Resource selection and prioritization for sidelink positioning operations

Abstract

Sidelink (SL) positioning of a user equipment (UE) is supported by assigning priority values to SL positioning operations, such as transmission or reception of SL positioning reference signals (PRS). For example, the priority value may be (pre-) configured, or provided from a higher layer to a physical (PHY) layer. The UE selects resources for the SL positioning operations based at least on the priority value. The UE may reserve resources for the SL positioning operations, for example by using Layer 1 (L1) and / or Layer 2 (L2) control operations or sending an indication that other UEs are to avoid using the resources. The priority values for the SL positioning operations may be used to resolve intra-device conflicts, such as when the SL positioning operations collide with other sidelink or non-sidelink operations.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. non-provisional application serial number 17 / 874,147, entitled “RESOURCE SELECTION AND PRIORITIZATION OF SIDELINK POSITIONING OPERATIONS” and filed on July 26, 2022, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to systems, methods, and devices that support positioning. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, positioning, and broadcast. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems (such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, advanced LTE (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems) and fifth generation (5G) systems (which may be referred to as new radio (NR) systems).

[0004] In some examples, a wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple base stations, each base station simultaneously supporting communication of multiple communication devices (also referred to as user equipment (UE)). In an LTE or LTE-A network, a set of one or more base stations may define an evolved Node B (eNB). In other examples (e.g., in a next generation or 5G network), a wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple distributed units (DUs) (e.g., edge units (EUs), edge nodes (ENs), radio heads (RHs), smart radio heads (SRHs), transmit receive points (TRPs), etc.) communicating with multiple central units (CUs) (e.g., central nodes (CNs), access node controllers (ANCs), etc.), wherein a set of one or more distributed units communicating with the central unit may define an access node (e.g., new radio base stations (NR BSs), new radio B nodes (NR NBs), network nodes, 5G NBs, gNBs, etc.). A base station or DU may communicate with a set of UEs on a downlink channel (e.g., for transmission from a base station or to a UE) and an uplink channel (e.g., for transmission from a UE to a base station or a distributed unit). Additionally, UEs may communicate directly with each other using sidelink channels.

[0005] The location of the UE may be useful or essential for a variety of applications including emergency calls, navigation, direction finding, asset tracking, and Internet services. The location of the UE may be estimated based on information collected from various systems. In a cellular network implemented according to, for example, LTE or 5G NR, a base station may transmit a downlink reference signal by which the UE performs positioning measurements and / or the UE may transmit an uplink reference signal by which the base station performs positioning measurements. The UE may use positioning measurements in UE-based positioning to calculate an estimate of its own position or may transmit positioning measurements to a network entity (e.g., a location server), which may calculate the UE position based on the positioning measurements in UE-assisted positioning. It is desirable to support sidelink positioning. Summary of the invention

[0006] Sidelink (SL) positioning of a user equipment (UE) is supported by assigning priority values ​​to SL positioning operations, such as the transmission or reception of a SL positioning reference signal (PRS). For example, the priority value may be (pre-)configured or provided to the physical (PHY) layer from a higher layer. The UE selects resources for these SL positioning operations based at least on the priority value. The UE may reserve resources for these SL positioning operations, for example by using layer 1 (L1) and / or layer 2 (L2) control operations or by sending indications to other UEs to avoid using these resources. These priority values ​​for these SL positioning operations may be used to resolve intra-device conflicts, such as when these SL positioning operations conflict with other sidelink or non-sidelink operations.

[0007] In one specific implementation, a method for supporting sidelink (SL) positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: assigning a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; selecting resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value; and reserving these resources for the at least one SL positioning operation.

[0008] In one specific implementation, a user equipment (UE) configured to support sidelink (SL) positioning performed, the user equipment (UE) comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with a network entity; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: assign a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; select resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value; and reserve these resources for the at least one SL positioning operation performed via the wireless transceiver.

[0009] In one specific implementation, a user equipment (UE) configured to support sidelink (SL) positioning execution includes: a component for assigning a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; a component for selecting resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value; and a component for reserving these resources for the at least one SL positioning operation.

[0010] In one specific implementation, a non-transitory storage medium includes program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) to support execution of sidelink (SL) positioning, the program code including instructions for: assigning a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; selecting resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value; and reserving these resources for the at least one SL positioning operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 The architecture of a communication system including several UEs, a Radio Access Network (RAN) and a 5G Core Network (5GC) is shown.

[0012] Figure 2 The signal flow of signaling between UEs for paired sidelink positioning is illustrated.

[0013] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D Each illustrates a slot-based sidelink transmission with multiple sidelink symbols and illustrates various options for the structure of the sidelink positioning signal transmission.

[0014] Figure 4 The signal flow for procedures and signaling between UEs to support sidelink (SL) positioning using priority values ​​is illustrated.

[0015] Figure 5 A schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a UE configured to support sidelink positioning operations using priority values ​​is illustrated.

[0016] Figure 6 A flow chart of an exemplary method for supporting SL positioning using priority values ​​is illustrated.

[0017] Elements are indicated by numerical labels in the drawings, wherein like numbered elements in different drawings represent the same element or similar elements. Different instances of a common element are indicated by adding different numerical suffixes to the numerical designation of the common element. In this case, reference to the numerical designation without the suffix indicates any instance of the common element. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Various aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings for various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid making the relevant details of the present disclosure difficult to understand.

[0019] This specification may refer to a sequence of actions to be performed by, for example, an element of a computing device. Each action described herein can be performed by a dedicated circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. The sequence of actions described herein may be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a corresponding set of computer instructions stored thereon, which, when executed, will cause an associated processor to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects described herein may be implemented in a number of different forms, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0020] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not dedicated to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise specified. Generally speaking, such UEs may be any wireless communication devices (e.g., mobile phones, routers, tablet computers, laptop computers, tracking devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Industrial IoT (IIoT), etc.) for communicating over a wireless communication network. UEs may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). For example, as used herein, a UE may be an infrastructure node such as a roadside unit (RSU), a positioning reference unit (PRU), etc. As used herein, the term "UE" may be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber equipment", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal", "mobile station", RSU, PRU, or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE may be connected to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through a wired access network, a WiFi network (eg, based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), and the like.

[0021] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs when communicating with UEs, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a general Node B (gNodeB, gNB), etc. Furthermore, in some systems a base station may provide only edge node signaling functions, while in other systems a base station may provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0022] The UE may be implemented by any of a variety of types of devices, including but not limited to a printed circuit (PC) card, a compact flash device, an external or internal modem, a wireless or wired phone, a smart phone, a tablet device, a tracking device, an asset tag, etc. The communication link through which the UE can transmit signals to the RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the RAN can transmit signals to the UE is called a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). The communication link through which the UE can transmit signals to other UEs is called a sidelink channel. As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward or sidelink traffic channel.

[0023] As used herein, depending on the context, the term "cell" or "sector" may correspond to one of the multiple cells of a base station or to the base station itself. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)). In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types that may provide access to different types of devices (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). In some examples, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which the logical entity operates.

[0024] Standardization of cellular systems, such as fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) network systems, is ongoing in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). For example, 3GPP Release 16 and Release 17 have introduced standardization and support for several technologies to enable and enhance positioning in cellular systems. By way of example, RAT-dependent positioning systems that have undergone standardization include enhanced cell ID (E-CID) (using received signal strength (RSS) and round trip time (RTT) and optionally angle of arrival (AoA)), downlink (DL) positioning such as observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA), uplink (UL) positioning such as uplink time difference of arrival (UTDOA). RAT-autonomous positioning systems that have been undergoing standardization include enhanced global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and other technologies, such as wireless local area networks (WLAN), Bluetooth ® , Land Beacon System (TBS) and sensor-based positioning, including air pressure sensors and motion sensors. In addition, hybrid positioning has undergone standardization, which includes the use of multiple positioning methods, for example, A-GNSS + OTDOA hybrid positioning.

[0025] Standardization of sidelink (SL) positioning may be performed in the future (e.g., in 3GPP Release 18). For example, SL positioning may use reference signals, such as positioning reference signals (PRS) sent and received by UEs via sidelink channels, which may be measured to determine the distance between UEs, the angle of arrival of signals, the relative positions of UEs, etc. Based on the known positions of one or more UEs, the relative positions of UEs may be used to further determine the absolute positions of UEs (if necessary).

