Energy-efficient positioning for wireless communications

Abstract

The present application generally relates to wireless communications comprising a wireless access node that sends a positioning time window configuration that indicates to a user equipment a positioning time window for an idle state or an inactive state. In response to receiving the positioning time window configuration, the user equipment is configured to receive a positioning reference signal (PRS) or transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) in a positioning time window in an idle state or an inactive state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application is generally directed to configuring a positioning time window for low-power high-precision positioning of wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] In wireless communication systems, user equipment may have to wake up from an inactive or idle state in order to receive a positioning reference signal (PRS) or send a sounding reference signal (SRS), which may cause the user equipment to consume a large amount of ramp-up / ramp-down power. Methods to reduce power consumption may be desirable. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present application relates to methods, systems, devices and apparatuses for wireless communication. In some embodiments, a method for wireless communication includes: determining, by a wireless access node, a positioning time window that occurs during an idle state or an inactive state of a user equipment; and sending, by the wireless access node, a positioning time window configuration to the user equipment, the positioning time window configuration indicating a positioning time window for the idle state or the inactive state, wherein the user equipment is allowed to receive a positioning reference signal (PRS) or send a sounding reference signal (SRS) in the idle state or the inactive state.

[0004] In some other embodiments, a method for wireless communication includes: receiving, by a user equipment, a positioning time window configuration from a wireless access node, the positioning time window configuration indicating a positioning time window for an idle state or an inactive state; and in response to receiving the positioning time window configuration, performing, by the user equipment in the idle state or the inactive state, at least one of the following in the positioning time window: receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) or sending a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0005] In some other embodiments, a device such as a network device is disclosed. The device may include one or more processors and one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to read computer code from the one or more memories to implement any of the above methods.

[0006] In yet other embodiments, a computer program product is disclosed. The computer program product may include a non-transitory computer-readable program medium having computer code stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to implement any of the above methods.

[0007] The above and other aspects and embodiments thereof are described in more detail in the drawings, the description and the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example of a wireless communication system is shown.

[0009] Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 A block diagram of an example configuration of a radio access node of a wireless communication system.

[0010] Figure 3 An example method for wireless communications involving positioning in an idle or inactive state of a user equipment is shown.

[0011] Figure 4 Another example method for wireless communication is shown that involves positioning in an idle or inactive state of a user equipment.

[0012] Figure 5 A timing diagram showing an example of a positioning time window. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] The present specification describes various embodiments of systems, devices, apparatuses, and methods for wireless communications, including configuring a positioning time window for low-power high-precision positioning of wireless communications.

[0014] Figure 1 A diagram of an example wireless communication system 100 is shown that includes a plurality of communication nodes (or simply nodes) configured to wirelessly communicate with each other. In general, the communication nodes include at least one user equipment 102 and at least one radio access node 104. Figure 1 The example wireless communication system 100 in FIG. 1 is shown as including two user equipments 102 (including a first user equipment 102(1) and a second user equipment 102(2)), and one wireless access node 104. However, various other examples of the wireless communication system 100 including any of various combinations of one or more user equipments 102 and / or one or more wireless access nodes 104 are also possible.

[0015] Generally, user equipment such as user equipment 102 described herein may include a single electronic device or apparatus capable of wireless communication over a network, or multiple (e.g., network) electronic devices or apparatuses. User equipment may include or otherwise be referred to as a user terminal, user terminal device, or user equipment (UE). In addition, the user device may be or include, but is not limited to, a mobile device (such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a smart watch, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a vehicle or other means of transportation (powered by human power, motor or engine, such as a car, airplane, train, ship or bicycle as a non-limiting example) or a fixed or stationary device (such as a desktop computer or other computing device that is not usually moved for a long time, such as an appliance, other relatively heavy devices including the Internet of Things (IoT), or a computing device used in a commercial or industrial environment). In various embodiments, the user device 102 may include a transceiver circuit 106 coupled to an antenna 108 to implement wireless communications with the wireless access node 104. The transceiver circuit 106 may also be coupled to a processor 110, which may also be coupled to a memory 112 or other storage device. The memory 112 may store therein instructions or codes that, when read and executed by the processor 110, cause the processor 110 to implement the various methods described herein.

[0016] In addition, generally, a wireless access node such as a wireless access node 104 as described herein may include a single electronic device or apparatus, or multiple electronic devices or apparatuses (e.g., a network), and may include one or more base stations or other wireless network access points capable of wirelessly communicating with one or more user devices and / or one or more other wireless access nodes 104 through a network. For example, in various embodiments, the wireless access node 104 may include at least one of a 4G LTE base station, a 5G NR base station, a 5G centralized cell base station, a 5G distributed cell base station, a next generation Node B (gNB), an enhanced Node B (eNB), or other similar or next generation (e.g., 6G) base station, or a location management function (LMF). The wireless access node 104 may include a transceiver circuit 114 coupled to an antenna 116, which may include various forms of an antenna tower 118 to implement wireless communications with the user device 102 or another wireless access node 104. The transceiver circuit 114 may also be coupled to one or more processors 120, which may also be coupled to a memory 122 or other storage device. The memory 122 may store therein instructions or codes that, when read and executed by the processor 120 , cause the processor 120 to implement one or more methods described herein.

