Core network assistance information for radio resource control (RRC) state transitions

Abstract

Techniques for communication are disclosed. In an aspect, a network node receives core network assistance information for a user equipment (UE) from a network entity, where the core network assistance information includes delayed location request information for a request for a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server, and transitioning the UE to a Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive state or an RRC idle state based at least in part on the delayed location request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform a positioning procedure in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to Greek patent application No. 20220100635, filed on August 3, 2022, entitled "LOCATION SERVER ASSISTANCEINFORMATION FOR RADIO RESOURCE CONTROL (RRC) STATE TRANSITIONS", which has been assigned to the assignee of this application and is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art 1. Technical Field

[0004] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications.

[0005] 2. Description of related technologies

[0006] 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.

[0007] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables 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 higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advances in PRS processes and technologies, and high-density deployments of 5G, enable high-precision positioning based on 5G. Summary of the invention

[0008] The following presents a simplified summary of the invention related to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, the following summary of the invention should neither be considered as an exhaustive overview related to all conceived aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements related to all conceived aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Therefore, the sole purpose of the following summary of the invention is to present certain concepts related to one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a brief form before the detailed embodiments presented below.

[0009] In one aspect, a communication method performed by a network node includes: receiving core network assistance information of a user equipment (UE) from a network entity, wherein the core network assistance information includes delayed location request information, the delayed location request information being used to request a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server; and transitioning the UE to a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or the RRC idle state based at least in part on the delayed location request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state.

[0010] In one aspect, a communication method performed by a location server includes: receiving a request for a delayed user equipment (UE) location, wherein the request includes a request for a periodic location report, a request for a location report based on the UE changing an area, or a request for a location report based on the UE moving more than a specified distance; configuring the UE to perform a delayed positioning session based at least in part on the request for the delayed UE location; and sending delayed location request information for the delayed positioning session to a network entity.

[0011] In one aspect, a network node includes: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being configured, individually or in combination, to: receive core network assistance information of a user equipment (UE) from a network entity via the one or more transceivers, wherein the core network assistance information includes delayed location request information, the delayed location request information being used to request a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server; and transition the UE to a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or the RRC idle state based at least in part on the delayed location request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state.

[0012] In one aspect, a location server includes: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being configured individually or in combination to: receive a request for a delayed user equipment (UE) location via the one or more transceivers, wherein the request includes a request for a periodic location report, a request for a location report based on a change of area of ​​the UE, or a request for a location report based on the UE moving more than a specified distance; configure the UE to perform a delayed positioning session based at least in part on the request for the delayed UE location; and send delayed location request information for the delayed positioning session to a network entity via the one or more transceivers.

[0013] In one aspect, a network node includes: a component for receiving core network assistance information of a user equipment (UE) from a network entity, wherein the core network assistance information includes delayed location request information, the delayed location request information being used to request a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server; and a component for transitioning the UE to a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or the RRC idle state based at least in part on the delayed location request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state.

[0014] In one aspect, a location server includes: a component for receiving a request for a delayed user equipment (UE) location, wherein the request includes a request for a periodic location report, a request for a location report based on the UE changing areas, or a request for a location report based on the UE moving more than a specified distance; a component for configuring the UE to perform a delayed positioning session based at least in part on the request for the delayed UE location; and a component for sending delayed location request information for the delayed positioning session to a network entity.

[0015] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: receive core network assistance information of a user equipment (UE) from a network entity, wherein the core network assistance information includes delayed location request information for a request for a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server; and transition the UE to a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or the RRC idle state based at least in part on the delayed location request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state.

[0016] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a location server, cause the location server to: receive a request for a delayed user equipment (UE) location, wherein the request includes a request for a periodic location report, a request for a location report based on a change of area of ​​the UE, or a request for a location report based on the UE moving more than a specified distance; configure the UE to perform a delayed positioning session based at least in part on the request for the delayed UE location; and send delayed location request information for the delayed positioning session to a network entity.

[0017] 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

[0018] 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.

[0019] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0020] Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2C Example wireless network structures according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0021] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0022] Figure 4 Examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR) according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0023] Figure 5 Example Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) capability transfer procedures, assistance data transfer procedures, and location information transfer procedures between a target device and a location server according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0024] Figure 6 Different radio resource control (RRC) states available in New Radio (NR) according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0025] Fig. 7A and Figure 7BAn example Deferred Mobile Terminated Location Request (MT-LR) procedure for a downlink and uplink based positioning method according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0026] Fig. 8A and Figure 8B An example delayed MT-LR procedure for downlink-only positioning with event reporting in the RRC inactive state or the RRC connected state is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Fig. 9 An example initiation of a delayed MT-LR procedure with UE context modification in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0028] Fig.10 and Fig.11 Example communication methods according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different techniques and technologies 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.

[0032] 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. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transient 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 functionality 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."

[0033] 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 specific radio access technology (RAT). In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (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) head-mounted device, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or "UT", "mobile device", "mobile terminal", "mobile station" or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE may connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms are also possible for the UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet, such as through a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (eg, based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.), etc.

[0034] 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 only provide 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.

[0035] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit-receive point (TRP) or 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.

[0036] In some implementations of supporting UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access by 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 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).

[0037] 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. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" where it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0038] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. 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 as "BS") and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell 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 femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, etc.

[0039] 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 (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 location server 172 may be integrated with the base station 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 through another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., the AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communications between UE 104 and location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with intermediate nodes (if any) omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0040] Among other functions, the base station 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: 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 (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) over a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0041] 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 addition, because the TRP is generally the physical transmission point of the cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) of a base station, as long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0042] Although the geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with the larger geographic coverage area 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) that may provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0043] 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).

[0044] 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 listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior to communication to determine whether a channel is available.

[0045] 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' adopting 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.

[0046] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that can operate in mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW can be extended down 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, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) through the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. 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.

[0047] 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 (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that produce RF beams that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antenna. 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.

[0048] The transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning that they appear to the receiver (e.g., UE) to have the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antennas are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters 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.

[0049] 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.

[0050] 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 from 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.

[0051] 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, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0052] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz–7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz–52.6 GHz). It should be understood that, although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, although distinct from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz–300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0053] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz–24.25 GHz). Bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend the characteristics of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz–71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz–114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz–300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0054] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "sub-6 GHz" or the like is used herein, it can be broadly referred to as a frequency that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "millimeter wave" or the like is used herein, it can be broadly referred to as a frequency that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

[0055] 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 re-establishment 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) that can be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and which can be used to provide additional radio resources. 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 UE104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since 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.

[0056] For example, still refer to Figure 1, one of the frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used 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 obtained with a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0057] 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.

[0058] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 are capable of sidelink communication. A UE with sidelink capability (SL-UE) can communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using a Uu interface (i.e., an air interface between a UE and a base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) can also communicate directly with each other via a wireless sidelink 160 using a PC5 interface (i.e., an air interface between UEs with sidelink capability). A wireless sidelink (or just "sidelink") is an adaptation of a core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without communicating through a base station. Sidelink communications can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) communications (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communications, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communications, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communications may be located within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102, or may be unable to receive transmissions from the base station 102 for other reasons. In some cases, groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each SL-UE transmits to each other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. In other cases, sidelink communications are performed between the SL-UEs without involving the base station 102.

[0059] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate on an interesting wireless communication medium that may be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other wireless communications between other RATs. A "medium" may include one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers). In one aspect, the interesting medium may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed band shared between various RATs. Although different licensed bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems (particularly those that employ small cell access points) have recently expanded operations into unlicensed bands such as the unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technology (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and the like.

[0060] Note that although Figure 1 Only two of these UEs are illustrated as SL-UEs (i.e., UEs 164 and 182), but any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs. Furthermore, although only UE 182 is described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs (including UE 164) may be capable of beamforming. Where SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they may beamform toward each other (i.e., toward other SL-UEs), toward other UEs (e.g., UE 104), toward base stations (e.g., base stations 102, 180, small cells 102', access point 150), and the like. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming via sidelink 160.

[0061] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , the UE illustrated (for simplicity, in Figure 1Any of the UEs 104 (shown as a single UE 104 in FIG. 1 ) may receive a signal 124 from one or more earth-orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that the UEs 104 may use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a transmitter system (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable a receiver (e.g., UE 104) to determine its position on or above the earth based at least in part on a positioning signal (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitter. Such a transmitter typically transmits a signal that is marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. Although typically located in the SVs 112, the transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. The UEs 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers that are specifically designed to receive the signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from the SVs 112.

[0062] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 may be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Multifunction Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), Global Positioning System (GPS) Assisted Geographic Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geographic Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), etc. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0063] In one aspect, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as an improved base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element in turn will provide access to other elements in the 5G network, and ultimately provide access to entities outside the 5G network (such as Internet web servers and other user devices). In this way, instead of or in addition to communication signals from a ground base station 102, a UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from a SV 112.

[0064] 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 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through the D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through the D2D P2P link). In an example, 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), Bluetooth ® etc.

[0065] Figure 2A An example wireless network structure 200 is illustrated. For example, the 5GC 210 (also referred to as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally viewed as a control plane (C-plane) function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane (U-plane) function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which operate in conjunction to form a core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, and specifically to the user plane function 212 and the control plane function 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. In addition, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either (or both) the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0066] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). In addition, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0067] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is illustrated. 5GC 260 (which may correspond to Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 in the 5GC 210 can be functionally viewed as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, and a user plane function provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate in conjunction to form a core network (i.e., the 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any UE described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In case of authentication based on UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), AMF 264 retrieves security material from AUSF. The functionality of AMF 264 also includes security context management (SCM). SCM receives keys from SEAF, which it uses to derive access network specific keys. The functionality of AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, for the transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as location server 230), for the transmission of location service messages between NG-RAN 220 and LMF 270, for the allocation of Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifiers for interoperation with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notifications. In addition, AMF 264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0068] The functions of UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, user plane quality of service (QoS) handling (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and transmitting and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 may also support the delivery of location service messages between UE 204 and a location server (such as SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0069] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, traffic steering configuration for routing traffic to the correct destination at UPF 262, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0070] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can be connected to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). SLP 272 may support similar functionality as LMF 270, but LMF 270 may communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and SLP 272 may communicate with UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) on a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0071] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that may communicate with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and / or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) of the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server.