[0026] Figure 1An example of a communication system 100 is shown, which includes a first UE 105A, a second UE 105B, a radio access network (RAN) 135, here a fifth generation (5G) next generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN), and a 5G core network (5GC) 140. For example, the 5GC 140 can be a public land mobile network (PLMN). UE 105A and UE 105B may sometimes be referred to herein as UE 105 individually or collectively. UE 105 may be, for example, an IoT device, a location tracker device, a cellular phone, a vehicle, an on-board unit (OBU), or other similar type of device. Additionally, UE 105 may be considered an RSU or a PRU. A 5G network may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or an NR RAN; and 5GC 140 may be referred to as an NG core network (NGC). Standardization of NG-RAN and 5GC is ongoing in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may comply with current or future standards from the 3GPP for 5G support. The RAN 135 may be another type of RAN, such as a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. The UE 105B may be similarly configured and coupled to the UE 105A to transmit and / or receive signals to and / or from similar other entities in the system 100. The communication system 100 may utilize information from a constellation of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190 of a satellite positioning system (SPS) (e.g., a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)), such as a global positioning system (GPS), a global navigation satellite system (GLONASS), Galileo, or BeiDou, or some other local or regional SPS (such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0027] like Figure 1As shown, the NG-RAN 135 includes NR Node Bs (gNBs) 110a, 110b and a next generation evolved Node B (ng-eNB) 114, and the 5GC 140 includes an access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, a session management function (SMF) 117, a location management function (LMF) 120, and a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125, a user plane function (UPF) 118, and a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SUPL SLP) 119. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, each configured to perform bidirectional wireless communication with the UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to the AMF 115 and the UPF 118 and configured to perform bidirectional communication with the AMF and the UPF. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 may be referred to as base stations (BSs). The AMF 115, SMF 117, LMF 120, and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the GMLC 125 is communicatively coupled to the external client 130. The AMF 115, SMF 117, UPF 118, and SUPL SLP 119 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the SUPL SLP 119 is communicatively coupled to the external client 130. The SMF 117 may also serve as an initial contact point for a service control function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions. The base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may be macro cells (e.g., high-power cellular base stations) or small cells (e.g., low-power cellular base stations) or access points (e.g., short-range base stations configured to communicate using short-range technologies such as WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, etc.). One or more of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may be configured to communicate with the UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic area (eg, cell). Each cell may be divided into multiple sectors according to the base station antenna.

[0028] Figure 1A generalized illustration of various components is provided, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each component may be repeated or omitted as desired. Specifically, although only UE 105 is illustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a greater (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or less than the four SVs 190 shown), gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNBs 114, AMFs 115, external clients 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. In addition, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0029] Although Figure 1 A 5G-based network is illustrated, but similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Implementations described herein (which may be used for 5G technologies and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to send (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105) or at a base station 110a, 110b, 114, and / or provide location assistance to the UE 105 (via an LMF 120 or SUPLSLP 119 or other location server), and / or calculate a location of one or both of the UEs 105 at a location-capable device (such as a UE 105, a base station 110a, 110b, an LMF 120, or a SUPL SLP 119) based on measurements received at the UE 105 or the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 for such directionally transmitted signals. The GMLC 125, LMF 120, AMF 115, SMF 117, UPF 118, SUPL SLP 119, ng-eNB (evolved Node B) 114 and gNB (next generation Node B) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by or include various other entities (including location server functionality and / or base station functionality) in various embodiments.

[0030] The system 100 is capable of wireless communication because the components of the system 100 can communicate with each other (at least sometimes using wireless connections), directly or indirectly, for example, via base stations 110a, 110b, 114 and / or network 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other transceiver base stations). For indirect communication, the communication can be changed during transmission from one entity to another, for example, to change header information of a data packet, change the format, etc. The UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be a mobile wireless communication device, but may communicate wirelessly and via a wired connection. The UE 105 may be any of a variety of devices, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a vehicle-based device, etc., but these devices are only examples because the UE 105 need not be any of these configurations, and other configurations of the UE may be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or headphones, etc.). Other UEs may also be used, whether currently existing or developed in the future. In addition, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) may be implemented within the system 100 and may communicate with each other and / or with the UE 105, base stations 110a, 110b, 114, the core network 140, and / or external clients 130. For example, such other devices may include IoT or IIoT devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. The core network 140 may communicate with the external client 130 (e.g., a computer system), for example, to allow the external client 130 (e.g., via the GMLC 125 or the SUPL SLP 119) to request and / or receive location information about the UE 105.

[0031] The UE 105 or other device may be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, multi-frequency Wi-Fi communication, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (e.g., V2P (vehicle to pedestrian), V2I (vehicle to infrastructure), V2V (vehicle to vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.). V2X communications can be cellular (Cellular-V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Connection)). System 100 can support operations on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can send modulated signals simultaneously on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal can be a code division multiple access (CDMA) signal, a time division multiple access (TDMA) signal, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) signal, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on a different carrier and can carry pilots, overhead information, data, etc. UE 105 may communicate with each other via UE-to-UE sidelink communication by transmitting on one or more sidelink (SL) channels such as a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a synchronization signal block (SSB), a sidelink channel state information reference signal (SL-CSIRS), a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH), or a sidelink sounding reference signal (SL-SRS).

[0032] UE 105 may include and / or may be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a terminal (SET) enabled with secure user plane location (SUPL), or some other name. In addition, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, a smart phone, a laptop, a tablet device, a PDA, a tracking device, a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an asset tracker, a health monitor, a security system, a smart city sensor, a smart meter, a wearable tracker, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, although not necessarily, UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc. UE 105 may support wireless communications using a wireless local area network (WLAN), which may be connected to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable. Using one or more of these RATs may allow UE 105 (e.g., via elements of 5GC 140 ( Figure 1 125), or may communicate with external client 130 via GMLC 125 and / or allow external client 130 to receive location information about UE 105 (eg, via GMLC 125 or SUPL SLP 119).

[0033] Each of the UEs 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network, where users may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or body sensors and separate wired or wireless modems. An estimate of the location of a UE (e.g., UE 105) may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geographic, providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the UE, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above or depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, the location of the UE may be expressed as a municipal location (e.g., expressed as a postal address or a designation of a point or smaller area in a building (such as a specific room or floor)). The location of the UE may be expressed as an area or volume (geographically or municipally defined) within which the UE is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The position of the UE may be expressed as a relative position including, for example, a distance and direction from a known location. The relative position may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin at a known location, which may be defined, for example, geographically, in municipal form, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated, for example, on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term "position" may include any of these variants unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the position of the UE, local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved, and then (if necessary) the local coordinates are converted into absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0034] UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. UE 105 may be configured to be indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. D2D P2P links may be supported using any appropriate D2D radio access technology (RAT) such as LTE direct (LTE-D), WiFi direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, etc. One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be located within a geographic coverage area of ​​a transmit / receive point (TRP) such as one or more of gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNBs 114. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may be unable to receive transmissions from a base station for other reasons. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without involving a TRP. One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communications may be located within the geographic coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications may be performed between UEs without involving a TRP.

[0035] Figure 1 The base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown include NR Node Bs (referred to as gNB 110a and gNB 110b). Each pair of gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 may be connected to each other via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communications between the UE and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, which may provide wireless communications access to the 5GC 140 on behalf of the UE using 5G. Figure 1 In the figure, the serving gNB for UE 105A is assumed to be gNB 110b, and the serving gNB for UE 105B is assumed to be gNB 110a, but another gNB may act as the serving gNB if UE 105 moves to another location, or may act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105 and UE 105 may share the same serving gNB.

[0036] Figure 1The base stations (BSs) in the illustrated NG-RAN 135 may include an ng-eNB 114, also referred to as a next generation evolved Node B. The ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135, possibly via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE wireless access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 may be configured to function as a positioning-only beacon, which may transmit signals to assist in determining the location of the UE 105, but may not be able to receive signals from the UE 105 or other UEs.

[0037] Base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may each include one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a cell of a base station may include a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., sharing a processor but having separate antennas). System 100 may include only a macro TRP, or system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as a macro TRP, a micro TRP, and / or a femto TRP. A macro TRP may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access to terminals with service subscriptions. A micro TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a micro cell) and may allow unrestricted access to terminals with service subscriptions. A femto TRP or a home TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access to terminals associated with the femto cell (e.g., terminals of users in a home).

[0038] The communication system 100 may support NR and support communication between one or more base stations 110a, 110b, 114 and supported UEs 105. The UEs may be dispersed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. As part of the communication, each of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 and the UE 105 may support reference signal transmission for various operations, including channel estimation, beam management and scheduling, and wireless device positioning within the coverage area of ​​one or more base stations.

[0039] For example, the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may transmit one or more downlink reference signals for NR communications, including channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmissions. Each of the CSI-RS transmissions may be configured for a specific UE 105 to estimate the channel and report channel quality information. The reported channel quality information may be used for scheduling or link adaptation at the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 or as part of a mobility management procedure or beam management procedure for directional transmissions associated with enhanced channel resources. Similarly, the UE 105 may be configured to transmit uplink signals to one or more base stations 110a, 110b, 114 and sidelink transmissions between the UEs 105.

[0040] The base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may transmit one or more additional downlink reference signals, including positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions. The PRS transmissions may be configured for a particular UE 105 to measure and report one or more reporting parameters (e.g., reporting quantities) associated with positioning and location information. The PRS transmissions and reporting parameter feedback may support various location services (e.g., navigation systems and emergency communications). In some examples, the reporting parameters supplement one or more additional location systems (such as global positioning system (GPS) technology) supported by the UE 105.

