Positioning using non-positioning signals in downlink and / or uplink

Abstract

Described herein are systems and methods for wireless communication systems that perform positioning measurements in both the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) using signals that are not traditionally used for positioning purposes. A user equipment (UE) may generate a UE capability information message that indicates one or more signal types that the UE may process for DL ​​positioning measurements and / or that the UE may send for UL positioning measurements. The one or more signal types so indicated may include signals that are not traditionally used for positioning measurements. The UE may send the UE capability information message to the base station. The wireless communication system may then configure the base station and / or the UE to use such signal types with one or more positioning methods. In some embodiments, the base station may also indicate to the UE a subset of the indicated types of signals that should be processed for DL ​​measurements / should be sent for UL measurements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application generally relates to wireless communication systems, including determining the physical location of a UE using measurements of signals between the UE and a base station. 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 the LTE system, the 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, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or 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 Node B (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 method of a user equipment (UE) according to an embodiment is shown.

[0008] Figure 3 A method of a base station according to an embodiment is shown.

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

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

[0011] Figure 6 A UE according to one embodiment is shown.

[0012] Figure 7 A network node according to one embodiment is shown.

[0013] Figure 8 An exemplary service-based architecture is shown in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0014] Fig. 9 Infrastructure equipment according to one embodiment is shown.

[0015] Fig.10 A platform according to one embodiment is shown.

[0016] Fig.11 Components according to one embodiment are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Accurate data about the physical location of the UE may be used 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, switching, and other functions of the wireless communication network directly related to the physical operation of the UE within the wireless communication system are improved (corresponding to high accuracy). As another example, a user application (e.g., an application operating at least partially on one or more of the UE, base station, or another entity of the wireless communication system) that operates on or within the wireless communication system and can further communicate with other entities within the wireless communication system with respect to this location information may also benefit from accessing information about the physical positioning 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., the process may involve the use of signaling resources between the UE and the base station, and / or the use of 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., become faster), applications that use such data can be improved (e.g., faster access to UE location data by such applications makes it possible for the applications to improve the speed at which their UE positioning related processes are completed). Furthermore, to the extent that fewer overall resources of the wireless communication system can be used corresponding to signaling and / or processing used to determine the accurate location of the UE, efficiency (e.g., power usage) at the UE, 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 achieving (any of) improved accuracy, reduced latency, network efficiency, device efficiency, and improved integrity (e.g., a measure of trust that can be placed in correctness) with respect to determination of the location of the UE would be valuable to operators and users of such wireless communication systems.

[0018] Figure 1 A wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment is shown. The wireless communication system 100 includes a base station 102, a first UE 104, a second UE 106, a location management function (LMF) 112, and an access and mobility management function (AMF) 116, wherein the base station 102, the LMF 112, and the AMF 116 are shown as part of a core network 114 of the wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 is given by way of example and not limitation; wireless communication systems having more or fewer elements than these are contemplated.

[0019] Each of the first UE 104 and the second UE 106 can communicate with the base station 102 using either and / or both of a downlink (DL) signal 108 (which is transmitted from the base station 102 to the respective UE) and / or an uplink (UL) signal 110 (which is transmitted from the respective UE to the base station 102).

[0020] In some wireless communication systems, such as, for example, the wireless communication system 100, given positioning signals may be defined for use by UEs in the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL). These positioning signals may be provided to assist the wireless communication system 100 in determining the physical location of the UE. For example, in the DL, the wireless communication system 100 may define the use of a DL Positioning Reference Signal (DL-PRS) to be received and measured at the UE for such purposes. As a further example, in the UL, the wireless communication system 100 may define the use of a Positioning Sounding Reference Signal (Pos-SRS) to be received and measured at the base station for such purposes.

[0021] It is recognized that the UE and / or base station of a wireless communication system (such as, for example, the wireless communication system 100) may be further configured to use other signals in the relevant DL and / or UL to perform positioning measurements / calculations in order to achieve some or all of the above benefits. These other signals may be signals used in the wireless communication system 100 but have not traditionally been used / measured for the purpose of determining physical UE positioning. Such signals may be referred to as "non-positioning signals" in the present disclosure. For example, some DL non-positioning signals that have been identified in the wireless communication system 100 as being useful for positioning-related measurements / calculations include (but are not necessarily limited to) synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), primary synchronization signals (PSSs) (e.g., as found within SSBs), secondary synchronization signals (SSSs) (e.g., as found within SSBs), physical broadcast channels (PBCHs) (e.g., as found within SSBs), demodulation reference signals (DMRSs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), and tracking reference signals (TRSs). As another example, some UL non-positioning signals that have been identified in the wireless communication system 100 as being useful for positioning-related measurements / calculations include (but are not necessarily limited to) a sounding reference signal for multiple-input multiple-output (mimo-SRS), a physical random access channel (PRACH), and a physical uplink shared channel demodulation reference signal (PUSCH DMRS).

[0022] It is contemplated that in the embodiments herein, non-positioning signals may be used in addition to positioning signals in various positioning methods. It is also contemplated that in some embodiments discussed herein, non-positioning signals may be used in various positioning methods instead of positioning signals. Positioning methods that may use non-positioning signals may include, but are not limited to, observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) positioning, DL angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, DL time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, enhanced cell ID (EID) positioning, UL angle of arrival (UL-AoA) positioning, UL time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, and multi-round trip time (Multi-RTT) positioning. More broadly, it is contemplated that non-positioning signals may be used in the manner disclosed herein with various positioning methods such as those discussed in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.305 (Version 16.1.0, July 2020).

[0023] The use of one or more positioning methods using the described DL and / or UL positioning and / or non-positioning signals may be coordinated and / or controlled by the LMF 112. Measurements made by the base station 102 in accordance with these methods may be transmitted to the LMF 112. Measurements made by a UE (e.g., either the first UE 104 or the second UE 106) in accordance with these methods may first be transmitted by the respective UE to the base station 102 and then forwarded to the LMF 112. The LMF 112 may be an entity of the wireless communication system 100 that ultimately makes an actual determination of the physical location of the associated UE using the reported measurements. In some embodiments of the wireless communication system, the LMF 112 may interact with some or all of the rest of the core network 114 via the AMF 116.

[0024] The use of non-positioning signals for such positioning purposes may be implemented by a wireless communication system with capabilities that were not present in earlier systems. The wireless communication system 100 may exemplify one or more of these improved capabilities. For example, the base station 102, the first UE 104, and / or the second UE 106 of the wireless communication system 100 may make extensive use of the latest advances in beamforming, which may allow the base station 102 to deliver one or more DL non-positioning signals to one or more of the first UE 104 and / or the second UE 106 (and / or the first UE 104 and / or the second UE 106 deliver one or more UL non-positioning signals to the base station 102) with much higher and / or consistent measured RSRP (or otherwise increased and / or constant reception quality). As another example, the latest improvements to coverage enhancement capabilities may enable detection of measurement cells even in deep indoor channel conditions. Therefore, in either case, non-positioning signals that may not have been suitable for positioning before may now be very suitable.

[0025] Using non-positioned signals in DL to achieve network efficiency

[0026] In some wireless communication systems, various positioning methods may anticipate the use of DL positioning signals (such as DL-PRS). In such systems, DL positioning signals may be configured with different periodicities and / or bandwidths at the expense of network efficiency (e.g., at the expense of additional power usage at the base station) and at the expense of spectrum resource usage. It has been recognized that by reusing (already in use) DL non-positioning signals in related positioning methods to perform DL positioning measurements at the UE (instead of, for example, more complex and / or more frequent scheduling of DL positioning signals according to the described DL positioning signal-related messages), the network efficiency costs (and other costs) associated with determining UE positioning using only DL measurements of DL positioning signals can be reduced. As a result, under the methods described herein, the wireless communication system may be able to configure the base station to 1) cancel the transmission of one or more scheduled DL positioning signals and / or 2) allocate and / or send fewer DL positioning signals than will be required in the future, resulting in the described improvements in network efficiency (and other costs). Utilizing such methods may be particularly interesting in situations where high positioning accuracy is not necessarily required (e.g., high positioning accuracy may result from using a specific DL positioning signal for positioning measurements).