[0017] Figure 21 shows a block diagram of an example configuration of a wireless access node 104. In the example configuration, a Figure 1 As shown for the wireless access node 104 in FIG, the wireless access node 104 includes a serving gNB 202, a neighboring gNB 204, and a location management function (LMF) 206. Each of the serving gNB 202, the neighboring gNB, and the LMF may be configured in hardware or a combination of hardware and software, such as by having a processor 120, a memory 122, a transceiver circuit 114, an antenna 116, and / or an antenna tower 118. In addition, as Figure 2 As shown, each of the serving gNB 202, the neighboring gNB 204, and the LMF 206 may be configured to communicate (send and receive), such as signals or messages, with each other, and may be configured to communicate (send and receive) with one or more user devices 102 directly or indirectly via another component of the radio access node 104. As a non-limiting example, the neighboring gNB 204 may indirectly transmit a message to the user device 102 by transmitting the message directly to the serving gNB 202, and the serving gNB transmits the message directly to the user device 102. In addition, although Figure 2 The example configuration in FIG. 2 shows a single neighboring gNB, but other example configurations may include multiple neighboring gNBs. In addition, herein, a gNB (including a serving gNB 202 and / or a neighboring gNB) may also or otherwise be referred to as a transmit / receive point (TRP) or a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN). Other functions of the serving gNB 202, the neighboring gNB 204, and the LMF 206 are described in further detail below.

[0018] In addition, return to reference Figure 1 In various embodiments, two communication nodes in the wireless system 100, such as a user equipment 102 and a wireless access node 104, two user equipments 102 without a wireless access node 104, or two wireless access nodes 104 without a user equipment 102, may be configured to communicate wirelessly with each other in or through a mobile network and / or a wireless access network according to one or more standards and / or specifications. In general, the standards and / or specifications may define rules or procedures by which communication nodes may communicate wirelessly, which in various embodiments may include rules or procedures for communicating in millimeter (mm) wave bands and / or through multi-antenna schemes and beamforming functions. Additionally or alternatively, the standards and / or specifications are those defining wireless access technologies and / or cellular technologies, such as, as non-limiting examples, fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE), fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR), or new radio license-free (NR-U).

[0019] In addition, in the wireless system 100, the communication nodes are configured to wirelessly transmit signals between each other. Generally, the communication between two communication nodes in the wireless system 100 can be or include sending or receiving, and is usually carried out simultaneously, depending on the perspective of the specific nodes in the communication. For example, for a given communication between a first node and a second node, wherein the first node is sending a signal to the second node and the second node is receiving a signal from the first node, the first node can be referred to as a source or sending node or device, the second node can be referred to as a destination or receiving node or device, and the communication can be considered as the sending of the first node and the receiving of the second node. Of course, since the communication nodes in the wireless system 100 can send and receive signals, a single communication node can be a sending / source node and a receiving / destination node at the same time, or switch between being a source / sending node and a destination / receiving node.

[0020] In addition, a specific signal may be characterized or defined as an uplink (UL) signal, a downlink (DL) signal, or a sidelink (SL) signal. An uplink signal is a signal sent from a user equipment 102 to a wireless access node 104. A downlink signal is a signal sent from a wireless access node 104 to a user equipment 102. A sidelink signal is a signal sent from one user equipment 102 to another user equipment 102, or a signal sent from one wireless access node 104 to another wireless access node 104. In addition, for sidelink transmission, the first / source user equipment 102 directly sends the sidelink signal to the second / destination user equipment 102 without forwarding any sidelink signal to the wireless access node 104.

[0021] In addition, signals transmitted between communication nodes in the system 100 can be characterized or defined as data signals or control signals. In general, a data signal is a signal that includes or carries data, such as multimedia data (e.g., voice and / or image data), while a control signal is a signal that carries control information that configures the communication nodes in a particular manner to communicate with each other, or otherwise controls how the communication nodes transmit data signals to each other. In addition, certain signals can be defined or characterized by a combination of data / control and uplink / downlink / sidelink, including uplink control signals, uplink data signals, downlink control signals, downlink data signals, sidelink control signals, and sidelink data signals.

[0022] For at least some specifications such as 5G NR, data and control signals are transmitted and / or carried on physical channels. Typically, a physical channel corresponds to a set of time-frequency resources for signal transmission. Different types of physical channels can be used to send different types of signals. For example, a physical data channel (or only a data channel) is used to transmit data signals, while a physical control channel (or only a control channel) is used to transmit control signals. Example types of physical data channels include, but are not limited to, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) used to transmit downlink data signals, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) used to transmit uplink data signals, and a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) used to transmit sidelink data signals. In addition, example types of physical control channels include, but are not limited to, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) used to transmit downlink control signals, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used to transmit uplink control signals, and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) used to transmit sidelink control signals. As used herein for simplicity, unless otherwise specified, a particular type of physical channel is also used to refer to a signal transmitted on that particular type of physical channel and / or a transmission on that particular type of transmission. As an example, PDSCH refers to the physical downlink shared channel itself, a downlink data signal transmitted on the PDSCH, or a downlink data transmission. Therefore, a communication node sending or receiving a PDSCH means that the communication node is sending or receiving a signal on the PDSCH.

[0023] In addition, for at least some specifications such as 5G NR, and / or for at least some types of control signals, the control signal sent by the communication node may include control information including information necessary to enable transmission of one or more data signals between the communication nodes and / or to schedule one or more data channels (or one or more transmissions on a data channel). For example, such control information may include information necessary to correctly receive, decode, and demodulate data signals received on a physical data channel during data transmission, and / or information necessary for an uplink scheduling grant to inform a user equipment about resources and a transmission format for uplink data transmission. In some embodiments, the control information includes downlink control information (DCI) sent from the radio access node 104 to the user equipment 102 in the downlink direction. In other embodiments, the control information includes uplink control information (UCI) sent from the user equipment 102 to the radio access node 104 in the uplink direction, or sidelink control information (SCI) sent from one user equipment 102(1) to another user equipment 102(2) in the sidelink direction.

[0024] In addition, for at least some embodiments, the user equipment 102 is configured as a low power high precision (LPHAP) user equipment 102, or is capable of operating as a low power high precision (LPHAP) user equipment 102. As an LPHAP user equipment, the user equipment 102 is configured to perform high precision positioning while saving power. For the embodiments described herein, the LPHAP user equipment 102 is configured to perform high precision positioning in an idle state (e.g., an RRC_INACTIVE state according to a 5G or other wireless communication standard) or an inactive state (e.g., an RRC_IDLE state according to a 5G or other wireless communication standard). The LPHAP user equipment 102 herein may be configured to receive a positioning reference signal (PRS) and / or send a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning when operating in an idle state or an inactive state. This operation of the LPHAP user equipment 102 may be in contrast to other LPHAP user equipment, which must wake up from an idle state or an inactive state in order to receive a positioning reference signal (PRS) and / or send an SRS for positioning. By not having to wake up so frequently, the LPHAP user device 102 may not have to consume additional ramp-up or ramp-down power to wake up.