[0041] Base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may configure PRS transmission on one or more PRS resources of a channel. PRS resources may span resource elements of multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) within one or more OFDM symbols of a time slot depending on the number of configured ports. For example, a PRS resource may span a symbol of a time slot and include a port for transmission. In any OFDM symbol, a PRS resource may occupy consecutive PRBs. In some examples, PRS transmission may be mapped to consecutive OFDM symbols of a time slot. In other examples, PRS transmission may be mapped to interspersed OFDM symbols of a time slot. In addition, PRS transmission may support frequency hopping within a PRB of a channel.

[0042] The one or more PRS resources may span multiple PRS resource sets according to the PRS resource settings of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114. The structure of one or more PRS resources, PRS resource sets, and PRS resource settings within a PRS transmission may be referred to as a multi-level resource setting. For example, the multi-level PRS resource settings of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may include multiple PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set may include a set of PRS resources (such as a set of 4 PRS resources).

[0043] The UE 105 may receive a PRS transmission on one or more PRS resources in the time slot. The UE 105 may determine reporting parameters for at least some of the PRS resources (if not each PRS resource) included in the transmission. The reporting parameters for each PRS resource (which may include reporting quantities) may include one or more of: time of arrival (TOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), angle, PRS identification number, receive-to-transmit difference (UE Rx-Tx), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or reference signal received quality (RSRQ).

[0044] Similarly, the UE 105 may be configured to send one or more additional uplink reference signals, which may be received by the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 and used for positioning. For example, the UE 105 may send a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning. The base stations 110a, 110b, 114 receiving the uplink reference signal from the UE 105 may perform positioning measurements, such as one or more of time of arrival (TOA), receive-to-transmit difference (UE Rx-Tx).

[0045] Aspects of the wireless communication system 100 may include UE position determination using downlink PRS transmissions by base stations 110a, 110b, 114 or uplink SRS transmissions by UEs (e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B). For downlink-based UE position determination, a location server (e.g., LMF 120 in an NR network, or E-SMLC in LTE (sometimes referred to as location server 120)) may be used to provide positioning assistance, such as PRS assistance data (AD), to the UE. For uplink-based UE position determination, the location server 120 and / or a serving base station (e.g., gNB 110a) may be used to provide positioning assistance, such as SRS assistance data, to receiving entities, such as base stations (e.g., gNBs 110a, 110b, and other UEs). For example, the SRS assistance data may include SRS transmission timing and other parameters, such as reference signal mode, power (if different from nominal power), number of repetitions, etc.

[0046] A positioning estimate for the UE may be determined using reference signals from one or more base stations 110a, 110b, 114 or the UE, such as a PRS signal or an SRS or other reference signal for positioning signals. Positioning methods such as time difference of arrival (TDOA), DL time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), DL angle of departure (DL AoD), enhanced cell ID (ECID) are positioning methods that may be used to estimate the positioning of the UE using reference signals from base stations. For example, TDOA relies on measuring a reference signal time difference (RSTD) between downlink (DL) signals received from a base station of a reference cell and base stations of one or more neighboring cells. DL signals for which RTSD may be obtained include cell-specific reference signals (CRS) and positioning reference signals (PRS), for example, as defined in 3GPP TS 36.211.

[0047] Other positioning methods may use reference signals sent by the UE, including uplink-based positioning methods and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods. For example, uplink-based positioning methods include, for example, UL time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), UL angle of arrival (UL-AoA), UL relative time of arrival (UL-RTOA), and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods, such as round-trip time (RTT) with one or more neighboring base stations. Additionally, sidelink-based positioning may be used, in which the UE sends and / or receives sidelink positioning reference signals that are measured and used for positioning.

[0048] As pointed out, although Figure 1 Nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol are depicted, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (such as, for example, an LTE protocol or an IEEE 802.11x protocol) may also be used. For example, in an evolved packet system (EPS) that provides LTE wireless access to a UE 105, the RAN may include an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations including evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may include an evolved packet core (EPC). The EPS may include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to Figure 1 The NG-RAN 135 in the network and the EPC corresponds to the 5GC 140.

[0049] The gNB 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the AMF 115; for positioning functionality, the AMF communicates with the LMF 120. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell change and handover, and may participate in supporting signaling connections with the UE 105 and possible data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 may communicate directly or indirectly with the UE 105, or directly or indirectly with the base stations 110a, 110b, 114, for example, via wireless communications. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135, and may support various positioning procedures / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) (e.g., Downlink (DL) TDOA or Uplink (UL) TDOA), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), and / or other positioning methods. The LMF 120 may process a location service request for the UE 105 received from, for example, the AMF 115 or the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to the AMF 115 and / or the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be referred to by other names, such as a Location Manager (LM), a Location Function (LF), a Commercial LMF (CLMF), or a Value-Added LMF (VLMF). A node / system implementing LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SUPL SLP). At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the UE's location) may be performed at the UE (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by the UE for signals sent by wireless nodes (such as gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114), and / or assistance data provided to the UE, for example, by LMF 120). At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the UE's location) may alternatively be performed at LMF 120 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114). AMF 115 may serve as a control node that handles signaling between UE 105 and the core network 140, and provides QoS (quality of service) flow and session management. AMF 115 may support mobility of UE 105 , including cell change and handover, and may participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105 .

[0050] The GMLC 125 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 130, and may forward such location requests to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120, or may forward the location requests directly to the LMF 120. A location response (e.g., containing a location estimate of the UE 105) from the LMF 120 may be returned to the GMLC 125 directly or via the AMF 115, and the GMLC 125 may then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130. The GMLC 125 is shown as being connected to both the AMF 115 and the LMF 120, but in some implementations, the 5GC 140 may support only one of these connections.

[0051] A user plane function (UPF) 118 may support voice and data bearers for the UE 105 and may enable voice and data access to other networks, such as the Internet, for the UE 105. The UPF 118 may be connected to the gNB 110 and the ng-eNB 114. UPF 118 functions may include: external protocol data unit (PDU) session interconnection points to data networks, packet (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP)) routing and forwarding, user plane portion of packet inspection and policy rule enforcement, quality of service (QoS) handling of the user plane, downlink packet buffering, and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 118 may be connected to the SUPL SLP 119 to implement support for positioning of the UE 105 using SUPL. The SUPL SLP 119 may also be connected to or accessible from an external client 130.

[0052] As illustrated, a session management function (SMF) 117 is connected to the AMF 115 and the UPF 118. The SMF 117 may have the ability to control local and central UPFs within a PDU session. The SMF 117 may manage the establishment, modification, and release of PDU sessions for the UE 105, perform IP address allocation and management for the UE 105, act as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server for the UE 105, and select and control the UPF 118 on behalf of the UE 105.

[0053] like Figure 1As further illustrated, LMF 120 may communicate with gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 using a new radio positioning protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, wherein NRPPa messages are communicated between gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and LMF 120, and / or between ng-eNB 114 and LMF 120 via AMF 115. Figure 1 As further illustrated in , the LMF 120 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. Here, LPP messages may be transmitted between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, 110b or the serving ng-eNB 114 of the UE 105. For example, the LPP message may be transmitted between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using the 5G Location Service Application Protocol (LCS AP), and may be transmitted between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using the 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The communication between the LMF 120 and the UE 105 using the LPP protocol may sometimes be referred to herein as direct communication because the message is transparent to the serving gNB, i.e., the serving gNB does not need to understand the content of the message, but merely forwards the communication between the LMF 120 and the UE 105. In contrast, during communications using an NPP protocol such as NRPPa, the serving gNB unpacks the message, picks out the content, which is packaged and transmitted to the UE in, for example, a Uu air interface via radio resource control (RRC), medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), downlink control information (DCI), etc. The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, AOA, AOD, and / or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using a network-based positioning method such as E-CID (e.g., when used with measurements obtained by the gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining directional synchronization signal (SS) transmissions from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. The LMF 120 may be used to obtain location-related information from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining directional synchronization signal (SS) transmissions from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. Figure 1140, but may be outside the core network 140, such as in the NG-RAN. For example, the LMF 120 may be co-located or integrated with the gNB or TRP, or may be located remote from the gNB and / or TRP and configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or TRP.

[0054] Using UE-assisted positioning methods, a UE (e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B) may obtain location measurements and transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in calculating a location estimate for the UE. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of received signal strength indication (RSSI), round-trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP) and / or reference signal received quality (RSRQ), AOA, AOD of gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 and / or WLAN AP. The location measurements may additionally or alternatively include measurements of GNSS pseudoranges, code phases, and / or carrier phases of SVs 190 to 193.

[0055] Using the UE-based positioning method, a UE (e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B) can obtain a position measurement (e.g., which can be the same or similar to the position measurement for a UE-assisted positioning method) and can calculate the position of the UE (e.g., with the aid of assistance data received from a location server (such as LMF 120) or broadcast by a gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 or other base station or AP).