[0027] The UE's ability to process one or more types of signals for DL ​​positioning measurements may be indicated to the base station in a UE capability information message sent to the base station. This UE capability information message may include an indication of a DL positioning signal that the UE can process for DL ​​positioning measurements and / or an indication of a DL non-positioning signal that the UE can process for DL ​​positioning measurements. In this way, the wireless communication system is informed of the UE capabilities and can be reconfigured accordingly (this may include, for example, canceling and / or adjusting the amount and / or timing of DL positioning signals sent by the base station in the above manner). In addition, it is conceivable that in some cases, certain DL positioning signals may be assumed to be active within the wireless communication system. Therefore, in order to reduce complexity, the UE capability information message may only indicate, for example, a DL non-positioning signal and / or any DL positioning signal that the wireless communication system has not assumed to be active, which may (also or alternatively) be sent by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements, and which may (also or alternatively) be processed by the UE for UL positioning measurements.

[0028] It is also contemplated that this UE capability information message may also include (or not include) an indication relative to the UL signal as described below.

[0029] Based on the information found in the UE capability information message, DL non-positioning signals may be used in methods involving DL positioning measurements (in addition to or in lieu of DL positioning signals used in such methods). These methods may include, for example, OTDOA positioning, EID positioning, DL-AoD positioning, DL-TDOA positioning, and Multi-RTT positioning.

[0030] As part of these methods, the DL non-positioning signals processed at the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements may depend on the capabilities of the UE. Under some UE capabilities, one or more SSBs may be processed for DL ​​positioning measurements. In other cases, a portion of one or more SSBs may be processed for DL ​​positioning measurements (e.g., SSS, PSS, PBCH, or DRMS ​​in PBCH of one or more SSBs may be used for positioning measurements). Under some UE capabilities, one or more CSI-RS may be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements. Under some UE capabilities, one or more TRS may be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements.

[0031] In some cases, the base station may indicate to the UE, in response to the UE capability information message, a subset (or multiple subsets) of signals of the indicated type that should be used for DL ​​positioning measurements. For example, in the case of processing at the UE an SSB (or a portion thereof) for DL ​​positioning measurements corresponding to the indication in the UE capability information message, the base station may indicate to the UE a subset of SSBs sent by the base station to be so processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements.

[0032] It is also contemplated that in the method using DL positioning measurements, one or more DL non-positioning signals in addition to the DL non-positioning signals discussed above may also be used in the described manner with the DL positioning signal (e.g., DL-PRS) (or alternatively with the DL positioning signal).

[0033] In some wireless communication systems, it is expected that the DL-PRS is configured with a measurement gap (MG). In these systems, the maximum ratio of the measurement gap length (MGL) to the measurement gap repetition period (MGRP) may not exceed a given amount (eg, 30%).

[0034] Thus, the UE may indicate to the base station (e.g., via a UE capability information message) that when signals of at least two signal types are received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource, such signals may be processed for DL ​​positioning measurements (as described above). For example, the UE capability information message may indicate that when signals of at least two signal types are received in the same time slot, the same subframe, the same measurement gap, or the same time period, such signals may be processed for DL ​​positioning measurements. As another example, the UE capability information message may indicate that when signals of at least two signal types are received in the same frequency band, bandwidth, frequency band combination (BC), bandwidth part (BWP), or component carrier (CC), such signals may be processed for DL ​​positioning measurements. As another example, the UE capability information message may indicate that when signals of at least two signal types are received in the same time slot and BWP, the same subframe and the same CC, the same T ms and the same W Hz, etc., such signals may be processed for DL ​​positioning measurements (many other such combinations constitute the contemplated time and frequency resources). Note that this may be different from wireless communication systems in which the UE is not expected to receive, for example, DL-PRS on symbols used for other DL signals.

[0035] In some examples of this indication, the UE may explicitly indicate at least two signal types. For example, the UE may explicitly indicate that the at least two signal types include DL-PRS and SSB. In other examples, the UE may make an indication that the two signal types can be handled in this way by only explicitly indicating the DL non-positioning signal type (e.g., only indicating SSB). In these cases, various elements of the wireless communication system may implicitly understand that when receiving an indication of a non-positioning signal type that can be received by the UE in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource, a specific type of DL positioning signal (e.g., DL-PRS) will be one of the at least two signal types received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource. This implicit indication can be used in a case where the DL positioning signal implicitly indicated as one of the at least two signal types is the same as the DL positioning information that is assumed to be active within the wireless communication system and is therefore not indicated in the UE capability information message in the first case (as described above).

[0036] In the case of an indication that at least two signal types can be processed for DL ​​positioning measurements when such signals are received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource, the UE may also indicate to the base station (e.g., via a UE capability information message) the maximum supported number of signals of the at least two signal types (together) that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource. In these embodiments, the UE may also indicate (e.g., via a UE capability information message) the upper timing limit of the signals of the at least two signal types (together) that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource. The indication may be made according to the maximum time (for each of the at least two signal types combined) within a given time period (e.g., the maximum number of milliseconds that the UE can use for this processing per T ms). Alternatively, the indication may be made according to the maximum time (for each of the at least two signal types combined) within a given time slot periodicity (e.g., the maximum number of milliseconds that the UE can use for this processing per T time slots).

[0037] An indication of a maximum supported number of signals may be indicated on a per-frequency band and / or per-BC basis (e.g., the indication may indicate an indication of a maximum supported number of signals of at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource as the applicable frequency band or BC).

[0038] In other cases where an indication is made that at least two signal types may be processed for DL ​​positioning measurements when such signals are received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource, the UE may also indicate to the base station (e.g., via a UE capability information message) the maximum supported number of signals of one or both signal types (separately) of the at least two signal types that may be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource. In these cases, the UE may indicate the maximum supported number of signals of a first signal type of the at least two signal types. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may indicate the maximum supported number of signals of a second signal type of the at least two signal types. In some cases, the UE may make two indications (separately) regarding the first signal type of the at least two signal types and the second signal type of the at least two types. It is contemplated that either of the first signal type and the second signal type of the at least two signal types may (independently) represent a DL positioning signal or a DL non-positioning signal.

[0039] In any case, the wireless communication system may configure the base station to send signals of each of at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements in the same time resources, the same frequency resources, or the same time and frequency resources according to the capabilities indicated by the UE.

[0040] In some cases, the UE may not indicate to the base station (e.g., via a UE capability information message) that when signals of at least two signal types are received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource, such signals may be processed for DL ​​positioning measurements (as described above). In these cases, the wireless communication system may configure separate time resources and / or frequency resources for the two signal types (e.g., a first MG for a first signal type for DL-PRS, and a second MG for a second signal type for SSB).

[0041] Although the foregoing examples generally use DL-PRS and / or SSB in an exemplary manner at various locations, it is clearly contemplated that other DL positioning signals other than DL-PRS and / or other DL non-positioning signals other than SSB may be similarly applied corresponding to such examples. It is further contemplated that the above examples may use multiple DL positioning signals and / or multiple DL non-positioning signals in combination.

[0042] It is also contemplated that the use of DL non-positioning signals for positioning purposes may be used in conjunction with or independently of the use of UL non-positioning signals for UE positioning purposes (described below) within a wireless communication system.

[0043] Figure 2 A method 200 of a UE according to an embodiment is shown. The method 200 comprises generating 202 a UE capability information message indicating one or more signal types that the UE can process for DL ​​positioning measurements.

[0044] The method 200 further includes sending 204 a UE capability information message to the base station.

[0045] The method 200 also optionally includes receiving 206 from the base station an indication of a subset of one of the one or more signal types that may be processed at the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements.

[0046] The method 200 also includes receiving 208 one or more signals of the one or more signal types from a base station.

[0047] The method 200 also includes performing 210 DL positioning measurements using the one or more signals.

[0048] Figure 3A method 300 of a base station according to an embodiment is shown. The method 300 comprises receiving 302 a UE capability information message from a UE, the UE capability information message indicating one or more signal types that the UE can process for DL ​​positioning measurements.

[0049] The method 300 also optionally includes canceling 304 transmitting the DL positioning signal to the UE in response to receiving the UE capability information message.

[0050] The method 300 also optionally includes sending 306 to the UE an indication of a signal subset of one of the one or more signal types that can be processed at the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements.

[0051] The method 300 also includes sending 308 one or more signals of one or more signal types to the UE.

