Signaling and procedures for supporting positioning reference units

Abstract

Techniques for supporting positioning are disclosed. In an aspect, a positioning reference unit (PRU) transmits and a location server receives an association request for the PRU. The location server authenticates the PRU and transmits an association acceptance to the PRU indicating acceptance of an association and a condition for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, or indicating rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated. The association acceptance may include an identifier of the location server for the PRU to use to update the association with the location server and / or an identifier of one or more additional location servers to which the PRU will perform a separate association. The location server may transmit a disassociation request to the PRU indicating that the PRU is no longer associated, and optionally transmit an identifier of another location server to which the PRU should be associated.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the rights to U.S. Application No. 18 / 312,569, filed on May 4, 2023, entitled “SIGNALING AND PROCEDURES FOR SUPPORTING REFERENCE LOCATION DEVICES,” U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 338,879, filed on May 5, 2022, entitled “SIGNALING AND PROCEDURES FOR SUPPORTING REFERENCE LOCATION DEVICES,” U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 378,858, filed on October 8, 2022, entitled “SIGNALING AND PROCEDURES FOR SUPPORTING REFERENCE LOCATION DEVICES,” and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 378,858, filed on November 3, 2022, entitled “SIGNALING AND PROCEDURES FOR SUPPORTING REFERENCE LOCATION DEVICES.” DEVICES″, all of which are assigned to the assignee of the present application and are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Background Art 1. Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications and location of wireless devices.

[0004] 2. Background

[0005] Wireless communication systems have evolved over many generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, wireless service with Internet capabilities, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMAX). There are many different types of wireless communication systems in use today, including cellular systems and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (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), and the like.

[0006] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), calls for higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, with 1 gigabit per second provided to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support large sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. In addition, signaling efficiency should be improved and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard.

[0007] The location of a wireless device (including objects or entities associated with the wireless device) accessing a 4G, 5G (or later 6G) wireless network may be important for many applications. These may include: locating a user of an emergency call; finding a person (e.g., relative, friend, employee); tracking objects and assets; locating vehicles, ships, aircraft, and drones; and coordinating and managing the movement of objects, machinery, tools, and packages in a factory or warehouse. The method for locating a wireless device may utilize a location server in the wireless network, wherein the location server assists in locating the wireless device by providing location-related assistance data to the wireless device and / or receiving location-related measurements of the wireless device and calculating the location of the wireless device. Summary of the invention

[0008] A technique for supporting positioning is disclosed. In one aspect, a positioning reference unit (PRU) transmits and a location server receives an association request to the PRU. The location server authenticates the PRU and transmits an association response to the PRU, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, and indicating rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated. The association response may include an identifier of the location server for the PRU to use to update the association with the location server and / or identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU will perform a separate association. The location server may transmit to the PRU an association modification indicating new conditions for performing an association update, routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers, or a disassociation of the PRU from the location server.

[0009] In one specific implementation, a method performed by a location server for supporting positioning in a wireless network includes: receiving an association request for a positioning reference unit (PRU); authenticating the PRU; and transmitting an association response to the PRU, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, and the association response indicating rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated.

[0010] In one specific implementation, a location server configured to support positioning in a wireless network includes: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive an association request for a positioning reference unit (PRU) via an external interface; authenticate the PRU; and transmit an association response to the PRU via the external interface, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, and indicating rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated.

[0011] In one specific implementation, a method performed by a positioning reference unit (PRU) for supporting positioning in a wireless network includes: transmitting an association request to a location server; receiving an association response from the location server, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server, or the association response indicating rejection of the association.

[0012] In one specific implementation, a positioning reference unit (PRU) configured to support positioning in a wireless network includes: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmit an association request to a location server via the one or more transceivers; receive an association response from the location server via the one or more transceivers, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server, or the association response indicating rejection of the association.

[0013] Other objects and advantages associated with the various aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in describing various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided solely for illustration and not limitation of the various aspects.

[0015] Figure 1A An example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0016] Figure 1B A high-level system architecture of a wireless communication system according to an aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0017] Figure 2A and Figure 3B is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE) and a network entity, respectively, and configured to communicate as taught herein.

[0018] Figure 3 is a diagram of an example wireless communication network in which positioning reference units (PRUs) are used to assist in positioning of a UE in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 4 Example positioning operations according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0020] Figure 5 Example PRU positioning operations in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0021] Figure 6 Two main architectural options for supporting PRUs in a network according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0022] Figure 7 is a diagram of a protocol stack in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 8 Example PRU positioning operations for an association procedure of a PRU in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0024] Fig. 9 Example PRU positioning operations for an association modification procedure of a PRU according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0025] Fig.10 Example PRU positioning operations of a positioning procedure for obtaining location-related information from or for a PRU according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0026] Fig.11 Example PRU positioning operations for positioning a target user equipment (UE) using a PRU in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0027] Fig.12 Example PRU positioning operations for positioning procedures supporting PRU-based positioning, PRU-assisted positioning, and assisted data delivery in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0028] Fig.13 Example PRU positioning operations for a network-assisted positioning procedure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0029] Fig.14 Example PRU positioning operations for obtaining non-UE-associated network assistance data in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0030] Fig.15A flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for supporting positioning performed by a location server according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0031] Fig.16 A flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for supporting positioning performed by a PRU according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0032] Fig.17 An example PRU association process according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0033] Fig.18 An example PRU disassociation process according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0034] Fig.19 Example processes that may be used to obtain a location of a target UE using information from one or more PRUs in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Various aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings for various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid making the relevant details of the present disclosure difficult to understand.

[0036] The words "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 preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0037] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different techniques and methods may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, which depends in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0038] In addition, many aspects are described in terms of a sequence of actions to be performed by, for example, an element of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by a specific circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. In addition, the sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, in which a corresponding computer instruction set is stored, which, when executed, will cause or command the associated processor of the device to perform the functions described herein. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the various aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions".

[0039] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset location device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" can be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", a "client device", a "wireless device", a "subscriber device", a "subscriber terminal", a "subscriber station", a "user terminal" or "UT", a "mobile device", a "mobile terminal", a "mobile station", or variations thereof. In general, the UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can be connected to an external network 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) network (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.), etc.

[0040] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with a UE, depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may be primarily used to support wireless access for UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide only edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which a UE may transmit a signal to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link by which a base station may transmit a signal to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a 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.

[0041] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit receive point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where 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). Where 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 to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRP may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE and a neighboring base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Because, as used herein, a TRP is a point by which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, references to transmitting from a base station or receiving at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of a base station.

[0042] In some specific implementations of supporting UE positioning, the base station may not support wireless access for the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but may instead send a reference signal to be measured by the UE to the UE and / or may receive and measure a signal sent by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of sending a signal to the UE) and / or as a position measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring a signal from the UE).

[0043] An "RF signal" includes an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through 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 transmitted RF signal on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal.

[0044] One way to achieve improvements is by using a positioning reference unit (PRU), which can assist in the positioning process. The PRU can have a known location and can perform positioning measurements related to the target UE (e.g., RSTD, RSRP, Rx-Tx time difference, etc.) and report these measurements to the location server. In addition, the PRU can send UL-PRS (e.g., SRS) to enable the TRP to measure and report uplink positioning measurements (e.g., RTOA, UL-AoA, gNB Rx-Tx time difference, etc.) from a device (i.e., PRU) at a known location. The actual measurements of the PRU can be compared with the measurements expected at the known location of the PRU. Similarly, the uplink measurements from the TRP can be compared with the measurements expected at the TRP based on the transmitted signals of the PRU at a known location. These comparisons can be used to determine correction items (e.g., such as corrections for internal delays in the TRP and the base station, timing synchronization of the TRP and the base station, and corrections for propagation and transmission delays related to the TRP and the base station antenna and antenna feed). The correction items can achieve more accurate positioning of nearby UEs. For example, downlink and / or uplink position measurements of other UEs may be corrected based on previously determined correction terms. The correction terms may indicate calibration errors (e.g., group delay errors in the transmit and receive chains of the UE and TRP, time synchronization errors between transmit receive points (TRPs), etc.).

[0045] A PRU may be, for example, a device that can be used to obtain location-related information of nodes in a radio access network (RAN) (such as a next generation RAN (NG RAN)) that is independent of a specific target UE. Another example of a PRU may be a reference UE, which is a device similar to or identical to a normal UE and can be used to obtain location-related information of one or more other target UEs. Other examples of a PRU may include a roadside unit (RSU) or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) reference receiver, the former being a device that can be used to provide connectivity or positioning support and / or information services to nearby (e.g., passing) vehicles. A PRU may also be referred to as a reference location device (RLD).

[0046] One or more PRUs with known locations may be used to assist or enable obtaining the location of one or more target UEs. For example, the one or more PRUs may obtain location measurements of signals (e.g., UL SRS or SL-PRS) transmitted by one or more target UEs, and / or the one or more target UEs may obtain location measurements of signals (e.g., DL PRS or SL-PRS) transmitted by the one or more PRUs. The location measurements may then be used to determine the location of the one or more target UEs by the PRU, one of the one or more target UEs, or by a location server such as an LMF. As an example, the one or more target UEs may each be part of a different vehicle (e.g., a car, truck, or bus), and the one or more PRUs may be RSUs. The location of the one or more target UEs may then be determined with low latency (e.g., less than 100 ms) and high accuracy (e.g., with a location error of less than one meter).

[0047] Support for PRUs may be provided by treating the PRUs the same as normal UEs from an architectural perspective. The PRUs may be enabled to support positioning functions of normal target UEs and / or may be enabled to support some positioning functions of NG RAN nodes. Support for PRUs may avoid impact on network entities such as access and mobility management functions (AMFs), NG RAN nodes, unified data management (UDM), or any existing non-eLCS (enhanced location services) interfaces or reference points. Support may be provided by using existing supplementary service protocols, such as those defined in Technical Specification (TS) 24.080 of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), to enable interaction between the PRUs and location servers, such as location management functions (LMFs) that are transparent to other entities.

[0048] Figure 1A An example wireless communication system 100 is shown in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. 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. The base stations 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 stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of the two, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0049] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core network (5GCN or 5GC)) through a backhaul link 122, and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) through the core network 170. The location server 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following, among other functions: delivering user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, 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, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (eg, via EPC / 5GC) over a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0050] Base station 102 may communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each of base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells may 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 certain frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" may refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to a geographic coverage area (eg, a sector) of a base station, so long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communications within some portion of the geographic coverage area 110 .

[0051] Although the geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with the larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102′ (labeled “SC” for “small cell”) may have a geographic coverage area 110′ that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0052] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

[0053] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz) via a communication link 154. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or a listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior to communication to determine whether a channel is available.

[0054] The small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' can adopt LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' using LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0055] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate at mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW can be extended downward to a frequency of 3 GHz, with a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, and it is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on ​​the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for extremely high path loss and short distances. In addition, it should be understood that in an alternative configuration, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0056] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With 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, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device. In order to change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that broadcast the RF signal. For example, a network node can use an array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates RF beams that can be "manipulated" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to each antenna in the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas are added together to increase the radiation in the desired direction while canceling to suppress the radiation in the undesired direction.

[0057] The transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, which means that they appear to the receiver (e.g., UE) to have the same parameters, regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antenna is 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 about the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived based on information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, 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 sent 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 sent 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 sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver may use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0058] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting of the antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is said to perform beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. 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.

[0059] The transmit beam and the receive beam may be spatially correlated. The spatial relationship means that parameters of a second beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) for a second reference signal may be derived based on information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may 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 may then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0060] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam that receives a downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0061] In 5G, the spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (from 450MHz to 6000MHz), FR2 (from 24250MHz to 52600MHz), FR3 (above 52600MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). The mmW band generally includes the FR2, FR3, and FR4 frequency ranges. As such, the terms "mmW" and "FR2" or "FR3" or "FR4" can generally be used interchangeably.

[0062] In a multi-carrier system (such as 5G), one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection reestablishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2), which can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example, since the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are usually UE-specific, those UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Because a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier on which a base station communicates, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. are used interchangeably.

[0063] For example, still referring to Figure 1A , one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate achieved with a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0064] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 via a communication link 120 and / or communicate with the mmW base station 180 via a mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a 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.

[0065] exist Figure 1A In the example of FIG. 1 , one or more Earth-orbiting satellite positioning system (SPS) spacecraft (SV) 112 (eg, satellites) may be used as any of the illustrated UEs (for simplicity in FIG. 1 ). Figure 1A 104). UE 104 may include one or more dedicated SPS receivers, which are specially designed to receive SPS signals 124 from SV 112 to derive geographic location information. SPS generally includes a transmitter system (e.g., SV 112) that is positioned so that receivers (e.g., UE 104) can determine the positions of these receivers on or above the earth based at least in part on the signals (e.g., SPS signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters generally transmit signals marked with a set number of code chips of a repeated pseudo-random noise (PN) code. Although generally located in SV 112, transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104.

[0066] The use of the SPS signal 124 can be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, the SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS) Assisted Geographic Augmented Navigation, or the GPS and Geographic Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), etc. Thus, as used herein, an SPS may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems and / or augmentation systems, and the SPS signal 124 may include an SPS, a quasi-SPS, and / or other signals associated with such one or more SPS.

[0067] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which 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 1AIn the example of FIG. 1 , UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with a UE 104 connected to a base station 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity therefrom), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity therefrom). In an example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), etc.

[0068] Figure 1B A communication system 101 is shown based on a non-roaming 5G NR network to support a positioning reference unit (PRU), such as a reference location device (RLD), a reference user equipment (UE), a roadside unit (RSU), or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) reference receiver as discussed herein. Figure 1B Shown based on Figure 1A1, which includes a core network 170 (shown as a 5GCN communicating with external clients 130 and application functions (AF) 132) and a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) 114, which includes base stations (BSs) 102, sometimes referred to as new radio (NR) node Bs or gNBs 102-1, 102-2, 102-3, and next generation evolved node Bs (ng-eNBs) 103. In the communication system 101, the core network 170, which communicates with the UE 104 and the PRU 105 via the NG-RAN 114, is part of a public land mobile network (PLMN). The architecture of the gNB 102 may be divided into functional portions, such as one or more of a gNB central unit (gNB-CU), one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs), and one or more gNB remote units (gNB-RUs), any of which may be physically co-located or physically separate from other portions of the gNB 102. A 5G network may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network; the NG-RAN 114 may be referred to as an NR RAN or a 5G RAN; and the 5GCN 170 may be referred to as a next generation (NG) core network (NGC). The communication system 100 may also utilize information from a space vehicle (SV) 112 of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou, or some other local or regional satellite positioning system (SPS) such as IRNSS, EGNOS, or WAAS. Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0069] Figure 1B A serving gNB 102-1 and neighboring gNBs 102-2, 102-3, and ng-eNB 103 for a target UE 104 are shown. The neighboring gNB 102 may be any gNB 102 capable of receiving and measuring uplink (UL) signals sent by the target UE 104 and / or capable of sending downlink (DL) reference signals (RS) (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) that may be received and measured by the target UE 104.