[0056] Using network-based positioning methods, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114), sidelink UEs, or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, or time of arrival (ToA) of signals sent by a UE (e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B)) and / or may receive measurements obtained by a UE. The one or more base stations or APs may transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in calculating a position estimate for the UE.

[0057] The information provided to LMF 120 by gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information and location coordinates for directional SS transmissions. LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to UE 105 as assistance data in LPP and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140.

[0058] The LPP or NPP message transmitted from LMF 120 to UE 105 may instruct UE 105 to do any of a variety of things, depending on the desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message may include instructions for UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or TDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct UE 105 to obtain one or more measurement quantities (e.g., beam ID, beam width, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within a particular cell supported by one or more of gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station, such as an eNB or WiFi AP). The UE 105 may transmit these measurement quantities back to the LMF 120 via the serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message).

[0059] As mentioned, although the communication system 100 is described with respect to 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.) that are used to support and interact with mobile devices (such as UE 105) (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionality). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF, Figure 1115). The 5GC 140 may be connected to the WLAN by the N3IWF (not shown). For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for the UE 105 and may include one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may be connected to the WLAN and other elements in the 5GC 140, such as the AMF 115. In some embodiments, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in the EPS, the NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN including an eNB, and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by an EPC including a mobility management entity (MME) replacing the AMF 115, an E-SMLC replacing the LMF 120, and a GMLC that may be similar to the GMLC 125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa instead of NRPPa to transmit location information to and receive location information from the eNB in ​​the E-UTRAN, and may use LPP to support positioning of the UE 105. In these other embodiments, positioning of UE 105 using directional PRS may be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, with the difference that the functions and procedures described herein for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 may in some cases be applied alternatively to other network elements, such as eNBs, WiFi APs, MMEs, and E-SMLCs.

[0060] In radio networks such as Figure 1 Positioning of a UE in a communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 typically uses a Uu interface, i.e., a radio interface between the UE and the radio access network, for DL ​​PRS and / or UL PRS. Positioning of the UE may use a sidelink PRS (sometimes referred to as an SL-PRS), which may be a reference signal for positioning defined by a specific sidelink, or a reusable Uu PRS (e.g., an UL PRS, sometimes referred to as a Positioning Sounding Reference Signal (SRSPos)), or other reference signals may be sent in a sidelink channel. Sidelink positioning may enhance UE positioning by providing additional transmitting (or receiving) nodes. A sidelink UE with a known positioning (such as UE 105B), which is sometimes referred to as an anchor node, may be used to support positioning determination of a target UE (such as UE 105).

[0061] Using the sidelink positioning method, UE 105A, for example, may send a sidelink PRS or sidelink SRS signal that is received and measured by UE 105B. Additionally or alternatively, UE 105B, for example, may send a sidelink PRS or sidelink SRS signal that is received and measured by UE 105A. Measurements of SL PRS or SL SRS signals may include Rx-Tx, TOA, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA. SL positioning methods may include SL RTT (also known as ranging), SL AOA, and SL AOD. In some scenarios, the UE group ( Figure 1 SL positioning may be supported by one or more UEs in the group (not shown). In this case, one UE in the group may send a SL PRS or SL SRS signal, which may be measured by some or all other UEs in the group. Some or all other UEs in the group may also send a SL PRS or SL SRS signal (for example, where each UE sends a SL SRS or SL SRS at a time or times different from the time when other UEs in the group send the SL PRS or SL SRS), which may be measured by some or all other UEs in the group that are different from the UE that sends the UL PRS or ULS SRS. Measurements made by the UE applicable to the transmission of SLPRS or SL SRS by the UE group may include Rx-Tx, TOA, RSTD, AOA, RSRP, RSRQ. Positioning methods supported by these measurements may include sidelink RTT (for example, ranging), sidelink AOA, sidelink AOD, sidelink TDOA (SL-TDOA). Based on the measurement and positioning methods, each UE may determine the relative or absolute position of itself and / or other UEs. For example, the relative position of the UE may include the position of the UE relative to one or more other UEs in the group.

[0062] Sidelink positioning can be used to locate UEs independently of the core network. An example implementation of sidelink positioning can be found in a vehicle communication system, such as V2X, which can be used for safety-related applications such as safety warnings, traffic congestion (e.g., automated traffic control), and coordinated or automated vehicle maneuvers. Sidelink positioning can be used, for example, between UEs (including between UEs, RSUs, and PRUs with network access independence). Sidelink positioning can be used with a pair of UEs (e.g., ranging), a UE group (V2X), and UE members in multiple groups. By way of example, sidelink positioning can provide support for various positioning technologies (such as PRS RTT, AoA, DAoA, AoD, DAoD) that are currently standardized (e.g., in Release 18), but also enables the addition of other PRS capabilities and non-PRS methods in later releases. Standardization of sidelink positioning may be carried out in the future. One aspect of sidelink positioning that will require a solution is resource selection and prioritization for sidelink positioning operations.

[0063] By way of example, Figure 2 2 is a signal flow 200 illustrating signaling between UE 105A and UE 105B for paired sidelink positioning. For example, UE 105A and 105B may be, for example, Figure 1 The illustrated UE. Figure 2 The illustrated sidelink positioning is network independent.

[0064] exist Figure 2 At stage 0, discovery of UEs and establishment of a sidelink communication session are performed. The discovery process may be request-response or announcement-based. For example, the discovery phase may be implemented by one or both of UEs 105A and 105B to detect other UEs that may be used for sidelink positioning. For example, discovery messages may be exchanged between UEs 105A and / or 105B to determine nearby UEs that may be used to participate in sidelink positioning. Additional messages may be exchanged to establish a sidelink positioning session between UEs 105A and 105B. For example, the UEs may exchange one or more group standard parameters for group formation, such as the relative distance between UEs, the time period during which the UE will communicate with other UEs, the direction of travel and / or speed of the UEs. Based on the group standard parameters, the UE may determine whether to form a group, for example, determine a group status indication for other UEs, which indicates that the other UEs are included in the group with the UE or are excluded from the group with the UE. For example, in Figure 2 , it is assumed that UEs 105A and 105B satisfy the one or more group criteria and are included in the group (eg, a group of two UEs).

[0065] At stage 1, UE 105A and 105B may exchange SLP capabilities, resources, and service requirements that may include QoS, for example, using request capabilities and resources messages and offer capabilities and resources messages as discussed above. The exchanged capabilities may define what capabilities each of UE 105A and 105B is implemented to support. The exchanged resources define the capabilities that each of UE 105A and 105B is allowed to support, and / or the capabilities that each of UE 105A and 105B is not allowed to support, or both. The sidelink positioning capabilities that the UE is allowed to support or is not allowed to support may include permission or restriction for one or more of the following: sidelink PRS transmission time, sidelink PRS measurement time, sidelink PRS transmission duration, sidelink PRS measurement duration, bandwidth of sidelink PRS transmission, bandwidth of measured sidelink PRS, RF frequency of sidelink PRS transmission, RF frequency of measured sidelink PRS, signal decoding of sidelink PRS transmission, signal decoding of measured sidelink PRS, periodicity of sidelink PRS transmission, periodicity of measured sidelink PRS, transmission power of sidelink PRS transmission, transmission power of measured sidelink PRS, or any combination thereof. The service requirement includes an indication of at least one of the following: instantaneous position, deferred position, periodic position, triggered position, relative position, global position, position accuracy, position delay, position periodicity, position reliability, or some combination thereof. The exchanged Quality of Service (QoS) defines the type of position (eg single or periodic), accuracy, latency, periodicity, reliability required or expected by each UE in the sidelink positioning session.

[0066] At stage 2, UE 105A transmits positioning signal PRS1. For example, the configuration of PRS1 may be defined based on capabilities, resources, and service requirements that may include QoS of UEs 105A and 105B. For example, the PRS1 configuration may be the same or similar to the PRS configuration defined for LPP in 3GPP TS 37.355, except that the configuration may refer to PRS transmission on a sidelink communication channel between two UEs or between a group of UEs.

[0067] At stage 3, UE 105B measures positioning signal PRS1. For example, UE 105B may measure RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, TOA of PRS1 sent by UE 105A.

[0068] At stage 4, UE 105B transmits positioning signal PRS2. Similar to PRS1 discussed in stage 2, the configuration of PRS2 may be defined, for example, based on capabilities, resources, and service requirements that may include QoS of UEs 105A and 105B. For example, the PRS2 configuration may be the same or similar to the PRS configuration defined for LPP in 3GPP TS 37.355, except that the configuration may refer to PRS transmission on a sidelink communication channel between two UEs or between a group of UEs.

[0069] At stage 5, UE 105A measures positioning signal PRS2. For example, UE 105A may measure RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, TOA of PRS2 sent by UE 105B.

[0070] At stage 6, UE 105A and UE 105B exchange measurement results. For example, the exchange of measurement results may indicate the time of departure (TOD), AOD, signal strength, etc. of the transmitted signal, and in some implementations, the measurement results generated in stages 3 and 5 may be provided.