[0052] Using non-positioning signals in UL to achieve device efficiency

[0053] In some wireless communication systems, various positioning methods may foresee the use of UL positioning signals (such as Pos-SRS). Although the UEs of these wireless communication systems may be configured to send other UL (non-positioning) signals to the base station (e.g., as an example, mimo-SRS signals), the wireless communication system may not be configured to use these signals for UL positioning measurements. Therefore, separate and / or specific UL transmissions of UL positioning signals may be used (e.g., scheduling separate and / or specific UL transmissions of Pos-SRS as part of the SRS-Pos_Res signaling pattern). The use of separate and / or specific UL transmissions of UL positioning signals has accompanying equipment efficiency costs (e.g., in terms of power usage at the UE) and costs in terms of spectrum resource usage. It has been recognized that by reusing (already in use) UL non-positioning signals in related positioning methods to perform UL positioning measurements at the base station (instead of, for example, some or all of the UL positioning signal-related messages described), the equipment efficiency costs (and other costs) associated with determining UE positioning using only UL measurements of UL positioning signals can be reduced. As a result, under the methods described herein, the wireless communication system may be able to configure the UE to 1) cancel the transmission of one or more scheduled UL positioning signals and / or 2) allocate and / or send fewer UL positioning signals than will be required in the future, resulting in the described improvements in device efficiency (and other costs). Utilizing such methods may be particularly interesting in situations where high positioning accuracy is not necessarily required (e.g., high positioning accuracy may result from using a particular UL positioning signal for positioning measurements).

[0054] The ability of the UE to send one or more types of UL signals for UL positioning measurements may be indicated to the base station in a UE capability information message sent to the base station. The UE capability information message may include an indication of a UL positioning signal that the UE may send for UL positioning measurements and / or an indication of a UL non-positioning signal that the UE may send for UL positioning measurements. In this way, the wireless communication system is informed of the UE capabilities and may be reconfigured accordingly (which may include canceling and / or adjusting the amount and / or timing of the expected UL positioning signal at the base station in accordance with the above-mentioned UE changes). In addition, it is conceivable that in some cases, certain UL positioning signals may be assumed to be active within the wireless communication system. Therefore, in order to reduce complexity, the UE capability information message may only indicate, for example, UL non-positioning signals and / or any UL positioning signals that the wireless communication system has not assumed to be active, which may (may also or alternatively) be sent by the UE for UL positioning measurements, and which may (may also or alternatively) be processed by the UE for UL positioning measurements.

[0055] It is also contemplated that this UE capability information message may also include (or not include) an indication relative to a DL signal as previously described.

[0056] Based on the information found in the UE Capability Information message, UL non-positioning signals may be used in methods involving UL positioning measurements (in addition to or in lieu of UL positioning signals used in such methods). These methods may include, for example, UL-AoA positioning, UL-TDOA positioning, and Multi-RTT positioning.

[0057] As part of these methods, the UL non-positioning signals sent by the UE for UL positioning measurements may depend on the capabilities of the UE. In some UE capabilities, one or more mimo-SRS may be sent for UL positioning measurements. In some UE capabilities, one or more PRACH may be sent for UL positioning measurements. In some UE capabilities, one or more PUSCH DMRS may be sent for UL positioning measurements.

[0058] In some cases, the base station may indicate to the UE, in response to the UE capability information message, a subset (or multiple subsets) of the indicated type of signals that should be sent for UL positioning measurements. For example, in the case of sending mimo-SRS from the UE for UL positioning measurements, the base station may indicate to the UE a subset of the mimo-SRS sent by the UE that can be sent for UL position measurements.

[0059] It is also contemplated that in the method using UL positioning measurements, one or more UL non-positioning signals in addition to the UL non-positioning signals discussed above may also be used in the described manner with the UL positioning signal (e.g., Pos-SRS) (or alternatively with the UL positioning signal).

[0060] In some wireless communication systems, one or more UL positioning signals (e.g., Pos-SRS) may be transmitted to a base station starting from any symbol of a time slot used by a UE to transmit a UL positioning signal. It is contemplated that the wireless communication system may be further configured to allow UL non-positioning signals (e.g., mimo-SRS) to be transmitted to a base station starting from any symbol of a time slot used by a UE to transmit a UL non-positioning signal. This may help to more directly use UL non-positioning signals for UL positioning measurements within the wireless communication system. The UE capability information message may indicate that the UE is capable of transmitting one or more UL non-positioning signals starting from any symbol of a time slot used by the UE to transmit a UL non-positioning signal.

[0061] In some wireless communication systems, the UE may transmit one or more UL non-positioning signals (e.g., mimo-SRS) according to one or more of an inter-slot frequency hopping scheme, an intra-slot frequency hopping scheme, and a slot repetition scheme. It is contemplated that the wireless communication system may be further configured to allow the transmission of UL positioning signals (e.g., Pos-SRS) to the base station also according to one or more of an inter-slot frequency hopping scheme, an intra-slot frequency hopping scheme, and a slot repetition scheme. This may facilitate simpler integration of the use of UL positioning signals within the wireless communication system (e.g., where such a system already allows such a scheme for UL non-positioning signals, such a scheme may now be eligible for UL positioning measurements). In addition, this may enhance the ultimate accuracy of the results of some UE positioning methods that use these UL positioning signals for UL positioning measurements. The UE capability information message may indicate that the UE may transmit a UL positioning signal type (e.g., Pos-SRS type) according to one or more of an inter-slot frequency hopping scheme, an intra-slot frequency hopping scheme, and a slot repetition scheme.

[0062] A UE that can send UL non-positioning signals for UL positioning measurements may also indicate to the base station (e.g., via a UE capability information message) that signals of at least two signal types may be sent by the UE in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource. For example, the UE capability information message may indicate that signals of at least two signal types may be sent in the same time slot, the same subframe, the same measurement gap, or the same time period for UL positioning measurements. As another example, the UE capability information message may indicate that signals of at least two signal types may be sent in the same frequency band, bandwidth, BC, BWP, or CC for UL positioning measurements. As another example, the UE capability information message may indicate that signals of at least two signal types may be sent in the same time slot and BWP, the same subframe and the same CC, the same T ms and the same W Hz, etc. for UL positioning measurements (many other such combinations constitute the contemplated time and frequency resources).

[0063] In one example of this indication, the UE may explicitly indicate at least two signal types. For example, the UE may explicitly indicate that the at least two signal types include Pos-SRS and mimo-SRS. In other examples, the UE may indicate that the two signal types may be sent in this way by only explicitly indicating the UL non-positioning signal type (e.g., only indicating mimo-SRS). In these cases, various elements of the wireless communication system may implicitly understand that when receiving an indication of a non-positioning signal type that can be sent by the UE in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource, a specific type of UL positioning signal (e.g., Pos-SRS) will be one of the at least two signal types sent in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource. This implicit indication may be used in a case where the UL positioning signal implicitly indicated as one of the at least two signal types is the same as the UL positioning information that is assumed to be active within the wireless communication system and is therefore not indicated in the UE capability information message in the first case (as described above).

[0064] In case an indication is made that at least two signal types may be sent in the same time resources, the same frequency resources, or the same time and frequency resources for UL positioning measurements, the UE may also indicate to the base station (e.g., via a UE capability information message) the maximum supported number of signals of the at least two signal types (together) that may be sent by the UE in the same time resources, the same frequency resources, or the same time and frequency resources for DL ​​positioning measurements.

[0065] In other cases where an indication is made that at least two signal types may be sent in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource for UL positioning measurements, the UE may alternatively indicate (e.g., via a UE capability information message) the maximum supported number of one or both signal types (separately) of the at least two signal types that may be sent by the UE in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or the same time and frequency resource for DL ​​positioning measurements. In these cases, the UE may indicate the maximum supported number of signals of the first signal type of the at least two signal types. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may indicate the maximum supported number of signals of the second signal type of the at least two signal types. In some cases, the UE may make two indications (separately) regarding the first signal type of the at least two signal types and the second signal type of the at least two types. It is contemplated that either of the first signal type and the second signal type of the at least two signal types may (independently) represent an UL positioning signal or an UL non-positioning signal.

[0066] In any case, the wireless communication system may configure the UE to send signals of each of at least two signal types that may be sent by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements in the same time resources, the same frequency resources, or the same time and frequency resources, according to the capabilities indicated by the UE.