[0025] Figure 3 An example method 300 for wireless communication is shown, which involves positioning in an idle or inactive state. At block 302, the wireless access node 104 may determine a positioning time window that occurs during an idle state or an inactive state of the user equipment 102. At block 304, the wireless access node 104 may send a positioning time window configuration to the user equipment 102, the positioning time window configuration indicating the positioning time window for the idle state or the inactive state. The positioning time window configuration allows the user equipment 102 to receive a PRS or send an SRS in the idle state or the inactive state.

[0026] Figure 4 Another example method 400 for wireless communication is shown, which involves positioning in an idle or inactive state. At block 402, the user equipment 102 may receive a positioning time window configuration from the wireless access node 104, the positioning time window configuration indicating a positioning time window for the idle state or the inactive state. At block 404, in response to receiving the positioning time window configuration, the user equipment 102 may perform at least one of the following in the positioning time window in the idle state or the inactive state: receiving a PRS or sending an SRS.

[0027] In more detail, for at least some embodiments of method 300 and / or method 400, the user equipment 102 may be configured with a paging cycle (or referred to as a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle) in an inactive state (e.g., RRC_INACTIVE) or an idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE). For at least some of these embodiments, a default paging cycle configuration may be broadcast by the serving gNB 202. The default paging cycle includes at least a cycle value, an offset value, and a location of a paging occasion (PO). In addition or alternatively, the user equipment 102 may receive and measure synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) from the serving gNB 202 and / or a neighboring gNB 204 in an inactive or idle state. The SSBs may be configured to be measured within a time period referred to as an SSB-based measurement time configuration (SMTC).

[0028] In addition, for at least some embodiments, when the positioning service is triggered in the wireless communication system 100, the user equipment 102 can be scheduled to receive the PRS in the idle state or the inactive state. In some embodiments, whenever the user equipment receives the PRS, SSB, DCI or PDSCH, the user equipment 102 wakes up from the sleep mode (e.g., deep sleep, light sleep or super sleep) to the active mode.

[0029] In addition, when the user equipment 102 performs positioning, the serving gNB 202 and the neighboring gNB 204 send PRS, and the LMF 206 sends the PRS configuration of all gNBs. In various embodiments, some user equipment capabilities are reported to the serving gNB 202 via RRC signaling, and some user equipment capabilities are reported to the LMF 206 via LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling. In addition, the user equipment 102 can report the measurement results of its PRS-related measurements to the LMF 206.

[0030] Embodiment 1 gNB configuration window; Window configuration

[0031] In addition, for at least some embodiments of the method 300 and / or the method 400, the serving gNB 202 and / or one or more neighboring gNBs 204 may send a PRS to the user equipment 102 when the user equipment is in an inactive state or an idle state. For at least some of these embodiments, when the positioning service is triggered, the serving gNB 202 may also obtain the PRS configuration of the neighboring gNB 204 from the LMF 206 via the NRPPa MEASUREMENT PRECONFIGURATION REQUIRED message according to the New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa). Then, the radio access node (such as through the serving gNB 202) may configure one or more positioning time windows (also referred to as PRS receiving windows or PRS processing windows) to be in an inactive state or an idle state. In turn, the user equipment, the user equipment 102 may be allowed or configured to receive and / or process one or more PRSs in the one or more positioning time windows, which in turn may reduce power consumption.

[0032] In addition, for at least some embodiments of method 300 and / or method 400, the user equipment 102 may report to the radio access node 102 a capability indicating that it is an LPHAP user equipment and / or its capability to operate as an LPHAP. For at least some of these embodiments, the user equipment 102 may report its capabilities directly to the serving gNB 202. In addition, for at least some embodiments, the capabilities include an indication of whether the user equipment is an LPHAP user equipment. For example, the indication may include a 1-bit indication.

[0033] Additionally or alternatively, the reported capabilities may include a power class or power unit of the user equipment 102. For example, there may be several power classes to describe the power consumption of the user equipment 102. The user equipment 102 may report one or more power classes that it supports. In addition, the wireless access node 104 may know that if the highest power class supported by the UE is below a threshold, the wireless access node 104 may determine or assume that the user equipment is a LPHAP user equipment.

[0034] In addition or alternatively, the reported capabilities may include mobility information. As an example, if the user equipment 102 is a stable LPHAP user equipment, the user equipment 102 may report its mobility information as "low"; if the user equipment 102 is a wearable device type LPHAP user equipment, the user equipment 102 may report its mobility information as "high". The mobility information may help the wireless access node 104 determine the positioning time window configuration of the user equipment 102.

[0035] In addition, in various embodiments of the method 300 and / or the method 400, the positioning time window is a time window in the time domain. The wireless access node 104 (such as through the serving gNB 202) can configure at least one of the following parameters of the positioning time window and / or include at least one of the following parameters for positioning time window configuration: (1) the start time of the positioning time window (the start time can be an absolute time including a start system frame number, a start subframe, a start time slot and / or a corresponding subcarrier spacing (SCS)); (2) the period of the positioning time window (the unit of the period can be at least one of the symbol level, the subslot level, the time slot level, the subframe level, and the frame level); (3) the length (duration) of the positioning time window (the unit of the length can be at least one of the symbol level, the subslot level, the time slot level, the subframe level, and the frame level.); (4) the offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the start time of the paging cycle (the unit of the offset can be at least one of the symbol level, the subslot level, the time slot level, the subframe level, and the frame level); (5) and the positioning (a) an offset between the start time of the time window and the start time of the paging opportunity (PO) in the paging cycle (the unit of the offset may be at least one of the symbol level, subslot level, slot level, subframe level, and frame level); (b) an offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the end time of the paging opportunity (PO) in the paging cycle (the unit of the offset may be at least one of the symbol level, subslot level, slot level, subframe level, and frame level); (c) an offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the start time of the paging frame (PF) in the paging cycle (the unit of the offset may be at least one of the symbol level, subslot level, slot level, subframe level, and frame level); or (d) an offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the end time of the paging frame (PF) in the paging cycle (the unit of the offset may be at least one of the symbol level, subslot level, slot level, subframe level, and frame level). Figure 5 A timing diagram illustrating an example of a position fix time window according to one or more parameters included in the position fix time window.

