted to either the TRP 102 and / or the target UE 104. The UE capability information message may indicate whether the assisting UE 106 is capable of transmitting the assisting UE positioning signal 110 to the target UE 104 for positioning purposes.

[0042] The communication that the assisting UE 106 will transmit the assisting UE positioning signal 110 to the target UE 104 may further indicate one or more symbol directions on which the positioning signal may be sent from the assisting UE 106 to the target UE 104. For example, the communication may indicate that the assisting UE positioning signal 110 will be transmitted by the assisting UE 106 on DL symbols, UL symbols, and / or flexible symbols (or any combination of these). This information may arrive at the assisting UE 106 in the DCI from the TRP 102, in the SCI from the target UE 104, or by using data in the MAC-CE. In some embodiments, the communication of the one or more symbol directions on which the assisting UE positioning signal 110 is transmitted is consistent with the UE capability information message that previously indicated the symbol directions (UL, DL, flexible) on which the assisting UE 106 may transmit the assisting UE positioning signal 110 to the target UE 104.

[0043] As described above, the assisting UE positioning signal 110 transmitted by the assisting UE 106 may be a positioning signal type that has been originally used for other purposes in the wireless communication system 100 or a new positioning type, and in some cases, may be a type and / or waveform corresponding to the direction of the symbol on which the assisting UE positioning signal 110 is transmitted (also described above). It is also contemplated that a combination of two or more positioning signals originally used in the wireless communication system 100 may be transmitted as the assisting UE positioning signal 110, as described above. In some embodiments, the selection of the positioning signal used as the assisting UE positioning signal 110 is consistent with a UE capability information message that previously indicated the type of signal that the assisting UE 106 may transmit for positioning purposes when transmitting to the target UE 104.

[0044] The TRP 102, the target UE 104, or another element of the wireless communication system 100 may transmit a communication to the assisting UE 106 (either as part of a communication to the assisting UE 106 or separately, as described above) that dynamically instructs and / or statically configures the assisting UE 106 to transmit the assisting UE positioning signal 110 at a particular transmit power. This may cause the assisting UE positioning signal 110 to be transmitted at a transmit power that is common to the transmit powers of other positioning signals received at the target UE 104 from other entities of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., from the TRP 102 or another assisting UE), so that various measurements are normalized between each other upon receipt.

[0045] The TRP 102, the target UE 104, or another element of the wireless communication system may send a communication to the assisting UE 106 (as part of the communication to the assisting UE 106 or separately, as described above) that dynamically instructs and / or statically configures the assisting UE 106 to transmit the assisting UE positioning signal 110 only under certain criteria. For example, the communication may instruct the assisting UE 106 to transmit the assisting UE positioning signal 110 only when the speed of the assisting UE 106 is equal to or less than (or alternatively, less than) a speed threshold (or in other words, not to transmit the assisting UE positioning signal 110 when the speed of the assisting UE 106 is greater than (or alternatively, equal to or greater than) the speed threshold). This may recognize the fact that using a positioning signal at the target UE 104 from the assisting UE 106 that is transmitted when the assisting UE 106 is moving relatively quickly may hinder rather than help the search for an accurate position of the target UE 104 (at least because the assisting UE 106 may not function well as a "known" point in the wireless communication system 100 under these conditions).

[0046] Within the wireless communication system 100, it is conceivable that the TRP 102 and the assisted UE 106 may transmit the TRP positioning signal 108 and the assisted UE positioning signal 110, respectively, without further intervention and with at least some temporal overlap, such that one or more symbols overlap (are used) during the transmission of each of the TRP positioning signal 108 and the assisted UE positioning signal 110. The target UE 104 may not anticipate (e.g., the wireless communication system 100 is not configured to allow) such an overlapping situation (e.g., by coordinating the transmission of the TRP positioning signal 108 and the assisted UE positioning signal 110 within the wireless communication system 100 so that the overlapping situation does not occur). In these cases, when there is an overlapping condition between two such upcoming transmissions, the target UE 104 may anticipate the positioning signal from the TRP 102 rather than the assisted UE 106 (e.g., the TRP 102 is permitted to transmit the TRP positioning signal 108, and the transmission of the assisted UE positioning signal 110 is delayed or cancelled, whether completely or partially). In other of these cases, when an overlap condition between two such upcoming transmissions would otherwise occur, the target UE 104 may anticipate a positioning signal from the assisting UE 106 rather than the TRP 102 (e.g., the assisting UE 106 is permitted to transmit the assisting UE positioning signal 110, and the transmission of the TRP positioning signal 108 is delayed or canceled, either completely or partially). In other of these embodiments, the target UE 104 may anticipate one of the TRP positioning signal 108 and the assisting UE positioning signal 110 to be of a periodic type having a higher priority than the other of the TRP positioning signal 108 and the assisting UE positioning signal 110 (and the TRP 102 and / or the assisting UE 106 may, as the case may be, delay and / or cancel (either completely or partially) the TRP positioning signal 108 or the assisting UE positioning signal 110 to meet this anticipation). In these cases, a non-periodic type positioning signal may have a higher priority than a semi-periodic type positioning signal (e.g., a positioning signal activated and / or deactivated via MAC-CE), and a non-periodic type or semi-periodic type positioning signal may have a higher priority than a periodic type positioning signal (e.g., a positioning signal caused by RRC configuration). In other words, a periodic type positioning signal may have a lower priority than an non-periodic type positioning signal or a semi-periodic type positioning signal, and a semi-periodic type positioning signal may have a lower priority than an non-periodic type positioning signal. In these cases, it is expected that 1) an upcoming transmission overlap condition is identified, and / or 2) a decision to delay or cancel one or more positioning signals based on these conditions may be made at either the TRP 102 or the assisted UE 106, where each such entity is responsible for making appropriate determinations individually.Alternatively, any such delay / cancellation may be explicitly instructed to the TRP 102 and / or the assisting UE 106 by another element of the wireless communication system 100 that has determined that the upcoming transmission will overlap, such as a base station for the TRP 102 or a base station that communicates with each of the TRP 102 and the assisting UE 106.

[0047] It is further contemplated that in the case of multiple assisted UEs, for example, a similar conflict situation may have originally existed between a first assisted UE positioning signal and a second assisted UE positioning signal respectively transmitted from different assisted UEs. In this case, it is contemplated that a similar application of priorities based on corresponding periodicity types may be used again to determine which of the first assisted UE positioning signal and the second assisted UE positioning signal to transmit and which to delay and / or cancel (whether completely or partially). It is also contemplated that prioritization based on corresponding periodicity types may be extended to any number of overlapping positioning symbols (from any source, including both TRPs and assisted UEs) in order to determine which of the various positioning signals to transmit and which to delay and / or cancel (whether completely or partially).