[0067] In some cases, the UE may not indicate to the base station (e.g., via a UE capability information message) that signals of at least two signal types may be sent in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, or within the same time and frequency resource for DL ​​positioning measurements (as described above). In these cases, the wireless communication system may configure separate time and / or frequency resources for the two signal types (e.g., a first BWP is used for a first signal type for Pos-SRS, and a second BWP is used for a second signal type for mimo-SRS).

[0068] Although the foregoing examples generally use Pos-SRS and / or mimo-SRS by way of example at various locations, it is clearly contemplated that other UL positioning signals other than Pos-SRS and / or other UL non-positioning signals other than mimo-SRS may be similarly applied corresponding to such examples. It is further contemplated that the above examples may use a plurality of UL positioning signals and / or a plurality of UL non-positioning signals in combination.

[0069] It is also contemplated that the use of UL non-positioning signals for positioning purposes may be used in conjunction with or independently of the use of DL non-positioning signals for UE positioning purposes (as described above) within a wireless communication system.

[0070] Figure 4A method of a UE according to an embodiment is shown. The method 400 includes generating 402 a UE capability information message indicating one or more signal types that the UE can send for UL positioning measurements.

[0071] The method 400 also includes sending 404 a UE capability information message to the base station.

[0072] The method 400 optionally further includes receiving 406 from the base station an indication of a signal subset of one of the one or more signal types that may be sent by the UE for UL positioning measurements.

[0073] The method 400 also includes transmitting 408 one or more signals of one or more signal types to a base station.

[0074] Figure 5 A method of a base station according to an embodiment is shown. The method 500 comprises receiving 502 a UE capability information message from a UE, the UE capability information message indicating one or more signal types that the UE can send for UL positioning measurements.

[0075] The method 500 also includes sending 504 to the UE an indication of a signal subset of one of the one or more signal types that may be sent by the UE for UL positioning measurements.

[0076] The method 500 also includes receiving 506 one or more signals of the one or more signal types from the UE.

[0077] The method 500 also includes performing 508 UL positioning measurements using the one or more signals.

[0078] Figure 6 600 is a block diagram of an exemplary UE 600 that can be configured according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, including by executing instructions corresponding to any exemplary method and / or process described herein on a computer readable medium. The UE 600 includes one or more processors 602, a transceiver 604, a memory 606, a user interface 608, and a control interface 610.

[0079] The one or more processors 602 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 602 may include an internal memory and / or may include an interface for communicating with an external memory (including memory 606). The internal or external memory may store software code, programs, and / or instructions for execution by the one or more processors 602 to configure and / or facilitate UE 600 to perform various operations, including the operations described herein. For example, the execution of the instructions may configure UE 600 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 the one or more transceivers 604, user interface 608, and / or control interface 610. For another example, the one or more processors 602 may execute program code stored in the memory 606 or other memory corresponding to the MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC layer protocols standardized by 3GPP (e.g., for NR and / or LTE). For another example, the processor 602 may execute program code stored in the memory 606 or other memory, which together with the one or more transceivers 604 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).

[0080] The memory 606 may include a memory area for the one or more processors 602 to store variables used in protocols, configurations, controls, and other functions of the UE 600 (including operations corresponding to or including any of the exemplary methods and / or processes described herein). In addition, the memory 606 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 606 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.

[0081] The one or more transceivers 604 may include radio frequency transmitter and / or receiver circuits that facilitate the UE 600 to communicate with other devices supporting similar wireless communication standards and / or protocols. For example, the one or more transceivers 604 may include switches, mixer circuits, amplifier circuits, filter circuits, and synthesizer circuits. Such RF circuit systems 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 the one or more processors 602. 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.

[0082] In some exemplary embodiments, the one or more transceivers 604 include transmitters and receivers that enable the device 1200 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 the one or more processors 602 to implement a PHY layer based on OFDM, OFDMA, and / or SC-FDMA techniques, such as described herein with reference to other figures.

[0083] The user interface 608 may take various forms according to a particular embodiment, or may not be present in the UE 600. In some embodiments, the user interface 608 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 600 may include a tablet computing device with a larger touch screen display. In such embodiments, one or more of the mechanical features of the user interface 608 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 that implemented using a touch screen display, as is familiar to those of ordinary skill in the art. In other embodiments, the UE 600 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 particular exemplary embodiment. Such a digital computing device may also include a touch screen display. Many exemplary embodiments of the UE 600 with a touch screen display are capable of receiving user input, such as input related to the exemplary methods and / or processes described herein or known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0084] In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, UE 600 includes an orientation sensor that can be used in various ways by the features and functions of UE 600. For example, UE 600 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 600. The indication signal from the orientation sensor can be used for any application executed on UE 600, 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.

[0085] The control interface 610 can take various forms depending on the particular implementation. For example, the control interface 610 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 610 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.

[0086] 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. Figure 6 The UE 600 may include more functions as shown, including, for example, video and / or still image cameras, microphones, media players and / or recorders, etc. In addition, the one or more transceivers 604 may include circuits for communicating using additional radio frequency communication standards including Bluetooth, GPS and / or others. In addition, the one or more processors 602 may execute software code stored in the memory 606 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 600, including various exemplary methods and / or computer-readable media according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0087] Figure 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary network node 700 that may be configured according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, including by executing instructions on a computer-readable medium corresponding to any of the exemplary methods and / or processes described herein.

[0088] The network node 700 includes one or more processors 702, a radio network interface 704, a memory 706, a core network interface 708 and other interfaces 710. The network node 700 may include, for example, a base station, an eNB, a gNB, an access node or a component thereof.

[0089] The one or more processors 702 may include any type of processor or processing circuit, and may be configured to perform one of the methods or processes disclosed herein. The memory 706 may store software codes, programs and / or instructions executed by the one or more processors 702 to configure the network node 700 to perform various operations, including the operations described herein. For example, the execution of such storage instructions may configure the network node 700 to communicate with one or more other devices using protocols (including one or more methods and / or processes described above) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In addition, the execution of such storage instructions may also configure and / or facilitate the network node 700 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 high-level protocol used in combination with the radio network interface 704 and the core network interface 708). By way of example and not limitation, the core network interface 708 includes an S1 interface, and the radio network interface 704 may include a Uu interface, such as standardized by 3GPP. The memory 706 may also store variables used in the protocol, configuration, control and other functions of the network node 700. Thus, the memory 706 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.

[0090] The radio network interface 704 may include a transmitter, a receiver, a signal processor, an ASIC, an antenna, a beamforming unit, and other circuits that enable the network node 700 to communicate with other equipment (in some embodiments, such as multiple compatible user equipment (UE)). In some embodiments, the network node 700 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 704 may include a PHY layer based on OFDM, OFDMA, and / or SC-FDMA technology. In some embodiments, the functions of such a PHY layer may be provided collaboratively by the radio network interface 704 and the one or more processors 702.

[0091] The core network interface 708 may include a transmitter, a receiver, and other circuits that enable the network node 700 to communicate with other equipment in the core network (in some embodiments, such as circuit switching (CS) and / or packet switching core (PS) network). In some embodiments, the core network interface 708 may include an S1 interface standardized by 3GPP. In some embodiments, the core network interface 708 may include one or more interfaces to one or more SGWs, MEEs, GSNs, GSNs, and other physical devices, including functions known to those of ordinary skill in the art present 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 layer of the core network interface 708 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.

[0092] Other interfaces 710 may include transmitters, receivers, and other circuits that enable network node 700 to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc., for operation, management, and maintenance of network node 700 or other network devices operably connected thereto.

[0093] Exemplary System Architecture

[0094] 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.

[0095] 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).

[0096] Figure 8 A service-based architecture 800 in 5GS according to one embodiment is shown. As described in 3GPP TS 23.501, the service-based architecture 800 includes NFs such as NSSF 808, NEF 810, NRF 814, PCF 812, UDM 826, AUSF 818, AMF 820, SMF 822 to communicate with UE 816, (R) AN 806, UPF 802, and DN 804. NFs and NF services can communicate directly (referred to as direct communication) or indirectly (referred to as indirect communication) via SCP 824. Figure 8 Also shown are corresponding service-based interfaces including Nutm, Naf, Nudm, Npcf, Nsmf, Nnrf, Namf, Nnef, Nnssf and Nausf and reference points N1, N2, N3, N4 and N6. Figure 8 Some exemplary functions provided by the NF shown.

