An early-scheduled measurement gap or positioning reference signal (PRS) processing window for early-scheduled positioning features

Abstract

Techniques for wireless positioning are disclosed. In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) receives, from a location server during a positioning preparation phase of a positioning session, a location information request including a measurement time at which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements during a first positioning performance phase of the positioning session, and transmits, to a serving base station, a request for a measurement period including a requested offset for one or more measurement periods for performing the one or more positioning measurements and at least a first start time for the one or more measurement periods, where the first start time is greater than the requested offset.

Description

[0001] Public background

[0002] 1. Public domain

[0003] The various aspects of this disclosure generally relate to wireless communications.

[0004] 2. Relevant Technical Descriptions

[0005] Wireless communication systems have undergone several generations of development, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data radio service with Internet capabilities, and fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), etc.

[0006] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard (known as New Radio (NR)) demands higher data transmission speeds, a greater number of connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide tens of megabits per second (Mbps) of data rate to each of tens of thousands of users, and 1 gigabits per second (Gbps) to dozens of employees on an office floor. It should support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections to support large-scale sensor deployments. Therefore, 5G mobile communication should have significantly improved spectral efficiency compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be improved and latency significantly reduced compared to the current standard.

[0007] Overview

[0008] The following is a simplified overview relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, this overview should not be considered an exhaustive overview relating to all aspects of the conception, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements relating to all aspects of the conception or to depict the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the sole purpose of the following overview is to present, in a simplified form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects of the mechanism disclosed herein before the detailed description given below.

[0009] In one aspect, a wireless positioning method performed by a user equipment (UE) includes: receiving a location information request from a location server during a positioning preparation phase of a positioning session, the location information request including a measurement time during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements during a first positioning execution phase of the positioning session; and transmitting a request for a measurement period to a serving base station, the request for the measurement period including a requested offset for the one or more measurement periods for performing the one or more positioning measurements and at least a first start time for the one or more measurement periods, wherein the first start time is greater than the requested offset.

[0010] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive a location information request from a location server via the at least one transceiver during a location preparation phase of a location session, the location information request including a measurement time during which the UE is expected to perform one or more location measurements during a first location execution phase of the location session; and transmit a request for a measurement period to a serving base station via the at least one transceiver, the request for the measurement period including a requested offset for the one or more measurement periods for performing the one or more location measurements and at least a first start time for the one or more measurement periods, wherein the first start time is greater than the requested offset.

[0011] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: means for receiving a location information request from a location server during a location preparation phase of a location session, the location information request including a measurement time during which the UE is expected to perform one or more location measurements during a first location execution phase of the location session; and means for transmitting a request for a measurement period to a serving base station, the request for the measurement period including a requested offset for the one or more measurement periods for performing the one or more location measurements and at least a first start time for the one or more measurement periods, wherein the first start time is greater than the requested offset.

[0012] In one aspect, a non-transient computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receive a location information request from a location server during a location preparation phase of a location session, the location information request including a measurement time during which the UE is expected to perform one or more location measurements during a first location execution phase of the location session; and transmit a request for a measurement period to a serving base station, the request for the measurement period including a requested offset for the one or more measurement periods for performing the one or more location measurements and at least a first start time for the one or more measurement periods, wherein the first start time is greater than the requested offset.

[0013] Other objectives and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. Brief description of the attached diagram

[0015] The accompanying drawings are provided to help describe various aspects of this disclosure, and the drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and not for limiting the aspects.

[0016] Figure 1 Example wireless communication systems based on various aspects of this disclosure are explained.

[0017] Figure 2A and 2B Example wireless network architectures based on various aspects of this disclosure are explained.

[0018] Figure 3A , 3B The 3C and 3C are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspects of components that can be adopted in user equipment (UE), base stations, and network entities and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating example frame structures based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 5 Example UE positioning operations based on various aspects of this disclosure are explained.

[0021] Figure 6 An example Long Term Evolution (LTE) Location Protocol (LPP) call flow used by the UE and the location server to perform location operations is explained.

[0022] Figure 7A and 7B An example of a multi-round-trip time (multi-RTT) positioning procedure using advance scheduling is explained in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure.

[0023] Figure 8 Figure 800 illustrates an example DL-PRS transmission, processing, and reporting loop for multiple UEs according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0024] Figures 9 to 13 Examples of the "LocationMeasurementInfo" information element according to various aspects of this disclosure are explained.

[0025] Figure 14 Example methods for wireless positioning based on various aspects of this disclosure are explained.

[0026] Detailed description

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

[0028] The terms “exemplary” and / or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as superior to or better than the others. Similarly, the term “aspects of this disclosure” does not require that all aspects of this disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed.

[0029] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and arts. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the following description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

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

[0031] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset positioning device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT”, “Client Equipment”, “Wireless Equipment”, “Subscriber Equipment”, “Subscriber Terminal”, “Subscriber Station”, “User Terminal” or “UT”, “Mobile Equipment”, “Mobile Terminal”, “Mobile Station”, or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks (such as the Internet) and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) (e.g., based on the IEEE 802.11 standard), and so on.

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

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

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

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

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

[0037] Each base station 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with the core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via a backhaul link 122, and access one or more location servers 172 (e.g., location management function (LMF) or secure user plane positioning (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via the core network 170. The location servers 172 can be part of the core network 170 or located outside the core network 170. Among other functions, the base station 102 can also perform functions related to one or more of the following: transmitting user data, radio channel cryptography and decoding, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, location, and delivery of alarm messages. Base stations 102 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) through backhaul link 134 (which can be wired or wireless).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0046] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, a receiver may increase the gain setting of an antenna array and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a specific direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Thus, when a receiver is referred to as beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gain in other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

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

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

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

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

[0051] For example, still refer to Figure 1 One of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, two 20MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in twice the data rate (i.e., 40MHz) compared to the data rate obtained from a single 20MHz carrier.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0087] In some designs, network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 may be a network operator or operation different from the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that may be configured to communicate with UE 302 via base station 304 or independently of base station 304 (e.g., on a non-cellular communication link, such as WiFi).