[0072] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, and the interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 referred to as an "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a wireless interface referred to as a "Uu" interface.

[0073] The functionality of the gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically assigned to the gNB-DU 228, including delivery of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, and the like. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 may support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is typically hosted by one or more independent gNB-RUs 229, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC layer, the SDAP layer, and the PDCP layer, communicates with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC layer and the MAC layer, and communicates with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0074] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged with various components or parts in a variety of ways. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element or a network equipment (such as a base station or one or more units (or one or more components) that perform base station functionality) can be implemented in an aggregated or decomposed architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR base station, a 5GNB, an access point (AP), a transmit receive point (TRP) or a cell, etc.) can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also known as a stand-alone base station or a single-chip base station) or a decomposed base station.

[0075] A converged base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A decomposed base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed in one or more other RAN nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, namely a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0076] Base station type operations or network designs may take into account the aggregated nature of base station functionality. For example, a disaggregated base station may be used in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (network configurations such as those initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Disaggregation may include distributing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing functionality of at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. Individual units of a disaggregated base station or disaggregated RAN architecture may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0077] Figure 2C An example disaggregated base station architecture 250 is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CUs 226), which may communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units, such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both. The CU 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DUs 228) via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RUs 229) via respective fronthaul links. The RU 287 can communicate with a corresponding UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 204 can be served by multiple RUs 287 simultaneously.

[0078] Each of these units (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO framework 255) may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or send signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of these units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interface of these units may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. For example, these units may include a wired interface configured to receive or send signals to one or more of the other units on a wired transmission medium. Additionally, these units may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, transmitter, or transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) configured to receive or send signals, or both, to one or more of the other units on a wireless transmission medium.

[0079] In some aspects, CU 280 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by CU 280. CU 280 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, CU 280 may be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface (such as an E1 interface). As needed, CU 280 may be implemented to communicate with DU 285 for network control and signaling.

[0080] DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, DU 285 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.) at least in part according to a functional split such as those defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, DU 285 may also host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by DU 285 or with control functions hosted by CU 280.

[0081] The lower layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, the RU 287 controlled by the DU 285 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions, or low PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on functional splitting (such as lower layer functional splitting). In such an architecture, the RU 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 204. In some specific implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the implementation of the DU 285 and the CU 280 in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0082] The SMO framework 255 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 269) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 261) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 may communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255 .

[0083] The non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 may be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 259 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface (such as via an E2 interface) that connects one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, and the O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 259.

[0084] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 255 (such as via reconfiguration of O1) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0085] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C Several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) are illustrated, which may be incorporated into UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of Figure 2A and Figure 2B The depicted NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure, such as a dedicated network, is implemented to support operations as described 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 the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functions. 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.

[0086] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for preventing transmitting, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating 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.) on a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a set of time / frequency resources in a particular spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include: one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0087] At least in some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each further include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. Short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide for communicating over a wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth ® 、Zigbee ® 、Z-Wave ®, PC5, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), wireless access for vehicle environments (WAVE), near field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.) and other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) (e.g., components for sending, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for preventing sending, etc.). The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to send and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely, receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 respectively include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for sending and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth ® Transceiver, Zigbee ® and / or Z-Wave ® transceiver, NFC transceiver UWB transceiver or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceiver.

[0088] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian regional navigation satellite system (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request appropriate information and operations from other systems and, at least in some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the positions of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0089] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, which provide components (e.g., components for sending, components for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. For another example, the network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0090] The transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes a transmitter circuit system (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuit system (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., implementing the transmitter circuit system and the receiver circuit system in a single device), in some implementations may include separate transmitter circuit systems and separate receiver circuit systems, or may be implemented in other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuit system and the receiver circuit system of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which allow the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit "beamforming", as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receiver 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which allow the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366) so that the corresponding device can only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit at the same time. The wireless transceivers (eg, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 , short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 ) may also include a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0091] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some implementations, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be generally characterized as a "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred based on the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers typically involve signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communications between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0092] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 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 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuit systems, or various combinations thereof.

[0093] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memory 340, 386, and 396 may provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may include positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively, may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, which when executed cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be memory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations for a location component 342 are illustrated, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3B Possible locations for a location component 388 are illustrated, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations for a location component 398 are illustrated, which may be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.

[0094] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide a means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. As an example, sensor 344 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 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate positioning in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0095] In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346, which provides means for providing indications to the user (e.g., audible 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 304 and the network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0096] Referring to the one or more processors 384 in more detail, in a downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0097] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include: error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols may then be separated into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. Channel estimates may be derived from reference signals and / or channel state feedback sent by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0098] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives the signal through its corresponding antenna 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 312. The receiver 312 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 on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point sent by the base station 304. 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 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0099] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0100] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provide: 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 delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation 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.

[0101] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback sent by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0102] The uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives the signal through its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0103] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from UE 302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0104] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 may Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C, 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. Specifically, FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C The various components in are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, cost, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In the case of , a specific implementation of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet or PC or laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but no cellular capabilities), may omit short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), may omit satellite signal receiver 330, may omit sensor 344, etc. In another example, in Figure 3B In the case of a wireless cellular network, a specific implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0105] Various components of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to one another via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may form or be part of a communication interface for the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may provide for communication between the different logical entities.

[0106] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components of can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components of 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 function. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Moreover, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). 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", etc. However, it should be understood that such operations, actions and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc. (such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memories 340, 386 and 396, positioning components 342, 388 and 398, etc.).

[0107] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be operated separately from a network operator or a cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a dedicated network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently of the base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0108] 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. Figure 4Examples of various positioning methods according to various aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. In the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure illustrated in scenario 410, the UE measures the difference between the arrival times (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from paired base stations (referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or arrival time difference (TDOA) measurements), and reports these differences to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in assistance 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, a positioning entity (e.g., a UE for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the position of the UE.

[0109] For DL-AoD positioning illustrated in scenario 420, the positioning entity uses measurement reports from the UE regarding received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the position of the UE based on the determined angle and the known position of the transmitting base station.

[0110] 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 is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) sent by the UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, the UE sends one or more uplink reference signals, which are measured by a reference base station and multiple non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports the reception time of the reference signal (referred to as relative time of arrival (RTOA)) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) that knows the location and relative timing of the base stations involved. Based on the receive-to-receive (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and the reported RTOA of each non-reference base station, the known locations of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can use TDOA to estimate the position of the UE.

[0111] 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 measurements and the angle of the receive beams 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 location of the UE.

[0112] 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" and "multi-RTT"). In the RTT procedure, a first entity (e.g., a base station or UE) sends a first RTT-related signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or a base station), and the second entity sends a second RTT-related signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the arrival time (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is called the received-to-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement can be performed or adjusted to include only the time difference between the nearest time slot boundary of the received signal and the transmitted signal. The two entities may then transmit their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 270), which calculates the round trip propagation time (i.e., RTT) between the two entities based on the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., calculated as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity may transmit its Rx-Tx time difference measurements to the other entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities may be determined based on the RTT and a known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). For multi-RTT positioning illustrated in scenario 430, a first entity (e.g., a UE or a base station) performs an RTT positioning procedure with a plurality of second entities (e.g., a plurality of base stations or UEs) to enable the position of the first entity to be determined (e.g., using multilateration) based on the distance to the second entities and the known positions of the second entities. RTT and multi-RTT methods may be combined with other positioning techniques (such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD) to improve position accuracy, as illustrated in scenario 440.

[0113] 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 locations of the base stations.

[0114] To assist the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) 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 time slots including PRS, the periodicity of consecutive time slots including PRS, silent sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a specific positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in an overhead message broadcast periodically, etc.). In some cases, the UE itself may be able to detect neighboring network nodes without using assistance data.

[0115] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and an 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 measurements 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 measurements are in FR2, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / -8µs.

[0116] The position estimate may be referred to by other names, such as a position estimate, a position, a fix, a position fix, a fix, etc. The position estimate may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or may be municipal and include a street address, a postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. The position estimate may be further defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). The position estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be contained with some specified or default confidence level).

[0117] The Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) is used point-to-point between a location server (e.g., LMF 270) and a target device (e.g., UE) to locate the target device using location-related measurements obtained by one or more reference sources (physical entities or portions of physical entities that provide signals that can be measured by the target device in order to obtain the location of the target device). An LPP session is used between the location server and the target device to obtain location-related measurements or location estimates, or to transfer assistance data. Currently, a single LPP session is used to support a single location request, and multiple LPP sessions can be used between the same endpoints to support multiple different location requests. Each LPP session includes one or more LPP transactions (or procedures), where each LPP transaction performs a single operation (capability exchange, assistance data transfer, or location information transfer). Each LPP transaction involves the exchange of one or more LPP messages between the location server and the target device.

