Controlling positioning device in flight mode

Abstract

Aspects presented herein may enable a tracking device to disable a transmitter of the tracking device based on determining whether a wireless device is near or within a threshold distance of an airport and / or based on information or measurements obtained from a modem receiver of the tracking device. In one aspect, a wireless device detects whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or whether the wireless device is in the air. The wireless device disables a transmitter of the wireless device based on detecting that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location or that the wireless device is over the air.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. non-provisional patent application serial number 17 / 809,870, filed on June 29, 2022, and entitled “METHODS OF CONTROLLING LOCATION DEVICES IN A FLIGHT MODE,” which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly to communication systems involving tracking. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcast. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0005] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at city, country, region, and even global levels. An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of the continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with the Internet of Things (IoT)) and other requirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). Certain aspects of 5G NR may be based on 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards. It is necessary to further improve 5G NR technology. In addition, these improvements may also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and telecommunication standards that employ these technologies. Summary of the invention

[0006] The following presents a summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This summary is not a comprehensive review of all contemplated aspects. This summary is neither intended to identify the key or important elements of all aspects, nor to describe the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description presented later.

[0007] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus detects whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or whether the wireless device is in the air. The apparatus disables a transmitter of the wireless device based on detecting that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location or that the wireless device is in the air.

[0008] To achieve the aforementioned and related purposes, one or more aspects include the features described in full below and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the accompanying drawings set forth in detail some exemplary features of one or more aspects. However, these features are only indicative of only some of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects can be employed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

[0010] Figure 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a first frame according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of DL channels within a subframe according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of a second frame according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 2D is a diagram illustrating an example of UL channels within a subframe according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station and a user equipment (UE) in an access network.

[0015] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of UE positioning based on reference signal measurement.

[0016] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example tracking device in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 6is a diagram illustrating an example of disabling a transmitter of a tracking device according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a tracking device according to various aspects of the present disclosure disables its transmission function when it is near an airport.

[0019] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a tracking device determines that it is near an airport according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a tracking device according to various aspects of the present disclosure determines whether it is in the air based on information obtained by its modem.

[0021] Fig.10 is a flow chart of a method of wireless communication.

[0022] Fig.11 is a flow chart of a method of wireless communication.

[0023] Fig.12 are diagrams illustrating examples of hardware implementations for example apparatuses and / or network entities. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The various aspects presented herein provide an improved way for a tracking device to disable some of its functions (such as a sending function, a receiving function, and / or a positioning function, etc.) to meet air regulations. The various aspects presented herein can enable a tracking device to determine whether it is in the air or will be loaded onto an aircraft without using additional sensors. For example, in one aspect of the present disclosure, a tracking device can be configured to use ground positioning information to determine whether it is near an airport, and when the tracking device detects that it is within a predefined range of an airport, the tracking device can disable its transmitter (or transmission / communication function). In another aspect of the present disclosure, the tracking device can use information obtained by its modem receiver (such as a Doppler estimate or an equivalent metric) to determine whether it can be located on an airborne aircraft, and when the tracking device detects that it can be located on an airborne aircraft (or in the air), the tracking device can disable its transmitter. The various aspects presented herein can also be combined with or enhanced with other airborne detection methods (such as acceleration sensing and pressure change sensing) to disable radio transmitters, thereby complying with airline regulations.

[0025] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is a description of various configurations and does not represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein can be practiced. In order to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts, the specific embodiments include specific details. However, these concepts can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid blurring these concepts.

[0026] Several aspects of the telecommunication system are also presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods are described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements can be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether these elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0027] As an example, an element or any part of an element or any combination of elements can be implemented as a "processing system", which includes one or more processors. The example of a processor includes a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a system on a chip (SoC), a baseband processor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, a gate logic, a discrete hardware circuit and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functionalities described throughout the present disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system can execute software. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language or other terms, software should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions or any combination thereof.

[0028] Thus, in one or more example aspects, specific implementations and / or use cases, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored or decoded as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, such computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of these types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer-executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

[0029] Although various aspects, specific implementations and / or use cases are described in this application by the illustration of some examples, additional or different aspects, specific implementations and use cases may be generated in many different arrangements and scenarios. The various aspects, specific implementations and / or use cases described herein can be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes and packaging arrangements. For example, various aspects, specific implementations and / or use cases can be generated via integrated chip specific implementations and other devices based on non-module components (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication equipment, computing equipment, industrial equipment, retail / purchase equipment, medical equipment, artificial intelligence (AI) enabled devices, etc.). Although some examples may or may not be specifically for use cases or applications, the described examples may have a wide range of applicability. Various aspects, specific implementations and / or use cases can be in the range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level specific implementations, and further to the range of aggregated, distributed or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) equipment or systems in conjunction with one or more technologies herein. In some practical environments, the equipment combined with the various aspects and features described may also include additional components and features for implementing and practicing the claimed and described aspects. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily include multiple components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, RF chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders / summers, etc.) The techniques described herein can be practiced in a wide variety of devices of various sizes, shapes, and configurations, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, aggregated or disaggregated components, end-user devices, etc.

[0030] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged with various components or constituent 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 radio access network (RAN) node, a core network node, a network element or a network equipment (such as a base station (BS), 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 BS (such as a Node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR BS, a 5G NB, an access point (AP), a transmit receive point (TRP) or a cell, etc.) can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as an independent BS or a monolithic BS) or a decomposed base station.

[0031] A converged base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A decomposed base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack 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 a CU, a DU, and a RU may be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit.

[0032] Base station operation or network design 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 configuration such as that initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Decomposition 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.

[0033] Figure 1 1 is a diagram 100 illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network. The illustrated wireless communication system includes a disaggregated base station architecture. The disaggregated base station architecture may include one or more CUs 110 that may communicate directly with a core network 120 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 120 through one or more disaggregated base station units, such as a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 125 via an E2 link, or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 115 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 105, or both. The CU 110 may communicate with one or more DUs 130 via corresponding midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DU 130 may communicate with one or more RUs 140 via corresponding fronthaul links. The RU 140 may communicate with corresponding UEs 104 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 104 may be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 140.

[0034] Each of the units (i.e., CU 110, DU 130, RU 140, and near-RT RIC 125, non-RT RIC 115, and SMO framework 105) may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or send signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interfaces 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 signals from one or more of the other units 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 an RF transceiver) configured to receive and / or send signals to one or more of the other units on a wireless transmission medium.

[0035] In some aspects, CU 110 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 110. CU 110 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 110 may be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RA configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface (such as an E1 interface). If necessary, CU 110 may be implemented to communicate with DU 130 for network control and signaling.

[0036] DU 130 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RU 140. In some aspects, DU 130 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) coding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, demodulation, etc.) at least in part according to a functional split (such as a functional split defined by 3GPP). In some aspects, DU 130 may further 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 130 or with control functions hosted by CU 110.

[0037] The lower layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 140. In some deployments, the RU 140 controlled by the DU 130 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 a functional split (such as a lower layer functional split). In such an architecture, the RU 140 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 104. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 140 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 130. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the DU 130 and the CU 110 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0038] The SMO framework 105 may be configured to support RAN deployment and pre-provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 105 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 105 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-cloud) 190) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating 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 110, DU 130, RU 140, and near-RT RIC 125. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 105 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 111) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 105 may communicate directly with one or more RUs 140 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 105 may also include a non-RT RIC 115 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 105 .

[0039] The non-RT RIC 115 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 125. The non-RT RIC 115 may be coupled to or in communication with the near-RT RIC 125 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 125 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 connecting one or more CUs 110, one or more DUs 130, or both, and an O-eNB to the near-RT RIC 125 (such as via an E2 interface).

