User equipment-to-user equipment ranging based on internet of vehicles

Abstract

Techniques for determining a location of at least one target user equipment (UE) relative to a source UE, where the source UE and the at least one target UE communicate with a communication network having at least one radio access network (RAN) and a network entity, the technique includes sending a request for positioning information for a first location of the at least one target UE relative to the source UE to the network entity via at least one transceiver and the at least one RAN; and receiving, via the at least one transceiver, the positioning information from the network entity, wherein the positioning information is based on a location of the at least one target UE.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 18 / 469,983, filed on September 19, 2023, entitled “VEHICLE-TO-EVERYTHING BASEDUSER EQUIPMENT TO USER EQUIPMENT RANGING,” which has been assigned to the assignee of this application, and the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Background Technology

[0003] Wireless communication systems have gone through several generations of development, including first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data wireless service with internet capabilities, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., LTE or WiMax). ® This includes fifth-generation (5G) services (e.g., 5G New Radio (NR)). Currently, there are many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular analog advanced mobile phone systems (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), and Global System for Mobile Access (GSM) TDMA variants.

[0004] The fifth-generation (5G) mobile standard demands higher data transmission speeds, a greater number of connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide tens of megabits per second (Mbps) of data to each of tens of thousands of users, or 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support large-scale sensor deployments, it should support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be improved, and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard.

[0005] Currently, wireless vehicle communication systems are needed for achieving higher levels of autonomous driving in certain vehicles using cellular access technologies or direct access technologies (known as Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC)) that are also called vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technologies. Generally, DSRC between vehicles utilizes sidelink interfaces by autonomously selecting the radio resources of different vehicles; however, such DSRC methods can be challenging due to connectivity issues between different vehicles.

[0006] V2X technology typically involves high-bandwidth and low-latency communication using sensors, cameras, and wireless connectivity, allowing vehicles to share real-time information with their drivers, other vehicles, pedestrians, and road infrastructure such as traffic signals. The goal is usually to determine the position of one or more target vehicles relative to source vehicles. Summary of the Invention

[0007] An example of a user equipment (UE) that communicates with a communication network having at least one radio access network (RAN) and a physical network according to the present disclosure includes at least one transceiver, at least one memory, and at least one processor coupled to the at least one transceiver and the at least one memory. The at least one processor is configured to: transmit a request via the at least one transceiver through a radio interface for location information of at least one target UE relative to a first location of the UE to a network entity of the communication network, the communication network including at least one radio access network (RAN); and receive the location information via the at least one transceiver through the radio interface from the network entity, wherein the location information is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0008] An example method for determining the location of at least one target user equipment (UE) relative to a source UE, wherein the source UE and at least one target UE communicate with a communication network having at least one radio access network (RAN) and a network entity, the method comprising sending a request to the network entity via at least one transceiver and the at least one RAN for location information of the at least one target UE relative to the source UE; and receiving the location information from the network entity via the at least one transceiver, wherein the location information is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0009] An example network entity includes at least one transceiver; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one transceiver and the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to: determine a first location of a source user equipment (UE); determine the location of at least one target UE; and transmit location information of the at least one target UE relative to the first location of the source UE to the source UE via the at least one transceiver, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0010] Another example method for determining the location of at least one target user equipment (UE) relative to a source UE via a network entity communicating with a communication network includes: determining a first location of the source UE; determining the location of the at least one target UE; and transmitting location information of the at least one target UE relative to the source UE via at least one transceiver to the source UE, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0011] Other devices, apparatuses, systems, methods, features, and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description, and will be obvious to those skilled in the art. It is intended that all such additional devices, apparatuses, systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within the scope of this description and disclosure, and protected by the appended claims. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0013] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The system block diagram shown is of the components of an example user equipment.

[0014] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 The system block diagram shown is of the components of an example send / receive point.

[0015] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 The system block diagram of the components of the example server is shown.

[0016] Figure 5 A system block diagram for determining the location of at least one target UE relative to a source UE using at least two radio access networks (RANs).

[0017] Figure 6 For use Figure 5 The diagram shows a message diagram illustrating an example network-assisted localization process for determining the location of at least one target UE relative to a source UE.

[0018] Figure 7 A system block diagram for a system used to determine the location of at least one target UE relative to a source UE using at least three RANs.

[0019] Figure 8 A system block diagram for a system used to determine the location of at least one target UE relative to a source UE using a single RAN.

[0020] Figure 9 A block flowchart of a method performed by a UE to determine the location of at least one target UE relative to a source UE.

[0021] Figure 10 A block flowchart of a method performed by a network entity to determine the location of at least one target UE relative to a source UE. Detailed Implementation

[0022] This article discusses techniques for providing UE-to-UE ranging based on vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and everything-to-vehicle (V2N2V) communication. The discussion focuses on examples of systems configured to provide, for example, V2N2V-based UE-to-UE ranging between a source UE and a first target UE using: a first UE-to-network radio interface communicating with the source UE, at least one radio access network (RAN), a network entity, and a second UE-to-network radio interface communicating with the first target UE.

[0023] The examples in this disclosure can be used for sidelink positioning using V2N2X signaling and protocols. More specifically, an example request for sidelink ranging between a source UE and a target UE is discussed via a UE-to-network radio interface (e.g., UMTS Air Interface (Uu), LTE-Uu interface, New Radio Uu interface (NR-Uu), or a similar type of radio interface). In this example, the source UE may provide the target UE's V2X identifier (ID) in an LPP message, which the target UE intends to use to perform ranging. The source UE may also provide, for example, the target UE's SUCI (Subscriber Hidden Identifier) ​​and GPSI (General Public Subscription Identifier) ​​with a mapping to the V2X ID in the V2X system. An example Location Management Function (LMF) operation in response to a request from the source UE is also discussed, which may include, for example, an LMF initiation request to locate the target UE and the source UE using conventional uplink / downlink methods. In this example, the LMF may provide the source UE with the distance (from the determined location of the source and target UEs). For example, the LMF can explicitly provide the source UE ID in the location request of the LPP message to indicate to the target UE that the current location request is not due to a network request, but rather attributable to a ranging request from another V2X source UE. In this example, the LMF provides the target UE with the opportunity to participate in or not participate in the ranging process with the source UE. Furthermore, the target UE can selectively instruct the LMF, for example, to share ranging result information only with a specific set of originating UEs based on one or more criteria. This allows the target UE to distinguish which requesting source UE (if any) will receive the target UE's relative location or ranging. In this example, the LMF can provide the source UE with Uu relative location and ranging result information based on the privacy, preference, or both indicated by the target UE. However, other configurations can be used.

[0024] The projects and / or technologies described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned. Other capabilities may be provided, and not every specific implementation of this disclosure is required to provide any, let alone all, of the capabilities discussed.

[0025] Obtaining the location of a mobile device accessing a wireless network can be used for many applications, including emergency calls, personal navigation, consumer asset tracking, locating friends or family members, etc. Existing positioning methods include those based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices or entities, including satellite vehicles (SVs) in wireless networks and terrestrial radio sources such as base stations and access points. Standardization for 5G wireless networks is expected to include support for various positioning methods that can utilize reference signals transmitted by base stations for location determination in a manner similar to how LTE wireless networks currently use Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) and / or Cell-Specific Reference Signals (CRS).

[0026] The description herein can refer to a sequence of actions to be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. The various actions described herein can be performed by special-purpose circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. The sequence of actions described herein can be embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause the associated processor to perform the functions described herein. Therefore, the various examples described herein can be embodied in several different forms, all of which fall within the scope of this disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0027] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not specific to or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT) unless otherwise specified. Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used to communicate over a wireless communication network. 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 Terminal,” “Mobile Station,” “Mobile Equipment,” or variations thereof. In general, a UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the 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 via wired access networks, WiFi, etc. ® Networks (e.g., based on IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11, etc.). In addition to exchanging information with each other via a network, or instead of exchanging information with each other via a network, two or more UEs can communicate directly.

[0028] Depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, the base station can operate according to one of several RATs when communicating with the UE. Examples of base stations include access points (APs), network nodes, NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), or generic NodeBs (gNodeBs, gNBs). Furthermore, 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.

[0029] The UE can be represented by any of several types of devices, including but not limited to printed circuit (PC) cards, compact flash memory devices, external or internal modems, wireless or wired phones, smartphones, tablet devices, consumer asset tracking devices, asset tags, etc. The communication link through which the UE can transmit signals to the RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the RAN can transmit signals to the UE is called a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" can refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0030] As used herein, depending on the context, the term "cell" or "sector" may correspond to one of a plurality of cells of a base station or to the base station itself. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a carrier) and may be associated with identifiers to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)). In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells and may be configured with different cell types based on different protocol types that can provide access to different types of devices (e.g., Machine-Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). In some examples, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of the geographic coverage area on which a logical entity operates (e.g., a sector).

[0031] refer to Figure 1Examples of communication system 100 include UE 105, UE 106, radio access network (RAN) (here, fifth-generation (5G) next-generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) 135), 5G core network (5GC) 140, and server 150. UE 105 and / or UE 106 can be, for example, an IoT device, a location tracker device, a cellular phone, a vehicle (e.g., a car, truck, bus, ship, etc.), or another device. 5G network can also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135 can be referred to as 5G RAN or NR RAN; and 5GC 140 can be referred to as NG core network (NGC). Standardization of NG-RAN and 5GC is underway within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Therefore, NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 can follow current or future standards from 3GPP for 5G support. NG-RAN 135 can be another type of RAN, such as 3G RAN, 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. UE 106 can be configured and coupled similarly to UE 105 to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from similar other entities in system 100, but for simplicity of the figures, in Figure 1 Such signaling is not indicated in this document. Similarly, for simplicity, the discussion focuses on UE 105. Communication system 100 may utilize information from a constellation 185 of satellite spacecraft (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 from a satellite positioning system (SPS) such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou, or some other local or regional SPS (such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Coverage Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)). Additional components of communication system 100 are described below. Communication system 100 may include additional or optional components.

[0032] like Figure 1As shown, NG-RAN 135 includes NR nodeBs (gNB) 110a, 110b and next-generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, and 5GC 140 includes Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) 115, Session Management Functions (SMF) 117, Location Management Functions (LMF) 120 and Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125. gNB 110a, gNB 110b and ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, each configured to conduct bidirectional wireless communication with UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to AMF 115 and configured to conduct bidirectional communication with AMF. gNB 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 may be referred to as base stations (BS). AMF 115, SMF 117, LMF 120 and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client 130. SMF 117 can be used as the initial contact point for Service Control Function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions. Base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) can be macrocells (e.g., high-power cellular base stations), small cells (e.g., low-power cellular base stations), or access points (e.g., short-range base stations configured to use short-range technologies such as WiFi). ® WiFi ® Direct connection (WiFi) ® -D), Bluetooth ® ,Bluetooth ® Low power (BLE), Zigbee ® (e.g., one or more of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) can be configured to communicate with UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic area (e.g., cell). Each cell can be divided into multiple sectors based on the base station antennas.

[0033] Figure 1Generalized examples of various components are provided, wherein any or all of the components may be appropriately utilized, and each component may be repeated or omitted as needed. Specifically, although a UE 105 is illustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in communication system 100. Similarly, communication system 100 may include a larger (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNBs 110a and 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external client 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0034] Although Figure 1 A 5G-based network is illustrated, but similar network implementations and configurations can be used for other communication technologies such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. The specific implementations described herein (for 5G technology and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) can be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105), and / or provide location assistance to UE 105 (via GMLC 125 or other location servers), and / or calculate the location of UE 105 at a location-capable device (such as UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, or LMF 120) based on measurement parameters received at UE 105 for such directional transmissions. Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114, and gNB (gNodeB) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by, or include, various other location server functions and / or base station functions, respectively.

[0035] System 100 is capable of wireless communication because its components can communicate directly or indirectly (at least sometimes using a wireless connection), for example, via gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 and / or 5GC 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other transceiver base stations). For indirect communication, the communication can be modified during transmission from one entity to another, for example, by changing the header information of data packets, changing the format, etc. UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be mobile wireless communication devices, but can communicate wirelessly as well as via wired connections. UE 105 can be any of a variety of devices, such as smartphones, tablets, vehicle-based devices, etc., but these are merely examples, as UE 105 does not need to be any of these configurations, and other configurations of UEs can be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or head-mounted devices, etc.). Other UEs, whether currently existing or developed in the future, may also be used. In addition, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) can be implemented within system 100 and can communicate with each other and / or with UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, 5GC 140, and / or external client 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. 5GC 140 can communicate with external client 130 (e.g., a computer system), for example, to allow external client 130 (e.g., via GMLC 125) to request and / or receive location information about UE 105.

[0036] UE 105 or other devices can be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi). ® Communication, multi-frequency Wi-Fi ®The system includes communication technologies such as satellite positioning, and one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (vehicle-to-everything, e.g., V2P (vehicle-to-pedestrian), V2I (vehicle-to-infrastructure), V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.). V2X communication can be cellular (Cellular-V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Connectivity)). System 100 can support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). The multi-carrier transmitter can simultaneously transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal can be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on a different carrier and can carry pilot information, overhead information, data, etc. UEs 105 and 106 can communicate with each other via UE-to-UE sidelink (SL) communication by transmitting on one or more sidelink (SL) channels, such as the Physical Sidelink Synchronization Channel (PSSCH), Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), or Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH). Direct wireless device-to-wireless communication (without a network) is generally referred to as sidelink communication, without limiting the communication to a specific protocol.

