Continuity of positioning based on sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission at handover

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communication are disclosed. In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) obtains at least one UE-received transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicating a difference between a reception timing of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and a transmission timing of a positioning sounding reference signal (SRS); and transmitting a measurement report to a location server, the measurement report comprising the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of the one or more positioning SRS resources on which the positioning SRS is transmitted.

Description

Background Technology 1. Technical Field

[0002] All aspects of this disclosure relate to wireless communications.

[0003] 2. Relevant Technical Descriptions

[0004] Wireless communication systems have evolved through many generations, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, wireless services with internet capabilities, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS), as well as digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and others.

[0005] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), delivers higher data transfer speeds, more connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on Positioning Reference Signals (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink Positioning Reference Signals (PRS)), and other technological enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advancements in the PRS process and technology, and the high-density deployment of 5G, enable high-accuracy positioning based on 5G. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following is a simplified summary of the invention relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, this summary should not be considered an exhaustive overview relating to all conceptual aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements relating to all conceptual aspects or to depict the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of this summary is to present, in a concise form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects involving the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0007] In one aspect, a wireless communication method performed by a user equipment (UE) includes: obtaining a receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement for at least one UE, the receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicating a difference between the reception timing of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of a positioning detection reference signal (SRS); and sending a measurement report to a location server, the measurement report including the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more positioning SRS resources on which the positioning SRS is transmitted.

[0008] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: obtain a receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement for at least one UE, the receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicating a difference between the receive timing of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of a positioning detection reference signal (SRS); and transmit a measurement report via the at least one transceiver to a location server, the measurement report including the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the receive timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more positioning SRS resources on which the positioning SRS is transmitted.

[0009] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: components for obtaining a receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement for at least one UE, the receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicating a difference between the reception timing of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of a positioning detection reference signal (SRS); and components for sending a measurement report to a location server, the measurement report including the Rx-Tx time difference measurement for the at least one UE, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more positioning SRS resources on which the positioning SRS is transmitted.

[0010] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: obtain at least one UE receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement, the at least one UE receiving-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicating a difference between the reception timing of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of a positioning detection reference signal (SRS); and send a measurement report to a location server, the measurement report including the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more positioning SRS resources on which the positioning SRS is transmitted.

[0011] Based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Attached Figure Description

[0012] The accompanying drawings are provided to help describe various aspects of this disclosure, and are provided for illustrative purposes only and not to limit the aspects.

[0013] Figure 1 Example wireless communication systems according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0014] Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2C Example wireless network architectures based on various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0015] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C It is a simplified block diagram of several example aspects of components that can be used in user equipment (UE), base stations and network entities and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0016] Figure 4 Examples of various positioning methods supported in new radio (NR) according to aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0017] Figure 5 Examples of Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) capability transfer processes, auxiliary data transfer processes, and location information transfer processes between a target device and a location server according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0018] Figure 6A and Figure 6B Examples of positioning processes based on downlink and uplink are illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0019] Figures 7A to 7CAn example location information exchange process between a network node and a location server according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated.

[0020] Figure 8A and Figure 8B An example of a delayed Mobile Termination Location Request (MTLR) procedure for a positioning method based on downlink and uplink according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated.

[0021] Figure 9A and Figure 9B An example of a delayed MT LR process is illustrated for a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method with a positioning detection reference signal (SRS) pre-configured according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 10 An example location process according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated, which demonstrates signaling between a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN) and a location server to ensure the continuity of SRS transmission.

[0023] Figure 11 An example location procedure according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated, which demonstrates optimization of signaling between the NG-RAN and the location server to ensure the continuity of SRS transmission.

[0024] Figure 12 Example methods of wireless communication according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. Detailed Implementation

[0025] Various aspects of this disclosure are provided in the following description and accompanying drawings of various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of this disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

[0026] Various aspects generally involve uplink-based or downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Some aspects more specifically involve maintaining positioning continuity based on the transmission of a positioning reference signal (SRS) during handover. In some examples, a user equipment (UE) obtains a transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement for at least one UE received during a downlink-and-uplink-based positioning procedure. This UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement indicates the difference between the reception timing of the downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of the positioning probe reference signal (SRS). The UE then sends a measurement report to a location server, which includes the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more positioning SRS resources on which the positioning SRS was transmitted.

[0027] Specific aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by reporting indications of one or more location SRS resources on which the location SRS is transmitted, the described techniques can be used to reduce latency due to signaling overhead during handover in an active multi-round-trip time-based location session when the UE is configured with location SRS.

[0028] The terms “exemplary” and / or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as superior to or better than other aspects. Similarly, the term “aspects of this disclosure” does not require that all aspects of this disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed.

[0029] Those skilled in the art will understand that any of a variety of different techniques and methods can be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, and in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0030] Furthermore, many aspects are described according to a sequence of actions to be performed by elements of, for example, a computing device. It should be understood that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein can be considered to be entirely embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or command the associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure may be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are contemplated within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, for each aspect described herein, any corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0031] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT). Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset positioning device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT”, “Client Equipment”, “Wireless Equipment”, “Subscriber Equipment”, “Subscriber Terminal”, “Subscriber Station”, “User Terminal” or “UT”, “Mobile Equipment”, “Mobile Terminal”, “Mobile Station”, or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, a UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, etc.).

[0032] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with the UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an Access Point (AP), Network Node, Node B, Evolved Node B (eNB), Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station may primarily be used to support the UE's radio access, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UE. In some systems, the base station may only provide edge node signaling functions, while in others, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which the UE can transmit signals to the base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the base station can transmit signals to the UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" may refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0033] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit / receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may be co-located or non-co-located. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the antenna of a base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be the antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected via a transmission medium to a common source) or a remote radio headend (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, a non-co-located physical TRP can be the serving base station from which the UE receives measurement reports and a neighboring base station where the UE is measuring its reference radio frequency (RF) signal. Because, as used herein, a TRP is the point by which a base station transmits and receives radio signals, references to transmitting from or receiving at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0034] In some specific implementations supporting UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's radio access (e.g., it may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but may instead transmit reference signals to the UE for measurement and / or receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of transmitting signals to the UE) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0035] An “RF signal” refers to an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information across the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may send a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, where the context clearly indicates that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or RF signal, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal.”

[0036] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. Base station 102 may include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base station may include an eNB and / or an ng-eNB (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or a gNB (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0037] Base station 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with core network 170 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) via backhaul link 122, and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., location management function (LMF) or secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via core network 170. Location server 172 can be part of core network 170 or can be external to core network 170. Location server 172 can be integrated with base station 102. UE 104 can communicate with location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, UE 104 can communicate with location server 172 via base station 102 currently serving UE 104. UE 104 can also communicate with location server 172 via another path, such as via application server (not shown), via another network, such as via wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communication between UE 104 and location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., via core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), wherein intermediate nodes (if present) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0038] In addition to other functions, base station 102 may perform functions associated with one or more of the following: transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, location, and delivery of warning messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) on backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0039] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each base station in base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via a frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, or frequency band, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), Enhanced Cell Identifier (ECI), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCI), Cell Global Identifier (CGI), etc.) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term “cell” can refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting the logical communication entity, depending on the context. Furthermore, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographical coverage area of ​​a base station (e.g., a sector), provided that a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0040] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover areas), some areas within geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB) that can provide service to a restricted group referred to as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0041] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may use one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0042] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or WLAN AP 150 may perform a free channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) process before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0043] Small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell base station 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as WLAN AP 150. Small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum can improve access network coverage and / or increase access network capacity. NR in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0044] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter-wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate at mmW and / or near-mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that contains radio frequency (RF). EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band are referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW extends down to frequencies of 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 mm. Ultra-high frequency (SHF) bands extend between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, and are also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using mmW / near-mmW radio bands has high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it should be understood that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near-mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing examples are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0045] Transmit beamforming is a technique used to focus RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). Using transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thus providing the receiving device with a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate). To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that forms an RF beam that can be "manipulated" to be pointed in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to individual antennas with the correct phase relationship, such that radio waves from the individual antennas add up in the desired direction to increase radiation, while canceling out in the undesired direction to suppress radiation.

[0046] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning they appear to the receiver (e.g., the UE) as having the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antennas are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-located (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0047] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting of an antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is described as performing beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0048] The transmit and receive beams can be spatially correlated. Spatial correlation means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived based on information about a first beam (e.g., receive or transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0049] It is important to note that, depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0050] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been designated as frequency ranges FR1 (410MHz-7.125GHz) and FR2 (24.25GHz-52.6GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6GHz" band. Similar naming issues sometimes occur with FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although this is different from the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) band (30GHz to 300GHz) designated as "millimeter wave" by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0051] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as intermediate frequency (IF) bands. Recent 5G NR studies have designated the operating bands for these IF bands as the frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). Bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 and / or FR2 characteristics, thus effectively extending the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to IF band frequencies. Furthermore, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been designated as the frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz – 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz – 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz – 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0052] In light of the foregoing, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that, as used herein, the term "below 6 GHz" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies less than 6 GHz, within FR1, or including intermediate frequency band frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that, as used herein, the term "millimeter wave" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies that can include intermediate frequency band frequencies, within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or within the EHF band.