[0118] An LPP session generally includes at least a capability transfer or indication procedure, an assistance data transfer or delivery procedure, and a location information transfer or delivery procedure. Figure 5 An example LPP capability transfer procedure 510, LPP assistance data transfer procedure 530, and LPP location information transfer procedure 550 between a target device (labeled "target") and a location server (labeled "server") in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0119] The purpose of the LPP capability transfer procedure 510 is to enable capabilities to be transferred from a target device (e.g., UE 204) to a location server (e.g., LMF 270). Capabilities in this context refer to positioning and protocol capabilities related to LPP and positioning methods supported by LPP. In the LPP capability transfer procedure 510, the location server (e.g., LMF 270) indicates the type of capabilities that need to be obtained from the target device (e.g., UE 204) in an LPP request capabilities message. The target device responds with an LPP offer capabilities message. The capabilities included in the LPP offer capabilities message should correspond to any capability type specified in the LPP request capabilities message. Specifically, for each positioning method for which a request for capabilities is included in the LPP request capabilities message, if the target device supports the positioning method, the target device includes the capabilities of the target device for the supported positioning method in the LPP offer capabilities response message. For the LPP capability indication procedure, the target device provides unrequested (i.e., the LPP request capabilities message was not received) capabilities to the location server in the LPP offer capabilities message.

[0120] The purpose of the LPP auxiliary data delivery procedure 530 is to enable the target device to request auxiliary data from the location server to assist in positioning, and to enable the location server to deliver auxiliary data to the target device without request. In the LPP auxiliary data delivery procedure 530, the target device transmits an LPP request auxiliary data message to the location server. The location server responds to the target device with an LPP provide auxiliary data message containing auxiliary data. The delivered auxiliary data should match or be a subset of the auxiliary data requested in the LPP request auxiliary data. The location server may also provide any unrequested information that it deems useful to the target device. The location server may also send one or more additional LPP provide auxiliary data messages containing additional auxiliary data to the target device. For the LPP auxiliary data delivery procedure, the location server provides unrequested auxiliary data necessary for positioning. Assistance data may be provided periodically or aperiodically.

[0121] The purpose of the LPP location information delivery procedure 550 is to enable a location server to request location measurement data and / or location estimates from a target device, and to enable a target device to deliver location measurement data and / or location estimates to a location server without a request. In the LPP location information delivery procedure 550, the location server transmits an LPP request location information message to a target device to request location information, thereby indicating the type of location information required and potentially associated QoS. The target device responds to the location server with an LPP provide location information message to deliver location information. Unless the location server explicitly allows additional location information, the delivered location information should match or be a subset of the location information requested in the LPP request location information. More specifically, if the requested information is compatible with the capabilities and configuration of the target device, the target device includes the requested information in the LPP provide location information message. Otherwise, if the target device does not support one or more of the requested positioning methods, the target device continues to process the message as if the message only contains information of the supported positioning methods, and handles the signaling content of the unsupported positioning method through LPP error detection. If additional location information is requested by the LPP Request Location Information message, the target device transmits an Additional LPP Provide Location Information message to the location server to deliver the additional location information.The LPP Location Information Delivery procedure supports delivery of positioning estimates based on unrequested services.

[0122] After the random access procedure, the UE is in the RRC connected state. The RRC protocol is used on the air interface between the UE and the base station. The main functions of the RRC protocol include connection establishment and release functions, broadcasting of system information, radio bearer establishment, reconfiguration, release, RRC connection mobility procedures, paging notification and release, and outer loop power control. In LTE, the UE can be in one of two RRC states (connected or idle), but in NR, the UE can be in one of three RRC states (connected, idle or inactive). Different RRC states have different radio resources associated with these states, which the UE can use when it is in a given state. It should be noted that, as mentioned above, the different RRC states are usually capitalized; however, this is not necessary, and these states can also be written in lowercase.

[0123] Figure 6 600 is a diagram of different RRC states (also referred to as RRC modes) available in NR according to aspects of the present disclosure. When a UE is powered on, the UE is initially in an RRC disconnected / idle state 610. After a random access procedure, the UE moves to an RRC connected state 620. If the UE is inactive for a short period of time, the UE may suspend its session by moving to an RRC inactive state 630. The UE may resume its session by performing a random access procedure to transition back to the RRC connected state 620. Therefore, the UE needs to perform a random access procedure to transition to the RRC connected state 620 regardless of whether the UE is in the RRC idle state 610 or the RRC inactive state 630.

[0124] Operations performed in the RRC idle state 610 include public land mobile network (PLMN) selection, broadcast of system information, cell reselection mobility, paging for mobile terminal data (initiated and managed by 5GC), discontinuous reception (DRX) for core network paging (configured by non-access stratum (NAS)). Operations performed in the RRC connected state 620 include 5GC (e.g., 5GC 260) and NG-RAN (e.g., NG-RAN 220) connection establishment (both control plane and user plane), UE context storage at NG-RAN and UE, NG-RAN knowledge of the cell to which the UE belongs, unicast data delivery to / from the UE, and network-controlled mobility. Operations performed in the RRC Inactive state 630 include broadcast of system information, cell reselection for mobility, paging (initiated by NG-RAN), RAN-based Notification Area (RNA) management (initiated by NG-RAN), DRX for RAN paging (configured by NG-RAN), 5GC and NG-RAN connection establishment for UE (both control plane and user plane), UE context storage in NG-RAN and UE, and NG-RAN knowledge of the RNA to which the UE belongs.

[0125] Positioning in the RRC inactive state was introduced in 3GPP Release 17. In the RRC inactive state, the UE maintains a CM connected state while the access stratum context is stored in both the UE and the RAN. During the RRC inactive state, the network signaling load is reduced because the UE is only required to perform inactive mobility procedures (e.g., PLMN selection, cell reselection, and RAN notification area update), reception of broadcast system information, and reception of RAN paging. The UE is in a semi-dormant mode and wakes up periodically (according to the configured discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle) and monitors paging messages from the network. For example, the UE does not constantly monitor the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for unicast data transmission and / or reception, which allows power saving on the UE side compared to the RRC connected state.

[0126] With the recently introduced Small Data Transmission (SDT) feature, the UE may also send data and / or NAS signaling while remaining in the RRC Inactive state.

[0127] The Deferred Mobile Terminated Location Request (MT-LR) procedure provides an efficient means for location tracking of mobile devices or assets. During the initialization phase, positioning instructions (e.g., positioning method to be used, QoS, etc.) and possible assistance data may be provided to the target device. The target device then monitors for events to occur, performs location measurements when an event is detected, and provides location results to the network. Multiple event types may be supported, such as entering, leaving, or staying within a predefined geographic area, moving more than a predefined distance from a previous location, or periodic location. Procedures have been defined to allow the UE to remain in the RRC inactive state during the positioning measurement and event reporting phases.

[0128] Fig. 7A and Figure 7B An example delayed MT-LR procedure for downlink and uplink based positioning methods (e.g., multi-RTT) according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The procedure consists of two event reports: Event Report #1 for requesting / configuring SRS for positioning (Phase 3 to Phase 10), as Fig. 7A As illustrated, and event report #2 for reporting position measurements (Phase 12 to Phase 16), such as Figure 7B exemplified.

[0129] At Stage 1, Stages 1 to 21 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events specified in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.273, clause 6.3.1 (which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) are performed. LMF 270 may perform one or more positioning procedures at Stage 15 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events (of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, clause 6.3.1) to request and obtain UE 204 positioning capabilities or provide any necessary assistance data to the target device. The Location Service (LCS) periodic triggered location invocation at stage 16 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events (the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, clause 6.3.1) includes an embedded LPP Request Location Information message indicating allowed or required multi-RTT location measurements for each location event reported.

[0130] At a certain moment, UE 204 is released from RRC Connected to RRC Inactive by the last serving gNB through “RRCRelease” with “SuspendConfig”. That is, the serving gNB transitions UE 204 from the RRC Connected state to the RRC Inactive state by transmitting “RRCRelease” with “SuspendConfig” to UE 204.

[0131] At Phase 2 , UE 204 monitors for the occurrence of the trigger or periodic event requested during Phase 1 .

[0132] At Phase 3, when the event is detected (or slightly before), UE 204 transmits an RRC UL Information Transfer message containing a UL NAS Transport message along with an RRC Recovery Request via SDT. UE 204 includes the LCS Event Report in the payload container of the UL NAS Transport message and the Delayed Routing Identifier (received during Phase 1) in the Additional Information of the UL NAS Transport message. The LCS Event Report includes an embedded LPP Request Assistance Data message with IE “NR-Multi-RTT-RequestAssistanceData” and “nr-AdType” set to “ul-srs” to request UL-SRS for multi-RTT positioning. Note that when UE 204 performs Phase 3, the receiving gNB of UE 204 may be the same or different from the last serving gNB in ​​which UE 204 was released / transitioned to RRC Inactive state.

[0133] At stage 4, the receiving gNB transmits an LCS event report with an LPP request assistance data message to the serving AMF 264 in a Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) uplink NAS transport message. The AMF 264 determines the LMF 270 based on the delayed routing identifier received in the additional information IE of the UL NAS transport message and forwards the LCS event report with the embedded LPP message via triggering a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation towards the LMF 270. The AMF 264 also includes the payload container type and the correlation identifier set to the delayed routing identifier. Note that if the anchor gNB has not changed from the last serving gNB to the receiving gNB, the LCS event report may be forwarded from the receiving gNB to the last serving gNB via the Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) message “RRC Transfer”. Subsequent downlink / uplink messages may also be forwarded between the last serving gNB and the receiving gNB via the XnAP message “RRC Transfer”.

[0134] At stage 5, the LMF 270 transmits a New Radio Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) Positioning Information Request message to the receiving gNB to request the UL-SRS of the target device (i.e., UE 204).

[0135] At stage 6, the receiving gNB determines the resources available for UL-SRS.