[0036] In addition or alternatively, the wireless access node 104 may configure the positioning time window based on at least one of the following conditions: if the user equipment 102 does not indicate its ability to measure reduced PRS samples (e.g., 1 or 2), the positioning time window may include at least 4 PRS samples; if the user equipment 102 does not indicate its ability to reduce the Rx beam scanning factor (e.g., 1, 2, 4, or 6), the positioning time window may be configured to meet at least M PRS samples, where each PRS sample has 8 Rx beam scanning times. For at least some of these embodiments, according to TS38.133, M may be 1, 2, or 4.

[0037] In addition or alternatively, for at least some embodiments, the period of the positioning time window may be related to the DRX cycle in the inactive state or the idle state. Specifically, the positioning time window and the DRX cycle may have a one-to-one mapping, and the positioning time window may not be configured to span two DRX cycles. Alternatively, the period of the positioning time window may be configured as an integer multiple of the DRX cycle.

[0038] In other embodiments, the positioning time window may be configured to have a relationship with an SMTC in an idle state or an inactive state. The positioning time window configuration may indicate the relationship. For at least some of these embodiments, an SMTC window is provided to the user equipment 102, which may be included in a system information block 2 (SIB2), SIB4, and / or MeasIdleConfigDedicated-r16 for an inactive state or an idle state. In addition, the radio access node 104 may configure the same SMTC window for the same frequency in public signaling (SIBx) and dedicated signaling (RRC Release). For such an embodiment, the user equipment 102 may report in advance its ability to support parallel execution of radio resource management (RRM) measurements and PRS measurements. In addition or alternatively, the relationship between the positioning time window and the SMTC may be established or configured in one of two ways.

[0039] In the first way, when the wireless access node 104 (e.g., the serving gNB 202) configures the SMTC window for the user equipment 102 to perform cell reselection, the serving gNB 202 may also indicate that the positioning time window will be reused with the SMTC in an idle state and / or an inactive state. Here, reuse means that the positioning time window (and / or its corresponding positioning time window configuration) and the SMTC have at least one of the following: the same period, the same offset, or the same duration. In addition or alternatively, reuse means that the user equipment 102 can receive and / or measure SSB and PRS in the same time period. For at least some of these embodiments, if the wireless access node 104 configures the positioning time window according to the above, the wireless access node 104 may set the frequency associated with the SMTC window to be close to or the same as one or more frequency layers to be measured by the user equipment 102. In addition or alternatively, the serving gNB 202 may indicate the period of the positioning time window as an integer multiple of the SMTC window, or indicate the period of the SMTC window as an integer multiple of the positioning time window. In other embodiments, the wireless access node 104 may configure an indication to indicate that the PRS may be measured in an existing SMTC window.

[0040] In a second embodiment, the serving gNB 202 may indicate that the positioning time window is near the SMTC window. For example, the serving gNB 202 may configure an offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the start time of the SMTC window. For such an embodiment, the duration and period of the positioning time window and the SMTC window may be the same.

[0041] In addition or alternatively, if the PRS and SSB overlap (such as overlapping one or more symbols in the positioning time window), the wireless access node 104 (e.g., the serving gNB 202) can indicate to the user equipment 102 to prioritize PRS or SSB measurement, or to discard both on the overlapping symbols. In addition or alternatively, the user equipment 102 can indicate in advance its ability that when such an overlap occurs, the user equipment 102 will prioritize PRS or SSB or discard both. In addition or alternatively, when the user equipment 102 moves from the serving cell to the neighboring cell in an inactive state and / or idle state, if the user equipment 102 is in an SMTC window to measure SSB / PRS, the user equipment 102 can continue to perform PRS measurements until the current SMTC window ends. After the SMTC window ends, the user equipment 102 can adopt the new SMTC window in the new cell broadcast message (SIB2 / SIB4) as the new positioning time window. In other embodiments, if the user equipment 102 measures SSB / PRS in an SMTC window, the user equipment 102 may discard the PRS measurement in the SMTC window (and / or positioning time window) and adopt the new SMTC window in the new cell broadcast message (SIB2 / SIB4) as the new positioning time window.

[0042] Additionally or alternatively, the positioning time window in the idle state or inactive state may be configured via a radio resource control (RRC) message dedicated to a specific user equipment (e.g., in an RRC release or RRC release-suspend configuration). Additionally or alternatively; the positioning time window in the inactive state or idle state may also be broadcast in a new positioning SIB. For such an embodiment, the LMF 206 may configure the positioning time window and forward the time window configuration to the serving gNB via an NRPPa ASSISTANCEINFORMATION CONTROL message.

[0043] In addition, for embodiments where the positioning time window is related to the SMTC, RRC signaling can indicate to the user equipment 102 whether the SMTC window (or which SMTC window) can be used to measure the PRS. Alternatively, the LMF 206 can activate or deactivate the positioning time window via POSITIONING ACTIVATION REQUEST and POSITIONING DEACTIVATION or via one or more new IEs in 38.455.