[0070] in addition, Figure 1BA PRU 105 is shown coupled to receive signals through the serving gNB 102-1. The PRU 105 may be one or more of several types of devices. For example, the PRU 105 may be a PRU for obtaining location-related information of a node in the NG-RAN 114 (such as a gNB 102 or ng-eNB 103) and not associated with the target UE 104. The PRU 105 may additionally or alternatively be a reference UE for obtaining location-related information of the target UE 104. The PRU 105 may additionally or alternatively be an RSU or a GNSS reference receiver. For example, the PRU 105 may have a known location and may be enabled to perform positioning measurements (e.g., RSTD, RSRP, Rx-Tx time difference, etc.) and report these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 172). In addition, the PRU 105 may transmit an UL-PRS (e.g., an SRS) to enable a TRP (e.g., a gNB 102 or ng-eNB 103) to measure and report uplink positioning measurements (e.g., RTOA, UL-AoA, gNB Rx-Tx time difference, etc.) from a device at a known location. The actual measurements made by the PRU 105 may be compared with the measurements expected at the known location of the PRU 105 to determine correction terms for the UE 104. Similarly, uplink measurements from the gNB 102 may be compared with the measurements expected at the gNB 102 based on the transmitted signals of the PRU 105 at the known location. The downlink and / or uplink position measurements of the UE 104 may then be corrected based on the previously determined correction terms. The correction terms may indicate calibration errors (e.g., group delay errors in the transmit and receive chains of the UE 104, gNB 102, and time synchronization errors between gNBs 102, etc.).

[0071] The PRU 105 may be supported by treating the PRU 105 the same as the UE 104 within the architecture. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, Figure 1BThe processing of the UE 104 within the illustrated architecture is applicable to the PRU 105. The PRU 105 may be enabled to support positioning functions for the UE 104 and may also be enabled to support some positioning functions for the gNB 102. Support for the PRU 105 may avoid impact on network entities such as the access and mobility management function (AMF) 174, the gNB 102, the unified data management (UDM) 171, or any existing non-eLCS (enhanced location services) interface or reference point. In addition, support may be provided by using existing supplementary service protocols (e.g., such as those defined in 3GPP TS 24.080) to enable interaction between the PRU 105 and the LMF 172 that is transparent to other entities. The PRU 105 (e.g., an RSU or a reference UE) may be able to support or assist in the positioning of one or more UEs 104 by sending a sidelink (SL) positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) (e.g., which may be NR or LTE SL signaling) measured by the UE 104, by receiving and measuring SL-PRS signals sent by the UE 104, and / or by exchanging control messages with the UE 104 using SL signaling (e.g., which may be defined for a SL positioning protocol) to control and coordinate the positioning of the UE 104.

[0072] The entity in the NG-RAN 114 that sends the DL reference signal (RS) to be measured by the target UE 104 for a specific positioning session is generally referred to as a "transmission point" (TP) and may include the serving gNB 102-1 and one or more of the neighboring gNBs 102-2, 102-3 and ng-eNB 103.

[0073] The entity in the NG-RAN 114 that receives and measures the UL signals (e.g., RS) sent by the target UE 104 for a particular positioning session is generally referred to as a “reception point” (RP) and may include the serving gNB 102-1 and one or more of the neighboring gNBs 102-2, 102-3, and ng-eNB 103.

[0074] It should be noted that Figure 1BOnly a general illustration of the various components is provided, any or all of which may be used as appropriate, and each component may be repeated or omitted as desired. Specifically, although only one UE 104 and one PRU 105 are shown, it should be understood that many UEs and PRUs (e.g., hundreds, tens, millions, etc.) may utilize the communication system 101. Similarly, the communication system 101 may include a larger or smaller number of SVs 112, gNBs 102-1, 102-2, external clients 130, and / or other components. The connections shown connecting the various components in the communication system 101 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. In addition, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0075] Although Figure 1B A 5G-based network is shown, but similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE) (also known as 4G), and IEEE 802.11 WiFi, etc. For example, in the case of using a wireless local area network (WLAN) (e.g., an IEEE 802.11 radio interface), the UE 104 may communicate with an access network (AN) (rather than an NG-RAN), and accordingly, the component 114 is sometimes referred to herein as an AN or RAN, represented by the terms "RAN", "(R)AN", or "(R)AN 114". In the case of an AN (e.g., an IEEE 802.11 AN), the AN may be connected to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) (e.g., in the 5GCN 170) ( Figure 1B ), where N3IWF is connected to AMF 174.

[0076] As used herein, target UE 104 can be any electronic device, and can be referred to as device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), terminal (SET) supporting secure user plane positioning (SUPL) or some other name. Target UE 104 can be a stand-alone device, or can be embedded in another device (e.g., factory tool) to be monitored or tracked. In addition, UE 104 can correspond to smart watches, digital glasses, fitness monitors, smart cars, smart home appliances, cellular phones, smart phones, laptop computers, tablet computers, PDAs, consumer tracking devices for tracking consumer items, packages, assets or entities (such as individuals and pets), control devices or some other portable or removable devices. UE 104 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network where a user can employ audio, video and / or data I / O devices and / or body sensors and separate wired or wireless modems. Typically, but not necessarily, UE 104 may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) such as GSM, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, high rate packet data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Wireless communications may be supported using 5G (Broadband), WiMAX, 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 114 and 5GCN 170), etc. UE 104 may also support wireless communications using a wireless local area network (WLAN), which may be connected to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable. Using one or more of these RATs may allow UE 104 to communicate with external clients 130 (e.g., via Figure 1B Elements of the 5GCN 170 not shown in the figure, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 175), and / or allowing an external client 130 (e.g., via the GMLC 175) to receive location information about the UE 104.

[0077] UE 104 may enter a connected state with a wireless communication network, which may include NG-RAN 114. In one example, UE 104 may communicate with a cellular communication network by sending or receiving wireless signals to or from a cellular transceiver, such as gNB 102-1, in NG-RAN 114. The transceiver provides user plane and control plane protocol terminations for UE 104 and may be referred to as a base station, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a radio network controller, a transceiver function, a base station subsystem (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), or some other suitable terminology.

[0078] In a particular implementation, the UE 104 may have circuitry and processing resources capable of obtaining location-related measurements. The location-related measurements obtained by the UE 104 may include measurements of signals received from a satellite vehicle (SV) 112 belonging to a satellite positioning system (SPS) or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou, and / or may include measurements of signals received from a ground-based transmitter (e.g., such as gNB 102) fixed at a known location. The UE 104 or the gNB 102-1 to which the UE 104 may transmit the measurements may then obtain a position estimate of the UE 104 based on these location-related measurements using any of a number of positioning methods, such as, for example, GNSS, Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT), Angle of Departure (AOD), DL Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, WLAN (also known as WiFi) positioning, or Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), or a combination thereof. In some of these techniques (e.g., A-GNSS, AFLT, DL-TDOA), pseudoranges or timing differences may be measured at a UE 104 relative to three or more ground-based transmitters (e.g., gNB 102) fixed at known locations or relative to four or more SVs 112 with accurately known orbit data, or a combination thereof, based at least in part on pilots, positioning reference signals (PRS), or other positioning-related signals transmitted by these transmitters or satellites and received at the UE 104.

[0079] Figure 1BThe location server in may correspond to, for example, location management function (LMF) 172, and may be capable of providing positioning assistance data to UE 104, including, for example, information about signals to be measured (e.g., expected signal timing, signal decoding, signal frequency, signal Doppler), the location and identification of ground transmitters (e.g., gNB 102), and / or signal, timing, and orbit information of GNSS SV 112 to facilitate positioning techniques such as A-GNSS, AFLT, AOD, DL-TDOA, multi-cell RTT, and ECID. This facilitation may include improving the accuracy of signal acquisition and measurements made by UE 104, and in some cases, enabling UE 104 to calculate its estimated position based on the location measurements. For example, a location server (e.g., LMF 172) may include an almanac (also referred to as a base station almanac (BSA)) that indicates the location and identification of cellular transceivers and / or local transceivers in one or more specific areas (such as a specific location), and may provide information describing signals transmitted by cellular base stations or APs (e.g., gNBs), such as transmit power and signal timing. The UE 104 may obtain signal strength measurements (e.g., received signal strength indication (RSSI)) of signals received from the cellular transceiver and / or the local transceiver, and / or may obtain signal-to-noise ratio (S / N), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), time of arrival (TOA), angle of arrival (AOA), angle of departure (AOD), receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx), or round-trip signal propagation time (RTT) between the UE 104 and the cellular transceiver (e.g., gNB) or the local transceiver (e.g., WiFi access point (AP)). The UE 104 may use these measurements together with assistance data (e.g., terrestrial almanac data or GNSS satellite data, such as GNSS almanac and / or GNSv ephemeris information) received from a location server (e.g., LMF 172) or broadcasted in the NG-RAN 114 by a base station (e.g., gNB 102) to determine the location of the UE 104.

[0080] In some implementations, a network entity is used to assist in locating the target UE 104. For example, entities in the network such as gNBs 102-1 and 102-2 may measure UL signals sent by the UE 104. The UL signals may contain or include UL reference signals, such as a UL Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) or a UL Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). The entity that obtained the location measurement (e.g., gNBs 102-1 and 102-2) may then transmit the location measurement to the UE 104 or LMF 172, which may use these measurements to determine or help determine the location of the UE 104. Examples of location measurements that may use the UL signals may include RS SI, RSRP, RSRQ, TOA, Rx-Tx, AOA, and RTT.

[0081] The estimate of the location of the UE 104 may be referred to as location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geodetic, providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the UE 104, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level; height above or depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, the location of the UE 104 may be expressed as a municipal location (e.g., a postal address or a designation of a point or small area in a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of the UE 104 may also be expressed as an area or volume (geodetically or municipally defined) within which the UE 104 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The position of UE104 may also be a relative position, including, for example, a distance and direction defined relative to a certain origin at a known location or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates, which may be defined geodetically, in municipal form, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. The position may be expressed as an absolute position estimate of the UE (such as a position coordinate or address) or a relative position estimate of the UE (such as a distance and direction from a previous position estimate or from a known absolute position). The position of the UE may include the linear velocity, angular velocity, linear acceleration, angular acceleration, angular orientation (e.g., the orientation of the UE relative to a fixed global or local coordinate system), an identifier of a triggering event for locating the UE, or some combination of these. For example, a triggering event may include an area event, a motion event, or a speed event. An area event may, for example, be a UE moving to a defined area, moving out of the area, and / or staying in the area. For example, a motion event may include a threshold straight-line distance or a threshold distance that the UE moves along the UE trajectory. For example, a speed event may include a UE reaching a minimum or maximum speed, a threshold increase and / or decrease in speed, and / or a threshold change in direction. In the description contained herein, the use of the term "position" may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the position of a UE, local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved for, and then converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level) if necessary.

[0082] like Figure 1B As shown in FIG, the gNB 102 pairs in the NG-RAN 114 may be connected to each other, for example, as Figure 1B1, 102-2. UE 104 is provided with access to the 5G network via wireless communications between UE 104 and one or more of gNBs 102-1 and 102-2 (which may use 5G (e.g., NR) to provide wireless communication access to 5GCN 170 on behalf of UE 104). Figure 1B , it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE 104 is gNB 102-1, although other gNBs (e.g., gNB 102-2, 102-3, or ng-eNB 103) may serve as serving gNBs if UE 104 moves to another location, or may serve as auxiliary gNBs to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 104. Figure 1B Some gNBs (e.g., gNB 102-2, 102-3, or ng-eNB 103) may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons, which may send signals (e.g., directional PRS) to assist in positioning of UE 104, but may not receive signals from UE 104 or from other UEs.

[0083] As mentioned above, although Figure 1B Nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol are depicted, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (such as, for example, an LTE protocol) may also be used. Such nodes configured to communicate using different protocols may be controlled, at least in part, by the 5GCN 170. Thus, the NG-RAN 114 may include any combination of gNBs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) supporting LTE, or other types of base stations or access points. As an example, the NG-RAN 114 may include one or more ng-eNBs 103 that provide LTE wireless access to the UE 104 and may be connected to entities in the 5GCN 170 (such as the AMF 174).

[0084] The gNBs 102-1, 102-2, 102-3, and ng-eNB 103 may communicate with an access and mobility management function (AMF) 174, which may communicate with a location management function (LMF) 172 for positioning functionality. The AMF 174 may support mobility of the UE 104, including cell change and handover, and may participate in supporting signaling connections to the UE 104. Other functions of the AMF 174 may include: terminating a control plane (CP) interface from the NG-RAN 114; terminating a non-access stratum (NAS) signaling connection, NAS ciphering, and integrity protection from a UE such as the UE 104; registration management; connection management; reachability management; mobility management; access authentication and authorization.

[0085] When UE 104 accesses NG-RAN 114, gNB 102-1 may support positioning of UE 104. gNB 102-1 may also process location service requests for UE 104, for example, received directly or indirectly from GMLC 175. In some embodiments, a node / system implementing gNB 102-1 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP). Note that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the positioning functionality (including deriving the location of UE 104) may be performed at UE 104 (e.g., using signal measurements of signals sent by wireless nodes and assistance data provided to UE 104).

[0086] The GMLC 175 may support location requests for the UE 104 received from the external client 130 and may forward such location requests to the serving AMF 174 of the UE 104. The GMLC 175 may be connected to a location retrieval function (LRF) 176, which retrieves location information for the user who has initiated the emergency session. The AMF 174 may then forward the location request to the gNB 102-1 or LMF 172, which may obtain one or more location estimates for the UE 104 (e.g., based on the request from the external client 130) and may return the location estimate to the AMF 174, which may return the location estimate to the external client 130 via the GMLC 175. The GMLC 175 may contain subscription information for the external client 130 and may authenticate and authorize location requests for the UE 104 from the external client 130. The GMLC 175 may also initiate a positioning session for the UE 104 by transmitting a location request for the UE 104 to the AMF 174, and may include in the location request an identification of the UE 104 and the type of location requested (e.g., such as a current location or a sequence of periodic or triggered locations).

[0087] like Figure 1B As shown, 5GCN 170 may also include a network repository function (NRF) 177, which may communicate with AMF 174, LMF 172 and / or other network functions ( Figure 1BNRF 177 may be used to store information about various network functions within 5GCN 170 (e.g., such as AMF 174 and / or LMF 172), which may be used for network function management (e.g., network function, discovery, authorization, and / or other functionality). For example, in some embodiments, a first network function that may want to transmit information to a second network function may first query NRF 177 to verify the address of the second network function. Additional information about NRF 177 may be found, for example, in 3GPP Tv 23.501.

[0088] As shown, a unified data management (UDM) 171 may be connected to a GMLC 175, an AMF 174, and a network exposure function (NEF) 173. The UDM 171 is similar to a home subscriber server (HSS) for LTE access, and if necessary, the UDM 171 may be combined with the HSS. The UDM 171 is a central database that contains user-related and subscription-related information for the UE 104 and may perform the following functions: UE authentication, UE identification, access authorization, registration and mobility management, subscription management, and short message service management.

[0089] like Figure 1B As further shown in , external client 130 may connect to core network 170 via GMLC 175 .

[0090] The network opening function (NEF) 173 may be connected to the GMLC 175, the AMF 174, and the UDM 171. In some implementations, the NEF 173 may be connected to communicate directly with the application function (AF) 132. The NEF 173 may support the secure opening of capabilities and events about the 5GCN 170 and the UE 104 to the AF 132, and may enable secure provisioning of information from the AF 132 to the 5GCN 170. For example, the NEF 173 may also be used to obtain the current or last known location of the UE 104, an indication of a change in location of the UE 104, or an indication of when the UE 104 becomes available (or reachable). The AF 132 may access the NEF 173 in order to obtain location information of the UE 104.

[0091] LMF 172 and gNB 102-1 may communicate using New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa). NRPPa may be defined in 3GPP TS 38.455, where NRPPa messages are transmitted between gNB 102-1 and LMF 172. In addition, LMF 172 and UE 104 may communicate using LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) defined in 3GPP TS 37.355, where LPP messages are transmitted between UE 104 and LMF 172 via serving AMF 174 and serving gNB 102-1 of UE 104. For example, LPP messages may be transmitted between AMF 174 and UE 104 using 5G non-access stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of UE 104 using DL and UL+DL positioning methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), DL Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, and / or Enhanced Cell Identity (ECID). The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of UE 104 using UL and UL+DL positioning methods such as Uplink (UL) Time Difference of Arrival (UL-TDOA), Uplink (UL-AOA) Angle of Arrival, Multi-cell RTT, or ECID when used with measurements obtained by or from gNB 102-1, 102-2, 102-3, or ng-eNB 103, and / or may be used by LMF 172 to obtain location-related information from gNB 102, such as parameters defining positioning reference signals (PRS) sent from gNB 102 to support DL-TDOA.