[0097] The NSSF 808 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, possibly by querying the NRF based on the configuration.

[0098] NEF 810 supports the exposure of capabilities and events. NF capabilities and events can be securely exposed by NEF 810 (e.g., for third parties, application functions and / or edge computing). NEF 810 can store / retrieve information as structured data using a standardized interface (Nudr) to UDR. NEF 810 can also securely provide information to the 3GPP network from external applications, and can provide application functions to securely provide information (e.g., expected UE behavior, 5GLAN group information, and service-specific information) to the 3GPP network, where NEF 810 can authenticate and authorize and help limit application functions. NEF 810 can provide internal-external information conversion by converting between information exchanged with AF 828 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 810 converts between AF service identifiers and internal 5G core information (such as DNN and S-NSSAI). NEF810 can handle the masking of network and user sensitive information of external AF according to network policy. NEF 810 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 UDR. The stored information may be accessed by NEF 810 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 810 may reside in the HPLMN. Depending on the operator agreement, the NEF 810 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.

[0099] NRF 814 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 814 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.

[0100] PCF 812 supports a unified policy framework to govern network behavior. PCF 812 provides policy rules for control plane functions to implement them. PCF 812 accesses subscription information related to policy decisions in a unified data repository (UDR). PCF 812 can access a UDR located in the same PLMN as the PCF.

[0101] The UDM 826 supports the generation of 3GPP AKA authentication credentials, user identification processing (e.g., storage and management of SUPI for each subscriber 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, 5G LAN group management processing, and / or external parameter configuration (expected UE behavior parameters or network configuration parameters). To provide such functions, the UDM 826 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 826 can be located in the HPLMN of the subscriber it serves and can access the information of the UDR located in the same PLMN.

[0102] AUSF 818 supports authentication for 3GPP access and untrusted non-3GPP access. AUSF 818 may also provide support for network slice-specific authentication and authorization.

[0103] AMF 820 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 820. Regardless of the number of network functions, in some embodiments, only one NAS interface instance per access network between UE and CN is terminated at one of the network functions that implements at least NAS security and mobility management. AMF 820 may also include policy-related functions.

[0104] In addition to the above functions, AMF 820 may 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., related to handover) 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 via 3GPP access or non-3GPP access at the same time; 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.

[0105] SMF 822 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 the functions, SMF 822 may include policy-related functions.

[0106] SCP 824 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 824 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.

[0107] UE 816 may include a device with radio communication capabilities. For example, UE 816 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 816 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 816 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.

[0108] UE 816 may be configured to be connected or communicatively coupled to (R)AN 806 via a radio interface 830, 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 816 and (R)AN 806 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 806 to UE 816, and UL transmissions may be from UE 816 to (R)AN 806. UE 816 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).

[0109] (R)AN 806 may include one or more access nodes, which may be referred to as base stations (BS), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN nodes, controllers, transmission reception 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 806 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 kilometers 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.).

[0110] Although not shown, multiple RAN nodes (such as (R)AN 806) 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 816 in connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED) includes 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.

[0111] The UPF 802 may serve as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point interconnected with the DN 804, and a branch point to support multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 802 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane portion of policy rule enforcement, lawful interception of packets (UP collection); traffic usage reporting, QoS processing for the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), uplink traffic validation (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 802 may include an uplink classifier for supporting routing of traffic flows to a data network. The DN 804 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The DN 804 may include, for example, an application server.

[0112] Fig. 9 An example of infrastructure equipment 900 according to various embodiments is shown. The infrastructure equipment 900 can be implemented as a base station, a radio head, a RAN node, an AN, an application server, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. In other examples, the infrastructure equipment 900 can be implemented in or by a UE.

[0113] The infrastructure equipment 900 includes application circuits 902, baseband circuits 904, one or more radio front-end modules 906 (RFEM), memory circuits 908, power management integrated circuits (shown as PMIC 910), power tee circuits 912, network controller circuits 914, network interface connectors 920, satellite positioning circuits 916, and user interface circuits 918. In some embodiments, the infrastructure equipment 900 may include additional elements such as memory / storage devices, displays, cameras, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, these components may be included in more than one device. For example, the circuits may be included separately in more than one device for a CRAN, vBBU, or other similar implementation. The application circuits 902 include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: a low dropout regulator (LDO), an interrupt controller, a serial interface such as SPI, I 2 C or general programmable serial interface module, real-time clock (RTC), timer-counter (including interval timer and watchdog timer), general input / output (I / O or IO), memory card controller (such as secure digital (SD) multimedia card (MMC) or similar products), universal serial bus (USB) interface, mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) interface and joint test access group (JTAG) test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 902 can be coupled with or can include a memory / storage element and can be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the infrastructure equipment 900. In some specific implementations, the memory / storage element can be an on-chip memory circuit that can include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0114] The processor of the application circuit 902 may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 902 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein. For example, the processor of the application circuit 902 may include one or more Intel FPGAs. or Processor: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) or processors; ARM-based processors licensed by ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A series processors provided by Cavium(TM), Inc. and MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior P-class processor; etc. In some embodiments, the infrastructure equipment 900 may not utilize application circuits 902, but may include a dedicated processor / controller to process IP data received, for example, from an EPC or 5GC.

[0115] In some implementations, the application circuit 902 may include one or more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, etc. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and / or deep learning (DL) accelerators. For example, the programmable processing device may be one or more field programmable devices (FPDs), such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.; programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), etc.; ASICs, such as structured ASICs, etc.; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); etc. In such implementations, the circuits of the application circuit 902 may include logic blocks or logic architectures, as well as other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions, such as the processes, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of the application circuit 902 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic architectures, data, etc. in a lookup table (LUT), etc. The baseband circuit 904 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits.

[0116] The user interface circuitry 918 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with the infrastructure equipment 900 or a peripheral component interface designed to enable a peripheral component to interact with the infrastructure equipment 900. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch screen, a speaker or other audio transmitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or display device, etc. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0117] The radio front end module 906 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) radio front end module (RFEM) and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separated from the millimeter wave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays, and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical radio front end module 906 that combines both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0118] The memory circuit 908 may include one or more of the following: a volatile memory including a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and / or a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM); and a non-volatile memory (NVM) including a high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as a "flash memory"), a phase change random access memory (PRAM), a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc., and may be combined with a memory device obtained from and The memory circuit 908 may be implemented as one or more of: a solder-in package integrated circuit, a socket memory module, and a plug-in memory card.

[0119] The PMIC 910 may include a voltage regulator, a surge protector, a power alarm detection circuit, and one or more backup power sources, such as a battery or capacitor. The power alarm detection circuit may detect one or more of a brownout (undervoltage) and a surge (overvoltage) condition. The power tee circuit 912 may provide power extracted from a network cable to provide both power and data connections for the infrastructure equipment 900 using a single cable.

[0120] The network controller circuit 914 may provide connectivity to the network using a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet, Ethernet based on a GRE tunnel, Ethernet based on Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to / from the infrastructure equipment 900 via a network interface connector 920 using a physical connection, which may be an electrical connection (commonly referred to as a "copper interconnect"), an optical connection, or a wireless connection. The network controller circuit 914 may include one or more dedicated processors and / or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the network controller circuit 914 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0121] The positioning circuit 916 includes a circuit for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by a positioning network of a global satellite navigation system (GNSS). Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's Global Navigation System (GLONASS), the European Union's Galileo system, China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System, regional navigation systems or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., using the Indian constellation (NAVIC), Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), France's Doppler Orbit Chart and Satellite Integrated Radio Positioning (DORIS), etc. for navigation), etc. The positioning circuit 916 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. for facilitating OTA communications) to communicate with components of the positioning network such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 916 may include a micro technology (micro PNT) IC for positioning, navigation, and timing that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 916 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 904 and / or the radio front end module 906 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuit 916 may also provide location data and / or time data to the application circuit 902, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructures, etc. Fig. 9 The components shown may communicate with each other using interface circuitry that may include any number of bus and / or interconnect (IX) technologies, such as Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Extended ISA (EISA), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Peripheral Component Interconnect Extended (PCix), PCI express (PCie), or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX may be a proprietary bus, such as used in SoC-based systems. Other bus / IX systems may be included, such as I 2 C interface, SPI interface, point-to-point interface and power bus, etc.

