Methods and device for processing a signal for positioning in a wireless communication system

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. This application relates to a method and device for updating and configuring a signal for positioning in a wireless communication system. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) is proposed, which includes receiving a plurality of pieces of configuration information for a reference signal (RS) for positioning transmitted by the base station; receiving a signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information transmitted by the base station; transmitting the RS for positioning based on the activated configuration information.

Description

METHODS AND DEVICE FOR PROCESSING A SIGNAL FOR POSITIONING IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

[0001] The disclosure relates to a wireless communication system, specifically, a method and device for processing a signal for positioning in the wireless communication system.

[0002] In order to meet the increasing demand for wireless data communication services since the deployment of 4G communication systems, efforts have been made to develop improved 5G or pre-5G communication systems. Therefore, 5G or pre-5G communication systems are also called "Beyond 4G networks" or "Post-LTE systems".

[0003] In order to achieve a higher data rate, 5G communication systems are implemented in higher frequency (millimeter, mmWave) bands, e.g., 60 GHz bands. In order to reduce propagation loss of radio waves and increase a transmission distance, technologies such as beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beamforming and large-scale antenna are discussed in 5G communication systems.

[0004] In addition, in 5G communication systems, developments of system network improvement are underway based on advanced small cell, cloud radio access network (RAN), ultra-dense network, device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, mobile network, cooperative communication, coordinated multi-points (CoMP), reception-end interference cancellation, etc.

[0005] In 5G systems, hybrid FSK and QAM modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) as advanced coding modulation (ACM), and filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as advanced access technologies have been developed.

[0006] 5G mobile communication technologies define broad frequency bands such that high transmission rates and new services are possible, and can be implemented not only in "Sub 6GHz" bands such as 3.5GHz, but also in "Above 6GHz" bands referred to as mmWave including 28GHz and 39GHz. In addition, it has been considered to implement 6G mobile communication technologies (referred to as Beyond 5G systems) in terahertz bands (for example, 95GHz to 3THz bands) in order to accomplish transmission rates fifty times faster than 5G mobile communication technologies and ultra-low latencies one-tenth of 5G mobile communication technologies.

[0007] At the beginning of the development of 5G mobile communication technologies, in order to support services and to satisfy performance requirements in connection with enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), there has been ongoing standardization regarding beamforming and massive MIMO for mitigating radio-wave path loss and increasing radio-wave transmission distances in mmWave, supporting numerologies (for example, operating multiple subcarrier spacings) for efficiently utilizing mmWave resources and dynamic operation of slot formats, initial access technologies for supporting multi-beam transmission and broadbands, definition and operation of BWP (BandWidth Part), new channel coding methods such as a LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code for large amount of data transmission and a polar code for highly reliable transmission of control information, L2 pre-processing, and network slicing for providing a dedicated network specialized to a specific service.

[0008] Currently, there are ongoing discussions regarding improvement and performance enhancement of initial 5G mobile communication technologies in view of services to be supported by 5G mobile communication technologies, and there has been physical layer standardization regarding technologies such as V2X (Vehicle-to-everything) for aiding driving determination by autonomous vehicles based on information regarding positions and states of vehicles transmitted by the vehicles and for enhancing user convenience, NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed) aimed at system operations conforming to various regulation-related requirements in unlicensed bands, NR UE Power Saving, Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) which is UE-satellite direct communication for providing coverage in an area in which communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable, and positioning.

[0009] Moreover, there has been ongoing standardization in air interface architecture / protocol regarding technologies such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for supporting new services through interworking and convergence with other industries, IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul) for providing a node for network service area expansion by supporting a wireless backhaul link and an access link in an integrated manner, mobility enhancement including conditional handover and DAPS (Dual Active Protocol Stack) handover, and two-step random access for simplifying random access procedures (2-step RACH for NR). There also has been ongoing standardization in system architecture / service regarding a 5G baseline architecture (for example, service based architecture or service based interface) for combining Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies, and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) for receiving services based on UE positions.