[0092] The gNB 102-1, 102-2, 102-3, or ng-eNB 103 may communicate with the AMF 174 using the Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP), e.g., as defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.413. The NGAP may enable the AMF 174 to request the location of the target UE 104 from the gNB 102-1 for the target UE 104, and may enable the gNB 102-1 to return the location of the UE 104 to the AMF 174.

[0093] The gNBs 102-1, 102-2, 102-3, or ng-eNB 103 may communicate with each other using an Xn Application Protocol (XnAP), e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 38.423. The XnAP may allow one gNB 102 to request another gNB 102 to obtain UL location measurements for a target UE 104 and return these UL location measurements. The XnAP may also enable a gNB 102 to request another gNB 102 to send a downlink (DL) RS or PRS to enable a UE 104 to obtain a DL location measurement of the sent DL RS or PRS.

[0094] The gNB (e.g., gNB 102-1) may communicate with the target UE 104 using a radio resource control (RRC) protocol (e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 38.331). RRC may allow the gNB (e.g., gNB 102-1) to request from the target UE 104 position measurements of DL RS or DL ​​PRS transmitted by the gNB 102-1 and / or by other gNBs 102-2, 102-3, or ng-eNB 103, and return some or all of these position measurements. RRC may also enable the gNB (e.g., gNB 102-1) to request the target UE 104 to transmit UL RS or PRS so that the gNB 102-1 or other gNBs 102-2, 102-3, or ng-eNB 103 can obtain UL position measurements of the transmitted UL RS or PRS.

[0095] Using the UE-assisted positioning method, the UE 104 may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, Rx-Tx, RTT, AOA, RSTD, RSRP, and / or RSRQ of the gNB 102-1, 102-2, 102-3 or ng-eNB 103 or WLAN AP, or measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase of the SV 112), and transmit these measurements to an entity performing location server functions (e.g., LMF 172) to calculate a location estimate for the UE 104. Using the UE-based positioning method, the UE 104 may obtain location measurements (e.g., which may be the same or similar to the location measurements of the UE-assisted positioning method), and may calculate the location of the UE 104 (e.g., with the aid of assistance data received from a location server such as LMF 172). Through network-based positioning methods, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 102-1, 102-2) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, AOA, RSRP, RSRQ, Rx-Tx, or TOA of signals sent by UE 104), and / or may receive measurements obtained by UE 104, and may transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 172) to calculate a position estimate for UE 104.

[0096] The information provided by gNB 102-2, 102-3, or ng-eNB 103 to gNB 102-1 using XnAP may include timing and configuration information for PRS transmissions and location coordinates of gNB 102-2, 102-3, or ng-eNB 103. gNB 102-1 may then provide some or all of this information as assistance data in an RRC message to UE 104. In some implementations, the RRC message transmitted from gNB 102-1 to UE 104 may include an embedded LPP message.

[0097] The RRC message transmitted from gNB 102-1 to UE 104 may instruct UE 104 to do any of a variety of things, depending on the desired functionality. For example, the RRC message may include instructions for UE 104 to obtain measurements of GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, and / or DL-TDOA (or some other positioning method) or to send uplink (UL) signals (such as positioning reference signals, sounding reference signals, or both). In the case of DL-TDOA, the RRC message may instruct UE 104 to obtain one or more measurements (e.g., RSTD measurements) of PRS signals sent within a particular cell supported by a particular gNB 102. UE 104 may use these measurements to determine the location of UE 104 (e.g., using DL-TDOA).

[0098] The gNB 102 in the NG-RAN 114 may also broadcast positioning assistance data to each UE (such as UE 104).

[0099] In some embodiments, the first UE 104 or first PRU 105 may be able to transmit a sidelink (SL) PRS signal that may be measured by the second UE 104 or second PRU 105, and may be able to or assist in being able to determine the relative position, range, and / or direction of the first or second UE 104 or PRU 105. For example, the LMF 172 may request the PRU 105 to measure the SL PRS transmitted by the target UE 104 and return the measurement to the LMF 172, or may request the target UE 104 to measure the SL PRS transmitted by the PRU 105 and similarly return the measurement to the LMF 172. The LMF 172 may then use such measurements and the known position of the PRU 105 to determine or assist in determining the position of the target UE 104.

[0100] It should be understood that although Figure 1B The network architecture for a non-roaming UE 104 is shown, but a corresponding network architecture may be provided for a roaming UE 104 with appropriate, well-known changes.

[0101] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) that may be incorporated into a UE 202 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein, and may also be an RLD or PRU discussed herein), a base station 204 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 206 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server / LMF 172, or alternatively may be independent of the NG-RAN 114 and / or 5GCN 170 infrastructure, such as a dedicated network) are illustrated to support file sending operations as taught herein. It should be understood that these components may be implemented in different types of devices with different specific implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.). 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 as providing similar functionality. In addition, 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.

[0102] UE 202 includes at least one wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver 210 that provides means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) (such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc.). WWAN transceiver 210 may be connected to one or more antennas 216 to communicate with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., certain time / frequency resource sets in a particular spectrum). WWAN transceiver 210 may be configured differently to transmit and encode signals 218 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the designated RAT, and conversely, receive and decode signals 218 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.), respectively. Specifically, the WWAN transceiver 210 includes one or more transmitters 214 for transmitting and encoding a signal 218 and one or more receivers 212 for receiving and decoding the signal 218 .

[0103] At least in some cases, UE 202 also includes at least one short-range wireless transceiver 220. Short-range wireless transceiver 220 can be connected to one or more antennas 226 and provide for communicating over a wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, The short-range wireless transceiver 220 includes components (e.g., components for sending, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for suppressing sending, etc.) for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) using a PC5, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near field communication (NFC), etc.). The short-range wireless transceiver 220 may be configured differently to respectively send and encode signals 228 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to respectively receive and decode signals 228 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceiver 220 includes one or more transmitters 224 for respectively sending and encoding signals 228, and one or more receivers 222 for respectively receiving and decoding signals 228. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceiver 220 may include a WiFi transceiver, Transceiver, and / or transceiver, NFC transceiver or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceiver.

[0104] The transceiver circuit system including at least one transmitter and at least one receiver may include an integrated device (e.g., a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit implemented as a single communication device) in some specific implementations, may include a separate transmitter device and a separate receiver device in some specific implementations, or may be implemented in other ways in other specific implementations. In one aspect, the transmitter may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 216, 226) that allow the corresponding device to perform transmit "beamforming", such as an antenna array, as described herein. Similarly, the receiver may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 216, 226) that allow the corresponding device to perform receive beamforming, such as an antenna array, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 216, 226) so that the corresponding device can only receive or transmit at a given time, but not both at the same time. The wireless communication device of UE 202 (e.g., one or both of transceivers 210 and 220) may also include a network listening module (NLM) for performing various measurements, etc.

[0105] At least in some cases, UE 202 also includes a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 230. SPS receiver 230 can be connected to one or more antennas 236 and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring SPS signals 238, such as 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. SPS receiver 230 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing SPS signals 238. SPS receiver 230 requests appropriate information and operations from other systems and uses measurements obtained by any suitable SPS algorithm to perform calculations necessary to determine the location of UE 202.

[0106] The network entities 206 may each include at least one network interface 290 that provides components for communicating with other network entities (e.g., components for sending, components for receiving, etc.). For example, the network interface 290 (e.g., one or more network access ports) may be configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wired-based backhaul connection or a wireless backhaul connection. In some aspects, the network interface 290 may be implemented as a transceiver configured to support wired or wireless signal-based communication. The communication may involve, for example, transmitting and receiving: messages, parameters, and / or other types of information.

[0107] In one aspect, the at least one WWAN transceiver 210 and / or the at least one short-range wireless transceiver 220 may form a (wireless) communication interface of the UE 202. Likewise, the at least one network interface 290 may form a (wireless) communication interface of the network entity 206. Various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 210, 220) and wired transceivers (e.g., network interface 290) may generally be characterized as at least one transceiver, or alternatively, as at least one communication interface. Thus, whether a particular transceiver or communication interface relates to a wired or wireless transceiver or communication interface, respectively, may be inferred from the type of communication performed (e.g., backhaul communications between network devices or servers generally involve signaling via at least one wired transceiver).

[0108] UE 202 and network entity 206 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 202 and network entity 206 include at least one processor 232 and 294, respectively, for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 232 and 294 may provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for sending, means for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 232 and 294 may include, for example, at least one general purpose processor, multi-core processor, central processing unit (CPU), ASIC, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), other programmable logic device or processing circuit or various combinations thereof.

[0109] UE 202 and network entity 206 include memory circuits implementing memory components 240 and 296, respectively (e.g., each including a memory device), for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memory components 240 and 296 may provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, UE 202 and network entity 206 may include positioning components 242 and 298, respectively. Positioning components 242 and 298 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to processors 232 and 294, respectively, which when executed cause UE 202 and network entity 206 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, positioning components 242 and 298 may be external to processors 232 and 294 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, positioning components 242 and 298 may be memory modules stored in memories 240 and 296, respectively, which when executed by processors 232 and 294 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause UE 202 and network entity 206 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 2APossible locations for the location component 242 are illustrated, which may be, for example, part of at least one WWAN transceiver 210, memory component 240, at least one processor 232, or any combination thereof, or may be a separate component. FIG. 2 illustrates possible locations for the location component 298, which may be, for example, part of at least one network interface 290, memory component 296, at least one processor 294, or any combination thereof, or may be a separate component.

[0110] UE 202 may include one or more sensors 244 coupled to at least one processor 232 to provide a means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by at least one WWAN transceiver 210, at least one short-range wireless transceiver 220, and / or SPS receiver 230. As an example, sensor 244 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. In addition, sensor 244 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 244 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0111] In addition, the UE 202 includes a user interface 246, which provides means for providing indications to the user (e.g., visual and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 204 and the network entity 206 may also include a user interface.

[0112] At the UE 202, the receiver 212 receives the signal through its corresponding antenna 216. The receiver 212 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to at least one processor 232. The transmitter 214 and the receiver 212 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 212 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 202. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 202, they may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 212. The receiver 212 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point sent by the base station 204. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally sent by the base station 204 on the physical channel. These data and control signals are then provided to at least one processor 232 which implements layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0113] In the uplink, at least one processor 232 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. At least one processor 232 is also responsible for error detection.

[0114] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by the base station 204, at least one processor 232 provides: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with transmission of upper layer PDUs, error correction through 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 of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0115] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback sent by base station 204 may be used by transmitter 214 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by transmitter 214 may be provided to different antennas 216. Transmitter 214 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0116] For convenience, UE 202 and / or network entity 206 may Figure 2A and Figure 2B 1 is shown as including various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs.

[0117] Various components of UE 202 and network entity 206 may communicate with each other via data buses 234 and 292, respectively. In an aspect, data buses 234 and 292 may form or be part of communication interfaces of UE 202 and network entity 206, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device, data buses 234 and 292 may provide communication between them.

[0118] Figure 2A and Figure 2B The components of can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 2A and Figure 2B The components may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or be combined with at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 210 to 246 may be implemented by a processor and memory component of UE 202 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor component). In addition, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 290 to 298 may be implemented by a processor and memory component of network entity 206 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor component). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by a UE," "by a base station," "by a network entity," and the like. However, it should be understood that such operations, actions and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of UE202, network entity 206, etc. (such as processors 232, 294, transceivers 210, 220, memory components 240 and 296, positioning components 242 and 298, etc.).

[0119] In some designs, the network entity 206 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 206 may be operated separately from a network operator or a cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 114 and / or 5GCN 170). For example, the network entity 206 may be a component of a dedicated network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 202 via the base station 204 or independently of the base station (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0120] NR supports a variety of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include: observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning process, the UE measures the difference between the arrival time (ToA) of the reference signal (e.g., positioning reference signal (PRS)) received from the paired base stations (referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or arrival time difference (TDOA) measurement), and reports these differences to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives the identifiers (IDs) of the reference base station (e.g., serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in the auxiliary data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known positions of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity can estimate the position of the UE.

[0121] For DL-AoD positioning, the positioning entity uses beam reports from the UE regarding received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine one or more angles between the UE and one or more transmitting base stations. The positioning entity can then estimate the UE's position based on the determined angles and the known locations of the transmitting base stations.

[0122] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but it is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) sent by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurement and the angle of the receive beam to determine the angle between the UE and the base station. Based on the determined angle and the known location of the base station, the positioning entity can then estimate the position of the UE.

[0123] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include enhanced cell ID (E-CID) positioning and multi-round trip time (RTT) positioning (also referred to as "multi-cell RTT"). During the RTT process, the initiator (base station or UE) sends an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to the responder (UE or base station), and the responder sends an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the initiator. The RTT response signal includes the difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the sending time of the RTT response signal (referred to as the received to sent (Rx-Tx) time difference). The initiator calculates the difference between the sending time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response signal (referred to as the sent to received (Tx-Rx) time difference). The propagation time (also referred to as "flight time") between the initiator and the responder can be calculated based on the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx time differences. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and the responder can be determined. For multi-RTT positioning, the UE performs RTT procedures with multiple base stations so that the UE's position can be determined based on the known positions of the base stations (e.g., using multilateration). RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques (such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD) to improve position accuracy.

[0124] The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identifiers, estimated timing and signal strength of the detected neighboring base stations. The UE's position is then estimated based on this information and the known location of the base stations.

[0125] To assist the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., location server / LMF 172 or SLP) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include: an identifier of the base station (or cell / TRP of the base station) from which the reference signal is measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning subframes, the periodicity of the positioning subframes, the silent sequence, the frequency hopping sequence, the reference signal identifier, the reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in a periodically broadcast overhead message, etc.). In some cases, the UE itself may be able to detect neighboring network nodes without the use of assistance data.

[0126] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning process, the auxiliary data may further include an expected RSTD value and associated uncertainty, or a search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the value range of the expected RSTD may be + / -500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any resource used for positioning measurement is in FR1, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / -32μs. In other cases, when all resources used for positioning measurement are in FR2, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / -8μs.

[0127] Figure 3 is a diagram 300 of an example wireless communication network in which a PRU 310 (also referred to as a "reference device") is used to assist in positioning of a UE 304 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 3 In the example of UE 304 (eg, any UE described herein, including Figure 2A UE 202 of FIG. 1 is involved in a positioning session with three TRPs 302-1, 302-2, and 302-3 (collectively, TRP 302), labeled “TRP1,” “TRP2,” and “TRP3,” respectively. TRP 302 is sending downlink reference signals (e.g., DL-PRS) to UE 304 to enable UE 304 to perform positioning measurements of the reference signals (e.g., Figure 3 RSTD measurement in the example above).

[0128] PRU 310 also receives and measures the downlink reference signal from TRP 302 and reports the measurement (e.g., RSTD) to a location server (not shown). In the case where TRP 302-1 is the reference TRP, the RSTD of TRP 302-2 measured by PRU 310 may be expressed as RSTD measurement = t2 - t1. The location server knows the location of PRU 310 and TRP 302, and therefore may calculate the "true" (expected) RSTD at the location of PRU 310 as:

[0129]

[0130] Where c is the speed of light. (x0, y0) (in Figure 3 In the figure, (x0, y0) is the known position of PRU 310, and (x1, y1) is the known position of PRU 310. Figure 3 is the known position of TRP 302-1, and (x2, y2) (in Figure 3denoted as (x2, y2) is the known position of TRP 302-2. The RSTD equation in equation 1 above may assume that TRP 302 should be synchronized and therefore send downlink reference signals at one or more identical times. However, there may be errors in synchronization, which the location server may determine as described below.