[0037] UE 105 may include and / or may be referred to as a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), Secure User Plane Location Enabled (SUPL) terminal (SET), or some other name. Furthermore, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, smartphone, laptop computer, tablet device, PDA, consumer asset tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, health monitor, security system, smart city sensor, smart meter, wearable tracker, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, although not mandatory, UE 105 may use one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs) to support wireless communication, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi, etc. ® (Also known as Wi-Fi) ® ),Bluetooth ® (BT), WiMax (Global Microwave Access) ®5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC140), etc. UE 105 can use a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) to support wireless communication, which can connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable. Using one or more of these RATs allows UE 105 (e.g., via elements of 5GC 140) Figure 1 (not shown in the image), or possibly via GMLC 125, to communicate with external client 130 and / or allow external client 130 (e.g., via GMLC 125) to receive location information about UE 105.

[0038] UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network, where the user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O (input / output) devices, and / or body sensors, as well as separate wired or wireless modems. An estimate of the location of UE 105 may be referred to as location, location estimate, location fixed, fixed, positioning, location estimation, or location fixed, and may be geographic, providing the location coordinates of UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude), which may or may not include an elevation component (e.g., height above sea level; height above ground level, floor level, or basement level, or depth below). Alternatively, the location of UE 105 may be represented as a municipal location (e.g., a postal address or a designation of a point or smaller area within a building, such as a specific room or floor). The location of UE 105 may be represented as an area or volume (geographically or municipally defined) within which UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of UE 105 can be represented as a relative location, which includes, for example, distance and direction relative to a known location. This relative location can be represented as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to an origin at a known location, which can be, for example, geographically, municipally, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated, for example, on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term "location" can include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of the UE, local x, y, and (possibly also) z coordinates are typically solved, and then (if necessary) the local coordinates are converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0039] UE 105 can be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. UE 105 can be configured to indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. D2D P2P links can be supported using any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi, etc. ® Direct connection (WiFi) ® -D), Bluetooth ® One or more UEs in a UE group utilizing D2D communication may be located within the geographic coverage area of ​​a Transmit / Receive Point (TRP) (such as one or more of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114). Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may be unable to receive transmissions from the base station for other reasons. A UE group communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without involving a TRP. One or more UEs in a UE group utilizing D2D communication may be located within the geographic coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may be unable to receive transmissions from the base station for other reasons. A UE group communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources used for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without involving TRP.

[0040] Figure 1 The base stations (BS) in NG-RAN 135 shown include NR nodes B (referred to as gNB 110a and gNB 110b). Each pair of gNBs 110a and 110b in NG-RAN 135 can be interconnected via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to UE 105 via wireless communication with one or more of gNBs 110a and gNBs 110b. These gNBs can use 5G to provide wireless communication access to 5GC 140 on behalf of UE 105. Figure 1 In this context, it is assumed that the serving gNB of UE 105 is gNB 110a, but another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) may act as the serving gNB or as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105 if UE 105 moves to another location.

[0041] Figure 1 The base station (BS) in NG-RAN 135 shown may include ng-eNB 114, also known as Next Generation Evolved Node B. ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of gNBs 110a and 110b in NG-RAN 135 via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to UE 105. One or more of gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured to act as a location-only beacon, which may transmit signals to assist in determining the location of UE 105, but may not receive signals from UE 105 or other UEs.

[0042] gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 may each include one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a cell of the BS may include a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., a shared processor but with separate antennas). System 100 may include only macro TRPs, or system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro TRPs, pico TRPs, and / or femto TRPs. Macro TRPs may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. Pico TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. Femto or home TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access by terminals associated with that femto cell (e.g., terminals of users in a home).

[0043] Each of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 may include a Radio Unit (RU), a Distributed Unit (DU), and a Central Unit (CU). For example, the gNB 110b includes RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113. RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113 divide the functionality of the gNB 110b. Although the gNB 110b is shown as having a single RU, a single DU, and a single CU, a gNB may include one or more RUs, one or more DUs, and / or one or more CUs. The interface between CU 113 and DU 112 is referred to as the F1 interface. RU 111 is configured to perform digital front-end (DFE) functions (e.g., analog-to-digital conversion, filtering, power amplification, transmit / receive) and digital beamforming, and includes part of the physical (PHY) layer. RU 111 may perform DFE using massive MIMO and may be integrated with one or more antennas of the gNB 110b. DU 112 hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC), and Physical Layer of gNB 110b. A DU can support one or more cells, and each cell is supported by a single DU. The operation of DU 112 is controlled by CU 113. CU 113 is configured to perform functions for delivering user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, location, session management, etc., although some functions are only assigned to DU 112. CU 113 hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of gNB 110b. UE 105 can communicate with CU 113 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with DU 112 via the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers, and with RU 111 via the PHY layer.

[0044] As pointed out, although Figure 1 The diagram depicts nodes configured to communicate according to 5G communication protocols, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (such as LTE or IEEE 802.11x) can also be used. For example, in an evolved packet system (EPS) providing LTE radio access to UE 105, the RAN may include an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations containing evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may include an evolved packet core (EPC). The EPS may include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, wherein the E-UTRAN and... Figure 1 The NG-RAN 135 in the figure corresponds to EPC and the 5GC 140 in the figure corresponds to EPC.

[0045] gNB 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 can communicate with AMF 115; for positioning functions, AMF communicates with LMF 120. AMF 115 supports the mobility of UE 105 (including cell changes and handover) and can participate in supporting signaling connections with UE 105 and (possibly) data and voice bearers for UE 105. LMF 120 can communicate directly with UE 105, for example, wirelessly, or directly with gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. LMF 120 can support UE 105 positioning when UE 105 accesses NG-RAN 135, and can support various positioning procedures / methods, such as Auxiliary GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., Downlink (DL) OTDOA or Uplink (UL) OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), and / or other positioning methods. LMF 120 can process, for example, location service requests for UE 105 received from AMF 115 or GMLC 125. LMF 120 can connect to AMF 115 and / or GMLC 125. LMF 120 can be referred to by other names, such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value-Added LMF (VLMF). The node / system implementing LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobility Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the location of UE 105) may be performed at UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by UE 105 against signals transmitted by radio nodes (such as gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114), and / or auxiliary data provided to UE 105, for example, by LMF 120). AMF 115 may serve as a control node for handling signaling between UE 105 and 5GC 140 and may provide QoS (Quality of Service) streaming and session management. AMF 115 may support the mobility of UE 105 (including cell changes and handover) and may participate in supporting signaling connections with UE 105.

[0046] Server 150 (e.g., a cloud server) is configured to obtain the location estimate of UE 105 and provide it to external client 130. Server 150 may be configured, for example, to run a microservice / service for obtaining the location estimate of UE 105. Server 150 may, for example (e.g., by sending a location request to it), pull the location estimate from one or more of UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b (e.g., via RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113) and / or ng-eNB 114 and / or LMF 120. As another example, one or more of UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b (e.g., via RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113) and / or LMF 120 may push the location estimate of UE 105 to server 150.

[0047] GMLC 125 can support location requests for UE 105 received from external client 130 via server 150, and can forward such location requests to AMF 115 for forwarding to LMF 120, or can forward the location request directly to LMF 120. A location response from LMF 120 (e.g., containing a location estimate for UE 105) can be returned to GMLC 125 directly or via AMF 115, and GMLC 125 can then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to external client 130 via server 150. GMLC 125 is shown connected to both AMF 115 and LMF 120, but in some implementations it may not be connected to either AMF 115 or LMF 120.

[0048] like Figure 1 As a further example, the LMF 120 can use the new radio positioning protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa) to communicate with gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114, which can be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa can be the same as, similar to or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, where NRPPa messages are transmitted via AMF 115 between gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and LMF 120, and / or between ng-eNB 114 and LMF 120. Figure 1As a further example, LMF 120 and UE 105 can communicate using the LTE Location Protocol (LPP), which is defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. LMF 120 and UE 105 can also communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between UE 105 and LMF 120 via AMF 115 and UE 105's serving gNB 110a, 110b, or serving ng-eNB 114. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between LMF 120 and AMF 115 using the 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP), and between AMF 115 and UE 105 using the 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocols can be used to support the location of UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods (such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID). The NRPPa protocol can be used to support the location of UE 105 using network-based positioning methods (such as E-CID) (e.g., when used in conjunction with measurements obtained by gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or can be used by LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as defining parameters sent by directional SS or PRS from gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. LMF 120 can be co-located or integrated with gNB or TRP, or can be configured to be located away from gNB and / or TRP and communicate directly or indirectly with gNB and / or TRP.

[0049] Using a UE-assisted positioning method, UE 105 can obtain location measurements and transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for calculating a location estimate for UE 105. For example, location measurements may include one or more of the following: Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round-Trip Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and / or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN AP. Location measurements may additionally or alternatively include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase for SV 190-193.

[0050] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE 105 can obtain a location measurement (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to the location measurement of a UE-assisted positioning method) and can calculate the location of UE 105 (e.g., by means of auxiliary data received from a location server (such as LMF 120) or broadcast by gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 or other base stations or APs).

[0051] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs can obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or Time of Arrival (ToA) of signals transmitted by UE 105) and / or can receive measurements obtained by UE 105. One or more base stations or APs can transmit the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for calculating a location estimate for UE 105.

[0052] The information provided to the LMF 120 by the gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directing SS or PRS transmissions, as well as location coordinates. The LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information as supplementary data to the UE 105 in LPP and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN 135 and 5GC140.

[0053] The LPP or NPP message transmitted from LMF 120 to UE 105 can command UE 105 to perform any of a variety of tasks according to the desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message may contain instructions for UE 105 to obtain measurements of GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may command UE 105 to obtain measurements supported by one or more of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or by some other type of base station such as eNB or WiFi). ® One or more measurement parameters (e.g., beam ID, beamwidth, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within a specific cell supported by the AP. UE 105 can transmit these measurement parameters back to LMF 120 via serving gNB110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and AMF 115 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message).

[0054] As noted, while a communication system 100 is described in relation to 5G technology, the communication system 100 can be implemented to support other communication technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.) for supporting and interacting with mobile devices (such as UE 105) (e.g., to perform voice, data, location, and other functions). In some such specific implementations, the 5GC 140 can be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the 5GC 140 can use non-3GPP interoperability functions (N3IWF) in the 5GC 140. Figure 1 (Not shown) Connected to a WLAN. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi for UE 105. ® Access, and may include one or more WiFi networks. ® AP. Here, the N3IWF can connect to the WLAN and other components in the 5GC 140, such as the AMF 115. In some specific implementations, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 can be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in EPS, the NG-RAN 135 can be replaced by an E-UTRAN containing eNBs, and the 5GC 140 can be replaced by an EPC containing a Mobility Management Entity (MME) instead of the AMF 115, an E-SMLC instead of the LMF 120, and a GMLC that can be similar to the GMLC 125. In such EPS, the E-SMLC can use LPPa instead of NRPPa to transmit location information to and receive location information from eNBs in the E-UTRAN, and can use LPP to support the location of the UE 105. In these other examples, the location of UE 105 using directional PRS can be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks. The difference lies in the fact that the functions and procedures described herein for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 can, in some cases, be alternatively applied to other network elements, such as eNBs and WiFi. ® AP, MME, and E-SMLC.

[0055] As noted, in some examples, positioning functionality can be achieved at least in part using directional SS or PRS beams transmitted by base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) at the location of the UE (e.g., whose location is to be determined). Figure 1 Within the range of UE 105. In some instances, the UE can use directional SS or PRS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, etc.) to calculate the UE's location.

[0056] Also refer to Figure 2UE 200 may be an example of one of UEs 105 and 106, and may include a computing platform containing processor 210, a memory 211 containing software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for transceivers 215 (including wireless transceiver 240 and wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning device (PD) 219. The processor 210, memory 211, sensors 213, transceiver interface 214, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, and positioning device 219 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 220 (which may be configured for, for example, optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., camera 218, positioning device 219, and / or one or more sensors in sensor 213, etc.) may be omitted from UE 200. Processor 210 may include one or more hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 210 may include multiple processors, including a general-purpose / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of processors 230 to 234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, sensor processor 234 may include processors for, for example, RF (radio frequency) sensing (where one or more transmitted (cellular) wireless signals and reflections are used to identify, map, and / or track objects) and / or ultrasound, etc. Modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, a SIM (subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module) may be used by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by the end user of UE 200 to obtain connectivity. Memory 211 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 211 may store software 212, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that, when executed, cause processor 210 to perform the various functions described herein. Alternatively, software 212 may not be directly executable by processor 210, but may be configured, for example, to cause processor 210 to perform these functions when compiled and executed. The description herein may refer to processor 210 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations of processor 210 performing software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the execution of functions by processor 210 as a shortened form of processor-executed functions among processors 230-234.The description herein may be referred to as the abbreviation for the execution of functions by one or more appropriate components of UE 200. Processor 210 may include memory with stored instructions as a supplement to and / or replacement of memory 211. The functionality of processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0057] Figure 2 The configuration of UE 200 shown is exemplary and not intended to limit this disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, an exemplary configuration of the UE may include one or more of processors 230 to 234 in processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Other exemplary configurations may include one or more of processors 230 to 234 in processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver, and one or more of the following devices: sensor 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PD 219, and / or wired transceiver.

[0058] UE 200 may include a modem processor 232 capable of performing baseband processing on signals received and downconverted by transceiver 215 and / or SPS receiver 217. Modem processor 232 may also perform baseband processing on signals to be upconverted for transmission by transceiver 215. Alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0059] UE 200 may include sensor 213, which may include, for example, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 270, one or more magnetometers 271, and / or one or more environmental sensors 272. IMU 270 may include, for example, one or more accelerometers 273 (e.g., collectively responding to acceleration of UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes 274 (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscopes). Sensor 213 may include one or more magnetometers 271 (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometers) to determine (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north) an orientation that can be used for any of a variety of purposes, such as supporting one or more compass applications. Environmental sensors 272 may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones, etc. Sensor 213 may generate analog and / or digital signals, indications of which may be stored in memory 211 and processed by DSP 231 and / or general-purpose / application processor 230 to support one or more applications, such as applications involving positioning and / or navigation operations. Sensor 213 may include one or more of other various types of sensors, such as one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors.