[0122] Fig.10 An example of a platform 1000 according to various embodiments is shown. In an embodiment, the computer platform 1000 may be suitable for use as a UE, an application server, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. The platform 1000 may include any combination of components shown in the examples. The components of the platform 1000 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), part of an IC, a discrete electronic device, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted in the computer platform 1000, or as components otherwise incorporated within the chassis of a larger system. Fig.10The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of the components of computer platform 1000. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0123] Application circuit 1002 includes circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: LDO, interrupt controller, serial interface (such as SPI), I 2 C or general programmable serial interface module, RTC, timer-counter (including interval timer and watchdog timer), general IO, memory card controller (such as SD MMC or similar products), USB interface, MIPI interface and JTAG test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 1002 may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage element, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the platform 1000. In some specific implementations, the memory / storage element may be an on-chip memory circuit that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0124] The processor of the application circuit 1002 may include, for example, one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one or more GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, one or more CISC processors, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, multi-threaded processors, ultra-low voltage processors, embedded processors, some other known processing elements, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 1002 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein.

[0125] For example, the processor of the application circuit 1002 may include a processor based on Architecture Core TM Processors such as Quark TM 、Atom TM , i3, i5, i7 or MCU-class processors, or can be purchased from The processor of application circuit 1002 may also be one or more of the following: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor or Accelerated Processing Unit (APU); from Inc.'s AS-A9 processor, Snapdragon by Technologies, Inc. TM Processor, Texas Instruments, OpenMultimedia Applications Platform(OMAP) TM processors; MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; ARM-based designs licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M series processors; etc. In some implementations, the application circuit 1002 can be part of a system on a chip (SoC), in which the application circuit 1002 and other components are formed as a single integrated circuit or a single package, such as company( Edison Corporation TM or Galileo TM SoC board.

[0126] Additionally or alternatively, the application circuit 1002 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more of the following: a field programmable device (FPD), such as an FPGA, etc.; a programmable logic device (PLD), such as a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), etc.; an ASIC, such as a structured ASIC, etc.; a programmable SoC (PSoC); etc. In such embodiments, the circuits of the application circuit 1002 may include logic blocks or logic structures, and other interconnected resources that can be programmed to perform various functions such as the processes, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuits of the application circuit 1002 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic structures, data, etc. in a lookup table (LUT), etc.

[0127] Baseband circuit 1004 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits.

[0128] The radio front end module 1006 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) radio front end module (RFEM) and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separated from the millimeter wave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays, and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical radio front end module 1006 that combines both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0129] The memory circuit 1008 may include any number and type of memory devices for providing a certain amount of system memory. For example, the memory circuit 1008 may include one or more of the following: volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM) and / or synchronous dynamic RAM (SD RAM); and non-volatile memory (NVM), including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as flash memory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc. The memory circuit 1008 may be developed according to the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) based low power double data rate (LPDDR) design such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, etc. The memory circuit 1008 may be implemented as one or more of a solder-in package integrated circuit, a single die package (SDP), a dual die package (DDP), or a quad die package (Q17P), a socketed memory module, a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) including a micro DIMM or a mini DIMM, and / or soldered to a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In a low-power implementation, the memory circuit 1008 may be an on-chip memory or register associated with the application circuit 1002. In order to provide persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems, etc., the memory circuit 1008 may include one or more mass storage devices, which may include, among others, a solid state disk drive (SSDD), a hard disk drive (HDD), a micro HDD, a resistive change memory, a phase change memory, a holographic memory, or a chemical memory. For example, the computer platform 1000 may be combined with a memory device obtained from and Three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memory.

[0130] Removable memory 1026 may include devices, circuits, housings / casings, ports or receptacles, etc., for coupling portable data storage devices to platform 1000. These portable data storage devices may be used for mass storage, and may include, for example, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, micro SD cards, xD picture cards, etc.), as well as USB flash drives, optical disks, external HDDs, etc.

[0131] Platform 1000 may also include interface circuitry (not shown) for connecting external devices to platform 1000. External devices connected to platform 1000 via the interface circuitry include sensors 1022 and electromechanical components (shown as EMC 1024), as well as removable memory devices coupled to removable memory 1026.

[0132] Sensors 1022 include devices, modules, or subsystems that are designed to detect events or changes in their environment and send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit (IMU) including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or a magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) or a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, and / or a magnetometer; a level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.), a depth sensor, an ambient light sensor, an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; etc.

[0133] EMC 1024 includes devices, modules or subsystems for the purpose of enabling platform 1000 to change its state, position and / or orientation or to move or control mechanisms or (sub) systems. In addition, EMC 1024 may be configured to generate messages / signaling and send messages / signaling to other components of platform 1000 to indicate the current state of EMC 1024. Examples of EMC 1024 include one or more power switches, relays (including electromechanical relays (EMR) and / or solid-state relays (SSR)), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), audible sound generators, visual warning devices, motors (e.g., DC motors, stepper motors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks and / or other similar electromechanical components. In an embodiment, platform 1000 is configured to operate one or more EMC 1024 based on one or more capture events and / or instructions or control signals received from service providers and / or various clients. In some specific implementations, the interface circuit may connect platform 1000 to positioning circuit 1016. The positioning circuit 1016 includes a circuit for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by a positioning network of a GNSS. Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) may include the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS, the European Union's Galileo system, China's Beidou navigation satellite system, regional navigation systems or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., NAVIC, Japan's QZSS, France's DORIS, etc.), etc. The positioning circuit 1016 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices for facilitating OTA communications, such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc.) to communicate with components of the positioning network such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 1016 may include a micro PNT IC that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 1016 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 1004 and / or the radio front-end module 1006 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. Positioning circuitry 1016 may also provide location data and / or time data to application circuitry 1002 , which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (eg, radio base stations) for use in turn-by-turn navigation applications, and the like.

[0134] In some implementations, the interface circuit may connect the platform 1000 with a near field communication circuit (shown as NFC circuit 1012). The NFC circuit 1012 is configured to provide contactless short-range communication based on the radio frequency identification (RFID) standard, where magnetic field induction is used to enable communication between the NFC circuit 1012 and an NFC-enabled device (e.g., an "NFC touch point") external to the platform 1000. The NFC circuit 1012 includes an NFC controller coupled to an antenna element and a processor coupled to the NFC controller. The NFC controller may be a chip / IC that provides NFC functionality to the NFC circuit 1012 by executing NFC controller firmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack may be executed by the processor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmware may be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element to transmit a short-range RF signal. The RF signal may power a passive NFC tag (e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transmit stored data to the NFC circuit 1012, or initiate data transmission between the NFC circuit 1012 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smart phone or an NFC-enabled POS terminal) near the platform 1000.

[0135] The driver circuit 1018 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the platform 1000. The driver circuit 1018 may include various drivers to allow other components of the platform 1000 to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the platform 1000. For example, the driver circuit 1018 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface of the platform 1000, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensor 1022 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor 1022, an EMC driver for obtaining an actuator position of the EMC 1024 and / or controlling and allowing access to the EMC 1024, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0136] A power management integrated circuit (shown as PMIC 1010) (also referred to as a "power management circuit") may manage power provided to various components of the platform 1000. Specifically, the PMIC 1010 may control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion with respect to the baseband circuit 1004. The PMIC 1010 may typically be included when the platform 1000 is capable of being powered by a battery 1014, for example, when the device is included in a UE.

[0137] In some embodiments, the PMIC 1010 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the platform 1000. For example, if the platform 1000 is in the RRC_Connected state, in which the platform is still connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, then after a period of inactivity, the platform may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the platform 1000 may be powered off for short time intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the platform 1000 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which the device is disconnected from the network and no operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. are performed. The platform 1000 enters a very low power state and performs paging, in which the device wakes up periodically again to listen to the network and then powers off again. The platform 1000 may not receive data in this state; in order to receive data, the platform must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power saving modes may prevent the device from using the network for longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will be significantly delayed, and it is assumed that the delay is acceptable.

[0138] The battery 1014 can provide power to the platform 1000, but in some examples, the platform 1000 can be mounted in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to a power grid. The battery 1014 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery 1014 can be a typical lead-acid car battery.