[0131] The location server obtains the measured RSRD, ie, RSTD, from the PRU 310. 测量 , and the error term Determined as:

[0132] e=RSTD 真实 -RSTD 测量

[0133] When a normal UE 304 (at an unknown location) is measuring the RSTD between TRP 302-1 and TRP 302-2, the location server may use the previously determined error term to correct the measured RSTD of the UE 304 as:

[0134] RSTD 校正，UE =RSTD 测量，UE +e

[0135] The location server can then use the corrected RSTD to estimate the location of the UE 304. The same principle applies to uplink positioning methods, where the PRU sends an uplink positioning signal (e.g., SRS) that is measured by the TRP. Given the known locations of the PRU and the TRP, the TRP uplink measurements can be compared to the "true" (expected) uplink measurements (e.g., UL-AoA, UL-RTOA, etc.). The difference between the "true" (expected) uplink measurements and the measurements actually performed will define an error term that can be used to correct the UE's uplink measurements.

[0136] To assist NR positioning techniques, a PRU with a known position may support the following functionality:

[0137] Measure DL-PRS and report associated measurements (e.g., RSTD, Rx-Tx time difference, RSRP, etc.) to the location server; and

[0138] • Send SRS and enable TRP to measure and report measurement results (e.g., RTOA, Rx-Tx time difference, AoA) associated with a reference device to the location server.

[0139] The PRU can also support the following functionality:

[0140] Reports signalling, measurement results, parameters related to receive and transmit timing delays, AoD and AoA enhancements, and details of measurement calibration;

[0141] If the LMF does not have the device location coordinate information, report the information to the LMF;

[0142] The PRUs with known locations are UEs and / or gNBs; and

[0143] • The accuracy of the known position of the reference device.

[0144] The PRU performs positioning measurements like a normal UE, but at a priori known location. Therefore, the positioning protocol terminated by the PRU and TRP can be the same as the protocol used for normal UE positioning.

[0145] Figure 4 Example target UE positioning operations 400 according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. The UE positioning operations 400 may be performed by the UE 304, the NG-RAN node 402 in the NG-RAN 114 (e.g., gNB 102, ng-eNB 103, or other node in the NG-RAN 114), the AMF 174, the LMF 172, and the 5GCN location service (LCS) entity 480 (e.g., any third-party application requesting the location of the UE 204, a public service access point (PSAP), an E-911 server, etc.). Figure 4 In the drawings and other figures discussed herein, operations may be referred to as numerical "stages." Additionally, in some of the drawings, operations may be labeled with their corresponding stage numbers.

[0146] The location service request to obtain the location of the target (i.e., UE 304) can be initiated by the 5GCN LCS entity 480, the AMF 174 serving UE 304, or the UE 304 itself. Figure 4 These options are illustrated as stages 410a, 410b, and 410c, respectively. Specifically, in stage 410a, the 5GCN LCS entity 480 transmits a location service request to the AMF 174. Alternatively, in stage 410b, the AMF 174 itself generates the location service request. Alternatively, in stage 410c, the UE 304 transmits a location service request to the AMF 174.

[0147] Once the AMF 174 receives (or generates) the location service request, it forwards the location service request to the LMF 172 at stage 420. The LMF 172 then performs an NG-RAN positioning procedure with the NG-RAN node 402 at stage 430a and a UE positioning procedure with the UE 304 at stage 430b. The specific NG-RAN positioning procedure and the UE positioning procedure may depend on the type of positioning method used to locate the UE 304, which may depend on the capabilities of the UE 304. The positioning method 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), as described above. 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.

[0148] The NG-RAN positioning procedure and the UE positioning procedure may utilize LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling between the UE 304 and the LMF 172 and LPP Type A (LPPa) or NR Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling between the NG-RAN node 402 and the LMF 172. LPP is used point-to-point between a location server (e.g., LMF 172) and a UE (e.g., UE 304) to obtain location-related measurements or location estimates or to transmit assistance 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 may 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, assistance data transfer, or location information transfer). LPP transactions are referred to as LPP procedures.

[0149] A prerequisite for stage 430 is that the LCS-related identifier (ID) and the AMF ID have been passed to the LMF 172 by the serving AMF 174. Both the LCS-related ID and the AMF ID may be represented as strings selected by the AMF 174. At stage 420, the LCS-related ID and the AMF ID are provided by the AMF 174 to the LMF 172 in the location service request. When the LMF 172 subsequently initiates stage 430, the LMF 172 also includes the LCS-related ID for the positioning session and the AMF ID indicating the AMF instance serving the UE 304. The LCS-related identifier is used to ensure that during the positioning session between the LMF 172 and the UE 304, the positioning response message from the UE 304 is returned by the AMF 174 to the correct LMF 172 and carries an indication (the LCS-related identifier) ​​that can be identified by the LMF 172.

[0150] Note that the LCS correlation ID is used as a positioning session identifier, which can be used to identify messages exchanged between the AMF 174 and the LMF 172 for a specific positioning session for a UE, as described in more detail in 3GPP TS 23.273, which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. As described above and shown in stage 420, a positioning session between the AMF 174 and the LMF 172 for a specific UE is initiated by the AMF 174, and the LCS correlation ID can be used to identify the positioning session (e.g., can be used by the AMF 174 to identify state information of the positioning session, etc.).

[0151] The LPP positioning method 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 measurement results related to the following positioning methods: LTE-OTDOA, DL-TDOA, A-GNSS, E-CID, Sensor, TBS, WLAN, Bluetooth, DL-AoD, UL-AoA, and Multi-RTT. Currently, an LPP measurement report 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 for base stations to report UL-AoA and DL-AoD to LMF 172), (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 for UE 304), and (5) one or more report quality indicators.

[0152] As part of the NG-RAN node positioning procedure (stage 430a) and the UE positioning procedure (stage 430b), the LMF 172 may provide LPP assistance data in the form of DL-PRS configuration information for the selected positioning method to the NG-RAN node 402 and the UE 304. Alternatively or additionally, the NG-RAN node 402 may provide DL-PRS and / or UL-PRS configuration information to the UE 304 for the selected positioning method. Note that although Figure 4 A single NG-RAN node 402 is illustrated, but multiple NG-RAN nodes 402 may be involved in a positioning session.

[0153] Once configured with DL-PRS and / or UL-PRS configuration, the NG-RAN node 402 and UE 304 send and receive / measure the corresponding PRS at a predetermined time. The NG-RAN node 402 and UE 304 then transmit their respective measurements to the LMF 172.

[0154] Once the LMF 172 obtains measurements from the UE 304 and / or the NG-RAN node 402 (depending on the type of positioning method), it uses those measurements to compute an estimate of the location of the UE 204. Then, at stage 440, the LMF 172 transmits a location services response including the location estimate of the UE 304 to the AMF 174. The AMF 174 then forwards the location services response to the entity that generated the location services request at stage 410. Specifically, if the location services request was received from the 5GCN LCS entity 480 at stage 410a, then at stage 450a, the AMF 174 transmits the location services response to the 5GCN LCS entity 480. However, if the location services request was received from the UE 304 at stage 410c, then at stage 450c, the AMF 174 transmits the location services response to the UE 304. Alternatively, if the AMF 174 generates a location services request at stage 410b, then at stage 450b, the AMF 174 stores / uses the location services response itself.

[0155] Note that although the UE positioning operation 400 has been described above as a UE-assisted positioning operation, it may alternatively be a UE-based positioning operation. A UE-assisted positioning operation is an operation in which the LMF 172 estimates the position of the UE 304, while a UE-based positioning operation is an operation in which the UE 204 estimates its own position.

[0156] refer to Figure 4In the context of a PRU in the context of a LCS client, the LMF 172 may use any PRU location measurements to correct the measurements of the target UE 204. That is, the consumer of the PRU location information is the LMF 172, and therefore phases 410 and 420 do not need to occur for the PRU. This essentially means that the LMF 172 becomes the "LCS client" for the PRU, and needs to be able to initiate a positioning session with the PRU in the absence of phases 410 and 420. Therefore, for the PRU, the AMF 174 / LMF 172 will not typically receive location requests from an LCS client; instead, the location client for PRU measurements will be the LMF 172 itself.

[0157] As a result of the above, for PRU positioning operations, Figure 4 Stages 410 and 420 in the protocol may be replaced by a “PRU registration” procedure to make the LMF aware of the PRUs in the network so that the LMF can initiate an LPP or NRPPa session with the desired PRU or the NG-RAN serving the PRU, respectively.

[0158] Figure 5 An example PRU positioning operation 500 according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The PRU positioning operation 500 may be performed by a PRU 504 (e.g., any of the PRUs described herein), an NG-RAN node 502 (e.g., gNB 102, ng-eNB 103), an AMF 174, and an LMF 172.

[0159] At stage 510, a PRU association procedure is performed to make the LMF 172 aware of the PRU 504 in the network. The association procedure depends on whether the PRU 504 is considered to be a UE or a gNB, and the different association procedures are described below. At stage 520, the LMF 172 internally initiates a location service request to obtain the location of the target PRU 504 in order to determine correction data for UE positioning. The LMF 172 then performs an NG-RAN procedure with the NG-RAN node 502 at stage 530a and a PRU procedure with the PRU 504 at stage 530b. The PRU association procedure of stage 510 enables the LMF 172 to initiate a positioning procedure at stage 530 in a manner similar to that currently specified for the target UE. At stage 540, the LMF 172 determines correction data for UE positioning, as described above with reference to Figure 3 described.

[0160] Figure 6 Two possible architecture options for supporting PRUs in a network according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. As a first option, as shown in diagram 600, from the perspective of LMF 172, PRU 610 (e.g., Figure 1BThe PRU 105 shown or any of the other PRUs described herein) is considered a UE (e.g., UE 304). Such a PRU may be any device that supports the control plane protocol stack and the LPP positioning method. This may include a normal (mobile) UE, a dedicated UE (which may typically be in a fixed location, but may also be mobile), a mobile terminal (MT) of an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, an MT of an intelligent repeater, etc. As an example, such a PRU may be a UE, as shown and described elsewhere herein.

[0161] As a second option, as shown in diagram 650, from the perspective of LMF 172, a PRU (such as Figure 1B The PRU 105 shown or any of the other PRUs described herein) is considered to be part of the gNB 102 and can be a gNB-DU 628 (PRU 622) or an enhanced TRP (eTRP) (PRU 620). The eTRP consists of an enhanced transmission point (eTP) and an enhanced reception point (eRP). As an example, such a PRU can be a base station or can be part of a base station, such as Figure 1B The gNB 102 or ng-eNB 103 shown. As discussed in more detail below, in this option, the LPP message is encapsulated in the NRPPa. The gNB-CU 626 (which terminates the NRPPa) extracts the LPP PDU and forwards it to the PRU 620 using the F1 interface. The PRU shown in diagram 650 may have some functionality of the UE 104, but may not always be seen or considered as a UE by the LMF 172 or AMF 174.

[0162] The PRU 105 may be enabled to support positioning functions for the UE 104 and may also be enabled to support some positioning functions for the gNB 102. Support may be provided by using existing supplementary service protocols (e.g., such as those defined in 3GPP TS 24.080) to enable interaction between the PRU 105 and the LMF 172 that is transparent to other entities.

[0163] Figure 7700 is a diagram illustrating a possible protocol layering for LMF 172 to PRU 105 signaling in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The PRU 105 interacts with the LMF 172 using the protocol layering shown, which is the same as the protocol layering for LMF to UE interaction defined in 3GPP TS 38.305 clause 6.4.1, except that supplementary service protocols and other positioning protocols other than LPP are allowed to be used between the LMF 172 and the PRU 105 at the top level. As shown, the top protocol layer between the PRU 105 and the LMF 172 is a supplementary service protocol (e.g., such as defined in 3GPP TS 24.080) or a positioning protocol (e.g., LPP or NRPPa). In some cases, both protocols may be used, for example, where the supplementary service message includes one or more embedded positioning protocol messages.

[0164] Figure 8 An example PRU positioning operation 800 is illustrated for an association process for a PRU 105 to register or associate with an LMF 172. This process may be used for initial association when the PRU 105 first begins accessing its associated PLMN, e.g., after initial deployment and initial power-up, and after the PRU 105 has registered with its associated PLMN (e.g., has registered with the AMF 174). This process may also be used to perform association updates subsequently to notify the LMF 172 of the continued availability of the PRU 105, or to notify the LMF 172 of some change in the PRU 105, such as a change in location (e.g., a change in tracking area or a change in serving AMF 174) or a change in the PRU 105 positioning capabilities.

[0165] The PRU 105 may be associated with more than one LMF 172 so that multiple LMFs can obtain location-related information from or for the PRU 105. This is no different from a normal target UE located by different LMFs (e.g., at one or more of the same times). The PRU 105 may be configured with a limit on the number of LMFs with which it is allowed to be associated. When the PRU 105 receives a conflicting location-related request from the LMF 172 (e.g., a request to obtain measurements while obtaining measurements of another LMF), the PRU 105 may reject the request. Sharing of the PRU 105 by several LMFs may occur in a boundary area between areas supported by different LMFs.

[0166] For the initial association of the PRU 105, a routing identifier indicating a specific LMF 172 may be configured in the PRU 105. For subsequent associations, the routing ID indicating the LMF 172 will be returned to the PRU 105 at phase 6a or 6b of the previous association. As used herein, Correlation ID and Routing ID are different terms for the same identification. The term "Correlation ID" is used for NL1 service operations between the AMF 174 and the LMF 172, while the term "Routing ID" is used for NAS messages transmitted over the N1 reference point between the PRU 105 and the AMF 174.

[0167] In phase 1, if in CM Idle state, the PRU 105 performs a UE-triggered service request.

[0168] In phase 2, the PRU 105 transmits a supplementary service association request (also referred to as a supplementary service registration request) to the serving AMF 174 in a UL NAS TRANSPORT message and includes a pre-configured routing ID for the initial association or a routing ID received in phase 6a or phase 6b for a previous association. The association request may be a supplementary service message and / or a location service message and may be defined in 3GPP TS 24.080. The association request may be included in the UL NAS TRANSPORT message within a "location service message container" at the NAS level, which means that the AMF 174 may transmit the message to the LMF in phase 3 without new AMF 174 impact. The association request may include an identity of the PRU 105 (e.g., SUPI, PEI, or sequence number), an association cause (e.g., initial association, association update, manually invoked association), a location of the PRU 105 (if available), optional authentication information, a type of the PRU 105 (e.g., whether the PRU 105 is fixed or mobile), and capabilities of the PRU 105. These capabilities may include the ability to perform positioning activities associated with the NG-RAN node 102 and / or positioning activities associated with the UE. The ability to perform positioning activities associated with the NG-RAN node 102 may be indicated by including one or more embedded NRPPa messages as defined in 3GPP TS 38.455 in the association request. The ability to perform positioning activities associated with the UE may be indicated by including one or more embedded LPP messages as defined in 3GPP TS 37.355 in the association request.

[0169] In phase 3, AMF 174 selects LMF 172 based on the routing ID and transmits an association request to LMF 172. LMF 172 may be selected based on the routing ID of PRU 105 and the current TAI and / or CGI.