[0060] Sensor 213 can be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by sensor 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based position determination, and / or sensor-assisted position determination. Sensor 213 can be used to determine whether UE 200 is stationary or moving and / or whether certain useful information related to the mobility of UE 200 needs to be reported to LMF 120. For example, based on information obtained / measured by sensor 213, UE 200 can notify / report to LMF 120 that UE 200 has detected movement or that UE 200 has moved, and report relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning implemented by sensor 213, or sensor-based position determination, or sensor-assisted position determination). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensor / IMU can be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of another device relative to UE 200, etc.

[0061] IMU 270 can be configured to provide measurements of the direction and / or velocity of motion of UE 200, which can be used for relative position determination. For example, one or more accelerometers 273 and / or one or more gyroscopes 274 of IMU 270 can detect the linear acceleration and rotational velocity of UE 200, respectively. The linear acceleration and rotational velocity measurements of UE 200 can be integrated over time to determine the instantaneous direction of motion and displacement of UE 200. The instantaneous direction of motion and displacement can be integrated to track the position of UE 200. For example, a reference position of UE 200 at a given moment can be determined, for example, using SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means), and measurements acquired from accelerometers 273 and gyroscopes 274 after that moment can be used for dead reckoning to determine the current position of UE 200 based on the movement (direction and distance) of UE 200 relative to that reference position.

[0062] Magnetometer 271 can determine the strength of magnetic fields in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of UE 200. For example, this orientation can be used to provide a digital compass for UE 200. The magnetometer may include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. Magnetometer 271 may also include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. Magnetometer 271 may provide components for sensing magnetic fields and, for example, providing an indication of the magnetic field to processor 210.

[0063] Transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to antenna 246 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals 248 and converting signals from wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 248. Wireless transmitter 242 includes suitable components (e.g., power amplifiers and digital-to-analog converters). Wireless receiver 244 includes suitable components (e.g., one or more amplifiers, one or more frequency filters, and analog-to-digital converters). Wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 can be configured to transmit signals according to various radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., with TRP and / or one or more other devices), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone Systems), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), and WiFi. ® WiFi ® Direct connection (WiFi) ® -D), Bluetooth ® Zigbee ®The new radio can use millimeter wave frequencies and / or frequencies below 6 GHz. Wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface used to communicate with and receive communications from NG-RAN 135. Wired transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wired receiver 254 may include multiple receivers, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 250 may be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communication. Transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to transceiver interface 214, for example, via optical and / or electrical connections. Transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with transceiver 215. The wireless transmitter 242, the wireless receiver 244, and / or the antenna 246 may each include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and / or multiple antennas for transmitting and / or receiving appropriate signals, respectively.

[0064] User interface 216 may include one or more of a plurality of devices, such as, for example, a speaker, microphone, display device, vibration device, keyboard, touch screen, etc. User interface 216 may include more than one of these devices. User interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications hosted by UE 200. For example, user interface 216 may, in response to actions from the user, store indications of analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 for processing by DSP 231 and / or general-purpose / application processor 230. Similarly, applications hosted on UE 200 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 to present output signals to the user. User interface 216 may include audio input / output (I / O) devices, including, for example, speakers, microphones, digital-to-analog circuitry, analog-to-digital circuitry, amplifiers, and / or gain control circuitry (including more than one of these devices). Other configurations of the audio I / O devices may be used. Alternatively or additionally, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors that respond to touch and / or pressure on, for example, the keyboard and / or touchscreen of the user interface 216.

[0065] SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) may be able to receive and acquire SPS signal 260 via SPS antenna 262. SPS antenna 262 is configured to convert SPS signal 260 from a wireless signal to a wired signal (e.g., an electrical or optical signal) and may be integrated with antenna 246. SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process the acquired SPS signal 260 fully or partially to estimate the location of UE 200. For example, SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine the location of UE 200 by performing trilateration using SPS signal 260. The acquired SPS signal may be processed fully or partially using general-purpose / application processor 230, memory 211, DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown), and / or the estimated location of UE 200 may be calculated. Memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of SPS signal 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from wireless transceiver 240) for use in performing positioning operations. General-purpose / application processor 230, DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors, and / or memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for processing measurements to estimate the location of UE 200.

[0066] UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or moving images. Camera 218 may include, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device or a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) imager), lenses, analog-to-digital circuitry, frame buffers, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of signals representing the captured images may be performed by a general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or a DSP 231. Alternatively or additionally, a video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of signals representing the captured images. The video processor 233 may decode / decompress stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown), for example, the user interface 216.

[0067] Location device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the location of UE 200, the movement of UE 200, and / or the relative location of UE 200, and / or time. For example, PD 219 may communicate with SPS receiver 217 and / or include part or all of the SPS receiver. PD 219 may, where appropriate, work in conjunction with processor 210 and memory 211 to perform at least a portion of one or more location methods, although the description herein may refer to PD 219 being configured to perform according to a location method or the PD performing according to a location method. PD 219 may additionally or alternatively be configured to: perform trilateration using terrestrial signals (e.g., at least some radio signals 248), assist in acquisition, and use SPS signal 260, or both, to determine the location of UE 200. PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of UE 200 based on the cell of the serving base station (e.g., cell center) and / or another technology (such as E-CID). PD 219 can be configured to determine the location of UE 200 using one or more images from camera 218 and image recognition combined with the known location of landmarks (e.g., natural landmarks such as mountains and / or man-made landmarks such as buildings, bridges, streets, etc.). PD 219 can be configured to determine the location of UE 200 using one or more other technologies (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., part of the UE's positioning beacon)), and can use a combination of these technologies (e.g., SPS and terrestrial positioning signals) to determine the location of UE 200. PD 219 may include one or more sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, etc.) that can sense the orientation and / or motion of UE 200 and provide an indication of such orientation and / or motion. Processor 210 (e.g., general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or DSP 231) can be configured to use this indication to determine the motion of UE 200 (e.g., velocity vector and / or acceleration vector). PD 219 can be configured to provide an indication of uncertainty and / or error in the determined positioning and / or motion. The functionality of PD 219 can be provided in a variety of ways and / or configurations, such as by a general-purpose / application processor 230, transceiver 215, SPS receiver 217 and / or another component of UE 200, and can be provided by hardware, software, firmware or various combinations thereof.

[0068] Also refer to Figure 3Examples of TRP 300 for gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 include a computing platform containing processor 310, memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and transceiver 315. Processor 310, memory 311 and transceiver 315 are communicatively coupled to each other via bus 320 (which may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more devices in the illustrated apparatus (e.g., wireless transceivers) may be omitted from TRP 300. Processor 310 may include one or more hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 310 may include multiple processors (e.g., including general-purpose / application processors, DSPs, modem processors, video processors and / or sensor processors, such as... Figure 2 (As shown). Memory 311 may be a non-transitory storage medium including random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM). Memory 311 may store software 312, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 310 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 312 may not be directly executable by processor 310, but may be configured to cause processor 310 to perform these functions, for example, when compiled and executed.

[0069] The description herein refers to the execution function of processor 310, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations of software and / or firmware executed by processor 310. The description herein may refer to the execution function of processor 310 as an abbreviation for one or more processor execution functions contained in processor 310. This description may refer to the TRP 300 execution function as an abbreviation for the execution of that function by one or more suitable components (e.g., processor 310 and memory 311) of TRP 300 (and thereby one of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114). Processor 310 may include memory with stored instructions as a supplement and / or replacement for memory 311. The functionality of processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0070] Transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 348 and converting signals from wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 348. Therefore, wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 can be configured to support various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), and WiFi. ® WiFi ® Direct connection (WiFi) ® -D), Bluetooth ® Zigbee ® The wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with NG-RAN 135 to transmit and receive communications to, for example, LMF 120 and / or one or more other network entities. The wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0071] Figure 3The configuration of TRP 300 shown is illustrative and not intended to limit this disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses that TRP 300 may be configured to perform several functions or that the TRP performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by LMF 120 and / or UE 200 (i.e., LMF 120 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0072] Also refer to Figure 4 Server 400 (LMF 120 may be an example thereof) may include: a computing platform including processor 410, a memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. Processor 410, memory 411, and transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other via bus 420 (which may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more devices in the illustrated apparatus (e.g., a wireless transceiver) may be omitted from server 400. Processor 410 may include one or more hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 410 may include multiple processors (e.g., including general-purpose / application processors, DSPs, modem processors, video processors, and / or sensor processors, such as… Figure 2 (As shown). Memory 411 may be a non-transitory storage medium including random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM). Memory 411 may store software 412, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 410 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 412 may not be directly executable by processor 410, but may be configured to cause processor 410 to perform these functions, for example, when compiled and executed. The description herein may refer to processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations of processor 410 performing software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the function performed by processor 410 as an abbreviation for one or more processors included in processor 410 performing functions. The description herein may refer to the function performed by server 400 as an abbreviation for one or more suitable components of server 400 performing functions. Processor 410 may include memory with the stored instructions as a supplement to and / or alternative to memory 411. The functionality of processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0073] Transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 and converting signals from wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 448. Therefore, wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 can be configured to support various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), and WiFi. ® WiFi ® Direct connection (WiFi) ® -D), Bluetooth ® Zigbee ® The wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with NG-RAN 135 to transmit and receive communications to, for example, TRP 300 and / or one or more other network entities. The wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0074] The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations of software and / or firmware (stored in memory 411) performed by the processor 410. The description herein may refer to the server 400 performing functions as an abbreviation for one or more appropriate components of the server 400 (e.g., processor 410 and memory 411) performing functions.

[0075] Figure 4The configuration of server 400 shown is exemplary and not intended to limit this disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Additionally or alternatively, the description herein discusses server 400 being configured to perform certain functions or the server performing certain functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., TRP 300 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0076] Positioning technology

[0077] For terrestrial positioning of UEs in cellular networks, techniques such as Advanced Forward Link Trilateral Measurement (AFLT) and Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) typically operate in a “UE-assisted” mode, where measurements of reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) transmitted by the base station are acquired by the UE and subsequently provided to a location server. The location server calculates the UE’s location based on this measurement and the known location of the base station. Because these techniques use a location server (rather than the UE itself) to calculate the UE’s location, they are not frequently used in applications such as car or cellular phone navigation, which typically rely on satellite-based positioning instead.

[0078] UEs can use Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) to achieve high-accuracy positioning using Precise Point Positioning (PPP) or Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) techniques. These techniques use auxiliary data, such as measurements from ground-based stations. LTE Release 15 allows data to be encrypted so that only UEs subscribed to the service can read it. This auxiliary data changes over time. Therefore, a UE with a subscribed service may not be able to easily "crack" the encryption for other UEs by passing the data to them without paying for the subscription. This transmission needs to be repeated every time the auxiliary data changes.

[0079] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE transmits measurements (e.g., TDOA, Angle of Arrival (AoA), etc.) to a positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has a Base Station Almanac (BSA), which contains multiple "entries" or "records," one record per cell, where each record contains the geographic cell location, but may also include other data. Identifiers of the "records" among the multiple "records" in the BSA can be referenced. The BSA and measurements from the UE can be used to calculate the UE's positioning.

[0080] In conventional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own location, thus avoiding transmitting measurements to the network (e.g., a location server), which improves latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of the gNB (more broadly, the base station)). BSA information can be encrypted. However, since BSA information changes much less frequently than, for example, PPP or RTK auxiliary data described above, it may be easier to make BSA information available to UEs that have not subscribed and have not paid for decryption keys (compared to PPP or RTK information). The transmission of reference signals by the gNB makes BSA information potentially accessible to crowdsourcing or driving attacks, thus essentially enabling BSA information to be generated based on in-the-field and / or over-the-top observations.

[0081] Positioning technologies can be characterized and / or evaluated based on one or more criteria, such as positioning accuracy and / or latency. Latency is the time elapsed between the event that triggers the determination of positioning-related data and the availability of that data at the positioning system interface (e.g., the interface of an LMF 120). The latency for the availability of positioning-related data at the time of positioning system initialization is called the First Fix (TTFF), and is greater than the latency after the TTFF. The reciprocal of the time elapsed between two consecutive availability periods of positioning-related data is called the update rate, i.e., the rate at which positioning-related data is generated after the TTFF. Latency can depend on (e.g., the UE's) processing capacity. For example, assuming an allocation of 272 PRBs (Physical Resource Blocks), the UE can report its processing capacity as the duration (in time units, e.g., milliseconds) of DL PRS symbols that it can process per T time units (e.g., Tms). Other examples of capabilities that may affect latency include the number of TRPs from which the UE can process PRS, the number of PRSs the UE can process, and the UE's bandwidth.