[0010] As 5G mobile communication systems are commercialized, connected devices that have been exponentially increasing will be connected to communication networks, and it is accordingly expected that enhanced functions and performances of 5G mobile communication systems and integrated operations of connected devices will be necessary. To this end, new research is scheduled in connection with eXtended Reality (XR) for efficiently supporting AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), MR (Mixed Reality) and the like, 5G performance improvement and complexity reduction by utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), AI service support, metaverse service support, and drone communication.

[0011] Furthermore, such development of 5G mobile communication systems will serve as a basis for developing not only new waveforms for providing coverage in terahertz bands of 6G mobile communication technologies, multi-antenna transmission technologies such as Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas and large-scale antennas, metamaterial-based lenses and antennas for improving coverage of terahertz band signals, high-dimensional space multiplexing technology using OAM (Orbital Angular Momentum), and RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), but also full-duplex technology for increasing frequency efficiency of 6G mobile communication technologies and improving system networks, AI-based communication technology for implementing system optimization by utilizing satellites and AI (Artificial Intelligence) from the design stage and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions, and next-generation distributed computing technology for implementing services at levels of complexity exceeding the limit of UE operation capability by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources.

[0012] The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.

[0013] The disclosure may provide a method and device for processing a signal for positioning in the wireless communication system.

[0014] According to an aspect of the disclosure, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) is provided, which includes: receiving a plurality of pieces of configuration information for a reference signal (RS) for positioning transmitted by a base station; receiving a signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information transmitted by the base station; and transmitting the RS for positioning based on the activated configuration information.

[0015] According to an aspect of the disclosure, in the method, the signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information may be included in downlink control information (DCI) or system information block 1 (SIB1) or a paging message.

[0016] According to an aspect of the disclosure, the method may further include: transmitting a message for requesting for updating the configuration information for the RS for positioning.

[0017] According to an aspect of the disclosure, in the method, the message for requesting for updating the configuration information for the reference signal for positioning may be at least one of message 1 (MSG1), message 3 (MSG3), or uplink small data transmission (UL SDT).

[0018] According to an aspect of the disclosure, in the method, the message for requesting for updating the configuration information for the reference signal for positioning may include at least one of an expected configuration parameter, a preferred configuration parameter, or indexes thereof.

[0019] According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method performed by a base station is provided, which includes: transmitting a plurality of pieces of configuration information for a reference signal for positioning; transmitting a signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information; and receiving the RS for positioning based on the activated configuration information.

[0020] According to another aspect of the disclosure, in the method, the signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information may be included in at least one of downlink control information (DCI) or system information block 1 (SIB1) or a paging message.

[0021] According to another aspect of the disclosure, the method may further include: receiving a message for requesting for updating the configuration information for the RS for positioning.

[0022] According to another aspect of the disclosure, in the method, the message for requesting for updating the configuration information for the RS for positioning may be at least one of message 1 (MSG)1, message 3 (MSG3), or uplink small data transmission (UL SDT).

[0023] According to another aspect of the disclosure, in the method, the message for requesting for updating the configuration information for the RS for positioning may include at least one of an expected configuration parameter, a preferred configuration parameter, or indexes thereof.

[0024] According to another aspect of the disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting the signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information in a case that a measured Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) of a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) for positioning is less than a first threshold (T1) or the quality of each measurement of the SRS for positioning is less than a second threshold (T2).

[0025] According to further aspect of the disclosure, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) is provided, which includes: receiving configuration information for a window, wherein the configuration information includes a starting position which is determined based on a paging occasion; and receiving a first RS for positioning based on the configuration information.

[0026] According to further aspect of the disclosure, in the method, the window includes a first sub-window, and the starting position of the first sub-window includes at least one of a position with a specific offset from a reference point which is the starting or ending position of a paging occasion or a paging occasion indicated by a paging early indication (PEI), or a position with a specific offset from a reference point which is the ending position of the last Synchronization Signal and PBCH block (SSB) before the starting position of the paging occasion or the paging occasion indicated by the PEI.

