Method and apparatus for side chain positioning

By introducing SL CR and SL CBR indicators in the wireless communication system, UE and gNB can quickly identify anchor points UE, solving the problem of not being able to quickly identify anchor points and improving the efficiency and accuracy of side chain positioning.

CN119999296APending Publication Date: 2025-05-13CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGIES GMBH
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202380070548.0
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2022-10-20
Filing Date
2023-10-20
Publication Date
2025-05-13

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In wireless communication systems, it is impossible to quickly identify and determine which user equipment (UE) is an anchor UE, resulting in inefficient side chain positioning.

Method used

By introducing new indicators such as sidechain channel occupancy rate (SL CR) and sidechain channel busyness rate (SL CBR), UE and base station (gNB) can evaluate and determine whether the UE is suitable as an anchor, and then quickly identify the anchor UE.

Benefits of technology

Fast positioning based on side chains is achieved, the efficiency and accuracy of side chain positioning is improved, and channel congestion and delay are reduced.

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Abstract

A method for side chain positioning in a wireless communication system in which a base station gNB specifies at least one or more user equipments (UEs) as at least one anchor point for SL positioning based on an evaluation of the base station gNB, in which the base station gNB checks whether the UE should be specified as an anchor point, if a first check result is yes, the base station gNB sends an indication to the UE to specify it as an anchor point, and if the first check result is no, the base station gNB sends an indication to the UE to specify it as an anchor point. And if the check result is no, the base station checks whether user equipment UE is currently designated as an anchor point, and if the second check result is yes, the base station gNB sends an instruction to the UE to terminate the previous anchor point designation.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to sidelink positioning in wireless communication systems. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved over several generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including intermediate 2.5G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-enabled wireless services, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., LTE or WiMax). Many different types of wireless communication systems are currently in use, including cellular systems and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), global system for mobile access (GSM) variants of TDMA, and the like.

[0003] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables higher data speeds, a greater number of connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second for tens of thousands of users and 1 gigabit per second for a few dozen employees in an office building. To support large-scale wireless sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. As a result, the spectrum efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. In addition, signaling efficiency should be improved and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard.

[0004] Sidelink (SL) communication is a communication scheme that establishes a direct link between user equipments (UEs), and the UEs exchange voice and data directly with each other without the intervention of an evolved Node B (eNB). SL communication is being considered as a solution to eNB overhead caused by the rapid increase in data traffic.

[0005] Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) refers to the communication technology used by a vehicle to exchange information with another vehicle, pedestrians, objects in which infrastructure (or infra) is established, etc. V2X can be divided into four types: vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-network (V2N), and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P). V2X communication can be provided via the PC5 interface and / or the Uu interface.

[0006] At the same time, as more and more communication devices require greater communication capacity, the demand for mobile broadband communications that are stronger than existing radio access technologies (RATs) is increasing. Therefore, services and user equipment (UE) that are sensitive to reliability and latency are discussed. In addition, the next generation of radio access technologies based on enhanced mobile broadband communications, massive machine type communications (MTC), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), etc. can be referred to as new radio access technologies (RATs) or new radios (NRs). Here, NR can also support vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications.

[0007] US2022150863 A1 discloses a method performed by a first station, comprising: sending a first message, the first message including an indication of whether a clock reconfiguration event occurs at the first station; sending a first positioning reference signal (PRS); receiving a second PRS from a second station; and sending a second message to the second station, the second message including a first time when the first station sends the first PRS and a second time when the first station receives the second PRS, so that the second station can determine a round trip time (RTT) between the first station and the second station based on the first time, the second time, a third time when the second station receives the first PRS, a fourth time when the second station sends the second PRS, and the indication.

[0008] WO 2022027298 A1 discloses that a UE sends a SL RTT measurement request to at least one UE. In response to the SL RTT measurement request, the UE communicates (e.g., sends, receives, or both) with at least one UE regarding an indication of a SL RTT measurement result (e.g., an Rx-Tx time difference measurement result of RTT).

[0009] WO 2020256311 A1 discloses a method for operating a first terminal in a wireless communication system. The method comprises: sending a first PRS to a second terminal; receiving a second PRS from the second terminal; receiving a first time difference from the second terminal; and determining a position of the first terminal based on the first time difference and the second time difference.

[0010] WO 2021188220 A1 discloses: a first user equipment (UE) sends a request to perform a positioning procedure to at least one second UE via a side link between the first UE and at least one second UE, receives an indication of a set of time resources, frequency resources, or both allocated for the positioning procedure from at least one second UE via the side link, and sends at least one positioning reference signal on a set of time and / or frequency resources allocated for the positioning procedure. The second UE receives a request to perform a positioning procedure from the first UE via a side link; sends the request to perform a positioning procedure to a first network entity; receives an indication of a set of time resources, frequency resources, or both allocated for the positioning procedure from the second network entity; and sends the indication to the first UE via the side link.

[0011] WO 2021167393 A1 discloses a method and device for performing positioning in a cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) system. According to one aspect, in a C-V2X communication system, a method for performing positioning in a terminal carried on a positioning vehicle may include the following steps: measuring the time of flight (ToF) by performing a roadside unit (RSU) and round-trip time (RTT) ranging; determining a positioning mode, wherein the positioning mode includes a self-positioning mode and a collaborative positioning mode; on the basis that the determined positioning mode is a collaborative positioning mode, measuring the relative positioning of surrounding vehicles by using a sensor provided in the positioning vehicle, and storing first positioning measurement information corresponding to the measured relative positioning; selecting surrounding vehicles for performing collaborative positioning; sending first positioning measurement information to the selected surrounding vehicles; receiving second positioning measurement information from the selected surrounding vehicles; and determining the current position of the positioning vehicle based on the first positioning measurement information and the second positioning measurement information.