[0139] In some implementations, the battery 1014 may be a "smart battery" that includes or is coupled to a battery management system (BMS) or a battery monitoring integrated circuit. The BMS may be included in the platform 1000 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 1014. The BMS may be used to monitor other parameters of the battery 1014, such as the state of health (SoH) and state of function (SoF) of the battery 1014 to provide fault prediction. The BMS may transmit information about the battery 1014 to the application circuit 1002 or other components of the platform 1000. The BMS may also include an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter that allows the application circuit 1002 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 1014 or the current from the battery 1014. The battery parameters may be used to determine actions that the platform 1000 may perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, etc.

[0140] A power block or other power source coupled to the grid can be coupled to the BMS to charge the battery 1014. In some examples, the power block can be replaced with a wireless power receiver to obtain power wirelessly, for example, through a loop antenna in the computer platform 1000. In these examples, a wireless battery charging circuit can be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuit selected can depend on the size of the battery 1014 and therefore the current required. Charging can be performed using the aviation fuel standard published by the Aviation Fuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard published by the Wireless Power Alliance, or the Rezence charging standard published by the Wireless Power Alliance.

[0141] The user interface circuit 1020 includes various input / output (I / O) devices present in or connected to the platform 1000, and includes one or more user interfaces designed to implement user interaction with the platform 1000 and / or a peripheral component interface designed to implement interaction with the peripheral components of the platform 1000. The user interface circuit 1020 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, in particular, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuitry may include any number and / or combination of audio or visual displays, including, in particular, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators such as binary status indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs such as a display device or touch screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LED display, a quantum dot display, a projector, etc.), wherein the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the platform 1000. The output device circuitry may also include a speaker or other audio emitting device, a printer, etc. In some embodiments, the sensor 1022 may be used as an input device circuit (e.g., an image capture device, a motion capture device, etc.) and one or more EMCs may be used as an output device circuit (e.g., an actuator for providing tactile feedback, etc.). In another example, an NFC circuit may be included to read an electronic tag and / or connect to another NFC-enabled device, the NFC circuit including an NFC controller and a processing device coupled to an antenna element. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0142] Although not shown, the components of platform 1000 may communicate with each other using a suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, which may include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCix, PCie, a time-triggered protocol (TTP) system, a FlexRay system, or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX may be a proprietary bus / IX, such as used in SoC-based systems. Other bus / IX systems, such as I 2 C interface, SPI interface, point-to-point interface and power bus, etc.

[0143] Fig.11 1 is a block diagram illustrating a component 1100 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.11 A schematic diagram of hardware resources 1102 is shown, which includes one or more processors 1106 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 1114, and one or more communication resources 1124, each of which can be communicatively coupled via a bus 1116. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1122 can be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1102.

[0144] Processor 1106 (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 1108 and processor 1110.

[0145] The memory / storage device 1114 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1114 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.

[0146] The communication resources 1124 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1104 or one or more databases 1120 via the network 1118. For example, the communication resources 1124 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a universal serial bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components, Parts (e.g. Low power consumption), components and other communication components.

[0147] The instructions 1112 may include software, programs, applications, applet, applications, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors 1106 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 1112 may reside completely or partially within at least one of the processors 1106 (e.g., within a cache memory of a processor), the memory / storage device 1114, or any suitable combination thereof. In addition, any portion of the instructions 1112 may be transmitted to the hardware resources 1102 from any combination of the peripheral device 1104 or the database 1120. Therefore, the memory of the processor 1106, the memory / storage device 1114, the peripheral device 1104, and the database 1120 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0148] 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.

[0149] Examples

[0150] The following examples relate to additional embodiments.

[0151] Embodiment 1 may include a method of user equipment (UE), the method comprising: generating a UE capability information message indicating one or more signal types that the UE can process for downlink (DL) positioning measurements; sending the UE capability information message to a base station; receiving one or more signals of the one or more signal types from the base station; and performing DL positioning measurements using the one or more signals.

[0152] Embodiment 2 may include a method according to embodiment 1, wherein the DL positioning measurement is performed by the UE as part of one of an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) positioning method, an enhanced cell ID (EID) positioning method, a DL angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning method, a DL time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning method, and a multiple round trip time (Multi-RTT) positioning method.

[0153] Embodiment 3 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 1 and 2, wherein the one or more signal types include one of a synchronization signal block (SSB), a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

[0154] Embodiment 4 may include the method of embodiment 3, further comprising receiving, from the base station, an indication of a subset of SSBs sent by the base station that may be processed at the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements.

[0155] Embodiment 5 may include the method of any one of Embodiments 1 and 2, wherein the one or more signal types include a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

[0156] Embodiment 6 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 1 and 2, wherein the one or more signal types include a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0157] Embodiment 7 may include the method of any one of Embodiments 1 and 2, wherein the one or more signal types include a tracking reference signal (TRS).

[0158] Embodiment 8 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates that when received in the same time resources, the same frequency resources, and one of the same time and frequency resources, signals of each of at least two signal types can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurement, and the at least two signal types include at least one signal type of the indicated one or more signal types.

[0159] Embodiment 9 may include a method according to embodiment 8, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates the maximum supported number of signals of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources.

[0160] Embodiment 10 may include a method according to embodiment 9, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates a timing upper limit of the signal of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurement when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources.

[0161] Embodiment 11 may include a method according to embodiment 9, wherein the UE capability information message further indicates a frequency band to which the indication applies for the maximum supported number of signals of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources.

[0162] Embodiment 12 may include a method according to embodiment 8, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates the maximum supported number of signals of the first signal type among the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources.

[0163] Embodiment 13 may include a method according to embodiment 12, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates the maximum supported number of signals of the second signal type among the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources.

[0164] Embodiment 14 may include a method of a base station, the method comprising: receiving a UE capability information message from a user equipment (UE), the UE capability information message indicating one or more signal types that the UE can process for downlink (DL) positioning measurement; and sending one or more signals of the one or more signal types to the UE.

[0165] Embodiment 15 may include the method according to embodiment 14, further comprising canceling transmission of a DL positioning signal to the UE in response to receiving the UE capability information message.

[0166] Embodiment 16 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 14 and 15, wherein the one or more signal types include one of a synchronization signal block (SSB), a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (PSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

[0167] Embodiment 17 may include the method of embodiment 16, further comprising sending, to the UE, an indication of a subset of SSBs sent by the base station that may be processed at the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements.

[0168] Embodiment 18 may include the method of any one of Embodiments 14 and 15, wherein the one or more signal types include a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

[0169] Embodiment 19 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 14 and 15, wherein the one or more signal types include a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0170] Embodiment 20 may include the method of any one of Embodiments 14 and 15, wherein the one or more signal types include a tracking reference signal (TRS).

[0171] Embodiment 21 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 14 to 20, wherein: the UE capability information message also indicates that when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources, a signal of each of at least two signal types can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurement, and the at least two signal types include at least one signal type of the indicated one or more signal types; and sending the one or more signals of the one or more signal types to the UE includes sending at least one signal of each of the at least two signal types to the UE in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and the one of the same time and frequency resources.

[0172] Embodiment 22 may include a method according to embodiment 21, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates the maximum supported number of signals of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources.

[0173] Embodiment 23 may include a method according to embodiment 22, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates a timing upper limit for the signal of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources.

[0174] Embodiment 24 may include a method according to embodiment 22, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates a frequency band to which the indication applies for the maximum supported number of signals of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources.

[0175] Embodiment 25 may include a method according to embodiment 21, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates the maximum supported number of signals of the first signal type among the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources.

[0176] Embodiment 26 may include a method according to embodiment 25, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates the maximum supported number of signals of the second signal type among the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources.

[0177] Embodiment 27 may include a method of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: generating a UE capability information message indicating one or more signal types that the UE can send for uplink (UL) positioning measurement; sending the UE capability information message to a base station; and sending one or more signals of the one or more signal types to the base station.

[0178] Embodiment 28 may include the method of embodiment 27, wherein the one or more signal types include a sounding reference signal for multiple-input multiple-output (mimo-SRS).

[0179] Embodiment 29 may include the method according to embodiment 28, further comprising receiving, from the base station, an indication of a subset of mimo-SRS sent by the UE that can be used for UL positioning measurements.

[0180] Embodiment 30 may include the method of embodiment 27, wherein the one or more signal types include a physical random access channel (PRACH).

[0181] Embodiment 31 may include the method of embodiment 27, wherein the one or more signal types include a physical uplink shared channel demodulation reference signal (PUSCH DMRS).