[0053] In multi-carrier systems such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier," "anchor carrier," "primary serving cell," or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers," "secondary serving cells," or "SCell." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by UE 104 / 182 and the cell, where UE 104 / 182 performs an initial Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier on a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier on an unlicensed frequency. Secondary carriers may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink and primary downlink carriers are typically UE-specific, the UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 within a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which a base station communicates, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" can be used interchangeably.

[0054] For example, still refer to Figure 1One of the frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or data reception rates. For example, compared to the data rate obtained by a single 20MHz carrier, two aggregated 20MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40MHz).

[0055] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which can communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support PCells and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0056] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 are capable of sidelink communication. UEs with sidelink capability (SL-UEs) can communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) can also communicate directly with each other via radio sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between UEs with sidelink capability). Radio sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standards that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without the need for communication through a base station. Sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communication may be located within the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other SL-UEs in this group may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102, or may be unable to receive transmissions from base station 102 for other reasons. In some cases, the groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to every other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources used for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between the individual SL-UEs without involving base station 102.

[0057] On one hand, the sidelink 160 can operate via a wireless communication medium of interest that can be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other RATs for wireless communication. "Medium" can include one or more time, frequency, and / or space communication resources (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs. On another hand, the medium of interest can correspond to at least a portion of unlicensed frequency bands shared among various RATs. While different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), these systems (particularly those employing small cell access points) have recently expanded their operation to unlicensed frequency bands such as those used by unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) bands used by Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technologies (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include various variants of CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), and so on.

[0058] It should be noted that, although Figure 1 Only two of these UEs are exemplified as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and UE 182), but any UE exemplified can be an SL-UE. Furthermore, although only UE 182 is described as capable of beamforming, any UE exemplified (including UE 164) can be capable of beamforming. When SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they can beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UE 104), towards base stations (e.g., base station 102, base station 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Therefore, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 can utilize beamforming via sidelink 160.

[0059] exist Figure 1 In the example, the UE shown (for simplicity, in) Figure 1Any UE (shown as a single UE 104) may receive signal 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting spacecraft (SV) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, SV 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that allows UE 104 to use as an independent source of location information. Satellite positioning systems typically include a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112) positioned such that a receiver (e.g., UE 104) can determine its location on or above the Earth based at least in part on positioning signals (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a set number of repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) codes. While typically located in SV 112, transmitters may sometimes be located at ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from SV 112.

[0060] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which may be associated with or otherwise made available to one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential correction, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and / or GPS-assisted geographic augmentation navigation or GPS and geographic augmentation navigation system (GAGAN). Therefore, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0061] On one hand, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 connects to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn connects to elements in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element, in turn, provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as internet web servers and other user equipment. Thus, as a replacement or supplement to communication signals from ground base station 102, UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112.

[0062] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "side links"). Figure 1 In the example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations in base station 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through this D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through this D2D P2P link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, etc. ® wait.

[0063] Figure 2A An example wireless network architecture 200 is illustrated. For instance, the 5GC 210 (also referred to as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally viewed as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which work together to form the core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also connect to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Furthermore, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next-generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either or both of the gNBs 222 or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0064] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that can be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, may be located outside the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0065] Figure 2B Another example wireless network architecture 240.5GC 260 is illustrated (which can correspond to...). Figure 2A5GC 210 can be functionally considered as a control plane function provided by Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which work together to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). AMF 264 functions include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and Session Management Function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between UE 204 and Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and Security Anchor Functionality (SEAF). AMF 264 also interacts with Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204, and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The AMF 264 also includes Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF and uses this key to derive access network-specific keys. The AMF 264's functionality also includes location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), transmission of location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for EPS interoperability, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Furthermore, the AMF 264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0066] The functions of UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable), acting as an external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic orientation), lawful eavesdropping (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, user plane Quality of Service (QoS) handling (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflected QoS marking in downlink), uplink traffic verification (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and delivering and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 may also support the delivery of location service messages between UE 204 and a location server (such as SLP272) on the user plane.

[0067] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, service orientation configuration at UPF 262 for routing services to the correct destination, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0068] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). SLP 272 can support similar functions to LMF 270, but while LMF 270 can communicate with AMF264, NG-RAN 220 and UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to deliver signaling messages rather than voice or data), SLP 272 can communicate with UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party server 274) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmit Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0069] Another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that can communicate with LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., location estimation) of UE 204. Therefore, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a Location Services (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server.

[0070] User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect 5GC 260, and specifically connect UPF 262 and AMF 264 to one or more gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 in NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 of NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via backhaul connection 223, referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a radio interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0071] The functionality of the gNB 222 can be divided among the gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically allocated to the gNB-DU 228, including user data delivery, mobility control, radio access network sharing, location, session management, etc. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Media Access Control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and a cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of gNB 222 is typically managed by one or more independent gNB-RU 229s, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between gNB-DU 228 and gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Therefore, UE 204 communicates with gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0072] The deployment of communication systems such as 5G NR systems can be arranged in a variety of ways using various components or parts. In a 5G NR system or network, network nodes, network entities, network mobility elements, RAN nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or network equipment (such as base stations or one or more units (or components) performing base station functions) can be implemented in aggregated or decomposed architectures. For example, base stations (such as Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base stations, 5GNB, access points (APs), transmit / receive points (TRPs), or cells, etc.) can be implemented as aggregated base stations (also known as standalone base stations or monolithic base stations) or decomposed base stations.

[0073] Aggregated base stations can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. Decentralized base stations can be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed across two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some aspects, the CU can be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs can be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, can be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other RAN nodes. DUs can be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU can also be implemented as a virtual unit, namely a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0074] Base station type operation or network design can take into account the aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, decomposed base stations can be used in Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) networks, Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN (such as network configurations initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or Virtualized Radio Access Networks (vRAN, also known as Cloud Radio Access Networks (C-RAN)). Decomposition can include distributing functionality across two or more units in various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing the functionality of at least one unit, which enables flexibility in network design. The various units in a decomposed base station or decomposed RAN architecture can be configured to communicate wirelessly with at least one other unit.

[0075] Figure 2C An example disaggregated base station architecture 250 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226) that can communicate directly with the core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both). CUs 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DU 228) via a corresponding midhaul link (e.g., an F1 interface). DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RU 229) via a corresponding fronthaul link. RU 287 can communicate with the corresponding UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, UE 204 can be served by multiple RU 287s simultaneously.

[0076] Each of these units (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO frame 255) may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via wired or wireless transmission media. Each of these units, or an associated processor or controller providing instructions to the communication interfaces of these units, may be configured to communicate with one or more other units via transmission media. For example, these units may include wired interfaces configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more other units via wired transmission media. Additionally, these units may include wireless interfaces, which may include receivers, transmitters, or transceivers (such as radio frequency (RF) transceivers) configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more other units, or both, via wireless transmission media.

[0077] In some aspects, the CU 280 can host one or more higher-level control functions. Such control functions may include Radio Resource Control (RRC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function can be implemented using an interface configured to signal to other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 can be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 can be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP units can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface such as an E1 interface. The CU 280 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 285 for network control and signaling, as needed.

[0078] DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit comprising one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RU 287s. In some aspects, DU 285 may, at least in part, host one or more of the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.) depending on functional splits (such as those defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, DU 285 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by DU 285 or with control functions hosted by CU280.

[0079] Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RU 287s. In some deployments, an RU287 controlled by a DU 285 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low-PHY layer functions (such as performing Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, or both, at least in part based on functional decomposition (such as lower-layer functional decomposition). In such architectures, the RU 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communication with one or more UE 204s. In some specific implementations, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communication with the RU 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration enables the implementation of the DU 285 and CU 280 in cloud-based RAN architectures such as vRAN architectures.

[0080] SMO framework 255 can be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of both non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, SMO framework 255 can be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which can be managed via operation and maintenance interfaces such as the O1 interface. For virtualized network elements, SMO framework 255 can be configured to interact with cloud computing platforms such as Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 269 to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via cloud computing platform interfaces such as the O2 interface. Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259. In some implementations, SMO framework 255 can communicate with the hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as Open eNB (O-eNB) 261) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RU 287s via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257, which is configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255.

[0081] The non-RT RIC 257 can be configured to include logical functions enabling non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, including artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows for model training and updates, or policy-based guidance for applications / features in the near-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 can be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 259, such as via an A1 interface. The near-RT RIC 259 can be configured to include logical functions enabling near real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via an interface, such as via an E2 interface, through data collection and action, connecting one or more CU 280s, one or more DU 285s, or both, and O-eNBs to the near-RT RIC 259.