[0048] In some cases, the target UE 104 may be able to receive positioning signals from the TRP 102 and the assisting UE 106 simultaneously (e.g., overlapping on one or more symbols). For example, the TRP 102 may transmit a TRP positioning signal 110 in a first component carrier (CC) at a time that overlaps with one or more symbols used when the assisting UE 106 transmits the assisting UE positioning signal 108 in a second component carrier (CC). In this case, instead of canceling or delaying one of the TRP positioning signal 108 and the assisting UE positioning signal 110, the target UE 104 may alternatively be able to receive both the TRP positioning signal 108 and the assisting UE positioning signal 110 regardless of the overlapping one or more symbols because the target UE 104 may have one or more transceivers capable of receiving data on different CCs simultaneously. In this case, the target UE 104 may then continue to measure and / or report each of these positioning signals as described above.

[0049] It is further contemplated that such simultaneous reception of multiple positioning signals from unique CCs may be extended to a number up to the number of CCs that the UE is capable of receiving simultaneously (and from any source, whether TRP and / or assisting UE).

[0050] In some embodiments, as noted above, the target UE may be, for example, dynamically instructed and / or statically configured to receive a plurality of assisting UE positioning signals from one or more assisting UEs. Figure 2A wireless communication system 200 according to an embodiment is shown. The wireless communication system 200 includes a TRP 102, a target UE 104, an assisting UE 106, a second assisting UE 202, and a third assisting UE 204. Figure 2 In the embodiment of the present invention, in the manner described above, the TRP 102 is configured to send the TRP positioning signal 108 to the target UE 104, and the auxiliary UE 106 is configured to send the auxiliary UE positioning signal 110 to the target UE 104. In addition, the second auxiliary UE 202 is configured to send the second auxiliary UE positioning signal 206 to the target UE 104, and the third auxiliary UE 204 is configured to send the third auxiliary UE positioning signal 208 to the target UE 104. Therefore, the above-mentioned features and functions describing multiple auxiliary positioning signals and / or multiple auxiliary UEs can be implemented in, for example, the wireless communication system 200.

[0051] Figure 3 A method 300 of a target UE according to an embodiment is shown. The method 300 optionally includes transmitting 302 a UE capability information message indicating that the target UE is capable of measuring positioning signals received from assisting UEs.

[0052] The method 300 also includes receiving 304 a communication indicating that the target UE is to receive a positioning signal from the assisting UE.

[0053] The method 300 also includes receiving 306 a positioning signal from the assisting UE.

[0054] The method 300 also optionally includes determining 308 that the positioning signal is one positioning signal in a reported subset of a plurality of positioning signals received from a plurality of UEs including the assisting UE.

[0055] The method 300 also includes performing 310 positioning measurements using the positioning signal received from the assisting UE.

[0056] Figure 4 A method 400 of a target UE according to an embodiment is shown. The method 400 optionally includes transmitting 402 a UE capability information message indicating that the target UE is capable of measuring positioning signals received from assisting UEs.

[0057] The method 400 also includes receiving 404 a communication indicating that the target UE is to receive a positioning signal from the assisting UE.

[0058] The method 400 also includes receiving 406 a positioning signal from the assisting UE.

[0059] The method 400 also includes performing 408 positioning measurements using the positioning signal received from the assisting UE.

[0060] The method 400 also optionally includes receiving 410 a second positioning signal from the TRP on a component carrier different from the component carrier on which the positioning signal is received, wherein the positioning signal and the second positioning signal overlap on one or more symbols.

[0061] The method 400 also optionally includes performing 412 a second positioning measurement using the second positioning symbol.

[0062] Figure 5 A method 500 of assisting a UE according to an embodiment is shown. The method 500 optionally includes transmitting 502 a UE capability information message indicating that the assisting UE is capable of transmitting a positioning signal to a target UE.

[0063] The method 500 also includes receiving 504 a communication indicating that the assisting UE is to transmit a positioning signal to the target UE.

[0064] The method 500 also includes scheduling 506 transmission of the positioning signal to the target UE.

[0065] The method 500 also optionally includes determining 508 that a speed of the assisting UE is greater than a speed threshold.

[0066] The method 500 also optionally includes: canceling 510 the scheduled transmission of the positioning signal.

[0067] Figure 6 A method 600 of assisting a UE according to an embodiment is shown. The method 600 optionally includes transmitting 602 a UE capability information message indicating that the assisting UE is capable of transmitting a positioning signal to a target UE.

[0068] The method 600 also includes receiving 604 a communication indicating that the assisting UE is to transmit a positioning signal to the target UE.

[0069] The method 600 also includes scheduling 606 transmission of the positioning signal to the target UE.

[0070] The method 600 also optionally includes determining 608 that transmission of a second positioning signal to be sent from another entity of the wireless communication system to the target UE will overlap with one or more symbols to be used by the assisting UE to transmit a positioning signal to the target UE.

[0071] The method 600 also optionally includes: canceling 610 the transmission of the positioning signal.

[0072] Figure 7 A method 700 of assisting a UE according to an embodiment is shown. The method 700 optionally includes transmitting 702 a UE capability information message indicating that the assisting UE is capable of transmitting a positioning signal to a target UE.

[0073] The method 700 further includes receiving 704 a UE capability information message indicating that the assisting UE is capable of transmitting a positioning signal to the target UE.

[0074] The method 700 also includes scheduling 706 transmission of the positioning signal to the target UE.

[0075] 700 also optionally includes determining 708 that transmission of a second positioning signal to be sent from another entity of the wireless communication system to the target UE will overlap with one or more symbols to be used by the assisting UE to transmit a positioning signal to the target UE.

[0076] The method 700 also optionally includes canceling 710 the transmission of the positioning signal if the periodic type of the positioning signal has a lower priority than the periodic type of the second positioning signal.

[0077] Figure 8 A method 800 of a base station according to an embodiment is shown. The method 800 includes transmitting 802 a communication to a target UE indicating that the target UE is to receive a positioning signal from an assisting UE.

[0078] The method 800 also optionally includes transmitting 804 a second communication to the assisting UE, the second communication indicating that the assisting UE is to transmit a positioning signal to the target UE.

[0079] The method 800 also optionally includes scheduling 806 transmission of a second positioning signal from the base station to the target UE.

[0080] The method 800 also optionally includes: transmitting 808 a second positioning signal to the target UE.

[0081] The method 800 further includes receiving 810 from the target UE a measurement result of a positioning signal obtained by the target UE.

[0082] The method 800 also optionally includes: receiving 812 from the target UE a measurement result of the second positioning signal obtained by the target UE.

[0083] Fig. 9 A method 900 of a base station according to an embodiment is shown. The method 900 includes transmitting 902 a communication to a target UE indicating that the target UE is to receive a positioning signal from an assisting UE.