[0012] WO 2022041130 A1 discloses a device, comprising: an interface; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the interface and the memory, the processor being configured to: instruct a node to send a first cellular reference signal to a target UE (user equipment) and another UE, the node being a cellular communication node; instruct the target UE to report a first time difference to the node via the interface, the first time difference being a first amount of time between the target UE receiving the first cellular reference signal and the target UE sending a second cellular reference signal; and instruct the other UE to report a second time difference via the interface, the second time difference being a second amount of time between the other UE receiving the first cellular reference signal and the other UE receiving the second cellular reference signal in a cross-link interference resource.

[0013] WO 2021138127 A1 discloses an example positioning method performed by a bandwidth-limited UE, the method comprising: sending a first timing measurement signal to at least one nearby high-quality UE, wherein the at least one nearby high-quality UE is able to use more bandwidth than the bandwidth-limited UE; receiving a second timing measurement signal from at least one nearby high-quality UE; and determining location information of the bandwidth-limited UE based at least on the first timing measurement signal and the second timing measurement signal.

[0014] WO 2021118756 A1 discloses a positioning method performed by a bandwidth-limited UE. According to the disclosure, the method includes receiving a first timing measurement signal from at least one nearby UE, wherein the at least one nearby UE is capable of using more bandwidth than the bandwidth-limited UE, and sending a second timing measurement signal to at least one nearby user equipment.

[0015] US2021306979 A1 discloses systems, methods, and devices for side chain positioning determination and communication. The technology used includes obtaining data from one or more data sources on a first side chain-supporting device, the data indicating one or more criteria for using round-trip time (RTT)-based target node positioning or unilateral (SS)-based target node positioning. These technologies also include using the first side chain-supporting device to select a positioning type from a group that may include RTT-based positioning and SS-based positioning based on the data. These technologies also include sending a message from the first side chain-supporting device to the second side chain-supporting device, wherein the message includes information indicating the selected positioning type.

[0016] WO 2022126496 A1 discloses an apparatus, method, device and computer-readable storage medium for retransmitting a sidelink positioning reference signal (PRS). The method includes sending a first sidelink reference signal associated with a positioning or ranging procedure of a first device to a second device; and receiving a second sidelink reference signal associated with the positioning or ranging procedure from the second device, the second sidelink reference signal including information indicating whether the first sidelink reference signal needs to be retransmitted. In this way, retransmission of the sidelink PRS can be triggered without consuming additional resources, and fast RTT estimation for sidelink ranging and positioning can be achieved.

[0017] US2018098299 A1 discloses a method used by a user equipment (UE) to perform ranging in a wireless communication system, comprising the following steps: a first UE sends a D2D signal in subframe N; receives the D2D signal in subframe N+K from a second UE, and the second UE sets the time point of receiving the D2D signal as a subframe boundary; and the first UE measures the round-trip time (RTT) by detecting the reception time point of the D2D signal sent by the second UE.

[0018] US2021377907 A1 discloses a technology for sidelink positioning using a single anchor point using a distributed antenna system. A method for determining the relative position of two stations includes: determining a first round trip time of a positioning reference signal transmitted between a first antenna of a first station and a second station, determining a second round trip time of a positioning reference signal transmitted between a second antenna of the first station and the second station, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are arranged at different positions near the second station, and determining the relative position of the first station and the second station based at least in part on the first round trip time and the second round trip time.

[0019] US2022244344 A1 discloses a method for supporting joint positioning of multiple user equipments (UEs) performed by a location server. The positioning of multiple user equipments (UEs) is jointly determined by the location server using positioning measurements from a common set of positioning reference signals (PRS), which may include downlink (DL) PRS, uplink (UL) PRS, sidelink (SL) PRS, or a combination thereof. The location server may select a common PRS set, for example based on a rough estimate of the UE positioning determined by the location server, a suggestion from the UE, or a positioning report from the UE. Once selected by the location server, an indication of the common PRS set is sent to the UE. Alternatively, the common PRS set may be selected by one or more UEs (e.g., by a controlling UE or consensus), and one or more UEs provide an indication of the common PRS set to the location server.

[0020] US2021297206 A1 discloses a user equipment (UE), which receives a request to perform a positioning procedure from a target UE through a side chain between an auxiliary UE and the target UE, wherein both the auxiliary UE and the target UE are outside the network coverage, and determines a set of time and / or frequency resources on which to send one or more positioning reference signals for the positioning procedure based at least on the request, and sends the one or more positioning reference signals to the target UE via the set of time and / or frequency resources.

[0021] EP 4057719 A1 discloses a method and device for positioning using a side link. A method for performing positioning by a vehicle-mounted terminal through a side link may include the following steps: receiving a request positioning reference signal (PRS) from a positioning terminal; determining a direction angle based on the positioning terminal based on the request PRS; determining a response PRS ID corresponding to the request PRS ID of the request RRS based on the determined direction angle; and sending a response PRS corresponding to the determined response PRS ID. The vehicle-mounted terminal is capable of communicating with at least one of another vehicle-mounted terminal, a UE related to an autonomous driving vehicle, a BS, or a network.

[0022] EP 4068810 A1 discloses a method and a terminal for sending and receiving a sidelink positioning reference signal. The method comprises: when the resources occupied by the sidelink positioning reference signal conflict with the resources occupied by at least one information in a first information set, not sending the S-PRS on the conflicting resources, wherein the first information set comprises: at least one of a sidelink physical channel, a sidelink reference signal, a sidelink synchronization signal, a sidelink synchronization signal block, automatic gain control information, and protection period information.

