Distance dependent positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration

Abstract

An example method for range-dependent positioning of a user equipment (UE) performed by a location server includes transmitting a first configuration of a range-dependent positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set to a transmit / receive point (TRP), the distance dependent PRS resource set at least includes a first PRS resource set for locating the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval. The method further includes determining the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; transmitting a second configuration to the UE for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one of the distance-related PRS resource sets at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; and receiving the PRS measurement from the UE; and determining a location of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 18 / 063,674, filed on Dec. 8, 2022, entitled "DISTANCE-DEPENDENT POSITION REFERENCE SIGNAL (PRS) CONFIGURATION", which is assigned to the assignee of this application and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background of the Disclosure 1. Field of the Technology

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of wireless communications and, more particularly, to using radio frequency (RF) signals to determine the location of a mobile device.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Technologies

[0005] In a wireless communication network, the location of a mobile device can be determined by using the mobile device to measure RF signals transmitted by a transmitting device of the wireless communication network. Measurements performed by the mobile device to perform this type of network-based positioning typically assume that the mobile device is far enough from the transmitting device such that near-field transmission effects do not apply. However, this may not always be the case. Summary of the Invention

[0006] An example method for distance-dependent positioning of a user equipment (UE) by a location server includes: transmitting a first configuration of a distance-dependent positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set to a transmit / receive point (TRP), the distance-dependent PRS resource set including at least: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval. The method further includes: determining an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; and transmitting to the UE a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-dependent PRS resource set at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The method further includes: receiving a PRS measurement from the UE; and determining the location of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

[0007] An example method for distance-related positioning of a user equipment (UE) performed by a transmit / receive point (TRP), the method comprising: receiving, from a location server, a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set at the TRP, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprises: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval. The method further comprises: transmitting, to the UE, a PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP.

[0008] An example method for distance-related positioning of a user equipment (UE) performed by a location server, the method comprising: receiving, from an operation and maintenance (O&M) server or a base station, a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set, the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprising: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and a TRP of the base station is within a first range interval. The method further comprises: determining an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; and transmitting, to the UE, a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The method further comprises: receiving, from the UE, a PRS measurement; and determining the location of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

[0009] An example location server, the location server comprising: one or more transceivers; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmit, to a transmit / receive point (TRP), a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set, the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprising: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval. The one or more processors are further configured to: determine an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; and transmit, to the UE, a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The one or more processors are further configured to: receive, from the UE, a PRS measurement; and determine the location of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

[0010] An example system includes: one or more transceivers; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive, from a location server, a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set at a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the system, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set includes at least: a first PRS resource set for positioning a user equipment (UE) when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval. The one or more processors are further configured to: transmit to the UE a PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP.

[0011] An example location server includes: one or more transceivers; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive, from an operation and maintenance (O&M) server or a base station, a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set, the distance-related PRS resource set including at least: a first PRS resource set for positioning a UE when an estimated distance between the UE and a TRP of the base station is within a first range interval. The one or more processors are further configured to: determine an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The one or more processors are further configured to: transmit to the UE a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The one or more processors are further configured to: receive a PRS measurement from the UE. The one or more processors are further configured to: determine the location of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

[0012] This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used alone to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to the appropriate portions of the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all of the drawings, and each claim. The foregoing and other features and examples will be described in more detail in the following specification, claims, and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 is a diagram of a positioning system according to an embodiment.

[0014] Figure 2 is a diagram of a fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) positioning system, which illustrates an embodiment of a positioning system implemented within a 5G NR communication network (e.g., Figure 1 of the positioning system).

[0015] Figure 3is a diagram illustrating an example of how beamforming may be performed according to some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 4 is a diagram of how different transmit receive points (TRPs) of a given positioning frequency layer (PFL) as defined in 5G NR may use a hierarchical structure of PRS resources and PRS resource sets.

[0017] Figure 5 、 Figure 6 and Figure 7 is a flowchart showing how distance - related positioning may be performed according to some embodiments.

[0018] Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example distance - related PRS resource set configuration according to some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 9 is a flowchart of a method for distance - related positioning of a UE by a location server according to one embodiment.

[0020] Figure 10 is a flowchart of a method for distance - related positioning of a UE by a transmit / receive point (TRP) according to one embodiment.

[0021] Figure 11 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system that may be utilized in the embodiments described herein.

[0022] Figure 12 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a base station that may be utilized in the embodiments described herein.

[0023] Figure 13 is a flowchart of a method for distance - related positioning of a UE by a location server according to one embodiment.

[0024] Like reference symbols in the various figures indicate like elements according to certain example embodiments. Additionally, multiple instances of an element may be indicated by adding a letter or hyphen and a second number after the first number of the element. For example, multiple instances of element 110 may be indicated as 110 - 1, 110 - 2, 110 - 3, etc. or 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When only the first number is used to refer to such an element, it should be understood that any instance of the element (e.g., element 110 in the previous example will refer to elements 110 - 1, 110 - 2, and 110 - 3 or to elements 110a, 110b, and 110c). Detailed Description

[0025] The following description is for the purpose of describing innovative aspects of various embodiments for certain specific implementations. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. The described specific implementations can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to any communication standard, such as any one of the following: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.4 standard for ultra-wideband (UWB), IEEE 802.11 standards (including the standards identified as technologies), standards, code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), GSM / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Revision A, EV-DO Revision B, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolution High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), or other known signals for communication within wireless, cellular, or Internet of Things (IoT) networks (such as systems utilizing technologies with 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, or further specific implementations thereof).

[0026] As used herein, "RF signal" includes electromagnetic waves that transmit information through the space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). As used herein, a transmitter can send a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of each RF signal through multiple channels or paths, a receiver can receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal.

[0027] Additionally, unless otherwise specified, references to "reference signal", "positioning reference signal", "reference signal for positioning", etc. can be used to refer to signals used for positioning a user equipment (UE). As described in more detail herein, such signals can include any one of a variety of signal types, but are not necessarily limited to positioning reference signals (PRS) as defined in relevant wireless standards.

[0028] In addition, unless otherwise specified, the term "positioning" as used herein can be absolute position determination, relative position determination, ranging, or a combination thereof. For purposes of position or sensing services, such positioning can include and / or be based on timing, angle, phase, or power measurements or a combination thereof (which can include RF sensing measurements).

[0029] Positioning a user equipment (UE) using reference signals (e.g., downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRS)) generally assumes that the UE is operating within the far-field operating distance from the base station. This may not always be the case for each base station and UE. For example, a UE located within a range between approximately 10 m and 20 m from the base station can be considered to be operating within the near-field operating distance from the base station, where near-field effects (e.g., the RF signal wavefront arriving at the receiving device has curvature) may need to be considered. Therefore, different measurements may be required to position UEs at different distances from the base station.

[0030] The techniques disclosed herein solve these and other problems by providing distance-dependent reference signal configurations, where UEs at different distances (e.g., estimated distances) from the base station are configured to measure different reference signals (e.g., different DL-PRS resource sets) and / or be configured according to different measurement configurations. The UE can determine measurements of the reference signal corresponding to the distance of the UE from the base station based on the distance-dependent reference signal configuration.

[0031] Figure 1 is a simplified illustration of a positioning system 100 according to one embodiment, where the UE 105, the location server 160, and / or other components of the positioning system 100 can use the techniques provided herein for positioning the UE 105 based on a distance-dependent PRS resource set at a transmit receive point (TRP). The techniques described herein can be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 can include: a UE 105; one or more satellites 110 (also referred to as space vehicles (SVs)), which can include global navigation satellite system (GNSS) satellites (e.g., satellites of the Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, etc.) and / or non-terrestrial network (NTN) satellites; a base station 120; an access point (AP) 130; a location server 160; a network 170; and an external client 180. Generally, the positioning system 100 can estimate the position of the UE 105 based on RF signals received and / or transmitted by the UE 105 and the known positions of other components that transmit and / or receive RF signals (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, base station 120, AP 130). Additional details regarding specific position estimation techniques are discussed in more detail. Figure 2 Additional details regarding specific position estimation techniques are discussed in more detail.

[0032] It should be noted that Figure 1 only generalized illustrations of various components are provided, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each component may be repeated as needed. Specifically, although only one UE 105 is illustrated, it should be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the positioning system 100. Similarly, the positioning system 100 may include more or fewer base stations 120 and / or APs 130 than Figure 1 those illustrated. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the positioning 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. Further, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted according to the desired functionality. In some embodiments, for example, the external client 180 may be directly connected to the location server 160. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many modifications to the illustrated components.

[0033] According to the desired functionality, the network 170 may include any one of a variety of wireless and / or wired networks. The network 170 may include, for example, any combination of public and / or private networks, local area networks and / or wide area networks, etc. Further, the network 170 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, the network 170 may include, for example, a cellular or other mobile network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), and / or the Internet. Examples of the network 170 include a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network, a Fifth Generation (5G) wireless network (also referred to as a New Radio (NR) wireless network or a 5G NR wireless network), a Wi-Fi WLAN, and the Internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or being defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The network 170 may also include more than one network and / or more than one type of network.

[0034] Base station 120 and access point (AP) 130 are communicatively coupled to network 170. In some embodiments, base station 120 may be owned, maintained, and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may employ any one of a variety of radio technologies, as described below. Depending on the technology of network 170, base station 120 may include a Node B, evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), transceiver base station (BTS), radio base station (RBS), NR Node B (gNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), etc. In the case where network 170 is a 5G network, base station 120 as a gNB or ng-eNB may be part of a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN) that can be connected to a 5G core network (5GC). Given the open radio access network (O-RAN) and / or virtualized radio access network (V-RAN or vRAN) in 5G or later networks, the functionality performed by base station 120 in earlier networks (e.g., 3G and 4G) may be split into different functional components (e.g., radio unit (RU), distributed unit (DU), and central unit (CU)) and layers (e.g., L1 / L2 / L3), which may be performed on different devices at different locations connected, for example, via fronthaul connections, midhaul connections, and backhaul connections. As mentioned herein, a "base station" (or ng-eNB, gNB, etc.) may include any or all of these functional components. For example, AP 130 may include a Wi-Fi AP or an AP or an AP with cellular capabilities (e.g., 4G LTE and / or 5G NR). Thus, UE 105 may communicate with network-connected devices such as location server 160 by accessing network 170 via base station 120 using first communication link 133 to transmit and receive information. Additionally or alternatively, because AP 130 may also be communicatively coupled to network 170, UE 105 may communicate with network-connected and Internet-connected devices (including location server 160) using second communication link 135 or via one or more other mobile devices 145.

[0035] As used herein, the term "base station" generally may refer to a single physical transmission point or multiple co-located physical transmission points that may be located at base station 120. A transmission and reception point (TRP) (also referred to as a transmit / receive point) corresponds to this type of transmission point, and the term "TRP" may be used interchangeably herein with the terms "gNB", "ng-eNB", and "base station". In some cases, base station 120 may include multiple TRPs—for example, where each TRP is associated with a different antenna or different antenna array of base station 120. As used herein, the transmission functionality of a TRP may be performed by a transmission point (TP), and / or the reception functionality of a TRP may be performed by a reception point (RP), which may be physically separate or distinct from the TP. That is, a TRP may include both a TP and an RP. A physical transmission point may include an antenna array of base station 120 (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and / or where beamforming is employed at the base station). The term "base station" may additionally refer to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, which may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station).