[0044] Example 2: gNB configuration window; gNB needs to know UE PRS processing capability in RRC_INACTIVE

[0045] In addition or alternatively, for at least some embodiments, when the serving gNB 202 configures the positioning time window for the inactive state and / or the idle state, the serving gNB 202 may need to know the user equipment's ability to operate as an LPHAP user equipment and the PRS processing capability of the user equipment 102 in the inactive state or the idle state in order to configure an appropriate time position and duration of the positioning time window. For example, at least one of the following UE capabilities may be sent from the user equipment 102 to the serving gNB 202: (1) downlink (DL) PRS buffering capability in the inactive state (e.g., in RAN1 Feature List 27-6), including at least one of the following capabilities: (a) Type 1 - sub-slot / symbol level buffering, or (b) Type 2 - slot level buffering; (2) DL PRSs that the user equipment 102 can process per T ms assuming processing in RRC_INACTIVE with a maximum DL PRS bandwidth in MHz. The duration N of the PRS symbol (e.g., in milliseconds (ms)) (e.g., in RAN1 feature list 27-6); (3) support for Rx beam scanning factors less than 8 for FR2 (e.g., in RAN1 feature list 27-9); (4) the number of Rx beam scanning factors (e.g., in RAN1 feature list 27-9); or (5) the ability to support a reduced number of samples (e.g., M=1, 2) for PRS measurements in the RRC_inactive state (e.g., in RAN1 feature list 14-2).

[0046] In other embodiments, after the LMF 206 receives the capabilities of the user equipment 102, the LMF 206 may indicate the capabilities to the serving gNB 202. For example, the LMF 206 may indicate the capabilities to the serving gNB 202 via a MEASUREMENT PRECONFIGURATION REQUIRED, a PRS CONFIGURATION REQUEST, a POSITIONING INFORMATION REQUEST, or a TRP INFORMATION REQUEST.

[0047] Additionally or alternatively, the LMF 206 may send the SMTC of each gNB (including the serving gNB 202 and / or the neighboring gNB 204) to the user equipment 102 in the assistance data (e.g., in the NR-SSB-config). Embodiment 3 LMF configures the time window; LMF needs instructions on how to achieve appropriate power consumption for positioning

[0048] Additionally or alternatively, the user equipment 102 may report its capabilities directly to the LMF 206, including the capability to indicate that it is an LPHAP user equipment or related attributes as previously described. Additionally or alternatively, the user equipment 102 may indicate its capabilities to the serving gNB 202, and then the serving gNB 202 may send the capabilities to the LMF 206. In this manner, the serving gNB 202 may directly forward the capabilities to the LMF 206, or the serving gNB 202 may send the recommended power consumption for positioning services to the LMF 206.

[0049] In addition, for at least some embodiments, when the LMF 206 determines that the user equipment 102 is an LPHAP user equipment, the LMF 206 can determine that the LPHAP user equipment 102 is always in an inactive state and / or an idle state. Correspondingly, the LMF 206 can send a request message to the serving gNB 202 and / or one or more neighboring gNBs 204 to request them to configure an appropriate positioning time window for each gNB. The LMF 206 can also send the requested positioning time window characteristics to the serving gNB 202 and / or one or more neighboring gNBs 204. This can be done, for example, via a MEASUREMENT PRECONFIGURATION REQUIRED, a PRSCONFIGURION REQUEST, a POSITIONING INFORMATION REQUEST, or a TRP INFORMATION REQUEST. In turn, the serving gNB 202 and / or one or more neighboring gNBs can respond to the LMF 206 with their corresponding positioning time window configurations. For at least some of these embodiments, a response with a corresponding positioning time window may be provided, for example, via a MEASUREMENT PRECONFIGURATION CONFIRM, a PRS CONFIGURATION RESPONSE, a TRP INFORMATION RESPONSE, or a POSITIONING INFORMATION RESPONSE. The characteristics or configuration of the requested positioning time window include one or more parameters of the positioning time window as previously described.

[0050] In other embodiments, the LMF 206 may send a request message to the serving gNB 202 and / or one or more neighboring gNBs to request reporting of their corresponding SMTC configurations. In addition or alternatively, the serving gNB 202 and / or one or more neighboring gNBs may send an SMTC window configuration to the LMF 206, which in turn may help the LMF 202 configure the positioning time window to be related to the SMTC window. For at least some of these embodiments, the SMTC window configuration transmitted to the LMF 206 may include or indicate the period, offset, and duration of the timing opportunities for the user equipment 102 to measure the SSB. In particular, in these embodiments, the information may be included in a MEASUREMENT PRECONFIGURATION CONFIRM, a PRSCONFIGURATION RESPONSE, a TRP INFORMATION RESPONSE, or a POSITIONING INFORMATION RESPONSE.

[0051] In addition or alternatively, LMF 206 may configure or determine the time window of the LPHAP UE in the auxiliary data. For example, LMF 206 may determine the positioning time window configuration to be under the auxiliary data configuration of each TRP in one or more TRPs. Correspondingly, when the user equipment 102 receives the positioning time window configuration and the PRS resources of one or more TRPs, the user equipment 102 may receive and / or process the PRS from the corresponding TRP in the corresponding positioning time window. For at least some embodiments, the positioning time windows of multiple TRPs may overlap or not overlap in the time domain. In other embodiments, LMF 206 may configure or determine the positioning time window configuration to be under the auxiliary data configuration of each PRS frequency layer.

[0052] Additionally or alternatively, the LMF 206 may determine a positioning time window configuration and may send the positioning time window configuration to the serving gNB 202. In turn, the serving gNB 202 may send the positioning time window configuration to the user equipment 102 via a broadcast. For at least some of these embodiments, the serving gNB may broadcast via positioning SIB type, Assistance Information, and / or ASSISTANCE INFORMATION CONTROL. The broadcast PRS window may be included in a new positioning SIB or in NR-DL-PRS-AssistanceData in a legacy positioning SIB.

[0053] Additionally or alternatively, the user equipment 102 may report its capability of supporting one or more positioning time windows in an inactive state and / or an idle state. For at least some of these embodiments, the user equipment 102 reports the capability to the LMF 206 and / or the serving gNB 202.