[0088] Various frame structures can be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 4 This is a diagram 400 illustrating example downlink and / or uplink frame structures according to various aspects of this disclosure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

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

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

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

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

[0093] Some REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). These reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSB), probe reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the interpreted frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communication. Figure 4 Example locations of REs carrying reference signals (labeled "R") are explained.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0102] Further referring to DL-PRS, which has been defined for NR positioning to enable the UE to detect and measure more neighboring TRPs. Several configurations are supported to enable various deployments (e.g., indoor, outdoor, sub-6GHz, mmW). Additionally, UE-assisted location calculation (where a positioning entity other than the UE calculates an estimate of the UE's location) and UE-based location calculation (where the UE is the positioning entity calculating its own location estimate) are supported in NR. The table below illustrates the various types of reference signals that can be used for the various positioning methods supported in NR.

[0103]

[0104] Table 1

[0105] Note that the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" can also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc., as defined in LTE and NR. Additionally, the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" can refer to downlink or uplink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise indicated by the context. If further distinction is needed regarding the type of PRS, downlink positioning reference signals may be referred to as "DL-PRS," while uplink positioning reference signals (e.g., SRS, PTRS used for positioning) may be referred to as "UL-PRS." Furthermore, for signals that can be transmitted in both uplink and downlink (e.g., DMRS, PTRS), these signals may be prefixed with "UL" or "DL" to distinguish direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" can be distinguished from "DL-DMRS."

[0106] Figure 5 Example UE location operation 500 according to various aspects of this disclosure is described. UE location operation 500 can be performed by UE 204, NG-RAN node 502 in NG-RAN 220 (e.g., gNB 222, gNB-CU 226, ng-eNB 224, or other nodes in NG-RAN 220), AMF 264, LMF 270, and 5GC Location Services (LCS) entity 580 (e.g., any third-party application requesting the location of UE 204, Public Service Access Point (PSAP), E-911 server, etc.).

[0107] Location service requests to obtain the location of a target (i.e., UE 204) can be initiated by 5GC LCS entity 580, AMF 264 serving UE 204, or UE 204 itself. Figure 5 These options are explained as phases 510a, 510b, and 510c, respectively. Specifically, in phase 510a, the 5GC LCS entity 580 sends a location service request to the AMF 264. Alternatively, in phase 510b, the AMF 264 generates its own location service request. Alternatively, in phase 510c, the UE 204 sends a location service request to the AMF 264.

[0108] Once AMF 264 receives (or generates) a location service request, it forwards the request to LMF 270 in phase 520. LMF 270 then performs an NG-RAN positioning procedure with NG-RAN node 502 in phase 530a and a UE positioning procedure with UE 204 in phase 530b. The specific NG-RAN positioning procedure and UE positioning procedure may depend on the type of positioning method(s) used to locate UE 204, which may depend on the capabilities of UE 204. As described above, the positioning methods(s) may be downlink-based (e.g., LTE-OTDOA, DL-TDOA, and DL AoD), uplink-based (e.g., UL-TDOA and UL-AoA), and / or downlink and uplink-based (e.g., LTE / NR E-CID and RTT). The corresponding positioning procedures are described in detail in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.305, which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0109] NG-RAN positioning procedures and UE positioning procedures can utilize LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling between UE 204 and LMF 270, and LPP Type A (LPPa) or NR Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling between NG-RAN node 502 and LMF 270. LPP is used point-to-point between the location server (e.g., LMF 270) and the UE (e.g., UE 204) to obtain location-related measurements or location estimates, or to transmit ancillary data. A single LPP session is used to support a single location request (e.g., for a single MT-LR, MO-LR, or network-induced location request (NI-LR)). Multiple LPP sessions can be used between the same endpoints to support multiple different location requests. Each LPP session includes one or more LPP transactions, where each LPP transaction performs a single operation (e.g., capability exchange, ancillary data transfer, or location information transfer). An LPP transaction is referred to as an LPP procedure.

[0110] A prerequisite for Phase 530 is that the LCS Relevance Identifier (ID) and AMF ID have been passed from the serving AMF 264 to the LMF 270. Both the LCS Relevance Identifier (ID) and AMF ID can be represented as strings chosen by the AMF 264. The LCS Relevance Identifier (ID) and AMF ID are provided by the AMF 264 to the LMF 270 in the location service request of Phase 520. When the LMF 270 subsequently initiates Phase 530, it also includes the LCS Relevance Identifier for that location session, along with the AMF ID indicating the AMF instance serving UE 204. The LCS Relevance Identifier is used to ensure that during the location session between the LMF 270 and UE 204, location response messages from UE 204 are returned by the AMF 264 to the correct LMF 270, carrying an indication (LCS Relevance Identifier) ​​that can be recognized by the LMF 270.

[0111] Note that the LCS-related ID serves as a location session identifier, which can be used to identify messages exchanged between the AMF264 and LMF270 for a specific location session of the UE, as described in more detail in 3GPP TS23.273, which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. As mentioned above and shown in phase 520, the location session between the AMF264 and LMF270 for a particular UE is initiated by the AMF264, and the LCS-related ID can be used to identify that location session (e.g., it can be used by the AMF264 to identify status information, etc., of that location session).

[0112] LPP positioning methods and associated signaling content are defined in the 3GPP LPP standard (3GPP TS 37.355, which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). LPP signaling can be used to request and report measurements associated with the following positioning methods: LTE-OTDOA, DL-TDOA, A-GNSS, E-CID, sensor, TBS, WLAN, Bluetooth, DL-AoD, UL-AoA, and multiple RTT. Currently, LPP measurement reports may include the following measurements: (1) one or more ToA, TDOA, RSTD, or Rx-Tx measurements, (2) one or more AoA and / or AoD measurements (currently only used by the base station to report UL-AoA and DL-AoD to LMF 270), (3) one or more multipath measurements (ToA, RSRP, AoA / AoD per path), (4) one or more motion states (e.g., walking, driving, etc.) and trajectories (currently only used by UE 204), and (5) one or more report quality indicators.

[0113] As part of the NG-RAN node positioning procedure (phase 530a) and the UE positioning procedure (phase 530b), the LMF270 can provide LPP auxiliary data to the NG-RAN node 502 and UE 204 in the form of DL-PRS configuration information for the selected positioning method(s). Alternatively or additionally, the NG-RAN node 502 can provide DL-PRS and / or UL-PRS configuration information to the UE 204 for the selected positioning method(s). Note that although... Figure 5 The single NG-RAN node 502 has been explained, but multiple NG-RAN nodes 502 may be involved in a location session.