[0040] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 125, the non-RT RIC 115 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 125 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 105 or the non-RT RIC 115. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 115 or the near-RT RIC 125 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 115 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 105 (such as via reconfiguration of O1) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0041] At least one of the CU 110, the DU 130, and the RU 140 may be referred to as a base station 102. Therefore, the base station 102 may include one or more of the CU 110, the DU 130, and the RU 140 (each component is indicated by a dotted line to indicate that each component may or may not be included in the base station 102). The base station 102 provides an access point to the core network 120 for the UE 104. The base station 102 may include a macro cell (a high-power cellular base station) and / or a small cell (a low-power cellular base station). Small cells include femto cells, pico cells, and micro cells. A network including both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved Node B (eNB) (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG). The communication link between RU 140 and UE 104 may include uplink (UL) (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to RU 140 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmission from RU 140 to UE 104. The communication link may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming and / or transmit diversity. The communication link may be through one or more carriers. For each carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction, the base station 102 / UE 104 may use a spectrum of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5MHz, 10MHz, 15MHz, 20MHz, 100MHz, 400MHz, etc.) bandwidth. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​compared to UL). The component carrier may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

[0042] Some UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use DL / UL wireless wide area network (WWAN) spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0043] The wireless communication system may also include a Wi-Fi AP 150 that communicates with a UE 104 (also referred to as a Wi-Fi station (STA)) via a communication link 154, for example, in a 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum, etc. When communicating in an unlicensed spectrum, the UE 104 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) to determine whether a channel is available prior to communication.

[0044] 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). 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 different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz–300 GHz) identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0045] 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 (7.125GHz–24.25GHz). The bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and therefore the features of FR1 and / or FR2 can be effectively extended to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations to more than 52.6GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR2-2 (52.6GHz–71GHz), FR4 (71GHz–114.25GHz), and FR5 (114.25GHz–300GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0046] In view of the above, unless otherwise specified, if the term "below 6 GHz" or the like is used herein, it may broadly refer to frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specified, if the term "millimeter wave" or the like is used herein, it may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR2-2, and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

[0047] The base station 102 and the UE 104 may each include multiple antennas (such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays) to facilitate beamforming. The base station 102 may send a beamformed signal 182 to the UE 104 in one or more transmit directions. The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signal from the base station 102 in one or more receive directions. The UE 104 may also send a beamformed signal 184 to the base station 102 in one or more transmit directions. The base station 102 may receive the beamformed signal from the UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 102 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and transmit direction for each of the base station 102 / UE 104. The transmit direction and receive direction of the base station 102 may be the same or different. The transmit direction and receive direction of the UE 104 may be the same or different.

[0048] The base station 102 may include and / or be referred to as a gNB, a Node B, an eNB, an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a transmit receive point (TRP), a network node, a network entity, a network equipment, or some other suitable term. The base station 102 may be implemented as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a sidelink node, a clustered (monolithic) base station with a baseband unit (BBU) (including a CU and a DU) and a RU, or as a decomposed base station including one or more of a CU, a DU, and / or a RU. A set of base stations that may include decomposed base stations and / or clustered base stations may be referred to as a next generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN).

[0049] The core network 120 may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) 161, a session management function (SMF) 162, a user plane function (UPF) 163, a unified data management (UDM) 164, one or more location servers 168, and other functional entities. AMF 161 is a control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and core network 120. AMF 161 supports registration management, connection management, mobility management, and other functions. SMF 162 supports session management and other functions. UPF 163 supports packet routing, packet forwarding, and other functions. UDM 164 supports the generation of authentication and key agreement (AKA) credentials, user identity handling, access authorization, and subscription management. One or more location servers 168 are illustrated as including a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 165 and a location management function (LMF) 166. However, in general, the one or more location servers 168 may include one or more location / positioning servers, which may include one or more of the GMLC 165, the LMF 166, the position determination entity (PDE), the serving mobile location center (SMLC), the mobile positioning center (MPC), etc. The GMLC 165 and the LMF 166 support UE location services. The GMLC 165 provides an interface for clients / applications (e.g., emergency services) to access UE positioning information. The LMF 166 receives measurements and assistance information from the NG-RAN and the UE 104 via the AMF 161 to calculate the location of the UE 104. The NG-RAN may determine the location of the UE 104 using one or more positioning methods. Positioning the UE 104 may involve signal measurements, position estimation, and optional speed calculations based on these measurements. Signal measurements may be performed by the UE 104 and / or the serving base station 102. The measured signal can be based on a satellite positioning system (SPS) 170 (e.g., one or more of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), a global positioning system (GPS), a non-terrestrial network (NTN), or other satellite positioning / positioning systems), LTE signals, wireless local area network (WLAN) signals, Bluetooth signals, a terrestrial beacon system (TBS), sensor-based information (e.g., an atmospheric pressure sensor, a motion sensor), an NR enhanced cell ID (NR E-CID) method, an NR signal (e.g., multi-round trip time (multi-RTT), DL angle of departure (DL-AoD), DL time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), UL time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), and UL angle of arrival (UL-AoA) positioning) and / or one or more of other systems / signals / sensors.

[0050] Examples of UE 104 include cellular phones, smart phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), satellite radios, global positioning systems, multimedia devices, video devices, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, tablet computers, smart devices, wearable devices, vehicles, electric meters, gas pumps, large or small kitchen appliances, healthcare equipment, implants, sensors / actuators, displays, or any other similarly functional devices. Some of the UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meters, gas pumps, toasters, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). UE 104 may also be referred to as stations, mobile stations, subscriber stations, mobile units, subscriber units, wireless units, remote units, mobile devices, wireless devices, wireless communication devices, remote devices, mobile subscriber stations, access terminals, mobile terminals, wireless terminals, remote terminals, mobile phones, user agents, mobile clients, clients, or some other suitable terminology. In some scenarios, the term UE may also be applied to one or more supporting devices such as in a device constellation arrangement. One or more of these devices may access the network collectively and / or individually.

[0051] See again Figure 1 In some aspects, the UE 104 may be configured to detect whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or whether the wireless device is in the air; and disable the transmitter of the wireless device based on detecting that the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or the wireless device is in the air via the tracking device configuration component 198.

[0052] Figure 2A FIG200 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2B FIG230 is a diagram illustrating an example of DL channels within a 5G NR subframe. Figure 2C FIG250 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2D FIG280 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL channels within a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame structure may be frequency division duplex (FDD) (wherein for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the subcarrier set are dedicated to either DL or UL), or may be time division duplex (TDD) (wherein for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the subcarrier set are dedicated to both DL and UL). Figure 2A , Figure 2CIn the example provided, the 5G NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, where subframe 4 is configured with slot format 28 (most of which are DL), where D is DL, U is UL, and F is flexible between DL / UL, and subframe 3 is configured with slot format 1 (all of which are UL). Although subframes 3 and 4 are shown as having slot formats 1 and 28, respectively, any particular subframe may be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0 to 61. Slot formats 0 and 1 are both DL and both UL, respectively. Other slot formats 2 to 61 include a mix of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. The slot format is configured for the UE by a received slot format indicator (SFI) (dynamically configured by DL control information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling). Note that the following description also applies to the 5G NR frame structure as TDD.

[0053] FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D The frame structure is illustrated, and various aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other wireless communication technologies that may have different frame structures and / or different channels. A frame (10ms) may be divided into 10 subframes of the same size (1ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. A subframe may also include a microslot, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each time slot may include 14 or 12 symbols, depending on whether the cyclic prefix (CP) is conventional or extended. For conventional CPs, each time slot may include 14 symbols, and for extended CPs, each time slot may include 12 symbols. The symbols on the DL may be CP orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on the UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or discrete Fourier transform (DFT) extended OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also known as single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power-limited scenarios; limited to single stream transmission). The number of slots within a subframe is based on the CP and the parameter set. The parameter set defines the subcarrier spacing (SCS) and effectively defines the symbol length / duration, which is equal to 1 / SCS.