[0036] As used herein, the term "cell" generally may refer to a logical communication entity used for communicating with base station 120 and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) used to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types that may provide access for different types of devices (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocols). In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of the geographical coverage area over which a logical entity operates (e.g., a sector).

[0037] Satellite 110 can be used to locate UE 105 in one or more ways. For example, satellite 110 (also referred to as a space vehicle (SV)) can be part of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou. Positioning using RF signals from GNSS satellites can include measuring multiple GNSS signals at the GNSS receiver of UE 105 to perform code-based and / or carrier-based positioning, which can be highly accurate. Additionally or alternatively, satellite 110 can be used for NTN-based positioning, where satellite 110 can operate functionally as a transmission and reception point (TRP) (or transmission point (TP)) of a network (e.g., an LTE and / or NR network) and can be communicatively coupled to network 170. Specifically, reference signals (e.g., PRS) transmitted for NTN-based positioning by satellite 110 can be similar to those transmitted by base station 120 and can be coordinated by location server 160. In some embodiments, the satellites 110 used for NTN-based positioning can be different from those used for GNSS-based positioning. In some embodiments, NTN nodes can include non-terrestrial vehicles such as airplanes, balloons, drones, etc., which can supplement or replace NTN satellites.

[0038] Location server 160 can include a server and / or other computing devices that are configured to determine the estimated location of UE 105 and / or provide data (e.g., "assistance data") to UE 105 to facilitate position measurement and / or position determination by UE 105. According to some embodiments, location server 160 can include a Home Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (H-SLP) that can support the SUPL User Plane (UP) positioning solution defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and can support the location services of UE 105 based on the subscription information of UE 105 stored in location server 160. In some embodiments, location server 160 can include a Discovery SLP (D-SLP) or an Emergency SLP (E-SLP). Location server 160 can also include an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) that uses a control plane (CP) positioning solution to support the positioning of UE 105 for the LTE radio access of UE 105. Location server 160 can further include a Location Management Function (LMF) that uses a control plane (CP) positioning solution to support the positioning of UE 105 for the NR or LTE radio access of UE 105.

[0039] In a CP positioning solution, from the perspective of network 170, the signaling for controlling and managing the positioning of UE 105 can use existing network interfaces and protocols and be exchanged as signaling between the various elements of network 170 and with UE 105. In a UP positioning solution, from the perspective of network 170, the signaling for controlling and managing the positioning of UE 105 can be exchanged as data (e.g., data transmitted using Internet Protocol (IP) and / or Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)) between location server 160 and UE 105.

[0040] As previously noted (and discussed in more detail below), the estimated location of UE 105 can be based on measurements of RF signals transmitted by and / or received by UE 105. In particular, these measurements can provide information about the relative distance and / or angle of UE 105 from one or more components in positioning system 100 (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, AP 130, base stations 120). The estimated location of UE 105 can be geometrically estimated (e.g., using triangulation and / or multilateration) based on the distance and / or angle measurements along with the known locations of the one or more components.

[0041] Although ground components such as AP 130 and base stations 120 can be fixed, the embodiments are not limited thereto. Mobile components can be used. For example, in some embodiments, the location of UE 105 can be estimated at least in part based on measurements of RF signals 140 communicated between UE 105 and one or more other mobile devices 145 (the one or more other mobile devices can be mobile or fixed). As illustrated, the other mobile devices can include, for example, mobile phone 145-1, vehicle 145-2, static communication / location device 145-3, or other static and / or mobile devices capable of providing wireless signals for positioning UE 105, or combinations thereof. The wireless signals from mobile device 145 for positioning UE 105 can include, for example (including Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)), IEEE 802.11x (e.g., ), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), IEEE 802.15x, or combinations thereof. Mobile device 145 can additionally or alternatively use non-RF wireless signals such as infrared signals or other optical technologies to locate UE 105.

[0042] The mobile device 145 may include other UEs communicatively coupled to a cellular network or other mobile network (e.g., network 170). When one or more other mobile devices 145 including UEs are used in the positioning determination of a particular UE 105, the UE 105 whose positioning is to be determined may be referred to as the “target UE,” and each of the other mobile devices 145 used may be referred to as an “anchor UE.” For the positioning determination of the target UE, the respective positions of the one or more anchor UEs may be known and / or determined jointly with the target UE. Direct communication between the one or more other mobile devices 145 and the UE 105 may include sidelink and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication technologies. The sidelink defined by 3GPP is a form of D2D communication under the cellular-based LTE and NR standards. UWB may be such a technology by which measurements from one or more anchor devices (e.g., mobile device 145) can be used to facilitate the positioning of a target device (e.g., UE 105).

[0043] According to some embodiments, such as when the UE 105 is included in and / or incorporated into a vehicle, one form of D2D communication used by the UE 105 may include vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. V2X is a communication standard for vehicles to exchange information about the traffic environment with related entities. V2X may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication between vehicles with V2X capabilities, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication between a vehicle and an infrastructure-based device (commonly referred to as a roadside unit (RSU)), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication between a vehicle and a nearby person (pedestrian, cyclist, and other road users), etc. Additionally, V2X may use any one of a variety of wireless RF communication technologies. For example, cellular V2X (CV2X) is a form of V2X that uses cellular-based communication, such as LTE (4G), NR (5G), and / or other cellular technologies, in the direct communication mode defined by 3GPP. Figure 1 The illustrated UE 105 may correspond to a component or device located on a vehicle, RSU, or other V2X entity for communicating V2X messages. In embodiments where V2X is used, the static communication / location device 145-3 (which may correspond to an RSU) and / or the vehicle 145-2 may thus communicate with the UE 105 and may be used to determine the positioning of the UE 105 using techniques similar to those used by the base station 120 and / or the AP 130 (e.g., using multilateration and / or multi-point positioning). It may further be noted that, according to some embodiments, the mobile device 145 (which may include a V2X device), the base station 120, and / or the AP 130 may be used together (e.g., in a WWAN positioning solution) to determine the positioning of the UE 105.

[0044] The estimated location of the UE 105 can be used in a variety of applications, such as to assist a user of the UE 105 in direction finding or navigation or to assist another user (e.g., associated with an external client 180) in locating the UE 105. "Location" is also referred to herein as "location estimate", "estimated location", "position", "positioning", "positioning estimate", "position fix", "estimated positioning", "location fix", or "fix". The process of determining a location can be referred to as "positioning", "position determination", "location determination", etc. The location of the UE 105 can include the absolute location of the UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude and possibly altitude) or the relative location of the UE 105 (e.g., expressed as a distance north or south, east or west, and possibly above or below of a certain other known fixed location (including, e.g., the location of the base station 120 or the AP 130) or some other location (such as the location of the UE 105 at a certain known previous time, or the location of a mobile device 145 (e.g., another UE) at a certain known previous time)). A location can be specified as a geodetic location including coordinates, which can be absolute (e.g., latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude), relative (e.g., relative to a certain known absolute location), or local (e.g., according to X, Y, and optionally Z coordinates of a coordinate system defined relative to a local area such as a factory, warehouse, university campus, shopping mall, stadium, or convention center). A location can alternatively be a city location and can then include a street address (e.g., including the name or label of a country, state, county, city, road, and / or street, and / or a road or street number) and / or one or more of a label or name of a place, building, part of a building, floor of a building, and / or room within a building, etc. A location can also include an indication of uncertainty or error, such as a horizontal distance and possibly a vertical distance expected for the error in the location, or an indication of a region or volume (e.g., a circle or an ellipse) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located at a certain confidence level (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0045] The external client 180 can be a web server or a remote application that can have some association with the UE 105 (e.g., accessible by a user of the UE 105), or can be a server, application, or computer system that provides a location service to one or some other users, the location service can include obtaining and providing the location of the UE 105 (e.g., to implement services such as friend or relative finding or child or pet location). Additionally or alternatively, the external client 180 can obtain the location of the UE 105 and provide it to an emergency service provider, a government agency, etc.

[0046] As previously noted, the example positioning system 100 can be implemented using a wireless communication network such as an LTE-based or 5GNR-based network.Figure 2 FIG. shows a diagram of a 5G NR positioning system 200, which illustrates an implementation of a positioning system that implements 5G NR (e.g., positioning system 100). The 5G NR positioning system 200 may be configured to determine the location of UE 105 by using access nodes to implement one or more positioning methods. The access nodes may include NR Node B (gNB) 210-1 and 210-2 (collectively referred to herein as gNB 210), ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216. gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214 may correspond to Figure 1 base station 120, and WLAN 216 may correspond to Figure 1 one or more access points 130. Optionally, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may additionally be configured to determine the location of UE 105 by using LMF 220 (which may correspond to location server 160) to implement one or more positioning methods. Here, the 5G NR positioning system 200 includes UE 105 and components of the 5G NR network. These components of the 5G NR network include Next Generation (NG) Radio Access Network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 235 and 5G Core Network (5G CN) 240. The 5G network may also be referred to as the NR network; NG-RAN 235 may be referred to as 5G RAN or NR RAN; and 5G CN 240 may be referred to as the NG core network.

[0047] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also utilize information from satellite 110. As previously indicated, satellite 110 may include GNSS satellites from a GNSS system such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) or a similar system (e.g., GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)). Additionally or alternatively, satellite 110 may include NTN satellites that may be communicatively coupled to LMF 220 and operably used as a TRP (or TP) in NG-RAN 235. In this way, satellite 110 may communicate with one or more gNB 210.

[0048] It should be noted that Figure 2Only general illustrations of various components are provided, and any or all of these various components may be utilized as appropriate, and each of these various components may be repeated or omitted as needed. Specifically, although only one UE 105 is illustrated, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc. of UEs) may utilize the 5G NR positioning system 200. Similarly, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include a greater (or smaller) number of satellites 110, gNBs 210, ng-eNBs 214, wireless local area networks (WLANs) 216, access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 215, external clients 230, and / or other components. The illustrated connections that couple the various components in the 5G NR positioning system 200 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Additionally, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted according to the desired functionality.

[0049] The UE 105 may include and / or be referred to as a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), secure user plane location (SUPL)-enabled terminal (SET), or some other name. Additionally, the UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, smart phone, laptop computer, tablet computer, personal data assistant (PDA), navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or mobile device. Generally, although not necessarily, the UE 105 may support the use of one or more radio access technologies (RATs) such as using GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, LTE, high rate packet data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX TM ), 5G NR (e.g., using NG-RAN 235 and 5G CN 240) for wireless communication. The UE 105 may also support wireless communication using the WLAN 216, which WLAN (similar to one or more RATs and as previously noted for Figure 1 ), may be connected to other networks such as the Internet. Using one or more of these RATs may allow the UE 105 (e.g., via Figure 2 elements of the 5G CN 240 not shown, or possibly via a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 225) to communicate with the external client 230 and / or allow the external client 230 (e.g., via the GMLC 225) to receive location information about the UE 105. When implemented in or communicatively coupled to a 5G NR network, Figure 2 the external client 230 may correspond to Figure 1 the external client 180.