[0136] At stage 7, the receiving gNB provides the UL-SRS configuration information to the LMF 270 in the NRPPa Positioning Information Response message.

[0137] At stage 8, LMF 270 transmits an NRPPa measurement request including UL-SRS measurement configuration to a group of gNBs.

[0138] At stage 9, LMF 270 transmits a supplementary service (SS) LCS event report confirmation to the receiving gNB. Then, at stage 9b, the receiving gNB provides the SS event report confirmation to UE 204 via a subsequent DL SDT.

[0139] At stage 10, the receiving gNB transmits an "RRCRelease" message with "suspendConfig" to keep UE 204 in the RRC inactive state. The "RRCRelease" message includes the UL-SRS configuration. Then, UE 204 sends UL-SRS resources according to the received UL-SRS configuration.

[0140] At stage 11, UE 204 performs DL-PRS measurements and UL-SRS measurements per configured TRP.

[0141] At stage 12, UE 204 transmits an RRC UL Information Transfer message including a UL NAS Transport message along with an RRC Resume Request via the SDT. UE 204 includes the LCS Event Report and the LPP Provide Location Information message in the payload container of the UL NAS Transport message, and includes the Delayed Routing Identifier received during stage 1 in the Additional Information of the UL NAS Transport message. The LPP Provide Location Information message contains the location measurement (e.g., UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement) obtained by UE 204 at stage 11a.

[0142] At stage 13, the receiving gNB transmits an LCS Event Report with LPP Provide Location Information message in an NGAP Uplink NAS Transport message to the serving AMF 264. The AMF 264 determines the LMF 270 based on the Delayed Routing Identifier received in the Additional Information IE of the UL NAS Transport message and forwards the LCS Event Report with embedded LPP message via triggering a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation towards the LMF 270. The AMF 264 also includes the payload container type and the correlation identifier set to the Delayed Routing Identifier.

[0143] At stage 14, after performing the UL-SRS measurements, the gNB provides the UL measurements in an NRPPa Measurement Response message to the LMF 270. The NRPPa Measurement Response message contains the location measurements (e.g., gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurements) obtained by each gNB at stage 11b.

[0144] At stage 15, when all LPP Provide Location Information messages have been received, LMF 270 transmits an SS LCS Event Report Ack to the receiving gNB. Then, at stage 15b, the receiving gNB provides an SS Event Report Ack to UE 204 via a subsequent DL SDT.

[0145] At stage 16, the receiving gNB transmits an "RRCRelease" message with "suspendConfig" to keep the UE 204 in the RRC inactive state.

[0146] At stage 17, stages 28 to 31 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events specified in TS 23.273, clause 6.3.1 are performed.

[0147] Fig. 7A and Figure 7B A delayed MT-LR procedure for a UE 204 in an RRC inactive state for downlink and uplink based positioning methods (eg, Multi-RTT) is illustrated. Fig. 7A and Figure 7B A subset of the phases in can be used for downlink-only positioning (e.g., DL-TDOA) and uplink-only positioning (e.g., UL-TDOA). For downlink-only positioning, only phases 1, 2, 11a, 12, 13, 15a, 15b, 16, and 17 will be applicable. For uplink-only positioning, only phases 1, 2, 3 to 10, 11b, 14, and 17 will be applicable.

[0148] Once the delayed MT-LR is configured in the target device (i.e., once the Fig. 7A If the UE is to be moved to RRC Idle state instead of RRC Inactive state, the UE can still monitor for events and perform location measurements while in RRC Idle state, but will have to be moved to RRC Connected state for event reporting (for example, RRC Connected state). Fig. 7A and Figure 7B This affects not only the power consumption of the device, but also the latency.

[0149] Fig. 8A and Figure 8B An example delayed MT-LR procedure for downlink-only positioning according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated, where event reporting is in RRC inactive state or RRC connected state. As discussed above, for downlink-only positioning, only Fig. 7A and Figure 7B Phases 1, 2, 11a, 12, 13, 15a, 15b, 16 and 17 of Fig. 8A and Figure 8B Shown in.

[0150] exist Fig. 8A After stage 1 in , NG-RAN 220 (e.g., the serving gNB of UE 204) may decide to move / transition UE 204 to RRC idle state or RRC inactive state. For RRC inactive state, at stage 3, upon detecting an event in RRC inactive state, UE 204 performs DL-PRS measurement. Fig. 8A and Figure 8B Stages 4a, 5, 6, 7a and 8 in Figure 7B Phases 12, 13, 15a, 15b and 16 in the RRC Inactive state and will be performed if the serving gNB decides to move the UE 204 to the RRC Inactive state after Phase 1. This allows the UE to perform positioning measurements at Phase 3 in a power saving state (i.e., RRC Inactive state) and report the results at Phase 4a.

[0151] If the serving gNB decides to Fig. 8A1. If the UE 204 is moved to the RRC idle state after stage 1 in , the UE 204 performs DL-PRS measurements at stage 3 while in the RRC idle state. However, for event reporting, the UE 204 must transition to the RRC connected state (e.g., by performing a random access procedure), as shown in stages 4b.1 and 4b.2. At stage 4b.1, the UE 204 performs a UE-triggered service request, as described in 3GPP TS 23.502 (which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), to establish a signaling connection with the AMF 264. Stage 4b.1 consists of multiple signaling steps, as described in 3GPP TS 23.502, which will negatively impact the power consumption of the UE 204. Therefore, for power saving purposes, if the UE 204 has been configured with delayed MT-LR, then at stage 4b.2 Fig. 8A After Phase 1 in , the serving gNB would be expected to move UE 204 to the RRC Inactive state.

[0152] For uplink-only positioning and downlink-and-uplink based positioning, the Fig. 7A The serving gNB may perform SDT procedure #1 in the RRC Connected state to configure the UL-SRS configuration in the UE 204. UL-SRS transmission is currently only possible in the RRC Connected state and the RRC Inactive state (i.e., not possible in the RRC Idle state). Therefore, if the LMF 270 has configured delayed MT-LR using an uplink-only positioning method or a downlink and uplink-based positioning method in the UE 204, the serving gNB should preferably not move the UE 204 to the RRC Idle state after phase 1 of the delayed MT-LR procedure.

[0153] With current positioning procedures, the serving gNB does not know whether the UE 204 should be transitioned to the RRC Inactive state or the RRC Idle state (e.g., after delayed MT-LR initiation or UE event reporting is completed) because the serving gNB is unaware of the delayed MT-LR configuration in the UE 204. Fig. 7A Phase 1) in is performed between the LMF 270 and the UE 204 and is transparent to the intermediate network nodes (e.g., in the NG-RAN 220).

[0154] Fig. 7A The RRC state transitions after Phase 1 in the RRC protocol depend on several factors, including the following:

[0155] UE reporting activity: UE reporting activity depends on Fig. 7AThe event type configured during Phase 1 of , e.g., periodic location, area event reporting, or motion event reporting, as defined in 3GPP TS 24.080 (which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). In the case where very frequent reporting has been configured in the UE, it may be more appropriate to keep the UE in the RRC connected state. For very infrequent reporting, e.g., once a day, RRC idle mode may be more efficient.

[0156] Positioning method: If Fig. 7A If the positioning method configured in the UE during Phase 1 in is an uplink-based method or a downlink and uplink-based method, the UE should be in an RRC connected state or an RRC inactive state because SRS transmission in the RRC idle state is currently not supported.

[0157] UE Capabilities: LMF considers UE positioning capabilities when delayed MT-LR is configured in the UE at stage 1. However, LMF is agnostic to the current UE RRC state and other radio capabilities. If the UE does not support SDT or positioning SRS in RRC Inactive state, the UE should not be transitioned to RRC Inactive state.

[0158] Expected UE behavior: There may be several non-positioning / non-LCS specific criteria that influence the appropriate RRC state transition decision, including expected UE mobility, handover interval, etc., as described in 3GPP TS 23.501 (which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). However, positioning / LCS activity will be an additional criterion that the serving gNB should consider for appropriate RRC state transition.

[0159] The AMF may provide the expected UE behavior / activity in the NGAP "Core Network Assistance Information for RRC Inactive" information element (IE) or the "CN Assisted RAN Parameter Tuning" IE specified in 3GPP TS 38.413 (which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) to the NG-RAN node (e.g., gNB 222, ng-eNB 224) to assist the NG-RAN node in RRC Inactive state transition. These IEs include the "Expected UE Activity Behavior" IE as defined in 3GPP TS 23.501, which may be derived by the AMF for each UE based on the collection of UE behavior statistics. The "Expected UE Activity Behavior" provides the expected pattern of changes of the UE between the connected state and the idle state or the duration of the connected state. The AMF may derive this information from statistical information or from subscription information.

[0160] However, for LCS there is currently no core network assistance provided to NG-RAN. In the case where the UE has a configured delayed MT-LR, the UE reporting activity (especially for periodic events) is fairly predictable. The UE activity is determined by the reporting criteria. For example, if the UE has been configured with a periodic reporting of 30 seconds, the NG-RAN will receive UE event reports every 30 seconds and should therefore move the UE to the RRC Inactive state for efficiency and power consumption reasons. On the other hand, if the UE is configured to provide event reports once a day, it may be more efficient (or at least sufficient) to move the UE to the RRC Idle state instead, and the UE will transition to RRC Connected when an event is reported (e.g. Fig. 7A and Figure 7B Stage 3 or Stage 12 of Fig. 8A The RRC state is decided by the NG-RAN, but the core network can provide assistance to the NG-RAN to help with this decision, but no such assistance information exists for the currently available LCS. As mentioned above, the configured delayed MT-LR information can have a significant impact on the RRC state decision. Without this information, the NG-RAN may make an incorrect decision on the RRC state, and Fig. 7A and Figure 7B The efficiency and power saving of the procedure in will disappear. That is, the UE may have to transition to the RRC connected state for each event report, which may increase power consumption.