[0114] Once the DL-PRS and UL-PRS configurations are set, NG-RAN node 502 and UE 204 transmit and receive / measure the corresponding PRS at scheduled times. NG-RAN node 502 and UE 204 then send their corresponding measurements to LMF 270.

[0115] Once LMF 270 obtains measurements (depending on the type of positioning method) from UE 204 and / or NG-RAN node 502, it uses those measurements to calculate an estimate of UE 204's location. Subsequently, in phase 540, LMF 270 sends a location service response to AMF 264, including the location estimate for UE 204. AMF 264 then forwards the location service response to the entity that generated the location service request in phase 510. Specifically, if the location service request was received from 5GC LCS entity 580 in phase 510a, then AMF 264 subsequently sends a location service response to 5GC LCS entity 580 in phase 550a. However, if the location service request was received from UE 204 in phase 510c, then AMF 264 subsequently sends a location service response to UE 204 in phase 550c. Alternatively, if AMF 264 generates a location service request in phase 510b, then in phase 550b, AMF 264 itself stores / uses the location service response.

[0116] Note that although the UE positioning operation 500 has been described above as a UE-assisted positioning operation, it can be replaced by a UE-based positioning operation. A UE-assisted positioning operation is one in which the LMF 270 estimates the location of the UE 204, while a UE-based positioning operation is one in which the UE 204 estimates its own location.

[0117] Figure 6 This section describes an example Long Term Evolution (LTE) Location Protocol (LPP) procedure 600 used by the UE 604 and the location server (described as Location Management Function (LMF) 670) to perform location operations. For example... Figure 6 As explained, the location of UE 604 is supported by the exchange of LPP messages between UE 604 and LMF 670. LPP messages can be exchanged between UE 604 and LMF 670 via the serving base station of UE 604 (explained as serving gNB 602) and the core network (not shown). LPP procedure 600 can be used to locate UE 604 to support various location-related services, such as navigation for UE 604 (or its user), route planning, providing accurate location to the PSAP in connection with an emergency call from UE 604 to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), or for some other reason. LPP procedure 600 can also be referred to as a location session, and multiple location sessions can exist for different types of location methods (e.g., Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Enhanced Cellular Identity (E-CID), etc.).

[0118] Initially, in phase 610, UE 604 may receive a request for its positioning capabilities from LMF 670 (e.g., an LPP request capability message). In phase 620, UE 604 provides its positioning capabilities relative to the LPP protocol to LMF 670 by sending an LPP provision capability message instructing UE 604 to use positioning methods supported by LPP and the characteristics of those positioning methods. In some aspects, the capabilities indicated in the LPP provision capability message may indicate the positioning types supported by UE 604 (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) and may indicate the capabilities of those positioning types that UE 604 supports.

[0119] Upon receiving the LPP provision capability message, in phase 620, LMF 670 determines the specific type of positioning method to use (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) based on the positioning types supported by the indicated UE 604, and identifies a set containing one or more Transmit-Receive Points (TRPs). UE 604 will either measure downlink positioning reference signals from this set containing one or more TRPs, or UE 604 will transmit uplink positioning reference signals to this set containing one or more TRPs. In phase 630, LMF 670 sends an LPP provision assistance data message identifying the TRP set to UE 604.

[0120] In some implementations, in response to an LPP request auxiliary data message sent by UE 604 to LMF 670 ( Figure 6(Not shown in the diagram), the LPP Request for Auxiliary Data Message at stage 630 can be sent from LMF 670 to UE 604. The LPP Request for Auxiliary Data Message may include the identifier of UE 604's serving TRP and a request for the configuration of Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) for adjacent TRPs.

[0121] At stage 640, LMF 670 sends a request for location information to UE 604. This request can be an LPP request for location information message. This message typically includes information elements defining the type of location information, the expected location estimation accuracy, and the response time (i.e., the expected waiting time). Note that low waiting time requirements allow for longer response times, while high waiting time requirements demand shorter response times. However, long response times are referred to as high waiting times, and short response times are referred to as low waiting times.

[0122] Note that in some implementations, the LPP Assistance Data Message sent at stage 630 can be sent after the LPP Request Location Information Message at stage 640. For example, if UE 604 receives a request for location information at stage 640 and then sends a request for assistance data to LMF 670 (e.g., in the LPP Request Assistance Data Message, not in...), Figure 6 (As shown in the image) that can be done in this way.

[0123] At stage 650, UE 604 uses the auxiliary information received at stage 630 and any additional data received at stage 640 (e.g., desired location accuracy or maximum response time) to perform positioning operations for the selected positioning method (e.g., measurement of DL-PRS, transmission of UL-PRS, etc.).

[0124] At stage 660, UE 604 may send an LPP (Location Provided by Provider) message to LMF 670, which conveys the results of any measurements obtained before or at the expiration of any maximum response time at stage 650 (e.g., the maximum response time provided by LMF 670 at stage 640) (e.g., Time of Arrival (ToA), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Received Transmission (Rx-Tx), etc.). The LPP message at stage 660 may also include one or more times when the positioning measurements were obtained and the identity of the TRP(s) from which the positioning measurements were obtained. Note that the time between the request for location information at 640 and the response at 660 is the "response time" and indicates the waiting time of the positioning session.

[0125] LMF 670 uses appropriate positioning techniques (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) to calculate the estimated location of UE 604, based at least in part on measurements received in the LPP location information message at stage 660.

[0126] In some scenarios, the target UE requesting the location (e.g., UE 204), LCS client (e.g., 5GCLCS entity 580), or application function (AF) knows when the location should be obtained. For example, in the case of periodic location, for a periodically delayed 5GC mobile termination location request (5GC-MT-LR), the UE's location is obtained at fixed periodic intervals. In this case, the location time is known in advance. As another example, for industrial IoT (IIoT) location in a factory or warehouse with moving tools, components, packages, etc., it is possible to accurately predict when the moving tools, components, packages, etc. will arrive at a specific location or complete a specific movement or operation. Subsequently, locating the tools, components, packages, etc. to confirm the prediction and make any further adjustments as needed may be useful, or even crucial. As yet another example, for scheduled location, UE location can sometimes be scheduled to occur at a specific time in the future. For example, all vehicles on a road may be located simultaneously to provide indication of traffic congestion and assist V2X communication. In addition, people, containers, transportation systems, etc., may also be located at certain common times.