[0082] In some implementations, to generate AI / ML models to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. This information can be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and may be received from non-network data sources or network functions at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns in performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions via the SMO framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or by creating RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0083] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) are illustrated, which can be incorporated into UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of UE 302). Figure 2A and Figure 2B The NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructures depicted herein (such as dedicated networks) are used to support the operations described herein. It should be understood that these components may be implemented in different specific implementations in different types of devices (e.g., in ASICs, in System-on-Chip (SoCs), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. Furthermore, a given device may contain one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0084] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, which provide components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.) for communication via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356 for communication with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) through a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a time / frequency resource set in a specific spectrum). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0085] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each further include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide the capability to communicate wirelessly via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth) through a medium of interest. ® Zigbee ® Z-Wave ®The short-range transceiver 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range transceivers 320 and 360 each include one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth transceivers, etc. ® Transceiver, Zigbee ® and / or Z-Wave ® Transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0086] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376 respectively, and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 respectively. When satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. When satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request information and operations from other systems as needed, and in at least some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the locations of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0087] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, which provide components (e.g., transmitting components, receiving components, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may use one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. Similarly, network entity 306 may use one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or to communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0088] The transceiver can be configured to communicate via a wired or wireless link. The transceiver (whether wired or wireless) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitter 314, transmitter 324, transmitter 354, transmitter 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receiver 312, receiver 322, receiver 352, receiver 362). In some embodiments, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., implementing transmitter and receiver circuitry in a single device); in some embodiments, the transceiver may include separate transmitter and receiver circuitry; or in other embodiments, the transceiver may be implemented in other ways. The transmitter and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., in some embodiments, network transceivers 380 and 390) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which permit corresponding devices (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit "beamforming," as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which permit corresponding devices (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, transmitter and receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that corresponding devices may perform only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit simultaneously. Wireless transceivers (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include network listening modules (NLMs) for performing various measurements.

[0089] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some embodiments, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some embodiments) are generally referred to as "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Therefore, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver can be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers typically involves signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0090] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 may provide components for processing, such as components for determining, components for calculating, components for receiving, components for transmitting, components for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0091] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Therefore, memories 340, 386, and 396 can provide components for storage, retrieval, maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may each include positioning components 342, 388, and 398. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuitry that is part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, which, when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by processors 332, 384, and 394 (or modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), enable UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations for the positioning component 342 are illustrated. The positioning component may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3BPossible locations for the positioning component 388 are illustrated. The positioning component may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations for the positioning component 398 are illustrated. The positioning component may be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

[0092] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide components for sensing or detecting motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. By way of example, sensor 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, sensor 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate positioning in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0093] In addition, UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides components for providing instructions to a user (e.g., audible and / or visual instructions) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touchscreen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0094] Referring more specifically to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 can be provided to processor 384. One or more processors 384 can implement functionality for the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the delivery of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC Service Data Units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0095] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 implement Layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) decoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a stream of time-domain OFDM symbols. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator are used to determine the decoding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates can be derived from a reference signal transmitted by UE302 and / or channel condition feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. Transmitter 354 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate an RF carrier for transmission.

[0096] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 302, they can be combined by receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, along with the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most probable signal constellation point transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on a channel estimate calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. Then, data and control signals are provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0097] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0098] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by base station 304, one or more processors 332 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connectivity, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the delivery of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0099] The channel estimate derived by the channel estimator from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 can be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate decoding and modulation scheme, and facilitates spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by the transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate the RF carrier for transmission.

[0100] Uplink transmissions are processed at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver function at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 384.

[0101] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport channel and the logical channel to recover IP packets from UE 302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0102] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 are in Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The example shown herein includes various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionalities in different designs. In particular, Figures 3A to 3C Various components are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that can vary due to design choices, cost, equipment usage, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In certain cases, specific implementations of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., wearable devices, tablets, PCs, or laptops may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but no cellular capabilities), or short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., cellular only), or satellite signal receiver 330, or sensor 344, etc. In another example, in Figure 3B In certain cases, specific implementations of base station 304 may omit WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only), or satellite signal receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, examples of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0103] Various components of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can form or be part of the communication interfaces of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, in cases where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality integrated into the same base station 304), data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can provide communication between the different logical entities.

[0104] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide that functionality. For example, some or all of the functionalities represented by boxes 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionalities represented by boxes 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). Furthermore, some or all of the functionalities represented by boxes 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, as will be understood, such operations, actions and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc. (such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memory 340, 386 and 396, positioning components 342, 388 and 398, etc.).

[0105] In some designs, network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 may operate differently from the network operator or cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that is configured to communicate with UE 302 via base station 304 or independently of base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0106] NR supports various cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and positioning methods based on both downlink and uplink. Downlink-based positioning methods include: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) in NR. Figure 4 Examples of various positioning methods according to aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. In the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning process illustrated in scenario 410, the UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from paired base stations (referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurement) and reports these differences to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in auxiliary data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known locations of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurement, the positioning entity (e.g., a UE for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the UE's location.

[0107] For the DL-AoD positioning illustrated in scenario 420, the positioning entity uses measurement reports from the UE regarding the received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmitted beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the UE's position based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station.

[0108] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by the UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, the UE transmits one or more uplink reference signals, which are measured by a reference base station and multiple non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports the reception time of the reference signal (referred to as relative time of arrival (RTOA)) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) that knows the location and relative timing of the base stations involved. Based on the received-receive (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and the reported RTOA of each non-reference base station, the known location of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can use the TDOA to estimate the UE's location.

[0109] For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurement and the angle of the receive beam to determine the angle between the UE and the base station. Based on the determined angle and the known location of the base station, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0110] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) positioning and Multiple Round-Trip Time (RTT) positioning (also known as "Multi-Cell RTT" and "Multi-RTT"). During RTT, a first entity (e.g., a base station or a UE) sends a first RTT-related signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or a base station), which then sends a second RTT-related signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the time of arrival (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the time of transmission of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is called the receive-to-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement can be performed or adjusted to include only the time difference between the nearest time slot boundary of the received signal and the transmitted signal. The two entities can then transmit their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 270), which calculates the round-trip time (i.e., RTT) between the two entities based on these two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., calculated as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity can transmit its Rx-Tx time difference measurement to another entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities can be determined based on the RTT and a known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). For the multi-RTT positioning illustrated in scenario 430, a first entity (e.g., a UE or base station) performs an RTT positioning process with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) to enable the location of the first entity to be determined (e.g., using polygonal measurements) based on the distance to the second entities and the known location of the second entities. RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning technologies (such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD) to improve location accuracy, as illustrated in scenario 440.

[0111] The E-CID positioning method is based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identifiers of detected neighboring base stations, along with their estimated timing and signal strength. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0112] To assist in positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide auxiliary data to the UE via, for example, one or more LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages. For example, auxiliary data may include: the identifier of the base station (or the cell / TRP of the base station) from which the reference signal is measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., including the number of consecutive time slots of the PRS, the periodicity of consecutive time slots of the PRS, a silent sequence, a frequency hopping sequence, the reference signal identifier, the reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, auxiliary data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes without using auxiliary data.

[0113] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, auxiliary data may also include the expected RSTD value and the associated uncertainty or search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the expected RSTD value may range from + / - 500 microseconds (µs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for positioning measurements is in FR1, the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may range from + / - 32 µs. In other cases, when all resources used for positioning measurements are in FR2, the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may range from + / - 8 µs.

[0114] Location estimation can be referred to by other names, such as location estimation, location, positioning, location locking, locking, etc. Location estimation can be geodesic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible elevation), or it can be municipal and include street addresses, postal addresses, or some other verbal description of the location. Location estimation can be further limited relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible elevation). Location estimation can include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including the area or volume that the location is expected to include with a specified or default confidence level).

[0115] LPP is used point-to-point between a location server (e.g., LMF 270) and a target device (e.g., UE) to locate the target device using location-related measurements obtained from one or more reference sources (physical entities or portions of physical entities that provide signals that can be measured by the target device to obtain the location of the target device). An LPP session is used between the location server and the target device to obtain location-related measurements or location estimates, or to transfer auxiliary data. Currently, a single LPP session is used to support a single location request, and multiple LPP sessions can be used between the same endpoints to support multiple different location requests. Each LPP session includes one or more LPP transactions (or procedures), where each LPP transaction performs a single operation (capability exchange, auxiliary data transfer, or location information transfer). Each LPP transaction involves the exchange of one or more LPP messages between the location server and the target device.

[0116] An LPP session typically includes at least a capability transfer or instruction process, an auxiliary data transfer or delivery process, and a location information transfer or delivery process. Figure 5 Examples of LPP capability transfer process 510, LPP auxiliary data transfer process 530, and LPP location information transfer process 550 between a target device (labeled "target") and a location server (labeled "server") according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0117] The purpose of LPP capability transfer procedure 510 is to enable the transfer of capabilities from a target device (e.g., UE 204) to a location server (e.g., LMF 270). In this context, capability refers to location and protocol capabilities associated with LPP, as well as location methods supported by LPP. In LPP capability transfer procedure 510, the location server (e.g., LMF 270) indicates the type of capability required by the target device (e.g., UE 204) in an LPP request capability message. The target device responds with an LPP provide capability message. The capability included in the LPP provide capability message should correspond to any capability type specified in the LPP request capability message. Specifically, for each location method for which a request for capability is included in the LPP request capability message, if the target device supports that location method, the target device includes its capability for the supported location method in the LPP provide capability message. For the LPP capability indication procedure, the target device provides capabilities to the location server in the LPP provide capability message that were not requested (i.e., the LPP request capability message was not received).