[0027] According to further aspect of the disclosure, in the method, the window further includes a second sub-window, and the starting position of the second sub-window includes at least one of a time point with an offset of d3 slots or S3 milliseconds from the starting or an ending OFDM symbol or a slot of a paging occasion or a paging occasion indicated by a paging early indication (PEI), or a time point with an offset of d4 slots or S4 milliseconds from the starting or an ending OFDM symbol or a slot of the first sub-window.

[0028] According to further aspect of the disclosure, the method may further include: receiving configuration information for a second RS for positioning, wherein the configuration information includes a starting position for the second RS transmission or a starting position of a second window for the second RS transmission; wherein, the starting position for the second RS transmission or the starting position of the second window for the second RS transmission is at C time units after the ending position of each window for downlink Positioning Reference Signal (DL PRS) measurement. Wherein, the first RS is DL PRS, and the second RS is UL SRS, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0029] According to further aspect of the disclosure, the method may further include: transmitting a signaling for requesting for activating the second sub-window to the base station, wherein the signaling includes at least one of message 1 (MSG1), message 3 (MSG3), or uplink small data transmission (UL SDT); the configuration information for the second RS for positioning is carried in at least one of downlink control information (DCI), system information block 1 (SIB1), a paging message, or downlink small data transmission (DL SDT).

[0030] According to further aspect of the disclosure, in the method, C is pre-configured, configured by the base station, or determined subject to UE capability.

[0031] According to further aspect of the disclosure, the method further includes: reporting the measurement result of the first RS; wherein, reporting in at least one of first message 1 (MSG1), message 3 (MSG3), or uplink small data transmission (UL SDT) after each first sub-window; or reporting in at least one of the first MSG1, MSG3, or UL SDT after the last window.

[0032] According to further aspect of the disclosure, in the method, the measurement result includes at least one of a measurement result of the first sub-window; a measurement result of the second sub-window; the measurement result obtained based on the measurement result of the first sub-window and the measurement result of the second sub-window.

[0033] According to further aspect of the disclosure, the method further includes: receiving configuration information for the first RS, including a comb size of a mapping pattern; wherein, the comb size of the mapping pattern includes at least one of: the comb size of the mapping pattern being 1, and the downlink RS occupying all frequency domain resource elements (REs) within the bandwidth of the downlink RS on one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol; the comb size of the mapping pattern being 1, and the downlink RS only occupying one OFDM symbol with an interval of M REs, where M is a real number greater than or equal to 0; the comb size of the mapping pattern being 14, and the downlink RS occupying 14 OFDM symbols.

[0034] According to yet aspect of the disclosure, a method performed by a base station is provided, which includes: transmitting configuration information for a window, wherein the configuration information includes a starting position which is determined based on a paging occasion; and receiving a first RS for positioning based on the configuration information.

[0035] According to yet aspect of the disclosure, the window includes a first sub-window, and the starting position of the first sub-window includes at least one of a position with a specific offset from a reference point which is the a starting or ending position of a paging occasion or a paging occasion indicated by a paging early indication (PEI); or a position with a specific offset from a reference point which is the an ending position of the last Synchronization Signal and PBCH block (SSB) before the starting position of the paging occasion or the paging occasion indicated by the PEI.

[0036] According to yet aspect of the disclosure, the window further includes a second sub-window, and the starting position of the second sub-window includes at least one of a position with a specific offset from a reference point which is the a starting or ending position of a paging occasion or a paging occasion indicated by a paging early indication (PEI); or a position with a specific offset from a reference point which is the starting or ending position of the first sub-window.

[0037] According to yet aspect of the disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting configuration information for a second RS for positioning, wherein the configuration information includes the starting position for the second RS transmission or the starting position of a second window for the second RS transmission; wherein, the starting position for the second RS transmission or the starting position of the second window for the second RS transmission is at C time units after the ending position of each window for downlink Positioning Reference Signal (DL PRS) measurement.

[0038] According to yet aspect of the disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a signaling for requesting for activating the second sub-window from the user equipment (UE), wherein the signaling includes at least one of message 1 (MSG1), message 3 (MSG3), or uplink small data transmission (UL SDT); the configuration information for the second RS for positioning is carried in at least one of downlink control information (DCI), system information block 1 (SIB1), a paging message, or downlink small data transmission (DL SDT).