[0084] The method 900 also optionally includes transmitting 904 a second communication to the assisting UE, the second communication indicating that the assisting UE is to transmit a positioning signal to the target UE.

[0085] The method 900 also optionally includes scheduling 906 transmission of a second positioning signal from the base station to the target UE.

[0086] The method 900 also optionally includes determining 908 that transmission of the second positioning signal will overlap with one or more symbols used by the assisting UE to transmit the positioning signal.

[0087] The method 900 also optionally includes: canceling 910 the transmission of the second positioning signal.

[0088] The method 900 further includes receiving 912 from the target UE a measurement result of the positioning signal obtained by the target UE.

[0089] Fig.10 A method 1000 of a base station according to an embodiment is shown. The method 1000 includes transmitting 1002 a communication to a target UE indicating that the target UE is to receive a positioning signal from an assisting UE.

[0090] The method 1000 also optionally includes transmitting 1004 a second communication to the assisting UE, the second communication indicating that the assisting UE is to transmit a positioning signal to the target UE.

[0091] The method 1000 also optionally includes: scheduling 1006 transmission of a second positioning signal from the base station to the target UE.

[0092] The method 1000 also optionally includes determining 1008 that the transmission of the second positioning signal will overlap with one or more symbols used by the assisting UE to transmit the positioning signal.

[0093] The method 1000 also optionally includes: if the periodic type of the second positioning signal has a lower priority than the periodic type of the positioning signal, canceling 1010 the transmission of the second positioning signal.

[0094] The method 1000 further includes receiving 1012 from the target UE a measurement result of a positioning signal obtained by the target UE.

[0095] Fig.11 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary UE 1100 that can be configured according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, including instructions corresponding to any exemplary method and / or program described herein executed on a computer-readable medium. The UE 1100 includes one or more processors 1102, a transceiver 1104, a memory 1106, a user interface 1108, and a control interface 1110.

[0096] One or more processors 1102 may include, for example, an application processor, an audio digital signal processor, a central processing unit, and / or one or more baseband processors. Each of the one or more processors 1102 may include an internal memory and / or may include an interface for communicating with an external memory (including memory 1106). The internal or external memory may store software codes, programs, and / or instructions for one or more processors 1102 to execute to configure and / or facilitate UE 1100 to perform various operations, including the operations described herein. For example, the execution of the instruction may configure UE 1100 to communicate using one or more wired or wireless communication protocols (including one or more wireless communication protocols standardized by 3GPP, such as those commonly referred to as 5G / NR, LTE, LTE-A, UMTS, HSPA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, etc., or any other current or future protocol that may be used in conjunction with one or more transceivers 1104, user interface 1108, and / or control interface 1110). For another example, one or more processors 1102 may execute program code stored in memory 1106 or other memory, which corresponds to MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP (e.g., for NR and / or LTE). For another example, processor 1102 may execute program code stored in memory 1106 or other memory, which together with one or more transceivers 1104 implements corresponding PHY layer protocols, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), and single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA).

[0097] The memory 1106 may include a memory area for one or more processors 1102 to store variables used in protocols, configurations, controls, and other functions of the UE 1100 (including operations corresponding to or including any of the exemplary methods and / or procedures described herein). In addition, the memory 1106 may include non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic RAM), or a combination thereof. In addition, the memory 1106 may interact with a memory slot through which removable memory cards of one or more formats (e.g., SD card, memory stick, compact flash, etc.) may be inserted and removed.

[0098] One or more transceivers 1104 may include radio frequency transmitter and / or receiver circuits that facilitate UE 1100 to communicate with other equipment supporting similar wireless communication standards and / or protocols. For example, one or more transceivers 1104 may include switches, mixer circuits, amplifier circuits, filter circuits, and synthesizer circuits. Such RF circuits may include a receive signal path having a circuit for down-converting an RF signal received from a front-end module (FEM) and providing a baseband signal to a baseband processor of one or more processors 1102. The RF circuit may also include a transmit signal path, which may include a circuit for up-converting a baseband signal provided by a baseband processor and providing an RF output signal for transmission to the FEM. The FEM may include a receive signal path, which may include a circuit configured to operate on an RF signal received from one or more antennas, amplify the receive signal, and provide an amplified version of the receive signal to the RF circuit for further processing. The FEM may also include a transmit signal path, which may include a circuit configured to amplify a transmit signal provided by the RF circuit for transmission by one or more antennas. In various embodiments, amplification through the transmit or receive signal path may be accomplished in the RF circuitry only, in the FEM only, or in both the RF circuitry and the FEM circuitry. In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation.

[0099] In some exemplary embodiments, one or more transceivers 1104 include transmitters and receivers that enable UE 1100 to communicate with various 5G / NR networks according to various protocols and / or methods proposed for standardization by 3GPP and / or other standards bodies. For example, such functionality may operate in cooperation with one or more processors 1102 to implement a PHY layer based on OFDM, OFDMA, and / or SC-FDMA techniques, such as described herein with reference to other figures.

[0100] The user interface 1108 may take various forms according to a specific embodiment, or may not be present in the UE 1100. In some embodiments, the user interface 1108 includes a microphone, a speaker, a slidable button, a depressible button, a display, a touch screen display, a mechanical or virtual keypad, a mechanical or virtual keyboard, and / or any other user interface feature that is typically present on a mobile phone. In other embodiments, the UE 1100 may include a tablet computing device with a larger touch screen display. In such embodiments, one or more mechanical features in the mechanical features of the user interface 1108 may be replaced by a virtual user interface feature (e.g., a virtual keypad, a virtual button, etc.) that is equivalent or functionally equivalent to the touch screen display, as is familiar to those of ordinary skill in the art. In other embodiments, the UE 1100 may be a digital computing device, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a workstation, etc., which includes a mechanical keyboard that may be integrated, detachable, or detachable according to a specific exemplary embodiment. Such digital computing devices may also include a touch screen display. Many exemplary embodiments of the UE 1100 with a touch screen display are capable of receiving user input, such as input associated with the exemplary methods and / or procedures described herein or known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0101] In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, UE 1100 includes an orientation sensor that can be used in various ways by the features and functions of UE 1100. For example, UE 1100 can use the output of the orientation sensor to determine when a user has changed the physical orientation of the touch screen display of UE 1100. The indication signal from the orientation sensor can be used for any application executed on UE 1100, so that the application can automatically change the orientation of the screen display (e.g., from portrait to landscape) when the indication signal indicates an approximately 90-degree change in the physical orientation of the device. In this way, regardless of the physical orientation of the device, the application can maintain the screen display in a user-readable manner. In addition, the output of the orientation sensor can be used in conjunction with various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0102] The control interface 1110 can take various forms depending on the particular implementation. For example, the control interface 1110 can include an RS-232 interface, an RS-485 interface, a USB interface, an HDMI interface, a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE ("FireWire") interface, an I 2 C interface, PCMCIA interface, etc. In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the control interface 1260 may include an IEEE 802.3 Ethernet interface, such as described above. In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the control interface 1110 may include an analog interface circuit, which includes, for example, one or more digital-to-analog (D / A) converters and / or analog-to-digital (A / D) converters.