[0161] Therefore, the present disclosure provides a technique for a location server (e.g., LMF 270) to provide assistance information for RRC state transition. After the delayed MT-LR has been successfully configured in the target device (e.g., UE 204), the LMF may provide information about the delayed MT-LR configuration to the AMF. The information may include the requested positioning method (e.g., uplink-based positioning, downlink and uplink-based positioning, etc.) and information about the configured reporting criteria. The AMF may then include the information in the NGAP "Core Network Assistance Information for RRC Inactivity" transmitted to the serving gNB of the target device.

[0162] The UE reporting activity is determined by the IEs "periodicLocation", "areaEventReporting" or "PeriodicTriggeredInvokeArg" in "LCS-motionEventReporting" as specified in 3GPP TS 24.080, which are derived by the LMF based on the "Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation" request information (data type "PeriodicEventInfo", "AreaEventInfo", "MotionEventInfo") from the AMF as specified in 3GPP TS 29.572.

[0163] As a first alternative, the AMF may interpret a location request received from a Gateway Mobile Location Centre (GMLC), such as a location request at stage 5 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for a periodic or triggered location event as specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, clause 6.3.1. The AMF has reporting information available from the “Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo” request received from the GMLC, as specified in 3GPP TS 29.518 (which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). Therefore, if delayed MT-LR is successfully configured in the target device, the AMF may be aware of the UE reporting activity and may take this into account when determining the “Core Network Assistance Information for RRC Inactive” IE or the “CN Assisted RAN Parameter Tuning” IE. The NG-RAN node may then use this information together with the UE capability for RRC Inactive Positioning and the SDT Signalling Radio Bearer 2 (SDT-SRB2) to decide on the appropriate RRC state, such as Fig. 9 exemplified.

[0164] As a second alternative, the LMF may provide the AMF with the UE configured location request information. In this alternative, the LMF may provide the AMF with the UE configured reporting information in the "Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation" response service operation towards the AMF, as well as other information, such as the configured positioning method. This avoids the impact of the AMF interpreting signaling that is not intended for the AMF, and makes this capability applicable to future changes in delayed MT-LR. In addition, this allows additional information to be provided, such as the configured positioning method or the configured DL-PRS information (e.g., DL-PRS periodicity). If the configured positioning method is, for example, an uplink-based positioning method or a downlink and uplink-based positioning method, the NG-RAN will also know that future event reporting requires the configuration of the positioning SRS, and can, for example, prepare or reserve SRS resources in advance.

[0165] Fig. 9 An example initiation of a delayed MT-LR procedure with UE context modification in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The illustrated procedure begins after stages 1 to 13 of the delayed 5G C-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, clause 6.3.1. Stages 14 to 18 correspond to stages 14 to 18 of the delayed 5G C-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, clause 6.3.1.

[0166] At stage 14, the AMF 264 invokes the "Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation" request service operation towards the LMF 270 to initiate a request for the delayed UE location. The request operation includes one of the following data types as defined in 3GPP TS 29.572 (which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety): "PeriodicEventInfo", "AreaEventInfo" and "MotionEventInfo".

[0167] The "PeriodicEventInfo" parameter indicates that periodic location events are required and provides the expected periodic reporting interval and the number of periodic reports. The "AreaEventInfo" parameter indicates that area events are required, such as the UE entering or leaving a specified area. The area may be defined by a tracking area or by one or more cell IDs. The "MotionEventInfo" parameter indicates that event reporting is required when the UE moves more than a specified distance.

[0168] As described above, the AMF 264 may have received the above data types in a "Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo" request from the GMLC at stage 5. In a first alternative, the AMF 264 interprets the "Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo" request received from the GMLC and stores the location request information (e.g., data types "PeriodicEventInfo", "AreaEventInfo" and "MotionEventInfo") for later use at stage 19a.

[0169] At stage 15, LMF 270 may execute one or more of the positioning procedures (e.g., Figure 5 ) to obtain UE positioning capabilities, transfer assistance data and / or obtain UE location information.

[0170] At stage 16, the LMF 270 transmits a supplementary service LCS periodic triggered invocation request to the UE via the serving AMF 264 by invoking the "Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer" service operation. The LCS periodic triggered location invocation may carry the location request information received from the AMF 264 at stage 14. The LCS periodic triggered location invocation may also include an embedded positioning message indicating certain allowed or required location measurements (or location estimates) for each location event reported.

[0171] At stage 17, if the request in stage 16 can be supported, the UE 204 returns a supplementary service confirmation to the LMF 270, which is delivered via the serving AMF 264 using the "Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify" service operation.

[0172] At stage 18, the LMF 270 invokes an "Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation" response service operation towards the AMF 264 in response to the request at stage 14. As a first alternative, the response may only include a confirmation as to whether periodic or triggered location has been successfully activated in the UE 204 according to stages 16 and 17. As a second alternative, the "Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation" response service operation may include the configured reporting information and the configured positioning method provided to the UE 204 at stage 16 (and possibly the assistance data information, such as DL-PRS periodicity, provided to the UE 204 at stage 15).

[0173] At stage 19, in a first alternative, if triggered location is successfully activated in UE 204 as indicated at stage 18 (first alternative), the AMF 264 may use the stored location request information (report information from stage 5; e.g., data types "PeriodicEventInfo", "AreaEventInfo", and "MotionEventInfo") and include this information in the NGAP "Expected UE Behavior" to the NG-RAN 220 and provide this information in the NGAP Context Modification Request message to the NG-RAN 220. This information may be referred to as "core network assistance information" for RRC inactive state transition determination. The NG-RAN 220 (e.g., the serving gNB of UE 204) may use this information together with the UE capabilities for positioning measurements in RRC inactive state and the UE SDT-SRB2 capabilities to decide the appropriate RRC state for UE 204. LCS specific information as configured in the target device may also be included in the "Expected UE Behavior" IE.

[0174] This first alternative requires that the LMF 270 does not modify the location request information (e.g., data types "PeriodicEventInfo", "AreaEventInfo", and "MotionEventInfo") from stage 14 when configuring the UE 204 with a delayed location request at stage 16. That is, the LMF 270 will not be allowed to modify, for example, the periodic reporting interval or the reporting amount. In addition, this alternative requires the AMF 264 to interpret and store the received location request (e.g., the "Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo" request received from the GMLC at stage 5), rather than just forwarding the received location request to the LMF 270 at stage 14. However, this alternative has the advantage that no or almost no modification will be required to the "Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation" response service operation at stage 18. Stage 18 only indicates that triggered location has been successfully activated in the UE 204, and the AMF 264 infers the reporting information configured by the UE 204 from the stored reporting information (alternative solution 1).

[0175] For the second alternative, the LMF 270 provides the actual UE configured location request information from step 16 in the "Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation" response service operation towards the AMF 264 at stage 18. At stage 19, the AMF 264 includes this information in the NGAP "Expected UE Behavior" to the NG-RAN 220 and provides this information in the NGAP Context Modification Request message to the NG-RAN 220. This information may be referred to as "core network assistance information" for RRC Inactive state transition determination. The NG-RAN 220 (e.g., the serving gNB of the UE 204) may use this information together with the UE capabilities for positioning measurements in RRC Inactive state and the UE SDT-SRB2 capabilities to decide the appropriate RRC state for the UE 204. LCS specific information as configured in the target device may also be included in the "Expected UE Behavior" IE.

[0176] This second alternative avoids the impact of the AMF interpreting signaling that is not intended for the AMF 264 and allows the LMF 270 to make changes to the delayed MT-LR (e.g., change the reporting interval or reporting amount compared to the request received at stage 14). It also allows the LMF 270 to provide additional information to the AMF 264 (in addition to the reporting criteria), such as the configured positioning method (e.g., uplink only or downlink only or uplink and downlink), and possibly other information such as the DL-PRS periodicity used to align the DRX cycle with the DL-PRS periodicity described below. This additional information will be determined by the LMF 270 and will not be known to the AMF 264 (e.g., at stage 14). In this way, the receiving gNB will also know when (or whether) an uplink SRS request from the target device is expected (e.g., if the uplink positioning method has been configured in the UE 204 at stage 16).

[0177] The "Expected UE Behavior" IE indicates the behavior of a UE with predictable activity and / or mobility behavior to assist the NG-RAN 220, for example, in determining the optimal RRC connection time or helping with RRC inactive state transitions and RNA configuration (e.g., RNA size and shape). Table 1 illustrates the reporting information currently defined for this IE.

[0178] IE / Group Name exist IE Types and References Semantic Description Expected UE activity behavior O Section 9.3.1.94 in 3GPP TS 38.413 Expected HO interval O ENUMERATED(sec15, sec30,sec60, sec90,sec120, sec180,long-time,…) Indicates the expected time interval between inter-NG-RAN node handovers. If "long-time" is included, the interval between inter-NG-RAN node handovers is expected to be longer than 180 seconds. Expected UE mobility O ENUMERATED(stationary,mobile, ...) Indicates whether the UE is expected to be stationary or mobile. Expected UE movement trajectory Indicates the expected geographical movement of the UE. Value range is 0..1. >Expected UE movement trajectory items Includes a list of visited cells and unvisited cells, where the visited cells are listed in the order in which the UE visited them, with the most recently visited cell being the first cell in the list. Unvisited cells are included immediately after the visited cells to which they are related. Value range is 1.. <maxnoofcellsuemovingtrajectory> < / maxnoofcellsuemovingtrajectory> >>NG-RAN CGI M Section 9.3.1.73 in 3GPP TS 38.413 >>Time spent in the community O INTEGER(0..4095) Included for visited cells and indicates the time (in seconds) the UE stayed in the cell. If the UE stayed in the cell for more than 4095 seconds, this IE is set to 4095.