[0023] US2022201774 A1 discloses a first user device, comprising: an interface configured to wirelessly send and receive signals; and a processor, the processor being configured to: establish a sidelink connection with a second user device; exchange sidelink information with the second user device using the sidelink connection to perform at least one of the following: send first SL PRS-related data (sidelink positioning reference signal-related data) to the second user device via the interface, including at least one of first SL PRS auxiliary data or first SL PRS configuration data; or receive second SL PRS-related data from the second user device via the interface, including at least one of second SL PRS auxiliary data or second SL PRS configuration data; and based on at least one of the first SLPRS-related data or the second SL PRS-related data, exchange one or more sidelink positioning reference signals with the second user device via the interface using the sidelink connection.

[0024] EP 4037226 A1 discloses a signal transmission method and device, which can realize the transmission of a sidelink positioning reference signal, thereby implementing positioning based on the sidelink. An embodiment of the application provides a signal transmission method used at a transmitting end, the method comprising: determining a sidelink positioning reference signal (SPRS) resource configuration information of a first terminal on a sidelink; and according to the SPRS resource configuration information, sending the SPRS to a second terminal via the sidelink, so that the second terminal performs positioning measurement based on the SPRS. Indicators and possible countermeasures for reducing channel congestion in SL communications are well known.

[0025] SL positioning necessarily involves (multiple) anchor UEs that know their own position. In principle, any UE that knows its own position can become an anchor UE for SL positioning, but currently other (multiple) UEs cannot know whether a certain UE is an anchor. Common standards should be defined so that UEs can advertise themselves as anchors. These standards are usually closely related to the resource allocation method of SL-PRS.

[0026] (Multiple) anchor UEs are essential for performing SL positioning. This application provides a solution to the problem of being unable to determine which UE(s) are anchors. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 It shows that the gNB designates the UE as the anchor point;

[0028] Figure 2 Shown is the advertisement of the UE as an anchor point in case of a dedicated RP for positioning;

[0029] Figure 3 A first embodiment of advertising a UE as an anchor point in the case of a shared RP for positioning is shown;

[0030] Figure 4 A second embodiment of advertising a UE as an anchor point in the case of a shared RP for positioning is shown;

[0031] Figure 5 A third embodiment of advertising a UE as an anchor point in case of a shared RP for positioning is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The specific embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are intended as descriptions of various configurations and are not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The specific embodiments include specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In particular, although terminology from 3GPP 5G NR may be used in this disclosure to illustrate the embodiments herein, this should not be viewed as limiting the scope of the invention.

[0033] Some embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are also included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0034] Generally, all terms used herein should be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless different meanings are clearly given and / or different meanings are implied from the context of their use. Unless otherwise clearly stated, all references to one / a kind / the element, device, part, mode, step, etc. should be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of an element, device, part, mode, step, etc. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is clearly described as being after or before another step and / or it is implied that a step must be after or before another step. Where appropriate, any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein may be applicable to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may be applicable to any other embodiment, and vice versa. According to the following description, other purposes, features and advantages of the attached embodiments will become apparent.

[0035] In some embodiments, a more general term "network node" may be used, which may correspond to any type of radio network node or any network node that communicates with a UE (directly or via another node) and / or communicates with another network node. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, MeNB, ENB, network nodes belonging to MCG or SCG, base stations (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio nodes (such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB), network controllers, radio network controllers (RNC), base station controllers (BSC), relays, donor node controlled relays, base transceiver stations (BTS), access points (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, RRUs, RRHs, nodes in distributed antenna systems (DAS), core network nodes (such as mobile switching centers (MSCs), mobile management entities (MMEs), etc.), operations and maintenance (O&M), operations support systems (OSS), self-optimizing networks (SONs), positioning nodes (such as evolved serving mobile location centers (E-SMLCs)), minimization of drive tests (MDTs), test equipment (physical nodes or software), etc.

[0036] In some embodiments, the non-limiting term user equipment (UE) or wireless device may be used and may refer to any type of wireless device that communicates with a network node and / or another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UEs are target devices, device-to-device (D2D) UEs, machine-type UEs or UEs capable of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, PDAs, PADs, tablet computers, mobile terminals, smart phones, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted equipment (LMEs), USB dongles, M1 category UEs, M2 category UEs, ProSe UEs, V2V UEs, V2X UEs, etc.

[0037] In addition, terms such as base station / gNodeB and UE should be considered non-restrictive and in particular do not imply a certain hierarchical relationship between the two; generally, "gNodeB" can be considered as device 1, "UE" can be considered as device 2, and the two devices communicate with each other through a certain radio channel. And in the following, a transmitter or a receiver can be a gNodeB (gNB) or a UE.

[0038] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, aspects of the embodiments may be embodied as a system, apparatus, method or program product. Thus, the embodiments may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or a combination of software and hardware aspects.

[0039] For example, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented as hardware circuits including custom very large scale integrated ("VLSI") circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors (e.g., logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components). The disclosed embodiments may also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, etc. As another example, the disclosed embodiments may include one or more physical or logical blocks of executable code, which may be organized, for example, as objects, procedures, or functions.

[0040] In addition, embodiments may take the form of a program product embodied in one or more computer-readable storage devices storing machine-readable code, computer-readable code, and / or program code (hereinafter referred to as code). The storage device may be tangible, non-transient, and / or non-transmitting. The storage device may not embody signals. In certain embodiments, the storage device only uses signals to access the code.