[0082] One or more of many different positioning techniques (also known as positioning methods) can be used to determine the location of an entity (such as one of UE105, 106). Known positioning techniques include RTT, multiple RTT, OTDOA (also known as TDOA and including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), Enhanced Cell Identification (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses the time it takes for a signal to travel from one entity to another and back to determine the range between the two entities. The range, plus the known location of the first entity and the angle between the two entities (e.g., azimuth), can be used to determine the location of the second entity. In multiple RTT (also known as multi-cell RTT), multiple ranges from one entity (e.g., UE) to other entities (e.g., TRP) and the known locations of other entities can be used to determine the location of that one entity. In TDOA, the time difference of travel between an entity and other entities can be used to determine the relative range with respect to other entities, and this relative range, combined with the known locations of other entities, can be used to determine the location of that one entity. Angle of arrival and / or angle of departure can be used to help determine the location of an entity. For example, the angle of arrival or departure of a signal, combined with the range between devices (distances determined using signals (e.g., signal travel time, signal received power, etc.)) and the known location of one of these devices, can be used to determine the location of another device. The angle of arrival or departure can be an azimuth angle relative to a reference direction (such as true north). The angle of arrival or departure can also be a zenith angle relative to directly upwards from the entity (i.e., radially outwards from the Earth's center). E-CID uses the identity of the serving cell, timing advance (i.e., the difference between the reception time and transmission time at the UE), estimated timing and power of detected neighboring cell signals, and possible angles of arrival (e.g., the angle of arrival of signals from the base station at the UE, or vice versa) to determine the location of the UE. In TDOA, the time difference of arrival of signals from different sources at the receiving device, along with the known locations of these sources and the known offsets of the transmission times from these sources, are used to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0083] In network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on the serving cells of two or more neighboring base stations (and typically the serving base station, as at least three base stations are required). These one or more base stations transmit the RTT measurement signals on low-reuse resources (e.g., resources used by the base station to transmit system information) allocated by the network (e.g., a location server, such as LMF 120). The UE records the arrival time (also referred to as the reception time, received time, time of receipt, or time of arrival (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE's current downlink timing (e.g., as derived by the UE from DL signals received from its serving base station), and (e.g., when instructed by its serving base station) transmits a shared or individual RTT response message (e.g., an SRS (Sound Reference Signal) for positioning, i.e., UL-PRS) to these one or more base stations, and may include the time difference TRx→Tx between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message (i.e., UE TRx-Tx or UERx-Tx) in the payload of each RTT response message. The RTT response message will include a reference signal from which the base station can infer the Time of Arrival (ToA) of the RTT response. By comparing the difference T_(Tx→Rx) between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT response at the base station with the time difference T_(Rx→Tx) reported by the UE and subtracting UERx-Tx, the base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE. Based on this propagation time, the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station by assuming the speed of light during this propagation time.

[0084] UE-centric RTT estimation is similar to network-based methods, except that the UE sends an uplink RTT measurement signal (e.g., when commanded by a serving base station), which is received by multiple base stations near the UE. Each base station involved responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include in its payload the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal at the base station and the time of transmission of the RTT response message from the base station.

[0085] For both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the side performing RTT calculation (network or UE) typically (but not always) sends a first message or signal (e.g., an RTT measurement signal), while the other side responds with one or more RTT response messages or signals, which may include the difference between the ToA of the first message or signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message or signal.

[0086] Multiple RTT (Multiple Real-Time Toll) technology can be used to determine location. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) may transmit one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and multiple second entities (e.g., other TSPs, such as a base station and / or the UE) may receive signals from the first entity and respond to those received signals. The first entity receives responses from the multiple second entities. The first entity (or another entity, such as an LMF) may use the responses from the second entities to determine the range to the second entities, and the location of the first entity may be determined by trilateration using the multiple ranges and the known locations of the second entities.

[0087] In some instances, additional information in the form of angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD) can be obtained, which defines a straight-line direction (e.g., this direction can be in a horizontal plane or in three dimensions) or a possible (e.g., the UE's direction as seen from the base station's location) range of directions. The intersection of the two directions can provide another estimate of the UE's location.

[0088] For positioning techniques that use PRS (Location Reference Signal) signals (e.g., TDOA and RTT), the PRS signals transmitted by multiple TRPs are measured, and the arrival time, known transmission time, and known location of the TRPs are used to determine the range from the UE to the TRPs. For example, RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) can be determined for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs, and this RSTD is used in TDOA techniques to determine the UE's location. The Location Reference Signal may be referred to as the PRS or PRS signal. PRS signals are typically transmitted using the same power, and PRS signals with the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency shift) may interfere with each other, causing a PRS signal from a more distant TRP to be overwhelmed by a PRS signal from a closer TRP, making the signal from the more distant TRP undetectable. PRS silencing can be used to help reduce interference by silencing some PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signal, e.g., reducing it to zero and thus not transmitting the PRS signal). In this way, the UE can more easily detect the weaker PRS signal (at the UE) without the interference of the stronger PRS signal. The term RS and its variations (e.g., PRS, SRS, CSI-RS (Channel State Information - Reference Signal)) can refer to one or more reference signals.

[0089] The Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) comprises a downlink PRS (DL PRS, often simply referred to as PRS) and an uplink PRS (UL PRS) (the uplink PRS may be referred to as the SRS (Sound Reference Signal) used for positioning). The PRS may include PN codes (pseudo-random codes) or be generated using PN codes (e.g., by modulating a carrier signal with PN codes) so that the PRS source can be used as a pseudo-satellite. The PN code can be unique for the PRS source (at least unique within a specified region, such that the same PRS from different PRS sources does not overlap). The PRS may include PRS resources of a frequency layer and / or a set of PRS resources. The DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply frequency layer) is a collection of DL PRS resource sets from one or more TRPs, whose PRS resources have common parameters configured by the higher-level parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer (DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer), DL-PRS-ResourceSet (DL-PRS-Resource Set), and DL-PRS-Resource (DL-PRS-Resource). Each frequency layer has a DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the DL PRS resource set and DL PRS resources within that frequency layer. Each frequency layer also has a DL PRS cyclic prefix (CP) for the DL PRS resource set and DL PRS resources within that frequency layer. In 5G, a resource block occupies 12 consecutive subcarriers and a specified number of symbols. A shared resource block is a set of resource blocks that occupy the channel bandwidth. A bandwidth portion (BWP) is a set of consecutive shared resource blocks and may include all shared resource blocks within the channel bandwidth or a subset of those shared resource blocks. Furthermore, the DL PRS point A parameter defines the frequency of a reference resource block (and its lowest subcarrier), where DL PRS resources belonging to the same DL PRS resource set have the same point A, and all DL PRS resource sets belonging to the same frequency layer have the same point A. The frequency layers also have the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size value (i.e., the frequency of the PRS resource element per symbol, such that for comb-N, every Nth resource element is a PRS resource element). A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and can be associated with a specific TRP (identified by a cell ID) transmitted by the antenna panel of a base station. The PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set can be associated with an omnidirectional signal and / or with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (where a base station can transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam, and thus, a PRS resource (or simply a resource) can also be referred to as a beam. There is no indication as to whether the base station and beam transmitting the PRS on it are known to the UE.

[0090] The TRP can be configured, for example, by instructions received from a server and / or by software within the TRP, to transmit DL PRS according to a schedule. Depending on this schedule, the TRP can transmit DL PRS intermittently (e.g., periodically at consistent intervals from the initial transmission). The TRP can be configured to transmit one or more PRS resource sets. A resource set is a collection of PRS resources spanning a TRP, wherein the resources have the same periodicity, a shared silent mode configuration (if any), and the same cross-slot repetition factor. Each PRS resource set comprises multiple PRS resources, wherein each PRS resource comprises multiple OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) resource elements (REs), which may reside in multiple resource blocks (RBs) within N (or more) consecutive symbols in a time slot. PRS resources (or, in general, reference signal (RS) resources) may be referred to as OFDM PRS resources (or OFDMRS resources). An RB is a set of REs spanning a certain number of one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain and a certain number (12 for 5G RBs) of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. Each PRS resource is configured using RE offset, slot offset, and symbol offset within a slot, as well as the number of consecutive symbols that a PRS resource can occupy within a slot. The RE offset defines the initial RE offset of the first symbol within a DL PRS resource in the frequency. The relative RE offsets of the remaining symbols within a DL PRS resource are defined based on the initial offset. The slot offset is the starting slot of the DL PRS resource relative to the corresponding resource set slot offset. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting slot. Transmitted REs can be repeated across slots, with each transmission referred to as a repetition, allowing for multiple repetitions within a PRS resource. DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP, and each DL PRS resource has a DL PRS resource ID. The DL PRS resource ID in a DL PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (although a TRP can transmit one or more beams).

[0091] PRS resources can also be defined by quasi-co-location parameters and starting PRB parameters. The quasi-co-location (QCL) parameter defines any quasi-co-location information of the DLPRS resource with other reference signals. The DL PRS can be configured to be of QCL type D with DL PRS or SS / PBCH (Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel) blocks from the serving cell or non-serving cell. The DL PRS can be configured to be of QCL type C with SS / PBCH blocks from the serving cell or non-serving cell. The starting PRB parameter defines the starting PRB index of the DLPRS resource with respect to reference point A. This starting PRB index has a granularity of one PRB and can have a minimum value of 0 PRBs and a maximum value of 2176 PRBs.

[0092] A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources with the same periodicity, the same silent mode configuration (if any), and the same cross-slot repetition factor. Each time all repetitions of all PRS resources in a PRS resource set are configured to be transmitted is called an "instance". Therefore, an "instance" of a PRS resource set is a specified number of repetitions for each PRS resource and a specified number of PRS resources within the PRS resource set, such that the instance is complete once the specified number of repetitions has been transmitted for each of the specified number of PRS resources. An instance can also be referred to as an "opportunity". A DLPRS configuration, including DL PRS transmission scheduling, can be provided to the UE to facilitate (or even enable) the UE to measure DL PRS.

[0093] Multiple frequency layers of a PRS can be aggregated to provide an effective bandwidth greater than any bandwidth in the individual layers. Multiple frequency layers belonging to component carriers (which can be consecutive and / or separate) and satisfying criteria such as Quasi-Co-location (QCL) and having the same antenna port can be stitched together to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for DL ​​PRS and UL PRS), thereby improving the accuracy of time of arrival measurements. Stitching involves combining PRS measurements on individual bandwidth segments into a unified fragment, such that the stitched PRS can be considered as taken from a single measurement. In the case of QCL, different frequency layers behave similarly, resulting in a larger effective bandwidth for PRS stitching. The larger effective bandwidth (which may be referred to as the bandwidth of the aggregated PRS or the frequency bandwidth of the aggregated PRS) provides better time-domain resolution (e.g., the resolution of TDOA). The aggregated PRS comprises a collection of PRS resources, and each PRS resource in the aggregated PRS may be referred to as a PRS component, and each PRS component may be transmitted on different component carriers, frequency bands, or frequency layers, or on different portions of the same frequency band.

[0094] RTT positioning is an active positioning technology because RTT uses positioning signals transmitted from the TRP to the UE and from the UE (participating in RTT positioning) to the TRP. The TRP can transmit DL-PRS signals received by the UE, and the UE can transmit SRS (Sound Reference Signal) signals received by multiple TRPs. The Sound Reference Signal may be referred to as SRS or SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, coordinated positioning can be used, where the UE transmits a single UL-SRS for positioning received by multiple TRPs, instead of transmitting a separate UL-SRS for positioning for each TRP. A participating TRP will typically search for UEs currently residing on that TRP (the served UE, where the TRP is the serving TRP) and also search for UEs residing on neighboring TRPs (neighbor UEs). A neighboring TRP can be a TRP of a single BTS (Broadband Transceiver Station) (e.g., gNB), or it can be a TRP of one BTS and a TRP of a single BTS. For RTT positioning (including multi-RTT positioning), the DL-PRS and UL-SRS positioning signals in the PRS / SRS positioning signal pair used to determine the RTT (and thus the range between the UE and TRP) may occur close to each other in time, so that the errors caused by UE movement and / or UE clock drift and / or TRP clock drift are within acceptable limits. For example, the signals in the PRS / SRS positioning signal pair may be transmitted from the TRP and the UE within approximately 10 ms of each other. In cases where the SRS for positioning is being transmitted by the UE and the PRS and the SRS for positioning are transmitted close to each other in time, it has been found that this may lead to radio frequency (RF) signal congestion (which may result in excessive noise, etc.) (especially if many UEs are concurrently attempting positioning), and / or may lead to computational congestion at the TRP where many UEs are concurrently attempting to measure.

[0095] RTT positioning can be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, UE 200 determines the RTT and corresponding range to each TRP in TRP 300, and determines the location of UE 200 based on the range to TRP 300 and the known location of TRP 300. In UE-assisted RTT, UE 200 measures positioning signals and provides measurement information to TRP 300, and TRP 300 determines the RTT and range. TRP 300 provides the range to a location server (e.g., server 400), and the server determines the location of UE 200, for example, based on the range to different TRP 300s. RTT and / or range can be determined by TRP 300 receiving signals from UE 200, by TRP 300 in conjunction with one or more other devices (e.g., one or more other TRP 300s and / or server 400), or by one or more devices other than TRP 300 receiving signals from UE 200.

[0096] 5G NR supports various positioning technologies. NR-native positioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL-only positioning, UL-only positioning, and DL+UL positioning. Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. Combined DL+UL positioning methods include RTT with one base station and RTT with multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

[0097] Location estimates (e.g., for a UE) may be referred to by other names, such as location estimation, location, positioning, fixed positioning, etc. Location estimates may be geodesic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible altitude), or they may be municipal and include street addresses, postal addresses, or some other textual description of the location. Location estimates may be further defined relative to another known location or (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible altitude) in absolute terms. Location estimates may include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including areas or volumes that the location is expected to be included with a specified or default confidence level). Location information may include (e.g., one or more satellite signals, PRS, and / or one or more other signals) one or more location signal measurements, and / or one or more values ​​based on one or more location signal measurements (e.g., one or more distances (possibly including one or more pseudoranges), and / or one or more location estimates, etc.).