[0118] The purpose of LPP Assisted Data Delivery Procedure 530 is to enable a target device to request assisted data from a location server for location assistance, and to enable the location server to deliver assisted data to the target device without a request. In LPP Assisted Data Delivery Procedure 530, the target device sends an LPP Request Assisted Data message to the location server. The location server responds to the target device with an LPP Provide Assisted Data message containing the assisted data. The delivered assisted data should match or be a subset of the assisted data requested in the LPP Request Assisted Data. The location server may also provide any unrequested information it deems useful to the target device. The location server may also send one or more additional LPP Provide Assisted Data messages to the target device containing further assisted data. For the LPP Assisted Data Delivery Procedure, the location server provides unrequested assisted data necessary for location. Assisted data may be provided periodically or non-periodically.

[0119] The purpose of LPP location information transmission procedure 550 is to enable a location server to request location measurement data and / or location estimates from a target device, and to enable the target device to transmit location measurement data and / or location estimates to the location server without a request. In LPP location information transmission procedure 550, the location server transmits an LPP request location information message to the target device to request location information, indicating the type of location information required and the potentially associated QoS. The target device responds to the location server with an LPP provide location information message to transmit the location information. Unless the location server explicitly allows additional location information, the transmitted location information should match or be a subset of the location information requested by the LPP request location information message. More specifically, if the requested information is compatible with the capabilities and configuration of the target device, the target device includes the requested information in the LPP provide location information message. Otherwise, if the target device does not support one or more of the requested positioning methods, the target device continues to process the message as if it only contains information about supported positioning methods, and handles the signaling content of unsupported positioning methods through LPP error detection. If requested by an LPP Request for Location Information message, the target device sends an Additional LPP Provide Location Information message to the location server to deliver additional location information. The LPP location information delivery process supports delivery based on location estimates from unrequested services.

[0120] For any uplink-based location method (including downlink- and uplink-based methods such as multi-RTT), mobility (due to UE movement or TRP movement) requires the transmission of SRS for location. SRS is configured by the UE's serving base station. Therefore, once handover is triggered for the UE, the SRS configuration may no longer be valid, potentially terminating the location session.

[0121] Figure 6A and Figure 6B An example of a downlink- and uplink-based positioning process 600 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. A downlink-based or uplink-based positioning process will be a subset of the downlink- and uplink-based positioning process 600. The downlink- and uplink-based positioning process 600 can be, for example, a multi-RTT positioning process, as described above with reference to scenario 430.

[0122] At phase 610, LMF 270 performs DL-PRS configuration information exchange with the serving and neighboring gNB 222 of the target UE 204 via NR Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPA) signaling. At phase 615, LMF 270 performs an LPP capability transfer procedure with UE 204 (e.g., LPP capability transfer procedure 510). At phase 620, LMF 270 transmits an NRPPA positioning information request to the serving gNB 222 (or TRP) of the target UE 204 to request SRS configuration information for UE 204. LMF 270 may provide any auxiliary data required by the serving gNB 222 (e.g., path loss reference, spatial relationships, SSB configuration, etc.).

[0123] Generally, a UE transmits a SRS to enable the receiving base station (serving base station or neighboring base station) to measure the channel quality (i.e., channel state information (CSI)) between the UE and the base station. However, an SRS can also be specifically configured as an uplink positioning reference signal for uplink-based positioning procedures, such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), round-trip time (RTT), uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA), etc. As used herein, the term "SRS" can refer to an SRS configured for channel quality measurement or an SRS configured for positioning purposes. When it is necessary to distinguish between the two types of SRS, the former may be referred to herein as "communication SRS" and / or the latter may be referred to herein as "positioning SRS" or "location SRS".

[0124] Several enhancements to the previously defined SRS have been proposed for “Location-Specific SRS” (also known as “UL-PRS”), such as new interleaving patterns within SRS resources (other than single symbol / comb-2), new comb types for SRS, new sequences of SRS, a larger set of SRS resources per component carrier, and a larger number of SRS resources per component carrier. Furthermore, the parameters “SpatialRelationInfo” and “PathLossReference” are configured based on the downlink reference signal or SSB from the adjacent TRP. Further, an SRS resource can be transmitted outside the active bandwidth portion (BWP), and an SRS resource can span multiple component carriers. Moreover, SRS can be configured in RRC connected state and transmitted only within the active BWP. Additionally, there may be no frequency hopping, no repetition factor, a single antenna port, and new SRS lengths (e.g., 8 and 12 symbols). Open-loop power control may also exist, but closed-loop power control is not possible, and comb-8 (i.e., SRS transmitted every eighth subcarrier in the same symbol) can be used. Finally, the UE can transmit from multiple SRS resources using the same transmit beam for UL-AoA. All of these are features outside the current SRS framework, which is configured via higher-level RRC signaling (and potentially triggered or activated via MAC control elements (MAC-CE) or downlink control information (DCI)).

[0125] At phase 625a, serving gNB 222 determines the resources available for SRS, and at phase 625b, provides SRS configuration information to UE 204. At phase 630, serving gNB 222 transmits an NRPPa location information response message to LMF 270. The NRPPa location information response message includes the SRS configuration information transmitted to UE 204.

[0126] At stage 635a, LMF 270 transmits an NRPPa Location Activation Request message to serving gNB 222, thereby instructing it to configure UE 204 to activate SRS transmission on the configured / allocated resources. SRS can be aperiodic (e.g., on-demand) SRS, and therefore, at stage 635b, serving gNB 222 configures / instructs UE 204 to activate (i.e., begin) SRS transmission. At stage 635c, serving gNB 222 transmits an NRPPa Location Activation Response message to LMF 270 to indicate that SRS transmission has been activated.

[0127] At stage 640, LMF 270 transmits an NRPPa measurement request message to gNB 222. The NRPPa measurement request message includes all the information required to enable gNB 222 to perform uplink measurements transmitted via SRS from the target UE 204. The request also includes the type of measurement to be performed, such as SRS-RSRP, UL-AoA, gNB Rx-Tx time difference, etc. At stage 645, LMF 270 transmits auxiliary data for the downlink and uplink-based positioning procedure 600 to UE 204 in one or more LPP auxiliary data transmission messages (e.g., as in LPP auxiliary data transmission procedure 530). The LPP auxiliary data transmission message includes all the information required to enable UE 204 to perform positioning measurements (e.g., Rx-Tx time difference measurements) transmitted via DL-PRS from gNB 222.

[0128] At stage 650, LMF 270 transmits an LPP request location information message to target UE 204 (e.g., as in LPP location information transmission procedure 550). At stage 655a, target UE 204 performs a DL-PRS measurement (e.g., UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement) transmitted by the involved gNB based on the auxiliary data received at stage 645. At stage 655b, involved gNB 222 performs an SRS measurement (e.g., gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurement) transmitted by target UE 204 based on the auxiliary data received in the NRPPa measurement request message at stage 640.

[0129] At stage 660, the target UE 204 transmits an LPP (Location Provided by Provider) message (e.g., as in LPP location information transmission procedure 550). The LPP message includes location measurements performed by the UE 204 at stage 655a, such as UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements for each gNB 222, DL-PRS-RSRP measurements for each gNB 222, etc. At stage 665, the involved gNB 222 transmits an NRPPa measurement response message to the LMF 270. The NRPPa response message includes measurements of SRS measured at stage 655b, such as gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurements, SRS-RSRP measurements, UL-AoA measurements, etc.

[0130] Based on measurements received at phases 660 and 665 (e.g., UE Rx-Tx and gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurements), LMF 270 determines the RTT between the UE and gNB 222. LMF 270 then determines the location of UE 204 based on the RTT, the speed of light, and the known location of the involved gNB 222.

[0131] For more details, please refer to stages 620 and 630. Figures 7A to 7C An example location information exchange process between NG-RAN node 702 and LMF 270 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. NG-RAN node 702 can be any type of NG-RAN access point capable of providing NR connectivity to another device. For example, NG-RAN node 702 can be a gNB (e.g., gNB 222) or an ng-eNB (e.g., ng-eNB 224), etc. The messages exchanged between NG-RAN node 702 and LMF 270 are various NRPPa messages.

[0132] The location information exchange process is initiated by LMF 270 to request the location information of the UE (not shown) from NG-RAN node 702. Figure 7A An example of a successful location information exchange procedure 700 is illustrated. The LMF 270 initiates the location information exchange procedure 700 by sending a location information request message (also referred to as an “NRPPa location information request” message) to the NG-RAN node 702 at 710.

[0133] If the "Requested SRS Transmission Feature" IE is included in the Location Information Request message, the NG-RAN node 702 can take this information into account when configuring SRS transmission for the UE, and it includes the "SRS Configuration" IE and the "SFN Initialization Time" IE in the Location Information Response message (also referred to as the "NRPPa Location Information Response" message).

[0134] If both the "Spatial Relationship Information for Each SRS Resource" IE and the "Periodic List" IE are included in the "Requested SRS Transmission Characteristics" IE, then NG-RAN node 702 considers that the "Spatial Relationship for Each SRS Resource Item" IE and the "Periodic List Item" IE have a one-to-one mapping relationship.

[0135] If the “UE Report Information” IE is included in the location information request message, the NG-RAN node 702 may consider the information to allocate appropriate Cell Group Small Data Transmission (CG-SDT) resources when locating the UE.