[0170] The AMF 174 may treat the PRU 105 as just a normal UE. However, the operator may assign a reserved routing ID to the PRU 105 that is different from the routing ID used for other UEs. For example, all PRUs 105 acting as PRUs may be configured with routing ID A, and all PRUs 105 acting as reference UEs may be configured with routing ID B. The operator may then configure these routing IDs in the AMF 174 so that the AMF 174 selects a preferred LMF 172 for routing ID A and the same or a different preferred LMF 172 for routing ID B. This may not require any new functionality in the AMF 174.

[0171] In Phase 4, the LMF 172 authenticates the PRU 105 and verifies that it is legitimate for the PLMN. This may use one of the following methods.

[0172] Method A: In phase 3, AMF 174 includes the SUPI of PRU 105, and LMF 172 verifies that the SUPI matches the Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI) of a legitimate PRU 105 configured in LMF 172.

[0173] Method B: In phase 2, the PRU 105 includes identification and authentication information, which the LMF 172 verifies according to the expected authentication information configured in the LMF 172 for the PRU 105 with that identification. The authentication information may include the identification of the PRU 105 and / or the current date and time (e.g., UTC) encrypted based on a private key stored in a secure memory of the PRU 105.

[0174] Method C: LMF 172 transmits an authentication challenge as a DL supplementary service message to PRU 105 via AMF 174 , and receives an authentication response transmitted as a UL supplementary service message from PRU 105 , where the authentication response is based on a private encryption key stored in a secure memory in PRU 105 .

[0175] Method D: In phase 3, the AMF 174 transmits an indication to the LMF 172 that the source of the association request (in this case, the PRU 105) is (or is not) a PRU or multiple PRUs. In phase 3, the AMF 174 may transmit both the indication and the association request to the LMF 172, for example, using a service operation based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The indication may be obtained by the AMF 174 from the UE subscription data of the PRU 105, which may be transmitted from the UDM 171 to the AMF 174 when the PRU 105 associates with the AMF 174 or thereafter (e.g., before phase 1). The AMF 174 may also verify that the PRU 105 is not roaming, such that the UDM of the PRU 105 (in this case, the UDM 171) belongs to the same PLMN as the AMF 174. If this is not the case (i.e., the PRU 105 is roaming), the AMF 174 may ignore any PRU indication in the UE subscription data of the PRU 105 and may indicate to the LMF 172 that the PRU 105 is not a PRU. The AMF 174 may otherwise transmit the indication from the UE subscription data together with the association request to the LMF 172. The AMF 174 may not be aware that the message being transmitted to the LMF 172 is a supplementary service association request, as this may require the AMF 174 to decode and interpret the supplementary association request message. In contrast, for each supplementary service location message transmitted by the UE 104 or PRU 105 and forwarded by the AMF 174 to the LMF 172, the AMF 174 may determine whether the UE 104 or PRU 105 is a PRU based on the UE subscription data of the UE 104 or PRU 105, and include an indication of whether the UE 104 or PRU 105 is a PRU with the supplementary service location message forwarded by the AMF 174 to the LMF 172. This may avoid the need for the AMF 174 to decode and interpret the supplementary service location message being transmitted to the LMF 172. The LMF 172 may then authenticate the PRU 105 by whether an indication of being a PRU is included in the association request received by the LMF 172 at stage 3. If the LMF 172 receives an indication that the PRU 105 is a PRU at stage 3, the LMF may assume that the PRU 105 is a legitimate PRU (i.e., authenticated). Otherwise, the LMF may assume that the PRU 105 is not a legitimate PRU (ie, not authenticated).

[0176] In phase 5a, if LMF 172 is able to authenticate PRU 105 in phase 4 and can accept the association, LMF 172 returns an association response (also referred to as a registration response) to the serving AMF 174 as a location service supplementary service message and includes a correlation ID. The correlation ID is assigned by LMF 172 to identify LMF 172 and PRU 105. The association response may indicate conditions for performing another association with LMF 172 (e.g., a periodic association timer or an association based on a location change, a tracking area identifier (TAI) change, or a serving AMF 174 change of PRU 105). The association response may also provide routing IDs of additional LMFs, and PRU 105 will perform a separate association with each of these LMFs.

[0177] The PRU 105 may be fixed with new associations to the PRU 105 being needed only at long periodic intervals. The PRU 105 may alternatively be mobile (e.g., attached to a vehicle) and then updated whenever the serving AMF 174 changes to enable the LMF 172 to reach the PRU 105 for use. Fig. 9 and Fig.10 If the LMF 172 selected by the new AMF 174 subsequently changes, the previous LMF 172 will be Fig. 9 or Fig.10 This is discovered during the process from the error response from the previous AMF 174.

[0178] In phase 6a, the serving AMF 174 forwards the association response and the routing ID equal to the correlation ID to the PRU 105. The PRU 105 stores the route for any duplicate associations with this LMF 172. If the routing IDs of other LMFs are included in the association response, the PRU 105 performs associations with each of these LMFs.

[0179] In phase 5b, if LMF 172 cannot authenticate PRU 105 in phase 4 or cannot accept the association for some other reason (e.g., LMF 172 is the wrong LMF), LMF 172 transmits an association rejection to the serving AMF 174 and may include the routing ID of another LMF with which PRU 105 will perform the association.

[0180] In phase 6b, the serving AMF 174 forwards the association reject to the PRU 105. If a routing ID is included, the PRU 105 performs an association with the LMF associated with the routing ID.

[0181] The PRU 105 may be configured with a limit on the number or duration of unsuccessful association attempts. When the limit is reached, the PRU 105 may transmit an indication to an entity in the PLMN. For example, the indication may be a text message or an HTTPS message.

[0182] In phase 7, if the association is performed successfully as in phases 5a and 6a, the LMF 172 may optionally initiate a Fig.10 The positioning process of the PRU 105 . For example, the positioning process can be used to obtain or verify the position of the PRU 105 or obtain the positioning capability of the PRU 105 .

[0183] Fig. 9 Example PRU location operations 900 are illustrated for an association modification process used by LMF 172 to change the association status of PRU 105. The change of status may include disassociating PRU 105, changing conditions for transmitting association updates by PRU 105, or requesting PRU 105 to associate with an additional LMF. Fig. 9 The illustrated association modification process assumes that the PRU 105 has previously been modified using, for example, Figure 8 The process in was successfully associated with LMF 172.

[0184] In phase 1, LMF 172 transmits an association modification as a location service supplementary service message to serving AMF 174 and includes an identification of PRU 105 (e.g., SUPI) and a correlation ID identifying LMF 172 and PRU 105. The association modification may indicate to PRU 105 new conditions for performing an association update with LMF 172 (e.g., a periodic association timer or an association based on a change in location of PRU 105). The association modification may also provide routing IDs of other LMFs 172, with each of which PRU 105 will perform a separate association. The association modification may also indicate the disassociation of PRU 105 from LMF 172.

[0185] In Phase 2, if the PRU 105 is in the CM IDLE state, the serving AMF 174 performs a network-triggered service request to put the PRU 105 into the CM CONNECTED state.

[0186] In Phase 3, the Serving AMF 174 forwards the Association Modification and the Routing ID equal to the Correlation ID to the PRU 105.

[0187] In phase 4, the PRU 105 returns a Supplementary Service Association Modification Response in a UL NAS TRANSPORT message to the serving AMF 174 and includes the Routing ID received in phase 3. In phase 3, the Association Modification Response acknowledges receipt of the information in the Association Modification.

[0188] In phase 5, the serving AMF 174 forwards to the LMF 172 a correlation modification response indicated by the routing ID received in phase 4 and includes a correlation ID equal to the routing ID.

[0189] Fig.10 Example PRU positioning operations 1000 are illustrated for a positioning process used by the LMF 172 to obtain position-related information from or for the PRU 105. Fig.10 The positioning process shown assumes that the PRU 105 has been previously located, for example, using Figure 8 The process in was successfully associated with LMF 172.

[0190] In Phase 1, LMF 172 can be used as Fig.12 The UE-assisted and UE-based positioning procedures shown or the procedures defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.1 to request positioning capabilities from, provide assistance to, or request location measurements from the PRU 105 when acting as a target UE.

[0191] In Phase 2, when supporting the functionality of the NG-RAN node, the LMF 172 may use Fig.12 The UE-assisted and UE-based positioning procedures shown or the procedures defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.1 are used to transmit location-related information to or request location-related information from the PRU 105. Fig.12 The procedures defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.1 or in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.1 are used to exchange NRPPa messages with the PRU 105, where the procedures defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.1 Figure 6 .11.1-1 steps 1 and 3 of the DL positioning message and 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.1 Figure 6 The UL positioning messages in steps 6 and 7 of .11.1-1 are each replaced by a location service supplementary service message carrying an embedded NRPPa message, such as Fig.12 This is shown in stages 1 and 3 and stages 6 and 7 in .

[0192] In Phase 3, LMF 172 can be used as Fig.13The network-assisted positioning procedure shown or the procedure defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.2 is used to transmit location information related to the PRU 105 to the serving NG-RAN node of the PRU 105 or to request the location information from the node.

[0193] In Phase 4, LMF 172 can be used as Fig.14 The Obtain Non-UE Associated Network Assistance Data procedure shown or the procedure defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.3 is used to transmit location information related to the PRU 105 to one or more NG-RAN nodes or to request the location information from these nodes.

[0194] Fig.11 Example PRU positioning operations 1100 are illustrated for positioning a target UE 104 using a PRU 105 (eg, operating as a reference UE used by an LMF 172) to obtain location-related information for one or more target UEs. Fig.11 In the process shown, the LMF 172 has received a location request for the target UE 104, for example from the public service AMF 174 of the target UE 104.

[0195] exist Fig.11 In the illustrated process 1100, the LMF 172 uses one or more PRUs 105 (eg, operating as reference UEs) to assist in the positioning of a target UE.

[0196] In stage 1, the LMF 172 selects one or more PRUs 105 (e.g., reference UEs) in the vicinity of the target UE 104. Criteria for selecting the PRUs 105 may include: a known current or previous location of the PRUs 105 that is near the approximate location of one or more of the target UEs 104; a current or last known serving cell of the PRUs 105 that is the same as or near one or more serving cells of one or more of the target UEs 104; positioning capabilities of the PRUs 105 that may be used to support the positioning capabilities of the target UEs 104; serving or visible non-3GPP nodes (e.g., WLAN nodes) that are also serving or visible non-3GPP nodes for one or more of the target UEs 104.

[0197] In Phase 2, LMF 172 uses Fig.12 The positioning process in stage 1 is used to request each PRU 105 selected in stage 1 to obtain and return measurements of the positioning signal sent by the target UE 104 and / or to send a positioning signal (e.g., DL PRS or SL PRS) to be measured by the target UE 104.

[0198] In Phase 3, LMF 172 can be used as Fig.13 The network-assisted positioning process shown in FIG. 1 or the process defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.2, and / or as Fig.14 The Obtain Non-UE Associated Network Assistance Data procedure shown, or the procedure defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.3, is used to support positioning of a target UE 104 using one or more NG-RAN nodes 102.

[0199] In Phase 4, LMF 172 can be used as Fig.12 UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning of the target UE 104 is supported by the UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning procedures shown or the procedures defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.1.

[0200] In stage 5, LMF 172 calculates or verifies the location of each of the target UEs 104 using the information received in stages 2-4.

[0201] Fig.12 An example PRU positioning operation 1200 is illustrated for a positioning procedure used by the LMF 172 to support PRU-based positioning, PRU-assisted positioning, and assisted data delivery. The procedure may be used by the LMF 172 to obtain positioning measurements from the PRU 105, wherein the positioning measurements are obtained by the PRU 105 and provided to the LMF 172, and wherein the LMF 172 uses the positioning measurements to determine the position of the PRU 105. The procedure may also be used by the LMF 172 to obtain positioning measurements from the PRU 105, wherein the positioning measurements are obtained by one or more target UEs 104 ( Fig.12 The PRU 105 obtains a signal (e.g., SL-PRS or UL SRS) sent by the target UE 104 (not shown) and provides it to the LMF 172, and the LMF 172 uses the positioning measurements to determine the location of one or more target UEs 104.

[0202] The procedure is based on the use of a supplementary service protocol (e.g., a protocol defined in 3GPP TS 24.080) that carries NRPPa messages between the LMF and the PRU when the PRU is used as a NG-RAN node. The procedure is based on the use of LPP messages between the LMF and the PRU when the PRU is used as a target UE. The LCS-related identifier and the serving AMF 174 identity of the PRU are also assumed to have been passed to the LMF 172 by the serving AMF 174. The procedure is first described for the case where the PRU is used as a NG-RAN node.

[0203] exist Fig.12In phase 1 of the LMF 172, the LMF 172 invokes the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer service operation to the AMF 174 to request the transfer of a location service supplementary service message carrying an embedded NRPPa message to the PRU 105. The session ID parameter of the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer service operation is set to the LCS related identifier. The embedded NRPPa message may request location information from the PRU 105, provide assistance information to the PRU 105, query the PRU 105 for PRU 105 capabilities, or request the PRU to send a UL SRS or DL ​​PRS.

[0204] In phase 2, if the PRU 105 is in the CM IDLE state, the AMF 174 initiates a network-triggered service request procedure to establish a signaling connection with the PRU 105.

[0205] In phase 3, the AMF 174 forwards the location service supplementary service message carrying the embedded NRPPa message to the PRU 105 in the DL NAS TRANSPORT message. The AMF 174 includes a routing identifier in the DL NAS TRANSPORT message, which is set to the LCS related identifier. The supplementary service message may request the PRU 105 to respond to the network, for example, the PRU 105 may be requested to confirm the supplementary service message, return location information, or return capabilities.

[0206] In stage 4, the PRU 105 stores any assistance information provided in the NRPPa message, performs any positioning measurements and / or position calculations requested by the NRPPa message, and / or sends any DL PRS or UL SRS signals requested by the NRPPa message. The positioning measurements obtained in stage 4 may be obtained by one or more target UEs 104 when the position is required by one or more target UEs 104 ( Fig.12 ) sent by the PRU 105 (not shown) (e.g., UL SRS or SL-PRS), or may be a signal sent by other PRUs 105 ( Fig.12 ), signals sent by base stations in NG-RAN 112 (e.g., gNB 102) and / or other signal sources (e.g., SV 112).

[0207] In phase 5, if the PRU 105 has entered the CM-IDLE state during phase 4 and needs to respond to the request received in phase 3, the PRU 105 initiates a UE-triggered service request in order to establish a signaling connection with the AMF 174.

[0208] In conditional Phase 6, the PRU 105 transmits a location services supplementary services message carrying an embedded NRPPa response message included in a UL NAS TRANSPORT message to the AMF 174, for example, to acknowledge the NRPPa message received in Phase 3, to return any location information obtained in Phase 4, to return any capabilities requested in Phase 3, or to provide information about or acknowledge any transmission of DL PRS or UL SRS in Phase 4. When the PRU 105 transmits the supplementary services message in a UL NAS TRANSPORT message, the PRU 105 also includes the routing identifier received in Phase 3 in the UL NAS TRANSPORT message.

[0209] In conditional stage 7, the AMF 174 invokes a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation to the LMF 172 indicated by the routing identifier received in stage 6. The service operation includes a location services supplementary service message carrying the embedded NRPPa response message and the LCS related identifier received in stage 6. If the PRU 105 needs to transmit multiple supplementary service messages in response to the request received in stage 3, stages 6 and 7 may be repeated. Stages 1 to 7 may be repeated to transmit new assistance data, request more location information, request more PRU 105 capabilities, and / or start or stop the transmission of DL PRS or UL SRS.