[0071] At stage 7, UE 105A and UE 105B may determine relative positions (e.g., distance between UE 105A and 105B) and speed based on the measurement results generated in stages 3 and 5 and received in stage 6. For example, the UE may determine the distance based on the TOD and TOA of the PRS signal. For example, the distance may be determined based on TODi or TOAi of the PRSi signal as follows (where i=1 for the PRS sent by UE 105A at stage 2; i=2 for the PRS sent by UE 105B at stage 4; and c represents the transmission speed of electromagnetic waves (e.g., the speed of light)):

[0072] Equation 1

[0073] As illustrated at stage 8, stages 2 through 7 may be repeated as needed.

[0074] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3DEach illustrates a slot-based sidelink transmission with multiple sidelink symbols, and illustrates various options for the structure of the sidelink positioning signal transmission. As discussed above in Stages 2 and 4, the configuration of the positioning signals (PRS1 and PRS2) used in the sidelink positioning is similar to the PRS configuration defined for LPP in 3GPP TS 37.355. For example, the radio resources in NR are defined in the time domain and the frequency domain, and the sidelink may have the same or similar radio frames, subframes, and slots as the NR uplink / downlink, as defined in 3GPP TS 38.211. The sidelink communication may also support different parameter sets with shorter slot times (e.g., for low latency requirements).

[0075] For example, Figure 3A A sidelink transmission structure 300 with a PRS 301 from a single UE (e.g., UE0) is illustrated. The sidelink transmission structure 300 is an example of a slot format for sidelink transmissions and may be the same or similar to the NR slot format for downlink and uplink transmissions. As illustrated, each slot in the sidelink transmission structure 300 may include a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) 304, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) 306, an automatic gain control (AGC) 308, and a guard (GAP) symbol 310. In some implementations, the sidelink transmission structure 300 may include additional or other channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH), a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS), etc. Each PSSCH 304 contains, for example, user data traffic and is associated with a PSCCH 306. The PSCCH 306 may be sent on the same time slot as the PSSCH 306 and contains control information, i.e., sidelink control information (SCI), which is divided into two stages. Stage 1 is transmitted on the PSCCH 306 associated with the PSSCH 304, and stage 2 is transmitted on the corresponding PSSCH 304. For example, the SCI in stage 1 may include control information for priority, frequency and time resource assignment, and resource reservation period, etc. The SCI in stage 2 may include control information for a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process ID, a new data indicator, a redundancy version, a source ID, and a destination ID, etc.

[0076] like Figure 3A As illustrated, for positioning operations, PRS 301 from a single UE may be included in one or more time slots of the sidelink transmission structure 300, for example, where PRS 301 is transmitted with at least PSCCH 306 and possibly PSSCH 304.

[0077] Figure 3BA further side link transmission structure 320 with independent PRS from multiple UEs is illustrated. Independent PRS from each UE (eg, PRS0 321 from UE0, PRS1 323 from UE1, and PRS2 325 from UE2) may be transmitted in multiple time slots without other signals.

[0078] Figure 3C Illustrated with Figure 3A Another sidelink transmission structure 340 is shown that is similar to the sidelink transmission structure 300, but with the transmission of PRS from multiple UEs. For example, the PRS from each UE (e.g., PRS0 341 from UE0, PRS1 343 from UE1, and PRS2 345 from UE2) is transmitted in multiple time slots along with PSSCH 344, PSCCH 346, AGC 348, and guard (GAP) symbols 350.

[0079] Figure 3D Illustrated with Figure 3C Another sidelink transmission structure 360 ​​is shown with transmission of PRS from multiple UEs similar to the sidelink transmission structure 340. For example, the PRS from each UE (e.g., PRS0 361 from UE0, PRS1 363 from UE1, PRS2 365 from UE2, and PRS3 367 from UE3) is transmitted in multiple time slots along with PSCCH 366, AGC 368, and guard (GAP) symbols 370.

[0080] Communication and data sidelink transmissions use priority sorting for resource allocation. Therefore, transmissions in the sidelink have an associated priority value. The priority may be passed to the physical (PHY) layer by upper layers as part of a Quality of Service (QoS) flow, or may be (pre-)configured for some signals. The priority value may be provided in the priority field in the Phase 1 SCI. Lower values ​​in the priority field correspond to higher priority transmissions.

[0081] This priority value is used as part of the resource selection procedure. For example, in an autonomous resource selection procedure, the UE may use a sensing procedure where sensing occurs in a pre-configured resource pool. The resource pool in the frequency domain is partitioned into subchannels of contiguous and non-overlapping physical resource blocks (PRBs), where the number of PRBs is ≥ 10. The size of the resource pool may be configured by higher layers or through signaling by the gNB. The transmit and receive resource pools may be configured separately in the UE.

[0082] In the resource selection procedure, if other UEs with higher priority services are not using resources, the UE selects these resources for transmission. For example, the UE may perform continuous sensing, and when a resource selection event is triggered in the UE (e.g., the arrival of a transport block), the UE may consider the most recent sensing results before the triggering time for resource selection. The UE performing the sensing measures the RSRP of, for example, the PSCCH or PSSCH. The RSRP measurement results can be used to select appropriate resources and avoid interfering with existing communications. Different starting RSRP thresholds can be assigned to reservations of different priorities. Therefore, the UE can select resources overlapping with lower RSRP reservations before those resources overlapping with higher RSRP reservations.

[0083] The priority value may be used to determine when another UE's reservation may be preempted, for example, when the priority of a transmission in the UE is higher than the priority of the transmission of the other UE. The priority value may also be used to determine which operation to perform when an NR sidelink operation conflicts with an LTE sidelink or uplink operation.

[0084] Currently, there is no mechanism related to resource selection for sidelink positioning transmissions, nor is there a mechanism for performing priority sorting for sidelink positioning operations.

[0085] Resource selection for sidelink positioning operations may be based on a priority value. A priority value may be assigned to a positioning operation, such as transmission or reception. The priority value may, for example, be (pre)configured or provided to the PHY layer by a higher layer. - For PRS reception, the priority value may be the same as the priority value used for transmission, or the priority value may be included in the PRS reservation. The transmitting UE may reserve resources for positioning operations via a Layer 1 (L1) (e.g., in a Stage 1 SCI) or a Layer 2 (L2) (e.g., in a Stage 2 SCI) control message. The transmitting UE may also use a non-preferred resource indication mechanism, as specified in Release 17 (Rel-17). If another entity, such as an initiator UE or a network entity (e.g., a base station) also assigns resources to a responder UE, positioning resource sensing may take such reservations into account.

[0086] When a UE selects resources for a sidelink positioning operation, the UE excludes resources reserved by other UEs for positioning operations. If a sidelink positioning-related transmission is performed in the same resource pool as other (non-positioning-related) sidelink transmissions, resources reserved for other sidelink operations may also be excluded.

[0087] A set of per-priority RSRP starting thresholds may be configured for sidelink PRS transmissions. This set may be different from the values ​​configured for other (non-positioning related) sidelink transmissions.

[0088] The priority value for the sidelink positioning operation can be used to resolve conflicts within the device. For example, when the UE cannot perform both positioning-related sidelink operations and non-positioning-related sidelink operations, the UE may determine which operation to perform based on the corresponding priority values ​​of the two. Operations with lower priorities (e.g., higher numerical priority values) may be discarded. When the priority values ​​are equal, the determination of which operation to perform may be determined by the UE's specific implementation. In another example, when the UE cannot perform both positioning-related sidelink operations and non-sidelink (e.g., UL) operations, the UE may determine which operation to perform based on the corresponding priority values ​​of the two. The priority threshold may be (pre-)configured for non-sidelink operations. In another example, when multiple positioning sidelink operations overlap and all cannot be performed, the UE may perform a positioning sidelink operation with a higher priority (e.g., a lower numerical priority value).

[0089] By way of example, Figure 4 4 is a signal flow 400 illustrating procedures and signaling between UEs 105A and 105B for supporting sidelink (SL) positioning using priority values ​​as discussed herein. For example, UEs 105A and 105B may be, for example, Figure 1 Additional UEs may also be included in the signal flow.

[0090] like Figure 4 As shown, in stage 1, UE 105A assigns a priority value to a sidelink positioning operation, such as SL PRS transmission, SL PRS reception, or both. The priority value may be, for example, a preconfigured value, or the priority value may be received by a physical layer (PHY) from a higher layer. The priority value may be represented as a numerical value, where a lower numerical value corresponds to a higher priority.

[0091] In stage 2, UE 105A selects resources for at least one SL positioning operation (e.g., SLPRS transmission, SL PRS reception, or both) based on the priority level. The selection of resources may, for example, include excluding resources reserved by another UE for the positioning operation. In some implementations, the selection of resources may include: excluding resources reserved for side link operations when SL PRS transmission is reserved in the same resource pool as resources reserved for side link operations. In some implementations, UE 105A may receive a resource assignment for the UE from another UE (e.g., UE 105B) or from a network entity (such as base station 110), and may select resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the resource assignment. In some implementations, UE 105A may obtain a set of RSRP starting thresholds per priority level, which may also be used to select resources.