[0127] In the above scenario, the known time (referred to as the scheduled positioning time) can be provided in advance to reduce the effective waiting time when providing positioning results. (Refer to the above.) Figure 5 This describes a typical UE positioning operation. (Refer to...) Figure 5 The primary impact of advance scheduling on 5GC occurs in phases 510 and 520. In phase 510, the scheduled location time T is included in the location service request from 5GC LCS entity 580, AMF 264, or UE 204. Subsequently, in phase 520, the location service request including the scheduled location time T is transmitted to LMF 270. The scheduled location time T specifies the future time at which the location of UE 204 is to be obtained. In other words, the scheduled location time T is the expected time when the estimated location of UE 204 is valid. The impact on RAN occurs in phase 530, where, as part of locating UE 204, LMF 270 schedules the location measurements to be performed by UE 204 and / or NG-RAN node 502 to occur at or near the scheduled location time T. The time at which UE 204 and / or NG-RAN node 502 is expected to perform the location measurements is referred to as the scheduled measurement time T'.

[0128] Figure 7A and 7BAn example multi-RTT positioning procedure 700 using advance scheduling according to various aspects of this disclosure is explained. Because the multi-RTT positioning procedure is a downlink- and uplink-based positioning procedure, the downlink-based or uplink-based positioning procedure will be a subset of the multi-RTT positioning procedure 700. When using scheduled positioning times, the positioning procedure can be divided into a positioning preparation phase (phases 705 to 750) and a positioning execution phase (phases 755 to 765).

[0129] The positioning preparation phase begins at time T-t1 when the LMF 270 receives a location request from the AMF 264 (not shown) and determines the positioning method to be used. The positioning preparation phase ends after the LMF 270 has requested downlink measurements from the target UE 204, uplink measurements from the involved gNB 222, and / or location estimation from the UE 204. The positioning preparation phase includes providing auxiliary data (for downlink measurements or location estimation) to the UE and requesting or providing configuration information to the gNB 222.

[0130] The location execution phase begins at the scheduled location time T, when the target UE 204 obtains downlink measurements (and may determine a location estimate from these) and / or gNB 222 obtains uplink measurements, and ends at the time T+t2 when the UE location information has been provided to LMF 270 (UE 204 and / or gNB 222 location measurements or UE location estimate). Figure 7A and 7B The effective positioning procedure waiting time is then determined by including only the positioning execution phase (i.e., between time T and time T+t2).

[0131] See details Figure 7A and 7B In phase 705a, LCS client 790 (e.g., an application running on target UE 204, a remote application, etc.) sends an LCS request to LCS entity 580. The LCS request includes the expected future time T of the location of UE 204. In phase 705b, LCS entity 580 forwards the LCS request to LMF 270. In phase 710, LMF 270 schedules a location session so that the location of UE 204 can be obtained and is valid for the requested location time T. Figure 7A As shown, the subsequent positioning preparation phase begins at time T-t1, where t1 depends on the expected duration of the positioning preparation phase. The expected duration of the positioning preparation phase depends on the selected positioning method, which in this case is a multi-RTT positioning procedure.

[0132] In phase 715 (the first phase of the positioning preparation phase), LMF 270 performs DL-PRS configuration information exchange with the serving and neighboring gNB 222 of target UE 204 via NRPPa signaling. In phase 720, LMF 270 performs capability transfer with UE 204 via LPP signaling. Specifically, LMF 270 sends an LPP request capability message to target UE 204, as shown in... Figure 6 In phase 610, and in response, UE 204 sends an LPP provisioning capability message to LMF 270, as in Figure 6 Phase 620.

[0133] In phase 725, LMF 270 sends an NRPPa location information request to the serving gNB 222 (or TRP) of target UE 204 to request UL-SRS configuration information for UE 204. LMF 270 may provide any auxiliary data required by the serving gNB 222 (e.g., path loss reference, spatial relationships, SSB configuration, etc.). In phase 730a, serving gNB 222 determines the resources available for UL-SRS and configures target UE 204 with the UL-SRS resource set. In phase 730b, serving gNB 222 provides the UL-SRS configuration information to UE 204. In phase 735, serving gNB 222 sends an NRPPa location information response message to LMF 270. The NRPPa location information response message includes the UL-SRS configuration information sent to UE 204.

[0134] In phase 735a, LMF 270 sends an NRPPa Location Activation Request message to serving gNB 222, instructing it to configure UE 204 to activate UL-SRS transmission on the configured / allocated resources. UL-SRS can be aperiodic (e.g., on-demand) UL-SRS, and therefore in phase 735b, serving gNB 222 configures / instructs UE 204 to activate (i.e., start) UL-SRS transmission. In phase 735c, serving gNB 222 sends an NRPPa Location Activation Response message to LMF 270 to indicate that UL-SRS transmission has been activated.

[0135] In phase 740, LMF 270 sends an NRPPa Measurement Request message to gNB 222. The NRPPa Measurement Request message includes all the information required for gNB 222 to perform uplink measurements on UL-SRS transmissions from target UE 204. The NRPPa Measurement Request message also includes a physical measurement time T' indicating when the location measurement will be obtained. Time T' defines the time T during which the location of target UE 204 will be valid and can be specified as a system frame number (SFN), subframe, timeslot, absolute time, etc. Time T' is provided in the same units as time T.

[0136] In phase 745, LMF 270 sends auxiliary data for multi-RTT positioning procedure 700 to UE 204 in one or more LPP provide auxiliary data messages, such as Figure 6 Phase 630. The LPP provides auxiliary data messages including all the information required for UE 204 to perform location measurements (in this case, Rx-Tx time difference measurements) on DL-PRS transmissions from gNB 222. In phase 750, LMF 270 sends an LPP request location information message to the target UE 204, as shown in... Figure 6 Phase 640. The LPP request location information message may also include time T' (although it may be a different time T' than the time T' provided to gNB 222 in phase 740). At this point, the positioning preparation phase ends.

[0137] In phase 755a, target UE 204 performs a measurement (here, Rx-Tx time difference measurement) on the DL-PRS transmitted by the involved gNB at time T' based on the auxiliary data received in phase 745 (or makes the measurement valid at time T'). In phase 755b, involved gNB 222 performs a measurement (here, Tx-Rx time difference measurement) on the UL-SRS transmitted by target UE 204 at time T' based on the auxiliary data received in the NRPPa measurement request message in phase 740 (or makes the measurement valid at time T').