[0098] refer to Figure 5This diagram illustrates a block diagram of a system 500 for determining the location of at least one target UE (such as a first target UE 502) relative to a source UE 504 using at least two radio access networks (RANs) 506 and 508. System 500 may be configured to provide UE-to-UE ranging based on vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and everything-to-vehicle (V2N2V) communication. In this example, system 500 may include network entity 510, at least two RANs 506 and 508. The source UE 504 may be located within a vehicle and may include at least one transceiver, at least one memory, and at least one processor that communicates signalingly with the at least one transceiver and the at least one memory. The source UE 504 may be a mobile device that can be physically integrated within a vehicle, or a mobile device that is user-accessible when a user uses a vehicle, such as, for example, a cellular phone, tablet computer, mobile computer, etc. Network entity 510 may also include at least one transceiver, at least one memory, and at least one processor that communicates signalingly with the at least one transceiver and the at least one memory. In this example, network entity 510 can be, for example, an LMF (as previously described as LMF 120), a 5G core (as previously described as a 5G core 140 including LMF 120), and / or a server (as previously described as...). Figure 4 The server 400 shown. In this example, the first RAN 506 may be a cellular base station communicating with, for example, UEs (including source UE 504) within the first cellular coverage area 512. Additionally, in this example, source UE 504 may be located at a first location 514. The second RAN 508 may also be a cellular base station communicating with other UEs within the second cellular coverage area 516. In this example, the second RAN 508 communicates with multiple UEs, including, for example, a first target UE 502 at a second location 518, a second target UE 520 at a third location 522, and a third target UE 524 at a fourth location 526. Source UE 504 communicates with the first RAN 506 via a first UE-to-network radio interface 528 (also commonly referred to as a "radio interface"), and target UEs 502, 520, and 524 each communicate individually with the second RAN 508 via UE-to-network radio interfaces 530, 532, and 534, respectively. In this example, the UE-to-network radio interface can be, for example, a UMTS air interface (Uu), an LTE-Uu interface, a New Radio Uu interface (NR-Uu), or a similar type of radio interface. For ease of illustration, only three target UEs 502, 520, and 524 are shown, but it should be understood that more UEs may be present within the second cellular coverage area 516. Additionally, in this example, for illustrative purposes, each target UE 502, 520, and 524 is shown as being in a different vehicle.

[0099] The circuits, components, modules, and / or devices associated with or belonging to network entity 510, at least two RANs 506 and 508, source UE 504, and target UEs 502, 520, and 524 are described as “signaling communication” (or interchangeably referred to as “communication”) with each other, where signaling communication refers to any type of communication and / or connection between circuits, components, modules, and / or devices that allows the circuit, component, module, and / or device to transmit and / or receive signals and / or information from another circuit, component, module, and / or device. This communication and / or connection can be along any signal path between these circuits, components, modules, and / or devices that allows signals and / or information to be transmitted from one circuit, component, module, and / or device to another, and includes wireless or wired signal paths. These signal paths can be physical, such as, for example, wires, electromagnetic waveguides, cables, attached and / or electromagnetically or mechanically coupled terminals, semiconductor or dielectric materials or devices, or other similar physical connections or couplings. Additionally, the signal path can be non-physical, such as free space (in the case of electromagnetic propagation) or an information path via digital components, where communication information can be transferred from one circuit, component, module, and / or device to another in different digital formats without the need for a direct electromagnetic connection.

[0100] In an operational example from the perspective of source UE 504, at least one processor within source UE 504 is configured to send a request (via at least one transceiver of source UE 504) to network entity 510 for location information of at least one target UE relative to location 514 of source UE 504. In this example, at least one processor of source UE 504 is configured to request location information of a first target UE 502; and to send the request for location information to network entity 510 via at least one transceiver through the first UE-to-network radio interface 528 of the first RAN 506. At least one processor of source UE 504 is further configured to receive location information from network entity 510 using at least one transceiver via the first UE-to-network radio interface 528 of the first RAN 506. In this example, the location information is based on location 518 of the first target UE 502.

[0101] At least one processor of source UE 504 may be further configured to receive context-aware message 536 from network entity 510. Context-aware message 536 includes identification information (e.g., multiple V2X identifiers (IDs)) of multiple target UEs (including target UEs 502, 520, and 524) within the second cellular coverage area 516 of the second RAN 508. Once received, at least one processor of source UE 504 may be further configured to send a request for location information based on the identification information of at least one of the multiple target UEs (i.e., the first target UE 502). In this example, at least one processor of source UE 504 may also be further configured to generate target identification data (i.e., the V2X ID of a specific target UE among multiple V2X IDs) and send a request for location information based on the target identification data (i.e., the V2X ID), wherein the V2X ID is based on previously acquired identification information. Alternatively, at least one processor of the source UE 504 may also be configured to generate a target V2X ID and use the V2X ID to send a request for direct location information from the first target UE 502 (via at least one transceiver and side link channel 538).

[0102] In this example, the location information of the first target UE 502 may be its actual location 518, relative location, and / or distance from the location of the source UE 504. As an example, based on potential privacy or security concerns that can be imposed on system 500, network entity 510 may be configured not to provide the source UE 504 with the actual location 518 of the target UE 502, but only with the relative location 514 of the target UE 502 relative to the location 514 of the source UE 504. In this example, the location information includes the relative location 514 of the first target UE 502 relative to the location 514 of the source UE 504. At least one processor of the source UE 502 may be further configured to receive the distance 540 between the location 518 of the first target UE 504 and the location 514 of the source UE 504. In this example, the location information may also include the distance 540 between the location 518 of the first target UE 502 and the location 514 of the source UE 504.

[0103] The network entity 510 is then configured to, at least one processor of the network entity 510, determine the locations 514 and 518 of the source UE 504 and the target UE 502, respectively, and transmit the location information of the target UE 502 (relative to location 514 of the source UE 504) to the source UE 504 (via at least one transceiver of the network entity 510). The at least one processor of the network entity 510 may also be configured to receive a request from the source UE 504 for the location information of the target UE 502 via at least one transceiver; and, in response to receiving the request, determine the location 518 of the first target UE 502 and transmit the location information to the source UE 504. At least one processor of network entity 510 may be further configured to generate identification information for multiple target UEs (including first target UE 502, second target UE 520, and third target UE 524) within the second coverage area 516 of the second RAN 508; and to send a context-aware message 536, wherein the context-aware message 536 includes the identification information, to source UE 504 via at least one transceiver of network entity 510. In this example, a request from source UE 504 for location information of first target UE 502 may be based on the identification information of first target UE 502 among the multiple target UEs within the second coverage area 516.

[0104] In this example, at least one processor of network entity 510 may also be configured to determine distance data based on the location 514 of source UE 504 and the location 518 of first target UE 502; and to determine the relative position of first target UE 502 relative to the location 514 of source UE 504. In this example, as previously described, the positioning information of first target UE 502 may include distance data and relative position of first target UE 502.

[0105] In these examples, the relative location of the first target UE 502 is an approximate location of the first target UE 502 that is approximately the same as the actual location 518 of the first target UE 502. In this example, due to privacy and / or security concerns associated with system 500 and that may be related to the first target UE 502, network entity 510 may decide to provide only the relative location of the first target UE 502.

[0106] At least one processor of network entity 510 may also be configured to determine the actual location, relative location, and distance of other target UEs (e.g., second target UE 520 and third target UE 524) within the second coverage area 516. In this example, at least one processor of network entity 510 may also be configured to determine the location 514 of the first target UE 504 (as previously described), the location 522 of the second target UE 520, and optionally the locations of other target UEs (e.g., the third target 524 at location 526) within the second coverage area 516. In this example, the location information generated by network entity 510 may include the actual or relative location of the second target UE 520, and optionally the actual or relative location of other target UEs within the second coverage area 516. Additionally, the location information may include first distance data and second distance data for the first target UE 502 and the second target UE 520, respectively. At least one processor of network entity 510 may be further configured to determine the location 518 of the first target UE 502 using the received first location data, and to determine the location 522 of the second target UE 520 using the received second location data.

[0107] Therefore, system 500 is configured to provide, for example, V2N2V-based UE-to-UE ranging between source UE 504 and first target UE 502 using a first UE-to-network radio interface 528 and a second UE-to-network radio interface 530. The first UE-to-network radio interface communicates with source UE 504, first RAN 506, network entity 510, and second RAN 508, while the second UE-to-network radio interface communicates with first target UE 502. In this example, network entity 510 initiates a request to locate first target UE 502 and source UE 504 via the first UE-to-network radio interface 528 and the second UE-to-network radio interface 530 using a conventional uplink / downlink method. Subsequently, network entity 510 provides source UE 504 with the distance (from the determined location of source UE 502 and first target UE 502).

[0108] In this example, the source UE 504 may or may not be concerned with the absolute location (i.e., location 518) of the first target UE 502, but may only be concerned with the relative location (i.e., location 514) of the first target UE 502 relative to the location (i.e., location 514) of the first target UE 504. In this example, at the request of the source UE 504, the network entity 510 can provide the distance (i.e., location 540) between the source UE 504 and the first target UE 502, as well as the relative location (i.e., location 518) of the source UE 504, without exposing the actual location (i.e., location 518) of the first target UE 502.

[0109] More specifically, network entity 510 may perform the routine positioning of source UE 504 and all target UEs requested by source UE 504 (e.g., position 518 of the first target UE 502, position 522 of the second target UE 520, and position 526 of the third target UE 524). Network entity 510 may then determine the relative positioning of one or more target UEs relative to source UE 504. In this example, determining the relative positioning includes determining, for example, such as One or more distances between the position angles / elevation angles are specified without indicating the absolute position angles / elevation angles to maintain security / privacy. Network entity 510 can then determine the relative distances between the source UE 504 and all target UEs based on the above. As an example, the first target UE 502 may be at a position angle of 20 degrees relative to the source UE 504. This information may be disclosed to the source UE 504 without exposing the location of the first target UE 502 (i.e., position 518) to the source UE 504.

[0110] If no privacy or security issues are associated with system 500, network entity 510 may also optionally provide the actual location (i.e., location 518) of the first target UE 502. As an example, system 500 may be used to update an existing Uu network to provide V2X services.

[0111] In these examples, network entity 510 initiates a location request for the first UE (i.e., target UE 502) at the request of the second UE (i.e., source UE 504). This differs from known methods where the first or second UE requests location on its own or the network independently determines to locate the first or second UE. In these examples, network entity 510 provides the V2X ID of source UE 504 in the location request, such as an LPP message, to indicate to the first target UE 502 that the current location request is not at the request of network entity 510, but is attributed to a ranging request from another UE (e.g., source UE 504). This provides the first target UE 502 with the opportunity to participate or not participate in the ranging process. This process can be extended to other target UEs within the second coverage area 516 of the second RAN 508. In this example, the first target UE 502 may indicate to network entity 510 that it only wishes to share ranging information with the initiating UE (e.g., source UE 504) of a specific group.

[0112] System 500 can also be configured to provide a sidelink channel 538 for ranging with a target UE (e.g., first target UE 502) via a first UE to network radio interface 528 and a second UE to network radio interface 530. In this example, in one or more of the following examples, the source UE 504 may provide a ranging request with the first target UE 502 via LPP. As an example, the source UE 504 may provide the V2X ID of the first target UE 502 in an LPP message, which the source UE 504 intends to perform ranging with. As previously discussed, in this example, the V2X ID of the first target UE 502 may be known to the source UE 504 via a context-aware message 536 sent by network entity 510 to multiple UEs in its coverage area (e.g., first coverage area 512 and second coverage area 516). As another example, source UE 504 may provide the SUCI (Subscriber Hidden Identifier) ​​or GPSI (General Public Subscription Identifier) ​​of the first target UE 502, the SUCI or GPSI having a mapping to the V2X ID of the first target UE 502 in system 500 (e.g., network entity 510, core network (5GC) 140, LMF 120, gNB, etc.). In one example, the source UE may have already known this information from prior communication with the first target UE 502 or as part of a platooning operation known prior to multiple target UEs (i.e., a group of vehicles moving synchronously).

[0113] In this example, once the first target UE 502 accepts the ranging request, the ranging information between the first target UE 502 and the source UE 504 can be transmitted via the sidelink channel 538 between the first target UE 502 and the source UE 504. This process can be extended to other ranging requests from the source UE 504 to other target UEs (e.g., the second target UE 520 and the third target UE 524).

[0114] System 500 may optionally apply privacy and security measures by providing the source UE 504 (as previously described) with the relative location and distance of the target UE instead of its actual location, and / or implementing a privacy setting that allows individual UEs within system 500 to disable the transmission of their location information to the requesting source UE (e.g., source UE 504). For example, at least one processor of network entity 510 may be configured to determine whether the location (e.g., location 518) of at least one target UE (e.g., first target UE 502) is private, and disable the transmission of the location information of the first target UE 502 to the source UE 504 based on the location 518 of the first target UE 502, if optionally designed to be private by the first target UE 502. In this example, at least one processor of network entity 510 may be configured to receive a request for location 518 of a first target UE 502 from a source UE 504, wherein the request includes source identification data (i.e., source V2X ID) of the source UE 504, and the source V2X ID identifies the source UE 504. Upon receipt, at least one processor of network entity 510 may be configured to send the request from the source UE 504 to the first target UE 502, and receive a rejection message from the first target UE 502 based on the source V2X ID of the source UE 504. At least one processor of network entity 510 may be configured to determine that the location 518 of the first target UE 502 is private based on the rejection message from the first target UE 502.

[0115] Figure 6 For use Figure 5The illustrated system 500 determines the location of at least one target UE (i.e., first target UE 502) relative to a source UE 504 via message diagram 600. In this example, the source UE 504 requests 602 from the network entity 510 via the first RAN 506 and the first UE-to-network radio interface 528 for V2N2V-based UE-to-UE ranging with the first target UE 502. The network entity 510 receives request 602 from the source UE 504 and forwards the request 604 from the source UE 504 to the first target UE 502. Requests 602 and 604 include the V2X ID of the first target UE 502 provided by the source UE 504. If the first target UE 502 decides to provide location information to the source UE 504, the first target UE 502 and the network entity 510 will communicate to provide the source UE 504 with the location information of the first target UE 502. Network entity 510 receives location-related information from the first target UE 502 and determines 606 the location information of the first target UE 502. Network entity 510 determines 608 the location 514 of the source UE 504. In this example, determination 608 can optionally be performed by network entity 510 before or after determining 606 the location information of the first target UE 502. Network entity 510 then determines 610 the distance 540 between the location 514 of the source UE 504 and the location 518 of the target UE 502. The location information is then transmitted 612 to the source UE 504 via RAN 506.