[0103] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the above list of features, interfaces, and radio frequency communication standards is merely exemplary and does not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Fig.11 The UE 1100 may include more functions as shown, including, for example, video and / or still image cameras, microphones, media players and / or recorders, etc. In addition, one or more transceivers 1104 may include circuits for communicating using additional radio frequency communication standards including Bluetooth, GPS and / or others. In addition, one or more processors 1102 may execute software code stored in memory 1106 to control such additional functions. For example, the directional speed and / or position estimate output from the GPS receiver may be used for any application executed on the UE 1100, including various exemplary methods and / or computer-readable media according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0104] Fig.12 is a block diagram of an exemplary network node 1200 that may be configured according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, including by executing instructions corresponding to any of the exemplary methods and / or procedures described herein on a computer-readable medium.

[0105] The network node 1200 includes one or more processors 1202, a radio network interface 1204, a memory 1206, a core network interface 1208, and other interfaces 1210. The network node 1200 may include, for example, a base station, an eNB, a gNB, a TRP, an access node, or a component of a network node.

[0106] The one or more processors 1202 may include any type of processor or processing circuit, and may be configured to perform one of the methods or programs disclosed herein. The memory 1206 may store software codes, programs and / or instructions executed by the one or more processors 1202 to configure the network node 1200 to perform various operations, including the operations described herein. For example, the execution of such stored instructions may configure the network node 1200 to communicate with one or more other devices using protocols according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (including one or more methods and / or programs discussed above). In addition, the execution of such stored instructions may also configure and / or facilitate the network node 1200 to communicate with one or more other devices using other protocols or protocol layers (such as one or more of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP for LTE, LTE-A and / or NR, or any other higher layer protocol used in combination with the radio network interface 1204 and the core network interface 1208). By way of example and not limitation, the core network interface 1208 includes an S1 interface, and the radio network interface 1204 may include a Uu interface, such as standardized by 3GPP. The memory 1206 may also store variables used in protocols, configuration, control, and other functions of the network node 1200. Thus, the memory 1206 may include non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory, hard disk, etc.), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic RAM), network-based (e.g., "cloud") storage, or a combination thereof.

[0107] The radio network interface 1204 may include a transmitter, a receiver, a signal processor, an ASIC, an antenna, a beamforming unit, and other circuits that enable the network node 1200 to communicate with other equipment (in some embodiments, such as multiple compatible user equipment (UE)). In some embodiments, the network node 1200 may include various protocols or protocol layers, such as PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP for LTE, LTE-A, and / or 5G / NR. According to other embodiments of the present disclosure, the radio network interface 1204 may include a PHY layer based on OFDM, OFDMA, and / or SC-FDMA technology. In some embodiments, the functionality of this PHY layer may be provided collaboratively by the radio network interface 1204 and one or more processors 1202.

[0108] The core network interface 1208 may include a transmitter, a receiver, and other circuits that enable the network node 1200 to communicate with other equipment in the core network (in some embodiments, such as circuit switching (CS) and / or packet switching core (PS) networks). In some embodiments, the core network interface 1208 may include an S1 interface standardized by 3GPP. In some embodiments, the core network interface 1208 may include one or more interfaces to one or more SGWs, MMEs, SGSNs, GGSNs, and other physical devices, including functions known to those of ordinary skill in the art that exist in GERAN, UTRAN, E-UTRAN, and CDMA2000 core networks. In some embodiments, these one or more interfaces may be multiplexed together on a single physical interface. In some embodiments, the lower layers of the core network interface 1208 may include one or more of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), Internet Protocol (IP) on Ethernet, SDH on optical fiber, T1 / E1 / PDH on copper wire, microwave radio, or other wired or wireless transmission technologies known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0109] Other interfaces 1210 may include transmitters, receivers, and other circuits that enable network node 1200 to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc., for operation, management, and maintenance of network node 1200 or other network equipment operably connected thereto.

[0110] Exemplary System Architecture

[0111] In certain embodiments, the 5G system architecture supports data connectivity and services, enabling deployment to use technologies such as network function virtualization and software defined networks. The 5G system architecture can utilize service-based interactions between control plane network functions. Separating user plane functions from control plane functions allows independent scalability, evolution, and flexible deployment (e.g., centralized locations or distributed (remote) locations). Modular function design allows functional reuse, and flexible and effective network slicing can be achieved. Network functions and their network function services can interact with another NF and its network function services directly or indirectly via a service communication agent. Another intermediate function can help route control plane messages. The architecture minimizes the dependency between AN and CN. The architecture may include an aggregated core network with a public AN-CN interface that integrates different access types (e.g., 3GPP access and non-3GPP access). The architecture may also support a unified authentication framework, stateless NFs with decoupling of computing resources from storage resources, capability exposure, concurrent access to local and centralized services (to support low-latency services and access to local data networks, user plane functions may be deployed near the AN), and / or roaming in the visited PLMN with both home-routed traffic as well as local breakout traffic.

[0112] The 5G architecture may be defined as service-based, and the interactions between network functions may include a service-based representation, where a network function (e.g., AMF) within the control plane enables other authorized network functions to access its services. The service-based representation may also include a point-to-point reference point. The reference point representation may also be used to show the interactions between NF services in a network function described by a point-to-point reference point (e.g., N11) between any two network functions (e.g., AMF and SMF).

[0113] Fig.13 A service-based architecture 1300 in 5GS according to one embodiment is shown. As described in 3GPP TS23.501, the service-based architecture 1300 includes NFs such as NSSF 1308, NEF 1310, NRF 1314, PCF 1312, UDM 1326, AUSF 1318, AMF 1320, and SMF 1322 for communicating with UE 1316, (R) AN 1306, UPF 1302, and DN 1304. NFs and NF services can communicate directly (referred to as direct communication) or indirectly via SCP 1324 (referred to as indirect communication). Fig.13 The corresponding service-based interfaces are also shown, including Nutm, Naf, Nudm, Npcf, Nsmf, Nnrf, Namf, Nnef, Nnssf and Nausf, as well as reference points N1, N2, N3, N4 and N6. Fig.13Some exemplary functions provided by the NF shown.

[0114] NSSF 1308 supports functions such as: selecting a set of network slice instances to serve the UE; determining the allowed NSSAIs and, if necessary, determining the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAI; determining the configured NSSAI and, if necessary, determining the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAI; and / or determining the set of AMFs to be used to serve the UE, or a list of candidate AMFs based on the configuration, possibly by querying the NRF.