[0138] In phase 760, target UE 204 sends an LPP (Location Provided) message, as shown in... Figure 6Phase 660. The LPP provides location information messages including the positioning measurements performed by UE 204 at phase 755a. In phase 765, the involved gNB 222 sends an NRPPa measurement response message to LMF 270. The NRPPa measurement response message includes the UL-SRS measurement measured in phase 755b. The responses in phases 760 and 765 include obtaining the measurement time T”. Time T” should be equal to time T’, but may not be exactly equal to time T’ due to processing delays, timing issues and / or other factors. The difference between time T’ and T” is the positioning time error (δ).

[0139] In phase 770a, LMF 270 sends an LCS response message to LCS entity 580. The LCS response message includes the location of target UE 204 at time T+δ. LCS entity 580 forwards the LCS response message to LCS client 790. LCS client 790 receives the location of target UE 204 with timestamp T+δ at time T+t2, where time t2 is the waiting time between time T and the response time. The waiting time t2 observed by LCS client 790 excludes the positioning preparation phase from time T-t1 to time T. Any movement of UE 204 during the waiting time t2 should have a negligible impact on the validity and accuracy of the location estimation. That is, the location of UE 204 at time T+t2 should be approximately the same as the location of UE 204 at time T.

[0140] Currently, DL-PRS has a lower priority than other channels in LTE and NR. This is because when no measurement gap is configured for the UE, it is not expected that the UE will process DL-PRS in the same symbols transmitted to it for other downlink signals and channels. That is, the serving base station configures the UE with a measurement gap so that the UE can measure and process DL-PRS from other base stations on other frequencies (and therefore, the measurement gap can also be called an "inter-frequency measurement gap"). Therefore, the measurement gap is the period during which the serving base station does not transmit downlink data to the UE and does not schedule the UE to transmit uplink data to the base station. The UE can receive the PRS configuration for the positioning session from the location server in the auxiliary data (e.g., after...). Figure 7B After phase 745, a measurement gap configuration (specifying, for example, the length and periodicity of the measurement gap) is requested from the serving base station. The measurement gap configuration is typically consistent with the PRS configuration and may include some processing time after each PRS timing.

[0141] In some cases, to reduce latency, the UE may be allowed to prioritize PRS processing over other downlink channels during the PRS processing window or gap. This may include priority over data, control, and / or any other reference signals. In other words, the PRS processing gap is a period of time during which the UE is allowed to discard all other processing, channels, and procedures besides the PRS. The PRS processing gap may include the time after the PRS is transmitted, meaning it includes time for the UE to complete processing, not just "measure" the PRS. Figure 8 It is also explained that there may be gaps between the time of measurement and processing.

[0142] PRS processing gaps differ from inter-frequency measurement gaps. In a PRS processing gap, there is no retuning gap as in a measurement gap—the UE does not change its BWP but continues with the BWP it had before the PRS processing gap (and therefore, a PRS processing gap can be called an intra-frequency PRS processing gap). Furthermore, instead of the serving base station, a location server (e.g., LMF 270) can determine the PRS processing gap, and the UE will not need a processing gap to send an RRC request to the serving base station and wait for a response. PRS processing gaps thus reduce signaling overhead and waiting time.

[0143] Figure 8 This is a diagram 800 illustrating an example DL-PRS transmission, processing, and reporting loop for multiple UEs according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 8 In the example, three UEs have been configured to use the “DDDSU” frame structure 810 in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) 30kHz SCS. As mentioned above, for a 30kHz SCS (μ=1), there are 20 time slots per frame, and each time slot lasts for 0.5ms. Therefore, each block of the DDDSU frame structure 810 represents a 0.5ms time slot. The DDDSU frame structure 810 includes the repetition of three downlink (D) time slots, a special (S) time slot, and an uplink (U) time slot.

[0144] exist Figure 8 In the example, the PRS is received in the first three downlink time slots of the frame, and the SRS is transmitted in the fourth time slot. The PRS and SRS can be received and transmitted as part of downlink-based and uplink-based positioning sessions (such as RTT positioning sessions), respectively. The three time slots for receiving (i.e., measuring) the PRS can correspond to a PRS instance. Generally, the PRS instance should be included within a few milliseconds (2ms here) after the start of the PRS transmission, processing, and reporting cycle. The SRS transmission (if needed, such as here, for downlink- and uplink-based positioning procedures) should be close to the PRS instance (here, in the next time slot).

[0145] like Figure 8As shown, the first UE (labeled "UE1") is configured with PRS transmission, processing, and reporting cycle 820, the second UE (labeled "UE2") with PRS transmission, processing, and reporting cycle 830, and the third UE (labeled "UE3") with PRS transmission, processing, and reporting cycle 840. PRS transmission, processing, and reporting cycles 820, 830, and 840 may repeat periodically (e.g., every 10 ms). Each UE is expected to send a location report (e.g., its respective Rx-Tx time difference measurement) at the end of its PRS transmission, processing, and reporting cycle (e.g., every 10 ms). Each UE sends its report on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) (e.g., configured uplink permission). Specifically, the first UE sends its report on PUSCH 824, the second UE sends its report on PUSCH 834, and the third UE sends its report on PUSCH 844.

[0146] like Figure 8 As shown, each of the different UEs is configured with its own PRS processing gap (or simply "processing gap") or PRS processing window (or simply "processing window"), in which the PRS measured in the first three slots of the frame is processed (e.g., determining the ToA of the PRS and calculating the Rx-Tx time difference measurement). Specifically, the first UE is configured with processing gap 822, the second UE is configured with processing gap 832, and the third UE is configured with processing gap 842. Figure 8 In the example, the length of each processing interval is 4ms.

[0147] like Figure 8 As shown, the processing gap for each UE is offset from the processing gaps of other UEs, but still within the UE's 10ms PRS transmission, processing, and reporting cycle. Additionally, there are still PUSCH opportunities for reporting UE measurements after the processing gap. Even though there are gaps between the PRS instances and processing gaps for the second and third UEs, there is limited aging between measurement and reporting due to the short lengths of the corresponding PRS transmission, processing, and reporting cycles 830 and 840 for the UEs.