[0041] Any combination of one or more computer readable media may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium may be a storage device storing code. The storage device may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, holographic, micromechanical, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0042] More specific examples of storage devices (a non-exhaustive list) would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory ("RAM"), a read-only memory ("ROM"), an erasable programmable read-only memory ("EPROM" or flash memory), a portable compact disk read-only memory ("CD-ROM"), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0043] The code for performing the operation of the embodiment can be any number of rows, and can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Python, Ruby, Java, Smalltalk, C++ and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as "C" programming language and / or machine languages ​​such as assembly language. The code can be executed completely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, executed as an independent software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or executed completely on a remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer through any type of network (including local area network ("LAN"), wireless LAN ("WLAN") or wide area network ("WAN")), or can be connected to an external computer (for example, using an Internet service provider ("ISP") through the Internet).

[0044] In addition, the described features, structures or characteristics of the embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner. In the following description, many specific details (such as examples of programming, software modules, user selection, network transactions, database queries, database structures, hardware modules, hardware circuits, hardware chips, etc.) are provided to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the embodiments can be practiced without one or more specific details or using other methods, components, materials, etc. In other examples, well-known structures, materials or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid blurring the various aspects of the embodiments. The reference to "one (one) embodiment", "one (an) embodiment" or similar language throughout the specification means that in at least one embodiment, the specific features, structures or characteristics described in combination with the embodiment are included. Therefore, unless otherwise clearly indicated, the phrases "one (one) embodiment", "one (an) embodiment" and similar language that appear throughout the specification may but do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more embodiments, but not all embodiments". Unless otherwise clearly indicated, the terms "including (including and comprising)", "having (having)" and their variants mean "including but not limited to". The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms "a" and "an" and "the" also mean "one or more," unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0045] Various aspects of the embodiments are described below with reference to schematic flow charts and / or schematic block diagrams of methods, devices, systems, and program products according to the embodiments. It should be understood that each frame of the schematic flow charts and / or schematic block diagrams and the combination of frames in the schematic flow charts and / or schematic block diagrams can be implemented by code. The code can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, so that instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device create means for implementing the functions / actions specified in the flow charts and / or block diagrams.

[0046] The code may also be stored in a storage device that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to operate in a specific manner so that the instructions stored in the storage device produce an article of manufacture including instructions for implementing the functions / actions specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0047] The code may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the code executed on the computer or other programmable apparatus provides a process for implementing the functions / actions specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0048] The flowcharts and / or block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate the architecture, functions and operations of possible implementations of the apparatus, system, method and program product according to various embodiments. In this regard, each box in the flowchart and / or block diagram may represent a module, a fragment, or a code portion, which includes one or more executable instructions for implementing (multiple) specified logical functions.

[0049] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions indicated in the blocks may not occur in the order indicated in the drawings. For example, two blocks shown in succession may actually be executed substantially in parallel, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order depending on the functions involved. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalent in function, logic or effect to one or more blocks or portions thereof in the drawings shown.

[0050] Although various arrow types and line types may be used in the flow chart and / or block diagram, it should be understood that they do not limit the scope of the corresponding embodiment. In fact, some arrows or other connectors may only be used to indicate the logical flow of the depicted embodiment. For example, an arrow may indicate a waiting or monitoring cycle of an unspecified duration between the enumerated steps of the depicted embodiment. It should also be noted that each frame of the block diagram and / or flow chart and the combination of frames in the block diagram and / or flow chart can be implemented by a combination of a dedicated hardware-based system or dedicated hardware and code that performs a specified function or action.

[0051] The description of an element in each figure may refer to an element in a subsequent figure. In all figures, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements, including alternative embodiments of the same elements.

[0052] For better understanding, some relevant terms are defined for this application.

[0053] The sidelink channel occupancy rate (SL CR) evaluated at time slot n is defined as the total number of subchannels used for its transmission in time slot [na, n-1] and authorized in time slot [n, n+b] divided by the total number of subchannels configured in the transmission pool on [na, n+b]. a is a positive integer and b is 0 or a positive integer; a and b are determined by the UE implementation, where a+b+1=1000 or 1000·2μ time slots, b<(a+b+1) / 2, and n+b shall not exceed the last transmission opportunity authorized for the current transmission according to the high-level parameter sl-TimeWindowSizeCR. The SL CR is evaluated for each transmission (retransmission). When evaluating the SL CR, the UE should assume that the transmission parameters used in time slot n will be reused according to the (multiple) existing grants in time slot [n+1, n+b] without packet loss. The time slot index is based on the physical time slot index. The SL CR can be calculated according to the priority level. A resource is considered to be granted if it is a member of the selected sidelink grant defined in TS 38.321. Sidelink channel occupancy ratio (SL CR) is applicable to RRC_IDLE same frequency, RRC_IDLE different frequency, RRC_CONNECTED same frequency, and RRC_CONNECTED different frequency.

[0054] The SL channel busy rate (SL CBR) measured in time slot n is defined as the portion of subchannels in the resource pool sensed over the CBR measurement window [na, n-1] for which the SL RSSI measured by the UE exceeds the (pre)configured threshold, where a is equal to 100 or 100·2μ time slots, depending on the higher layer parameter sl-TimeWindowSizeCBR. When the higher layer configures the UE to perform partial sensing (including when SL DRX is configured), the SL RSSI is measured in the time slots in which the UE performs partial sensing and in the time slots in which the UE performs PSCCH / PSSCH reception within the CBR measurement window. The calculation of the SL CBR is limited to the time slots in which the SL RSSI is measured. If the number of SL RSSI measurement time slots within the CBR measurement window is lower than the (pre)configured threshold, the (pre)configured SL CBR value is used. The SL channel busy rate (SL CBR) applies to RRC_IDLE same-frequency, RRC_IDLE different-frequency, RRC_CONNECTED same-frequency, and RRC_CONNECTED different-frequency. The slot index is based on the physical slot index.