[0179] Table 1

[0180] The following is a table illustrating additional reporting information that may be defined for the "Expected UE Behavior" IE.

[0181] IE / Group Name exist IE Types and References Semantic Description Configured LCS activities Range: 0..1 >Positioning method O BIT STRING (SIZE (8)) Bit 1: UL Bit 2: DL Other bits are reserved >CHOICE LCS Reporting Activities O 3GPP TS 24.080 >Periodicity >>Report volume M INTEGER (1..8639999) >>Reporting Interval M INTEGER (1..8639999) >Region >>Region Definition Range: 1.. <maxareas> < / maxareas> >>Region Type M ENUMERATED (trackingArea5GS, ncgi, …} >>Regional Logo M OCTET STRING (SIZE (5..8)) >> Information appears O ENUMERATED (oneTimeEvent, multipleTimeEvent, ...) >>Minimum interval O INTEGER (1..32767) Minimum time in seconds between event reports. >>Maximum interval O INTEGER (1..86400) Maximum time interval (in seconds) between consecutive event reports. >>Sampling interval O INTEGER (1..3600) Maximum time interval (in seconds) between consecutive evaluations of a triggering event by the UE. >>Report duration O INTEGER (1..8640000) Maximum duration (in seconds) for a UE to report an event. >Sports >> Straight line distance M INTEGER (1..10000) >> Information appears O ENUMERATED (oneTimeEvent, multipleTimeEvent, ...) >>Minimum interval O INTEGER (1..32767) Minimum time in seconds between event reports. >>Maximum interval O INTEGER (1..86400) Maximum time interval (in seconds) between consecutive event reports. >>Sampling interval O INTEGER (1..3600) Maximum time interval (in seconds) between consecutive evaluations of a triggering event by the UE. >>Report duration O INTEGER (1..8640000) Maximum duration (in seconds) for a UE to report an event.

[0182] Table 2

[0183] The above reporting information may be stored in the UE context and will then be available at both the last serving gNB and the receiving gNB. Since the source of the "Configured LCS Active" will be the AMF, the LMF will still be unaware of the RRC state (i.e., no RRC state-dependent behavior of the LMF is required).

[0184] The above reporting information may also benefit other processes at the AMF and / or NG-RAN, such as aligning the DRX configuration with the configured LCS activity. Extended DRX (eDRX) for RRC idle state and RRC inactive state enables longer battery life for, for example, IoT devices. When eDRX is configured for a UE, the UE wakes up periodically in each eDRX cycle for a short duration called a paging window to monitor the PDCCH to receive paging messages. During the paging window, the UE monitors the PDCCH using the DRX cycle configured for the cell. The eDRX cycle in NR can range from 2.56 seconds to 10485.76 seconds (approximately 3 hours). Outside the paging window, the UE will be in deep sleep to save battery power.

[0185] Compared to LTE, the eDRX configuration in NR for the RRC idle state and the RRC inactive state is configured independently. For example, the two RRC states may have eDRX cycles of different lengths. For the RRC idle state, the eDRX for core network (CN) paging is configured by the AMF. In the RRC idle state, the UE only monitors CN paging. For the RRC inactive state, the eDRX configuration for RAN paging is determined and configured by the NG-RAN. In the RRC inactive state, the UE monitors both RAN paging and CN paging. The AMF may provide the NG-RAN node with core network assistance information with LCS reporting activity received from the LMF to assist the NG-RAN node in deciding whether the UE can be transferred to the RRC inactive state, as described above. The AMF and / or NG-RAN may use the same information to align the eDRX configuration with the UE LCS reporting activity.

[0186] For example, the UE may be configured with delayed MT-LR for periodic location, which requires event reporting every periodic reporting interval. Between periodic reports, the UE may have no other activity and may move to a deep sleep state, where the UE essentially shuts down all processing resources and will not be reachable by the network. The eDRX configuration will define when the UE wakes up from deep sleep to listen for potential paging messages from the network. If the eDRX cycle can be aligned with the UE periodic reporting interval, the UE will perform location measurements during the eDRX "active time" (i.e., not during the deep sleep state). Utilizing Fig. 9 Using the above procedures, the "configured LCS activity" can be provided from the LMF to the AMF, and the AMF can take this information into account when configuring CN eDRX in the UE (e.g. aligning UE reporting activity with the CN eDRX cycle). Fig. 9 According to the above procedures, the "configured LCS activity" can be provided from the LMF to the AMF, and the AMF further provides information to the NG-RAN, which can be taken into account when configuring RAN eDRX in the UE (for example, aligning the UE reporting activity with the RAN eDRX cycle). Therefore, the above procedures can assist the NG-RAN node in deciding the appropriate RRC state for the UE, and can assist the NG-RAN node and the AMF in deciding the appropriate eDRX cycle for the UE in a specific RRC state.

[0187] Fig.10 An example communication method 1000 according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, the method 1000 may be performed by a network node (eg, a NG-RAN node or a component of a NG-RAN node, such as a RU, DU, CU, etc.).

[0188] At 1010, the network node receives core network assistance information of a UE (e.g., UE 204) from a network entity (e.g., AMF 264), as in Fig. 9 At stage 19a of , wherein the core network assistance information includes delayed location request information, the delayed location request information being used to request a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server (e.g., LMF 270). In an aspect, operation 1010 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more network transceivers 380, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0189] At 1020, the network node transitions the UE to the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state based at least in part on the delayed position request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state. In an aspect, operation 1020 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more network transceivers 380, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any or all of which may be considered means for performing the operation.

[0190] Fig.11 An example communication method 1100 is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In one aspect, the method 1100 may be performed by a location server (eg, LMF 270).

[0191] At 1110, the location server receives a request for delayed UE location (e.g., from AMF 264), such as Fig. 9 At stage 14 of , wherein the request includes a request for a periodic location report (e.g., indicated by a parameter “PeriodicEventInfo”), a request for a location report based on a change of area of ​​the UE (e.g., indicated by a parameter “AreaEventInfo”), or a request for a location report based on the UE moving more than a specified distance (e.g., indicated by a parameter “MotionEventInfo”). In an aspect, operation 1110 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0192] At 1120, the location server configures the UE to perform a delayed positioning session based at least in part on the request for the delayed UE location, as in Fig. 9 16 of stage 11. In one aspect, operation 1120 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing the operation.

[0193] At 1130, the location server sends a delayed location request message for the delayed positioning session to a network entity (eg, AMF 264) for inclusion in the core network assistance message for the RRC state transition of the UE, such as in Fig. 9At stage 18 of , wherein the delayed location request information includes at least UE reporting activity parameters. In one aspect, operation 1130 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0194] As will be appreciated, the technical advantage of methods 1000 and 1100 is a more efficient RRC state transition and thereby reduced UE power consumption. When the UE is configured with delayed MT-LR and supports positioning in the RRC inactive state, the base station may release the UE to the RRC inactive state instead of the RRC idle state. If the UE can be in the RRC inactive state during the delayed MT-LR positioning session, energy efficiency can be improved (RRC inactive state is usually introduced to save power). Typically, if there is no data activity, the base station releases the UE to the RRC idle state. The UE will then have to transition to the RRC connected state for positioning SRS transmission and measurement reporting, which adversely affects the UE power consumption. Methods 1000 and 1100 enable the network to release the UE to the RRC inactive state instead based on the delayed position request information and the capabilities of the UE.

[0195] In the above detailed description, 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 subordinate clause may refer to a specific combination of one clause with other clauses in a clause, the aspects of the subordinate 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 subordinate clause aspect with any other subordinate clause or independent clause or any feature with other subordinate clauses and independent clauses. Various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations, unless it is clearly expressed or can be easily inferred that a specific combination is not intended to be used (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical 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.

[0196] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0197] Clause 1. A communication method performed by a network node comprises: receiving core network assistance information of a user equipment (UE) from a network entity, wherein the core network assistance information comprises delayed location request information, the delayed location request information being used to request a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server; and transitioning the UE to a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or the RRC idle state based at least in part on the delayed location request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state.

[0198] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the delayed location request information comprises a UE reporting activity parameter.

[0199] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the UE reporting activity parameter indicates a type of event that triggered the request for the delayed positioning session.

[0200] Clause 4. The method of clause 3, wherein the type of the event comprises: a periodic location report, an area event report, or a motion event report.

[0201] Clause 5. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the delayed position request information includes a type of positioning method to be used for the delayed positioning session.

[0202] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the type of the positioning method comprises: an uplink-based positioning method, or a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method.

[0203] Clause 7. The method of clause 6, wherein transitioning the UE to the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state comprises: transitioning the UE to the RRC inactive state.

[0204] Clause 8. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC Inactive state or the RRC Idle state include the ability of the UE to support Small Data Transmission Radio Bearer 2 (SDT-SRB2) signaling.

[0205] Clause 9. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the delayed location request information includes one or more parameters indicative of expected UE behavior.

[0206] Clause 10. The method of clause 9, wherein the one or more parameters include: expected UE mobility, handover interval, or any combination thereof.

[0207] Clause 11. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the core network assistance information is received in a context modification request message.

[0208] Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein the core network assistance information is received in an expected UE behavior information element (IE) in the context modification request message.

[0209] Clause 13. A method as described in any of Clauses 11 to 12, the method further comprising: in response to receiving the context modification request message, sending a context modification response message to the network entity.

[0210] Clause 14. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the network entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0211] Clause 15. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 14, wherein the network node is a base station or a component of the base station.