[0148] The UE uses the information element (IE) "LocationMeasurementInfo" to request measurement gap configuration from the serving base station. More specifically, the "LocationMeasurementInfo" IE defines the measurement gap information sent by the UE to the network to assist in configuring location-related measurements. Figure 9The following describes an example of “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 900 based on various aspects of this disclosure. The following table describes the fields of “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 900.

[0149]

[0150] Table 2

[0151] As referenced above Figure 7A and 7B In the pre-scheduled positioning scenario discussed, there may be a delay between receiving the LPP request location information message in phase 750 and receiving the measurement in phase 755 (performed at measurement time T'). Currently, the UE sends a request for a measurement gap in response to receiving the LPP request location information message. Figure 9 As shown, the UE can request measurement gaps with periods and offsets of 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, or 160ms. If the UE requests a measurement gap period and offset of Y ms (i.e., 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, or 160ms), but the measurement in phase 755 will be performed at measurement time T', where the difference between the reception of the LPP request location information message and time T' is greater than Y ms, then the UE will be configured with a measurement gap before its actual required measurement gap. For example, if the requested period and offset are 40ms and T' is 100ms, the UE will be configured to have a measurement gap starting 60ms before its actual required measurement gap.

[0152] Accordingly, this disclosure provides techniques that enable a UE to request a measurement gap to begin at a later time than the requested periodicity and offset. As a first option, the request for a measurement gap may include an SFN and / or a super SFN indicating in which time slot or subframe the measurement gap is requested to begin, thereby enabling the UE to request the measurement gap in advance. Super SFNs are numbered from 0 to 1023 and therefore repeat every 1024 super SFNs. Each super SFN comprises 1024 SFNs, numbered from 0 to 1023.

[0153] On the one hand, SFN and / or superSFN may be included in the "LocationMeasurementInfo" IE, which may be signaled via RRC or MAC control element (MAC-CE). Figure 10The example “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 1000 according to various aspects of this disclosure is explained. “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 1000 includes additional fields for the start time SFN (“StartTimeSFN”) and start time hyper SFN (“StartTimeHyperSFN”) (compared to the current “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 900). Figure 10 As shown, the start time SFN can be indicated as an integer from 0 to 1023, and the start time over SFN can be indicated as an integer from 0 to 1023. The indicated start time SFN identifies the SFN within the indicated start time over SFN. Subsequently, the measurement interval repetition and offset (e.g., the "nr-MeasPRS-RepetitionAndOffset" parameter) are performed relative to the start time SFN and the start time over SFN.

[0154] As a second option, a request for a measurement gap may include a sequence of SFNs and / or superSFNs indicating the time slot or subframe sequence in which the measurement gap is requested to begin. For example, if there is a positioning preparation phase (e.g., phases 705 to 750) and multiple positioning execution phases (e.g., phases 755 to 765), the request for a measurement gap may include a start time sequence (SFN and / or superSFN), with one start time for each positioning execution phase. Figure 11 An example of “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 1100 according to various aspects of this disclosure is explained. “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 1100 includes additional fields for the sequence of the start time SFN (“StartTimeSFN”) and the sequence of the start time hyper SFN (“StartTimeHyperSFN”) (compared to the current “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 900). Subsequently, measurement interval repetition and offset (e.g., the “nr-MeasPRS-RepetitionAndOffset” parameter) are relative to the start time SFN and the start time hyper SFN.

[0155] As a third option, the request for a measurement gap may include a sequence of SFNs and / or superSFNs indicating the time slot or subframe sequence in which the measurement gap is requested to begin. Alternatively, the request may also include a corresponding sequence of SFNs and / or superSFNs indicating the time slot or subframe sequence in which the measurement gap is requested to end. Figure 12An example of “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 1200 according to various aspects of this disclosure is explained. Like “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 1100, “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 1200 includes additional fields for the sequence of the start time SFN (“StartTimeSFN”) and the sequence of the start time super SFN (“StartTimeHyperSFN”) (compared to the current “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 900). Additionally, “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 1200 includes additional fields for the corresponding sequence of the end time SFN (“EndTimeSFN”) and the corresponding sequence of the end time super SFN (“EndTimeHyperSFN”).

[0156] As a fourth option, a request for a measurement gap may include a sequence of SFNs and / or superSFNs indicating the time slot or subframe sequence in which the measurement gap is requested to begin. Additionally, the request may include an indication of the length or number of times the requested measurement gap will last. Figure 13 An example of "LocationMeasurementInfo" IE 1300 according to various aspects of this disclosure is explained. Like "LocationMeasurementInfo" IE 1100, "LocationMeasurementInfo" IE 1300 includes additional fields for a sequence of start time SFN ("StartTimeSFN") and a sequence of start time hyper SFN ("StartTimeHyperSFN") (compared to the current "LocationMeasurementInfo" IE 900). Additionally, "LocationMeasurementInfo" IE 1300 includes an additional field for a corresponding sequence of the number of times ("NumberOfOccasions") requested for measurement intervals. The value of the number of times can, for example, range from 0 to 100.

[0157] On the one hand, although "Location Measurement Info" IE 1000 to 1300 explains both the start time SFN and the start time beyond SFN, only the start time SFN may exist, depending on how far in the future the measurement gap is requested. Similarly, although "Location Measurement Info" IE 1200 explains both the end time SFN and the end time beyond SFN, only the start time SFN may exist, depending on how far in the future the measurement gap is requested to end.

[0158] Furthermore, although “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE 1200 and 1300 include a sequence of start and end times or a number of start and timings, there may be only a single start time (start time SFN and / or start time over SFN) and end time (end time SFN and / or end time over SFN or number of timings). In this case, the “sequence” may be a single sequence.

[0159] On the one hand, the disclosed requests for measurement gaps (e.g., “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE1000 to 1300) may only apply to situations where the UE is requesting a measurement gap for positioning, as opposed to measurement gaps for mobility measurements (e.g., radio resource management (RRM) measurements).

[0160] On the one hand, the disclosed requests for measurement gaps (e.g., “LocationMeasurementInfo” IE1000 to 1300) may only be applicable if the UE has received a location request with a T' value. That is, the UE may only use the disclosed requests during the positioning preparation phase of the advance scheduling procedure.

[0161] On one hand, the UE may include a separate start time (and optionally a duration) for each frequency layer on which the UE is requesting a measurement gap. These separate start times may be a sequence of start times in the same measurement gap request (e.g., Figures 11 to 13 Alternatively, you can submit a list of start times or a separate measurement gap request for each frequency level. Alternatively, the start time can be the same across all frequency levels.