[0136] If the “UE TEG Information Request” IE is included in the location information request message and is set to “on demand”, then NG-RAN node 702 (if supported) provides the UE transmit timing error group (TxTEG) association in the location information response message at 720.

[0137] If the "UE TEG Information Request" IE is set to "Periodic", the NG-RAN node 702 (if supported) responds with a location information response message without including any UE Tx TEG associations in that message. Then, the NG-RAN node 702 considers the "UE TEG Reporting Periodicity" IE when configuring the UE's periodic UE Tx TEG association reporting and initiates... Figure 7C The location information update process 770 in the middle is used to report the UE Tx TEG association (if any) received from the UE.

[0138] Figure 7B An example of an unsuccessful location information exchange procedure 750 is illustrated. Operation 710 of location information exchange procedure 750 is the same as operation 710 of location information exchange procedure 700. However, in this case, if the "Requested SRS Transmission Feature" IE is included in the location information request message, and NG-RAN node 702 is unable to configure any SRS transmission for the UE, then at 730, a response is expected using a location information failure message (also represented as an "NRPPa Location Information Failure" message). If the handover of the target UE has been triggered, NG-RAN node 702 transmits a location information failure message with an appropriate cause value (e.g., indicating that the failure is due to handover). If NG-RAN node 702 is unable to provide any information in the requested information, NG-RAN node 702 also responds using a location information failure message with an appropriate cause value.

[0139] Figure 7C An example of a successful location information update procedure 770 is illustrated. The location information update procedure 770 is initiated by NG-RAN node 702 to indicate to LMF 270 that the SRS configuration or UE Tx TEG association has changed. This procedure applies only when NG-RAN node 702 is a gNB.

[0140] At 740, NG-RAN node 702 initiates this process by sending a location information update message (also referred to as the "NRPPa Location Information Update" message) to LMF 270. If the "SRS Configuration" IE is included in the location information update message, LMF 270 treats this information as the updated SRS configuration for the UE (e.g., UE 204). If the "SFN Initialization Time" IE is included in the location information update message, LMF 270 treats this information as the SFN initialization time associated with the SRS configuration.

[0141] If the “UE Tx TEG Association List” IE is included in the location information update message, the LMF 270 considers it as a UE Tx TEG association of an SRS resource whose TEG association has changed since the last update.

[0142] Return to reference Figure 6A and Figure 6B As shown, at stage 625b, UE 204 is configured with an SRS by the serving cell. For any uplink-based or downlink-and-uplink-based positioning method (such as multiple RTT), if the active SRS is configured for UE 204 and a handover is triggered at any point during stages 655a and 655b, the active SRS configuration will no longer be valid. Therefore, stage 655b will be interrupted, and stage 665 will generate an error.

[0143] In such scenarios, the LMF 270 can (1) restart the positioning session from 620, (2) wait for the LPP session to terminate, or (c) generate an abort message. If the LMF 270 generates an abort message, it is unclear whether the AMF 264 should route the abort message to the old / new base station. Even if option (1) is an LMF implementation (through which the positioning session can continue after handover), this option introduces additional latency and signaling overhead. Therefore, the current implementation of uplink-based positioning cannot efficiently handle handover mode / connected mode (i.e., RRC connected mode) mobility.

[0144] Location in RRC inactive state has been introduced. In RRC inactive state, the UE maintains CM connectivity, while the access layer context is stored in both the UE and the RAN. During RRC inactive state, network signaling load is reduced because only the UE needs to perform inactive mobility procedures (e.g., Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) selection, cell reselection, and RAN notification of area updates), receive broadcast system information, and receive RAN paging. The UE is in a semi-sleep mode and is periodically woken up (according to the configured discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle) and monitors paging messages from the network. For example, the UE does not constantly monitor the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) used for unicast data transmission and / or reception, which allows for power savings on the UE side compared to RRC connected state.

[0145] Leveraging the recently introduced SDT feature, the UE can also transmit data and / or NAS signaling while remaining in an RRC inactive state.

[0146] The Deferred Mobility Termination Location Request (MT-LR) procedure provides an effective means of location tracking for mobile devices or assets. During the initialization phase, location instructions (e.g., the location method to use, QoS, etc.) and possible auxiliary data can be provided to the target device. The target device then monitors for events, performs location measurements upon detection, and provides the location results to the network. Various event types are supported, such as entering, leaving, or remaining within a predefined geographic area, moving beyond a predefined distance from a previous location, or periodic locations. The procedure is defined to allow the UE to remain in an RRC inactive state during the location measurement and event reporting phases.

[0147] Figure 8A and Figure 8B An example of a delayed MT LR process for a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method (e.g., multiple RTT) according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. This process consists of two event reports: such as... Figure 8A The illustrated event report #1 (phases 3 to 10) for requesting / configuring SRS for location is shown, and as... Figure 8B The example is Event Report #2 (Phase 12 to 16) used to report location measurements.

[0148] At Phase 1, Phases 1 through 21 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events, as specified in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.273, Clause 6.3.1 (which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), are executed. The LMF 270 may perform one or more positioning procedures at Phase 15 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events (as specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, Clause 6.3.1) to request and obtain UE 204 positioning capabilities or to provide any necessary auxiliary data to the target device. The Location Services (LCS) periodic triggered location call at Phase 16 of the Deferred 5GC-MT-LR process for periodic or triggered location events (as specified in 3GPP TS23.273, Clause 6.3.1) includes an embedded LPP Request Location Information message that indicates a permitted or required multi-RTT location measurement for each reported location event.

[0149] At some point, the last serving gNB releases UE 204 from RRC connection to RRC inactivity via "RRCRelease" with "SuspendConfig".

[0150] At Phase 2, UE 204 monitors the occurrence of triggered or periodic events requested during Phase 1.

[0151] At Phase 3, when an event is detected (or slightly earlier), UE 204 transmits an RRC UL information delivery message containing the UL NAS transmission message along with an RRC recovery request via SDT. UE 204 includes an LCS event report in the payload container of the UL NAS transmission message, and a deferred route identifier received during Phase 1 in the additional information of the UL NAS transmission message. The LCS event report includes an embedded LPP request assistance data message, where IE “NR-Multi-RTT-RequestAssistanceData” and “nr-AdType” are set to “ul-srs” to request SRS for multi-RTT positioning. Note that the gNB received by UE 204 when UE 204 performs Phase 3 may be the same as or different from the last serving gNB when UE 204 is released to the RRC inactive state.

[0152] At phase 4, the receiving gNB transmits an LCS event report with an LPP request auxiliary data message to the serving AMF 264 in a Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) uplink NAS transport message. AMF 264 determines the LMF 270 based on the deferred routing identifier received in the UL NAS transport message's Additional Information IE, and forwards the LCS event report with an embedded LPP message to the LMF 270 via triggering the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation. AMF 264 also includes the payload container type and related identifiers set as the deferred routing identifier. Note that if the anchor gNB has not changed from the last serving gNB to the receiving gNB, the LCS event report can be forwarded from the receiving gNB to the last serving gNB via Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) message RRC. Subsequent downlink / uplink messages can also be forwarded between the last serving gNB and the receiving gNB via XnAP message RRC.

[0153] At stage 5, the LMF 270 transmits an NRPPa location information request message to the receiving gNB (as in...). Figure 7A Operation 710) to request SRS for the target device (i.e., UE 204).

[0154] At stage 6, the receiving gNB determines the resources available for SRS.

[0155] At stage 7, the gNB receives SRS configuration information from the LMF 270 in the NRPPa location information response message.

[0156] At stage 8, the LMF 270 transmits an NRPPa measurement request, including the SRS measurement configuration, to a group of gNBs.

[0157] At phase 9, LMF 270 transmits a Supplemental Service (SS) LCS event report acknowledgment to the receiving gNB. Then, at phase 9b, the receiving gNB provides the SS event report acknowledgment to UE 204 via subsequent DL SDT.

[0158] At phase 10, the gNB receives a “RRCRelease” message with “suspendConfig” to keep UE 204 in an RRC inactive state. The “RRCRelease” message includes the SRS configuration.

[0159] At phase 11, UE 204 performs DL-PRS measurements, and each configured TRP performs SRS measurements.

[0160] At phase 12, UE 204 transmits an RRC UL information delivery message containing the UL NAS transmission message along with an RRC recovery request via SDT. UE 204 includes an LCS event report and an LPP location information provision message in the payload container of the UL NAS transmission message, as well as a delayed route identifier received during phase 1 from the additional information in the UL NAS transmission message.

[0161] At phase 13, the gNB receives an LCS event report with an LPP-provided location information message in an NGAP uplink NAS transport message and transmits it to the serving AMF 264. AMF 264 determines the LMF 270 based on the deferred routing identifier received in the UL NAS transport message's additional information IE, and forwards the LCS event report with an embedded LPP message to the LMF 270 via triggering the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation. AMF 264 also includes the payload container type and related identifiers set as deferred routing identifiers.

[0162] At stage 14, after performing the SRS measurement, the gNB provides the UL measurement to the LMF 270 in the NRPPa measurement response message.

[0163] At stage 15, once all LPP location information messages have been received, LMF 270 transmits an SS LCS event report acknowledgment to the receiving gNB. Then, at stage 15b, the receiving gNB provides an SS event report acknowledgment to UE 204 via a subsequent DL SDT.