[0115] NEF 1310 supports the exposure of capabilities and events. NF capabilities and events can be securely exposed by NEF 1310 (e.g., for third parties, application functions and / or edge computing). NEF 1310 can use a standardized interface (Nudr) to UDR to store / retrieve information as structured data. NEF 1310 can also securely provide information to the 3GPP network from external applications, and can provide application functions to securely provide information to the 3GPP network (e.g., expected UE behavior, 5GLAN group information, and service-specific information), where NEF 1310 can authenticate and authorize and help limit application functions. NEF 1310 can provide internal-external information conversion by converting between information exchanged with AF and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 1310 converts between AF service identifiers and internal 5G core information (such as DNN and S-NSSAI). NEF 1310 can handle the masking of network and user sensitive information of external AF according to network policy. NEF 1310 may receive information from other network functions (based on the exposed capabilities of other network functions) and store the received information as structured data using a standardized interface to the UDR. The stored information may then be accessed by NEF 1310 and re-exposed to other network functions and application functions, and used for other purposes such as analysis. For external exposure of services related to a specific UE, NEF 1310 may reside in the HPLMN. Depending on the operator agreement, the NEF 1310 in the HPLMN may have an interface with the NF in the VPLMN. SCEF+NEF may be used for service exposure when the UE is able to switch between EPC and 5GC.

[0116] NRF 1314 supports service discovery functionality by receiving NF discovery requests from NF instances or SCPs and providing information of discovered NF instances to NF instances or SCPs. NRF 1314 may also support P-CSCF discovery (a special case of SMF discovery of AF), maintain NF profiles of available NF instances and their supported services, and / or notify subscribed NF service consumers or SCPs of newly registered / updated / deregistered NF instances together with their NF services. In the context of network slicing, multiple NRFs may be deployed at different levels, such as PLMN level (NRF configured with information of the entire PLMN), shared slice level (NRF configured with information belonging to a network slice set), and / or slice-specific level (NRF configured with information belonging to S-NSSAI), based on network specific implementation. In the context of roaming, multiple NRFs may be deployed in different networks, wherein the NRF in the visited PLMN (referred to as vNRF) is configured with information of the visited PLMN, and wherein the NRF in the home PLMN (referred to as hNRF) is configured with information of the home PLMN, referenced by the vNRF via the N27 interface.

[0117] PCF 1312 supports a unified policy framework to govern network behavior. PCF 1312 provides policy rules for control plane functions to implement them. PCF 1312 accesses subscription information related to policy decisions in a unified data repository (UDR). PCF 1312 can access a UDR located in the same PLMN as the PCF.

[0118] The UDM 1326 supports the generation of 3GPP AKA authentication credentials, user identity handling (e.g., storage and management of SUPI for each user in the 5G system), unhiding of the privacy-preserving subscription identifier (SUCI), access authorization based on subscription data (e.g., roaming restrictions), UE's serving NF registration management (e.g., storing the service AMF for the UE, storing the PDU session storage service SMF for the UE), service / session continuity (e.g., by maintaining the SMF / DNN allocation for ongoing sessions), MT-SMS delivery, lawful interception functions (especially in outbound roaming situations where the UDM is the only contact point for the LI), subscription management, SMS management, 5GLAN group management processing and / or external parameter configuration (expected UE behavior parameters or network configuration parameters). To provide such functions, the UDM 1326 uses subscription data (including authentication data) that can be stored in the UDR, in which case the UDM implements the application logic and may not require internal user data storage, and several different UDMs can serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM 1326 can be located in the HPLMN of the subscriber it serves and can access the information of the UDR located in the same PLMN.

[0119] AF 1328 interacts with the core network to provide services such as supporting: application impact on traffic routing; access to NEF 1310; interaction with the policy framework for policy control; and / or IMS interaction with 5GC. Based on operator deployment, application functions that are considered to be trusted by the operator may be allowed to interact directly with related network functions. Application functions that the operator does not allow direct access to network functions may use an external exposure framework via NEF 1310 to interact with related network functions.

[0120] AUSF 1318 supports authentication for 3GPP access and untrusted non-3GPP access. AUSF 1318 can also provide support for network slice-specific authentication and authorization.

[0121] AMF 1320 supports termination of RAN CP interface (N2), termination of NAS (N1) for NAS encryption and integrity protection, registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception (for AMF events and interface to LI system), transmission of SM messages between UE and SMF, transparent proxy for routing SM messages, access authentication, access authorization, transmission of SMS messages between UE and SMSF, SEAF, location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between UE and LMF and between RAN and LMF, EPS bearer ID allocation for interworking with EPS, UE mobility event notification, control plane CIoT 5GS optimization, user plane CIoT 5GS optimization, configuration of external parameters (expected UE behavior parameters or network configuration parameters) and / or network slice-specific authentication and authorization. Some or all of the AMF functions may be supported in a single instance of AMF 1320. Regardless of the number of network functions, in some embodiments, only one NAS interface instance per access network between UE and CN terminates at one of the network functions that implements at least NAS security and mobility management. AMF 1320 may also include policy-related functions.

[0122] In addition to the above functions, AMF 1320 may also include the following functions to support non-3GPP access networks: support N2 interface with N3IWF / TNGF, on which some information (e.g., 3GPP cell identification) and procedures (e.g., handover related) defined on 3GPP access may not be applicable, and non-3GPP access specific information not applicable to 3GPP access may be applied; support NAS signaling with UE through N3IWF / TNGF, where some procedures supported by NAS signaling through 3GPP access may not be applicable to untrusted non-3GPP (e.g., paging) access; support authentication of UE connected through N3IWF / TNGF; management of mobility, authentication and separate security context states of UE connected via non-3GPP access or simultaneously connected via 3GPP access or non-3GPP access; support coordinated RM management context valid on 3GPP access and non-3GPP access; and / or support dedicated CM management context for UE connected via non-3GPP access. It may not be necessary to support all of the above functions in the instance of network slicing.