[0055] For ease of understanding, some relevant terms are defined for this application. Target UE refers to the UE to be positioned (in this context, using SL, i.e., PC5 interface), anchor UE refers to the UE that supports positioning of the target UE, for example, sending and / or receiving positioning reference signals through the SL interface, providing positioning related information, etc., sidelink positioning refers to: using reference signals sent through SL (i.e., PC5 interface) to position the UE to obtain absolute positioning, relative positioning or ranging information, and ranging refers to determining the distance and / or direction between the UE and another entity (e.g., anchor UE).

[0056] The proposed solution proposes a method for a UE to advertise itself as an anchor UE based on a congestion control framework, and a method for a gNB to designate a UE as an anchor UE. The present application achieves fast positioning based on SL by quickly identifying the anchor UE.

[0057] For the gNB to designate a UE as an anchor point, a method is proposed by which the gNB can designate (multiple) UEs as (multiple) anchor UEs for SL positioning. For the UE to advertise itself as an anchor point to other devices, a set of criteria is proposed by which the UE can decide whether it can advertise itself as an anchor point for SL positioning. In addition, a method is described by which the UE can advertise itself as an anchor point for SL-based positioning. The standard is based on defining new metrics, such as SL CBR and SL CR, and the UE's indication is made per RP; that is, if multiple RPs are configured, the UE will send an indication as an anchor point for each RP separately. Depending on whether the RP is dedicated to positioning or shared for positioning and communication, the metrics and methods will be different. For example, in a shared RP, the metrics for communication resources and non-communication resources can be calculated separately, and the window size for calculating SL CR and SL CBR is given by parameter a described before paragraph 5 above.

[0058] Figure 1 The gNB designates the UE as an anchor point. The base station (gNB) checks whether the UE should be designated as an anchor point. If the result of this check is Figure 1 If the indicated "yes" is yes, the base station (gNB) sends an indication to designate the UE as an anchor point. If not, the base station checks whether the UE is currently designated as an anchor point. If yes, the gNB sends an indication to the UE to terminate its previous anchor point designation.

[0059] based on Figure 1, the gNB may directly designate one or more UEs as anchor points for SL positioning based on its own evaluation. This designation may be done for each SL RP individually or for more than one RP together. Based on, for example, UE capabilities, UE's knowledge of current positioning, etc., the gNB sends an indication to the UE to become an anchor UE; for a specific RP or more than one RP, the indication consists of any combination of the following:

[0060] A fixed number of bits indicating whether the UE is an anchor UE;

[0061] A fixed number of bits indicating the maximum positioning QoS (service priority) that the UE should support based on a predefined QoS table;

[0062] A fixed number of bits indicating the lowest priority level of UEs for which this UE can serve as an anchor point;

[0063] If the gNB finds that the UE is not suitable to be an anchor point, for example, if the positioning accuracy of the UE is insufficient, or the RP allocation is revoked, or there are not many neighboring UEs that may need an anchor point, the gNB can dynamically indicate to the UE to terminate the UE's function as an anchor point. The indication from the gNB can be sent in the DCI or via the MAC CE together with the grant of the RP.

[0064] Figure 2 The UE is advertised as an anchor point in the case of a dedicated RP for positioning. The user equipment (UE) calculates the positioning SL CBR and positioning SL CR on all resources in the dedicated RP and checks whether the positioning SL CBR is less than a predefined threshold. If yes, then Figure 2 The "yes" condition in the UE and the UE checks whether it knows the current location. If the UE knows the current location, it advertises it as an anchor UE. If the UE finds that the location SL CBR check is above a predefined threshold, the UE controls whether the advertisement as an anchor UE is being sent. If the check result is yes, such as Figure 2 As depicted, the UE stops advertising as an anchor UE.

[0065] The UE evaluates new metrics: positioning SL CBR and positioning SL CR, like the existing SL CR and SL CBR for communication, but defined for a dedicated positioning RP and based on a new SLRSSI appropriately defined for the timeslots configured for positioning. While the nature of the metrics are similar, they can be calculated with different parameters, for example with a different number of timeslots given by parameter a, as described above. Like the communication SL CBR, the positioning SL CBR is divided into multiple ranges and a maximum positioning SL CR limit is specified for each positioning SL CBR range. The UE is able to know its current positioning with a certain accuracy; the range of expected positioning accuracy from the anchor UE is (pre-)configured together with the gNB / LMF or UE's RP designation / allocation.

[0066] The UE advertises itself as an anchor point for positioning if both of the following conditions are met: The positioning SL CBR is below a certain predefined threshold; this threshold is (pre)configured together with the allocation of a dedicated RP. The UE is able to know its current location with a certain accuracy.

[0067] In addition to meeting the above conditions, the UE also evaluates the maximum positioning QoS that can be achieved within the positioning SL CR limit corresponding to the positioning SL CBR range; the maximum positioning QoS is determined based on the (pre)defined QoS threshold from the upper layer and the transmission parameters (such as SL-PRS power and bandwidth) within the positioning SL CR limit.

[0068] Advertisement as an anchor is achieved by sending an indication that includes at least 1 bit indicating the availability of the UE as an anchor and any combination of the following additional indications: A fixed number of bits indicating the accuracy level of the UE's currently known location based on a preconfigured accuracy table. A fixed number of bits indicating the maximum positioning QoS (service priority) that the UE can support based on a predefined QoS table from higher layers. A fixed number of bits indicating the speed or mobility class of the UE. A fixed number of bits indicating the minimum priority level of UEs for which the UE can act as an anchor.

[0069] The indication may be sent to other UEs in SL Positioning Control Information, similar to SCI for communication, but defined for positioning in a dedicated RP for positioning, or via MAC CE if there is a channel similar to PSSCH in the dedicated RP.

[0070] The indication may be sent to the gNB in ​​the PUCCH as part of the UCI or in the PUSCH.