[0050] The UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network in which a user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O devices, and / or body sensors, as well as separate wired or wireless modems. The estimation of the location of the UE 105 may be referred to as location, location estimation, position fixing, fixing, positioning, positioning estimation, or position fixing, and may be geodetic, thereby providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for the UE 105, which may include an elevation component (e.g., height above sea level; height above or depth below a ground plane, floor plane, or basement plane) or may not include an elevation component (e.g., height above sea level; height above or depth below a ground plane, floor plane, or basement plane). Alternatively, the location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., a postal address or a designation of a point or smaller area within a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of the UE 105 may also be expressed as an area or volume (geodetically measured or defined in civic form) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may also be a relative location, including, for example, a distance and direction defined relative to an origin at a known location or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates, where the known location may be defined geodetically, in civic form, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the descriptions contained herein, the use of the term "location" may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When computing the location of a UE, local X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates are typically solved for and then converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude, and elevation above or below mean sea level) if needed.

[0051] Figure 2 The base stations in the illustrated NG-RAN 235 may correspond to Figure 1 the base stations 120 in and may include gNBs 210. The paired gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235 may be connected to each other (e.g., as Figure 2shown as a direct connection, or an indirect connection via other gNBs 210). The communication interface between base stations (gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) may be referred to as the Xn interface 237. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs, and this wireless communication may use 5G NR to provide wireless communication access to the 5G CN 240 on behalf of the UE 105. The wireless interface between the base station (gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) and the UE 105 may be referred to as the Uu interface 239. 5G NR radio access may also be referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access. In Figure 2 it is assumed that the serving gNB of the UE 105 is gNB 210-1, but other gNBs (e.g., gNB 210-2) may act as the serving gNB in the case where the UE 105 moves to another location, or may act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to the UE 105.

[0052] Figure 2 The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown may additionally or alternatively include a next-generation evolved node B (also referred to as ng-eNB) 214. The ng-eNB 214 may be connected to one or more gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235 - for example, directly connected, or indirectly connected via other gNBs 210 and / or other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 214 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to the UE 105. Figure 2 Some of the gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2) and / or ng-eNB 214 in may be configured to act as positioning beacons only, which may send signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) and / or may broadcast auxiliary data to assist in the positioning of the UE 105, but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or from other UEs. Some gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2 and / or another gNB not shown) and / or ng-eNB 214 may be configured to act as detection-only nodes and may scan for signals containing, for example, PRS data, auxiliary data, or other location data. Such detection-only nodes may not send signals or data to the UE, but may send signals or data (relating to, for example, PRS, auxiliary data, or other location data) to other network entities (e.g., one or more components of the 5G CN 240, external client 230, or controller), and the other network entity may receive and store the data or use the data to locate at least the UE 105. It should be noted that while Figure 2Only one ng-eNB 214 is shown, but some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNBs 214. Base stations (e.g., gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) may communicate directly with each other via the Xn communication interface. Additionally or alternatively, the base stations may communicate directly or indirectly with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200, such as the LMF 220 and the AMF 215.

[0053] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also include one or more WLANs 216, which may be connected to the non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 250 in the 5GCN 240 (e.g., in the case of an untrusted WLAN 216). For example, the WLAN 216 may support IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi access for the UE 105 and may include one or more Wi-Fi APs (e.g., Figure 1 the AP 130). Here, the N3IWF 250 may be connected to other elements in the 5G CN 240, such as the AMF 215. In some embodiments, the WLAN 216 may support another RAT, such as Bluetooth. The N3IWF 250 may provide support for secure access of the UE 105 to other elements in the 5G CN 240 and / or may support the interworking of one or more protocols used by the WLAN 216 and the UE 105 with one or more protocols used by other elements of the 5G CN 240 (such as the AMF 215). For example, the N3IWF 250 may support: establishment of an IPSec tunnel with the UE 105, termination of the IKEv2 / IPSec protocol with the UE 105, termination of the N2 and N3 interfaces with the 5G CN 240 for the control plane and the user plane respectively, and relay of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) control plane non-access stratum (NAS) signaling across the N1 interface between the UE 105 and the AMF 215. In some other embodiments, the WLAN 216 may be directly connected to an element in the 5G CN 240 (e.g., the AMF 215 as shown by the dashed line in Figure 2 and without going through the N3IWF 250. For example, the direct connection of the WLAN 216 to the 5GCN 240 may occur when the WLAN 216 is a trusted WLAN for the 5GCN 240, and may be implemented using a trusted WLAN interworking function (TWIF) ( Figure 2 not shown in) that may be an element internal to the WLAN 216. It should be noted that although Figure 2 only one WLAN 216 is shown, some embodiments may include multiple WLANs 216.

[0054] The access node may include any one of various network entities that enable communication between the UE 105 and the AMF 215. As noted, this may include the gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, WLAN 216, and / or other types of cellular base stations. However, an access node providing the functionality described herein may additionally or alternatively include an entity that enables communication with any one of a variety of RATs not illustrated in Figure 2 which may include non-cellular technologies. Thus, as used in the embodiments described hereinafter herein, the term "access node" may include, but is not necessarily limited to, the gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216.

[0055] In some embodiments, an access node (such as the gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216) (either alone or in combination with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200) may be configured to: in response to receiving a request for location information from the LMF 220, obtain location measurements of uplink (UL) signals received from the UE 105 and / or obtain from the UE 105 DL location measurements obtained by the UE 105 for downlink (DL) signals received by the UE 105 from one or more access nodes. As noted, while Figure 2 the access nodes (gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and WLAN 216) are depicted as being configured to communicate according to the 5G NR, LTE, and Wi-Fi communication protocols, respectively, access nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols may be used, such as, for example, a Node B using the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) protocol for the Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), an eNB using the LTE protocol for the Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), or a Bluetooth beacon using the protocol for the WLAN. For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE radio access to the UE 105, the RAN may include the E-UTRAN, which may include base stations containing eNBs that support LTE radio access. The core network for the EPS may include the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may then include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where in Figure 2 the E-UTRAN corresponds to the NG-RAN 235 and the EPC corresponds to the 5GCN 240. The methods and techniques described herein for obtaining the civic location of the UE 105 may be applicable to such other networks.

[0056] gNB 210 and ng-eNB 214 can communicate with AMF 215, which communicates with LMF 220 for positioning functionality. AMF 215 can support the mobility of UE 105, including cell changes and handovers of UE 105 from an access node of a first RAT (e.g., gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216) to an access node of a second RAT. AMF 215 can also participate in supporting the signaling connection with UE 105 and possibly support data and voice bearers for UE 105. LMF 220 can support positioning UE 105 using a CP positioning solution when UE 105 accesses NG-RAN 235 or WLAN 216, and can support positioning processes and methods, including UE-assisted / UE-based and / or network-based processes / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (which may be referred to as Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) in NR), Frequency Difference of Arrival (FDOA), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), WLAN positioning, Round-Trip Signal Propagation Delay (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, and / or other positioning processes and methods. LMF 220 can also process, for example, location service requests for UE 105 received from AMF 215 or from GMLC 225. LMF 220 can be connected to AMF 215 and / or GMLC 225. In some embodiments, the network (such as 5GCN 240) can additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a SUPL Location Platform (SLP). It should be noted that in some embodiments, at least a part of the positioning functionality (including determining the location of UE 105) can be performed at UE 105 (e.g., by measuring downlink PRS (DL-PRS) signals transmitted by radio nodes such as gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216) and / or using, for example, assistance data provided to UE 105 by LMF 220).

[0057] Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225 can support location requests for UE 105 received from external client 230, and can forward such location requests to AMF 215 for forwarding by AMF 215 to LMF 220. A location response from LMF 220 (e.g., containing an estimated location of UE 105) can be similarly returned directly or via AMF 215 to GMLC 225, and GMLC 225 can then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to external client 230.

[0058] The Network Exposure Function (NEF) 245 may be included in the 5G CN 240. The NEF 245 may support the secure exposure of capabilities and events regarding the 5G CN 240 and the UE 105 to an external client 230. These capabilities and events may thus be referred to as Access Functions (AFs) and may enable the secure provisioning of information from the external client 230 to the 5G CN 240. The NEF 245 may be connected to the AMF 215 and / or the GMLC 225 for the purpose of obtaining the location of the UE 105 (e.g., civic location) and providing the location to the external client 230.

[0059] As Figure 2 Further illustrated, the LMF 220 may communicate with the gNB 210 and / or with the ng-eNB 214 using the NR Positioning Protocol Annex (NRPPa) as defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa messages may be transferred between the gNB 210 and the LMF 220 and / or between the ng-eNB 214 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215. As Figure 2 Further illustrated, the LMF 220 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) as defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 and the serving gNB 210-1 or serving ng-eNB 214 of the UE 105. For example, LPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 220 and the AMF 215 using messages for service-based operations (e.g., based on Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)), and may be transferred between the AMF 215 and the UE 105 using the 5G NAS protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support the positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, multi-cell RTT, AoD, and / or ECID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support the positioning of the UE 105 using network-based positioning methods such as ECID, AoA, uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA) and / or may be used by the LMF 220 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214, such as parameters defining the DL-PRS transmission from the gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214.

[0060] In the case where the UE 105 is accessing the WLAN 216, the LMF 220 can use NRPPa and / or LPP to obtain the location of the UE 105 in a manner similar to that just described for the UE 105 accessing the gNB 210 or the ng-eNB 214. Thus, NRPPa messages can be transferred between the WLAN 216 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 and the N3IWF 250 to support network-based positioning of the UE 105 and / or transfer other location information from the WLAN 216 to the LMF 220. Alternatively, NRPPa messages can be transferred between the N3IWF 250 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 to support network-based positioning of the UE 105 based on location-related information and / or location measurements known or accessible to the N3IWF 250 and transferred from the N3IWF 250 to the LMF 220 using NRPPa. Similarly, LPP and / or LPP messages can be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215, the N3IWF 250, and the serving WLAN 216 of the UE 105 to support UE-assisted or UE-based positioning of the UE 105 by the LMF 220, which is described in more detail below.

[0061] Positioning of the UE 205 in the 5G NR positioning system 200 can also utilize measurements made between the UE 205 and one or more other UEs 255 via the sidelink connection SL 260. As Figure 2As shown, the one or more other UEs 255 may include any of a variety of different device types, including mobile phones, vehicles, roadside units (RSUs), other device types, or any combination thereof. One or more positioning measurement signals are transmitted via SL 260 from the one or more other UEs 255 to UE 205, from UE 205 to the one or more other UEs 255, or both. Various signals may be used for positioning measurements, including sidelink positioning reference signals (SL-PRSs). In some cases, the positioning of at least one of the one or more other UEs 255 may be determined simultaneously with the positioning of UE 205 (e.g., in the same positioning session). In some embodiments, the LMF 220 may coordinate the transmission of positioning signals via SL 260 between UE 205 and the one or more other UEs 255. Additionally or alternatively, UE 205 and the one or more other UEs 255 may coordinate a positioning session between them without the LMF 220 or even a Uu connection 239 to an access node of the NG-RAN 235. To this end, UE 205 and the one or more other UEs 255 may use the sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) to communicate messages via SL 260. In some scenarios, the one or more other UEs 255 may have a Uu connection 239 to an access node of the NG-RAN 235 and / or a Wi-Fi connection to the WLAN 216 (while UE 205 does not have these connections). In such cases, the one or more other UEs 255 may operate as relay devices to relay communications from UE 205 to the network (e.g., the LMF 220). In such cases, multiple other UEs 255 may form a chain between UE 205 and the access node.