[0054]

[0055]

[0056] For normal CP (14 symbols / slot), different parameter sets μ0 to 4 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. For extended CP, parameter set 2 allows 4 slots per subframe. Accordingly, for normal CP and parameter set μ, there are 14 symbols / slot and 2 μ timeslots / subframe. The subcarrier spacing can be equal to 2μ *15kHz, where μ is parameter set 0 to 4. Therefore, the subcarrier spacing for parameter set μ=0 is 15kHz, and the subcarrier spacing for parameter set μ=4 is 240kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D An example of a conventional CP is provided, where there are 14 symbols per slot, and the parameter set μ=2, where there are 4 slots per subframe. The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 μs. Within a frame set, there may be one or more different bandwidth parts (BWPs) that are frequency-division multiplexed (see Figure 2B ). Each BWP can have a specific parameter set and CP (normal or extended).

[0057] A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each slot includes a resource block (RB) (also referred to as a physical RB (PRB)) extending over 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0058] like Figure 2A As illustrated, some of the REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RS) for the UE. The RS may include a demodulation RS (DM-RS) (indicated as R for a particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The RS may also include a beam measurement RS (BRS), a beam refinement RS (BRRS), and a phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0059] Figure 2BExamples of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated. A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs) (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs), each CCE including six RE groups (REGs), each REG including 12 consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol of an RB. A PDCCH within a BWP may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). The UE is configured to monitor PDCCH candidates in a PDCCH search space (e.g., a common search space, a UE-specific search space) during a PDCCH monitoring opportunity on a CORESET, wherein the PDCCH candidates have different DCI formats and different aggregation levels. Additional BWPs may be located at higher and / or lower frequencies on the channel bandwidth. A primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is used by UE 104 to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identification. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and the radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block (also referred to as an SS block (SSB)). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information such as system information blocks (SIBs) that are not sent via the PBCH, and paging messages.

[0060] like Figure 2C As illustrated, some of the REs carry DM-RS (indicated as R for a particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE may send a DM-RS for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and a DM-RS for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be sent in the first or first two symbols of the PUSCH. Depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is sent and depending on the specific PUCCH format used, the PUCCH DM-RS can be sent in different configurations. The UE may send a sounding reference signal (SRS). The SRS may be sent in the last symbol of a subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may send the SRS on one of the comb structures in the comb structure. The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to achieve frequency-dependent scheduling of the UL.

[0061] Figure 2DExamples of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated. The PUCCH may be located at a position as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK) (HARQ-ACK) feedback (i.e., one or more HARQ ACK bits indicating one or more ACKs and / or negative ACKs (NACKs)). The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0062] Figure 3 375. The Controller / Processor 375 is a block diagram of a base station 310 in an access network communicating with a UE 350. In the DL, Internet Protocol (IP) packets may be provided to a controller / processor 375. The controller / processor 375 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 375 provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through 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, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0063] The transmit (TX) processor 316 and receive (RX) processor 370 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1 (which includes 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 TX processor 316 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-order phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-order quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols can then be divided into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 374 may be used to determine the coding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. Channel estimates may be derived from reference signals and / or channel state feedback sent by the UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318Tx. Each transmitter 318Tx may modulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0064] At the UE 350, each receiver 354Rx receives a signal through its corresponding antenna 352. Each receiver 354Rx recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to a receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for the UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 350, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the RX processor 356. The RX processor 356 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 310. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by the channel estimator 358. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally sent on the physical channel by the base station 310. The data and control signals are then provided to the controller / processor 359, which implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

[0065] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 359 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0066] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with DL transmissions performed by the base station 310, the controller / processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0067] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator 358 based on a reference signal or feedback sent by the base station 310 may be used by the TX processor 368 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antennas 352 via separate transmitters 354Tx. Each transmitter 354Tx may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0068] UL transmissions are processed at the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver functionality at the UE 350. Each receiver 318Rx receives a signal through its corresponding antenna 320. Each receiver 318Rx recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the RX processor 370.

[0069] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 375 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0070] At least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 may be configured to perform operations related to Figure 1 The tracking device configuration component 198 combines various aspects.

[0071] Figure 4 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of UE positioning based on reference signal measurement. UE 404 may be at time T SRS_TX UL-SRS 412 is sent and at time T PRS_RX A DL positioning reference signal (PRS) (DL-PRS) 410 is received. TRP 406 may be at time T SRS_RX Receive UL-SRS 412 and at time T PRS_TX 410. UE 404 may receive DL-PRS 410 before transmitting UL-SRS 412, or may transmit UL-SRS 412 before receiving DL-PRS 410. In both cases, a positioning server (e.g., location server 168) or UE 404 may determine the UL-SRS 412 based on ||T SRS_RX –T PRS_TX |–|T SRS_TX –T PRS_RX || to determine RTT 414. Thus, multi-RTT positioning may utilize UE ERx-Tx time difference measurements (i.e., |T SRS_TX –T PRS_RX |) and DL-PRS reference signal received power (RSRP) (DL-PRS-RSRP), and the measured TRP Rx-Tx time difference measurement (ie, |T SRS_RX –T PRS_TX |) and UL-SRS-RSRP. UE 404 measures UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement (and / or DL-PRS-RSRP of received signal) using assistance data received from positioning server, and TRP 402, 406 measures gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurement (and / or UL-SRS-RSRP of received signal) using assistance data received from positioning server. These measurements may be used at positioning server or UE 404 to determine RTT, which is used to estimate the position of UE 404. Other methods for determining RTT are possible, such as, for example, using DL-TDOA and / or UL-TDOA measurements.

[0072] DL-AoD positioning may utilize the measured DL-PRS-RSRP of downlink signals received from multiple TRPs 402, 406 at the UE 404. The UE 404 measures the DL-PRS-RSRP of the received signals using assistance data received from a positioning server, and the resulting measurements, along with the departure azimuth angle (A-AoD), departure zenith angle (Z-AoD), and other configuration information, are used to position the UE 404 relative to neighboring TRPs 402, 406.

[0073] DL-TDOA positioning may utilize DL reference signal time difference (RSTD) (and / or DL-PRS-RSRP) of downlink signals received from multiple TRPs 402, 406 at the UE 404. The UE 404 measures the DL RSTD (and / or DL-PRS-RSRP) of the received signals using assistance data received from a positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to position the UE 404 relative to neighboring TRPs 402, 406.

[0074] UL-TDOA positioning may utilize the UL relative time of arrival (RTOA) (and / or UL-SRS-RSRP) of uplink signals sent from UE 404 at multiple TRPs 402, 406. TRPs 402, 406 measure the UL-RTOA (and / or UL-SRS-RSRP) of received signals using assistance data received from a positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to estimate the position of UE 404.

[0075] UL-AoA positioning may utilize the measured azimuth angle of arrival (A-AoA) and zenith angle of arrival (Z-AoA) of uplink signals sent from the UE 404 at multiple TRPs 402, 406. The TRPs 402, 406 measure the A-AoA and Z-AoA of the received signals using assistance data received from a positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to estimate the position of the UE 404.

[0076] Additional positioning methods may be used to estimate the position of the UE 404, such as, for example, UE-side UL-AoD and / or DL-AoA. Note that data / measurements from various techniques may be combined in various ways to increase accuracy, determine and / or enhance certainty, supplement / complete measurements, and / or replace / provide missing information.

[0077] In addition to network-based UE positioning technology, wireless devices (e.g., base stations, components of base stations, UEs, etc.) may also be configured to include radar capabilities, which may be referred to as "radio frequency (RF) sensing" and / or "cellular-based RF sensing". For example, a wireless device may send a radar reference signal (RRS) and measure the RRS sent from one or more objects. Based at least in part on the measurement, the wireless device may determine or estimate the distance between the wireless device and the one or more objects. In another example, a first wireless device may also receive an RRS sent from a second wireless device, wherein the first wireless device may determine or estimate the distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device based at least in part on the received RRS. Therefore, in some examples, RF sensing technology may be used for UE positioning and / or for assisting UE positioning. For the purposes of this disclosure, a device capable of performing RF sensing (e.g., sending and / or receiving an RRS for detecting an object or for estimating the distance between a device and an object) may be referred to as an "RF sensing node". For example, an RF sensing node may be a UE, a base station, a component of a base station, a TRP, a device capable of sending an RRS, and / or a device configured to perform radar functions, etc.