[0039] According to yet aspect of the disclosure, wherein C is pre-configured, configured by the base station, or determined subject to UE capability.

[0040] According to yet aspect of the disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a measurement result of the first RS; wherein, the receiving is in at least one of the first message 1 (MSG1), message 3 (MSG3), or uplink small data transmission (UL SDT) after each first sub-window; or the receiving is in at least one of the first MSG1, MSG3, or UL SDT after the last window.

[0041] According to yet aspect of the disclosure, the measurement result includes at least one of a measurement result of the first sub-window; a measurement result of the second sub-window; the measurement result obtained based on the measurement result of the first sub-window and the measurement result of the second sub-window.

[0042] According to yet aspect of the disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting configuration information for the first RS, including a comb size of a mapping pattern; wherein, the comb size of the mapping pattern includes at least one of: the comb size of the mapping pattern being 1, and the downlink RS occupying all frequency domain resource elements (REs) within the bandwidth of the downlink RS on one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol; the comb size of the mapping pattern being 1, and the downlink RS only occupying one OFDM symbol with an interval of M REs, where M is a real number greater than or equal to 0; the comb size of the mapping pattern being 14, and the downlink RS occupying 14 OFDM symbols.

[0043] According to an aspect of the disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, which includes: a transceiver for receiving data and / or signals; and a controller for executing at least one method performed by the user device UE as described above.

[0044] According to an aspect of the disclosure, a base station is provided, which includes: a transceiver for receiving data and / or signals; and a controller for executing at least one method performed by the base station as described above.

[0045] It should be understood that the overall description mentioned above and the detailed description below are both exemplary and illustrative, and are intended to provide further explanation of the disclosure as claimed.

[0046] The disclosure may provide a method and device for processing a signal for positioning in the wireless communication system.

[0047] The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and are used in conjunction with the description to explain the principles of the disclosure. The drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated into the specification and form a part of the specification.

[0048] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network 100 according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0049] FIG. 2A illustrates an example transmission path according to the disclosure.

[0050] FIG. 2B illustrates an example reception path according to the disclosure.

[0051] FIG. 3A illustrates an example UE 116 according to the disclosure.

[0052] FIG. 3B illustrates an example gNB 102 according to the disclosure.

[0053] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed by UE according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0054] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed by a base station according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0055] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed by a UE according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

[0056] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed by a base station according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

[0057] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of UE 800 according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0058] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of base station 900 according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0059] Providing the following description with reference to the drawings is intended to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments defined by the claims and their equivalents disclosed herein. The description includes various specific details to facilitate understanding, but should only be considered exemplary. Therefore, those skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications may be made to the various embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Additionally, descriptions of well-known functionality and structures may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0060] The terms and phrases used in the specification and claims are not limited to their dictionary meanings, but are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the description of various embodiments disclosed herein is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0061] It should be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, references to "a surface of a component" include references to one or more such surfaces.

[0062] The term "comprising" or "may comprise" refers to the presence of respective disclosed functions, operations, or components that can be used in various embodiments of the disclosure, without limiting the presence of one or more additional functions, operations, or features. In addition, the terms "including" or "having" can be interpreted as representing certain characteristics, numbers, steps, operations, constituent elements, components, or their combinations, but should not be interpreted as excluding the possibility of the existence of one or more other characteristics, numbers, steps, operations, constituent elements, components, or their combinations.

[0063] The term "or" as used in various embodiments of this disclosure includes any combination of the listed terms and all of their combinations. For example, "A or B" may include A, B, or both A and B.

[0064] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the disclosure have the same meanings as understood by those skilled in the art. Commonly defined terms should be interpreted to have meanings consistent with the contextual meaning in the relevant technical field and should not be idealized or overly formalized, unless explicitly defined otherwise in the disclosure.

[0065] The technical solutions of the embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to various communication systems, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) system, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, a LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) system, a 5th generation (5G) system, or New Radio (NR), among others. Additionally, the technical solutions of the embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to future communication technologies.