[0164] At phase 16, the gNB receives a “RRCRelease” message with “suspendConfig” to keep UE 204 in an RRC inactive state.

[0165] At stage 17, stages 28 to 31 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR process for periodic or triggered location events, as specified in TS 23.273, Clause 6.3.1, are performed.

[0166] During the aforementioned process, whenever an event report is triggered (e.g., when a periodic timer expires), a new positioning SRS can be "negotiated" between the LMF and the serving / receiving gNB (as in...). Figure 8A (At stages 3 to 10 in the process). This results in large signaling activity for periodic events with relatively small periodicity (e.g., 15 to 30 seconds), and thus additional latency and processing, which may also adversely affect power consumption at the target device.

[0167] To reduce the amount of SRS configuration signaling, pre-configuration of the SRS has been proposed. This assumes, for example, that the SRS can be pre-configured during the initialization phase of the MT-LR process. Figure 8A Phase 1) provides a single positioning SRS, which can then be activated as needed. Instead of... Figure 8A In stages 3 and 4, the event report is transmitted to LMF 270 to request SRS location from LMF 270. UE204 could potentially use lower-layer signaling (e.g., MAC control element (CE) (MAC-CE)) to directly transmit the request to NG-RAN 220 (receiving gNB) to activate the pre-configured SRS location. In this case, it would be unnecessary or could be simplified. Figure 8A Phases 5 to 7 and 9a.

[0168] Figure 9A and Figure 9B An example delayed MT-LR procedure for a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method (e.g., multiple RTT) with pre-configured positioning SRS is illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure. At phase 1, phases 1 to 21 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events, as specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, clause 6.3.1, are performed. Phases 1a, 1b, and 1c may be performed during the delayed MT-LR configuration phase of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events (e.g., during phase 15 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events, as specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, clause 6.3.1).

[0169] At phase 1a, LMF 270 transmits an NRPPa location information request message to serving gNB 222, including a request for a pre-configured location SRS. This request may include one or more "Requested SRS Transmission Characteristics" (IEs), each defining the desired location SRS configuration. LMF 270 may include path loss reference, spatial relationships, and SSB information for each gNB in ​​the area. This "auxiliary information" may be used by the serving / receiving gNB 222 to compile a portion of the parameters (b) that will be valid for the current UE location at a later time. For example, for each considered cell ID, the auxiliary information may include a list of neighboring cells with SSB or DL-PRS information that can be used as a path loss reference or spatial relationship for location SRS.

[0170] At phase 1b, the serving gNB 222 determines one or more location SRS configurations and provides these configurations to the target device (UE 204) so ​​that the target device can send location SRS at a later time (i.e., the target device does not send any location SRS when pre-configured). Each location SRS configuration has an associated identifier. Each location SRS may have an validity period and / or a validity region. The "validity region" may be defined by a list of cell IDs that define where the SRS configuration is applicable / valid.

[0171] At phase 1c, service gNB 222 provides a set of pre-configured location SRSs to LMF 270 (e.g., one or more “SRS Configuration” IEs, where each location SRS has an associated ID).

[0172] At phase 3, after (or slightly earlier) an event is detected, UE 204 transmits an SRS activation request message along with an RRC recovery request to receiving gNB 222. The SRS activation request message may include an identifier of the desired pre-configured SRS configuration to be activated (e.g., in priority order).

[0173] At phase 4, the receiving gNB 222 uses the Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier (I-RNTI) to identify the last serving gNB 222 and retrieves the UE context (including pre-configured positioning SRS information) using the Xn-AP UE context retrieval procedure. The receiving gNB 222 determines the positioning SRS configuration based on the pre-configuration during phase 1. The receiving gNB 222 may determine some parameters (b), such as path loss reference information (e.g., “alpha”, “p0”, “pathlossReferenceRS-Pos”) or spatial relation information (e.g., “spatialRelationInfoPos”) for the positioning SRS valid for the receiving gNB 222. The receiving gNB 222 may also determine the time alignment timer and RSRP change threshold (e.g., “inactivePosSRS-TimeAlignmentTimer”, “inactivePosSRS-RSRP-changeThreshold”). The receiving gNB 222 may use the auxiliary information received from LMF 270 at phase 1a to determine the above set of SRS parameters.

[0174] At phase 5, after receiving gNB 222, an SRS activation message can be transmitted to UE 204. This SRS activation message includes the ID of the pre-configured SRS to be activated and part of (b) SRS information (e.g., path loss reference, spatial relationship, timing advance (TA) timer, and RSRP change threshold). The SRS activation message can be an RRC message, a MAC-CE, or a DCI. Then, UE 204 begins transmitting positioning SRS according to the activated configuration.

[0175] At stage 6, the gNB 222 receives an NRPPa location information update message from the LMF 270, which includes the ID of the activated location SRS.

[0176] At phase 7, the LMF 270 transmits an NRPPa measurement request message to the gNB / TRP group, which includes the location SRS measurement configuration (i.e., based on the ID received at phase 6).

[0177] At phase 8, gNB 222 transmits an RRC release message to UE 204 to release UE 204 into an RRC inactive state. If phase 5 does not occur, the RRC release message includes an SRS activation message. Then, various network entities execute... Figure 8B Stages 11 to 17 are illustrated in the text.

[0178] and Figure 8A and Figure 8BCompared to the process illustrated, no signaling is required for SRS configuration (phases 5, 6, 7, and 9), thus reducing SRS configuration latency and consequently reducing power consumption (i.e., reducing...). Figure 8A The UE "wake-up time" between stage 3 and stage 10.

[0179] Referring to the method by which a reference location server (e.g., LMF 270) calculates RTT measurements, the UE (e.g., UE 204) reports one or more UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements and their corresponding timestamps. A UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement can be defined as T... UE-RX -T UE-TX T UE-RX It is the UE receive timing of downlink subframe #i from the sending point (which is defined by the path first detected in time), and T UE-TX The timestamp is the UE transmission timing for the uplink subframe #j that is closest in time to the subframe #i received from the transmission point. One or more PRS resources can be used to determine the start of a subframe on the first arrival path from the transmission point. The reported timestamp is the UE reception timing for the downlink subframe #i.

[0180] Similarly, NG-RAN reports one or more gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurements and their corresponding timestamps. The location server is aware of the subframe boundary differences across NG-RAN nodes. The location server examines the timestamps and compiles the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements and gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurements taken at the closest temporal proximity.

[0181] This framework applies to the current definitions of UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement and gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurement because they are not coupled (i.e., the UE can receive PRS and measure UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, and independently transmit SRS for gNB measurement under the implicit assumption that the RTT does not change during this timeline). However, according to the updated definition of UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, if the UE compensates for the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement to make it valid for SRS transmission in different subframes, it needs to include the subframe number in which the SRS was transmitted. The location server must associate this UE measurement with the corresponding gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurement.

[0182] Additional options have been proposed to allow for reporting UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements. As one option, the UE may report an additional uplink timestamp associated with the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement corresponding to the transmission timing of the uplink subframe in which the positioning SRS is transmitted (e.g., the subframe number of the subframe in which the positioning SRS is transmitted). As another option, if the UE does not transmit the SRS in subframe #j and if the UE reports the additional timestamp of the positioning SRS associated with the measurement, it is expected that the UE will compensate for the difference between the transmission timing of uplink subframe #j and the transmission timing of the subframe containing the positioning SRS.

[0183] This disclosure provides techniques for ensuring the continuity of location sessions transmitted based on SRS at handover. A first technique described herein provides new signaling between the NG RAN and the location server to ensure the continuity of SRS transmission, and thus ensure uplink-based location sessions (including downlink- and uplink-based location sessions, such as multi-RTT) at handover. A second technique described herein provides UE signaling enhancements to indicate SRS resource changes before and after handover during UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement reporting.

[0184] Figure 10 An example location procedure according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated, which shows the signaling between the NG-RAN and the location server (LMF 270) to ensure the continuity of SRS transmission. Figure 10 The various operations / stages are similar to those in the aforementioned figures, and therefore will not be described further for the sake of brevity.

[0185] exist Figure 10 During the positioning process shown, the source NG-RAN node 222 includes positioning information in the handover request message sent in phase 4. The positioning information carries the SRS transmission feature requested at phase 2. In response, at phase 5, the target NG-RAN node 222 assigns an SRS (referred to as "pos-SRS") for positioning to UE 204 and includes the pos-SRS configuration in the RRCReconfiguration within the handover request acknowledgment (Ack). At phase 6, UE 204 receives the pos-SRS configuration from the target NG-RAN node 222.

[0186] At phase 6a, the source NG-RAN node 222 may optionally notify the LMF 270 that the UE 204 is performing or will perform a handover to the target NG-RAN node 222. This message may optionally indicate the estimated time for performing the handover and / or for the UE 204 to receive pos-SRS reconfiguration. The LMF 270 may use this time to pause the transmission of the next NRPPa location information request message.

[0187] After phase 6, UE 204 switches to a new cell (supported by target NG-RAN node 222), and at phase 8, target NG-RAN node 222 transmits an NRPPa location information update to LMF 270. The new SRS configuration can be indicated in this message. After phase 8, LMF 270 can transmit an NRPPa TRP measurement update message (not shown) to all NG-RAN nodes with the new SRS configuration.