[0078] Figure 5 500 is a diagram illustrating an example tracking device according to various aspects of the present disclosure. A tracking device (or tracker / tracker device) may refer to a portable device / unit that enables a user to monitor and track the location of something (such as goods, transportation, or people, etc.). In one example, as shown at 506, a tracking device 502 may be used by a transportation company to track goods 504, wherein the tracking device 502 may be co-located with the goods 504 and configured to provide its location periodically or at a specific time period. For example, the tracking device 502 may be connected to a series of satellites to determine its location based on trilateration, wherein the tracking device may use the locations of three or more satellites from a GNSS / GPS network and its distance from the satellites to determine the latitude, longitude, altitude, and / or time of the tracking device 502. The tracking device 502 may then periodically report its location information to a tracking / location server. As shown at 508, based on the location information collected by the tracking / location server, a transportation company or user may be able to determine or discover the whereabouts and / or travel history of the goods 504 via a tracking display or tracking notification.

[0079] While a tracking device may be similar to a navigation system, there may be a few differences. For example, a navigation system may show a user its location on a digital map and then provide the user with navigation instructions for reaching a specified point. A tracking device, on the other hand, may track the location (e.g., GNSS / GPS data) and travel history of the thing to be tracked, and then send / broadcast the tracking information / data to a computer, smartphone, tablet, or the like.

[0080] In some scenarios, a tracking device may be specified to disable some of its functions during certain conditions. Figure 6 As shown in diagram 600 of , tracking device 502 may be configured to disable or suspend its tracking / locating function and / or position reporting function when tracking device 502 is in an aircraft so that the tracking device does not interfere with the aircraft's communication system and for other safety reasons (e.g., to prevent the aircraft's exact location from being tracked). In another example, cargo that is designated for use in or passing through a restricted area may also be designated to disable or suspend its tracking / locating function and / or position reporting function when in a restricted area.

[0081] The conditions under which the tracking device will be disabled / suspended may be specified by the government. For example, Commission Regulation No. 965 / 2012 of the European Union (EU) provides that, according to the standards provided by the Airworthiness Certification Methods (AMC) Guidelines of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the use of tracking devices to track commercial shipments on aircraft (such as on commercial aircraft or cargo aircraft) may be authorized, provided that it is ensured that the tracking device has no impact on the safe operation of the aircraft. Similar guidelines have also been adopted by other countries, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). In some examples, the safety operating standards may dictate that the tracking device used on commercial aircraft or cargo aircraft is specified to include at least two independent components to turn off the wireless function of the tracking device when the tracking device is in the air. In other words, when the tracking device is in the air, there may be at least two mechanisms for the tracking device to disable or suspend its transmitter or its communication system (e.g., the transmission of tracking information and / or the reception of communications, etc.). The at least two mechanisms are also specified to be independent of each other, so that if one of the mechanisms fails, the other mechanisms may still be able to disable or suspend the transmitter / communication system. For purposes of this disclosure, the term "in the air" may refer to something that is leaving the ground (eg, an airplane taking off) and / or something that is in the air (eg, after an airplane takes off).

[0082] In one example, a mechanism that can be used by a tracking device (e.g., tracking device 502) to detect whether the tracking device is in the air can include the use of a sensor. For example, the tracking device can include an accelerometer (or velocity sensor) capable of detecting the acceleration / velocity of the tracking device, and the tracking device can be configured to disable its wireless functionality (e.g., transmitter / communication system) when the tracking device exceeds an acceleration / velocity threshold and / or when a specific acceleration / velocity pattern is detected. In another example, the tracking device can include a pressure sensor, wherein the tracking device can be configured to disable its wireless functionality when the tracking device is under certain pressure ranges. For example, at ground level, the air pressure in an aircraft can be approximately 14 pounds per square inch (PSI). When the aircraft takes off and reaches its typical cruising altitude (e.g., typically about 30,000 feet to 40,000 feet), the air pressure in the aircraft can be reduced to only 4 PSI to 5 PSI. Therefore, the tracking device can be configured to disable its wireless functionality, for example, when the air pressure is below 10 PSI.

[0083] In another example, the tracking device may include a sound sensor / microphone, wherein the tracking device may be configured to disable its wireless functionality upon detecting a specific sound, such as the sound of an aircraft engine (or sound waves from an aircraft engine). In another example, the tracking device may be configured to use a signal sensor to detect a signal generated from an aircraft transponder, and the tracking device may disable its wireless functionality upon detecting an aircraft transponder signal. An aircraft transponder may provide information to air traffic control (ATC) about the aircraft's location in space and, in most cases, its altitude. An aircraft transponder may uniquely identify an aircraft and help ATC keep aircraft separated to ensure safe air travel.

[0084] Although a tracking device may determine whether it is in the air by using one or more sensors, the use of sensors may increase the cost and power consumption of the tracking device. For example, a tracking device may be specified to always activate its sensors, which may consume a large amount of power. Furthermore, for a tracking device that uses sensors, additional hardware components and processors may be specified, which may increase the complexity and manufacturing cost of the tracking device.

[0085] The various aspects presented herein provide an improved way for a tracking device to disable some of its functions (such as a sending function, a receiving function, and / or a positioning function, etc.) to meet air regulations. The various aspects presented herein can enable a tracking device to determine whether it is in the air or will be loaded onto an aircraft without using additional sensors. For example, in one aspect of the present disclosure, a tracking device can be configured to use ground positioning information (e.g., a location positioning system that uses a ground-based transmitter or reference point to serve as a reference point for calculating position information) to determine whether it is near an airport, and when the tracking device detects that it is within a predefined range of the airport, the tracking device can disable its transmitter (or transmission / communication function). In another aspect of the present disclosure, the tracking device can use information obtained by its modem receiver (such as a Doppler estimate or an equivalent metric) to determine whether it can be located on an airborne aircraft, and when the tracking device detects that it can be located on an airborne aircraft (or in the air), the tracking device can disable its transmitter. The various aspects presented herein can also be combined with or enhanced with other airborne detection methods (such as acceleration sensing and pressure change sensing) to disable radio transmitters, thereby complying with airline regulations.

[0086] Figure 7 700 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tracking device disabling its transmission function when it is near an airport in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown at 706, a tracking device 702 (which may also be referred to as a tracker, tracker device, or wireless device) may be co-located with or placed on cargo 704. Tracking device 702 may be configured to periodically or within a specific time period (e.g., based on a combination of Figure 4 The tracking device 702 can determine its position based on the GNSS / GPS positioning and / or the ground positioning information obtained by the network-based positioning described above, and the tracking device 702 can report its position information (e.g., longitude and latitude coordinates, altitude and / or time) to the location / tracking server so that it can be combined with Figure 5 The location and travel history of cargo 704 is tracked over time as described.

[0087] In one aspect, tracking device 702 may be configured to determine whether it is in the vicinity of an airport, and when tracking device 702 determines that it is in the vicinity of an airport, tracking device 702 may disable some of its functions, such as a transmitting function (e.g., via disabling its transmitter). For example, as shown at 708, the vicinity of airport 710 may be defined based on a predetermined range (e.g., a threshold distance) from airport 710 (or from a center point of airport 710). In another example, the vicinity of airport 710 may be defined by a set of coordinate ranges (e.g., longitude XY and latitude MN).