[0210] When the PRU 105 is used as the target UE, it can also be used Fig.12, but then transmits LPP or Sidelink Positioning Protocol (SLPP) messages in stages 1, 3, 6 and 7 instead of supplementary service messages with embedded NRPPa messages. In addition: (i) the SLPP or LPP message transmitted in stage 1 may request location information from PRU 105, provide assistance data to PRU 105, query the target UE capabilities of PRU 105, or request PRU 105 to send UL SRS or SL PRS; (ii) in stage 4, PRU 105 may store any assistance data provided in the LPP or SLPP message, perform any positioning measurements and / or position calculations requested by the LPP or SLPP message, and / or send any UL SRS or SL PRS signals requested by the LPP or SLPP message; and (iii) in stage 6, PRU 105 may transmit an LPP or SLPP message response (included in a UL NAS TRANSPORT message) to AMF 174, for example to confirm the LPP or SLPP message received in stage 3, to return any location information obtained in stage 4, to return any capabilities requested in stage 3, or to provide information or confirmation regarding any sending of UL SRS or SL PRS in stage 4. The process just described (where PRU 105 is used as the target UE) may also be used by LMF 172 to support positioning of a target UE 104 (rather than PRU 105), where the target UE 104 then replaces Fig.12 PRU 105 in.

[0211] Fig.13 An example PRU positioning operation 1300 for a network-assisted positioning procedure for supporting network-assisted and network-based positioning is illustrated. The procedure may be based on the NRPPa protocol between the LMF 172 and the NG-RAN node 102. The LCS-related identifier and the identity of the AMF 174 have been passed to the LMF 172 by the serving AMF 174.

[0212] In phase 1, LMF 172 invokes the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer service operation to AMF 174 to request the transmission of a network positioning message (e.g., NRPPa message) to the serving NG-RAN node 102 (e.g., gNB) of PRU 105. The service operation includes a network positioning message and an LCS-related identifier. The network positioning message may request location information of PRU 105 from NG-RAN node 102.

[0213] In phase 2, if the PRU 105 is in the CM IDLE state, the AMF 174 initiates a network-triggered service request procedure to establish a signaling connection with the PRU 105.

[0214] In phase 3, AMF 174 forwards the network location message to the serving NG-RAN node 102 in an N2 transport message. AMF 174 includes a routing identifier identifying LMF 172 (e.g., a global address of LMF 172) in the N2 transport message.

[0215] In stage 4, the serving NG-RAN node 102 obtains any location information of the PRU 105 requested in stage 3.

[0216] In phase 5, the serving NG-RAN node 102 returns any location information obtained in phase 4 to the AMF 174 in a network positioning message (e.g., NRPPa message) included in the N2 transport message. The serving NG-RAN node 102 should also include the routing identifier in the N2 transport message received in phase 3.

[0217] In stage 6, the AMF 174 invokes the Namf_Communication_N2InfoNotify service to the LMF 172 indicated by the routing identifier received in stage 5. The service operation includes the network location message received in stage 5 and the LCS related identifier. Steps 1 to 6 may be repeated to request more location information and more NG-RAN capabilities.

[0218] Fig.13 The process in can also be used to perform positioning of the target UE 104 instead of the PRU 105, and then the target UE 104 replaces Fig.13 PRU 105 in.

[0219] Fig.14 Example PRU positioning operations 1400 are illustrated for obtaining non-UE associated network assistance data in a process that the LMF 172 may use to support network assisted and network-based positioning. The process is not associated with a UE positioning session. It is used to obtain network assistance data from a NG-RAN node 102 (e.g., gNB). The process may be based on the NRPPa protocol between the LMF 172 and the NG-RAN node 102.

[0220] In phase 1, LMF 172 invokes the Namf_Communication_NonUeN2MessageTransfer service operation to AMF 174 to request the transmission of a network positioning message (e.g., NRPPa message) to the NG-RAN node 102 (gNB or ng-eNB) in the NG-RAN. The service operation includes a network positioning message and a target NG-RAN node 102 identity. The network positioning message may request location-related information from the NG-RAN.

[0221] In phase 2, the AMF 174 forwards the network location message in an N2 transport message to the target NG-RAN node 102 indicated in phase 1. The AMF 174 includes a routing identifier identifying the LMF 172 in the N2 transport message.

[0222] In phase 3, the target NG-RAN node 102 obtains any location-related information requested in phase 2.

[0223] In phase 4, the target NG-RAN node 102 returns any location-related information obtained in phase 3 to the AMF 174 in a network positioning message (e.g., NRPPa message) included in the N2 transport message. The target NG-RAN node 102 also includes the route identifier in the N2 transport message received in phase 2.

[0224] In stage 5, the AMF 174 invokes the Namf_Communication_NonUeN2InfoNotify service operation to the LMF 172 indicated by the routing identifier received in stage 4. The service operation includes the network location message received in stage 4. Stages 1 to 5 may be repeated to request more location-related information from the NG-RAN.

[0225] Fig.14 The process in can also be used to perform positioning of the target UE 104 instead of the PRU 105, and then the target UE 104 replaces Fig.14 PRU 105 in.

[0226] Fig.15 A flow diagram is illustrated of an exemplary method 1500 performed by a location server (eg, LMF 172 or network entity 206) for supporting positioning in a wireless network.

[0227] At block 1510, a location server receives an association request for a positioning reference unit (PRU) (eg, PRU 105), e.g., Figure 8 Phase 3 and Fig.17 As discussed in stage 4 of . For example, the PRU can be one of a positioning reference unit (PRU), a reference user equipment (UE), a road side unit (RSU), or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) reference receiver. In one aspect, at least one network interface 290, at least one processor 294, a memory component 296, and / or a positioning component 298 in the network entity 206 can be considered as a means for receiving an association request for the PRU.

[0228] At block 1520, the location server authenticates the PRU, e.g., as in Figure 8 Phase 4 and Fig.17In one aspect, at least one network interface 290, at least one processor 294, a memory component 296, and / or a positioning component 298 in the network entity 206 can be considered as a means for authenticating the PRU.

[0229] At block 1530, the location server transmits an association response to the PRU, wherein the association response indicates acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, and wherein the association response indicates rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated, e.g., as in Figure 8 Stages 5a and 5b and Fig.17 In one aspect, at least one network interface 290, at least one processor 294, a memory component 296, and / or a positioning component 298 in the network entity 206 may be considered as a means for transmitting an association response to the PRU, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, and the association response indicating rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated.

[0230] In one specific implementation, the association request and the association response are messages for a supplementary service protocol that can be used between the UE and the location server, such as Figure 8 Stages 3, 5a and 5b and Fig.17 As discussed in Stages 3, 4, 6a, and 6b of.

[0231] In one specific implementation, the association request may include an identity (e.g., SUPI), authentication information, or both of the PRU, wherein the location server authenticates the PRU by verifying the identity or authentication information of the PRU against a known identity or expected authentication information of the PRU, respectively, as in Figure 8 In one aspect, at least one network interface 290, at least one processor 294, a memory component 296, and / or a positioning component 298 in the network entity 206 can be considered as a means for verifying the identity or authentication information of the PRU against the known identity or expected authentication information of the PRU, respectively. For example, in one specific implementation, the expected authentication information can be an encryption of at least one of the identity and the current date and time based on a private key, such as Figure 8 as discussed in Phase 4.

[0232] In one specific implementation, the location server may authenticate the PRU by transmitting an authentication challenge to the PRU, receiving an authentication response from the PRU, and verifying the authentication response against an expected authentication response associated with an identity of the PRU, e.g. Figure 8In one aspect, at least one network interface 290, at least one processor 294, a memory component 296, and / or a positioning component 298 in the network entity 206 can be considered as a component for transmitting an authentication challenge to the PRU, a component for receiving an authentication response from the PRU, and a component for verifying the authentication response against an expected authentication response associated with the identity of the PRU. The expected authentication response associated with the identity can be an encryption of at least one of the identity and the current date and time based on a private key, for example, Figure 8 as discussed in Phase 4.

[0233] In one specific implementation, the condition for performing another association with the location server may include at least one of a periodic association timer or an association based on a location change, a tracking area identifier (TAI) change, or a service access and mobility management function (AMF) change of the PRU, such as Figure 8 Stage 5a and Fig.17 as discussed in Phase 6a of

[0234] In a specific implementation, the association response may also indicate a related identifier for identifying the location server and the PRU if the PRU is authenticated, for example, Figure 8 as discussed in Phase 5a of

[0235] In one implementation, the association response may also provide routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU will perform a separate association if the PRU is authenticated, e.g. Figure 8 Stage 5a and Fig.17 as discussed in Phase 6a of

[0236] In one implementation, the association response may also provide a routing identifier of a different location server with which the PRU will be associated if the PRU is not authenticated, e.g. Figure 8 Stage 5b and Fig.17 as discussed in Phase 6b of this document.

[0237] In one specific implementation, the location server may also transmit to the PRU an association modification indicating at least one of: new conditions for performing an association update with the location server; routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU will perform a separate association; a disassociation of the PRU from the location server, e.g. Fig. 9In one aspect, at least one network interface 290, at least one processor 294, memory component 296, and / or positioning component 298 in network entity 206 may be considered as means for transmitting an association modification to the PRU indicating at least one of new conditions for performing an association update with a location server, routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU is to perform a separate association, and disassociation of the PRU from the location server.

[0238] In one specific implementation, the association request may be for an initial association with a location server, or may be for an association update with a location server, e.g. Figure 8 discussed in Phases 2 and 3 of this paper.

[0239] In one specific implementation, an indication that the source of the association request is a PRU is received (e.g., together with the association request), wherein authenticating the PRU includes verifying that the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU has been received. The association request and the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU may be received from an access and mobility management function (AMF). The indication that the source of the association request is a PRU may be based on user equipment (UE) subscription data of the PRU obtained by the AMF from a unified data management (UDM). The association request and the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU may be received via a service operation based on a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).

[0240] Fig.16 A flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 1600 performed by a PRU (e.g., PRU 105 or UE 202) for supporting positioning in a wireless network is shown. For example, the PRU may be one of a positioning reference unit (PRU), a reference user equipment (UE), a roadside unit (RSU), or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) reference receiver.

[0241] At block 1610, the PRU transmits an association request to a location server (e.g., LMF 172), e.g., Figure 8 Phase 2 and Fig.17 In one aspect, at least one WWAN transceiver 210, at least one processor 232, memory component 240, and / or positioning component 242 can be considered as means for transmitting an association request to a location server.

[0242] At block 1620, the PRU receives an association response from the location server, wherein the association response indicates acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server, or wherein the association response indicates rejection of the association, e.g., as in Figure 8 Stages 6a and 6b and Fig.17In one aspect, at least one WWAN transceiver 210, at least one processor 232, memory component 240, and / or positioning component 242 may be considered as means for receiving an association response from a location server indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server, or indicating rejection of the association.

[0243] In one specific implementation, the association request and association response are messages for a supplementary service protocol that can be used between a UE or a PRU and a location server, such as Figure 8 as discussed in Stages 2, 5a, 6a and 5b, 6b.

[0244] In one specific implementation, the PRU may also transmit an indication of a location server along with the association request, wherein the indication of the location server is used by the AMF (e.g., AMF 174) to determine the location server and route the association request to the location server, for example, as in Figure 8 In one aspect, at least one WWAN transceiver 210, at least one processor 232, memory component 240, and / or positioning component 242 may be considered as a means for transmitting an indication of a location server together with the association request, the indication of the location server being used by the AMF to determine the location server and route the association request to the location server. For example, the indication of the location server may be a routing ID, where the routing ID is pre-configured in the PRU or received from a second location server during a previous association, such as Figure 8 discussed in Phase 2 of this paper.

[0245] In one specific implementation, the association request may include an identifier of the PRU (eg, SUPI), authentication information, or both for the location server to perform authentication, for example, Figure 8 For example, the authentication information may be an encryption based on a private key for at least one of the identification and the current date and time, such as Figure 8 as discussed in Phase 4 of

[0246] In one specific implementation, the PRU may also receive an authentication challenge from the location server and transmit an authentication response to the location server, e.g. Figure 8 In one aspect, at least one WWAN transceiver 210, at least one processor 232, memory component 240, and / or positioning component 242 may be considered as a component for receiving an authentication challenge from a location server and a component for transmitting an authentication response to the location server. For example, the authentication response may include an identification of the PRU and at least one of the current date and time encrypted based on a private key, such as Figure 8as discussed in Phase 4 of

[0247] In one specific implementation, the condition for performing another association with the location server may include at least one of a periodic association timer or an association based on a location change, a tracking area identifier (TAI) change, or a service access and mobility management function (AMF) change of the PRU, such as Figure 8 as discussed in Stages 5a and 6a of this document.

[0248] In one specific implementation, the association response may also indicate a routing identifier of the location server, and the PRU may also use the routing identifier to update the association with the location server, e.g. Figure 8 In one aspect, at least one WWAN transceiver 210, at least one processor 232, memory component 240, and / or positioning component 242 may be considered as means for updating an association with a location server using a routing identifier.

[0249] In one specific implementation, the association response may also provide routing identifiers of the one or more additional location servers, and the PRU may also use the routing identifiers to associate with each of the one or more additional location servers, e.g., Figure 8 In one aspect, at least one WWAN transceiver 210, at least one processor 232, memory component 240, and / or positioning component 242 may be considered as means for using a routing identifier to associate with each of one or more additional location servers.

[0250] In one specific implementation, the association response may indicate a rejection of the association and may also provide a routing identifier of a different location server, and the PRU may also use the routing identifier to associate with the different location server, e.g. Figure 8 In one aspect, at least one WWAN transceiver 210, at least one processor 232, memory component 240, and / or positioning component 242 may be considered as means for using routing identifiers to associate with different location servers.

[0251] In one specific implementation, the association request may be for an initial association with a location server, or may be for an association update with a location server, and the association request may include a routing identifier of the location server received in a previous association with the location server, such as Figure 8 discussed in Phase 2 of this paper.

[0252] In one specific implementation, the PRU may also receive an association modification from the location server indicating at least one of new conditions for performing an association update with the location server, routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU will perform separate associations, and a disassociation of the PRU from the location server, e.g., as in Fig. 9 In one aspect, at least one WWAN transceiver 210, at least one processor 232, memory component 240, and / or positioning component 242 may be considered as means for receiving an association modification from a location server indicating at least one of new conditions for performing an association update with the location server, routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU is to perform a separate association, and disassociation of the PRU from the location server.

[0253] In one specific implementation, transmitting an association request to a location server includes transmitting an association request to the location server via an AMF, wherein the AMF forwards the association request and an indication that the source of the association request is a PRU to the location server. The AMF may provide an indication that the source of the association request is a PRU based on user equipment (UE) subscription data of the PRU obtained by the AMF from a unified data management (UDM). The AMF may transmit the association request and an indication that the source of the association request is a PRU to the location server via a service operation based on a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). The AMF may not decode or interpret the association request, but may provide an indication that the source of any supplementary service or location supplementary service message transmitted to the location server is or is not a PRU of any UE or PRU that transmits a supplementary service message or location to the location server via the AMF.

[0254] Fig.17 A process 1700 is shown that may be used by a PRU 1710 (e.g., which may be an example of a PRU 105) to associate with a serving LMF 172. The process 1700 may be used for initial association with a serving LMF 172, which may occur when the PRU 1710 first begins accessing the HPLMN of the PRU 1710, or when the PRU 1710 later accesses the HPLMN of the PRU 1710. The process 1700 may also be used to perform association updates to notify the serving LMF 172 of the continued availability of the PRU 1710, or to notify the serving LMF 172 of some change in the PRU 1710, such as a change in location (e.g., a change in tracking area or a change in serving AMF) or a change in positioning capabilities of the PRU 1710. The PRU association process 1700 may be limited to the home PLMN (HPLMN) of the PRU 1710, and may not be performed when accessing any other PLMN.