[0092] In stage 3, the UE 105A resolves any in-device conflicts for the sidelink positioning operation based at least in part on the priority value. For example, as discussed above, if the UE 105A determines that a non-positioning sidelink operation is to be performed on resources that partially or completely overlap with the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, then, for example, if the non-positioning sidelink operation has a priority value, the UE 105A may determine whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-positioning sidelink operation based on the corresponding priority value (discarding the operation with a lower priority value). If the UE 105A determines that a non-SL positioning operation is to be performed on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, then, for example, if the non-SL positioning operation has a priority value (a priority threshold may be (pre-)configured for the non-sidelink operation), the UE 105A may determine whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-SL positioning operation based on the corresponding priority value (discarding the operation with a lower priority value). If UE 105A determines to perform a second SL positioning operation on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, then, for example, if the second SL positioning operation has a priority value, UE 105A may determine whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the second SL positioning operation (discarding the operation with a lower priority value) based on the corresponding priority value.

[0093] In stage 4, the UE 105A reserves resources for SL positioning operations (e.g., SL PRS transmission, SL PRS reception, or both). Resources may be reserved using layer 1 (L1) and / or layer 2 (L2) control messages or higher layer messages. For example, resource reservation may include sending a priority value for SL positioning operations in a stage 1 SCI (L1). If the SL positioning operation is SL PRS reception, the priority value may be the same as the priority value used for SL PRS transmission, or the priority value may be included in the PRS reservation. In some implementations, the UE 105A may reserve resources for positioning operations by sending an indication that other UEs are to avoid using these resources.

[0094] As illustrated at stage 5, UE 105A may send a SL PRS on the reserved resources.

[0095] Figure 5 A schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a UE 500 is shown. For example, the UE may be Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 4 The UE 105 shown is configured to support sidelink positioning operations using priority values, as described herein. For example, the UE 500 may perform Figure 4 The signal flow 400 and Figure 6600, and accompanying techniques as discussed herein. UE 500 may include, for example, one or more processors 502, memory 504, external interfaces such as at least one wireless transceiver (e.g., wireless network interface) (which is exemplified as WWAN transceiver 510, WLAN transceiver 511, ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver 512, and Bluetooth (BT) transceiver 513), SPS receiver 514, and one or more sensors 515, which may be operatively coupled with one or more connections 506 (e.g., buses, lines, optical fibers, links, etc.) to non-transitory computer-readable media 520 and memory 504. For example, SPS receiver 514 may receive and process information from Figure 1 The SPS signals of the satellite carrier 190 shown. The one or more sensors 515 may be, for example, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that may include one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, a magnetometer, etc. The UE 500 may also include additional items not shown, such as a user interface that may include, for example, a display, a keypad, or other input device (such as a virtual keypad on a display), through which a user may interface with the UE. In some example implementations, all or part of the UE 500 may take the form of a chipset or the like.

[0096] The UE 500 may include at least one wireless transceiver, such as a wireless transceiver 510 for a WWAN communication system and a wireless transceiver 511 for a WLAN communication system, a UWB transceiver 512 for a UWB communication system, a BT transceiver 513 for a Bluetooth communication system, or a combined transceiver for any of WWAN, WLAN, UWB, and BT. The WWAN transceiver 510 may include a transmitter 510t and a receiver 510r coupled to one or more antennas 509 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals, and converting signals from wireless signals to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals. The WLAN transceiver 511 may include a transmitter 511t and a receiver 511r coupled to one or more antennas 509 or to separate antennas for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals, and converting signals from wireless signals to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals. The UWB transceiver 512 may include a transmitter 512t and a receiver 512r coupled to one or more antennas 509 or to separate antennas for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals, and converting signals from wireless signals to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals. The BT transceiver 513 may include a transmitter 513t and a receiver 513r coupled to one or more antennas 509 or to separate antennas for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals, and converting signals from wireless signals to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals. The transmitters 510t, 511t, 512t, and 513t may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receivers 510r, 511r, 512r, and 513r may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components.The WWAN transceiver 510 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with a base station and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), etc. The new radio may use millimeter wave frequencies and / or sub-6 GHz frequencies. The WLAN transceiver 511 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with an access point and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 1102.11 (including IEEE 1102.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Zigbee, etc. The UWB transceiver 512 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with an access point and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs) such as personal area networks (PANs) including IEEE 802.15.3, IEEE 802.15.4, etc. The BT transceiver 513 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with an access point and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs) such as Bluetooth networks. The transceivers 510, 511, 512, and 513 may be communicatively coupled to a transceiver interface, which may be at least partially integrated with the transceivers 510, 511, 512, 513, for example, via an optical connection and / or an electrical connection.

[0097] In some embodiments, the UE 500 may include an antenna 509, which may be located internally or externally. The UE antenna 509 may be used to transmit and / or receive signals processed by the wireless transceivers 510, 511, 512, 513. In some embodiments, the UE antenna 509 may be coupled to the wireless transceivers 510, 511, 512, and 513. In some embodiments, measurements of signals received (transmitted) by the UE 500 may be performed at the connection point of the UE antenna 509 and the wireless transceivers 510, 511, 512, 513. For example, the measurement reference point for the received (transmitted) RF signal measurement may be the input (output) UE of the receiver 510r (transmitter 510t) and the output (input) UE of the UE antenna 509. In a UE 500 having multiple UE antennas 509 or an antenna array, the antenna connector may be considered as a virtual point representing the aggregated output (input) of the multiple UE antennas.

[0098] The one or more processors 502 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. The one or more processors 502 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein by implementing one or more instructions or program codes 508 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 520 and / or the memory 504. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 502 may represent one or more circuits capable of being configured to perform at least a portion of a data signal computing procedure or process associated with the operation of the UE 500.

[0099] The medium 520 and / or memory 504 may store instructions or program code 508 containing executable code or software instructions that, when executed by one or more processors 502, cause the one or more processors 502 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As illustrated by the UE 500, the medium 520 and / or memory 504 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by one or more processors 502 to perform the methodologies described herein. Although each component or module is illustrated as software in the medium 520 that may be executed by one or more processors 502, it should be understood that each component or module may be stored in the memory 504 or may be dedicated hardware in or outside of the one or more processors 502.

[0100] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the media 520 and / or memory 504 and be utilized by the one or more processors 502 to manage both the communications and functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the media 520 and / or memory 504 as shown in the UE 500 is merely exemplary, and therefore, the functionality of the various modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated and / or configured in different ways depending on the specific implementation of the UE 500.

[0101] The medium 520 and / or the memory 504 may include a priority value module 522 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 502, configures the one or more processors 502 to assign priority values ​​to SL positioning operations, such as SL PRS transmission or SLPRS reception. The priority values ​​may be pre-configured values, or these may be received by the PHY layer from higher layers.

[0102] The medium 520 and / or the memory 504 may include a resource selection module 524, which, when implemented by one or more processors 502, configures the one or more processors 502 to select resources for the SL positioning operation based at least on a priority value. The one or more processors 502 may be further configured to select resources for the SL positioning operation, for example, by excluding resources reserved by another UE for the positioning operation. The one or more processors 502 may be further configured to, for example, select resources for the SL positioning operation by excluding resources reserved for the side link operation in the case where the SL PRS transmission is reserved in the same resource pool as the resources reserved for the side link operation. The one or more processors 502 may be configured to receive a resource assignment for the UE from another UE or from a network entity, for example via a transceiver 510-513, and also select resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the resource assignment. The one or more processors 502 may be further configured to obtain a set of RSRP starting thresholds per priority level, and use the RSRP starting thresholds per priority level to select resources for the SL positioning operation.

[0103] The medium 520 and / or the memory 504 may include a resource reservation module 526, which, when implemented by one or more processors 502, configures the one or more processors 502 to reserve resources for positioning operations, for example, by sending L1 and / or L2 control messages via transceivers 510-513. The resource reservation may include a priority value. If the SL positioning operation includes SL PRS reception, the resource reservation may include an indication of a priority value for SL PRS reception. The one or more processors 502 may be configured to reserve resources for positioning operations by sending an indication via transceivers 510-513 that other UEs are to avoid using these resources.