[0066] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network 100 according to various embodiments of the disclosure. The embodiment of the wireless network 100 shown in FIG. 1 is for illustration only. Other embodiments of the wireless network 100 can be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0067] The wireless network 100 includes a gNodeB (gNB) 101, a gNB 102, and a gNB 103. gNB 101 communicates with gNB 102 and gNB 103. gNB 101 also communicates with at least one Internet Protocol (IP) network 130, such as the Internet, a private IP network, or other data networks.

[0068] Depending on a type of the network, other well-known terms such as "base station" or "access point" can be used instead of "gNodeB" or "gNB". For convenience, the terms "gNodeB" and "gNB" are used in this patent document to refer to network infrastructure components that provide wireless access for remote terminals. And, depending on the type of the network, other well-known terms such as "mobile station", "user station", "remote terminal", "wireless terminal" or "user apparatus" can be used instead of "user equipment" or "UE". For convenience, the terms "user equipment" and "UE" are used in this patent document to refer to remote wireless devices that wirelessly access the gNB, no matter whether the UE is a mobile device (such as a mobile phone or a smart phone) or a fixed device (such as a desktop computer or a vending machine).

[0069] gNB 102 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a first plurality of User Equipments (UEs) within a coverage area 120 of gNB 102. The first plurality of UEs include a UE 111, which may be located in a Small Business (SB); a UE 112, which may be located in an enterprise (E); a UE 113, which may be located in a WiFi Hotspot (HS); a UE 114, which may be located in a first residence (R); a UE 115, which may be located in a second residence (R); a UE 116, which may be a mobile device (M), such as a cellular phone, a wireless laptop computer, a wireless PDA, etc. GNB 103 provides wireless broadband access to network 130 for a second plurality of UEs within a coverage area 125 of gNB 103. The second plurality of UEs include a UE 115 and a UE 116. In some embodiments, one or more of gNBs 101-103 can communicate with each other and with UEs 111-116 using 5G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A, WiMAX or other advanced wireless communication technologies.

[0070] The dashed lines show approximate ranges of the coverage areas 120 and 125, and the ranges are shown as approximate circles merely for illustration and explanation purposes. It should be clearly understood that the coverage areas associated with the gNBs, such as the coverage areas 120 and 125, may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, depending on configurations of the gNBs and changes in the radio environment associated with natural obstacles and man-made obstacles.

[0071] As will be described in more detail below, one or more of gNB 101, gNB 102, and gNB 103 include a 2D antenna array as described in embodiments of the disclosure. In some embodiments, one or more of gNB 101, gNB 102, and gNB 103 support codebook designs and structures for systems with 2D antenna arrays.

[0072] Although FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the wireless network 100, various changes can be made to FIG. 1. The wireless network 100 can include any number of gNBs and any number of UEs in any suitable arrangement, for example. Furthermore, gNB 101 can directly communicate with any number of UEs and provide wireless broadband access to the network 130 for those UEs. Similarly, each gNB 102-103 can directly communicate with the network 130 and provide direct wireless broadband access to the network 130 for the UEs. In addition, gNB 101, 102 and / or 103 can provide access to other or additional external networks, such as external telephone networks or other types of data networks.

[0073] FIGs. 2A and 2B illustrate example wireless transmission and reception paths according to the disclosure. In the following description, the transmission path 200 can be described as being implemented in a gNB, such as gNB 102, and the reception path 250 can be described as being implemented in a UE, such as UE 116. However, it should be understood that the reception path 250 can be implemented in a gNB and the transmission path 200 can be implemented in a UE. In some embodiments, the reception path 250 is configured to support codebook designs and structures for systems with 2D antenna arrays as described in embodiments of the disclosure.

[0074] The transmission path 200 includes a channel coding and modulation block 205, a Serial-to-Parallel (S-to-P) block 210, a size N Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) block 215, a Parallel-to-Serial (P-to-S) block 220, a cyclic prefix addition block 225, and an up-converter (UC) 230. The reception path 250 includes a down-converter (DC) 255, a cyclic prefix removal block 260, a Serial-to-Parallel (S-to-P) block 265, a size N Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) block 270, a Parallel-to-Serial (P-to-S) block 275, and a channel decoding and demodulation block 280.