[0212] Clause 16. A communication method performed by a location server, the method comprising: receiving a request for a delayed user equipment (UE) location, wherein the request comprises a request for a periodic location report, a request for a location report based on a change of area of ​​the UE, or a request for a location report based on the UE moving more than a specified distance; configuring the UE to perform a delayed positioning session based at least in part on the request for the delayed UE location; and sending delayed location request information for the delayed positioning session to a network entity.

[0213] Clause 17. A method according to clause 16, wherein the delayed location request information includes: a confirmation as to whether periodic or triggered location reporting for the delayed positioning session has been successfully activated in the UE, or configured reporting information and at least one configured positioning method provided to the UE for use in the delayed positioning session.

[0214] Clause 18. The method of clause 17, wherein the configured reporting information includes at least UE reporting activity parameters.

[0215] Clause 19. The method of clause 18, wherein the UE reporting activity parameter indicates a type of event that triggered the request for the delayed UE location.

[0216] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, wherein the type of the event comprises: a periodic location report, an area event report, or a motion event report.

[0217] Clause 21. A method as described in any of clauses 18 to 20, wherein the UE reporting activity parameters are sent to the network entity in a Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation response service operation.

[0218] Clause 22. A method as set forth in any of clauses 17 to 21, wherein the configured reporting information is for inclusion in core network assistance information for a radio resource control (RRC) state transition of the UE.

[0219] Clause 23. A method as described in any of clauses 16 to 22, wherein the request for the delayed UE position is received from the network entity.

[0220] Clause 24. The method of clause 23, wherein the request for the delayed UE location is received from the network entity in a Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation request service operation.

[0221] Clause 25. A method as described in any of clauses 16 to 24, wherein the delayed position request information includes a type of positioning method to be used for the delayed positioning session.

[0222] Clause 26. The method of clause 25, wherein the type of the positioning method comprises: an uplink-based positioning method, or a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method.

[0223] Clause 27. A method as described in any of clauses 16 to 26, wherein the network entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0224] Clause 28. A network node, the network node comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being configured individually or in combination to: receive core network assistance information of a user equipment (UE) from a network entity via the one or more transceivers, wherein the core network assistance information comprises delayed location request information, the delayed location request information being used to request a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server; and transition the UE to a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or the RRC idle state based at least in part on the delayed location request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state.

[0225] Clause 29. A network node as described in clause 28, wherein the delayed location request information comprises a UE reporting activity parameter.

[0226] Clause 30. The network node of Clause 29, wherein the UE reporting activity parameter indicates a type of event that triggered the request for the delayed positioning session.

[0227] Clause 31. The network node of clause 30, wherein the type of the event comprises: a periodic location report, an event report, or a motion event report.

[0228] Clause 32. A network node as set forth in any of Clauses 28 to 31, wherein the delayed position request information comprises a type of positioning method to be used for the delayed positioning session.

[0229] Clause 33. The network node of clause 32, wherein the type of the positioning method comprises: an uplink-based positioning method, or a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method.

[0230] Clause 34. A network node according to clause 33, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transition the UE to the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state includes: the one or more processors are configured individually or in combination to transition the UE to the RRC inactive state.

[0231] Clause 35. A network node as set forth in any of clauses 28 to 34, wherein the one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC Inactive state or the RRC Idle state comprises a capability of the UE to support Small Data Transmission Radio Bearer 2 (SDT-SRB2) signalling.

[0232] Clause 36. A network node as set forth in any of clauses 28 to 35, wherein the delayed location request information comprises one or more parameters indicative of expected UE behavior.

[0233] Clause 37. The network node of clause 36, wherein the one or more parameters include: expected UE mobility, handover interval, or any combination thereof.

[0234] Clause 38. A network node as described in any of Clauses 28 to 37, wherein the core network assistance information is received in a context modification request message.

[0235] Clause 39. The network node of clause 38, wherein the core network assistance information is received in an expected UE behavior information element (IE) in the context modification request message.

[0236] Clause 40. A network node according to any of clauses 38 to 39, wherein the one or more processors, individually or in combination, are further configured to: in response to receiving the context modification request message, send a context modification response message to the network entity via the one or more transceivers.

[0237] Clause 41. A network node as set forth in any of clauses 28 to 40, wherein the network entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0238] Clause 42. A network node as described in any of clauses 28 to 41, wherein the network node is a base station or a component of the base station.

[0239] Clause 43. A location server, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being configured individually or in combination to: receive a request for a delayed user equipment (UE) location via the one or more transceivers, wherein the request comprises a request for a periodic location report, a request for a location report based on a change of area of ​​the UE, or a request for a location report based on the UE moving more than a specified distance; configure the UE to perform a delayed positioning session based at least in part on the request for the delayed UE location; and send delayed location request information for the delayed positioning session to a network entity via the one or more transceivers.

[0240] Clause 44. A location server according to clause 43, wherein the delayed location request information comprises: a confirmation as to whether periodic or triggered location reporting for the delayed positioning session has been successfully activated in the UE, or configured reporting information and at least one configured positioning method provided to the UE for use in the delayed positioning session.

[0241] Clause 45. The location server of clause 44, wherein the configured reporting information comprises at least UE reporting activity parameters.

[0242] Clause 46. The location server of clause 45, wherein the UE reporting activity parameter indicates a type of event that triggered the request for the delayed UE location.

[0243] Clause 47. The location server of clause 46, wherein the type of the event comprises: a periodic location report, an event report, or a motion event report.

[0244] Clause 48. A location server as described in any of clauses 45 to 47, wherein the UE reporting activity parameters are sent to the network entity in an Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation response service operation.

[0245] Clause 49. A location server as set forth in any of clauses 44 to 48, wherein the configured reporting information is for inclusion in core network assistance information for a radio resource control (RRC) state transition of the UE.

[0246] Clause 50. A location server as described in any of clauses 43 to 49, wherein the request for the delayed UE location is received from the network entity.

[0247] Clause 51. The location server of clause 50, wherein the request for the delayed UE location is received from the network entity in a Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation request service operation.

[0248] Clause 52. A location server as described in any of Clauses 43 to 51, wherein the delayed location request information includes a type of positioning method to be used for the delayed positioning session.

[0249] Clause 53. The location server of clause 52, wherein the type of positioning method comprises: an uplink-based positioning method, or a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method.

[0250] Clause 54. A location server as described in any of clauses 43 to 53, wherein the network entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0251] Clause 55. A network node, comprising: a component for receiving core network assistance information of a user equipment (UE) from a network entity, wherein the core network assistance information includes delayed location request information, the delayed location request information being used to request a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server; and a component for transitioning the UE to a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or an RRC idle state based at least in part on the delayed location request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state.

[0252] Clause 56. The network node of clause 55, wherein the delayed location request information comprises a UE reporting activity parameter.

[0253] Clause 57. The network node of clause 56, wherein the UE reporting activity parameter indicates a type of event that triggered the request for the delayed positioning session.

[0254] Clause 58. The network node of Clause 57, wherein the type of the event comprises: means for periodic location reporting, means for event reporting, or motion event reporting.

[0255] Clause 59. A network node as set forth in any of Clauses 55 to 58, wherein the delayed position request information comprises a type of positioning method to be used for the delayed positioning session.

[0256] Clause 60. The network node of clause 59, wherein the type of the positioning method comprises: an uplink-based positioning method, or a downlink and uplink-based positioning method.

[0257] Clause 61. The network node of clause 60, wherein the means for transitioning the UE to the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state comprises means for transitioning the UE to the RRC inactive state.

[0258] Clause 62. A network node as set forth in any of clauses 55 to 61, wherein the one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC Inactive state or the RRC Idle state comprises a capability of the UE to support Small Data Transmission Radio Bearer 2 (SDT-SRB2) signalling.

[0259] Clause 63. A network node as set forth in any of clauses 55 to 62, wherein the delayed location request information comprises one or more parameters indicative of expected UE behavior.

[0260] Clause 64. The network node of clause 63, wherein the one or more parameters include: components for expected UE mobility, handover interval, or any combination thereof.

[0261] Clause 65. A network node as set forth in any one of clauses 55 to 64, wherein the core network assistance information is received in a context modification request message.

[0262] Clause 66. The network node of clause 65, wherein the core network assistance information is received in an expected UE behavior information element (IE) in the context modification request message.

[0263] Clause 67. A network node as described in any of clauses 65 to 66, the network node further comprising: means for sending a context modification response message to the network entity in response to receiving the context modification request message.

[0264] Clause 68. A network node as set forth in any of clauses 55 to 67, wherein the network entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0265] Clause 69. A network node as described in any of clauses 55 to 68, wherein the network node is a base station or a component of the base station.

[0266] Clause 70. A location server, the location server comprising: a component for receiving a request for a delayed user equipment (UE) location, wherein the request comprises a request for a periodic location report, a request for a location report based on a change of area of ​​the UE, or a request for a location report based on the UE moving more than a specified distance; a component for configuring the UE to perform a delayed positioning session based at least in part on the request for the delayed UE location; and a component for sending delayed location request information for the delayed positioning session to a network entity.

[0267] Clause 71. A location server according to clause 70, wherein the delayed location request information includes: a confirmation as to whether periodic or triggered location reporting for the delayed positioning session has been successfully activated in the UE, or configured reporting information and at least one configured positioning method provided to the UE for use in the delayed positioning session.

[0268] Clause 72. The location server of clause 71, wherein the configured reporting information comprises at least UE reporting activity parameters.

[0269] Clause 73. A location server as described in clause 72, wherein the UE reporting activity parameter indicates a type of event that triggered the request for the delayed UE location.

[0270] Clause 74. The location server of clause 73, wherein the type of the event comprises: a component for periodic location reporting, a component for event reporting, or a motion event report.