[0116] Turn Figure 7 This diagram illustrates a system 700 for determining the location of at least one target UE relative to a source UE 702 using at least three RANs 704, 706, and 708. In this example, system 700 includes network entity 710, a first RAN 704, a second RAN 706, and a third RAN 708. (The last sentence appears to be incomplete and possibly refers to a different system.) Figure 5 The example shown differs from the one presented here. In this example, source UE 702 communicates with first RAN 704, first target UE 712 communicates with second RAN 706, and second target UE 714 communicates with third RAN 708. In this example, source UE 702 is located at position 716, first target UE 712 is located at position 718, and third target UE 714 is located at position 720. System 700 is configured to communicate with the previously mentioned... Figure 5The described system 500 operates in a similar pattern to the previous system 700, except that system 700 includes and utilizes three RANs 704, 706, and 708, instead of the two RANs 506 and 508 previously described. Similar to the previous discussion, system 700 is configured to generate a first distance 722 between the location 716 of the source UE 702 and the location 718 of the first target UE 712, and a second distance 724 between the location 716 of the source UE 702 and the location 720 of the second target UE 714.

[0117] exist Figure 8 The diagram illustrates a block diagram of a system 800 for determining the location of at least one target UE relative to a source UE 802 using a single RAN 804. In this example, system 800 includes network entity 806 and a single RAN 804. (The last sentence appears to be incomplete and possibly refers to a different topic.) Figure 5 and Figure 7 The example shown illustrates that source UE 802 communicates with the same RAN 804 as the first target UE 808. In this example, RAN 804 has a coverage area 810 that includes both source UE 802 and the first target UE 808; and source UE 802 is located at position 812 within coverage area 810, while the first target UE 808 is located at position 814 within coverage area 810. System 800 is configured to communicate with previously mentioned... Figure 5 and Figure 7 The systems 500 and 700 described operate in a similar pattern, the difference being that system 800 includes and utilizes only a single RAN 804, instead of the multiple RANs described previously. Similar to the previous discussion, system 800 is configured to generate a distance 816 between the location 812 of the source UE 802 and the location 814 of the target UE 808.

[0118] From about Figure 5 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 In the described examples, systems 500, 700, or 800 all include a network entity that communicates signaling with a source UE and at least one target UE, and at least one RAN. One or more RANs may include one or more coverage areas where the source UE and at least one target UE are located. As discussed, one or more target UEs may optionally be located with a single coverage area of ​​a single RAN, or in different coverage areas of different RANs. The source UE may optionally be located in the same coverage area of ​​one or more target UEs or in a separate coverage area remote from at least one target UE.

[0119] Turn Figure 9The block flowchart of method 900 is executed by the UE to determine the location of at least one target UE relative to a source UE using V2N2V-based UE-to-UE ranging. Method 900 may begin by optionally receiving 902 a message (e.g., context-aware message 536) from a network entity at the source UE, wherein the message includes identification information of multiple target UEs within the coverage area of ​​at least one RAN. Method 900 then includes sending 904 a request for location information of at least one target UE relative to a UE to the network entity via at least one transceiver and at least one RAN, and receiving 906 location information from the network entity via at least one transceiver, wherein the location information is based on the location of at least one target UE.

[0120] exist Figure 10 The diagram illustrates a block flowchart of a method 1000 performed by a network entity to determine the location of at least one target UE relative to a source UE. Method 1000 begins by optionally receiving a request 1002 from the source UE for location information of at least one target UE. Method 1000 then determines 1004 the location of the source UE and 1006 the location of at least one target UE. Method 1000 then transmits 1008 the location information of the at least one target UE relative to the source UE to the source UE via at least one transceiver, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0121] Specific implementation examples

[0122] Specific implementation examples are provided in the following numbered clauses.

[0123] Clause 1. A user equipment (UE) comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one transceiver and the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver and a radio interface, a request for location information of at least one target UE relative to a first location of the UE to a network entity of a communication network, the communication network including at least one radio access network (RAN); and receive, via the at least one transceiver and the radio interface, the location information based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0124] Clause 2. The UE according to Clause 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive at least one message from the network entity, the at least one message including identification information of one or more target UEs within the coverage area of ​​the at least one RAN, and the at least one processor is configured to send the request for the location information based on the identification information of the at least one target UE among the one or more target UEs.

[0125] Clause 3. The UE according to Clause 2, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to generate target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information, and to send the request for the location information based on the target identification data.

[0126] Clause 4. The UE according to Clause 2, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to generate target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information, and to use the target identification data to send a request for direct location information from the at least one target UE via a side link channel through the at least one transceiver.

[0127] Clause 5. The UE as described in Clause 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send a request for confidentiality of the first location of the UE to the network entity via the at least one transceiver.

[0128] Clause 6. The UE according to Clause 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a request for the first location of the UE from the network entity via the at least one transceiver, the request including source identification data of the requesting UE, and the source identification data being configured to identify the requesting UE, the at least one processor being further configured to send a rejection message to the network entity, and the rejection message rejecting the transmission of the first location of the UE to the requesting UE based on the source identification data.

[0129] Clause 7. The UE according to Clause 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive the relative positioning of the at least one target UE with respect to the first position of the UE, and the relative positioning of the at least one target UE with respect to the first position of the UE is included in the positioning information.

[0130] Clause 8. The UE according to Clause 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the distance between the at least one target UE and the first location of the UE, and the distance between the at least one target UE and the first location of the UE is included in the positioning information.

[0131] Clause 9. A method for determining the location of at least one target user equipment (UE) relative to a source UE, wherein the source UE and at least one target UE communicate with a communication network having at least one radio access network (RAN) and a network entity, the method comprising: sending a request to the network entity via at least one transceiver and the at least one RAN for location information of the at least one target UE relative to the source UE; and receiving the location information from the network entity via the at least one transceiver, wherein the location information is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0132] Clause 10. The method according to Clause 9, the method further comprising receiving at least one message from the network entity, wherein the at least one message includes identification information of one or more target UEs within the coverage area of ​​the at least one RAN, and sending the request for the location information based on the identification information of the at least one target UE among the one or more target UEs.

[0133] Clause 11. The method according to Clause 10, the method further comprising generating target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information, and sending the request for the location information based on the target identification data.

[0134] Clause 12. The method according to Clause 10, the method further comprising generating target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information, and using the target identification data to send a request for direct location information from the at least one target UE to the at least one target UE via a sidelink channel through the at least one transceiver.

[0135] Clause 13. The method according to Clause 9, the method further comprising sending a request for confidentiality of the first location of the UE to the network entity via the at least one transceiver.

[0136] Clause 14. The method according to Clause 9, the method further comprising receiving a request for the first location of the source UE from the network entity via the at least one transceiver and the at least one RAN, wherein the request includes source identification data of the requesting UE, and the source identification data is configured to identify the requesting UE for the source UE.

[0137] Clause 15. The method according to Clause 14, the method further comprising sending a rejection message to the network entity, wherein the rejection message rejects sending the first location of the source UE to the requesting UE based on the source identification data.

[0138] Clause 16. The method according to Clause 9, the method further comprising receiving a relative position of the at least one target UE relative to the first position of the source UE, wherein the relative position of the at least one target UE relative to the first position of the source UE is included in the positioning information.

[0139] Clause 17. The method according to Clause 9, the method further comprising receiving a distance between the at least one target UE and the first location of the source UE, wherein the distance between the at least one target UE and the first location of the source UE is included in the positioning information.

[0140] Clause 18. The method according to Clause 9, the method further comprising transmitting source identification data of the UE to the network entity via the at least one transceiver and the at least one RAN, wherein the source identification data is configured to identify the source UE for the at least one target UE.

[0141] Clause 19. The method according to Clause 18, wherein if the at least one target UE refuses to send the location of the at least one target UE to the source UE based on the source identification data, the location information includes a rejection message.

[0142] Clause 20. A user equipment (UE) for determining the location of at least one target user equipment (UE) relative to the UE, wherein the UE and the at least one target UE are configured to communicate with a communication network having at least one radio access network (RAN) and a network entity, the UE comprising: means for sending a request to the network entity via the at least one RAN for location information of the at least one target UE relative to the UE; and means for receiving the location information from the network entity, wherein the location information is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0143] Clause 21. The UE according to Clause 20, the UE further comprising means for receiving a context-aware message from the network entity, wherein the context-aware message includes identification information of a plurality of target UEs within the coverage area of ​​the at least one RAN; and means for sending the request for the location information based on the identification information of the at least one target UE among the plurality of target UEs.

[0144] Clause 22. The UE according to Clause 20, the UE further includes components for generating target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information; and components for sending the request for the location information based on the target identification data.

[0145] Clause 23. The UE according to Clause 20, the UE further includes components for generating target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information; and components for using the target identification data to send a request for direct location information from the at least one target UE via a sidelink channel.

[0146] Clause 24. The UE as described in Clause 20, the UE further includes components for sending a request to the network entity for the confidentiality of the first location of the UE.

[0147] Clause 25. The UE according to Clause 20, the UE further comprising means for receiving a request for the first location of the UE from the network entity, wherein the request includes source identification data of the requesting UE, and the source identification data is configured to identify the requesting UE.

[0148] Clause 26. The UE according to Clause 25, the UE further includes a component for sending a rejection message to the network entity, and wherein the rejection message rejects sending the first location of the UE to the requesting UE based on the source identification data.

[0149] Clause 27. The UE according to Clause 20, the UE further includes means for receiving the relative positioning of the at least one target UE with respect to the first position of the UE, and wherein the relative positioning of the at least one target UE with respect to the first position of the UE is included in the positioning information.

[0150] Clause 28. The UE according to Clause 27, the UE further includes a component for receiving a distance between the at least one target UE and the first location of the UE, and wherein the distance between the at least one target UE and the first location of the UE is included in the positioning information.

[0151] Clause 29. The UE according to Clause 20, the UE further comprising means for sending source identification data of the UE to the network entity, wherein the source identification data is configured to identify the UE for the at least one target UE, and the location information includes a rejection message if the at least one target UE refuses to send location information of the at least one target UE to the UE based on the source identification data.

[0152] Clause 30. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to determine the location of at least one target user equipment (UE) relative to a source UE, the instructions including: code for transmitting, via at least one transceiver through a radio interface, a request for location information of the at least one target UE relative to the source UE to a network entity of a communication network, the communication network including at least one radio access network (RAN); and code for receiving the location information from the network entity via the at least one transceiver through the radio interface, wherein the location information is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0153] Clause 31. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 30, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for receiving a context-aware message from the network entity, wherein the context-aware message includes identification information of a plurality of target UEs within the coverage area of ​​the at least one RAN; and code for sending the request for the location information based on the identification information of the at least one target UE among the plurality of target UEs.

[0154] Clause 32. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 30, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for generating target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information; and code for sending the request for the location information based on the target identification data.

[0155] Clause 33. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 30, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for generating target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information; and code for using the target identification data to send a request for direct location information from the at least one target UE to the at least one target UE via a sidelink channel through the at least one transceiver.

[0156] Clause 34. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium as described in Clause 30, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for sending a request for confidentiality of the first location of the UE to the network entity via the at least one transceiver.

[0157] Clause 35. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 30, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for receiving a request for the first location of the source UE from the network entity via the at least one transceiver and the at least one RAN, wherein the request includes source identification data of the requesting UE, and the source identification data is configured to identify the requesting UE for the source UE.

[0158] Clause 36. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium as described in Clause 35, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for sending a rejection message to the network entity, wherein the rejection message rejects sending the first location of the source UE to the requesting UE based on the source identification data.

[0159] Clause 37. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 30, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for receiving relative positioning of the at least one target UE relative to the first position of the source UE, and wherein the relative positioning of the at least one target UE relative to the first position of the source UE is included in the positioning information.

[0160] Clause 38. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 37, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for receiving a distance between the at least one target UE and the first location of the source UE, wherein the distance between the at least one target UE and the first location of the source UE is included in the positioning information.

[0161] Clause 39. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 30, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for transmitting source identification data of the UE to the network entity via the at least one transceiver and the at least one RAN, wherein the source identification data is configured to identify the source UE to the at least one target UE, and the location information includes a rejection message if the at least one target UE refuses to transmit the location of the at least one target UE to the source UE based on the source identification data.

[0162] Clause 40. A network entity comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the at least one transceiver and the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to: determine a first location of a source user equipment (UE); determine a location of at least one target UE; and transmit location information of the at least one target UE relative to the source UE to the source UE via the at least one transceiver, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0163] Clause 41. The network entity pursuant to Clause 40, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine at least (a) distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the location of the at least one target UE, or (b) the relative positioning of each of the at least one target UE relative to the first location of the source UE, and the positioning information of the at least one target UE further includes the distance data, the relative positioning of the at least one target UE, or both.

[0164] Clause 42. The network entity according to Clause 40, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a request from the source UE for the location information of the at least one target UE; determine the location of the at least one target UE; and send the location information to the source UE.

[0165] Clause 43. The network entity according to Clause 42, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to generate identification information of one or more target UEs within the coverage area of ​​at least one radio access network (RAN), wherein the one or more target UEs includes the at least one target UE, and to transmit at least one message to the source UE via the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one message includes the identification information.

[0166] Clause 44. The network entity as described in Clause 43, wherein the at least one target UE includes a first target UE and a second target UE, and the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a second location of the first target UE; determine a third location of the second target UE; determine first distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the second location of the first target UE; determine second distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the third location of the second target UE; and the positioning information of the at least one target UE includes the first distance data and the second distance data.