[0123] SMF 1322 supports session management (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes), UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization) (where the UE IP address can be received from the UPF or from an external data network), DHCPv4 (server and client) and DHCPv6 (server and client) functions, functions for responding to address resolution protocol requests and / or IPv6 neighbor solicitation requests based on local cache information of Ethernet PDUs (e.g., SMF responds to ARP and / or IPv6 neighbor solicitation requests by providing a MAC address corresponding to the IP address sent in the request), selection and control of user plane functions (including controlling the UPF to proxy ARP or IPv6 neighbor discovery or forwarding all ARP / IPv6 neighbor solicitation traffic to the SMF for Ethernet PDU sessions), traffic steering configuration at the UPF to route traffic to the appropriate destination, 5G VN group management (e.g., maintaining the topology of the PSA UPFs involved, in the PSA Establish and publish N19 tunnels between UPFs, configure traffic forwarding at UPF to apply local switching and / or N6-based forwarding or N19-based forwarding), terminate interfaces towards policy control functions, lawful interception (for SM events and interfaces to LI systems), charge for data collection and support charging interfaces, control and coordinate charging data collection at UPF, terminate the SM part of NAS messages, downlink data notification, initiator of AN-specific SM information sent to AN via AMF over N2, determination of SSC mode for session, control plane CIoT 5GS optimization, header compression, act as I-SMF in deployments where I-SMF can be inserted / removed / relocated, configure external parameters (expected UE behavior parameters or network configuration parameters), P-CSCF discovery for IMS services, roaming functions (e.g., handling local implementation to apply QoS SLA (VPLMN), charging data collection and charging interface (VPLMN) and / or lawful interception (in VPLMN for SM events and interface to LI system), interaction with external DN to transmit signaling for PDU session authentication / authorization for external DN and / or instructing UPF and NG-RAN to perform redundant transmission on N3 / N9 interface. Some or all of the SMF functions may be supported in a single instance of SMF. However, in some embodiments, not all functions need to be supported in an instance of a network slice. In addition to these functions, SMF 1322 may include policy-related functions.

[0124] SCP 1324 includes one or more of the following functions: indirect communication; delegated discovery; message forwarding and routing to destination NF / NF service; communication security (e.g., authorization of NF service consumer to access NF service manufacturer API), load balancing, monitoring, overload control, etc.; and / or optionally interacting with UDR to resolve UDM group ID / UDR group ID / AUSF group ID / PCF group ID / CHF group ID / HSS group ID based on UE identity (e.g., SUPI or IMPI / IMPU). Some or all of the SCP functions may be supported in a single instance of SCP. In some embodiments, SCP 1324 may be deployed in a distributed manner and / or more than one SCP may be present in the communication path between NF services. SCP may be deployed at PLMN level, shared slice level, and slice-specific level. Operator deployment may be left to ensure that SCP can communicate with relevant NRFs.

[0125] UE 1316 may include a device with radio communication capabilities. For example, UE 1316 may include a smart phone (e.g., a handheld touch screen mobile computing device that can be connected to one or more cellular networks). UE 1316 may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a personal data assistant (PDA), a pager, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wireless handheld device, or any computing device including a wireless communication interface. UE is also referred to as a client, a mobile phone, a mobile device, a mobile terminal, a user terminal, a mobile unit, a mobile station, a mobile user, a subscriber, a user, a remote station, an access agent, a user agent, a receiver, a radio equipment, a reconfigurable radio equipment, or a reconfigurable mobile device. UE 1316 may include an IoT UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. IoT UE may utilize technology (e.g., M2M, MTC, or mMTC technology) to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a PLMN, other UEs using ProSe or D2D communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network. M2M or MTC data exchange may be machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure). The IoT UEs may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0126] UE 1316 may be configured to be connected or communicatively coupled to (R)AN 1306 via a radio interface 1330, which may be a physical communication interface or layer configured to operate with a cellular communication protocol such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a push-to-talk (PTT) protocol, a cellular PTT (POC) protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, etc. For example, UE 1316 and (R)AN 1306 may use a Uu interface (e.g., an LTE-Uu interface) to exchange control plane data via a protocol stack including a PHY layer, a MAC layer, an RLC layer, a PDCP layer, and an RRC layer. DL transmissions may be from (R)AN 1306 to UE 1316, and UL transmissions may be from UE 1316 to (R)AN 1306. UE 1316 may also communicate directly with another UE (not shown) using a side link for D2D, P2P, and / or ProSe communication. For example, the ProSe interface may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0127] (R)AN 1306 may include one or more access nodes, which may be referred to as base stations (BS), node Bs, evolved node Bs (eNBs), next generation node Bs (gNBs), RAN nodes, controllers, transmit receive points (TRPs), etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations, which provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). (R)AN 1306 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing macro cells, pico cells, femto cells, or other types of cells. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several thousand meters in radius) and may allow unrestricted access to a UE with a service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access to a UE with a service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access to a UE associated with the femto cell (e.g., a UE in a closed subscriber group (CSG), a UE of a user in a home, etc.).

[0128] Although not shown, multiple RAN nodes (such as (R)AN 1306) may be used, with an Xn interface defined between two or more nodes. In some specific implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support / provide data forwarding and flow control functions. The Xn-C may provide management and error handling functions for managing the functions of the Xn-C interface; mobility support for UE 1316 in connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED), including functions for managing UE mobility in connected mode between one or more (R)AN nodes. The mobility support may include context transfer from an old (source) serving (R)AN node to a new (target) serving (R)AN node; and control of a user plane tunnel between an old (source) serving (R)AN node and a new (target) serving (R)AN node.

[0129] UPF 1302 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point interconnected with DN 1304, and a branch point to support multi-donor PDU sessions. UPF 1302 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, enforce the user plane portion of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets (UP collection); traffic usage reporting, perform QoS processing on the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. UPF 1302 may include an uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flows to data networks. DN 1304 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. DN 1304 may include, for example, an application server.

[0130] Fig.14 1 is a block diagram illustrating a component 1400 capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and capable of performing any one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some exemplary embodiments. Specifically, Fig.14 A diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 1402 is shown, including one or more processors 1406 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 1414, and one or more communication resources 1424, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1416. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1422 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1402.

[0131] Processor 1406 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) (such as a baseband processor), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1408 and processor 1410.

[0132] The memory / storage device 1414 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1414 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0133] The communication resources 1424 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1404 or one or more databases 1420 via the network 1418. For example, the communication resources 1424 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a universal serial bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components, Parts (such as Low power consumption), components and other communication components.

[0134] The instructions 1412 may include software, programs, applications, applet, applications, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors 1406 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 1412 may reside completely or partially within at least one of the processors 1406 (e.g., within a cache memory of a processor), the memory / storage device 1414, or any suitable combination thereof. In addition, any portion of the instructions 1412 may be transmitted to the hardware resources 1402 from any combination of the peripheral device 1404 or the database 1420. Therefore, the memory of the processor 1406, the memory / storage device 1414, the peripheral device 1404, and the database 1420 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0135] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes and / or methods described in the following examples section. For example, the baseband circuit described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the following examples. For another example, the circuits associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the examples section below.

[0136] Examples

[0137] The following examples relate to additional embodiments.

[0138] Embodiment 1 is a method of a target user equipment (UE) of a wireless communication system, comprising: receiving a communication indicating that the target UE will receive a positioning signal from an assisting UE; receiving the positioning signal from the assisting UE; and performing positioning measurements using the positioning signal received from the target UE.