[0271] Clause 75. A location server as described in any of clauses 72 to 74, wherein the UE reporting activity parameters are sent to the network entity in an Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation response service operation.

[0272] Clause 76. A location server as set forth in any of clauses 71 to 75, wherein the configured reporting information is for inclusion in core network assistance information for a radio resource control (RRC) state transition of the UE.

[0273] Clause 77. The location server of any of clauses 70 to 76, wherein the request for the delayed UE location is received from the network entity.

[0274] Clause 78. The location server of clause 77, wherein the request for the delayed UE location is received from the network entity in a Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation request service operation.

[0275] Clause 79. A location server as described in any of Clauses 70 to 78, wherein the delayed location request information includes a type of positioning method to be used for the delayed positioning session.

[0276] Clause 80. The location server of clause 79, wherein the type of the positioning method comprises: an uplink-based positioning method, or a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method.

[0277] Clause 81. A location server as described in any of clauses 70 to 80, wherein the network entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0278] Clause 82. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: receive core network assistance information of a user equipment (UE) from a network entity, wherein the core network assistance information includes delayed location request information, the delayed location request information being used to request a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server; and transition the UE to a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or the RRC idle state based at least in part on the delayed location request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state.

[0279] Clause 83. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 82, wherein the delayed location request information comprises a UE reporting activity parameter.

[0280] Clause 84. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 83, wherein the UE reporting activity parameter indicates a type of event that triggered the request for the delayed positioning session.

[0281] Clause 85. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 84, wherein the type of the event comprises: a periodic location report, an event report, or a motion event report.

[0282] Clause 86. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of Clauses 82 to 85, wherein the delayed position request information comprises a type of positioning method to be used for the delayed positioning session.

[0283] Clause 87. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 86, wherein the type of the positioning method comprises: an uplink-based positioning method, or a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method.

[0284] Clause 88. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 87, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to transition the UE to the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state, include: the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to transition the UE to the RRC inactive state.

[0285] Clause 89. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 82 to 88, wherein the one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state include the ability of the UE to support small data transmission radio bearer 2 (SDT-SRB2) signaling.

[0286] Clause 90. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 82 to 89, wherein the delayed location request information comprises one or more parameters indicative of expected UE behavior.

[0287] Clause 91. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 90, wherein the one or more parameters include: expected UE mobility, handover interval, or any combination thereof.

[0288] Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 82 to 91, wherein the core network assistance information is received in a context modification request message.

[0289] Clause 93. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 92, wherein the core network assistance information is received in an expected UE behavior information element (IE) in the context modification request message.

[0290] Clause 94. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 92 to 93, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to: in response to receiving the context modification request message, send a context modification response message to the network entity.

[0291] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 82 to 94, wherein the network entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0292] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 82 to 95, wherein the network node is a base station or a component of the base station.

[0293] Clause 97. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a location server, cause the location server to: receive a request for a delayed user equipment (UE) location, wherein the request comprises a request for a periodic location report, a request for a location report based on a change of area of ​​the UE, or a request for a location report based on the UE moving more than a specified distance; configure the UE to perform a delayed positioning session based at least in part on the request for the delayed UE location; and send delayed location request information for the delayed positioning session to a network entity.

[0294] Clause 98. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 97, wherein the delayed location request information includes: a confirmation as to whether periodic or triggered location reporting for the delayed positioning session has been successfully activated in the UE, or configured reporting information and at least one configured positioning method provided to the UE for use in the delayed positioning session.

[0295] Clause 99. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 98, wherein the configured reporting information comprises at least UE reporting activity parameters.

[0296] Clause 100. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 99, wherein the UE reporting activity parameter indicates a type of event that triggered the request for the delayed UE location.

[0297] Clause 101. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 100, wherein the type of the event comprises: a periodic location report, an event report, or a motion event report.

[0298] Clause 102. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 99 to 101, wherein the UE reporting activity parameters are sent to the network entity in an Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation response service operation.

[0299] Clause 103. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 98 to 102, wherein the configured reporting information is for inclusion in core network assistance information for a radio resource control (RRC) state transition of the UE.

[0300] Clause 104. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 97 to 103, wherein the request for the delayed UE position is received from the network entity.

[0301] Clause 105. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 104, wherein the request for the delayed UE location is received from the network entity in an Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation request service operation.

[0302] Clause 106. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 97 to 105, wherein the delayed position request information comprises a type of positioning method to be used for the delayed positioning session.

[0303] Clause 107. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 106, wherein the type of the positioning method comprises: an uplink-based positioning method, or a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method.

[0304] Clause 108. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 97 to 107, wherein the network entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0305] 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.

[0306] 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 in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is 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 functionality 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.

[0307] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or executed 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.

[0308] 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 the 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.

[0309] In one or more example aspects, the function may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the function may be stored on a computer-readable medium or sent via 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 transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may 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. In addition, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is sent from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves, then coaxial cable, fiber optic 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.

[0310] 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. For example, 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, any component, function, action or instruction described or claimed herein should not be interpreted as critical or necessary unless otherwise explicitly stated. In addition, as used herein, the terms "set", "group", etc. are intended to include one or more items and can be used interchangeably with "at least one", "one or more", etc. In addition, as used herein, the terms "have", "have", "have", etc. are intended to be open terms that do not limit the elements they modify (for example, "an element having" A may also have B). In addition, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based at least in part on", unless otherwise explicitly stated. In addition, as used herein, the term "or" when used in a series is intended to be open-ended and can be used interchangeably with "and / or" unless otherwise explicitly stated (e.g., if used in conjunction with "either of the two" or "only one of them"), or the alternatives are mutually exclusive (e.g., "one or more" should not be interpreted as "one and more"). In addition, although components, functions, actions, and instructions may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural may be contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Therefore, as used herein, the articles "a", "an", "the", and "said" are intended to include one or more items and can be used interchangeably with "at least one", "one or more", etc. Additionally, as used herein, the terms "at least one" and "one or more" encompass "one" component, function, action, or instruction that performs or is capable of performing the functionality described or claimed, and also encompass "two or more" components, functions, actions, or instructions that perform or are capable of performing the functions described or claimed in combination.

Claims

1. A communication method performed by a network node, the method comprising: receiving core network assistance information of a user equipment (UE) from a network entity, wherein the core network assistance information includes delayed location request information for requesting a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server; and Based at least in part on the delayed location request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or an RRC idle state, the UE is transitioned to the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the delayed location request information comprises a UE reporting activity parameter. 3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the UE reporting activity parameter indicates a type of event that triggered the request for the delayed positioning session.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the type of the event comprises: Periodic position reporting, Regional incident reporting, or Sports incident reports. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the delayed position request information includes a type of positioning method used for the delayed positioning session.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the type of the positioning method comprises: Uplink-based positioning methods, or Positioning methods based on downlink and uplink.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein transitioning the UE to the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state comprises: The UE is transitioned to the RRC inactive state. 8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more capabilities of the UE to perform a positioning procedure in the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state include a capability of the UE to support Small Data Transmission Radio Bearer 2 (SDT-SRB2) signaling.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the delayed location request information comprises one or more parameters indicative of expected UE behavior.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more parameters include: Expected UE mobility, Handover interval, or Any combination of them.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the core network assistance information is received in a context modification request message.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the core network assistance information is received in an expected UE behavior information element (IE) in the context modification request message.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: In response to receiving the context modification request message, a context modification response message is sent to the network entity.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the network entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the network node is a base station or a component of the base station.

16. A communication method performed by a location server, the method comprising: receiving a request to delay a user equipment (UE) location, wherein the request comprises a request for a periodic location report, a request for a location report based on the UE changing areas, or a request for a location report based on the UE moving more than a specified distance; configuring the UE to perform a delayed positioning session based at least in part on the request for the delayed UE position; as well as A delayed location request message for the delayed location session is sent to a network entity.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the delayed location request information comprises: confirmation as to whether periodic or triggered location reporting for the delayed positioning session has been successfully activated in the UE, or Configured reporting information and at least one configured positioning method are provided to the UE for use in the delayed positioning session. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the configured reporting information includes at least UE reporting activity parameters.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the UE reporting activity parameter indicates a type of event that triggered the request for the delayed UE position.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the type of the event comprises: Periodic position reporting, Regional incident reporting, or Sports incident reports.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the UE reporting activity parameters are sent to the network entity in a Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation response service operation.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the configured report information is for inclusion in core network assistance information for a radio resource control (RRC) state transition of the UE.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein the request for the delayed UE location is received from the network entity.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the request for the delayed UE location is received from the network entity in a Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation request service operation.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein the delayed position request information includes a type of positioning method used for the delayed positioning session.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the type of the positioning method comprises: Uplink-based positioning methods, or Positioning methods based on downlink and uplink.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein the network entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

28. A network node, the network node comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: receiving core network assistance information of a user equipment (UE) from a network entity via the one or more transceivers, wherein the core network assistance information includes delayed location request information for requesting a delayed positioning session between the UE and a location server; and Based at least in part on the delayed location request information and one or more capabilities of the UE to perform positioning procedures in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state or an RRC idle state, the UE is transitioned to the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state.

29. The network node of claim 28, wherein the delayed location request information comprises a UE reporting activity parameter.

30. A location server, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: receiving, via the one or more transceivers, a request to delay a user equipment (UE) location, wherein the request comprises a request for a periodic location report, a request for a location report based on the UE changing areas, or a request for a location report based on the UE moving more than a specified distance; configuring the UE to perform a delayed positioning session based at least in part on the request for the delayed UE position; as well as Delayed position request information for the delayed positioning session is sent to a network entity via the one or more transceivers.

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