[0162] In response to a request for a measurement gap, the serving base station sends a message to the UE including the requested measurement gap configuration. This message will also include the SFN and / or super SFN (or other start time indicator) for the measurement gap. These can be configured with... Figures 10 to 13 Similar fields are provided in the descriptions above. If multiple execution phases exist, sequences of start times and durations (or number of times) can also exist, such as... Figures 11 to 13 The explanation.

[0163] Similar to a request for a measurement gap, a response may include a separate start time (and optional duration) for each frequency layer on which the UE is requesting the measurement gap. These separate start times may be a sequence of start times in the same measurement gap response (e.g., ...). Figures 11 to 13 This could be a list of start times or a separate measurement interval response for each frequency level. Alternatively, the start time could be the same across all frequency levels.

[0164] Although various requests for frequency measurement gaps have been generally described above, it will be understood that the above techniques are also applicable to requests for PRS processing gaps (see above for reference). Figure 8 (As described). That is, the UE may request one or more start times (and optionally corresponding durations) for a sequence used for one or more PRS processing gaps, wherein the requested start time is greater than a requested offset of the sequence used for one or more PRS processing gaps. Inter-frequency measurement gaps and PRS processing gaps may be collectively referred to herein as "measurement periods".

[0165] On the one hand, while the requested start time (e.g., start time SFN and / or start time over SFN) may be greater than the requested measurement gap offset, this is not necessary. However, if the start time is less than the requested offset, it is not specifically necessary to include the requested start time in the measurement gap request.

[0166] Figure 14 An example method 1400 for wireless positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure has been explained. In one aspect, method 1400 can be performed by a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0167] At 1410, during the positioning preparation phase of a positioning session (e.g., multi-RTT, DL-TDOA, UL-TDOA, E-CID, etc.), the UE receives a location information request from a location server (e.g., LMF 270). This location information request includes the measurement time (e.g., T') during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements during the first positioning execution phase of the positioning session. In one aspect, operation 1410 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing the operation.

[0168] At 1420, the UE transmits a request for a measurement period to the serving base station (e.g., gNB 222). This request includes a requested offset for one or more measurement periods for performing one or more positioning measurements, and at least a first start time for the one or more measurement periods, wherein the first start time is greater than the requested offset. In one aspect, operation 1420 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing the operation.

[0169] As will be understood, the technical advantages of method 1400 are lower latency and improved resource utilization, because the UE will not be configured to have measurement gaps until actually needed.

[0170] As can be seen in the detailed description above, different features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as an intention to include more features in the example clauses than are expressly mentioned in each clause. Rather, aspects of this disclosure may include fewer features than those in the individual example clauses disclosed. Therefore, the appended clauses should thus be considered as incorporated into this description, where each clause may be a separate example in itself. Although each dependent clause may refer in its respective clause to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspects of that dependent clause are not limited to that specific combination. It will be appreciated that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of the dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or any feature combined with other dependent and independent clauses. The aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations unless explicitly stated or readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an insulator and a conductor). Furthermore, it is intended that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause is not directly subordinate to that independent clause.

[0171] Examples of implementations are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0172] Clause 1. A wireless positioning method performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a location information request from a location server during a positioning preparation phase of a positioning session, the location information request including a measurement time during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements during a first positioning execution phase of the positioning session; and transmitting a request for a measurement period to a serving base station, the request for the measurement period including a requested offset for the one or more measurement periods for performing the one or more positioning measurements and at least a first start time for the one or more measurement periods, wherein the first start time is greater than the requested offset.

[0173] Clause 2. The method of Clause 1, wherein the first start time includes the system frame number, the supersystem frame number, or both.

[0174] Clause 3. As in Clause 1, wherein the first start time includes absolute time.

[0175] Clause 4. The method of any of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein the request for a measurement period further includes at least a first end time for one or more measurement periods.

[0176] Clause 5. The method of Clause 4, wherein at least a first end time for one or more measurement periods comprises a sequence of multiple end times for one or more measurement periods.

[0177] Clause 6. The method of Clause 5, wherein each of the plurality of end times corresponds to a different positioning execution phase associated with the positioning preparation phase.

[0178] Clause 7. The method of Clause 5, wherein each of the plurality of end times corresponds to a different positioning frequency layer associated with one or more positioning measurements.

[0179] Clause 8. The method of any of Clauses 1 to 7, wherein the request for a measurement period further includes an indication of at least a first duration for one or more measurement periods.

[0180] Clause 9. As in Clause 8, wherein the indication for at least the first duration includes the number of times.

[0181] Clause 10. As in Clause 8, wherein the indication of at least the first duration includes the end time.

[0182] Clause 11. The method of Clause 10, wherein the end time includes the system frame number, the supersystem frame number, or both.

[0183] Clause 12. The method of any of Clauses 8 to 11, wherein the indication of at least a first duration for one or more measurement periods includes a sequence of multiple durations for one or more measurement periods.

[0184] Clause 13. The method of Clause 12, wherein each of the plurality of durations corresponds to a different positioning execution phase associated with the positioning preparation phase.

[0185] Clause 14. The method of Clause 12, wherein each of the plurality of durations corresponds to a different positioning frequency layer associated with one or more positioning measurements.

[0186] Clause 15. The method of any of Clauses 1 to 14, wherein at least a first start time of one or more measurement periods comprises a sequence of multiple start times of one or more measurement periods.

[0187] Clause 16. The method of Clause 15, wherein each of the plurality of start times corresponds to a different positioning execution phase associated with the positioning preparation phase.

[0188] Clause 17. The method of Clause 15, wherein each of the plurality of start times corresponds to a different positioning frequency layer associated with one or more positioning measurements.

[0189] Clause 18. The method of any of Clauses 1 to 17, wherein: the request for a measurement period includes a request for an inter-frequency measurement gap, and one or more measurement periods include one or more inter-frequency measurement gaps.

[0190] Clause 19. The method of Clause 18, wherein the one or more frequency measurement gaps include one or more frequency measurement gaps for positioning.

[0191] Clause 20. The method of any of Clauses 1 to 17, wherein: a request for a measurement period includes a request for an in-frequency processing gap, and one or more measurement periods include one or more in-frequency processing gaps.