[0062] In the 5G NR positioning system 200, positioning methods may be classified as "UE-assisted" or "UE-based". This may depend on where the request to determine the positioning of UE 105 originates. For example, in the case where the request originates from the UE (e.g., from an application or "app" executed by the UE), the positioning method may be classified as UE-based. On the other hand, in the case where the request originates from an external client 230, the LMF 220, or other devices or services within the 5G network, the positioning method may be classified as UE-assisted (or "network-based").

[0063] With a UE-assisted positioning method, the UE 105 can obtain position measurements and transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 220) for calculating a position estimate of the UE 105. For RAT-dependent positioning methods, the position measurements can include one or more of the following for one or more access points of the gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216: Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Round-Trip Signal Propagation Time (RTT), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Time of Arrival (TOA), AoA, Receive Time-Transmit Time Difference (Rx-Tx), Differential AoA (DAoA), AoD, or Timing Advance (TA). Additionally or alternatively, similar measurements can be made on sidelink signals transmitted by other UEs, which other UEs can be used as anchor points for positioning the UE 105 when the positioning of these other UEs is known. The position measurements can additionally or alternatively include measurements for RAT-independent positioning methods, such as GNSS (e.g., GNSS pseudorange, GNSS code phase, and / or GNSS carrier phase with respect to satellite 110), WLAN, etc.

[0064] With a UE-based positioning method, the UE 105 can obtain position measurements (e.g., which can be the same or similar to the position measurements of the UE-assisted positioning method), and can further calculate the position of the UE 105 (e.g., with the aid of assistance data received from a location server such as the LMF 220, SLP, or broadcast by the gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216).

[0065] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., the gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214), one or more APs in (e.g., the WLAN 216), or the N3IWF 250 can obtain position measurements of the signals transmitted by the UE 105 (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AoA, or TOA), and / or can receive measurements obtained by the UE 105 or, in the case of the N3IWF 250, by an AP in the WLAN 216, and can transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF220) for calculating a position estimate of the UE 105.

[0066] The positioning of UE 105 can also be classified as UL-based, DL-based, or DL-UL-based according to the type of signal used for positioning. For example, if the positioning is based only on signals received at UE 105 (e.g., from a base station or other UE), the positioning can be classified as DL-based. On the other hand, if the positioning is based only on signals transmitted by UE 105 (which can be received by, for example, a base station or other UE), the positioning can be classified as UL-based. DL-UL-based positioning includes positioning based on signals transmitted and received by UE 105, such as RTT-based positioning. Sidelink (SL)-assisted positioning includes signals communicated between UE 105 and one or more other UEs. According to some embodiments, UL, DL, or DL-UL positioning as described herein may be capable of using SL signaling as a supplement or replacement for SL, DL, or DL-UL signaling.

[0067] Depending on the positioning type (e.g., UL-based, DL-based, or DL-UL-based), the type of reference signal used may be different. For example, for DL-based positioning, these signals may include PRS (e.g., DL-PRS transmitted by a base station or SL-PRS transmitted by other UEs), and PRS can be used for TDOA measurement, AoD measurement, and RTT measurement. Other reference signals that can be used for positioning (UL, DL, or DL-UL) may include: sounding reference signal (SRS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), synchronization signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) synchronization signal (SS)), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), etc. In addition, the reference signal may be transmitted in a Tx beam and / or received in an Rx beam (e.g., using beamforming techniques), which can affect angle measurements such as AoD and / or AoA.

[0068] Figure 3 is an illustration of a simplified environment 300 including two base stations 320-1 and 320-2 having antenna arrays (which may correspond to Figure 1 base station 120 and / or Figure 2 gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214), and these antenna arrays can perform beamforming to generate directional beams for transmitting and / or receiving RF signals. Figure 3 UE 105 is also illustrated, which can also use beamforming to transmit and / or receive RF signals. Such directional beams are used in 5G NR wireless communication networks. Each directional beam may have a beam width centered in a different direction, such that different beams of base station 320 can correspond to different regions within the coverage area of base station 320.

[0069] Different operating modes can enable base stations 320-1 and 320-2 to use a greater or lesser number of beams. For example, in a first operating mode, base station 320 can use 16 beams, in which case each beam can have a relatively wide beam width. In a second operating mode, base station 320 can use 64 beams, in which case each beam can have a relatively narrow beam width. Depending on the capabilities of base station 320, the base station can use any number of beams that base station 320 is capable of forming. The operating mode and / or the number of beams can be defined in the relevant radio standard and can correspond to different directions (e.g., horizontal and vertical directions) in either or both of the azimuth and elevation angles. Different operating modes can be used to transmit and / or receive different signal types. Additionally or alternatively, UE 105 may be able to use a different number of beams, which can also correspond to different operating modes, signal types, etc.

[0070] In some cases, base station 320 can use beam scanning. Beam scanning is a process in which base station 320 can typically continuously transmit RF signals in different directions using different respective beams, thereby effectively "scanning" across the coverage area. For example, base station 320 can scan 120 degrees or 360 degrees in the azimuth direction, and this can be repeated periodically for each beam scan. Each directional beam can include an RF reference signal (e.g., a PRS resource), where base station 320-1 generates a set of RF reference signals including Tx beams 305-a, 305-b, 305-c, 305-d, 305-e, 305-f, 305-g, and 305-h, and base station 320-2 generates a set of RF reference signals including Tx beams 309-a, 309-b, 309-c, 309-d, 309-e, 309-f, 309-g, and 309-h. As mentioned, since UE 105 can also include an antenna array, it can use beamforming to receive the RF reference signals transmitted by base stations 320-1 and 320-2 to form corresponding receive beams (Rx beams) 311-a and 311-b. Beamforming in this way (by base station 320 and optionally by UE 105) can be used to make communication more efficient. They can also be used for other purposes, including making measurements for location determination (e.g., AoD and AoA measurements).

[0071] As described above, the PRS can be sent by a wireless node (e.g., base station 120) after being appropriately configured (e.g., configured by an operation and maintenance (O&M) server) for locating UE 105. In Figure 2In the 5G NR positioning system 200 illustrated, the TRP (gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216) may transmit PRS signals (i.e., DL-PRS) according to a frame configuration (e.g., DL-PRS configuration), and these PRS signals (i.e., DL-PRS) may be measured and used for the positioning determination of UE 105. As noted, other types of wireless network nodes (including other UEs) may also be configured to transmit PRS signals configured in a manner similar (or identical) to the above.

[0072] The DL-PRS configuration is provided in a hierarchical structure. In the current iteration of the NR standard, UE 105 may be configured with up to four DL-PRS positioning frequency layers (PFLs) (or simply "PFLs"), each DL-PRS positioning frequency layer having at most 64 TRPs. Each TRP of each PFL may have two DL-PRS resource sets (or simply "PRS resource sets"). The DL-PRS PFL is defined as a set of DL-PRS resource sets having the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP) type, the same DL-PRS bandwidth value, the same center frequency, and the same comb size value.

[0073] A "PRS resource set" includes a PRS resource group for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. Each PRS resource set may have up to 64 PRS resources. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. The PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a specific TRP (identified by a cell ID). The PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set may be associated with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where the TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus, a PRS resource (or simply "resource") may also be referred to as a "beam". Note that this does not imply anything about whether the TRP and beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0074] For example, Figure 4 is a diagram of how different TRPs of a given PFL as defined in 5G NR may use the hierarchical structure of PRS resources and PRS resource sets. For the network (Uu) interface, UE 105 may be configured with one or more DL-PRS resource sets from each of one or more TRPs. Each DL-PRS resource set includes K ≥ 1 DL-PRS resources, which as previously noted may correspond to the Tx beams of the TRP.

[0075] As previously indicated, the positioning of UE 105 (e.g., using with respect to Figure 4The DL-PRS configurations discussed generally assume that the UE 105 is operating within a far-field operating distance from the base station 120. However, this may not always be the case for every base station 120 and UE 105.

[0076] For antennas or antenna arrays that are larger than half the wavelength of the radio waves they transmit (e.g., TRP), the near field and far field can be defined in terms of the Fraunhofer distance:

[0077]

[0078] Where D is the maximum dimension of the radiator (or the diameter of the antenna or antenna array), and λ is the wavelength of the radio wave (e.g., the carrier frequency of the transmitted RF signal). If the receiving device (e.g., UE 105) is located less than the Fraunhofer distance from the antenna or antenna array (e.g., base station 120), it can be considered to be within the near-field operating distance of the antenna or antenna array. Otherwise, it is considered to be in the far-field operating distance.

[0079] In a near-field scenario, the RF signal wavefront arriving at the receiving device has curvature. Therefore, this allows different measurements to be made for the purpose of positioning the UE 105. For example, the unique coordinates of the UE 105 can be determined based at least in part on the curvature. However, in a far-field scenario, the wavefront has no curvature, so traditional measurements (e.g., TDOA, RTT, AoD, and AoA) can be used.

[0080] The embodiments of this document solve these and other problems by providing a distance-dependent reference signal configuration, in which UEs at different distances from a base station (e.g., different estimated distances between the UE and the TRP) are configured with different reference signals (e.g., different DL-PRS resource sets) and / or different measurement configurations. The UE can determine the measurement of the reference signal corresponding to the distance of the UE from the base station based on the distance-dependent reference signal configuration. It is contemplated that the PRS used here is for illustrative purposes only. The technical solutions discussed herein can also be applied to any other suitable signal for position measurement.

[0081] Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 is a flow chart showing how distance-related positioning may be performed according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the location server 160 (e.g., Figure 2 LMF 220 shown in FIG. 2 ), TRP 520 (e.g., Figure 1Perform distance-related positioning between the TRP of base station 120 in [ ] and / or gNBs 210-1 and 210-2, and UE 105 (e.g., the target UE to be located). As described above, the TRP 520 may include multiple PRS resource sets.

[0082] In some embodiments, as Figure 5 illustrated, when performing distance-related positioning 500, the location server 160 may determine the configuration of the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP 520, estimate the distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520, and may determine the configuration of the UE 105 to determine PRS measurements based on the corresponding PRS resource set according to the estimated distance.

[0083] For example, starting from arrow 525, the location server 160 may send a first configuration of the distance-related PRS resource set to the TRP 520 (e.g., for configuring the PRS resource set at the TRP 520 to be distance-related). In some embodiments, the distance-related PRS resource set configuration (e.g., the first configuration) may be indicated in the PRS assistance data. According to the distance-related PRS resource set configuration, the PRS resource set at the TRP 520 may be configured such that the positioning of a UE at a certain distance from the TRP 520 (e.g., having an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP within a certain range interval) may correspond to a certain PRS resource set. For example, Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example distance-related PRS resource set configuration according to some embodiments.