[0071] The target UE or any other device can use these indications to decide whether to select this anchor UE. The calculation and evaluation of the positioning SLCBR and positioning SL CR are performed in each subframe, similar to the SL CBR and SL CR for communication. If the positioning SL CBR is evaluated to be above a threshold, or the positioning of the UE does not reach the defined minimum accuracy level, the advertisement as an anchor is stopped.

[0072] Figure 3 A first embodiment of advertising a UE as an anchor point in the case of a shared RP for positioning is shown. The user equipment (UE) performs calculations and evaluations on the SL CBR and SL CR for positioning and communication, respectively. The user equipment (UE) calculates the communication SL CBR and the communication SL CR in the shared RP on the resources allocated for communication, and calculates the positioning SL CBR and the positioning SL CR in the shared RP on the resources not reserved for communication. The UE checks whether the positioning SL CBR is less than a predefined threshold, and if the result of the first check is yes, the user equipment (UE) checks whether the communication SL CBR is less than the predefined threshold, and if the result of the second check is yes, the user equipment (UE) checks whether the current positioning of itself is known, and if so, the user equipment (UE) advertises it as an anchor UE. If the result of the second check is no, a third check is performed, and the user equipment (UE) checks whether the current advertisement as an anchor UE is being sent, and if so, the user equipment (UE) stops advertising as an anchor UE.

[0073] The UE evaluates the SL CR and SLCBR for communication as defined in TS 38.215 on resources reserved for SL communication and evaluates newly defined metrics: Positioning SL CR and Positioning SL CBR, similar to SL CR and SL CBR for communication, but defined on SL resources not reserved for communication in the shared RP.

[0074] In the first embodiment 1, the indicators are calculated respectively for the communication resources and the non-communication resources in the shared RP, and therefore different parameters may be used for calculation.

[0075] The UE shall advertise itself as an anchor point if the following conditions are met.

[0076] The communication SL CBR is less than the predefined threshold;

[0077] The positioning SL CBR is less than the predefined threshold;

[0078] The UE is able to know its current location with a certain accuracy.

[0079] Instructions by Figure 2The advertisement as an anchor is accomplished by sending an indication consisting of at least 1 bit indicating the availability of the UE as an anchor and any combination of the following additional indications: A fixed number of bits indicating the accuracy level of the UE's currently known location based on a preconfigured accuracy table. A fixed number of bits indicating the maximum positioning QoS (service priority) that the UE can support based on a predefined QoS table from higher layers. A fixed number of bits indicating the speed or mobility class of the UE. A fixed number of bits indicating the minimum priority level of UEs for which the UE can act as an anchor.

[0080] The indication is sent in the existing SCI or positioning SCI or shared SCI or via MAC CE. These thresholds are (pre)configured together with the allocation of the shared RP. If any of the above conditions is not met, the advertisement as anchor point is stopped.

[0081] Figure 4 A second embodiment of advertising a UE as an anchor point in the case of a shared RP for positioning is shown. The user equipment (UE) separately calculates and evaluates the SL CBR for communication and the SL CBR for positioning, wherein the user equipment (UE) calculates the communication SL CBR and the communication SL CR in the shared RP on the resources allocated for communication, and calculates the positioning SL CBR and the positioning SL CR in the shared RP on the resources not reserved for communication, combines the calculated communication SL CBR and the positioning SL CBR using a specified method, and the user equipment (UE) checks whether the combined SL CBR is less than a predefined threshold, and if the first check result is yes, the user equipment (UE) checks whether the current positioning of itself is known, if so, the user equipment (UE) advertises itself as an anchor UE, if the first check result is no, the user equipment (UE) checks whether the advertisement as an anchor UE is currently being sent, and if the second check result is yes, the user equipment (UE) stops advertising as an anchor UE.

[0082] The UE calculates the SL CR and SLCBR for communication as defined in TS 38.215 on the resources reserved for SL communication, and calculates newly defined indicators: positioning SL CR and positioning SL CBR, similar to SL CR and SL CBR for communication, but defined on SL resources not reserved for communication in the shared RP. Although the nature of the indicators is similar, they can be calculated with different parameters, for example, with a different number of time slots given by parameter a, as described above. The UE then combines the communication SL CBR with the positioning SL CBR, and the communication SL CR with the positioning SL CR using a (pre)defined function (e.g., the sum of the positioning SL CBR and the communication SL CBR, the sum of the positioning SL CR and the communication SL CR).

[0083] The combined SL CBR indicator is divided into different ranges, which are (pre)configured and a combination limit is (pre)defined for the combined SL CR indicator. The UE advertises itself as an anchor point if the following conditions are met:

[0084] The combined SL CBR index is less than the predefined threshold;

[0085] The UE is able to know its current location with a certain accuracy.

[0086] Instructions are given by Figure 2 The indication is sent in the existing SCI or the positioning SCI or the shared SCI or via the MAC CE.

[0087] This threshold is (pre)configured together with the allocation of the shared RP. If any of the above conditions is not met, the advertisement as anchor point is stopped.

[0088] Figure 5 A third embodiment of advertising a UE as an anchor point in the case of a shared RP for positioning is shown. The user equipment (UE) performs a combined calculation and evaluation of SL CBR and SL CR indicators for positioning and communication, wherein the user equipment (UE) calculates the combined SL CBR and SL CR of all resources in the shared RP, the user equipment (UE) checks whether the combined SL CBR is less than a predefined threshold, if the result of the check is yes, the user equipment (UE) checks whether the current positioning of itself is known, if yes, the user equipment (UE) advertises itself as an anchor UE, if the result of the first check is no, the user equipment (UE) checks whether the advertisement as an anchor UE is currently being sent, if the result of the second check is yes, the user equipment (UE) stops advertising as an anchor UE.