[0188] Figure 11 An example location procedure according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated, which demonstrates the optimization of signaling between the NG-RAN and the location server (LMF 270) to ensure the continuity of SRS transmission. Figure 11 The various operations / stages are similar to those in the aforementioned figures, and therefore will not be described further for the sake of brevity.

[0189] exist Figure 11 In the positioning process shown, at stage 3, the source NG-RAN node 222 transmits the SRS configuration to the LMF 270. This SRS configuration is a list of SRS carriers (i.e., the cells in which the SRS is transmitted) indexed by the PCI. Figure 10 Compared to stage 8 in which the target NG-RAN node 222 signals the new SRS configuration to the LMF 270, here the target NG-RAN node 222 transmits an indicator pointing to the SRS resource that needs to be activated according to the pre-configured SRS resource list.

[0190] Techniques for UE signaling enhancements to indicate SRS resource changes before and after handover during UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement reporting are now described. If a cell change occurs during a positioning session (e.g., radio link failure (RLF), followed by cell reselection to another cell or handover), the UE's pos-SRS configuration changes (because the SRS is configured by the currently serving cell).

[0191] Currently, as described above, the UE can use the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement to report the timestamp of SRS transmission. However, the UE can calculate the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement and transmit SRS while camped in two different cells. Specifically, in the first scenario, the UE may measure the PRS for the UE Rx-Tx time difference when it connects to the first cell, and transmit the SRS for the UE Rx-Tx time difference when it connects to the second cell. In the second scenario, the UE may have already transmitted the SRS when it connects to the first cell, and measured the PRS when it connects to the second cell.

[0192] If the UE only transmits the subframe number of the subframe containing the SRS, the LMF cannot uniquely identify the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement and the associated gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurement by looking only at the following: (1) the UE timestamp (the timing of the PRS reception at the UE); (2) the UE SRS subframe number that compensates for the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement; and (3) the gNB timestamp (the timing of the SRS reception at the gNB).

[0193] Therefore, in addition to the subframe number of the subframe in which the SRS is transmitted, the UE can also report an indication that allows the LMF to uniquely identify the SRS resources used to transmit the SRS. As a first option, the UE can include the SRS resource configuration in the measurement report used for multi-RTT sessions. This measurement report can be, for example, the “NR-Multi-RTT-Measurement” information element included in the LPP location information message. The reported configuration will be the complete configuration for locating the SRS and will enable the location server to determine which SRS resources were transmitted at what times. The location server can then correlate the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement with the corresponding gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurement.

[0194] As a second option, the UE may include the timestamp associated with the SRS transmission used for UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement in the measurement report. This timestamp can be the frame number, subframe number, slot number, absolute time, etc., of the transmitted SRS. The measurement report should also include a pointer to the cell to which the transmitted SRS belongs. The identifier can be the cell's PCI, CGI, or Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (ARFCN), etc. Since the location server knows the cell's SRS configuration, it can determine which SRS resources were transmitted at the indicated timestamp. The location server can then associate the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement with the corresponding gNBRx-Tx time difference measurement.

[0195] Figure 12An example method 1200 for wireless communication according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1200 may be performed by a UE (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0196] At 1210, the UE obtains at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, which indicates the difference between the reception timing of the DL-PRS and the transmission timing of the positioning SRS. In one aspect, operation 1210 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0197] At 1220, the UE sends a measurement report to the location server. This measurement report includes at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more location SRS resources on which the location SRS is transmitted. In one aspect, operation 1220 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or location components 342, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing this operation.

[0198] As will be understood, the technical advantage of method 1200 is that when the UE is configured with location SRS, it reduces signaling overhead due to handover during active multi-RTT-based location sessions, thereby reducing latency.

[0199] As can be seen in the detailed description above, different features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as an intention to have more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various aspects of this disclosure may include fewer features than those in the individual example clauses disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should be regarded accordingly as incorporated into the description, where each clause may serve as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect of that dependent clause is not limited to that specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of a dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or combinations of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations unless explicitly stated or readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended for use (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Furthermore, it is contemplated that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause does not directly depend on the independent clause.

[0200] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0201] Clause 1. A method for wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: obtaining a receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement for at least one UE, the at least one UE receiving-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicating a difference between the receive timing of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmit timing of a positioning detection reference signal (SRS); and sending a measurement report to a location server, the measurement report including the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the receive timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmit timing, and an indication of one or more positioning SRS resources on which the positioning SRS is transmitted.

[0202] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources transmitted thereon includes an identifier of a serving cell that configures the one or more location SRS resources to the UE.

[0203] Clause 3. The method according to Clause 2, wherein the identifier of the serving cell includes: the physical cell identifier (PCI) of the serving cell, the cell global identifier (CGI) of the serving cell, or the absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN) of the serving cell.

[0204] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 2 to 3, wherein: the UE transfers from the source serving cell to the target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the serving cell is the target serving cell.

[0205] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 2 to 3, wherein: the UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the UE reselects to the serving cell after the RLF.

[0206] Clause 6. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 5, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources on which the location SRS is transmitted includes: the configuration of the one or more location SRS resources.

[0207] Clause 7. The method described in Clause 6, wherein the configuration of the one or more location SRS resources is received from the serving cell.

[0208] Clause 8. The method according to Clause 7, wherein: the UE is transferred from the source serving cell to the target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the serving cell is the target serving cell.

[0209] Clause 9. The method according to Clause 7, wherein: the UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the UE reselects the serving cell after the RLF.

[0210] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, wherein: the receiving timing includes a downlink frame, subframe or time slot in which the DL-PRS is received, and the transmitting timing includes an uplink frame, subframe or time slot in which the positioning SRS is transmitted, which is temporally closest to the downlink frame, subframe or time slot.

[0211] Clause 11. The method according to Clause 10, wherein: the first timestamp includes an identifier of the downlink frame, subframe, or time slot, and the second timestamp includes an identifier of the uplink frame, subframe, or time slot.

[0212] Clause 12. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 11, wherein the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement is obtained during a multiple round-trip time (multiple RTT) positioning process.

[0213] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 12, wherein the measurement report includes a location information message provided by the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP).

[0214] Clause 14. The method according to Clause 13, wherein the LPP provides location information messages including the “NR-Multi-RTT-SignalMeasurementInformation” information element.

[0215] Clause 15. A user equipment (UE) comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: obtain a receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement for at least one UE, the receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicating a difference between the receive timing of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of a positioning detection reference signal (SRS); and transmit a measurement report to a location server via the at least one transceiver, the measurement report including the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the receive timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more positioning SRS resources on which the positioning SRS is transmitted.

[0216] Clause 16. The UE as described in Clause 15, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources transmitted thereon includes an identifier of a serving cell that configures the one or more location SRS resources to the UE.

[0217] Clause 17. The UE as described in Clause 16, wherein the identifier of the serving cell includes: the physical cell identifier (PCI) of the serving cell, the cell global identifier (CGI) of the serving cell, or the absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN) of the serving cell.

[0218] Clause 18. The UE according to any one of Clauses 16 to 17, wherein: the UE is transferred from a source serving cell to a target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the serving cell is the target serving cell.

[0219] Clause 19. A UE according to any one of Clauses 16 to 17, wherein: the UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the UE reselects to the serving cell after the RLF.

[0220] Clause 20. The UE according to any one of Clauses 15 to 19, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources transmitted thereon by the location SRS includes: the configuration of the one or more location SRS resources.

[0221] Clause 21. The UE as described in Clause 20, wherein the configuration of the one or more location SRS resources is received from the serving cell.

[0222] Clause 22. The UE as described in Clause 21, wherein: the UE is transferred from a source serving cell to a target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the serving cell is the target serving cell.

[0223] Clause 23. The UE as described in Clause 21, wherein: the UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the UE reselects to the serving cell after the RLF.

[0224] Clause 24. The UE according to any one of Clauses 15 to 23, wherein: the reception timing includes a downlink frame, subframe or time slot in which the DL-PRS is received, and the transmission timing includes an uplink frame, subframe or time slot in which the positioning SRS is transmitted, which is temporally closest to the downlink frame, subframe or time slot.

[0225] Clause 25. The UE as described in Clause 24, wherein: the first timestamp includes an identifier of the downlink frame, subframe, or time slot, and the second timestamp includes an identifier of the uplink frame, subframe, or time slot.

[0226] Clause 26. The UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 15 to 25, wherein the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement is obtained during a multiple round-trip time (multiple RTT) positioning process.

[0227] Clause 27. The UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 15 to 26, wherein the measurement report includes a location information message provided by the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP).

[0228] Clause 28. The UE as described in Clause 27, wherein the LPP provides location information messages including the “NR-Multi-RTT-SignalMeasurementInformation” information element.

[0229] Clause 29. A user equipment (UE) comprising: means for obtaining at least one UE receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement, the at least one UE receiving-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicating a difference between the reception timing of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of a positioning detection reference signal (SRS); and means for sending a measurement report to a location server, the measurement report including the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more positioning SRS resources on which the positioning SRS is transmitted.