[0054] Embodiment 4 adds an indication of whether to open the PRS time window in the next paging cycle

[0055] In addition or alternatively, for at least some embodiments, the user equipment 102 may monitor a permanent equipment identifier (PEI) before each paging cycle to determine whether to monitor the PO in the next paging cycle. If the user equipment 102 is configured with a positioning time window, for example via dedicated signaling, an indication may also be provided to the user equipment 102 as to whether to wake up and receive / process PRS in the positioning time window in the next one or more paging cycles. For at least some of these embodiments, the indication may be embedded in DCI formats 2-7. In particular, in these embodiments, the indication may include 1 bit to indicate whether to measure PRS in the next PRS time window or in the next several N PRS time windows, where N is an integer and may be indicated in RRC signaling, or may be a UE capability report.

[0056] Embodiment 5: SRS transmission is limited to the SRS time window

[0057] Additionally or alternatively, in an inactive state and / or an idle state, when multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT) scheduling is configured, the user equipment 102 may receive PRS and send SRS for positioning. Additionally or alternatively, when uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and / or uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA) scheduling is configured, the user equipment 102 may send SRS for positioning. Additionally or alternatively, when the serving gNB 202 configures periodic SRS for positioning for the user equipment 102, the serving gNB 202 may also configure an SRS time window to indicate to the user equipment 102 when to start and stop sending SRS for positioning. If multi-RTT is scheduled, the time position of the SRS time window may be the same as the positioning time window. For at least some of these embodiments, the SRS time window may be included in the positioning time window configuration, for example, in an RRC_Release with a pending configuration, or in an RRC_Release. Additionally or alternatively, in 38.455, LMF 206 may request serving gNB 202 to configure SRS time window in requested SRS transmission characteristics IE. Additionally or alternatively, LMF 206 may activate or deactivate SRS time window, for example, via POSITIONING ACTIVATION REQUEST and POSITIONINGDEACTIVATION.

[0058] The above description and accompanying drawings provide specific example embodiments and implementations. However, the described subject matter may be embodied in a variety of different forms, and therefore, the subject matter covered or claimed is intended to be interpreted as not being limited to any exemplary embodiment set forth herein. It is intended to provide a reasonably broad scope for the subject matter claimed or covered. Among other things, for example, the subject matter may be embodied as a method, device, component, system, or non-transient computer-readable medium for storing computer code. Therefore, the embodiment may, for example, take the form of hardware, software, firmware, storage media, or any combination thereof. For example, the above method embodiment may be implemented by a component, device, or system including a memory and a processor by executing a computer code stored in the memory.

[0059] Throughout the specification and claims, in addition to the meanings explicitly stated, terms may have slightly different meanings that are suggested or implied by the context. Likewise, the phrase "in one embodiment / implementation" used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the phrase "in another embodiment / implementation" used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. For example, it is intended that the claimed subject matter includes all or part of the combination of the example embodiments.

[0060] Typically, terms can be understood at least in part from usage in context. For example, terms used herein, such as "and", "or", or "and / or", can include multiple meanings, which can depend at least in part on the context in which these terms are used. Typically, "or", if used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to represent A, B, and C used herein for inclusion, and A, B, or C used herein for exclusion. In addition, the term "one or more" used herein, at least in part depending on the context, can be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense, or can be used to describe a combination of features, structures, or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms such as "one", "an", or "the" can be understood to convey singular usage or to convey plural usage, which depends at least in part on the context. In addition, the term "based on" can be understood to not necessarily be intended to convey a set of exclusive factors, but can allow the presence of additional factors that are not necessarily explicitly described, also at least in part depending on the context.

[0061] References to features, advantages, or similar language throughout the specification do not imply that all features and advantages that can be achieved with the present solution should or are included in any single embodiment thereof. Rather, language referring to features and advantages is understood to mean that a particular feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present solution. Thus, discussion of features and advantages and similar language throughout the specification may, but does not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

[0062] In addition, the features, advantages, and characteristics of the present solution may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Based on the description herein, one of ordinary skill in the relevant art will recognize that the present solution may be practiced without one or more specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other cases, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the present solution.

[0063] The subject matter of the present disclosure may also relate to or include the following aspects:

[0064] A first aspect includes a method for wireless communication, the method comprising: determining, by a wireless access node, a positioning time window occurring during an idle state or an inactive state of a user equipment; and sending, by the wireless access node, a positioning time window configuration to the user equipment, the positioning time window configuration indicating the positioning time window for the idle state or the inactive state, wherein the user equipment is allowed to receive a positioning reference signal (PRS) or send a sounding reference signal (SRS) in the idle state or the inactive state.

[0065] A second aspect includes the first aspect, and further includes: receiving, by a wireless access node, from a user equipment a capability of the user equipment to operate as a low power high precision positioning (LPHAP) user equipment.

[0066] The third aspect includes the second aspect and also includes: wherein receiving the capability includes receiving the capability from the user equipment through the serving gNB of the wireless access node.

[0067] The fourth aspect includes any one of the second or third aspects, and further includes: wherein receiving the capability includes receiving the capability from the user equipment through a location management function (LMF) of the wireless access node.

[0068] The fifth aspect includes the fourth aspect and also includes: indicating the capability to the serving gNB or neighboring gNB of the wireless access node through the LMF.

[0069] The sixth aspect includes any one of the second to fifth aspects, and also includes: wherein the capability includes a power level of the user equipment.

[0070] The seventh aspect includes any one of the second to sixth aspects, and also includes: wherein the capability includes mobility information of the user equipment.

[0071] The eighth aspect includes any one of the second to seventh aspects, and further includes: wherein the capability includes a PRS processing capability in an inactive state or an idle state.