[0104] The methodologies described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, these methodologies may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For hardware implementation, one or more processors 502 may be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0105] For firmware and / or software implementations, these methodologies may be implemented using modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium that tangibly embodies instructions may be used to implement the methodologies described herein. For example, software code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium 520 or memory 504 connected to one or more processors 502 and executed by the one or more processors. The memory may be implemented within the one or more processors or external to the one or more processors. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory, and is not limited to any particular type of memory or any particular amount of memory, or the type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0106] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 508 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 520 and / or the memory 504. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with data structures and computer-readable media encoded with computer program code 508. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium including program code 508 stored thereon may include program code 508 for supporting sidelink positioning using priority values ​​in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer-readable medium 520 includes physical computer storage media. The storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code 508 in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer; as used herein, magnetic disks and optical disks include compact disks (CDs), laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray disks, where magnetic disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0107] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 520, instructions and / or data may also be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in the communication device. For example, the communication device may include an external interface that includes one or more of the wireless transceivers 510, 511, 512, or 513 with signals indicating instructions and data. These instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium with signals indicating information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0108] The memory 504 may represent any data storage mechanism. The memory 504 may include, for example, a main memory and / or a secondary memory. The main memory may include, for example, a random access memory, a read-only memory, etc. Although illustrated as being separate from the one or more processors 502 in this example, it should be understood that all or part of the main memory may be provided within the one or more processors 502 or otherwise co-located / coupled with the one or more processors. The secondary memory may include, for example, a memory of the same or similar type as the main memory and / or one or more data storage devices or systems (such as, for example, a disk drive, an optical drive, a tape drive, a solid-state memory drive, etc.).

[0109] In some implementations, the secondary memory is operable to receive or otherwise be configured to be coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 520. Thus, in some example implementations, the methods and / or apparatus presented herein may take the form of all or part of a computer-readable medium 520 that may include computer-implementable program code 508 stored thereon, which when executed by one or more processors 502 is operably implemented to be capable of performing all or part of the example operations as described herein. The computer-readable medium 520 may be part of the memory 504.

[0110] Figure 6 A flow chart of an exemplary method 600 is shown, which is performed by, for example, a UE (such as, Figure 1 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 UE 105 or UE 500) is executed to support side link (SL) positioning using priority values ​​in a manner consistent with the disclosed specific implementations.

[0111] At block 602, the UE assigns a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation, such as Figure 4 The priority value may be, for example, a pre-configured value, or the priority value may be received by a physical layer (PHY) from a higher layer. The means for assigning a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation may include, for example, one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 504 and / or a medium 520, such as a priority value module 522 of the UE 500.

[0112] At block 604, the UE selects resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value, e.g., Figure 4The means for selecting resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value may include, for example, one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520, such as a resource selection module 524 of the UE 500.

[0113] At block 606, the UE reserves resources for the at least one SL positioning operation, e.g., Figure 4 As discussed in stage 4 of . For example, the UE may use a layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) control message or a higher layer message to perform the reservation of resources for the at least one SL positioning operation. The means for reserving resources for the at least one SL positioning operation may include, for example, one of the transceivers 510-513 and one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 504 and / or the medium 520, such as a resource reservation module 526 of the UE 500.

[0114] In one specific implementation, the at least one SL positioning operation may be at least one of SL positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission or SL PRS reception. For example, the priority value for SL PRS reception may be the same value as the priority value for SL PRS transmission, or the UE may reserve resources for the at least one SL positioning operation by providing an indication of the priority value for SL PRS reception, for example, Figure 4 The means for providing an indication of a priority value for SL PRS reception may include, for example, one of the transceivers 510-513 and one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 504 and / or the medium 520, such as the resource reservation module 526 of the UE 500.

[0115] In one specific implementation, the UE may select resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on a priority value by excluding resources reserved by another UE for the positioning operation, for example, Figure 4 The means for excluding resources reserved by another UE for positioning operations may include, for example, one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or media 520, such as resource selection module 524 of UE 500.

[0116] In one specific implementation, the UE may select resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value in the following manner: in the case where the SL PRS transmission is reserved in the same resource pool as the resources reserved for the sidelink operation, excluding the resources reserved for the sidelink operation, for example, Figure 4 The means for the following operations may include, for example, one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520, such as resource selection module 524 of UE 500: excluding resources reserved for side link operation in the case where SL PRS transmission is reserved in the same resource pool as resources reserved for side link operation.

[0117] In one specific implementation, the UE may also receive a resource assignment for the UE from another UE or a network entity, and the selection of resources for the at least one SL positioning operation is also based on the resource assignment, for example, Figure 4 The means for receiving a resource assignment for a UE from another UE or a network entity may include, for example, one of the transceivers 510-513 and one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 504 and / or the medium 520, such as the resource selection module 524 of the UE 500.

[0118] In one specific implementation, the UE may also obtain a set of starting thresholds per priority level reference signal received power (RSRP), wherein selecting resources for the at least one SL positioning operation is also based on the set of starting thresholds per priority level RSRP, for example, Figure 4 The means for obtaining a set of starting thresholds per priority level reference signal received power (RSRP) may include, for example, one of the transceivers 510-513 and one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 504 and / or the medium 520, such as the resource selection module 524 of the UE 500.

[0119] In one specific implementation, the UE may reserve resources for the at least one SL positioning operation by sending an indication to other UEs to avoid using these resources, for example, Figure 4 The means for sending an indication that other UEs are to avoid using these resources may include, for example, one of the transceivers 510-513 and one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 504 and / or the medium 520, such as the resource reservation module 526 of the UE 500.

[0120] In one specific implementation, the UE may further determine a non-positioning side link operation to be performed on resources that partially or completely overlap with the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the non-positioning side link operation has a priority value, such as Figure 4 The UE may determine whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or a non-positioning side link operation based on the priority value, for example, Figure 4 504 and / or the medium 520, such as the in-device conflict module 528 of the UE 500. The components for the following operations may include, for example, one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 504 and / or the medium 520, such as the in-device conflict module 528 of the UE 500: determining a non-positioning side link operation to be performed on resources that partially or completely overlap with resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the non-positioning side link operation has a priority value. The components for determining whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-positioning side link operation based on the priority value may include, for example, one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 504 and / or the medium 520, such as the in-device conflict module 528 of the UE 500.

[0121] In one specific implementation, the UE may further determine a non-SL positioning operation to be performed on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the non-SL positioning operation has a priority value, such as Figure 4 The UE may determine whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or a non-SL positioning operation based on a higher priority value, for example, Figure 4 Components for determining whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-SL positioning operation based on a higher priority value may include, for example, one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520, such as the in-device conflict module 528 of UE 500. Components for determining whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-SL positioning operation based on a higher priority value may include, for example, one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520, such as the in-device conflict module 528 of UE 500.

[0122] In one specific implementation, the UE determines a second SL positioning operation to be performed on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the second SL positioning operation has a priority value, such as Figure 4The UE may determine whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the second SL positioning operation based on a higher priority value, for example, Figure 4 Components for the following operations may include, for example, one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520, such as the in-device conflict module 528 of UE 500: determining a second SL positioning operation to be performed on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the second SL positioning operation has a priority value. Components for determining whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the second SL positioning side link operation based on a higher priority value may include, for example, one or more processors 502 configured with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520, such as the in-device conflict module 528 of UE 500.

[0123] Substantial modifications may be made depending on specific needs. For example, customized hardware may also be used, and / or specific elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. In addition, connections to other computing devices such as network input / output devices may be employed.

[0124] Each configuration may be described as a process depicted as a flowchart or block diagram. Although each flowchart or block diagram may describe the operation as a sequential process, many operations may be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be rearranged. The process may have additional steps that are not included in the accompanying drawings. In addition, examples of these methods may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or code segments for performing the necessary tasks may be stored in a non-transient computer-readable medium (such as a storage medium). The processor may perform the described tasks.

[0125] Unless defined otherwise, all technical terms and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as that generally or conventionally understood.As used herein, the article "a" refers to one or more than one (i.e., at least one) grammatical object of the article.By way of example, "element" means an element or more than one element.As used herein in quoting measurable values ​​(such as amount, time duration, etc.), "about" and / or "approximately" encompass deviations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from a specified value, because such deviations are appropriate in the context of systems, equipment, circuits, methods, and other specific implementations described herein.As used herein in quoting measurable values ​​(such as amount, time duration, physical properties (such as frequency), etc.), "substantially" also encompasses deviations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from a specified value, because such deviations are appropriate in the context of systems, equipment, circuits, methods, and other specific implementations described herein.

[0126] As used herein (including in the claims), "or" used in a list of items followed by "at least one of" or "one or more of" indicates a disjunctive list, so that, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C" means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), as well as combinations having more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Also, as used herein, unless otherwise stated, a recitation that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the recited item or condition, and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions other than the recited item or condition.

[0127] Although some of the techniques, processes and / or implementations presented herein may comply with all or part of one or more standards, in some embodiments, such techniques, processes and / or implementations may not comply with part or all of such one or more standards.

[0128] In view of this description, various embodiments may include different combinations of features. Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0129] Clause 1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for supporting sidelink (SL) positioning, the method comprising: assigning a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; selecting resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value; and reserving the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation.

[0130] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the priority value is a preconfigured value or is received by a physical layer (PHY) from a higher layer.

[0131] Clause 3. The method of any of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the at least one SL positioning operation comprises at least one of a SL Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) transmission or a SL PRS reception.