[0230] Clause 30. The UE as described in Clause 29, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources transmitted thereon includes an identifier of a serving cell that configures the one or more location SRS resources to the UE.

[0231] Clause 31. The UE as described in Clause 30, wherein the identifier of the serving cell includes: the physical cell identifier (PCI) of the serving cell, the cell global identifier (CGI) of the serving cell, or the absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN) of the serving cell.

[0232] Clause 32. The UE according to any one of Clauses 30 to 31, wherein: the UE is transferred from a source serving cell to a target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the serving cell is the target serving cell.

[0233] Clause 33. A UE according to any one of Clauses 30 to 31, wherein: the UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the UE reselects to the serving cell after the RLF.

[0234] Clause 34. The UE according to any one of Clauses 29 to 33, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources transmitted thereon by the location SRS includes: the configuration of the one or more location SRS resources.

[0235] Clause 35. The UE as described in Clause 34, wherein the configuration of the one or more location SRS resources is received from the serving cell.

[0236] Clause 36. The UE as described in Clause 35, wherein: the UE is transferred from a source serving cell to a target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the serving cell is the target serving cell.

[0237] Clause 37. The UE as described in Clause 35, wherein: the UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the UE reselects to the serving cell after the RLF.

[0238] Clause 38. The UE according to any one of Clauses 29 to 37, wherein: the reception timing includes a downlink frame, subframe or time slot in which the DL-PRS is received, and the transmission timing includes an uplink frame, subframe or time slot in which the positioning SRS is transmitted, which is temporally closest to the downlink frame, subframe or time slot.

[0239] Clause 39. The UE as described in Clause 38, wherein: the first timestamp includes an identifier of the downlink frame, subframe, or time slot, and the second timestamp includes an identifier of the uplink frame, subframe, or time slot.

[0240] Clause 40. The UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 29 to 39, wherein the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement is obtained during a multiple round-trip time (multiple RTT) positioning process.

[0241] Clause 41. The UE pursuant to any one of Clauses 29 to 40, wherein the measurement report includes a location information message provided by the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP).

[0242] Clause 42. The UE as described in Clause 41, wherein the LPP provides location information messages including the “NR-Multi-RTT-SignalMeasurementInformation” information element.

[0243] Clause 43. A non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: obtain at least one UE receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement, the at least one UE receiving-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicating a difference between the reception timing of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of a positioning detection reference signal (SRS); and send a measurement report to a location server, the measurement report including the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more positioning SRS resources on which the positioning SRS is transmitted.

[0244] Clause 44. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 43, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources transmitted thereon includes an identifier of a serving cell that configures the one or more location SRS resources to the UE.

[0245] Clause 45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 44, wherein the identifier of the serving cell includes: the physical cell identifier (PCI) of the serving cell, the cell global identifier (CGI) of the serving cell, or the absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN) of the serving cell.

[0246] Clause 46. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 44 to 45, wherein: the UE is transferred from a source serving cell to a target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the serving cell is the target serving cell.

[0247] Clause 47. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 44 to 45, wherein: the UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the UE reselects to the serving cell after the RLF.

[0248] Clause 48. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 43 to 47, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources on which the location SRS is transmitted comprises: the configuration of the one or more location SRS resources.

[0249] Clause 49. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 48, wherein the configuration of the one or more location SRS resources is received from the serving cell.

[0250] Clause 50. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 49, wherein: the UE is transferred from a source serving cell to a target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the serving cell is the target serving cell.

[0251] Clause 51. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 49, wherein: the UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and the UE reselects to the serving cell after the RLF.

[0252] Clause 52. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 43 to 51, wherein: the reception timing includes a downlink frame, subframe, or time slot in which the DL-PRS is received, and the transmission timing includes an uplink frame, subframe, or time slot in which the positioning SRS is transmitted, which is temporally closest to the downlink frame, subframe, or time slot.

[0253] Clause 53. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 52, wherein: the first timestamp includes an identifier of the downlink frame, subframe, or time slot, and the second timestamp includes an identifier of the uplink frame, subframe, or time slot.

[0254] Clause 54. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 43 to 53, wherein the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement is obtained during a multiple round-trip time (multiple RTT) positioning procedure.

[0255] Clause 55. A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 43 to 54, wherein the measurement report includes a location information message provided by the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP).

[0256] Clause 56. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 55, wherein the LPP provides location information messages including the “NR-Multi-RTT-SignalMeasurementInformation” information element.

[0257] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0258] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above in general terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application; however, such implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0259] The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternative embodiments, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0260] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software module can reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Example storage media are coupled to a processor such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can be integral with the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and storage medium can reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0261] In one or more of the examples, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored as one or more instructions or code on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, which includes any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage devices, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Furthermore, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of a medium. As used herein, disks and optical discs include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0262] While the foregoing disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of this disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, the functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to the aspects of this disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Moreover, although elements of this disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural form may also be considered unless explicitly stated as limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Obtain at least one UE receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement, wherein the at least one UE receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicates the difference between the reception timing of the downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of the positioning detection reference signal (SRS); as well as A measurement report is sent to a location server, the measurement report including the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more location SRS resources on which the location SRS is transmitted.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources transmitted thereon includes an identifier of a serving cell that configures the one or more location SRS resources to the UE.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the identifier of the serving cell comprises: The Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) of the serving cell; The Cell Global Identifier (CGI) of the serving cell. or The absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN) of the serving cell.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The UE transfers from the source serving cell to the target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and The serving cell is the target serving cell.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and The UE reselects the serving cell after the RLF.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources on which the location SRS is transmitted comprises: The configuration of one or more location SRS resources.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the configuration of the one or more location SRS resources is received from the serving cell.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The UE transfers from the source serving cell to the target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and The serving cell is the target serving cell.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and The UE reselects the serving cell after the RLF.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The reception timing includes the downlink frames, subframes, or time slots in which the DL-PRS is received, and The transmission timing includes the uplink frame, subframe, or time slot in which the positioning SRS is transmitted that is most temporally close to the downlink frame, subframe, or time slot.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein: The first timestamp includes the identifier of the downlink frame, subframe, or time slot, and The second timestamp includes the identifier of the uplink frame, subframe, or time slot.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement is obtained during a multiple round-trip time (multiple RTT) positioning process.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement report includes a location information message provided by the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP).

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the LPP provides location information message including the "NR-Multi-RTT-SignalMeasurementInformation" information element.

15. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprising: Memory; At least one transceiver; and At least one processor, communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: Obtain at least one UE receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement, wherein the at least one UE receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicates the difference between the reception timing of the downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of the positioning detection reference signal (SRS); as well as A measurement report is sent to a location server via the at least one transceiver. The measurement report includes the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more location SRS resources on which the location SRS is transmitted.

16. The UE of claim 15, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources transmitted thereon includes an identifier of a serving cell that configures the one or more location SRS resources to the UE.

17. The UE of claim 16, wherein the identifier of the serving cell includes: The Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) of the serving cell; The Cell Global Identifier (CGI) of the serving cell. or The absolute radio frequency channel number (ARFCN) of the serving cell.

18. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: The UE transfers from the source serving cell to the target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and The serving cell is the target serving cell.

19. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: The UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and The UE reselects the serving cell after the RLF.

20. The UE of claim 15, wherein the indication of the one or more location SRS resources transmitted thereon by the location SRS comprises: The configuration of one or more location SRS resources.

21. The UE of claim 20, wherein the configuration of the one or more location SRS resources is received from the serving cell.

22. The UE according to claim 21, wherein: The UE transfers from the source serving cell to the target serving cell between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and The serving cell is the target serving cell.

23. The UE according to claim 21, wherein: The UE experiences a radio link failure (RLF) between receiving the DL-PRS and transmitting the positioning SRS, and The UE reselects the serving cell after the RLF.

24. The UE according to claim 15, wherein: The reception timing includes the downlink frames, subframes, or time slots in which the DL-PRS is received, and The transmission timing includes the uplink frame, subframe, or time slot in which the positioning SRS is transmitted that is most temporally close to the downlink frame, subframe, or time slot.

25. The UE according to claim 24, wherein: The first timestamp includes the identifier of the downlink frame, subframe, or time slot, and The second timestamp includes the identifier of the uplink frame, subframe, or time slot.

26. The UE of claim 15, wherein the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement is obtained during a multiple round-trip time (multiple RTT) positioning process.

27. The UE of claim 15, wherein the measurement report includes a location information message provided by the Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP).

28. The UE of claim 27, wherein the LPP provides location information message including the "NR-Multi-RTT-SignalMeasurementInformation" information element.

29. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprising: A component for obtaining at least one UE receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement, wherein the UE receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicates the difference between the reception timing of the downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of the positioning detection reference signal (SRS); and A component for sending a measurement report to a location server, the measurement report including at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more location SRS resources on which the location SRS is transmitted.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: Obtain at least one UE receive a transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement, wherein the at least one UE receives a transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement indicating the difference between the reception timing of the downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and the transmission timing of the positioning detection reference signal (SRS); and A measurement report is sent to a location server, the measurement report including the at least one UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, a first timestamp indicating the reception timing, a second timestamp indicating the transmission timing, and an indication of one or more location SRS resources on which the location SRS is transmitted.

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