[0088] In one example, information associated with the vicinity of the airport 710 may be programmed and stored at the tracking device 702 so that the tracking device 702 may know when it enters the vicinity of the airport 710 or when it is within a predetermined range of the airport 710. For example, map information associated with the area in which the airport 710 is located may be stored at the tracking device 702 or provided to the tracking device 702 via live updates. Thus, when the tracking device 702 detects that it is within the vicinity or predetermined range of the airport 710, the tracking device 702 may automatically disable at least its transmission function (e.g., its transmitter), such as shown at 712.

[0089] In another example, information associated with the vicinity of the airport 710 or whether the tracking device 702 is in the vicinity of the airport 710 may be provided by the location / tracking server (or communicated by the cloud platform) to reduce the amount of information stored at the tracking device 702. For example, after the tracking device 702 sends its location information to the location / tracking server, if the location / tracking server determines that the tracking device 702 is in the vicinity of the airport 710 or within a predetermined range of the airport, the location / tracking server may notify the tracking device 702 to at least disable the sending function of the tracking device, such as shown at 712.

[0090] In another example, if Figure 8 As shown in diagram 800 of , tracking device 702 may determine whether it is near airport 710 or within a predetermined range of the airport based on information received from a base station or a component of a base station. For example, base station 714 located near airport 710 may be associated with a cell identification (ID), and base station 714 may broadcast the cell ID periodically. Tracking device 702 may be configured with a list of cell IDs associated with base stations / cells located near airport 710. Then, if tracking device 702 receives a cell ID broadcasted by a base station (such as base station 714) that matches the list of cell IDs associated with base stations / cells located near airport 710, tracking device 702 may determine that it is near airport 710 and at least disable its transmission function.

[0091] Combination Figure 7 and Figure 8 The various aspects discussed may enable a tracking device to at least disable its transmit functionality (e.g., transmitter) before the tracking device is airborne, thereby complying with certain airborne regulations. In addition, a tracking device (e.g., tracking device 702) may be further configured to monitor whether it is still in the vicinity of a departure airport (e.g., airport 710) and / or in the vicinity of a destination airport. If the tracking device detects that it is outside the vicinity of the departure airport and / or the destination airport, the tracking device may enable / restore its transmit functionality (or determine that it is not airborne).

[0092] Since the air regulations may specify that the tracking device provides at least two independent components that shut down at least the transmission function of the tracking device when the tracking device is in the air, in another aspect of the present disclosure, in combination with Figure 7 and Figure 8 The tracking device 702 discussed may also include at least one other component for detecting whether it is in the air. Figure 6 As described, the tracking device 702 may also include at least one sensor capable of detecting the acceleration / speed of the tracking device 702 and disabling the transmission function of the tracking device 702 when the tracking device 702 exceeds an acceleration / speed threshold, capable of detecting the pressure surrounding the tracking device 702 and disabling the transmission function of the tracking device 702 when the tracking device 702 is under a specific pressure range or exceeds a specific pressure threshold, capable of detecting sound waves from an aircraft engine and disabling the transmission function of the tracking device 702 when the sound waves from the aircraft engine are detected, and / or capable of detecting a transponder signal from an aircraft and disabling the transmission function of the tracking device 702 when the transponder signal is detected, etc. In another example, the means for disabling the transmitter when the tracking device 702 is in the air may include detecting the altitude and / or speed of the tracking device 702 via a GPS / GNSS system / receiver, and disabling the transmission function based on the altitude exceeding a specific altitude threshold (e.g., height) and / or the speed exceeding a speed threshold. In another example, the means for disabling the transmitter while the tracking device 702 is airborne may be based on a flight schedule, wherein the tracking device 702 may disable its transmitter during a threshold time period when the tracking device 702 (or its associated cargo) is scheduled to fly.

[0093] In addition, the tracking device 702 may also be configured to restore its transmission function based on at least one sensor. For example, the tracking device 702 may be configured to disable its transmission function based on detecting that it is near the airport 710, and the tracking device 702 may enable its transmission function after detecting that the aircraft is no longer in the air (e.g., based on pressure, speed, transponder signal, etc.).

[0094] Since most tracking devices are able to determine their location and / or communicate with a location / tracking server (e.g., via a base station or a component of a base station), the combination Figure 7 and Figure 8 The various aspects discussed may be implemented on these tracking devices without specifying additional sensors, sensing equipment, and / or hardware components, which may reduce the manufacturing cost of the tracking devices and / or the power consumption of the tracking devices from using sensors.

[0095] Fig. 9900 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tracking device according to various aspects of the present disclosure determining whether it is in the air based on information obtained by its modem. In further aspects of the present disclosure, the tracking device 702 may determine whether it is in the air or in an airborne aircraft based on information received from its modem receiver (or cellular baseband processor), and the tracking device 702 may disable its transmission function (or transmitter) when it determines that it is in the air or in an airborne aircraft.

[0096] For example, as shown at 902, the tracking device 702 may calculate a Doppler estimate for one or more signals received from one or more base stations, and the tracking device 702 may determine whether it is airborne based on the Doppler estimate exceeding a Doppler threshold or fitting a particular Doppler pattern. In another example, the tracking device 702 may calculate a velocity of its wireless device relative to a ground location based on one or more signals received from one or more base stations, and the tracking device may determine whether it is airborne based on the velocity exceeding a velocity threshold.

[0097] Combination Figure 7 The various aspects discussed may enable a tracking device to at least disable its transmit functionality before or while the tracking device is airborne, thereby complying with certain airborne regulations. Additionally, a tracking device (e.g., tracking device 702) may be further configured to monitor via similar means whether it is no longer airborne (e.g., based on a Doppler estimate that satisfies another Doppler threshold or a speed that is below a speed threshold, etc.). If the tracking device detects that it is no longer airborne, the tracking device may enable / restore its transmit functionality.

[0098] Similarly, since the air regulations may specify that the tracking device provide at least two independent components for shutting down at least the transmission function of the tracking device when the tracking device is in the air, in another aspect of the present disclosure, in combination with Fig. 9 The tracking device 702 in question may also include at least one other component (such as a combination of a sensor and a controller) that detects whether it is in the air or whether it is near an airport. Figure 7 and Figure 8 For example, as described in conjunction with Figure 6As described, the tracking device 702 may also include at least one sensor capable of detecting the acceleration / speed of the tracking device 702 and disabling the transmission function of the tracking device 702 when the tracking device 702 exceeds an acceleration / speed threshold, capable of detecting the pressure surrounding the tracking device 702 and disabling the transmission function of the tracking device 702 when the tracking device 702 is within a certain pressure range or exceeds a certain pressure threshold, capable of detecting sound waves from an aircraft engine and disabling the transmission function of the tracking device 702 when the sound waves from the aircraft engine are detected, and / or capable of detecting a transponder signal from an aircraft and disabling the transmission function of the tracking device 702 when the transponder signal is detected, etc. In another example, in addition to disabling the transmission function based on information obtained via the modem receiver of the tracking device 702, the tracking device 702 may also be configured to disable at least its transmission function when the tracking device is near an airport, such as in conjunction with Figure 7 and Figure 8 In other words, the tracking device 702 may include a combination of Figures 7 to 9 In another example, the means for detecting the tracking device 702 may include detecting the altitude and / or speed of the tracking device 702 via a GPS / GNSS system / receiver, and the tracking device 702 may disable the transmission function based on the altitude exceeding a certain altitude threshold (e.g., height) and / or the speed exceeding a speed threshold.

[0099] Similarly, the tracking device 702 may also be configured to resume its transmission function based on at least one sensor. For example, the tracking device 702 may be configured to disable its transmission function based on a Doppler estimate / speed exceeding a threshold, and the tracking device 702 may enable its transmission function after detecting that the aircraft is no longer in the air (e.g., based on pressure, speed, transponder signal, etc.).

[0100] Combination Fig. 9 The various aspects discussed may be implemented on a tracking device without specifying additional sensors, sensing equipment, and / or hardware components, which may reduce the manufacturing cost of the tracking device and / or the power consumption of the tracking device from using sensors. Figures 7 to 9 The various aspects discussed may be used to replace or enhance other detection methods (such as acceleration sensing and / or pressure change sensing) to comply with airline regulations.