[0255] As a prerequisite, for an initial association, a routing identifier may be pre-configured in the PRU 1710 to indicate the serving LMF 172. For subsequent associations, the routing ID indicating the serving LMF 172 may have been previously returned to the PRU 1710 in phase 7a or 7b of a previous association process.

[0256] It may be noted that Correlation ID and Routing ID may be different terms for the same identifier. The term "Correlation ID" may be used for the identifier in NL1 service operations between AMF 174 and LMF 172, whereas the term "Routing ID" may be used for the identifier in NAS messages transmitted over the N1 reference point between PRU 1710 and AMF 174.

[0257] like Fig.17 As shown in the numbered stages in FIG. 1 , the PRU association process 1700 may proceed as follows:

[0258] In phase 1, if in CM idle state, the PRU 1710 may perform a UE-triggered service request.

[0259] In Phase 2, the PRU 1710 may transmit a supplementary service PRU association request to the serving AMF 174 in a UL NAS TRANSPORT message and may include a pre-configured routing ID for initial registration or a routing ID received in Phase 7a or Phase 7b for a previous association procedure. The PRU association request may be included in the UL NAS TRANSPORT message as a "location service message container" at the NAS level. The PRU association request may include the reason for the association (e.g., initial association, association update, periodic association), the positioning capability of the PRU, location information (if known), the type and state of the PRU (e.g., mobile / static type), and may include an identity of the PRU 1710 (e.g., SUPI or PEI).

[0260] In phase 3, the AMF 174 may verify that the transmitter of the PRU association request is the PRU using the subscription information of the UDM (e.g., UDM 171) from the PRU 1710. If phase 3 is not performed, the AMF 174 may treat the PRU 1710 as a normal UE 104. In one embodiment, the AMF 174 may not decode or interpret the PRU association request, but may determine whether the source of the supplementary service message received in phase 2 is the PRU of any UE or PRU that transmits a supplementary service message or a location supplementary service message to the LMF 172 via the AMF 174 (based on the subscription information of the UDM from the UE or PRU).

[0261] In phase 4, the AMF 174 may select a serving LMF 172 based on the routing ID and optionally the current TAI, and may transmit a PRU association request to the serving LMF 172 using a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation (which may be based on HTTP). If phase 3 is performed, the AMF 174 may include in the service operation an indication that the PRU 1710 has been verified by the AMF 174. The AMF 174 may also include the SUPI of the PRU 1710.

[0262] At stage 5, the serving LMF 174 may authenticate the PRU 1710. This may be based on an indication that the PRU 1710 has been verified by the AMF 174 (if included at stage 4), or may be based on matching the SUPI of the PRU 1710 received at stage 4 with the corresponding SUPI configured in the LMF 172.

[0263] In phase 6a, if the serving LMF 172 can authenticate the PRU 1710 in phase 5 and can accept the association, the serving LMF 172 can return a PRU association accept as a location service supplementary service message and a correlation ID to the serving AMF 174. The correlation ID can be assigned by the serving LMF 172 to identify the serving LMF 172 and optionally the PRU 1710. The PRU association accept can indicate the conditions for performing a PRU association update with the serving LMF 172 later, which can include a periodic PRU association update timer and / or a PRU association update based on a change in PRU location, a change in PRU TAI, or a change in the serving AMF. Optionally, the PRU association accept can include a routing ID of the additional serving LMF.

[0264] In phase 7a, the serving AMF 174 may forward the PRU association acceptance and the routing ID equal to the correlation ID to the PRU 1710. The PRU 1710 may store the routing ID, which may be used for any further PRU association updates with the serving LMF 172.

[0265] In phase 6b, if the serving LMF 172 cannot authenticate the PRU 1710 in phase 5 or cannot accept the PRU association for some other reason (e.g., the serving LMF 172 is not the correct serving LMF for the PRU 1710), the serving LMF 172 may transmit a PRU association rejection to the serving AMF 174 and may include the routing ID of the new serving LMF.

[0266] In phase 7b, the serving AMF 174 may forward the PRU association reject to the PRU 1710.

[0267] In stage 8, if PRU association is performed successfully as in stages 6a and 7a, the serving LMF 172 may optionally verify any PRU locations provided in stage 4 or use Fig.10 Or the procedure defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11 to obtain a more accurate location of the PRU 1710. The LMF 172 may also store the information received for the PRU 1710.

[0268] In phase 9, if the PRU association is performed successfully as in phases 6a and 7a, and if this is an initial PRU association or if this is a PRU association update and the location of the PRU 1710 has changed, the serving LMF 172 may optionally initiate a Nnrf_NFManagement_NFUpdate request service operation to the NRF 177 and may include an indication of the PRU, a PRU identifier (which may be defined locally by the LMF 172 or may be global, such as the SUPI or PEI of the PRU 1710), and the location of the PRU 1710. If the PRU identifier already exists in the NRF 177 of the serving LMF 172 (from a previous association), the NRF 177 may overwrite the old PRU location with the new PRU location. Otherwise, the NRF 177 may add the PRU information to the information stored in the NRF 177 of the serving LMF 172.

[0269] In phase 10, the NRF 177 may return a confirmation response to the serving LMF 172.

[0270] In stage 11, if the PRU 1710 receives the routing ID of the additional service LMF in stage 7a, the PRU 1710 may perform an initial PRU association procedure with each of the additional service LMFs. If the PRU 1710 receives the routing ID of the new service LMF in stage 7b, the PRU performs an initial PRU association procedure with the new service LMF.

[0271] With respect to process 1700, it may be noted that the PRU 1710 may be configured with a limit on the number and / or duration of unsuccessful PRU association attempts. When the limit is reached, or if the PRU association is rejected at stage 7b without indicating a new serving LMF, the PRU 1710 may transmit an indication to a controlling network function (NF) or application function (AF). The controlling NF or AF may then reconfigure the PRU 1710 with a different serving LMF, or may indicate that the PRU 1710 is temporarily deactivated.

[0272] Additionally, the PRU 1710 may be configured to restrict association with the additional services LMF. This may depend on the specific implementation.

[0273] Fig.18 A process 1800 is shown that may be used by a serving LMF 172 to disassociate an already associated PRU 1710. The process 1800 may be used before a serving LMF 172 becomes unavailable (eg, due to maintenance, removal, or replacement), or to transfer a PRU 1710 to a different serving LMF for other reasons.

[0274] As a prerequisite to process 1800, as previously described, PRU 1710 may have previously been used Fig.17 The process 1700 is associated with the service LMF 172.

[0275] like Fig.18 As shown in the numbered stages in FIG. 1 , the PRU disassociation process 1800 may proceed as follows:

[0276] In phase 1, the serving LMF 172 of the PRU 1710 may transmit a PRU disassociation request as a location service supplementary service message to the serving AMF 174, and may include the SUPI of the PRU 1710 and a correlation ID identifying the LMF 172. The PRU disassociation request may include a routing ID for the new serving LMF and a time window (e.g., a start time and an end time or duration) when the PRU 1710 is allowed to associate with the new serving LMF. In some instances, the LMF 172 may transmit a PRU disassociation accept in response to receiving a PRU disassociation request (not shown) from the PRU 1710. Thus, depending on different circumstances, the PRU disassociation request may originate from the LMF 172 or the PRU 1710.

[0277] In Phase 2, if the PRU 1710 is in the CM IDLE state, the serving AMF 174 may perform a network-triggered service request to place the PRU 1710 in the CM CONNECTED state.

[0278] In Phase 3, the Serving AMF 174 may forward the PRU Disassociation Request and the Routing ID equal to the Correlation ID to the PRU 1710.

[0279] In Phase 4, the PRU 1710 may return a Supplementary Service PRU Disassociation Accept to the serving AMF 174 in a UL NAS TRANSPORT message and may include the Routing ID received in Phase 3.

[0280] In stage 5, the serving AMF 174 may forward the PRU Disassociation Accept to the serving LMF 172 indicated by the Routing ID received in stage 4, and may include a Correlation ID equal to the Routing ID.

[0281] In stage 6, if the serving LMF 172 has indicated the PRU 1710 to the NRF 177 during PRU association (e.g., as in stages 9 and 10 of process 1700), the serving LMF 172 may initiate a Nnrf_NFManagement_NFUpdate request service operation to the NRF 177 and may include an indication of the PRU removal and a PRU identifier (e.g., the PRU identifier transmitted in stage 9 of process 1700). The NRF 177 may then remove the information in the NRF 177 of the PRU 1710 for the serving LMF 172.

[0282] In Phase 7, the NRF 177 may return a confirmation response to the serving LMF 172.

[0283] In stage 8, if the PRU 1710 receives the routing ID of the new serving LMF in stage 3, the PRU 1710 may perform an initial PRU association with the new serving LMF as previously described with respect to Fig.17 The process 1700 of FIG. 1700 is described. If a time window is received in stage 3, the PRU association with the new serving LMF can be performed during the time window.

[0284] With respect to process 1800, it may be noted that if a new serving LMF is not indicated at stage 3, or if the PRU 1710 cannot successfully associate with a new serving LMF during the time window at stage 8, the PRU 1710 may transmit an indication to the controlling NF or AF. The controlling NF or AF may then reconfigure the PRU 1710 with a different serving LMF, or may indicate that the PRU 1710 is temporarily deactivated.

[0285] Fig.19 A process 1900 is shown for obtaining the location of a target UE 104 by a serving LMF 172 using location information provided by one or more PRUs 1710 associated with the serving LMF 172 for the target UE 104 .

[0286] As shown in Phase 1, the service LMF 172 may use Figure 12 to Figure 14 170) to obtain location information not associated with the target UE 104 from one or more PRUs 1710 associated with the serving LMF 172 using the procedures defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11. For example, the location information may include location information of the PRU 1710 or the NG-RAN node 102 (e.g., gNB 102), or both.

[0287] In phase 2, the serving LMF 172 may receive a location request for the target UE 104 from the serving AMF 174. The location request may be included in a Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation request service operation of a 5GC Mobile Originated Location Request (5GC-MO-LR), a 5GC Mobile Terminated Location Request (5GC-MT-LR), or a 5GC Network Induced Location Request (5GC-NI-LR) to the target UE 104. Alternatively, the location request may be implied by receiving a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation carrying a supplementary service event report for a periodic or triggered 5GC-MT-LR from the target UE 104.

[0288] In phase 3, service LMF 172 can be used Figure 12 to Figure 14 The location information of the target UE 104 is obtained from the target UE 104 and / or from the NG-RAN node (e.g., gNB) 102 using the procedures defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.

[0289] In stage 4, the serving LMF 172 may select one or more PRUs 1710 associated with the serving LMF 172 to assist in positioning the target UE 104. The selected PRUs 1710 may be near the initial position estimate of the target UE 104 obtained in stage 3, or indicated by the serving cell identifier of the target UE 104 received in stage 2.

[0290] In phase 5, service LMF 172 uses Figure 12 to Figure 14 The location information related to the target UE 104 is obtained from the PRU 1710 selected in stage 4 by the procedure defined in (or the procedure defined in 3GPP TS 23.273 clause 6.11.1).

[0291] In Stage 6, the serving LMF 172 may determine the location of the target UE 104 based on the location information obtained in Stage 1 (if Stage 1 is performed), Stage 3, and / or Stage 5.

[0292] In phase 7a, if the Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation request service operation for 5GC-MO-LR, 5GC-MT-LR or 5GC-NI-LR is received in phase 2, the serving LMF 172 may return the location estimate of the target UE 104 to the serving AMF 174.

[0293] In stage 7b, if a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation carrying a supplementary service event report for periodic or triggered 5GC-MT-LR from the target UE 104 is received in stage 2, the serving LMF 172 may transmit the event report for the target UE 104 and the position estimate obtained in stage 6 (e.g., as described in 3GPP Tv 23.273 clause 6.3.1) to the GMLC (e.g., GMLC 175).

[0294] In the above specific embodiments, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in each example. This disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses have more features than the features explicitly mentioned in each clause. On the contrary, various aspects of the present disclosure may include less than all the features of the disclosed individual example clauses. Therefore, the following clauses should be considered to be incorporated into the description accordingly, wherein each clause itself can be used as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer to a specific combination of one clause with other clauses in a clause, the aspects of the dependent clause are not limited to a specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include a combination of the subject matter of the dependent clause aspect with any other dependent clause or independent clause or any feature with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. Various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can be easily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as an insulator and a conductor). In addition, it is also expected that various aspects of the clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0295] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0296] Clause 1. A method performed by a location server for supporting positioning in a wireless network, comprising: receiving an association request for a positioning reference unit (PRU); authenticating the PRU; and transmitting an association response to the PRU, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, and the association response indicating rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated.

[0297] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the association request and the association response are messages for a supplementary service protocol usable between a UE and the location server.

[0298] Clause 3. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the association request includes an identification, authentication information, or both of the PRU, wherein authenticating the PRU includes verifying the identification or the authentication information of the PRU against a known identification or expected authentication information of the PRU, respectively.

[0299] Clause 4. The method of clause 3, wherein the expected authentication information comprises an encryption of at least one of the identification and a current date and time based on a private key.

[0300] Clause 5. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein authenticating the PRU comprises: transmitting an authentication challenge to the PRU; receiving an authentication response from the PRU; and verifying the authentication response against an expected authentication response associated with an identity of the PRU.

[0301] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the expected authentication response associated with the identification comprises an encryption of at least one of the identification and a current date and time based on a private key.

[0302] Clause 7. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the condition for performing another association with the location server includes at least one of a periodic association timer or an association based on a location change, a tracking area identifier (TAI) change, or a service access and mobility management function (AMF) change of the PRU.

[0303] Clause 8. A method as described in any of Clauses 1 to 7, wherein the association response further indicates a related identifier for identifying the location server and the PRU if the PRU is authenticated.

[0304] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the association response further provides routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU is to perform a separate association if the PRU is authenticated.

[0305] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 9, wherein the association response further provides a routing identifier of a different location server with which the PRU is to be associated if the PRU is not authenticated.

[0306] Clause 11. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 10 further includes: transmitting a disassociation request to the PRU, the disassociation request indicating at least one of new conditions for performing an association update with the location server, routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU will perform a separate association, and disassociation of the PRU from the location server.

[0307] Clause 12. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 11, wherein the association request is for an initial association with the location server or for an association update with the location server.

[0308] Clause 13. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the PRU comprises one of a positioning reference unit (PRU), a reference user equipment (UE), a roadside unit (RSU), or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) reference receiver.

[0309] Clause 14. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 2 and 7 to 13, further comprising receiving an indication that the source of the association request is a PRU, wherein authenticating the PRU comprises verifying that the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU has been received.

[0310] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, wherein the association request and the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU are received from an access and mobility management function (AMF).

[0311] Clause 16. A method as described in clause 15, wherein the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU is based on user equipment (UE) subscription data obtained by the AMF from unified data management (UDM).

[0312] Clause 17. The method of any of Clauses 14 to 16, wherein the association request and the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU are received via a service operation based on a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

[0313] Clause 18. A location server configured to support positioning in a wireless network, comprising: an external interface, the external interface being configured to communicate wirelessly with an entity in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor, the at least one processor being coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive an association request for a positioning reference unit (PRU) via the external interface; authenticate the PRU; and transmit an association response to the PRU via the external interface, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, and indicating rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated.

[0314] Clause 19. The location server of Clause 18, wherein the association request and the association response are messages for a supplementary service protocol usable between a UE and the location server.

[0315] Clause 20. A location server according to any one of clauses 18 to 19, wherein the association request includes an identification, authentication information, or both of the PRU, wherein the at least one processor is configured to authenticate the PRU by being configured to verify the identification or the authentication information of the PRU against a known identification or expected authentication information of the PRU, respectively.