[0132] Clause 4. A method according to clause 3, wherein the priority value for the SL PRS reception is the same value as the priority value for the SL PRS transmission, or the method further comprises providing an indication of the priority value for the SL PRS reception.

[0133] Clause 5. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 4, wherein selecting the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value includes excluding resources reserved by another UE for the positioning operation.

[0134] Clause 6. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein selecting the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value includes: in a case where SL PRS transmission is reserved in the same resource pool as the resources reserved for the side link operation, excluding the resources reserved for the side link operation.

[0135] Clause 7. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 6 further comprises receiving a resource assignment for the UE from another UE or a network entity, wherein the selection of the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation is also based on the resource assignment.

[0136] Clause 8. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 7, further comprising obtaining a set of reference signal received power (RSRP) starting thresholds per priority, wherein selecting the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation is also based on the set of RSRP starting thresholds per priority.

[0137] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein reserving the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation is performed using a layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) control message or a higher layer message.

[0138] Clause 10. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 9, wherein reserving the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation comprises sending an indication for other UEs to avoid using the resources.

[0139] Clause 11. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 10 further includes: determining a non-positioning side link operation to be performed on resources that partially or completely overlap with the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the non-positioning side link operation has a priority value; and determining whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-positioning side link operation based on the priority value.

[0140] Clause 12. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 11 further includes: determining a non-SL positioning operation to be performed on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the non-SL positioning operation has a priority value; and determining whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-SL positioning operation based on a higher priority value.

[0141] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 12 further includes: determining a second SL positioning operation to be performed on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the second SL positioning operation has a priority value; and determining whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the second SL positioning operation based on a higher priority value.

[0142] Clause 14. A user equipment (UE) configured to support sidelink (SL) positioning performed, the user equipment (UE) comprising: a wireless transceiver, the wireless transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with a network entity; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: assign a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; select resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value; and reserve the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation performed via the wireless transceiver.

[0143] Clause 15. The UE of clause 14, wherein the priority value is a pre-configured value or is received by a physical layer (PHY) from a higher layer.

[0144] Clause 16. A UE as set forth in any of clauses 14 to 15, wherein the at least one SL positioning operation comprises at least one of a SL Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) transmission or a SL PRS reception.

[0145] Clause 17. A UE according to clause 16, wherein the priority value for the SL PRS reception is the same value as the priority value for the SL PRS transmission, or the at least one processor is further configured to provide an indication of the priority value for the SL PRS reception.

[0146] Clause 18. A UE according to any one of clauses 14 to 17, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: select the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value by being configured to exclude resources reserved by another UE for the positioning operation.

[0147] Clause 19. A UE according to any one of clauses 14 to 18, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: select the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value by being configured to exclude the resources reserved for the side link operation when SL PRS transmission is reserved in the same resource pool as the resources reserved for the side link operation.

[0148] Clause 20. A UE according to any one of clauses 14 to 19, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a resource assignment for the UE from another UE or a network entity, wherein the at least one processor is configured to select the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation also based on the resource assignment.

[0149] Clause 21. A UE according to any one of clauses 14 to 20, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain a set of starting thresholds per priority reference signal received power (RSRP), wherein the at least one processor is configured to also select the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the set of starting thresholds per priority RSRP.

[0150] Clause 22. A UE as set forth in any of clauses 14 to 21, wherein the at least one processor is configured to reserve the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation using a layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) control message or a higher layer message.

[0151] Clause 23. A UE according to any one of clauses 14 to 22, wherein the at least one processor is configured to reserve the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation by being configured to send an indication that other UEs are to avoid using the resources.

[0152] Clause 24. A UE according to any one of clauses 14 and 23, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a non-positioning side link operation to be performed on resources that partially or completely overlap with the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the non-positioning side link operation has a priority value; and determine whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-positioning side link operation based on the priority value.

[0153] Clause 25. A UE according to any one of clauses 14 to 24, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a non-SL positioning operation to be performed on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the non-SL positioning operation has a priority value; and determine whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-SL positioning operation based on a higher priority value.

[0154] Clause 26. A UE according to any one of clauses 14 to 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a second SL positioning operation to be performed on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the second SL positioning operation has a priority value; and determine whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the second SL positioning operation based on a higher priority value.

[0155] Clause 27. A user equipment (UE) configured to support the performance of sidelink (SL) positioning, the user equipment (UE) comprising: a component for assigning a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; a component for selecting resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value; and a component for reserving the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation.

[0156] Clause 28. A non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) to support the performance of sidelink (SL) positioning, the program code comprising instructions for: assigning a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; selecting resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value; and reserving the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation.

[0157] Although specific embodiments have been disclosed in detail herein, this is provided by way of example only for the purpose of illustration and is not intended to be limiting with respect to the scope of the appended claims. Specifically, it is contemplated that various substitutions, changes, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are considered to be within the scope of the appended claims. The claims presented represent the embodiments and features disclosed herein. Other embodiments and features that are not claimed are also contemplated. Therefore, other embodiments fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for supporting sidelink (SL) positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: assigning a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; selecting resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value; as well as The resources are reserved for the at least one SL positioning operation. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the priority value is a preconfigured value or is received by a physical layer (PHY) from a higher layer. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one SL positioning operation comprises at least one of SL Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) transmission or SL PRS reception.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the priority value for the SL PRS reception is the same value as the priority value for the SL PRS transmission, or the method further comprises providing an indication of the priority value for the SL PRS reception.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value comprises excluding resources reserved by another UE for a positioning operation.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the resource for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value comprises: In case SL PRS transmission is reserved in the same resource pool as the resources reserved for the side link operation, the resources reserved for the side link operation are excluded.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a resource assignment for the UE from another UE or a network entity, wherein selecting the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation is also based on the resource assignment.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining a set of per-priority reference signal received power (RSRP) starting thresholds, wherein selecting the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation is further based on the set of per-priority RSRP starting thresholds. 9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein reserving the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation is performed using a layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) control message or a higher layer message.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein reserving the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation comprises sending an indication for other UEs to avoid using the resources.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining a non-positioning side link operation to be performed on resources that partially or completely overlap with the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the non-positioning side link operation has a priority value; and Whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-positioning side link operation is determined based on the priority value.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining a non-SL positioning operation to be performed on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the non-SL positioning operation has a priority value; as well as Whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-SL positioning operation is determined based on a higher priority value.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining a second SL positioning operation to be performed on the resource selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the second SL positioning operation has a priority value; as well as Whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the second SL positioning operation is determined based on a higher priority value.

14. A user equipment (UE) configured to support performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the user equipment (UE) comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with a network entity; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: assigning a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; selecting resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value; and The resources are reserved for the at least one SL positioning operation performed via the wireless transceiver. 15 . The UE of claim 14 , wherein the priority value is a preconfigured value or is received by a physical layer (PHY) from a higher layer. 16 . The UE of claim 14 , wherein the at least one SL positioning operation comprises at least one of SL Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) transmission or SL PRS reception.

17. The UE of claim 16, wherein the priority value for the SL PRS reception is the same value as the priority value for the SL PRS transmission, or the at least one processor is further configured to provide an indication of the priority value for the SL PRS reception.

18. The UE of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to select the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value by being configured to exclude resources reserved by another UE for the positioning operation.

19. A UE according to claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: select the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value by being configured to exclude the resources reserved for the side link operation when SLPRS transmission is reserved in the same resource pool as the resources reserved for the side link operation.

20. The UE of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a resource assignment for the UE from another UE or a network entity, wherein the at least one processor is configured to select the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation also based on the resource assignment.

21. The UE of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain a set of starting thresholds per priority reference signal received power (RSRP), wherein the at least one processor is configured to also select the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the set of starting thresholds per priority RSRP.

22. The UE of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to reserve the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation using a layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) control message or a higher layer message.

23. The UE of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to reserve the resources for the at least one SL positioning operation by being configured to send an indication that other UEs are to avoid using the resources.

24. The UE of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determining a non-positioning side link operation to be performed on resources that partially or completely overlap with the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the non-positioning side link operation has a priority value; and Whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-positioning side link operation is determined based on the priority value.

25. The UE of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determining a non-SL positioning operation to be performed on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the non-SL positioning operation has a priority value; and Whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the non-SL positioning operation is determined based on a higher priority value.

26. The UE of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determining a second SL positioning operation to be performed on the resources selected for the at least one SL positioning operation, wherein the second SL positioning operation has a priority value; and Whether to perform the at least one SL positioning operation or the second SL positioning operation is determined based on a higher priority value.

27. A user equipment (UE) configured to support performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the user equipment (UE) comprising: means for assigning a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; means for selecting resources for said at least one SL positioning operation based on said priority value; and Means for reserving said resources for said at least one SL positioning operation.

28. A non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) to support sidelink (SL) positioning performed, the program code comprising instructions for: assigning a priority value for at least one SL positioning operation; selecting resources for the at least one SL positioning operation based on the priority value; and The resources are reserved for the at least one SL positioning operation.

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