[0101] Fig.101000 is a flow chart of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a wireless device (e.g., UE 104, 404; tracking device 502, 702; apparatus 1204). The method may enable a wireless device (which may be a tracking device for tracking cargo) to disable its transmitter based on determining whether the wireless device is near or within a threshold distance of an airport and / or based on information or measurements obtained from its modem receiver.

[0102] At 1001 , a wireless device may transmit, via a transmitter, first information indicating at least one location of the wireless device, wherein the first information is transmitted prior to disabling the transmitter.

[0103] At 1002, the wireless device may detect whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance (e.g., 1 mile, 2 miles, etc.) of a target location (e.g., an airport, a designated location, etc.) or whether the wireless device is in the air, such as in conjunction with Figures 7 to 9 For example, Figure 7 As shown, tracking device 702 can detect whether it is near airport 710 and Fig. 9 As shown, tracking device 702 can detect whether it is in the air. The detection of whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of the target location or whether the wireless device is in the air can be performed by, for example Fig.12 The tracking device configuration component 198, the cellular baseband processor 1224 and / or the transceiver 1222 of the device 1204 are executed.

[0104] At 1004, the wireless device may disable the transmitter of the wireless device based on detecting that the wireless device is within a threshold distance of the target location or the wireless device is in the air, such as in conjunction with Figures 7 to 9 For example, Figure 7 As shown, tracking device 702 may disable its transmission function when it detects that it is in the vicinity of airport 710, and as shown in FIG. Fig. 9 As shown, the tracking device 702 can disable its transmission function when it detects that it is in the air. The disabling of the transmitter can be performed by, for example Fig.12 The tracking device configuration component 198 and / or the cellular baseband processor 1224 of the device 1204 are executed.

[0105] At 1003, the wireless device may detect whether the wireless device is within a second threshold distance of a second target location (e.g., a second airport, a destination airport) or whether the wireless device is not airborne, and the wireless device may enable the transmitter based on detecting that the wireless device is outside the second threshold distance of the second target location or the wireless device is not airborne.

[0106] In one example, the wireless device is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location, and the transmitter is disabled based on the wireless device being within the threshold distance of the target location. In such examples, the wireless device is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location based on ground positioning information. In such examples, the ground positioning information may be based on a location from a GPS module or a cell identification ID.

[0107] In another example, as shown at 1005, the wireless device may receive a broadcast notification (e.g., a broadcast message from a base station, such as via a system information block (SIB)) from a base station or a cloud platform, where the broadcast notification indicates that the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location.

[0108] In another example, the wireless device may further disable the transmitter based on at least one of: acceleration of the wireless device exceeding an acceleration threshold; a rate of pressure change exceeding a pressure change threshold; detection of sound waves from an aircraft engine; or detection of an aircraft transponder signal.

[0109] In another example, the wireless device is detected as being in the air and the transmitter is disabled based on the wireless device being in the air, as shown at 1006. In this example, the wireless device may calculate a Doppler estimate for one or more received signals, and the wireless device may determine whether the Doppler estimate exceeds a Doppler threshold, wherein the wireless device is detected as being in the air based on the Doppler estimate exceeding the Doppler threshold.

[0110] In another example, as shown at 1007, the wireless device may calculate the speed of the wireless device relative to the ground position, and the wireless device may determine whether the speed exceeds a speed threshold, wherein the wireless device is detected as being in the air based on the speed exceeding the speed threshold.

[0111] In another example, the wireless device may be located on cargo on an aircraft, and wherein the wireless device is used to track the location of the cargo.

[0112] In another example, the wireless device is detected as being in-air if the wireless device is scheduled to be in-air for a threshold time period.

[0113] In another example, the wireless device is a tracking device, and wherein the target location is an airport.

[0114] Fig.111100 is a flow chart of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a wireless device (e.g., UE 104, 404; tracking device 502, 702; apparatus 1204). The method may enable a wireless device (which may be a tracking device for tracking cargo) to disable its transmitter based on determining whether the wireless device is near or within a threshold distance of an airport and / or based on information or measurements obtained from its modem receiver.

[0115] At 1102, the wireless device may detect whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance (e.g., 1 mile, 2 miles, etc.) of a target location (e.g., an airport, a designated location, etc.) or whether the wireless device is in the air, such as in conjunction with Figures 7 to 9 For example, Figure 7 As shown, tracking device 702 can detect whether it is near airport 710 and Fig. 9 As shown, tracking device 702 can detect whether it is in the air. The detection of whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of the target location or whether the wireless device is in the air can be performed by, for example Fig.12 The tracking device configuration component 198, the cellular baseband processor 1224 and / or the transceiver 1222 of the device 1204 are executed.

[0116] At 1104, the wireless device may disable the transmitter of the wireless device based on detecting that the wireless device is within a threshold distance of the target location or the wireless device is in the air, such as in conjunction with Figures 7 to 9 For example, Figure 7 As shown, tracking device 702 may disable its transmission function when it detects that it is in the vicinity of airport 710, and as shown in FIG. Fig. 9 As shown, the tracking device 702 can disable its transmission function when it detects that it is in the air. The disabling of the transmitter can be performed by, for example Fig.12 The tracking device configuration component 198 and / or the cellular baseband processor 1224 of the device 1204 are executed.

[0117] In one example, the wireless device may transmit, via the transmitter, first information indicating at least one location of the wireless device, wherein the first information is transmitted prior to disabling the transmitter.

[0118] In another example, the wireless device may detect whether the wireless device is within a second threshold distance of a second target location or whether the wireless device is not airborne, and the wireless device may enable the transmitter based on detecting that the wireless device is outside the second threshold distance of the second target location or the wireless device is not airborne.

[0119] In another example, the wireless device is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location, and the transmitter is disabled based on the wireless device being within the threshold distance of the target location. In such an example, the wireless device is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location based on ground positioning information. In such an example, the ground positioning information may be based on a location from a GPS module or a cell identification ID.

[0120] In another example, the wireless device may receive a broadcast notification from a base station or a cloud platform, wherein the broadcast notification indicates that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location.

[0121] In another example, the wireless device may further disable the transmitter based on at least one of: acceleration of the wireless device exceeding an acceleration threshold; a rate of pressure change exceeding a pressure change threshold; detection of sound waves from an aircraft engine; or detection of an aircraft transponder signal.

[0122] In another example, the wireless device is detected as being airborne and a transmitter is disabled based on the wireless device being airborne. In this example, the wireless device may calculate a Doppler estimate for one or more received signals, and the wireless device may determine whether the Doppler estimate exceeds a Doppler threshold, wherein the wireless device is detected as being airborne based on the Doppler estimate exceeding the Doppler threshold.

[0123] In another example, the wireless device may calculate a speed of the wireless device relative to a ground location, and the wireless device may determine whether the speed exceeds a speed threshold, wherein the wireless device is detected as being airborne based on the speed exceeding the speed threshold.

[0124] In another example, the wireless device may be located on cargo on an aircraft, and wherein the wireless device is used to track the location of the cargo.

[0125] In another example, the wireless device is detected as being in-air if the wireless device is scheduled to be in-air for a threshold time period.

[0126] In another example, the wireless device is a tracking device, and wherein the target location is an airport.