[0089] The UE calculates the combined SL CR and SL CBR on the shared RP. The combined indicator is defined by common parameters on communication resources and non-communication resources. The combined SL CBR is divided into different ranges, which are (pre)configured and limits are (pre)defined for the combined SL CR indicator corresponding to each combined SL CBR range. The UE advertises itself as an anchor point if the following conditions are met:

[0090] The combined SL CBR index is less than the predefined threshold;

[0091] The UE is able to know its current location with a certain accuracy.

[0092] The indication is composed of the same elements as described above. The indication is sent in an existing SCI or a positioning SCI or a shared SCI or via a MAC CE.

[0093] This threshold is (pre)configured together with the allocation of the shared RP. If any of the above conditions is not met, the advertisement as anchor point is stopped.

[0094] A further embodiment is an apparatus for sidelink positioning in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising a wireless transceiver, a processor coupled to a memory, the memory having computer program instructions stored therein, the instructions being configured to implement the steps of claims 1 to 8, and the apparatus being designed to be used in a base station (gNB).

[0095] Another embodiment is an apparatus for sidelink positioning in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising a wireless transceiver, a processor coupled to a memory, the memory storing computer program instructions, the instructions being configured to implement the steps of claims 9 to 19, and the apparatus being designed to be used in a user equipment (UE).

[0096] A further embodiment is a base station (gNB) comprising an apparatus according to claim 20.

[0097] A further embodiment is a user equipment comprising the apparatus according to claim 21 .

[0098] The described components interact in a wireless communication system comprising at least one base station (gNB) according to claim 22 and at least one user equipment (UE) according to claim 23, which user equipment is at least configured to act as an anchor UE.

[0099] A wireless communication system (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations (gNBs) and various UEs. The base stations may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base station may include an eNB and / or ng-eNB when the wireless communication system corresponds to an LTE network, or a gNB when the wireless communication system corresponds to an NR network, or a combination of the two, and the small cell base station may include a femtocell, a picocell, a microcell, etc.

[0100] The base stations may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network (e.g., Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or 5G Core (5GC)) via backhaul links and interface with one or more location servers via the core network, which may be part of or external to the core network. The base stations may perform, among other functions, functions related to one or more of: delivering user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, non-access stratum (NAS) message distribution, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and device tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and warning messaging. The base stations may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) via backhaul links (which may be wired or wireless).

[0101] The base station can communicate wirelessly with the UE. Each base station can provide communication coverage for its own geographic coverage area. In one aspect, the base station in each geographic coverage area can support one or more cells. "Cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with the base station on certain frequency resources (referred to as carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), enhanced cell identifier (ECI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) to distinguish cells operated via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types, such as machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types that can provide access to different types of UEs. Since the cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" can refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographic coverage area of ​​the base station, such as a sector, as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication in some parts of the geographic coverage area.

[0102] The geographic coverage areas of neighboring macrocell base stations may partially overlap (e.g., in a handoff area), while some geographic coverage areas may overlap to a large extent with a larger geographic coverage area. For example, the geographic coverage area of ​​a small cell base station (SC) may overlap to a large extent with the geographic coverage area of ​​one or more macrocell base stations. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0103] The communication link between the base station and the UE may include an uplink (also referred to as a reverse link transmission) from the UE to the base station and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link transmission) from the base station to the UE. The communication link may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link may be performed over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink, for example, more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the downlink than for the uplink.

[0104] The wireless communication system may further include a mmW base station, which may operate at mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF ranges from 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this frequency band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW can extend to 3 GHz frequencies with a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band is between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also known as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands have higher path losses and relatively short distances. The mmW base station and UE may utilize beamforming (sending and / or receiving) on ​​the mmW communication link to compensate for extremely high path losses and short distances. Further, it should be understood that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing description is merely an example and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0105] Although the disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to aspects of the disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. In addition, although elements of the disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is also contemplated unless expressly limited to the singular.

[0106] Various aspects of the disclosure may include fewer features than all of the features of a single example clause disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should be considered to be incorporated into the specification, where each clause itself can serve as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may be referenced in a clause in a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the (multiple) aspects of the dependent clause are not limited to that specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include a combination of (multiple) dependent clause aspects with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause, or a combination of any features with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. Various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations, unless it is expressly expressed or can be easily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (for example, contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an insulator and a conductor). In addition, it is also provided that various aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0107] abbreviation

[0108] BWP Bandwidth Part

[0109] CBG Code Block Group

[0110] CLI Cross Link Interference CP Cyclic Prefix

[0111] CQI Channel Quality Indicator CPU CSI Processing Unit CRB Common Resource Block CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check CRI CSI-RS resource indication CSI Channel State Information CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal CSI-RSRP CSI reference signal received power CSI-RSRQ CSI reference signal reception quality CSI-SINR CSI signal to noise and interference ratio CW codeword

[0112] DCI Downlink Control Information DL Downlink

[0113] DM-RS Demodulation Reference Signal DRX Discontinuous Reception EPRE Energy per resource element IAB-MT Integrated Access and Backhaul - Mobile Terminal L1-RSRP Layer 1 reference signal received power LI layer indication

[0114] MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel PSS Primary Synchronization Signal

[0115] PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0116] QCL Quasi-Co-location