[0072] The ninth aspect includes any one of the first to eighth aspects, and also includes, wherein the positioning time window configuration includes at least one of the following: the start time of the positioning time window, the period of the positioning time window, the length of the positioning time window, the offset between the start time and the start time of the paging cycle, the offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the start time of the paging opportunity (PO) in the paging cycle; or the offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the start time of the paging frame (PF) in the paging cycle.

[0073] The tenth aspect includes any one of the first to ninth aspects, and also includes: wherein the positioning time window configuration indicates the relationship between the positioning time window for an idle state or an inactive state and a measurement time configuration (SMTC) based on a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0074] The eleventh aspect includes the tenth aspect, and further includes: wherein the relationship includes the positioning time window configuration and the SMTC having at least one of the same period, the same offset, or the same duration.

[0075] The twelfth aspect includes the tenth aspect, and further includes: wherein the relationship includes an offset between a start time of the positioning time window and a start time of the SMTC.

[0076] The thirteenth aspect includes the tenth aspect, and further includes: wherein the relationship includes an indication that the PRS is received within a time period indicated by the SMTC.

[0077] The fourteenth aspect includes any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, and also includes: sending a request message to at least one of the serving gNB or at least one neighboring gNB through the LMF to configure at least one corresponding positioning time window configuration for the serving gNB or at least one neighboring gNB.

[0078] The fifteenth aspect includes the fourteenth aspect, and also includes: in response to receiving a request message, sending at least one corresponding positioning time window configuration to the LMF through at least one of the serving gNB or at least one neighboring gNB.

[0079] The sixteenth aspect includes any one of the fourteenth or fifteenth aspects, and also includes: determining the positioning time window configuration through LMF to be under the auxiliary data configuration of each transmission / reception point (TRP).

[0080] The seventeenth aspect includes any one of the fourteenth or fifteenth aspects, and also includes: determining, by LMF, the positioning time window configuration to be under the auxiliary data configuration of each PRS frequency layer.

[0081] The eighteenth aspect includes any one of the first to seventeenth aspects, and also includes: determining the positioning time window configuration through the location management function (LMF) of the wireless access node; sending the positioning time window configuration to the serving gNB of the user equipment through the LMF; and sending the positioning time window configuration to the user equipment via broadcast through the serving gNB.

[0082] The nineteenth aspect includes any one of the first to eighteenth aspects, and also includes: receiving, through a wireless access node, the ability of the user equipment to support one or more positioning time windows in an inactive state or an idle state.

[0083] The twentieth aspect includes any one of the first to nineteenth aspects, and also includes: sending, by a wireless access node, an indication of whether the user equipment receives at least one of the PRSs in the next one or more paging cycles, wherein the indication is embedded in a downlink control information (DCI) format 2-7.

[0084] A twenty-first aspect includes a method for wireless communication, the method comprising: receiving a positioning time window configuration from a wireless access node through a user equipment, the positioning time window configuration indicating a positioning time window for an idle state or an inactive state; and in response to receiving the positioning time window configuration, performing at least one of the following in the positioning time window through the user equipment in the idle state or the inactive state: receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) or sending a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0085] The twenty-second aspect includes the twenty-first aspect, and further includes: sending, by the user equipment, to the wireless access node the capability of the user equipment to operate as a low power high precision positioning (LPHAP) user equipment.

[0086] The twenty-third aspect includes the twenty-second aspect, and also includes: sending the capability to the serving gNB of the wireless access node through the user equipment.

[0087] The twenty-fourth aspect includes any one of aspects from twenty-first to twenty-third, and also includes: wherein, sending the capability includes: sending the capability to the location management function LMF of the wireless access node through the user equipment.

[0088] Aspect 25 includes any one of aspects 22 to 24, and also includes: wherein the capability includes a power level of the user equipment.

[0089] A twenty-sixth aspect includes any one of aspects twenty-second to twenty-fifth, and also includes: wherein the capability includes mobility information of the user equipment.

[0090] The twenty-seventh aspect includes any one of aspects twenty-second to twenty-sixth, and further includes: wherein the capability includes a PRS processing capability in an inactive state or an idle state.

[0091] Aspect 28 includes any one of aspects 21 to 27, and also includes: wherein the positioning time window configuration includes at least one of the following: the start time of the positioning time window, the period of the positioning time window, the length of the positioning time window, the offset between the start time and the start time of the paging cycle, the offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the start time of the paging opportunity (PO) in the paging cycle; or the offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the start time of the paging frame (PF) in the paging cycle.

[0092] A twenty-ninth aspect includes any one of aspects twenty-first to twenty-eighth, and also includes: wherein the positioning time window configuration indicates the relationship between the positioning time window for an idle state or an inactive state and a measurement time configuration (SMTC) based on a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0093] The thirtieth aspect includes the twenty-ninth aspect, and further includes: wherein the relationship includes the positioning time window configuration and the SMTC having at least one of the same period, the same offset, or the same duration.

[0094] The thirty-first aspect includes the twenty-ninth aspect, and further includes: wherein the relationship includes an offset between a start time of the positioning time window and a start time of the SMTC.

[0095] A thirty-second aspect includes any one of aspects twenty-ninth to thirty-first, and further includes: wherein the relationship includes an indication indicating that the PRS is received within a time period indicated by the SMTC.

[0096] A thirty-third aspect includes any one of aspects twenty-first to thirty-second, and further includes: wherein the positioning time window configuration is configured to be under each auxiliary data configuration of each transmission / reception point (TRP).

[0097] A thirty-fourth aspect includes any one of aspects 21 to 32, and further includes: wherein the positioning time window configuration is configured to be under the auxiliary data configuration of each PRS frequency layer.

[0098] Aspect 35 includes any one of aspects 21 to 34, and also includes: sending, by the user equipment, the ability of the user equipment to support one or more positioning time windows in an inactive state or an idle state.

[0099] Aspect thirty-six includes any one of aspects twenty-first to thirty-fifth, and also includes: receiving, by the user equipment, an indication of whether the user equipment receives at least one of the PRSs in the next one or more paging cycles, wherein the indication is embedded in downlink control information (DCI) format 2-7.