[0127] Fig.121200 is an example of a hardware implementation of an example device 1204. The device 1204 may be a UE, a component of a UE, or may implement UE functionality. In some aspects, the device 1204 may include a cellular baseband processor 1224 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to one or more transceivers 1222 (e.g., a cellular RF transceiver). The cellular baseband processor 1224 may include on-chip memory 1224'. In some aspects, the device 1204 may also include one or more subscriber identity module (SIM) cards 1220 and an application processor 1206 coupled to a secure digital (SD) card 1208 and a screen 1210. The application processor 1206 may include on-chip memory 1206'. In some aspects, the device 1204 may also include a Bluetooth module 1212, a WLAN module 1214, an SPS module 1216 (e.g., a GNSS module), one or more sensor modules 1218 (e.g., an atmospheric pressure sensor / altimeter; a motion sensor such as an inertial management unit (IMU), a gyroscope, and / or an accelerometer; light detection and ranging (LIDAR), radio-aided detection and ranging (RADAR), sound navigation and ranging (SONAR), a magnetometer, audio for positioning, and / or other technologies), an additional memory module 1226, a power source 1230, and / or a camera 1232. The Bluetooth module 1212, the WLAN module 1214, and the SPS module 1216 may include an on-chip transceiver (TRX) (or in some cases, only a receiver (RX)). The Bluetooth module 1212, the WLAN module 1214, and the SPS module 1216 may include their own dedicated antennas and / or communicate using an antenna 1280. The cellular baseband processor 1224 communicates with the UE 104 and / or with the RU associated with the network entity 1202 through the transceiver 1222 via one or more antennas 1280. The cellular baseband processor 1224 and the application processor 1206 may each include a computer-readable medium / memory 1224', 1206', respectively. The additional memory module 1226 may also be considered a computer-readable medium / memory. Each computer-readable medium / memory 1224', 1206', 1226 may be non-transitory. The cellular baseband processor 1224 and the application processor 1206 are each responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the cellular baseband processor 1224 / application processor 1206, enables the cellular baseband processor 1224 / application processor 1206 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory can also be used to store data manipulated by the cellular baseband processor 1224 / application processor 1206 when executing the software.The cellular baseband processor 1224 / application processor 1206 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include the memory 360 and / or at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359. In one configuration, the device 1204 may be a processor chip (modem and / or application) and include only the cellular baseband processor 1224 and / or the application processor 1206, while in another configuration, the device 1204 may be the entire UE (e.g., see. Figure 3 350) and includes additional modules of device 1204.

[0128] As discussed above, the tracking device configuration component 198 may be configured to detect whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or whether the wireless device is in the air. The tracking device configuration component 198 may also be configured to disable the transmitter of the wireless device based on detecting that the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or that the wireless device is in the air. The tracking device configuration component 198 may be in the cellular baseband processor 1224, the application processor 1206, or in both the cellular baseband processor 1224 and the application processor 1206. The tracking device configuration component 198 may be one or more hardware components that are specifically configured to perform the process / algorithm, implemented by one or more processors configured to perform the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium so as to be implemented by one or more processors, or some combination of the above. As shown, the device 1204 may include a variety of components configured for various functions. In one configuration, the device 1204 (and specifically, the cellular baseband processor 1224 and / or the application processor 1206) may include a component for detecting whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or whether the wireless device is in the air. The apparatus 1204 may also include means for disabling a transmitter of the wireless device based on detecting that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location or that the wireless device is airborne.

[0129] In another configuration, the apparatus 1204 further includes means for transmitting, via the transmitter, first information indicative of at least one location of the wireless device, wherein the first information is transmitted prior to disabling the transmitter.

[0130] In another configuration, the apparatus 1204 further comprises means for detecting whether the wireless device is within a second threshold distance of a second target location or whether the wireless device is not in the air. The apparatus 1204 further comprises means for enabling the transmitter based on detecting that the wireless device is outside the second threshold distance of the second target location or that the wireless device is not in the air.

[0131] In another configuration, the device 1204 is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location, and the transmitter is disabled based on the device 1204 being within the threshold distance of the target location. In such a configuration, the device 1204 is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location based on ground positioning information. In such a configuration, the ground positioning information may be based on a location from a GPS module or a cell identification ID.

[0132] In another configuration, the device 1204 further includes means for receiving a broadcast notification from a base station or a cloud platform, wherein the broadcast notification indicates that the device 1204 is within the threshold distance of the target location.

[0133] In another configuration, the means for disabling the transmitter is further based on at least one of: acceleration of the device 1204 exceeding an acceleration threshold; a rate of pressure change exceeding a pressure change threshold; detection of acoustic waves from an aircraft engine; or detection of an aircraft transponder signal.

[0134] In another configuration, the device 1204 is detected as being airborne, and the transmitter is disabled based on the device 1204 being airborne. In this configuration, the device 1204 also includes means for calculating a Doppler estimate for the one or more received signals. The device 1204 also includes means for determining whether the Doppler estimate exceeds a Doppler threshold, wherein the device 1204 is detected as being airborne based on the Doppler estimate exceeding the Doppler threshold.

[0135] In another configuration, the device 1204 further includes means for calculating a speed relative to a ground position of the device 1204. The device 1204 further includes means for determining whether the speed exceeds a speed threshold, wherein the device 1204 is detected as being airborne based on the speed exceeding the speed threshold.

[0136] In another configuration, the device 1204 may be located on cargo on an aircraft, and wherein the device 1204 is used to track the location of the cargo.

[0137] In another configuration, the device 1204 is detected as being airborne if the device 1204 is scheduled to be airborne for a threshold time period.

[0138] In another configuration, the apparatus 1204 is a tracking device, and wherein the target location is an airport.

[0139] The means may be a tracking device configuration component 198 of the apparatus 1204 configured to perform the functions recited by the means. As described above, the apparatus 1204 may include a TX processor 368, an RX processor 356, and a controller / processor 359. Thus, in one configuration, the means may be a TX processor 368, an RX processor 356, and / or a controller / processor 359 configured to perform the functions recited by the means.

[0140] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the blocks in the disclosed process / flowchart is only an illustration of the exemplary method. It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the blocks in the process / flowchart can be rearranged based on design preferences. In addition, some blocks can be combined or omitted. The attached method claims provide the elements of each block in a sample order, but are not limited to the specific order or hierarchy provided.

[0141] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not limited to the various aspects described herein, but should be given the full scope consistent with the language claims. Unless otherwise specified, reference to an element in the singular form does not mean "one and only one", but "one or more". Terms such as "if", "when" and "while" do not mean a direct temporal relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases, such as "when ...", do not mean an immediate action in response to the occurrence of an action or during the occurrence of an action, but simply imply that an action will occur if a condition is met, but no specific or immediate time limit is required for the occurrence of an action. The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "used as an example, instance, or illustration". Any aspect described as "exemplary" herein is not necessarily interpreted as being preferred or having an advantage over other aspects. Unless otherwise specified, the term "some" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiple A, multiple B, or multiple C. Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be only A, only B, only C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combination may contain one or more members of A, B, or C. A set should be interpreted as a set of elements, where the number of elements is one or more. Thus, for a set of X, X will include one or more elements. If the first device receives data from the second device or sends data to the second device, the data can be directly received / sent between the first device and the second device, or indirectly received / sent between the first device and the second device through a set of devices. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout the present disclosure that are known or will later be known to a person of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are covered by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly stated in the claims. Words such as "module", "mechanism", "element", "device", etc. cannot replace the word "component". Therefore, no claim element will be understood as a component plus function unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase "component for..."

[0142] As used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as referring to a closed set of information, one or more conditions, one or more factors, etc. In other words, the phrase "based on A" (where "A" can be information, a condition, a factor, etc.) should be interpreted as "based at least on A" unless specifically stated differently.

[0143] The following aspects are merely illustrative and may be combined with other aspects or teachings described herein, but are not limiting.

[0144] Aspect 1 is a method for wireless communication at a first device, the method comprising: detecting whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or whether the wireless device is in the air; and disabling a transmitter of the wireless device based on detecting that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location or the wireless device is in the air.

[0145] Aspect 2 is a method according to aspect 1, the method further comprising sending, via the transmitter, first information indicating at least one location of the wireless device, wherein the first information is sent before disabling the transmitter.

[0146] Aspect 3 is a method according to Aspect 2, the method further comprising: detecting whether the wireless device is within a second threshold distance of a second target location or whether the wireless device is not in the air; and enabling the transmitter based on detecting that the wireless device is outside the second threshold distance of the second target location or the wireless device is not in the air.