[0139] Embodiment 2 is a method according to embodiment 1, further comprising: transmitting a UE capability information message, wherein the UE capability information message indicates that the target UE is capable of measuring the positioning signal received from the auxiliary UE.

[0140] Embodiment 3 is a method according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein the communication is received from the assisting UE in sidelink control information (SCI).

[0141] Embodiment 4 is a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 2, wherein the communication is received from the base station in one of downlink control information (DCI) or medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

[0142] Embodiment 5 is a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the positioning signal is a downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (DL-PRS).

[0143] Embodiment 6 is a method according to embodiment 5, wherein the DL-PRS is a periodic DL-PRS, and the periodic DL-PRS is configured according to one of a radio resource control (RRC) configuration received from the base station at the target UE and a pre-configuration of the target UE.

[0144] Embodiment 7 is a method according to embodiment 5, wherein the DL-PRS is a semi-persistent DL-PRS, the semi-persistent DL-PRS is configured according to one of a radio resource control (RRC) configuration received from the base station at the target UE and a pre-configuration of the target UE, wherein the reception of the semi-persistent DL-PRS is activated by one of downlink control information (DCI) from the base station and sidelink control information (SCI) from the auxiliary UE.

[0145] Embodiment 8 is a method according to embodiment 5, wherein the DL-PRS is an aperiodic DL-PRS, the aperiodic DL-PRS is configured according to one of a radio resource control (RRC) configuration received at the target UE from the base station and a pre-configuration of the target UE, wherein the reception of the aperiodic DL-PRS is triggered by one of downlink control information (DCI) from the base station and sidelink control information (SCI) from the auxiliary UE.

[0146] Embodiment 9 is a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the positioning signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0147] Embodiment 10 is a method according to embodiment 9, wherein the SRS is a periodic SRS configured according to one of a radio resource control (RRC) configuration received at the target UE from the base station and a pre-configuration of the target UE.

[0148] Embodiment 11 is a method according to embodiment 9, wherein the SRS is a semi-persistent SRS, the semi-persistent SRS is configured according to one of a radio resource configuration (RRC) configuration received at the target UE from the base station and a pre-configuration of the target UE, wherein the reception of the periodic SRS is activated by one of downlink control information (DCI) from the base station and sidelink control information (SCI) from the auxiliary UE.

[0149] Embodiment 12 is a method according to embodiment 9, wherein the SRS is a non-periodic SRS, the non-periodic SRS is configured according to one of a radio resource control (RRC) configuration received at the target UE from the base station and a pre-configuration of the target UE, wherein the reception of the periodic SRS is triggered by one of downlink control information (DCI) from the base station and sidelink control information (SCI) from the auxiliary UE.

[0150] Embodiment 13 is a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 12, wherein the communication further indicates that the target UE will receive the positioning signal from the auxiliary UE on one or more symbols designated for use in an uplink (UL) direction, a downlink (DL) direction, or a flexible direction.

[0151] Embodiment 14 is a method according to embodiment 13, wherein the positioning signal is of a type corresponding to the direction for which the one or more symbols are designated.

[0152] Embodiment 15 is a method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 14, further comprising: receiving a second positioning signal from an entity other than the auxiliary UE of the wireless communication system on a component carrier different from the component carrier on which the positioning signal is received, wherein the positioning signal and the second positioning signal overlap on one or more symbols; and performing a second positioning measurement using the second positioning signal.

[0153] Embodiment 16 is a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 15, further comprising: determining that the positioning signal is a positioning signal in a report subset of multiple positioning signals received from multiple UEs including the auxiliary UE.

[0154] Embodiment 17 is a method according to embodiment 16, wherein the positioning signal is determined to be a positioning signal in the reporting subset based on a reference signal received power (RSRP) of the positioning signal.

[0155] Embodiment 18 is a method according to embodiment 16, wherein the positioning signal is determined to be a positioning signal in the reporting subset based on source prioritization information.

[0156] Embodiment 19 is a method of assisting user equipment (UE) of a wireless communication system, comprising: receiving a communication indicating that the assisting UE will transmit a positioning signal to a target UE; and scheduling the transmission of the positioning signal to the target UE.

[0157] Embodiment 20 is a method according to embodiment 19, further comprising: transmitting a UE capability information message, wherein the UE capability information message indicates that the auxiliary UE is capable of transmitting the positioning signal to the target UE.

[0158] Embodiment 21 is a method according to any one of embodiments 19 to 20, wherein the communication is received from the target UE in sidelink control information (SCI).

[0159] Embodiment 22 is a method according to any one of embodiments 19 to 20, wherein the communication is received from the base station in one of downlink control information (DCI) or medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

[0160] Embodiment 23 is a method according to any one of embodiments 19 to 22, wherein the communication further indicates that the auxiliary UE will transmit the positioning signal to the target UE on one or more symbols designated for use in an uplink (UL) direction, a downlink (DL) direction, or a flexible direction.

[0161] Embodiment 24 is a method according to embodiment 23, wherein the positioning signal is of a type corresponding to the direction for which the one or more symbols are designated.

[0162] Embodiment 25 is a method according to any one of embodiments 19 to 24, wherein the communication further indicates that the assisting UE will transmit the positioning signal at a specific transmission power.

[0163] Embodiment 26 is a method according to any one of embodiments 19 to 25, further comprising: determining that a speed of the assisting UE is greater than a speed threshold; and canceling the scheduled transmission of the positioning signal.

[0164] Embodiment 27 is a method according to any one of embodiments 19 to 25, further comprising: determining that the transmission of a second positioning signal to be sent from another entity of the wireless communication system to the target UE will overlap with one or more symbols to be used by the auxiliary UE to transmit the positioning signal to the target UE; and canceling the transmission of the positioning signal.

[0165] Embodiment 28 is a method according to any one of embodiments 19 to 25, further comprising: determining that an upcoming transmission of a second positioning signal to be sent from another entity of the wireless communication system to the target UE will overlap with one or more symbols to be used by the auxiliary UE to transmit the positioning signal to the target UE; and canceling the transmission of the positioning signal when the periodicity type of the positioning signal has a lower priority than the periodicity type of the second positioning signal.

[0166] Embodiment 29 is a method of a base station of a wireless communication system, comprising: sending a communication to a target user equipment (UE) that the target UE will receive a positioning signal from an auxiliary UE; and receiving from the target UE a measurement result of the positioning signal obtained by the target UE.

[0167] Embodiment 30 is a method according to embodiment 29, further comprising: transmitting a second communication to the assisting UE that the assisting UE will transmit the positioning signal to the target UE.

[0168] Embodiment 31 is a method according to any one of Embodiments 29 to 30, further comprising: scheduling the transmission of a second positioning signal from the base station to the target UE; determining that the transmission of the second positioning signal will overlap with one or more symbols used by the auxiliary UE to transmit the positioning signal to the target UE; and canceling the transmission of the second positioning signal.