[0100] A thirty-seventh aspect includes a wireless communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to read code from the memory to implement any one of the first to thirty-sixth aspects.

[0101] A thirty-eighth aspect includes a computer program product comprising a computer-readable program medium, the computer-readable program medium including code stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement any one of the first to thirty-sixth aspects.

[0102] In addition to the features mentioned in each independent aspect listed above, some examples may show optional features mentioned in the dependent aspects and / or disclosed in the above description and shown in the drawings, alone or in combination.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: determining, by the wireless access node, a positioning time window occurring during an idle state or an inactive state of the user equipment; and A positioning time window configuration is sent to the user equipment through the wireless access node, wherein the positioning time window configuration indicates the positioning time window for an idle state or an inactive state, wherein the user equipment is allowed to receive a positioning reference signal PRS or send a sounding reference signal SRS in the idle state or the inactive state.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A capability of the user equipment to operate as a low power high precision positioning (LPHAP) user equipment is received from the user equipment through the wireless access node.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: Receiving said capabilities includes: The capability is received from the user equipment through a serving gNB of the radio access node.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: Receiving said capabilities includes: The capabilities are received from the user equipment via a location management function LMF of the radio access node.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: The capability is indicated to the serving gNB or the neighboring gNB of the radio access node through the LMF.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein: The capability includes a power class of the user equipment.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein: The capability includes mobility information of the user equipment.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein: The capabilities include PRS processing capabilities in an inactive state or an idle state.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The positioning time window configuration includes at least one of the following: the start time of the positioning time window, the period of the positioning time window, the length of the positioning time window, the offset between the start time and the start time of the paging cycle, the offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the start time of the paging opportunity PO in the paging cycle; or the offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the start time of the paging frame PF in the paging cycle.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The positioning time window configuration indicates the relationship between the positioning time window for an idle state or an inactive state and a measurement time configuration SMTC based on a synchronization signal block SSB.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The relationship includes that the positioning time window configuration and the SMTC have at least one of: the same period, the same offset, or the same duration.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The relationship includes an offset between a start time of the positioning time window and a start time of the SMTC.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The relationship includes an indication that the PRS is received within a time period indicated by the SMTC.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A request message is sent to at least one of the serving gNB or at least one neighboring gNB through LMF to configure at least one corresponding positioning time window configuration for the serving gNB or the at least one neighboring gNB.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: In response to receiving the request message, at least one corresponding positioning time window configuration is sent to the LMF through the serving gNB or at least one of the at least one neighboring gNB.

16. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: The positioning time window configuration is determined by the LMF to be under the auxiliary data configuration of each sending / receiving point TRP.

17. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: The positioning time window configuration is determined by the LMF to be under the auxiliary data configuration of each PRS frequency layer.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Determining the positioning time window configuration by means of a location management function LMF of the wireless access node; Sending the positioning time window configuration to the serving gNB of the user equipment through the LMF; as well as The positioning time window configuration is sent to the user equipment via broadcast by the serving gNB.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising: A capability of the user equipment supporting one or more positioning time windows in an inactive state or an idle state is received by the wireless access node.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising: An indication of whether to receive at least one of the PRSs in the next one or more paging cycles for the user equipment is sent by the wireless access node, wherein the indication is included in downlink control information DCI format 2-7.

21. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: Receiving, by a user equipment, a positioning time window configuration from a wireless access node, where the positioning time window configuration indicates a positioning time window for an idle state or an inactive state; In response to receiving the positioning time window configuration, at least one of the following is performed in the positioning time window by the user equipment in an idle state or an inactive state: receiving a positioning reference signal PRS or sending a sounding reference signal SRS.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising: The capability of the user equipment to operate as a low-power high-precision positioning (LPHAP) user equipment is sent to the wireless access node by the user equipment.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein: Sending the capabilities includes: The capability is sent to the serving gNB of the radio access node through the user equipment.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein: Sending the capabilities includes: The capability is sent to the location management function LMF of the radio access node through the user equipment.

25. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein: The capability includes a power class of the user equipment.

26. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein: The capability includes mobility information of the user equipment.

27. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein: The capabilities include PRS processing capabilities in an inactive state or idle state.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein: The positioning time window configuration includes at least one of the following: the starting time of the positioning time window, the period of the positioning time window, the length of the positioning time window, the offset between the starting time and the starting time of the paging cycle, and the offset between the starting time of the positioning time window and the starting time of the paging opportunity PO in the paging cycle; Or the offset between the start time of the positioning time window and the start time of the paging frame PF in the paging cycle.

29. The method according to claim 21, wherein: The positioning time window configuration indicates the relationship between the positioning time window for an idle state or an inactive state and a measurement time configuration SMTC based on a synchronization signal block SSB.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein: The relationship includes that the positioning time window configuration and the SMTC have at least one of: the same period, the same offset, or the same duration.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein: The relationship includes an offset between a start time of the positioning time window and a start time of the SMTC.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein: The relationship includes an indication that the PRS is received within a time period indicated by the SMTC.

33. The method of claim 21, wherein: The positioning time window configuration is configured to be under each auxiliary data configuration of each transmission / reception point TRP.

34. The method of claim 21, wherein: The positioning time window configuration is configured to be under the assistance data configuration of each PRS frequency layer.

35. The method of claim 21, further comprising: The user equipment sends a capability of the user equipment to support one or more positioning time windows in an inactive state or an idle state.

36. The method of claim 21, further comprising: An indication of whether the user equipment receives at least one of the PRSs in the next one or more paging cycles is received by the user equipment, wherein the indication is included in downlink control information DCI format 2-7.

37. A wireless communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein: The processor is configured to read code from the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 36.

38. A computer program product comprising a computer readable program medium, the computer readable program medium comprising code stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 36.

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