[0167] Clause 45. The network entity according to Clause 44, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a first relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE; and determine a second relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE, and the positioning information of the at least one target UE further includes the first relative position and the second relative position.

[0168] Clause 46. The network entity as described in Clause 44, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine the second location of the first target UE using first location data received via the at least one transceiver, and to determine the third location of the second target UE using second location data received via the at least one transceiver.

[0169] Clause 47. The network entity as described in Clause 40, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE includes the location of the at least one target UE.

[0170] Clause 48. The network entity as described in Clause 40, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine whether the location of the at least one target UE is private, and to disable the transmission of the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE based on the fact that the location of the at least one target UE is private.

[0171] Clause 49. The network entity according to Clause 40, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, a request for the location of the at least one target UE from the source UE, wherein the request includes source identification data of the source UE and the source identification data identifies the source UE; transmit the request from the source UE to the at least one target UE via the at least one transceiver; receive a rejection message from the at least one target UE based on the source identification data; and determine, based on the rejection message, that the location of the at least one target UE is private.

[0172] Clause 50. A method for determining the location of at least one target user equipment (UE) relative to a source UE via a network entity communicating with a communication network, the method comprising: determining a first location of the source UE; determining the location of the at least one target UE; and transmitting location information of the at least one target UE relative to the source UE to the source UE via at least one transceiver, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0173] Clause 51. The method according to Clause 50, the method further comprising determining at least (a) distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the location of the at least one target UE, or (b) the relative positioning of the at least one target UE relative to the first location of the source UE, and wherein the positioning information of the at least one target UE further comprises the distance data, the relative positioning of the at least one target UE, or both.

[0174] Clause 52. The method according to Clause 50, wherein determining the location of the at least one target UE comprises receiving location data via the at least one transceiver from at least one radio access network (RAN) communicating with the at least one target UE and the communication network.

[0175] Clause 53. The method according to Clause 52, the method further comprising transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via the at least one transceiver and the first RAN, wherein the at least one RAN includes the first RAN communicating with the source UE.

[0176] Clause 54. The method according to Clause 52, the method further comprising transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via the at least one transceiver and the second RAN, wherein the at least one RAN further comprises the second RAN communicating with the source UE.

[0177] Clause 55. The method according to Clause 50, the method further comprising: receiving, via the at least one transceiver, a request from the source UE for the location information of the at least one target UE; determining the location of the at least one target UE; and sending the location information to the source UE.

[0178] Clause 56. The method according to Clause 55, the method further comprising: generating identification information of one or more target UEs within the coverage area of ​​at least one radio access network (RAN) communicating with the network entity, wherein the one or more target UEs include the at least one target UE; and transmitting at least one message to the source UE via the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one message includes the identification information.

[0179] Clause 57. The method according to Clause 56, the method further comprising: determining a second location of a first target UE; determining a third location of a second target UE, wherein the at least one target UE includes the first target UE and the second target UE; determining first distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the second location of the first target UE; and determining second distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the third location of the second target UE, wherein the positioning information of the at least one target UE includes the first distance data and the second distance data.

[0180] Clause 58. The method according to Clause 57, the method further comprising: determining a first relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE; and determining a second relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE, wherein the positioning information of the at least one target UE further comprises the first relative position and the second relative position.

[0181] Clause 59. The method according to Clause 57, the method further comprising: determining a second location of the first target UE using first location data received via the at least one transceiver from a first RAN communicating with the first target UE and the communication network; and determining the third location of the second target UE using second location data received via the at least one transceiver from a second RAN communicating with the second target UE and the communication network.

[0182] Clause 60. The method according to Clause 56, the method further comprising: determining a second location of the first target UE using first location data received from a first RAN communicating with the first target UE and the communication network via the at least one transceiver; and determining the third location of the second target UE using second location data received from the first RAN via the at least one transceiver, wherein the first RAN also communicates with the second target UE, and wherein the at least one RAN includes the first RAN and the second RAN.

[0183] Clause 61. The method according to Clause 60, the method further comprising transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via the at least one transceiver and the first RAN, wherein the first RAN also communicates with the source UE.

[0184] Clause 62. The method according to Clause 60, the method further comprising transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via the at least one transceiver and the second RAN, wherein the second RAN also communicates with the source UE.

[0185] Clause 63. The method according to Clause 50, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE includes the location of the at least one target UE.

[0186] Clause 64. The method according to Clause 50, the method further comprising determining whether the location of the at least one target UE is private, and if the location of the at least one target UE is private, disabling the transmission of the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE.

[0187] Clause 65. The method according to Clause 64, the method further comprising: receiving, via the at least one transceiver, a request for the location of the at least one target UE from the source UE, wherein the request includes source identification data of the source UE, and the source identification data is configured to identify the source UE for the at least one target UE; transmitting the request from the source UE to the at least one target UE via the at least one transceiver; and receiving a rejection message from the at least one target UE based on the source identification data, wherein the rejection message determines that the location of the at least one target UE is private.

[0188] Clause 66. A network entity configured to determine the location of at least one target user equipment (UE) relative to a source UE in a communication network, the network entity comprising: components for determining a first location of the source UE; components for determining the location of the at least one target UE; and components for transmitting location information of the at least one target UE relative to the first location of the source UE to the source UE, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0189] Clause 67. The network entity according to Clause 66, the network entity further comprising: means for determining distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the location of the at least one target UE; means for determining the relative positioning of the at least one target UE relative to the first location of the source UE, and wherein the positioning information of the at least one target UE further comprises the distance data and the relative positioning of the at least one target UE.

[0190] Clause 68. The network entity as described in Clause 67, wherein the component for determining the location of the at least one target UE includes a component for receiving location data from at least one radio access network (RAN) that is in signal communication with the at least one target UE and the communication network.

[0191] Clause 69. The network entity as described in Clause 68, the network entity further comprising means for transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via a first RAN, wherein the at least one RAN includes the first RAN that is in signal communication with the source UE.

[0192] Clause 70. The network entity as described in Clause 67, the network entity further comprising means for transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via a second RAN, wherein the at least one RAN further comprises the second RAN that is in signal communication with the source UE.

[0193] Clause 71. The network entity as described in Clause 66, the network entity further comprising components for receiving a request from the source UE for the location information of the at least one target UE, components for determining the location of the at least one target UE, and components for sending the location information to the source UE.

[0194] Clause 72. The network entity as described in Clause 71, the network entity further comprising means for generating identification information of a plurality of target UEs within the coverage area of ​​at least one radio access network (RAN) that signals with the network entity, wherein the plurality of target UEs includes the at least one target UE, and means for sending a context-aware message to the source UE, wherein the context-aware message includes the identification information.

[0195] Clause 73. The network entity as described in Clause 72, further comprising: components for determining a second location of a first target UE; components for determining a third location of a second target UE, wherein the at least one target UE includes the first target UE and the second target UE; components for determining first distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the second location of the first target UE; and components for determining second distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the third location of the second target UE, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE includes the first distance data and the second distance data.

[0196] Clause 74. The network entity according to Clause 73, the network entity further comprising: a component for determining a first relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE; and a component for determining a second relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE, wherein the positioning information of the at least one target UE further comprises the first relative position and the second relative position.

[0197] Clause 75. The network entity according to Clause 73, the network entity further comprising: a component for determining a second location of the first target UE using first location data received from a first RAN, the first RAN being in signal communication with the first target UE and the communication network; and a component for determining the third location of the second target UE using second location data received from a second RAN, the second RAN being in signal communication with the second target UE and the communication network.

[0198] Clause 76. The network entity according to Clause 73, the network entity further comprising: means for determining a second location of the first target UE using first location data received from a first RAN, the first RAN being in signal communication with the first target UE and the communication network; and means for determining the third location of the second target UE using second location data received from the first RAN, wherein the first RAN is also in signal communication with the second target UE, and wherein the at least one RAN includes the first RAN and the second RAN.

[0199] Clause 77. The network entity as described in Clause 76, the network entity further comprising means for transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via the first RAN, wherein the first RAN also engages in signal communication with the source UE.

[0200] Clause 78. The network entity as described in Clause 76, the network entity further comprising means for transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via the second RAN, wherein the second RAN is in signal communication with the source UE.

[0201] Clause 79. The network entity as described in Clause 66, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE includes the location of the at least one target UE.

[0202] Clause 80. The network entity as described in Clause 66, the network entity further comprising: a component for determining whether the location of the at least one target UE is private; and a component for disabling the transmission of the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE if the location of the at least one target UE is private.

[0203] Clause 81. The network entity according to Clause 80, the network entity further comprising: means for receiving from the source UE a request for the location of the at least one target UE, wherein the request includes source identification data of the source UE and the source identification data is configured to identify the source UE for the at least one target UE; means for sending the request from the source UE to the at least one target UE; and means for receiving a rejection message from the at least one target UE based on the source identification data, wherein the rejection message determines that the location of the at least one target UE is private.

[0204] Clause 82. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to determine the location of at least one target user equipment (UE) relative to a source UE in a communication network, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising: code for determining a first location of the source UE; code for determining the location of the at least one target UE; and code for transmitting location information of the at least one target UE relative to the source UE to the source UE, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

[0205] Clause 83. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 82, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising: code for determining distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the location of the at least one target UE; code for determining the relative positioning of the at least one target UE relative to the first location of the source UE, and wherein the positioning information of the at least one target UE further comprises the distance data and the relative positioning of the at least one target UE.

[0206] Clause 84. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium as described in Clause 83, wherein the code in the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium for determining the location of the at least one target UE includes code for receiving location data from at least one radio access network (RAN) that is in signal communication with the at least one target UE and the communication network.

[0207] Clause 85. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium as described in Clause 84, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via a first RAN, wherein the at least one RAN includes the first RAN that is in signal communication with the source UE.

[0208] Clause 86. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium as described in Clause 84, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via a second RAN, wherein the at least one RAN further comprises the second RAN that is in signal communication with the source UE.

[0209] Clause 87. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 82, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising: code for receiving a request from the source UE for the location information of the at least one target UE; code for determining the location of the at least one target UE; and code for sending the location information to the source UE.

[0210] Clause 88. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium as described in Clause 87, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising: code for generating identification information for a plurality of target UEs, the plurality of target UEs being within the coverage area of ​​at least one radio access network (RAN) communicating with a network entity, wherein the plurality of target UEs includes the at least one target UE; and code for sending a context-aware message to the source UE, wherein the context-aware message includes the identification information.

[0211] Clause 89. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 88, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising: code for determining a second location of a first target UE; code for determining a third location of a second target UE, wherein the at least one target UE includes the first target UE and the second target UE; code for determining first distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the second location of the first target UE; and code for determining second distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the third location of the second target UE, wherein the positioning information of the at least one target UE includes the first distance data and the second distance data.

[0212] Clause 90. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 89, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising: code for determining a first relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE; and code for determining a second relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE, wherein the positioning information of the at least one target UE further comprises the first relative position and the second relative position.

[0213] Clause 91. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 89, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising: code for determining a second location of the first target UE using first location data received from a first RAN, the first RAN communicating with the first target UE and the communication network; and code for determining the third location of the second target UE using second location data received from a second RAN, the second RAN communicating with the second target UE and the communication network.

[0214] Clause 92. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 89, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising: code for determining a second location of the first target UE using first location data received from a first RAN, the first RAN being in signal communication with the first target UE and the communication network; and code for determining the third location of the second target UE using second location data received from the first RAN, wherein the first RAN is also in signal communication with the second target UE, and wherein the at least one RAN includes the first RAN and the second RAN.

[0215] Clause 93. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 92, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via the first RAN, wherein the first RAN also engages in signal communication with the source UE.

[0216] Clause 94. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 92, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for transmitting the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE via the second RAN, wherein the second RAN also communicates with the source UE via signaling.

[0217] Clause 95. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium as described in Clause 82, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE in the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes the location of the at least one target UE.

[0218] Clause 96. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium as described in Clause 82, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising code for determining whether the location of the at least one target UE is private, and code for disabling the transmission of the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE if the location of the at least one target UE is private.

[0219] Clause 97. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 96, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising: code for receiving from the source UE a request for the location of the at least one target UE, wherein the request includes source identification data of the source UE and the source identification data is configured to identify the source UE for the at least one target UE; code for sending the request from the source UE to the at least one target UE; and code for receiving a rejection message from the at least one target UE based on the source identification data, wherein the location of the at least one target UE is determined to be private based on the rejection message.

[0220] Other examples and specific implementations fall within the scope and spirit of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the functions described above can be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof executed by a processor. Features implementing the functions can also be physically located in various locations, including various portions distributed such that the functions are implemented in different physical locations. For example, one or more functions or one or more portions thereof discussed above that occur in network entity 510 can be performed outside of network entity 510.

[0221] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Thus, references to a device in the singular form included in the claims (e.g., “device,” “the / said device”) include at least one of such devices (i.e., one or more) (e.g., “processor” includes at least one processor (e.g., one processor, two processors, etc.), “the / said processor” includes at least one processor, “memory” includes at least one memory, “the / said memory” includes at least one memory, etc.). The phrases “at least one” and “one or more” are used interchangeably, and such that the object referred to by “at least one” and the object referred to by “one or more” include embodiments having one referred object and embodiments having multiple referred objects. For example, “at least one processor” and “one or more processors” each include embodiments having one processor and embodiments having multiple processors.