[0084] As Figure 8 shown, the coverage area 810 of the TRP 520 (e.g., a circular area defined by the radius d3) may be mapped to different areas, such as area 811, area 812, and area 813. For example, area 811 may correspond to a location at a distance shorter than d1 from the TRP 520 (e.g., a circular area defined by the radius d1). Similarly, areas 812 and 813 may be defined as annular areas where the distances from the TRP 520 are between d1 and d2 and between d2 and d3, respectively.

[0085] According to the distance-related PRS resource set configuration, the PRS resource set at the TRP 520 may be configured such that the first PRS resource set may correspond to the positioning of a UE with an estimated distance from the TRP 520 within a first range interval (e.g., a UE located in area 811), the second PRS resource set may correspond to the positioning of a UE with an estimated distance from the TRP 520 within a second range interval (e.g., a UE located in area 812), and the third PRS resource set may correspond to the positioning of a UE with an estimated distance from the TRP 520 within a third range interval (e.g., a UE located in area 813).

[0086] According to the distance-related PRS resource set configuration, in some embodiments, the number of PRS resources in each PRS resource set may be different. For example, when the first PRS resource set corresponds to a first range interval and the second PRS resource set corresponds to a second range interval (where the second interval is farther from the TRP 520 than the first range interval), the first PRS resource set may include a smaller number of PRS resources than the second PRS resource set, assuming that the shorter the distance from the TRP 520, the fewer the number of beams required to cover the same field of view (FoV).

[0087] In some embodiments, each PRS resource set at the TRP 520 may be configured to serve the UE within a target range interval. For example, Figure 8 Any one of the first, second, or third PRS resource sets shown in may correspond to one of the regions 811, 812, or 813. However, note that any PRS resource set may also be configured to serve the UE when requested, regardless of the distance of the UE from the TRP 520, depending on the estimated range / position of the UE and the expected signal gain / loss of the requested PRS resource set.

[0088] In some embodiments, the configured PRS resource sets (e.g., distance-related PRS resource sets) may be indexed corresponding to different range intervals. The index of the PRS resource set may be referred to in the PRS assistance data to reference the corresponding PRS resource set.

[0089] It is contemplated that the mapping of the coverage area 810 discussed herein is for illustrative purposes only. The coverage area 810 of the TRP 520 may also be mapped to more or fewer regions than shown in Figure 8 (e.g., only mapped to the "near-field region" and "far-field region"), and / or each region may correspond to one or more PRS resource sets at the TRP 520 to achieve the desired performance.

[0090] Returning to reference Figure 5 , at block 530, the location server 160 may determine the estimated distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520. In some embodiments, the estimated distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520 may be approximate range knowledge determined based on any suitable distance estimation method (e.g., RAT-related, non-RAT-related, or any combination thereof). For example, the estimated distance may be determined based on GNSS-based positioning, Wi-Fi positioning reference signal received power (RSRP), enhanced cell ID (E-CID), UL-TDOA, UL-AoA, etc.

[0091] At arrow 535, the TRP 520 may send the configured PRS resource set (e.g., indexed according to the distance-related PRS resource set configuration received from the location server 160) to the UE 105. In some embodiments, the configured PRS resource set may be sent based on time domain resource allocation (TDRA) or frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA).

[0092] At arrow 540, the location server 160 may send a second configuration to the UE 105 for determining PRS measurements based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP 520. In other words, the second configuration may configure the UE 105 to determine PRS measurements of the PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520. In some embodiments, as described above, the corresponding PRS resource set may be referenced / indicated in the auxiliary data according to the index of the distance-related PRS resource set.

[0093] At block 545, the UE 105 may determine PRS measurements of the corresponding PRS resource set according to the second configuration received from the location server 160. In some embodiments, the PRS measurements may include TDOA, AoD, RTT, or any other suitable measurements.

[0094] At arrow 550, the UE 105 may send the PRS measurements to the location server 160.

[0095] At block 555, the location server 160 may determine the location of the UE 105 based on the PRS measurements according to any suitable positioning procedure and method (e.g., OTDOA, TDOA, RTT).

[0096] In some embodiments, at block 560, the location server 160 may update the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE 105. In some embodiments, the change in the location of the UE 105 may be determined based on: 1. the mobility of the UE 105 (e.g., direction and speed); 2. the updated location estimate of the UE 105 (e.g., the location estimate of the current distance-related positioning session), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the change in the location of the UE may be indicated in an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) message received from the UE 105. The LPP message may be included in a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0097] In some embodiments, to reduce latency, as Figure 6As illustrated, in range - related positioning 600, the TRP 520 can estimate the distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520, and can determine the configuration of the UE 105 to determine PRS measurements based on the corresponding PRS resource set according to the estimated distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520.

[0098] In addition to the boxes and arrows discussed below, range - related positioning 600 can include processes (e.g., arrows and boxes) that are the same as or similar to the corresponding processes in range - related positioning 500. For the sake of illustration, the shared processes will not be repeated.

[0099] For example, similar to Figure 5 the box 530 shown in, at box 630, the TRP 520 can determine the estimated distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520. In some embodiments, the estimated distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520 can be approximate range knowledge determined based on, for example, RSRP, timing advance (TA), or any other suitable distance - estimation determination method.

[0100] At Figure 5 an arrow 640 different from the arrow 540 shown in, the TRP 520 can determine a second configuration for determining PRS measurements based on at least one PRS resource set in the range - related PRS resource set at the TRP 520 and send it to the UE 105. In some embodiments, as described above, the corresponding PRS resource set can be referenced / indicated in the side information according to the index of the range - related PRS resource set. In some embodiments, the second configuration can be conveyed to the UE 105 via layer 1 (L1) or layer 2 (L2) signaling.

[0101] At Figure 5 an arrow 650 different from the arrow 550 shown in, in addition to PRS measurements, the UE 105 can also specify in the side information which PRS resource set it measures to the location server 160.

[0102] At arrow 660, the location server 160 can send the determined location of the UE 105 to the TRP 520.

[0103] At Figure 5At a different box 665 than the box 560 shown, the TRP 520 may update the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE 105. In some embodiments, the change in the location of the UE 105 may be determined based on: 1. the mobility of the UE 105 (e.g., direction and speed); 2. an updated location estimate of the UE 105 (e.g., the current location estimate for a relevant positioning session), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the update of the second configuration may be communicated to the UE 105 via L1 or L2 signaling.

[0104] In some embodiments, distance-related positioning may be performed in an on-demand manner. For example, as Figure 7 illustrated, distance-related positioning 700 may be initiated by an arrow 705, where the UE 105 sends a request to perform distance-related positioning 700.

[0105] Upon receiving the request from the UE 105, in arrow 710, the location server 160 may send a request for an indication of the capabilities of the TRP 520 to the TRP 520. The indication of capabilities may include: 1. whether the TRP supports on-demand PRS transmission; 2. one or more distance ranges supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP; 3. whether different PRS resource sets of the TRP can be (1) transmitted simultaneously, (2) transmitted together according to different time domain resource allocations (TDRAs) or frequency domain resource allocations (FDRAs), or only one PRS resource set can be transmitted at a time; or any combination thereof.

[0106] In arrow 715, the TRP 520 may send an indication of capabilities to the location server 160, for example, in the auxiliary data.

[0107] At box 720, the location server 160 may determine an estimated distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520. In some embodiments, the estimated distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520 may be approximate range knowledge determined based on any suitable distance estimation method (e.g., RAT-related, non-RAT-related, or any combination thereof). For example, similar to Figure 5 the box 530 shown, the estimated distance may be determined based on GNSS-based positioning, Wi-Fi positioning reference signal received power (RSRP), enhanced cell ID (E-CID), UL-TDOA, UL-AoA, etc.

[0108] At box 725, the location server 160 may determine a first configuration (e.g., Figure 8 the distance-related PRS resource set configuration shown) according to the indication of capabilities received from the TRP 520. Additionally and / or alternatively, the first configuration may be received from an operation and maintenance (O&M) server of the network for positioning the UE 105.

[0109] Different from the first configuration in range - related positioning 500 and / or 600, in range - related positioning 700, according to the first configuration, the location server 160 can configure the TRP 520 to transmit a certain PRS resource set optimized for a target range interval (e.g., the range interval in which the estimated distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520 falls). This target range interval (e.g., the range interval in which the estimated distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520 falls) depends on one or more distance intervals supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP 520 included in the capability indication. Based on the first configuration, the location server 160 can configure the range - related PRS resource set at the TRP 520 to obtain optimal positioning performance.

[0110] At arrow 730, the location server 160 can send the first configuration to the TRP 520.

[0111] At arrow 735, the TRP 520 can send, according to the first configuration, the PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE 105 and the TRP 520 to the UE 105.

[0112] At block 740 and arrow 745, the UE 105 can respectively determine the PRS measurements of the corresponding PRS resource set received from the TRP 520, and can send the PRS measurements to the location server 160. In some embodiments, the PRS measurements can include TDOA, AoD, RTT, or any other suitable measurements.

[0113] At block 750, the location server 160 can determine the location of the UE 105 based on the PRS measurements according to any suitable positioning process and method (e.g., OTDOA, TDOA, RTT).

[0114] In some embodiments, at block 755, the location server 160 can update the first configuration based on the change in the location of the UE 105, similar to Figure 5 the block 560 shown in. In some embodiments, the change in the location of the UE 105 can be determined based on: 1. The mobility of the UE 105 (e.g., direction and speed); 2. The updated location estimate of the UE 105 (e.g., the location estimate of the current range - related positioning session), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the change in the location of the UE can be indicated in an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) message received from the UE. The LPP message can be included in a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0115] Figure 9is a flowchart of a method 900 for distance-related positioning of a UE (e.g., UE 105) to be performed by a location server (e.g., location server 160). Components for performing the functionality illustrated in one or more of the boxes shown in Figure 9 may be executed by the hardware and / or software components of the server. An example component of a server (e.g., a computer system) is illustrated in Figure 11 and is described in more detail below.

[0116] At block 910, the functionality includes transmitting a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set to a TRP (e.g., the TRP 520 shown in any of Figure 5 , Figure 6 or Figure 7 ). The distance-related PRS resource set includes at least: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval. Components for performing the functionality at block 910 may include bus 1105, processor 1110, memory 1135, wireless communication interface 1133, and / or other components of computer system 1100, as Figure 11 illustrated.

[0117] In some embodiments, the distance-related PRS resource set configuration (e.g., the first configuration) may be indicated in PRS assistance data. According to the distance-related PRS resource set configuration, the PRS resource set at the TRP may be configured such that the positioning of a UE at a certain distance from the TRP (e.g., having an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP within a certain range interval) may correspond to a certain PRS resource set, as Figure 8 shown. In some embodiments, when configured, the distance-related PRS resource set may include: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval, and a second PRS resource set for positioning the UE when the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a second range interval, where the second range interval is farther from the TRP than the first range interval, and where the number of PRS resources in the first PRS resource set is less than the number of PRS resources in the second PRS resource set.