[0169] Embodiment 32 is a method according to any one of Embodiments 29 to 30, further comprising: scheduling the transmission of a second positioning signal from the base station to the target UE; determining that the transmission of the second positioning signal will overlap with one or more symbols used by the auxiliary UE to transmit the positioning signal to the target UE; and canceling the transmission of the second positioning signal when the periodic type of the second positioning signal has a lower priority than the periodic type of the positioning signal.

[0170] Embodiment 33 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the above embodiments or any other method or process described herein.

[0171] Embodiment 34 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the above embodiments or any other method or process described herein.

[0172] Embodiment 35 may include a device comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of the above embodiments or any other method or process described herein.

[0173] Embodiment 36 may include methods, techniques or processes described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or parts or components thereof.

[0174] Embodiment 37 may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, described in or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0175] Embodiment 38 may include signals or portions or components thereof as described in or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0176] Embodiment 39 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU) or message or a portion or component thereof as described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or content otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0177] Embodiment 40 may include a signal encoded with data or a portion or component thereof as described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or content described in other ways in this disclosure.

[0178] Embodiment 41 may include a signal or a portion or component thereof encoded with a datagram, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or content otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0179] Embodiment 42 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of these computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform the methods, techniques, or processes described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or portions thereof.

[0180] Embodiment 43 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or a portion thereof.

[0181] Embodiment 44 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0182] Embodiment 45 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0183] Embodiment 46 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0184] Embodiment 47 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0185] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings or may be obtained from the practice of the various embodiments.

[0186] Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations that may be embodied in machine executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. A computer system may include one or more general or special purpose computers (or other electronic devices). A computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic components for performing operations, or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0187] It should be appreciated that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially incorporated into other systems, separated into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of one embodiment may be used in another embodiment. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described only in one or more embodiments, and it should be appreciated that unless otherwise stated herein, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment.

[0188] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0189] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for the sake of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways to implement both the processes and the apparatus described herein. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the specification is not limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for a target user of a wireless communication system to equip a UE, include: receiving a communication indicating that the target UE is to receive a positioning signal from an assisting UE; receiving the positioning signal from the assisting UE, wherein the positioning signal is a semi-persistent downlink positioning reference signal DL-PRS, the semi-persistent DL-PRS being configured according to one of a radio resource control RRC configuration received at the target UE from a base station and a pre-configuration of the target UE, wherein the reception of the semi-persistent DL-PRS is activated by one of downlink control information DCI from the base station and sidelink control information SCI from the assisting UE; and Positioning measurements are performed using the positioning signal received from the target UE.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: include: A UE capability information message is transmitted to the assisting UE, the UE capability information message indicating that the target UE is capable of measuring the positioning signal received from the assisting UE.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication is received from the assisting UE in sidelink control information (SCI).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication is received from a base station in one of downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication further indicates that the target UE is to receive the positioning signal from the assisting UE on one or more symbols designated for use in a downlink (DL) direction.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: include: receiving a second positioning signal from an entity other than the assisting UE of the wireless communication system on a component carrier different from the component carrier on which the positioning signal is received, wherein the positioning signal and the second positioning signal overlap on one or more symbols; as well as A second positioning measurement is performed using the second positioning signal.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: include: It is determined that the positioning signal is one positioning signal in a report subset of a plurality of positioning signals received from a plurality of UEs including the assisting UE. 8 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the positioning signal is determined to be a positioning signal in the reporting subset based on a reference signal received power (RSRP) of the positioning signal.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the positioning signal is determined to be a positioning signal in the reporting subset based on source prioritization information.

10. A method for assisting user equipment UE in a wireless communication system, include: receiving a communication indicating that the assisting UE is to transmit a positioning signal to a target UE; Scheduling transmission of the positioning signal to the target UE, wherein the positioning signal is a semi-persistent downlink positioning reference signal DL-PRS, the semi-persistent DL-PRS being configured according to one of a radio resource control RRC configuration received at the target UE from a base station and a pre-configuration of the target UE, wherein the reception of the semi-persistent DL-PRS is activated by one of downlink control information DCI from the base station and sidelink control information SCI from the auxiliary UE.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: include: A UE capability information message is transmitted, wherein the UE capability information message indicates that the assisting UE is capable of transmitting the positioning signal to the target UE.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the communication is received from the target UE in sidelink control information (SCI).

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the communication is received from a base station in one of downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the communication further indicates that the assisting UE is to transmit the positioning signal to the target UE on one or more symbols designated for use in a downlink (DL) direction.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the communication further indicates that the assisting UE is to transmit the positioning signal at a specific transmit power.

16. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: include: Determining that a speed of the auxiliary UE is greater than a speed threshold; as well as The scheduled transmission of the positioning signal is canceled.

17. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: include: determining that transmission of a second positioning signal to be sent from another entity of the wireless communication system to the target UE will overlap with one or more symbols to be used by the assisting UE to transmit the positioning signal to the target UE; and The transmission of the positioning signal is canceled.

18. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: include: determining that an upcoming transmission of a second positioning signal to be sent from another entity of the wireless communication system to the target UE will overlap with one or more symbols to be used by the assisting UE to transmit the positioning signal to the target UE; as well as In case the periodic type of the positioning signal has a lower priority than the periodic type of the second positioning signal, the transmission of the positioning signal is cancelled.

19. A method for a base station of a wireless communication system, include: transmitting, to a target user equipment UE, a communication that the target UE will receive a positioning signal from an assisting UE, wherein the positioning signal is a semi-persistent downlink positioning reference signal DL-PRS, the semi-persistent DL-PRS being configured according to one of a radio resource control RRC configuration received at the target UE from a base station and a pre-configuration of the target UE, wherein the reception of the semi-persistent DL-PRS is activated by one of downlink control information DCI from the base station and sidelink control information SCI from the assisting UE; and A measurement result of the positioning signal obtained by the target UE is received from the target UE.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: include: A second communication is transmitted to the assisting UE that the assisting UE will transmit the positioning signal to the target UE.

21. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: include: Scheduling transmission of a second positioning signal from the base station to the target UE; determining that the transmission of the second positioning signal will overlap with one or more symbols used by the assisting UE to transmit the positioning signal to the target UE; and The transmission of the second positioning signal is canceled.

22. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: include: Scheduling transmission of a second positioning signal from the base station to the target UE; determining that the transmission of the second positioning signal will overlap with one or more symbols used by the assisting UE to transmit the positioning signal to the target UE; as well as In case the periodicity type of the second positioning signal has a lower priority than the periodicity type of the first positioning signal, the transmission of the second positioning signal is cancelled.

Images