[0192] Clause 21. The method of any of Clauses 1 to 20, wherein the location information request is a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Location Protocol (LPP) Request for Location Information message.

[0193] Clause 22. The method of any of Clauses 1 to 21, wherein the request for a measurement period is notified by signaling in one or more Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages or one or more Media Access Control-Control Elements (MAC-CE).

[0194] Clause 23. The method of any of Clauses 1 to 22, wherein: the request for the measurement period includes a Location Measurement Info (IE) information element, and the requested offset is the nr-MeasPRS-RepetitionAndOffset parameter.

[0195] Clause 24. The method of any of Clauses 1 to 23 further includes: receiving a response from a serving base station to a request for a measurement period, the response including at least a second start time for one or more measurement periods, the second start time being based on a first start time.

[0196] Clause 25. As in Clause 24, wherein the second start time is the same as the first start time.

[0197] Clause 26. An apparatus comprising: a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to perform a method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 25.

[0198] Clause 27. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 25.

[0199] Clause 28. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions including at least one instruction for causing a device to perform a method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 25.

[0200] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and skills. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or light particles, or any combination thereof.

[0201] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are described above in a generalized manner in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0202] The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or executed using a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), ASIC, field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternatives, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0203] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Example storage media are coupled to a processor so that the processor can read and write information from / to the storage medium. In alternatives, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). In alternatives, the processor and storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0204] In one or more examples, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on or through a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Similarly, any connection is also legitimately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then such coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used in this article, disks and discs include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital multi-purpose discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0205] While the foregoing disclosure has illustrated illustrative aspects of this disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions in the method claims according to the aspects of this disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of this disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, pluralism is also contemplated unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A wireless positioning method performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: During the positioning preparation phase of the positioning session, a location information request is received from the location server. The location information request includes the measurement time during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements during the first positioning execution phase of the positioning session. as well as A request for a measurement period is transmitted to the serving base station. The request for the measurement period includes a requested offset for one or more measurement periods for performing the one or more positioning measurements and at least a first start time for the one or more measurement periods, wherein the first start time is greater than the requested offset.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first start time includes a system frame number, a supersystem frame number, or both.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first start time includes absolute time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for a measurement period further includes at least a first end time for the one or more measurement periods.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein at least the first end time for the one or more measurement periods comprises a sequence of multiple end times for the one or more measurement periods.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of end times corresponds to a different positioning execution phase associated with the positioning preparation phase.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of end times corresponds to a different positioning frequency layer associated with the one or more positioning measurements.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for a measurement period further includes an indication of at least a first duration for the one or more measurement periods.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the indication of at least the first duration includes the number of times.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the indication of at least the first duration includes an end time.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the end time includes the system frame number, the supersystem frame number, or both.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the indication of at least the first duration for the one or more measurement periods comprises a sequence of multiple durations for the one or more measurement periods.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of durations corresponds to a different positioning execution phase associated with the positioning preparation phase.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of durations corresponds to a different positioning frequency layer associated with the one or more positioning measurements.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein at least the first start time for the one or more measurement periods comprises a sequence of multiple start times for the one or more measurement periods.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of start times corresponds to a different positioning execution phase associated with the positioning preparation phase.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of start times corresponds to a different positioning frequency layer associated with the one or more positioning measurements.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein: The request for measurement time periods includes a request for measurement intervals between frequencies, and The one or more measurement time periods include one or more frequency measurement gaps.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more inter-frequency measurement gaps include one or more inter-frequency measurement gaps for positioning.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein: The request for a measurement period includes a request for a processing interval within the frequency range, and The one or more measurement periods include one or more frequency processing gaps.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information request is a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Location Protocol (LPP) Request for Location Information message.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for a measurement period is signaled in one or more Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages or one or more Media Access Control-Control Elements (MAC-CE).

23. The method of claim 1, wherein: The request for the measurement period includes a "Location Measurement Information" element (IE), and The requested offset is the nr-measPRS-RepetitionAndOffset parameter.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The service base station receives a response to the request for the measurement period, the response including at least a second start time for the one or more measurement periods, the second start time being based on the first start time.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the second start time is the same as the first start time.

26. A user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory; At least one transceiver; as well as At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: During the positioning preparation phase of the positioning session, the UE receives a location information request from the location server via the at least one transceiver. The location information request includes the measurement time during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements during the first positioning execution phase of the positioning session. as well as A request for a measurement period is transmitted to the serving base station via the at least one transceiver. The request for a measurement period includes a requested offset for one or more measurement periods for performing the one or more positioning measurements and at least a first start time for the one or more measurement periods, wherein the first start time is greater than the requested offset.

27. The UE of claim 26, wherein the first start time includes a system frame number, a supersystem frame number, or both.

28. The UE of claim 26, wherein the first start time includes absolute time.

29. The UE of claim 26, wherein the request for a measurement period further includes at least a first end time for the one or more measurement periods.

30. The UE of claim 26, wherein the request for a measurement period further includes an indication of at least a first duration for the one or more measurement periods.

31. The UE of claim 26, wherein at least the first start time for the one or more measurement periods comprises a sequence of multiple start times for the one or more measurement periods.

32. The UE of claim 26, wherein: The request for measurement time periods includes a request for measurement intervals between frequencies, and The one or more measurement time periods include one or more frequency measurement gaps.

33. The UE as claimed in claim 26, wherein: The request for a measurement period includes a request for a processing interval within the frequency range, and The one or more measurement periods include one or more frequency processing gaps.

34. A user equipment (UE), comprising: A means for receiving a location information request from a location server during a location preparation phase of a location session, the location information request including measurement time during which the UE is expected to perform one or more location measurements during a first location execution phase of the location session. as well as A means for transmitting a request for a measurement period to a serving base station, the request for the measurement period including a requested offset for one or more measurement periods for performing the one or more positioning measurements and at least a first start time for the one or more measurement periods, wherein the first start time is greater than the requested offset.

35. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: During the positioning preparation phase of the positioning session, a location information request is received from a location server, the location information request including the measurement time during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements during the first positioning execution phase of the positioning session; and A request for a measurement period is transmitted to the serving base station. The request for the measurement period includes a requested offset for one or more measurement periods for performing the one or more positioning measurements and at least a first start time for the one or more measurement periods, wherein the first start time is greater than the requested offset.

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