[0222] As used herein, the term "comprising" indicates the presence of the described features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0223] Furthermore, as used herein, the "or" (possibly followed by "at least one of" or "one or more of") used in the item enumeration indicates a disjunctive enumeration such that an enumeration of, for example, "at least one of A, B, or C," or an enumeration of "one or more of A, B, or C," or an enumeration of "A or B or C" represents A or B or C or AB (A and B) or AC (A and C) or BC (B and C) or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination having more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Therefore, a statement that an item (e.g., a processor) is configured to perform a function relating to at least one of A or B, or a statement that an item is configured to perform function A or function B, indicates that the item can be configured to perform a function relating to A, or can be configured to perform a function relating to B, or can be configured to perform a function relating to both A and B. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B" or "a processor configured to measure A or measure B" means that the processor can be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or can be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or can be configured to measure both A and B (and can be configured to select which of A and B or measure both). Similarly, a description of a component for measuring at least one of A or B includes: a component for measuring A (which may or may not be able to measure B), or a component for measuring B (which may or may not be configured to measure A), or a component for measuring A and B (which may be able to select which of A and B or measure both). As another example, a description of an item (e.g., a processor) being configured to perform at least one of function X or function Y means that the item can be configured to perform function X, or can be configured to perform function Y, or can be configured to perform both functions X and Y. For example, the phrase "processor configured to measure at least one of X or Y" means that the processor can be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or can be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or can be configured to measure both X and Y (and can be configured to select which of X and Y or measure both).

[0224] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a description of a function or operation as “based on” an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the described item or condition and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions other than the described item or condition.

[0225] Substantial changes can be made depending on specific requirements. For example, custom hardware may be used, and / or specific elements may be implemented in the hardware, in software executed by the processor (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be employed. Unless otherwise specified, components shown in the figures and / or discussed herein that are connected or communicate with each other (functionally or otherwise) are communicatively coupled. That is, these components may be connected directly or indirectly to enable communication between them.

[0226] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may appropriately omit, substitute, or add various processes or components. For example, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of a configuration may be combined in a similar manner. Furthermore, technology is constantly evolving, and therefore many elements are examples and do not limit the scope of this disclosure or the claims.

[0227] A wireless communication system is a system in which communication is transmitted wirelessly between wireless communication devices, that is, through the propagation of electromagnetic waves and / or sound waves through the atmosphere rather than through wires or other physical connections. A wireless communication system (also called a wireless communication system or wireless communication network) may not transmit all communication wirelessly, but is configured to transmit at least some communication wirelessly. Furthermore, the term "wireless communication device" or similar terms do not require that the device's function be exclusively or even primarily for communication, do not require that communication using the wireless communication device be exclusively or even primarily wireless, and do not require that the device be a mobile device, but rather indicate that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (one-way or two-way), for example, including at least one radio component (each radio component being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver) for wireless communication.

[0228] Specific details are provided in this description to offer a thorough understanding of the example configurations, including specific implementations. However, the configurations can be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring these configurations. The description herein provides example configurations and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of the configurations provides a description for implementing the described techniques. Various changes can be made to the function and arrangement of the elements.

[0229] As used herein, the terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any medium that participates in providing data that enables a machine to operate in a particular manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may involve providing instructions / code to a processor for execution, and / or may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as signals). In many specific implementations, processor-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical discs and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0230] Having described several example configurations, various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents can be used. For example, the above elements can be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of this disclosure. Furthermore, several operations may be performed before, during, or after considering the above elements. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0231] Unless otherwise indicated, the terms "about" and / or "approximately" as used herein when referring to measurable values ​​(such as quantities, durations of time, etc.) cover variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, or ±0.1% from the specified value, as appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other specific embodiments described herein. Similarly, unless otherwise indicated, the term "substantially" as used herein when referring to measurable values ​​(such as quantities, durations of time, physical properties (such as frequencies), etc.) also covers variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, or ±0.1% from the specified value, as appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other specific embodiments described herein.

[0232] A statement that a value exceeds (or is greater than or higher than) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that a value meets or exceeds a second threshold slightly greater than the first threshold. For example, in the resolution of the computing system, the second threshold is one value higher than the first threshold. A statement that a value is less than the first threshold (or within or below the first threshold) is equivalent to a statement that a value is less than or equal to a second threshold slightly lower than the first threshold. For example, in the resolution of the computing system, the second threshold is one value lower than the first threshold.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprising: At least one transceiver; At least one memory; and At least one processor, coupled to the at least one transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: The at least one transceiver transmits a request for location information of at least one target UE relative to a first location of the UE to a network entity of a communication network via a radio interface, the communication network including at least one radio access network (RAN). as well as The location information is received from the network entity via the radio interface through the at least one transceiver, wherein the location information is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to receive at least one message from the network entity. The at least one message includes identification information of one or more target UEs within the coverage area of ​​the at least one RAN, and The at least one processor is configured to send the request for the location information based on the identification information of the at least one target UE among the one or more target UEs.

3. The UE according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: Generate target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information, and The request for the location information is sent based on the target identification data.

4. The UE according to claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: Generate target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information, and Using the target identification data, a request for direct location information from the at least one target UE is sent to the at least one target UE via a side link channel through the at least one transceiver.

5. The UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send a request for confidentiality of the first location of the UE to the network entity via the at least one transceiver.

6. The UE according to claim 1, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to receive a request for the first location of the UE from the network entity via the at least one transceiver. The request includes source identification data of the requesting UE, and the source identification data is configured to identify the requesting UE. The at least one processor is further configured to send a rejection message to the network entity, and The rejection message refuses to send the UE's first location to the requesting UE based on the source identifier data.

7. The UE according to claim 1, wherein The at least one processor is configured to receive the relative positioning of the at least one target UE with respect to the first position of the UE, and The relative positioning of the at least one target UE with respect to the first location of the UE is included in the positioning information.

8. The UE according to claim 1, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to receive the distance between the at least one target UE and the first position of the UE, and The distance between the at least one target UE and the first location of the UE is included in the positioning information.

9. A method for determining the location of at least one target user equipment (UE) relative to a source UE, wherein the source UE and at least one target UE communicate with a communication network having at least one radio access network (RAN) and network entities, the method comprising: Sending a request for location information of the first location of the at least one target UE relative to the source UE to the network entity via at least one transceiver and the at least one RAN; as well as The location information is received from the network entity via the at least one transceiver, wherein the location information is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: Receive at least one message from the network entity, wherein the at least one message includes identification information of one or more target UEs within the coverage area of ​​the at least one RAN, and The request for the location information is sent based on the identification information of at least one of the one or more target UEs.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: Generate target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information, and The request for the location information is sent based on the target identification data.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: Generate target identification data, wherein the target identification data is based on previously acquired identification information, and Using the target identification data, a request for direct location information from the at least one target UE is sent to the at least one target UE via a side link channel through the at least one transceiver.

13. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: A request for the confidentiality of the UE's first location is sent to the network entity via the at least one transceiver.

14. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: The request for the first location of the source UE is received from the network entity via the at least one transceiver and the at least one RAN, and The request includes source identification data of the requesting UE, and the source identification data is configured to identify the requesting UE for the source UE.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: Send a rejection message to the network entity, and The rejection message refuses to send the first location of the source UE to the requesting UE based on the source identifier data.

16. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: Receive the relative positioning of the at least one target UE with respect to the first position of the source UE, and The relative positioning of the at least one target UE with respect to the first position of the source UE is included in the positioning information.

17. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: Receive the distance between the at least one target UE and the first location of the source UE, and The distance between the at least one target UE and the first location of the source UE is included in the positioning information.

18. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: The source identification data of the UE is transmitted to the network entity via the at least one transceiver and the at least one RAN, wherein The source identification data is configured to identify the source UE for the at least one target UE.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein if the at least one target UE refuses to send the location of the at least one target UE to the source UE based on the source identification data, the location information includes a rejection message.

20. A network entity, the network entity comprising: At least one transceiver; At least one memory; and At least one processor, coupled to the at least one transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: Determine the first location of the source User Equipment (UE); Determine the location of at least one target UE; as well as The location information of the at least one target UE relative to the source UE is transmitted to the source UE via the at least one transceiver, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

21. The network entity according to claim 20, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to: Determine at least (a) Distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the location of the at least one target UE, or (b) The relative positioning of each of the at least one target UEs with respect to the first position of the source UE, and The positioning information of the at least one target UE further includes the distance data, the relative positioning of the at least one target UE, or both.

22. The network entity of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: The at least one transceiver receives a request from the source UE for the location information of the at least one target UE. Determine the location of the at least one target UE, and The location information is sent to the source UE.

23. The network entity of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: Generate identification information for one or more target UEs within the coverage area of ​​at least one radio access network (RAN), wherein the one or more target UEs includes the at least one target UE, and At least one message is sent to the source UE via the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one message includes the identification information.

24. The network entity according to claim 23, wherein The at least one target UE includes a first target UE and a second target UE. The at least one processor is further configured to: Determine the second position of the first target UE. Determine the third position of the second target UE. First distance data is determined based on the first location of the source UE and the second location of the first target UE. The second distance data is determined based on the first location of the source UE and the third location of the second target UE, and The positioning information of the at least one target UE includes the first distance data and the second distance data.

25. The network entity according to claim 24, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to: Determine the first relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE; and Determine the second relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE, and The positioning information of the at least one target UE also includes the first relative positioning and the second relative positioning.

26. The network entity of claim 24, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: The second location of the first target UE is determined using first location data received via the at least one transceiver, and The third location of the second target UE is determined using second location data received via the at least one transceiver.

27. The network entity of claim 20, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE includes the location of the at least one target UE.

28. The network entity of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: Determine whether the location of the at least one target UE is private, and The transmission of the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE is disabled because the location of the at least one target UE is private.

29. The network entity of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: The system receives a request for the location of the at least one target UE from the source UE via the at least one transceiver, wherein the request includes source identification data of the source UE, and the source identification data identifies the source UE. The request is sent from the source UE to the at least one target UE via the at least one transceiver. Based on the source identifier data, a rejection message is received from the at least one target UE, and Based on the rejection message, it is determined that the location of the at least one target UE is private.

30. A method for determining the location of at least one target user equipment (UE) relative to a source UE via a network entity communicating with a communication network, the method comprising: Determine the first position of the source UE; Determine the location of the at least one target UE; as well as The location information of the at least one target UE relative to the first location of the source UE is transmitted to the source UE via at least one transceiver, wherein the location information of the at least one target UE is based on the location of the at least one target UE.

31. The method according to claim 30, further comprising: Determine at least (a) Distance data based on the first location of the source UE and the location of the at least one target UE, or (b) The relative positioning of the at least one target UE with respect to the first position of the source UE, and The positioning information of the at least one target UE further includes the distance data, the relative positioning of the at least one target UE, or both.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein determining the location of the at least one target UE comprises receiving location data via the at least one transceiver from at least one radio access network (RAN) communicating with the at least one target UE and the communication network.

33. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: The location information of the at least one target UE is transmitted to the source UE via the at least one transceiver and the first RAN. The at least one RAN includes the first RAN that communicates with the source UE.

34. The method according to claim 32, further comprising: The location information of the at least one target UE is transmitted to the source UE via the at least one transceiver and the second RAN. The at least one of the RANs further includes a second RAN that communicates with the source UE.

35. The method according to claim 30, further comprising: The at least one transceiver receives a request from the source UE for the location information of the at least one target UE. Determine the location of the at least one target UE, and The location information is sent to the source UE.

36. The method according to claim 35, further comprising: Generate identification information for one or more target UEs within the coverage area of ​​at least one radio access network (RAN) communicating with the network entity, wherein the one or more target UEs include the at least one target UE, and At least one message is sent to the source UE via the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one message includes the identification information.

37. The method according to claim 36, further comprising: Determine the second position of the first target UE. Determine the third location of the second target UE, wherein the at least one target UE includes the first target UE and the second target UE. First distance data is determined based on the first location of the source UE and the second location of the first target UE, and The second distance data is determined based on the first location of the source UE and the third location of the second target UE, and The positioning information of the at least one target UE includes the first distance data and the second distance data.

38. The method according to claim 37, further comprising: Determine the first relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE, and Determine the second relative position of the first target UE relative to the first position of the source UE, and The positioning information of the at least one target UE further includes the first relative positioning and the second relative positioning.

39. The method according to claim 37, further comprising: The second location of the first target UE is determined using first location data received from a first RAN communicating with the first target UE and the communication network via the at least one transceiver. The third location of the second target UE is determined using second location data received from a second RAN communicating with the second target UE and the communication network via the at least one transceiver.

40. The method of claim 37, further comprising: The second location of the first target UE is determined using first location data received from a first RAN communicating with the first target UE and the communication network via the at least one transceiver. The third location of the second target UE is determined using second location data received from the first RAN via the at least one transceiver, and The first RAN also communicates with the second target UE, and the at least one RAN includes the first RAN and the second RAN.

41. The method according to claim 40, further comprising: The location information of the at least one target UE is transmitted to the source UE via the at least one transceiver and the first RAN, wherein the first RAN also communicates with the source UE.

42. The method according to claim 40, further comprising: The location information of the at least one target UE is transmitted to the source UE via the at least one transceiver and the second RAN, wherein the second RAN also communicates with the source UE.

43. The method of claim 30, wherein the positioning information of the at least one target UE includes the location of the at least one target UE.

44. The method of claim 30, further comprising: Determine whether the location of the at least one target UE is private, and If the location of at least one target UE is private, the transmission of the location information of the at least one target UE to the source UE is disabled.

45. The method according to claim 44, further comprising: The system receives a request for the location of the at least one target UE from the source UE via the at least one transceiver, wherein the request includes source identification data of the source UE, and the source identification data is configured to identify the source UE for the at least one target UE. The request is sent from the source UE to the at least one target UE via the at least one transceiver, and A rejection message is received from the at least one target UE based on the source identifier data, wherein the location of the at least one target UE is determined to be private based on the rejection message.

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