[0117] PMI precoding matrix indication

[0118] PRB Physical Resource Block

[0119] PRG Precoding resource block group

[0120] PRS Positioning Reference Signal

[0121] PT-RS Phase Tracking Reference Signal

[0122] RB Resource Block

[0123] RBG Resource Block Group

[0124] RI Rank Indicator

[0125] RIV Resource Indicator Value

[0126] RP Resource Pool

[0127] RS reference signal

[0128] SCI side chain control information

[0129] SL CR Side chain channel occupancy

[0130] SL CBR Sidelink channel busy rate

[0131] SLIV Start and length indicator value

[0132] SR Scheduling Request

[0133] SRS Sounding Reference Signal

[0134] SS Sync Signal

[0135] SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal

[0136] SS-RSRP SS reference signal received power

[0137] SS-RSRQ SS reference signal reception quality

[0138] SS-SINR SS signal to noise and interference ratio

[0139] TB Transfer Block

[0140] TCI Transmission Configuration Indicator

[0141] TDM Time Division Multiplexing

[0142] UE User Equipment

[0143] UL Uplink

Claims

1. A method for sidelink positioning in a wireless communication system, characterized in that: The base station (gNB) designates at least one or more user equipments (UEs) as at least one anchor point for SL positioning based on an evaluation of the gNB, wherein the gNB checks whether the UE should be designated as an anchor UE based on information available to the gNB; if the check result is yes, the base station (gNB) sends an indication to the corresponding UE to designate it as an anchor UE; if the check result is no, the base station checks whether the user equipment (UE) is currently designated as an anchor point, and if the second check result is yes, the base station (gNB) sends an indication to the UE to terminate its previous anchor point designation.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The information available to the gNB is information about the UE capabilities and / or the gNB's knowledge of the UE's current location.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: This designation is performed for each SL resource pool (RP) individually, or for more than one RP together.

4. The method according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The base station (gnB) sends an indication to one or more user equipments (UEs) to make them anchor UEs.

5. The method according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that For a specific RP or more than one RP, the indication includes a fixed number of bits indicating whether the UE is an anchor UE, and any combination of the following or none of the following: A fixed number of bits indicating the maximum positioning QoS or service priority that the UE should support based on a predefined QoS table, • A fixed number of bits indicating the lowest priority level of SL positioning that this UE will support as an anchor point.

6. The method according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that If the base station (gNB) finds that the UE is not suitable to serve as an anchor point, the gNB dynamically instructs the UE to terminate the UE's function as an anchor point.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that If the positioning accuracy of the UE is insufficient, or the RP allocation is revoked, or there are not many neighboring UEs that may need an anchor point, the base station (gNB) considers the UE to be unsuitable as an anchor point.

8. The method according to claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The indication from the gNB is sent together with the grant for the RP in the DCI or via the MAC CE.

9. A method for sidelink positioning in a wireless communication system, characterized in that: The user equipment (UE) calculates the positioning SL CBR and positioning SL CR on all resources in the dedicated RP, and checks whether the positioning SL CBR is less than a predefined threshold. If the first check result is yes, the user equipment checks whether the UE knows its current positioning. If the second check result is yes, the UE advertises as an anchor UE. If the first check result is no, the user equipment checks whether the advertisement as an anchor UE is being sent. If the third check result is yes, the user equipment (UE) stops advertising as an anchor UE.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that It is sufficient to perform the third check if the positioning SL CBR is less than a threshold or the UE knows the current positioning.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: The new indicators are positioning SL CBR and positioning SLCR, which are the same as the existing SL CR and SL CBR for communication, but are defined for dedicated positioning RPs.

12. The method according to claims 9 to 11, characterized in that The User Equipment UE knows its current location with a certain level of accuracy; the range of expected positioning accuracy of the anchor UE is (pre-)configured together with the gNB / LMF or UE’s RP designation.

13. The method according to claims 9 to 12, characterized in that The UE uses the advertisement as an anchor point for SL positioning if the positioning SL CBR is below a certain predefined threshold and the UE knows its current location with a certain accuracy; this threshold is (pre)configured together with the allocation of the dedicated RP.

14. The method according to claims 9 to 13, characterized in that The user equipment (UE) can act as an anchor point by sending an indication including at least 1 bit indicating the availability of the UE as an anchor point and any combination of additional indications.

15. The method according to claims 9 to 14, characterized in that These additional indications are a fixed number of bits indicating the accuracy level of the UE's currently known positioning based on a preconfigured accuracy table, and / or a fixed number of bits indicating the maximum positioning QoS (service priority) that the UE can support based on a predefined QoS table from a higher layer, and / or a fixed number of bits indicating the speed or mobility level of the UE, and / or a fixed number of bits indicating the minimum priority level of UEs for which the UE can serve as an anchor point.

16. The method according to claims 9 to 15, characterized in that These indications are sent to other UEs via higher layer messages including SL Positioning Protocol (SLPP) messages.

17. The method according to claims 9 to 16, characterized in that These indications are sent to the gNB via PUSCH.

18. The method according to claims 9 to 17, characterized in that The target UE or any other device uses these indications to decide whether to select the anchor UE.

19. The method according to claims 9 to 18, characterized in that If the positioning SL CBR is evaluated to be above a threshold, or the positioning of the UE does not reach a defined minimum accuracy level, the advertisement of the UE as an anchor UE is stopped.

20. An apparatus for sidelink positioning in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising a wireless transceiver, a processor coupled to a memory, the memory storing computer program instructions, the instructions being configured to implement the steps of the method of claims 1 to 7, and the apparatus being designed to be used in a base station (gNB).

21. An apparatus for sidelink positioning in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising a wireless transceiver, a processor coupled to a memory, the memory storing computer program instructions, the instructions being configured to implement the steps of the method of claims 9 to 19, and the apparatus being designed to be used in a user equipment (UE).

22. A base station (gNB), comprising the apparatus according to claim 20.

23. A user equipment comprising the apparatus according to claim 21.

24. A wireless communication system comprising at least one base station (gNB) according to claim 23 and at least one user equipment (UE) according to claim 22, the user equipment being at least configured to act as an anchor UE.

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