[0118] At block 920, the functionality includes determining the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. Components for performing the functionality at block 920 may include bus 1105, processor 1110, memory 1135, wireless communication interface 1133, and / or other components of computer system 1100, as Figure 11Illustrated. In some embodiments, the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP can be approximate range knowledge determined based on any suitable distance estimation method (e.g., RAT-related, non-RAT-related, or any combination thereof). For example, the estimated distance can be determined based on GNSS-based positioning, Wi-Fi positioning, reference signal received power (RSRP), enhanced cell ID (E-CID), UL-TDOA, UL-AoA, etc.

[0119] At block 930, the functionality includes transmitting to the UE a second configuration for determining PRS measurements based on at least one PRS resource set in a distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP, where the at least one PRS resource set corresponds to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The components for performing the functionality at block 930 can include bus 1105, processor 1110, memory 1135, wireless communication interface 1133, and / or other components of computer system 1100, such as Figure 11 Illustrated.

[0120] In some embodiments, the second configuration can configure the UE to determine PRS measurements for a PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. In some embodiments, as described above, the corresponding PRS resource set can be referenced / indicated in the auxiliary data according to the index of the distance-related PRS resource set.

[0121] At block 940, the functionality includes receiving PRS measurements from the UE. The components for performing the functionality at block 940 can include bus 1105, processor 1110, memory 1135, wireless communication interface 1133, and / or other components of computer system 1100, such as Figure 11 Illustrated. In some embodiments, the PRS measurements can include TDOA, AoD, RTT, or any other suitable measurement.

[0122] At block 950, the functionality includes determining the location of the UE based on the PRS measurements according to any suitable positioning procedure and method (e.g., OTDOA, TDOA, RTT). The components for performing the functionality at block 950 can include bus 1105, processor 1110, memory 1135, wireless communication interface 1133, and / or other components of computer system 1100, such as Figure 11 Illustrated.

[0123] In some embodiments, method 900 may further include updating the second configuration based on a change in the position of the UE. In some embodiments, a change in the position of the UE may be determined based on: 1. the mobility of UE 105 (e.g., direction and speed); 2. an updated position estimate of UE 105 (e.g., the current position estimate relative to a positioning session), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, a change in the position of the UE may be indicated in an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) message received from UE 105. The LPP message may be included in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

[0124] As described above, distance-related positioning of the UE may be initiated by the UE by receiving a positioning request from the UE (e.g., performed on a demand basis). Thus, in some embodiments, method 900 may further include, before transmitting the first configuration to the TRP, receiving from the TRP an indication of capabilities regarding: whether the TRP supports on-demand PRS transmission; one or more distance intervals supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP; whether different PRS resource sets of the TRP can be transmitted simultaneously; or any combination thereof, wherein transmitting the first configuration to the TRP is responsive to: 1. the TRP supporting on-demand PRS transmission; and 2. receiving a positioning request from the UE.

[0125] In some embodiments, method 900 may further include receiving the first configuration from an Operation and Maintenance (O&M) server of the network for positioning UE 105.

[0126] Figure 10 is a flowchart of a method 1000 for distance-related positioning of a User Equipment (UE) (e.g., UE105) to be performed by a Transmission / Reception Point (TRP) (e.g., Figure 5 , Figure 6 or Figure 7 the TRP 520 shown in any of them) according to one embodiment. Components for performing the functionality illustrated in one or more of the blocks shown in Figure 9 may be executed by hardware and / or software components of a base station. Example components of a base station are illustrated in Figure 12 and are described in more detail below.

[0127] At block 1010, the functionality includes receiving, from a location server, a first configuration of a distance-related Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) resource set at the TRP. The distance-related PRS resource set includes at least: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval. Components for performing the functionality at block 1010 may include a bus 1205, a processor 1210, a memory 1260, a wireless communication interface 1230, and / or other components of base station 120 as illustrated in Figure 12 .

[0128] At block 1020, the functionality includes transmitting to the UE a PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The components for performing the functionality at block 1020 may include a bus 1205, a processor 1210, a memory 1260, a wireless communication interface 1230, and / or other components of the base station 120 as illustrated. In some embodiments, the configured PRS resource set may be transmitted based on time domain resource allocation (TDRA) or frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA). Figure 12 At block 1020, the functionality includes transmitting to the UE a PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The components for performing the functionality at block 1020 may include a bus 1205, a processor 1210, a memory 1260, a wireless communication interface 1230, and / or other components of the base station 120 as illustrated. In some embodiments, the configured PRS resource set may be transmitted based on time domain resource allocation (TDRA) or frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA).

[0129] In some embodiments, method 1000 further includes transmitting to a location server an ability indication for: 1. whether the TRP supports on-demand PRS transmission; 2. one or more distance intervals supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP; 3. whether different PRS resource sets of the TRP can be (1) transmitted simultaneously, (2) transmitted together according to different time domain resource allocations (TDRAs) or frequency domain resource allocations (FDRAs), or only one PRS resource set is transmitted at a time; or any combination thereof.

[0130] In some embodiments, method 1000 further includes determining the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP based on reference signal received power (RSRP), timing advance (TA), or any other suitable distance estimation method.

[0131] In some embodiments, method 1000 further includes transmitting to the UE a second configuration for determining PRS measurements based on the PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP.

[0132] In some embodiments, method 1000 further includes updating the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE. In some embodiments, the change in the location of the UE 105 may be determined based on: 1. the mobility of the UE 105 (e.g., direction and speed); 2. an updated location estimate of the UE 105 (e.g., the location estimate of the current distance-related positioning session), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the change in the location of the UE may be indicated in an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) message received from the UE. The LPP message may be included in a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0133] In some embodiments, method 1000 further includes transmitting to the UE a physical layer message or a media access control (MAC) message indicating the updated second configuration.

[0134] Figure 11 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system 1100, which may be used in whole or in part to provide one or more network components as described in the embodiments herein (e.g.,Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figures 5 to 10 the function of the location server 160). It should be noted that Figure 11 is only intended to provide a generalization of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. Thus, Figure 11 broadly illustrates how individual system elements may be implemented in a relatively separate or relatively more integrated manner. Additionally, it may be noted that Figure 11 the illustrated components may be localized to a single device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located at different geographical locations.

[0135] The computer system 1100 is shown as including hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus 1105 (or communicate in other ways as appropriate). The hardware elements may include a processor 1110, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more dedicated processors (such as digital signal processing chips, graphics acceleration processors, etc.) and / or other processing structures, which may be configured to execute one or more of the methods described herein. The computer system 1100 may also include one or more input devices 1115, which may include, but are not limited to, a mouse, a keyboard, a camera, a microphone, etc.; and one or more output devices 1120, which may include, but are not limited to, a display device, a printer, etc.

[0136] The computer system 1100 may also include one or more non-transitory storage devices 1125 (and / or communicate with the one or more non-transitory storage devices), which may include, but are not limited to, local and / or network-accessible storage, and / or may include, but are not limited to, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices (such as RAM and / or ROM), which may be programmable and / or flash-updateable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc. Such data storage may include databases and / or other data structures for storing and managing messages and / or other information to be transmitted to one or more devices via a hub, as described herein.

[0137] The computer system 1100 may also include a communication subsystem 1130, which may include wireless communication technologies managed and controlled by a wireless communication interface 1133, as well as wired technologies (such as Ethernet, coaxial communication, Universal Serial Bus (USB), etc.). The wireless communication interface 1133 may include one or more wireless transceivers, which may transmit and receive wireless signals 1155 (e.g., signals according to 5G NR or LTE) via a wireless antenna 1150. Thus, the communication subsystem 1130 may include a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset, etc., which may enable the computer system 1100 to communicate with any device on the corresponding network (including user equipment (UE), base stations, and / or other TRPs, and / or any other electronic device described herein) on any or all of the communication networks described herein. Thus, the communication subsystem 1130 may be used to receive and transmit data, as described in the embodiments herein.

[0138] In many embodiments, the computer system 1100 will also include a working memory 1135, which may include RAM or ROM devices, as described above. Software elements shown to be located within the working memory 1135 may include an operating system 1140, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or other code (such as one or more applications 1145), which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or may be designed to implement methods provided by other embodiments and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more procedures described for the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions executable by a computer (and / or a processor within the computer); then, in one aspect, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the described methods.

[0139] These sets of instructions and / or code can be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (such as the storage device 1125 described above). In some cases, the storage medium can be incorporated within a computer system such as computer system 1100. In other embodiments, the storage medium can be separate from the computer system (e.g., a removable medium such as an optical disc), and / or can be provided in the form of an installation package such that the storage medium can be used to program, configure, and / or adapt a general-purpose computer with the instructions / code stored thereon. These instructions can take the form of executable code that can be executed by computer system 1100, and / or can take the form of source and / or installable code that, when compiled and / or installed on computer system 1100 (e.g., using any of a variety of commonly available compilers, installers, compression / decompression utilities, etc.), takes the form of executable code.

[0140] Figure 12 is a block diagram of an embodiment of base station 120 that can be utilized as described above herein (e.g., in conjunction with Figures 1 to 3 and Figures 5 to 10 ). It should be noted that Figure 12 is only intended to provide a generalization of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. In some embodiments, base station 120 can correspond to a gNB, ng-eNB, and / or (more generally) a TRP.

[0141] Base station 120 is shown as including hardware elements that can be electrically coupled (or communicate in other ways as appropriate) via bus 1205. The hardware elements can include a processor 1210, which can include but is not limited to one or more general-purpose processors, one or more dedicated processors (such as DSP chips, graphics acceleration processors, ASICs, etc.), and / or other processing structures or components. As Figure 12 shown, some embodiments can have a separate DSP 1220 according to the desired functionality. According to some embodiments, wireless communication-based location determination and / or other determinations can be provided in processor 1210 and / or wireless communication interface 1230 (discussed below). Base station 120 can also include one or more input devices, which can include but are not limited to a keyboard, a display, a mouse, a microphone, buttons, a dial pad, switches, etc.; and one or more output devices, which can include but are not limited to a display, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0142] Base station 120 can also include a wireless communication interface 1230, which can include but is not limited to a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset (such as Devices, IEEE 802.11 devices, IEEE 802.15.4 devices, Wi-Fi devices, WiMAX devices, cellular communication facilities, etc.), and this wireless communication interface enables the base station 120 to communicate as described herein. The wireless communication interface 1230 may permit communicating (e.g., sending and receiving) data and signaling to / from UEs, other base stations / TRPs (such as eNBs, gNBs, and ng-eNBs), and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices described herein. Communication may be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 1232 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 1234.

[0143] The base station 120 may also include a network interface 1280, which may include support for wired communication technologies. The network interface 1280 may include a modem, network card, chipset, etc. The network interface 1280 may include one or more input and / or output communication interfaces to permit exchanging data with a network, communication network server, computer system, and / or any other electronic device described herein.