[0316] Clause 21. The location server of Clause 20, wherein the expected authentication information comprises an encryption of at least one of the identification and a current date and time based on a private key.

[0317] Clause 22. A location server according to any one of clauses 18 to 21, wherein the at least one processor is configured to authenticate the PRU by being configured to: transmit an authentication challenge to the PRU; receive an authentication response from the PRU; and verify the authentication response against an expected authentication response associated with an identifier of the PRU.

[0318] Clause 23. The location server of Clause 22, wherein the expected authentication response associated with the identity comprises an encryption of at least one of the identity and a current date and time based on a private key.

[0319] Clause 24. A location server according to any one of clauses 18 to 23, wherein the condition for performing another association with the location server includes at least one of a periodic association timer or an association based on a location change, a tracking area identifier (TAI) change, or a service access and mobility management function (AMF) change of the PRU.

[0320] Clause 25. A location server as described in any of Clauses 18 to 24, wherein the association response further indicates a related identifier identifying the location server and the PRU if the PRU is authenticated.

[0321] Clause 26. A location server as described in any of Clauses 18 to 25, wherein the association response further provides routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU is to perform a separate association if the PRU is authenticated.

[0322] Clause 27. A location server as described in any of Clauses 18 to 26, wherein the association response further provides a routing identifier of a different location server with which the PRU is to be associated if the PRU is not authenticated.

[0323] Clause 28. A location server according to any one of clauses 18 to 27, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit a disassociation request to the PRU, the disassociation request indicating at least one of new conditions for performing an association update with the location server, routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU will perform a separate association, and disassociation of the PRU from the location server.

[0324] Clause 29. The location server of any of clauses 18 to 28, wherein the association request is for an initial association with the location server or for an association update with the location server.

[0325] Clause 30. A location server according to any one of clauses 18 to 29, wherein the PRU comprises one of a positioning reference unit (PRU), a reference user equipment (UE), a road side unit (RSU) or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) reference receiver.

[0326] Clause 31. A location server according to any one of clauses 18 to 19 and 24 to 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive an indication that the source of the association request is a PRU, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to authenticate the PRU by verifying that the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU has been received.

[0327] Clause 32. The method of clause 31, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the association request and the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU from an access and mobility management function (AMF).

[0328] Clause 33. A method as described in clause 32, wherein the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU is based on user equipment (UE) subscription data obtained by the AMF from unified data management (UDM).

[0329] Clause 34. A method according to any one of clauses 31 to 33, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the association request and the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU via a service operation based on a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).

[0330] Clause 35. A location server configured to support positioning in a wireless network, comprising: a component for receiving an association request for a positioning reference unit (PRU); a component for authenticating the PRU; and a component for transmitting an association response to the PRU, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, and the association response indicating rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated.

[0331] Clause 36. A non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a location server to support positioning in a wireless network, the program code comprising instructions for: receiving an association request for a positioning reference unit (PRU); authenticating the PRU; and transmitting an association response to the PRU, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, and the association response indicating rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated.

[0332] Clause 37. A method for supporting positioning in a wireless network performed by a positioning reference unit (PRU), comprising: transmitting an association request to a location server; receiving an association response from the location server, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server, or the association response indicating rejection of the association.

[0333] Clause 38. The method of clause 37, wherein the association request and the association response are messages for a supplementary service protocol usable between a UE and the location server.

[0334] Clause 39. A method according to any of clauses 37 to 38, further comprising transmitting an indication of the location server together with the association request, the indication of the location server being used by the AMF to determine the location server and route the association request to the location server.

[0335] Clause 40. The method of Clause 39, wherein the indication of the location server includes a routing ID, wherein the routing ID is preconfigured in the PRU or received from a second location server during a previous association.

[0336] Clause 41. The method of any one of clauses 37 to 40, wherein the association request includes an identification of the PRU, authentication information, or both, for authentication by the location server.

[0337] Clause 42. The method of clause 41, wherein the authentication information comprises encryption of at least one of the identification and a current date and time based on a private key.

[0338] Clause 43. The method of any one of clauses 37 to 42, further comprising: receiving an authentication challenge from the location server; transmitting an authentication response to the location server.

[0339] Clause 44. The method of clause 43, wherein the authentication response comprises encryption of an identification of the PRU and at least one of a current date and time based on a private key.

[0340] Clause 45. A method according to any one of clauses 37 to 44, wherein the condition for performing another association with the location server includes at least one of a periodic association timer or an association based on a location change, a tracking area identifier (TAI) change, or a service access and mobility management function (AMF) change of the PRU.

[0341] Clause 46. The method of any of clauses 37 to 45, wherein the association response further indicates a routing identifier of the location server, the method further comprising updating the association with the location server using the routing identifier.

[0342] Clause 47. A method according to any one of clauses 37 to 46, wherein the association response also provides routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers, the method further comprising using the routing identifier to associate with each of the one or more additional location servers.

[0343] Clause 48. The method of any one of clauses 37 to 47, wherein the association response indicates the rejection of the association and also provides a routing identifier of a different location server, the method further comprising associating with the different location server using the routing identifier.

[0344] Clause 49. A method according to any one of clauses 37 to 48, wherein the association request is for an initial association with the location server or for an association update with the location server, and the association request includes a routing identifier of the location server received in a previous association with the location server.

[0345] Clause 50. The method according to any one of clauses 37 to 49 further includes: receiving a disassociation request from the location server, the disassociation request indicating at least one of new conditions for performing an association update with the location server, routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU will perform a separate association, and disassociation of the PRU from the location server.

[0346] Clause 51. A method according to any one of clauses 37 to 50, wherein the PRU comprises one of a positioning reference unit (PRU), a reference user equipment (UE), a roadside unit (RSU), or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) reference receiver.

[0347] Clause 52. A method according to any one of clauses 37 to 42 and 45 to 51, wherein transmitting the association request to the location server comprises transmitting the association request to the location server via an AMF, and wherein the AMF forwards the association request and an indication that the source of the association request is a PRU to the location server.

[0348] Clause 53. A method as described in clause 52, wherein the AMF provides the indication that the source of the association request based on user equipment (UE) subscription data obtained by the AMF from unified data management (UDM) is a PRU.

[0349] Clause 54. A method according to any one of clauses 52 to 53, wherein the AMF transmits the association request and the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU to the location server via a service operation based on a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

[0350] Clause 55. A positioning reference unit (PRU) configured to support positioning in a wireless network, comprising: a wireless transceiver, the wireless transceiver being configured to communicate wirelessly with entities in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor, the at least one processor being coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: transmit an association request to a location server via the wireless transceiver; receive an association response from the location server via the wireless transceiver, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server, or the association response indicating rejection of the association.

[0351] Clause 56. The PRU of Clause 55, wherein the association request and the association response are messages for a supplementary service protocol usable between a UE and the location server.

[0352] Clause 57. A PRU according to any one of clauses 55 to 56, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit an indication of the location server together with the association request, the indication of the location server being used by the AMF to determine the location server and route the association request to the location server.

[0353] Clause 58. The PRU of Clause 57, wherein the indication of the location server includes a routing ID, wherein the routing ID is preconfigured in the PRU or received from a second location server during a previous association.

[0354] Clause 59. A PRU as described in any of Clauses 55 to 58, wherein the association request includes an identification, authentication information, or both of the PRU for authentication by the location server.

[0355] Clause 60. The PRU of Clause 59, wherein the authentication information comprises encryption of at least one of the identification and a current date and time based on a private key.

[0356] Clause 61. The PRU of any of clauses 55 to 60, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive an authentication challenge from the location server via the wireless transceiver; and transmit an authentication response to the location server via the wireless transceiver.

[0357] Clause 62. The PRU of Clause 61, wherein the authentication response includes encryption of an identification of the PRU and at least one of a current date and time based on a private key.

[0358] Clause 63. A PRU according to any one of clauses 55 to 62, wherein the condition for performing another association with the location server includes at least one of a periodic association timer or an association based on a location change, a tracking area identifier (TAI) change, or a service access and mobility management function (AMF) change of the PRU.

[0359] Clause 64. The PRU of any of clauses 55 to 63, wherein the association response further indicates a routing identifier of the location server, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to update the association with the location server using the routing identifier.

[0360] Clause 65. A PRU as described in any of clauses 55 to 64, wherein the association response also provides routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to use the routing identifier to associate with each of the one or more additional location servers.

[0361] Clause 66. A PRU as described in any of Clauses 55 to 65, wherein the association response indicates the rejection of the association and also provides a routing identifier of a different location server, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to use the routing identifier to associate with the different location server.

[0362] Clause 67. A PRU according to any one of clauses 55 to 66, wherein the association request is for an initial association with the location server or for an association update with the location server, and the association request includes a routing identifier of the location server received in a previous association with the location server.

[0363] Clause 68. A PRU according to any one of clauses 55 to 67, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a disassociation request from the location server, the disassociation request indicating at least one of new conditions for performing an association update with the location server, routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU will perform a separate association, and disassociation of the PRU from the location server.

[0364] Clause 69. A PRU as described in any of clauses 55 to 68, wherein the PRU comprises one of a positioning reference unit (PRU), a reference user equipment (UE), a roadside unit (RSU), or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) reference receiver.

[0365] Clause 70. A positioning reference unit (PRU) configured to support positioning in a wireless network, comprising: a component for transmitting an association request to a location server; a component for receiving an association response from the location server, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server, or the association response indicating rejection of the association.

[0366] Clause 71. A non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a positioning reference unit (PRU) to support positioning in a wireless network, the program code comprising instructions for: transmitting an association request to a location server; receiving an association response from the location server, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server, or the association response indicating rejection of the association.

[0367] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0368] In addition, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software or a combination of the two. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various exemplary components, frames, modules, circuits and steps have been generally described above in terms of their functions. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints proposed to the entire system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functions in different ways for each specific application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0369] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a 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. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, 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, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0370] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be directly embodied in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integral with the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In an alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside in a user terminal as discrete components.

[0371] In one or more example aspects, the function can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the function can be stored on a computer-readable medium or sent by a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transmission of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer. Moreover, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is sent from a website, a server or other remote source using a coaxial cable, an optical fiber cable, a twisted pair, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwaves, then coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwaves are included in the definition of the medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0372] Although the foregoing disclosure illustrates the exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. In addition, the functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims according to the various aspects of the present disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. In addition, although the elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, plural forms may also be considered unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A method for supporting positioning in a wireless network performed by a location server, the method comprising: receiving an association request for a positioning reference unit (PRU); authenticating the PRU; as well as An association response is transmitted to the PRU, the association response indicating acceptance of association and conditions for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, and indicating rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the association request and the association response are messages for a supplementary service protocol that can be used between the UE and the location server.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the association request comprises an identification, authentication information, or both of the PRU, wherein authenticating the PRU comprises verifying the identification or the authentication information of the PRU against a known identification or expected authentication information of the PRU, respectively.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein authenticating the PRU comprises: transmitting an authentication challenge to the PRU; receiving an authentication response from the PRU; as well as The authentication response is validated against an expected authentication response associated with the identity of the PRU.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the condition for performing another association with the location server comprises at least one of a periodic association timer or an association based on a location change, a tracking area identifier (TAI) change, or a service access and mobility management function (AMF) change of the PRU.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the association response further: indicating relevant identifiers for identifying the location server and the PRU if the PRU is authenticated, providing routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU will perform a separate association if the PRU is authenticated, providing routing identifiers of different location servers with which the PRU is to be associated if the PRU is not authenticated, or Some combination of them.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a disassociation request to the PRU, the disassociation request indicating: new conditions for performing an update of the association with said location server, The PRU will perform routing identifiers for one or more additional location servers associated with it alone, the disassociation of the PRU from the location server, or Some combination of them.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a disassociation request from the PRU, the disassociation request requesting disassociation of the PRU from the location server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the association request is for an initial association with the location server or for an association update with the location server.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the PRU comprises one of a reference location device (RLD), a reference user equipment (UE), a roadside unit (RSU), or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) reference receiver.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving an indication that the source of the association request is a PRU, wherein authenticating the PRU comprises verifying that the indication that the source of the association request is a PRU has been received.

12. A location server for supporting positioning in a wireless network, the location server comprising: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receiving an association request for a positioning reference unit (PRU); authenticating the PRU; as well as An association response is transmitted to the PRU, the association response indicating acceptance of association and conditions for performing another association with the location server if the PRU is authenticated, and indicating rejection of the association if the PRU is not authenticated.

13. The location server according to claim 12, wherein: To authenticate the PRU, the one or more processors are configured to: transmitting an authentication challenge to the PRU; receiving an authentication response from the PRU; as well as The authentication response is validated against an expected authentication response associated with the identity of the PRU.

14. The location server of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the association response to further: indicating relevant identifiers for identifying the location server and the PRU if the PRU is authenticated, providing routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU will perform a separate association if the PRU is authenticated, providing routing identifiers of different location servers with which the PRU is to be associated if the PRU is not authenticated, or Some combination of them.

15. The location server of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit a disassociation request to the PRU, the disassociation request indicating: conditions for performing an update of the association with said location server, The PRU will perform routing identifiers for one or more additional location servers associated with it alone, the disassociation of the PRU from the location server, or Some combination of them.

16. The location server of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a disassociation request from the PRU, the disassociation request requesting disassociation of the PRU from the location server.

17. A method performed by a positioning reference unit (PRU) for supporting positioning in a wireless network, the method comprising: transmitting an association request to a location server; as well as An association response is received from the location server, the association response indicating acceptance of the association and conditions for performing another association with the location server, or the association response indicating rejection of the association.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the association request and the association response are messages for a supplementary service protocol that can be used between a UE and the location server.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising transmitting an indication of the location server along with the association request, the indication of the location server being used by the AMF to determine the location server and to route the association request to the location server.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the association request includes an identification, authentication information, or both of the PRU for authentication by the location server.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising: receiving an authentication challenge from the location server; as well as An authentication response is transmitted to the location server.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the condition for performing another association with the location server comprises at least one of a periodic association timer or an association based on a location change, a tracking area identifier (TAI) change, or a service access and mobility management function (AMF) change of the PRU.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the association response further: indicating a routing identifier of the location server, the method further comprising updating an association with the location server using the routing identifier, providing a routing identifier for one or more additional location servers, the method further comprising associating with each of the one or more additional location servers using the routing identifier, or indicating the rejection of the association and also providing a routing identifier of a different location server, the method further comprising associating with the different location server using the routing identifier.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein the association request is for an initial association with the location server or for an association update with the location server, and the association request includes a routing identifier of the location server received in a previous association with the location server.

25. The method of claim 17, further comprising: A disassociation request is received from the location server, the disassociation request indicating at least one of new conditions for performing an association update with the location server, routing identifiers of one or more additional location servers with which the PRU is to perform a separate association, and disassociation of the PRU from the location server.

26. A Positioning Reference Unit (PRU) for supporting positioning in a wireless network, the PRU comprising: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmitting, via the one or more transceivers, an association request to a location server; and An association response is received from the location server via the one or more transceivers, the association response indicating acceptance of an association and conditions for performing another association with the location server, or the association response indicating rejection of the association.

27. The PRU of claim 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit an indication of the location server along with the association request, the indication of the location server being used by the AMF to determine the location server and route the association request to the location server.

28. The PRU of claim 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to include an identification, authentication information, or both of the PRU in the association request for authentication by the location server.

29. The PRU of claim 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receiving an authentication challenge from the location server; and An authentication response is transmitted to the location server.

30. The PRU of claim 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a disassociation request from the location server, the disassociation request indicating: new conditions for performing an update of the association with said location server, The PRU will perform routing identifiers for one or more additional location servers associated with it alone, the disassociation of the PRU from the location server, or Some combination of them.

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