[0147] Aspect 4 is a method according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein the wireless device is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location, and the transmitter is disabled based on the wireless device being within the threshold distance of the target location.

[0148] Aspect 5 is a method according to aspect 4, wherein the wireless device is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location based on ground positioning information.

[0149] Aspect 6 is a method according to aspect 5, wherein the ground positioning information is based on a location from a GPS module or a cell identification ID.

[0150] Aspect 7 is a method according to aspect 4, the method further comprising receiving a broadcast notification from a base station or a cloud platform, wherein the broadcast notification indicates that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location.

[0151] Aspect 8 is a method according to aspect 4, the method also including disabling the transmitter based on at least one of the following: acceleration of the wireless device exceeds an acceleration threshold; a rate of pressure change exceeds a pressure change threshold; detection of sound waves from an aircraft engine; or detection of an aircraft transponder signal.

[0152] Aspect 9 is a method according to any one of aspects 1 to 8, wherein the wireless device is detected as being in the air and the transmitter is disabled based on the wireless device being in the air.

[0153] Aspect 10 is a method according to aspect 9, the method further comprising: calculating a Doppler estimate for one or more received signals; and determining whether the Doppler estimate exceeds a Doppler threshold, wherein the wireless device is detected as being in the air based on the Doppler estimate exceeding the Doppler threshold.

[0154] Aspect 11 is a method according to Aspect 9, the method further comprising: calculating the speed of the wireless device relative to the ground position; and determining whether the speed exceeds a speed threshold, wherein the wireless device is detected as being in the air based on the speed exceeding the speed threshold.

[0155] Aspect 12 is a method according to aspect 9, the method also including disabling the transmitter based on at least one of the following: acceleration of the wireless device exceeds an acceleration threshold; a rate of pressure change exceeds a pressure change threshold; detection of sound waves from an aircraft engine; or detection of an aircraft transponder signal.

[0156] Aspect 13 is a method according to any one of aspects 1 to 12, the method further comprising wherein the wireless device is located on cargo on an aircraft, and wherein the wireless device is used to track the location of the cargo.

[0157] Aspect 14 is a method according to any one of aspects 1 to 13, the method also including wherein the wireless device is detected as being in the air if the wireless device is scheduled to be in the air within a threshold time period.

[0158] Aspect 15 is a method according to any one of aspects 1 to 14, the method further comprising wherein the wireless device is a tracking device, and wherein the target location is an airport.

[0159] Aspect 16 is an apparatus for performing wireless communications at a wireless device, the apparatus comprising: a memory; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being coupled to the memory and being configured to implement any one of Aspects 1 to 15 based at least in part on information stored in the memory.

[0160] Aspect 17 is the apparatus of aspect 16, further comprising at least one of an antenna or a transceiver coupled to the at least one processor.

[0161] Aspect 18 is an apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising means for implementing any one of aspects 1 to 15.

[0162] Aspect 19 is a computer-readable medium (eg, non-transitory computer-readable medium) storing computer-executable code, wherein the code, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement any one of aspects 1 to 15.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication at a wireless device, the apparatus comprising: Memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and based at least in part on the information stored in the memory, the at least one processor configured to: detecting whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or whether the wireless device is in the air; as well as A transmitter of the wireless device is disabled based on detecting that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location or that the wireless device is airborne.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to: First information indicative of at least one location of the wireless device is transmitted via the transmitter, wherein the first information is transmitted prior to disabling the transmitter.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to: detecting whether the wireless device is within a second threshold distance of a second target location or whether the wireless device is out of the air; and The transmitter is enabled based on detecting that the wireless device is outside the second threshold distance of the second target location or that the wireless device is not airborne. 4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the wireless device is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location, and the transmitter is disabled based on the wireless device being within the threshold distance of the target location. 5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the wireless device is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location based on terrestrial positioning information.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the terrestrial positioning information is based on a location from a global positioning system (GPS) module or a cell identification (ID).

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: A broadcast notification is received from a base station or a cloud platform, wherein the broadcast notification indicates that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to disable the transmitter based on at least one of: The acceleration of the wireless device exceeds an acceleration threshold; The rate of pressure change exceeds a pressure change threshold; Detection of sound waves from aircraft engines; or Detection of aircraft transponder signals.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is detected as being in the air and the transmitter is disabled based on the wireless device being in the air.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: calculating a Doppler estimate for one or more received signals; and A determination is made as to whether the Doppler estimate exceeds a Doppler threshold, wherein the wireless device is detected as being airborne based on the Doppler estimate exceeding the Doppler threshold.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: calculating a velocity of the wireless device relative to a ground position; and A determination is made as to whether the speed exceeds a speed threshold, wherein the wireless device is detected as being airborne based on the speed exceeding the speed threshold.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to disable the transmitter based on at least one of: The acceleration of the wireless device exceeds an acceleration threshold; The rate of pressure change exceeds a pressure change threshold; Detection of sound waves from aircraft engines; or Detection of aircraft transponder signals.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is located on cargo on an aircraft, and wherein the wireless device is used to track the location of the cargo.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is detected as being in-air if the wireless device is scheduled to be in-air for a threshold time period.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is a tracking device, and wherein the target location is an airport.

16. A method of wireless communication at a wireless device, the method comprising: detecting whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or whether the wireless device is in the air; as well as A transmitter of the wireless device is disabled based on detecting that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location or that the wireless device is airborne.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: First information indicative of at least one location of the wireless device is transmitted via the transmitter, wherein the first information is transmitted prior to disabling the transmitter.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: detecting whether the wireless device is within a second threshold distance of a second target location or whether the wireless device is out of the air; as well as The transmitter is enabled based on detecting that the wireless device is outside the second threshold distance of the second target location or that the wireless device is not airborne.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the wireless device is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location, and the transmitter is disabled based on the wireless device being within the threshold distance of the target location.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the wireless device is detected as being within the threshold distance of the target location based on terrestrial positioning information.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the terrestrial positioning information is based on a location or a cell identification (ID) from a global positioning system (GPS) module.

22. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: A broadcast notification is received from a base station or a cloud platform, wherein the broadcast notification indicates that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising disabling the transmitter based on at least one of: The acceleration of the wireless device exceeds an acceleration threshold; The rate of pressure change exceeds a pressure change threshold; Detection of sound waves from aircraft engines; or Detection of aircraft transponder signals.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein the wireless device is detected as being in the air and the transmitter is disabled based on the wireless device being in the air.

25. The method according to claim 24, further comprising: calculating a Doppler estimate for one or more received signals; as well as A determination is made as to whether the Doppler estimate exceeds a Doppler threshold, wherein the wireless device is detected as being airborne based on the Doppler estimate exceeding the Doppler threshold.

26. The method according to claim 24, further comprising: calculating a velocity of the wireless device relative to a ground position; as well as A determination is made as to whether the speed exceeds a speed threshold, wherein the wireless device is detected as being airborne based on the speed exceeding the speed threshold.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising disabling the transmitter based on at least one of: The acceleration of the wireless device exceeds an acceleration threshold; The rate of pressure change exceeds a pressure change threshold; Detection of sound waves from aircraft engines; or Detection of aircraft transponder signals.

28. The method of claim 16, wherein the wireless device is detected as being in-air if the wireless device is scheduled to be in-air for a threshold time period.

29. An apparatus for wireless communication at a wireless device, the apparatus comprising: means for detecting whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or whether the wireless device is airborne; and Means for disabling a transmitter of the wireless device based on detecting that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location or that the wireless device is airborne.

30. A computer readable medium storing computer executable code at a wireless device, the code, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to: detecting whether the wireless device is within a threshold distance of a target location or whether the wireless device is in the air; and A transmitter of the wireless device is disabled based on detecting that the wireless device is within the threshold distance of the target location or that the wireless device is airborne.

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