[0144] In many embodiments, the base station 120 may also include a memory 1260. The memory 1260 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network-accessible storage devices, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices (such as RAM and / or ROM), which may be programmable, flash-updateable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including but not limited to various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0145] The memory 1260 of the base station 120 may also include software elements ( Figure 12 not shown), including an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or other code (such as one or more applications), which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or may be designed to implement methods provided by other embodiments and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more procedures described for the methods above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in the memory 1260 executable by the base station 120 (and / or the processor 1210 or DSP 1220 within the base station 120). Then, in some embodiments, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the described methods.

[0146] Figure 13 is a flowchart of a method 1300 for distance-related positioning of a UE (e.g., UE 105) to be performed by a location server (e.g., location server 160) according to one embodiment. For performingFigure 13 One or more of the functional components illustrated in the boxes shown in may be performed by the hardware and / or software components of the server. In Figure 11 Example components of a server (e.g., a computer system) are illustrated in and are described in more detail below.

[0147] At block 1310, the functionality includes receiving a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set from an operation and maintenance (O&M) server or a base station, a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set. The distance-related PRS resource set includes at least: a first PRS resource set for positioning a UE when the estimated distance between the UE and a TRP (e.g., Figure 5 , Figure 6 or Figure 7 the TRP 520 shown in any of ) is within a first range interval. The components for performing the functionality at block 1310 may include bus 1105, processor 1110, memory 1135, wireless communication interface 1133, and / or other components of computer system 1100, as Figure 11 illustrated.

[0148] In some embodiments, the distance-related PRS resource set configuration (e.g., the first configuration) may be indicated in the PRS assistance data. According to the distance-related PRS resource set configuration, the PRS resource set at the TRP may be configured such that the positioning of a UE at a certain distance from the TRP (e.g., having an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP within a certain range interval) may correspond to a certain PRS resource set, as Figure 8 shown in. In some embodiments, when configured, the distance-related PRS resource set may include: a first PRS resource set for positioning a UE when the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval, and a second PRS resource set for positioning a UE when the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a second range interval, where the second range interval is farther from the TRP than the first range interval, and where the number of PRS resources in the first PRS resource set is less than the number of PRS resources in the second PRS resource set.

[0149] At block 1320, the functionality includes determining the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The components for performing the functionality at block 1320 may include bus 1105, processor 1110, memory 1135, wireless communication interface 1133, and / or other components of computer system 1100, as Figure 11 illustrated. In some embodiments, the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP may be approximate range knowledge determined based on, for example, reference signal received power (RSRP) or enhanced cell ID (E-CID).

[0150] At block 1330, the functionality includes transmitting to the UE a second configuration for determining PRS measurements based on at least one PRS resource set in a distance-related PRS resource concentration at the TRP, where the at least one PRS resource set corresponds to an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The components for performing the functionality at block 1330 may include bus 1105, processor 1110, memory 1135, wireless communication interface 1133, and / or other components of computer system 1100, such as Figure 11 illustrated.

[0151] In some embodiments, the second configuration may configure the UE to determine PRS measurements for a PRS resource set corresponding to an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. In some embodiments, as described above, the corresponding PRS resource set may be referenced / indicated in the auxiliary data according to the index of the distance-related PRS resource set.

[0152] At block 1340, the functionality includes receiving PRS measurements from the UE. The components for performing the functionality at block 1340 may include bus 1105, processor 1110, memory 1135, wireless communication interface 1133, and / or other components of computer system 1100, such as Figure 11 illustrated. In some embodiments, the PRS measurements may include TDOA, AoD, RTT, or any other suitable measurement.

[0153] At block 1350, the functionality includes determining the location of the UE based on the PRS measurements according to any suitable positioning process and method (e.g., OTDOA, TDOA, RTT). The components for performing the functionality at block 1350 may include bus 1105, processor 1110, memory 1135, wireless communication interface 1133, and / or other components of computer system 1100, such as Figure 11 illustrated.

[0154] In some embodiments, method 1300 may further include updating the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE. In some embodiments, the change in the location of the UE may be determined based on: 1. the mobility of UE 105 (e.g., direction and speed); 2. an updated location estimate of UE 105 (e.g., the location estimate of the current distance-related positioning session), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the change in the location of the UE may be indicated in an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) message received from UE 105. The LPP message may be included in a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0155] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that basic variations can be made in accordance with specific requirements. For example, customized hardware can also be used, and / or specific elements can be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets, etc.), or both. Additionally, connections to other computing devices such as network input / output devices can be employed.

[0156] Referring to the accompanying drawings, components that may include a memory can include a non-transitory machine-readable medium. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a particular manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code to a processor and / or other devices for execution. Additionally or alternatively, the machine-readable medium can be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code. In many implementations, the computer-readable medium is a physical and / or tangible storage medium. Such media can take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media and volatile media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example: magnetic and / or optical media, any other physical media with a hole pattern, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or memory cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or code.

[0157] The methods, systems, and devices discussed herein are examples. Various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, features described for certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of embodiments may be combined in a similar manner. The various components of the accompanying drawings provided herein may be embodied in hardware and / or software. Additionally, technology evolves, and thus many elements are examples that do not limit the scope of the present disclosure to those specific examples.

[0158] It has proven convenient at times, primarily for common reasons, to refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, items, numbers, numerals, etc. However, it should be understood that all such or similar terms should be associated with an appropriate physical quantity and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise specifically stated, as will be apparent from the foregoing discussion, it should be understood that throughout this specification, discussions using terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," "ascertaining," "identifying," "associating," "measuring," "performing," etc., refer to actions or processes of a particular apparatus, such as a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, typically represented as physical quantities, electronic quantities, electrical quantities, or magnetic quantities within the memories, registers, or other information storage devices, transmission devices, or display devices of the special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device.

[0159] As used herein, the terms "and" and "or" may include a variety of meanings that also are expected to depend, at least in part, upon the context in which such terms are used. Generally, "or" if used in connection with a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C (here used in the inclusive sense) as well as A, B, or C (here used in the exclusive sense). In addition, as used herein, the term "one or more" may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular or may be used to describe some combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely illustrative and the claimed subject matter is not limited to this example. Further, the term "at least one of" if used in connection with a list, such as A, B, or C, may be interpreted to mean any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0160] Numerous implementations have been described and various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalent forms may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For example, the above elements may be merely components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over the application of various implementations or may otherwise modify the application of various implementations. Additionally, multiple steps may be performed before, during, or after consideration of the above elements. Accordingly, the foregoing description does not limit the scope of the disclosure.

[0161] In view of this specification, the various implementations may include different combinations of features. Specific examples of the various implementations are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0162] Clause 1. A method for distance-related positioning of a user equipment (UE) to be performed by a location server, the method comprising: transmitting a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set to a transmit / receive point (TRP), the distance-related PRS resource set at least including: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval. The method further comprises: determining the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; and transmitting to the UE a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The method further comprises: receiving the PRS measurement from the UE; and determining the location of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

[0163] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, the method further comprising: before transmitting the first configuration to the TRP, receiving from the TRP an indication of capabilities for: whether the TRP supports on-demand PRS transmission; one or more distance intervals supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP; whether different PRS resource sets of the TRP can be transmitted simultaneously; or any combination thereof, wherein transmitting the first configuration to the TRP is responsive to: 1. the TRP supporting the on-demand PRS transmission; and 2. receiving a positioning request from the UE.

[0164] Clause 3. The method according to Clause 1 or 2, the method further comprising: receiving the first configuration from an operation and maintenance (O&M) server.

[0165] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set further includes: a second PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a second range interval, wherein

[0166] the second range interval is farther from the TRP than the first range interval, and wherein the number of PRS resources in the first PRS resource set is less than the number of PRS resources in the second PRS resource set.

[0167] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 4, wherein the second configuration is indicated in PRS assistance data sent from the location server to the UE.

[0168] Clause 6. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 5, the method further comprising: updating the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE.

[0169] Clause 7. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 6, wherein the change in the location of the UE is determined based on: the mobility of the UE; an updated location estimate of the UE; or any combination thereof.

[0170] Clause 8. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 7, wherein the change in the location of the UE is indicated in an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) message received from the UE.

[0171] Clause 9. A method for distance-related positioning of a user equipment (UE) performed by a transmit / receive point (TRP), the method comprising: receiving, from a location server, a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set at the TRP, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set at least includes: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval. The method further comprises: transmitting to the UE a PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. Clause 10. The method according to Clause 9, the method further comprising: transmitting to the location server an indication of capabilities for: whether the TRP supports on-demand PRS transmission; one or more distance intervals supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP; whether different PRS resource sets of the TRP can be transmitted simultaneously; or any combination thereof, wherein receiving the first configuration from the location server is responsive to: 1. the TRP supporting the on-demand PRS transmission; and 2. receiving a positioning request from the UE.

[0172] Clause 11. The method according to Clause 9 or 10, the method further comprising: transmitting to the UE a second configuration for determining PRS measurements based on the PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP.

[0173] Clause 12. The method according to any one of Clauses 9 to 11, the method further comprising: updating the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE.

[0174] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 9 to 12, the method further comprising: transmitting to the UE a physical layer message or a media access control (MAC) message indicating the updated second configuration.

[0175] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 9 to 13, wherein the change in the location of the UE is determined based on: the mobility of the UE; an updated location estimate of the UE; or any combination thereof.

[0176] Clause 15. The method according to any one of Clauses 9 to 14, the method further comprising: sending, to the UE, a plurality of distance-related PRS resource sets at the TRP based on time-domain resource allocation (TDRA) or frequency-domain resource allocation (FDRA).

[0177] Clause 16. A method for distance-related positioning of a user equipment (UE) performed by a location server, the method comprising: receiving, from an operation and maintenance (O&M) server or a base station, a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set, the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprising: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and a TRP of the base station is within a first range interval. The method further comprises: determining the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; and transmitting, to the UE, a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one PRS resource set among the distance-related PRS resource sets at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The method further comprises: receiving the PRS measurement from the UE; and determining the location of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

[0178] Clause 17. The method according to Clause 16, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set further comprises: a second PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a second range interval, wherein the second range interval is farther from the TRP than the first range interval, and wherein the number of PRS resources of the first PRS resource set is less than the number of PRS resources of the second PRS resource set.

[0179] Clause 18. The method according to any one of Clauses 16 or 17, wherein the second configuration is indicated in PRS assistance data sent from the location server to the UE.

[0180] Clause 19. The method according to any one of Clauses 16 to 18, the method further comprising:

[0181] updating the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE.

[0182] Clause 20. The method according to any one of Clauses 16 to 19, wherein the change in the location of the UE is determined based on: the mobility of the UE; an updated location estimate of the UE; or any combination thereof.

[0183] Clause 21. A location server, the location server comprising: one or more transceivers; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmit a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set to a transmit / receive point (TRP), the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprising: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval. The one or more processors are further configured to: determine the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; and transmit to the UE a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The one or more processors are further configured to: receive the PRS measurement from the UE; and determine the location of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

[0184] Clause 22. The location server according to Clause 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: before transmitting the first configuration to the TRP, receive from the TRP an indication of capabilities for: whether the TRP supports on-demand PRS transmission; one or more distance intervals supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP; whether different PRS resource sets of the TRP can be transmitted simultaneously;

[0185] or any combination thereof, wherein transmitting the first configuration to the TRP is responsive to: 1. the TRP supporting the on-demand PRS transmission; and 2. receiving a positioning request from the UE.