[0182] Embodiment 32 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 27 to 31, wherein the UE is configured to send at least one of the one or more signals of the one or more signal types to the base station starting from any symbol of a time slot used by the UE to send at least one of the one or more signals.

[0183] Embodiment 33 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 27 to 32, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates that a signal of one of the one or more signal types can be sent by the UE according to one or more of an inter-time slot hopping scheme, an intra-time slot hopping scheme, and a time slot repetition scheme.

[0184] Embodiment 34 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 27 to 33, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates that a signal of each of at least two signal types can be sent by the UE in the same time resources, the same frequency resources, and one of the same time and frequency resources, and the at least two signal types include at least one signal type of the indicated one or more signal types.

[0185] Embodiment 35 may include a method according to embodiment 34, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates the maximum supported number of signals of the at least two signal types that can be sent by the UE within the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources for UL positioning measurement.

[0186] Embodiment 36 may include a method according to embodiment 34, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates to the base station the maximum supported number of signals of the first signal type among the at least two signal types that can be sent by the UE within the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources for UL positioning measurement.

[0187] Embodiment 37 may include a method according to embodiment 36, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates the maximum supported number of signals of the second signal type among the at least two signal types that can be sent by the UE within the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources for UL positioning measurement.

[0188] Embodiment 38 may include a method of a base station, the method comprising: receiving a UE capability information message from a user equipment (UE), the UE capability information message indicating one or more signal types that the UE can send for uplink (UL) positioning measurements; receiving one or more signals of the one or more signal types from the UE; and performing UL positioning measurements using the one or more signals.

[0189] Embodiment 39 may include a method according to embodiment 38, wherein the UL positioning measurement is performed by the base station as part of one of a UL angle of arrival (UL-AoA) positioning method, a UL time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning method, and a multiple round trip time (Multi-RTT) positioning method.

[0190] Embodiment 40 may include the method of any one of Embodiments 38 and 39, wherein the one or more signal types include a sounding reference signal for multiple-input multiple-output (mimo-SRS).

[0191] Embodiment 41 may include the method according to embodiment 40, further comprising sending an indication to the UE of a subset of the mimo-SRS sent by the UE that can be used for UL positioning measurements.

[0192] Embodiment 42 may include a method according to any one of Embodiments 38 and 39, wherein the one or more signal types include a physical random access channel (PRACH).

[0193] Embodiment 43 may include a method according to any one of Embodiments 38 and 39, wherein the one or more signal types include a physical uplink shared channel demodulation reference signal (PUSCH DMRS).

[0194] Embodiment 44 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 38 to 43, wherein the base station is configured to receive at least one of the one or more signals of the one or more signal types from the UE starting from any symbol of a time slot used by the UE to send at least one of the one or more signals.

[0195] Embodiment 45 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 38 to 44, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates that a signal of one of the one or more signal types can be sent by the UE according to one or more of an inter-time slot hopping scheme, an intra-time slot hopping scheme, and a time slot repetition scheme.

[0196] Embodiment 46 may include a method according to any one of embodiments 38 to 45, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates that a signal of each of at least two signal types can be sent by the UE within the same time resources, the same frequency resources, and one of the same time and frequency resources for UL positioning measurement, and the at least two signal types include at least one signal type of the indicated one or more signal types.

[0197] Embodiment 47 may include a method according to embodiment 46, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates the maximum supported number of signals of the at least two signal types that can be sent by the UE within the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources for UL positioning measurement.

[0198] Embodiment 48 may include a method according to embodiment 46, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates a maximum supported number of signals of the first signal type among the at least two signal types that can be sent by the UE within the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources for UL positioning measurement.

[0199] Embodiment 49 may include a method according to embodiment 48, wherein the UE capability information message also indicates the maximum supported number of signals of the second signal type among the at least two signal types that can be sent by the UE within the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources for UL positioning measurement.

[0200] Embodiment 50 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of a method as described in or related to any of the above embodiments or any other method or process described herein.

[0201] Embodiment 51 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.

[0202] Embodiment 52 may include an apparatus 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.

[0203] Embodiment 53 may include any of the methods, techniques or processes described in or related to the above embodiments, or parts or components thereof.

[0204] Embodiment 54 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.

[0205] Embodiment 55 may include signals or parts or components thereof as described in or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0206] Embodiment 56 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU) or message or a portion or component thereof as described in any of the above embodiments or related thereto, or as otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0207] Embodiment 57 may include a signal encoded with data or a portion or component thereof as described in any of the above embodiments or related thereto, or as otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0208] Embodiment 58 may include a signal or a portion or component thereof encoded with a datagram, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described in any of the above embodiments or related thereto, or as otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0209] Embodiment 59 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 a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, described in or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0210] Embodiment 60 may include a computer program including instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described in or related to any one of the above embodiments.

[0211] Embodiment 61 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0212] Embodiment 62 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0213] Embodiment 63 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0214] Embodiment 64 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0215] 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.

[0216] 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.

[0217] 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.

[0218] 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.

[0219] 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 user to equip a UE, the method include: generating a UE capability information message, the UE capability information message indicating one or more signal types that the UE can process for downlink (DL) positioning measurements; Sending the UE capability information message to a base station; receiving one or more signals of the one or more signal types from the base station; and performing DL positioning measurements using the one or more signals, The UE capability information message further indicates that when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources, signals of each of at least two signal types can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurement, and the at least two signal types include at least one signal type of the indicated one or more signal types.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the DL positioning measurement is performed by the UE as part of one of an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) positioning method, an enhanced cell ID positioning method, a DL angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning method, a DL time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning method, and a multi-round trip time (Multi-RTT) positioning method, wherein the enhanced cell ID positioning method is an EID positioning method.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more signal types include one of a synchronization signal block (SSB), a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising receiving, from the base station, an indication of a subset of SSBs sent by the base station that can be processed at the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more signal types include a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more signal types include a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more signal types include a tracking reference signal (TRS).

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the UE capability information message further indicates a maximum supported number of signals of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and the one of the same time and frequency resources.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the UE capability information message further indicates a timing upper limit for the signals of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and the one of the same time and frequency resources.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the UE capability information message further indicates a frequency band to which the indication applies for the maximum supported number of the signals of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurement when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and the one of the same time and frequency resources.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the UE capability information message further indicates a maximum supported number of signals of a first signal type among the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurement when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and the one of the same time and frequency resources.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the UE capability information message further indicates a maximum supported number of signals of a second signal type among the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurement when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and the one of the same time and frequency resources.

13. A method of a base station, the method include: receiving a UE capability information message from a user equipment (UE), the UE capability information message indicating one or more signal types that the UE can process for downlink (DL) positioning measurements; as well as sending one or more signals of the one or more signal types to the UE, wherein: The UE capability information message further indicates that signals of each of at least two signal types, including at least one of the indicated one or more signal types, are capable of being processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in one of the same time resources, the same frequency resources, and the same time and frequency resources; and Sending the one or more signals of the one or more signal types to the UE includes sending at least one signal of each of the at least two signal types to the UE in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and the one of the same time and frequency resources. 14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising canceling transmission of a DL positioning signal to the UE in response to receiving the UE capability information message.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more signal types include one of a synchronization signal block (SSB), a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (PSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising sending to the UE an indication of a subset of SSBs sent by the base station that can be processed at the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements. The method of claim 13 , wherein the one or more signal types include a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more signal types include a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more signal types include a tracking reference signal (TRS).

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the UE capability information message further indicates a maximum supported number of signals of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and the one of the same time and frequency resources.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the UE capability information message further indicates a timing upper limit for the signals of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and the one of the same time and frequency resources.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the UE capability information message further indicates a frequency band to which the indication applies for the maximum supported number of signals of the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurement when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and one of the same time and frequency resources.

23. The method of claim 13, wherein the UE capability information message further indicates a maximum supported number of signals of a first signal type among the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and the one of the same time and frequency resources.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the UE capability information message further indicates a maximum supported number of signals of a second signal type among the at least two signal types that can be processed by the UE for DL ​​positioning measurements when received in the same time resource, the same frequency resource, and the one of the same time and frequency resources.

25. User equipment comprising means for processing each step of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

26. A base station comprising means for performing each step of the method according to any one of claims 13 to 24.

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