[0186] Clause 23. The location server according to any one of Clauses 21 or 22, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive the first configuration from an operation and maintenance (O&M) server.

[0187] Clause 24. The location server according to any one of Clauses 21 to 23, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set further comprises: a second PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a second range interval, wherein the second range interval is further from the TRP than the first range interval, and wherein the number of PRS resources in the first PRS resource set is less than the number of PRS resources in the second PRS resource set.

[0188] Clause 25. The location server according to any one of Clauses 21 to 24, wherein the second configuration is indicated in the PRS assistance data sent from the location server to the UE.

[0189] Clause 26. The location server according to any one of Clauses 21 to 25, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: update the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE.

[0190] Clause 27. The location server according to any one of Clauses 21 to 26, wherein the change in the location of the UE is determined based on: the mobility of the UE; an updated location estimate of the UE; or any combination thereof.

[0191] Clause 28. The location server according to any one of Clauses 21 to 27, wherein the change in the location of the UE is indicated in an LTE positioning protocol (LPP)

[0192] message received from the UE.

[0193] Clause 29. A system, the system comprising: one or more transceivers; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive, from a location server, a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set at a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the system, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprises: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval. The one or more processors are further configured to: convey to the UE a PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP.

[0194] Clause 30. The system according to Clause 29, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: convey to the location server an ability indication for: whether the TRP supports on-demand PRS transmission; one or more distance intervals supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP; whether different PRS resource sets of the TRP can be transmitted simultaneously; or any combination thereof, wherein the first configuration is received from the location server in response to: 1. the TRP supporting the on-demand PRS transmission; and 2. receiving a positioning request from the UE.

[0195] Clause 31. The system according to any one of Clauses 29 or 30, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: transmit to the UE a second configuration for determining PRS measurements based on the PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP.

[0196] Clause 32. The system according to any one of Clauses 29 to 31, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: update the second configuration based on a change in the position of the UE.

[0197] Clause 33. The system according to any one of Clauses 29 to 32, the system further comprising:

[0198] Transmit to the UE a physical layer message or a media access control (MAC) message indicating the updated second configuration.

[0199] Clause 34. The system according to any one of Clauses 29 to 33, wherein the change in the position of the UE is determined based on: the mobility of the UE; an updated position estimate of the UE; or any combination thereof.

[0200] Clause 35. The system according to any one of Clauses 29 to 34, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: send to the UE a plurality of distance-related PRS resource sets at the TRP based on time domain resource allocation (TDRA) or frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA).

[0201] Clause 36. A location server, the location server comprising: one or more transceivers; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive from an operation and maintenance (O&M) server or a base station a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set, the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprising: a first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP of the base station is within a first range interval. The one or more processors are further configured to: determine the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The one or more processors are further configured to: transmit to the UE a second configuration for determining PRS measurements based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP. The one or more processors are further configured to: receive the PRS measurements from the UE. The one or more processors are further configured to: determine the position of the UE based on the PRS measurements.

[0202] Clause 37. The location server according to Clause 36, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set further includes: a second PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a second range interval, wherein the second range interval is farther from the TRP than the first range interval, and wherein the number of PRS resources in the first PRS resource set is less than the number of PRS resources in the second PRS resource set.

[0203] Clause 38. The location server according to any one of Clauses 36 or 37, wherein the second configuration is indicated in PRS assistance data sent from the location server to the UE.

[0204] Clause 39. The location server according to any one of Clauses 36 to 38, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: update the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE.

[0205] Clause 40. The location server according to any one of Clauses 36 to 39, wherein the change in the location of the UE is determined based on: the mobility of the UE; an updated location estimate of the UE; or any combination thereof.

Claims

1. A method for distance-related positioning of a user equipment (UE) performed by a location server, the method comprising: Transmitting a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set to a transmit / receive point (TRP), the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprising: A first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval; Determining the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; Transmitting to the UE a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; Receiving the PRS measurement from the UE; and Determining the location of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

2. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising: Before transmitting the first configuration to the TRP, receiving from the TRP an indication of capabilities for: Whether the TRP supports on-demand PRS transmission; One or more distance intervals supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP; Whether different PRS resource sets of the TRP can be transmitted simultaneously; or Any combination thereof, wherein transmitting the first configuration to the TRP is in response to:

1. the TRP supports the on-demand PRS transmission; and 2. receiving a positioning request from the UE.

3. The method according to claim 2, the method further comprising: Receiving the first configuration from an operation and maintenance (O&M) server.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set further comprises: A second PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a second range interval, wherein the second range interval is further away from the TRP than the first range interval, and wherein the number of PRS resources in the first PRS resource set is less than the number of PRS resources in the second PRS resource set.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second configuration is indicated in PRS assistance data sent from the location server to the UE.

6. The method according to claim 5, the method further comprising: Updating the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the change in the location of the UE is determined based on: The mobility of the UE; An updated location estimate of the UE; or Any combination thereof.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the change in the location of the UE is indicated in an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) message received from the UE.

9. A method for distance-related positioning of a user equipment (UE) performed by a transmit / receive point (TRP), the method comprising: Receiving, from a location server, a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set at the TRP, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprises: A first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval; and Transmitting, to the UE, a PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP.

10. The method according to claim 9, the method further comprising: Transmitting, to the location server, an indication of capabilities for: Whether the TRP supports on-demand PRS transmission; One or more distance intervals supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP; Whether different PRS resource sets of the TRP can be transmitted simultaneously; or Any combination thereof, wherein receiving the first configuration from the location server is in response to:

1. The TRP supports the on-demand PRS transmission; and 2. A positioning request is received from the UE.

11. The method according to claim 9, the method further comprising: Transmitting, to the UE, a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on the PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP.

12. The method according to claim 11, the method further comprising: Updating the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE.

13. The method according to claim 12, the method further comprising: Transmitting, to the UE, a physical layer message or a medium access control (MAC) message indicating the updated second configuration.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the change in the location of the UE is determined based on: The mobility of the UE; An updated location estimate of the UE; or Any combination thereof.

15. The method according to claim 9, the method further comprising: Sending, to the UE, a plurality of distance-related PRS resource sets at the TRP based on time domain resource allocation (TDRA) or frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA).

16. A method for distance-related positioning of a user equipment (UE) performed by a location server, the method comprising: Receiving, from an operation and maintenance (O&M) server or a base station, a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set, the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprising: A first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP of the base station is within a first range interval; Determining the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; Transmitting, to the UE, a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; Receiving the PRS measurement from the UE; and Determining the location of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set further comprises: A second PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a second range interval, where the second range interval is farther from the TRP than the first range interval, and where the number of PRS resources in the first PRS resource set is less than the number of PRS resources in the second PRS resource set.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the second configuration is indicated in PRS assistance data sent from the location server to the UE.

19. The method according to claim 18, the method further comprising: Updating the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the change in the location of the UE is determined based on: The mobility of the UE; An updated location estimate of the UE; or Any combination thereof.

21. A location server, the location server comprising: One or more transceivers; A memory; And One or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: Transmit a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set to a transmit / receive point (TRP), the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprising: A first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval; Determine the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; Transmit to the UE a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP, the at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; Receive the PRS measurement from the UE; and Determine the location of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

22. The location server according to claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Before transmitting the first configuration to the TRP, receive from the TRP an indication of capabilities for: Whether the TRP supports on-demand PRS transmission; One or more distance intervals supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP; Whether different PRS resource sets of the TRP can be transmitted simultaneously; or Any combination thereof, wherein transmitting the first configuration to the TRP is responsive to:

1. The TRP supports the on-demand PRS transmission; and 2. Receiving a positioning request from the UE.

23. The location server according to claim 22, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Receive the first configuration from an operations and maintenance (O&M) server.

24. The location server according to claim 21, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set further comprises: A second PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a second range interval, where the second range interval is farther from the TRP than the first range interval, and where the number of PRS resources in the first PRS resource set is less than the number of PRS resources in the second PRS resource set.

25. The location server according to claim 21, wherein the second configuration is indicated in PRS assistance data sent from the location server to the UE.

26. The location server according to claim 25, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Update the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE.

27. The location server according to claim 26, wherein the change in the location of the UE is determined based on: The mobility of the UE; An updated location estimate of the UE; or Any combination thereof.

28. The location server according to claim 26, wherein the change in the location of the UE is indicated in an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) message received from the UE.

29. A system, the system comprising: One or more transceivers; A memory; And One or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: Receive, from a location server, a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set at a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the system, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set at least includes: A first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a first range interval; And Transmit to the UE a PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP.

30. The system according to claim 29, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Transmit to the location server an ability indication for: Whether the TRP supports on-demand PRS transmission; One or more distance intervals supported by the PRS resource set of the TRP; Whether different PRS resource sets of the TRP can be transmitted simultaneously; or Any combination thereof, wherein receiving the first configuration from the location server is responsive to:

1. The TRP supports the on-demand PRS transmission; and 2. A positioning request is received from the UE.

31. The system according to claim 29, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Transmit to the UE a second configuration for determining PRS measurements based on the PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP.

32. The system according to claim 31, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Update the second configuration based on a change in the location of the UE.

33. The system according to claim 32, the system further comprising: Transmit a physical layer message or a media access control (MAC) message indicating the updated second configuration to the UE.

34. The system according to claim 33, wherein the change in the position of the UE is determined based on: The mobility of the UE; The updated position estimate of the UE; or Any combination thereof.

35. The system according to claim 29, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Send a plurality of distance-related PRS resource sets at the TRP to the UE based on time domain resource allocation (TDRA) or frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA).

36. A location server, the location server comprising: One or more transceivers; A memory; And One or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: Receive a first configuration of a distance-related positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set from an operation and maintenance (O&M) server or a base station, the distance-related PRS resource set at least comprising: A first PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and a TRP of the base station is within a first range interval; Determine the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; Transmit to the UE a second configuration for determining a PRS measurement based on at least one PRS resource set in the distance-related PRS resource set at the TRP, The at least one PRS resource set corresponding to the estimated distance between the UE and the TRP; Receive the PRS measurement from the UE; and Determine the position of the UE based on the PRS measurement.

37. The TRP according to claim 36, wherein the distance-related PRS resource set further comprises: A second PRS resource set for positioning the UE when an estimated distance between the UE and the TRP is within a second range interval, wherein the second range interval is farther from the TRP than the first range interval, and Wherein the number of PRS resources in the first PRS resource set is less than the number of PRS resources in the second PRS resource set.

38. The TRP according to claim 36, wherein the second configuration is indicated in PRS assistance data sent from the location server to the UE.

39. The TRP according to claim 38, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Update the second configuration based on a change in the position of the UE.

40. The TRP according to claim 39, wherein the change in the position of the UE is determined based on: The mobility of the UE; The updated position estimate of the UE; or Any combination thereof.

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