[0075] In the transmission path 200, the channel coding and modulation block 205 receives a set of information bits, applies coding (such as Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) coding), and modulates the input bits (such as using Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) or Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)) to generate a sequence of frequency-domain modulated symbols. The Serial-to-Parallel (S-to-P) block 210 converts (such as demultiplexes) serial modulated symbols into parallel data to generate N parallel symbol streams, where N is a size of the IFFT / FFT used in gNB 102 and UE 116. The size N IFFT block 215 performs IFFT operations on the N parallel symbol streams to generate a time-domain output signal. The Parallel-to-Serial block 220 converts (such as multiplexes) parallel time-domain output symbols from the Size N IFFT block 215 to generate a serial time-domain signal. The cyclic prefix addition block 225 inserts a cyclic prefix into the time-domain signal. The up-converter 230 modulates (such as up-converts) the output of the cyclic prefix addition block 225 to an RF frequency for transmission via a wireless channel. The signal can also be filtered at a baseband before switching to the RF frequency.

[0076] The RF signal transmitted from gNB 102 arrives at UE 116 after passing through the wireless channel, and operations in reverse to those at gNB 102 are performed at UE 116. The down-converter 255 down-converts the received signal to a baseband frequency, and the cyclic prefix removal block 260 removes the cyclic prefix to generate a serial time-domain baseband signal. The Serial-to-Parallel block 265 converts the time-domain baseband signal into a parallel time-domain signal. The Size N FFT block 270 performs an FFT algorithm to generate N parallel frequency-domain signals. The Parallel-to-Serial block 275 converts the parallel frequency-domain signal into a sequence of modulated data symbols. The channel decoding and demodulation block 280 demodulates and decodes the modulated symbols to recover the original input data stream.

[0077] Each of gNBs 101-103 may implement a transmission path 200 similar to that for transmitting to UEs 111-116 in the downlink, and may implement a reception path 250 similar to that for receiving from UEs 111-116 in the uplink. Similarly, each of UEs 111-116 may implement a transmission path 200 for transmitting to gNBs 101-103 in the uplink, and may implement a reception path 250 for receiving from gNBs 101-103 in the downlink.

[0078] Each of the components in FIGs. 2A and 2B can be implemented using only hardware, or using a combination of hardware and software / firmware. As a specific example, at least some of the components in FIGs. 2A and 2B may be implemented in software, while other components may be implemented in configurable hardware or a combination of software and configurable hardware. For example, the FFT block 270 and IFFT block 215 may be implemented as configurable software algorithms, in which the value of the size N may be modified according to the implementation.

[0079] Furthermore, although described as using FFT and IFFT, this is only illustrative and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the disclosure. Other types of transforms can be used, such as Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) functions. It should be understood that for DFT and IDFT functions, the value of variable N may be any integer (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), while for FFT and IFFT functions, the value of variable N may be any integer which is a power of 2 (such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.).

[0080] Although FIGs. 2A and 2B illustrate examples of wireless transmission and reception paths, various changes may be made to FIGs. 2A and 2B. For example, various components in FIGs. 2A and 2B can be combined, further subdivided or omitted, and additional components can be added according to specific requirements. Furthermore, FIGs. 2A and 2B are intended to illustrate examples of types of transmission and reception paths that can be used in a wireless network. Any other suitable architecture can be used to support wireless communication in a wireless network.

[0081] FIG. 3A illustrates an example UE 116 according to the disclosure. The embodiment of UE 116 shown in FIG. 3A is for illustration only, and UEs 111-115 of FIG. 1 can have the same or similar configuration. However, a UE has various configurations, and FIG. 3a does not limit the scope of the disclosure to any specific implementation of the UE.

[0082] UE 116 includes an antenna 305, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 310, a transmission (TX) processing circuit 315, a microphone 320, and a reception (RX) processing circuit 325. UE 116 also includes a speaker 330, a processor / controller 340, an input / output (I / O) interface 345, an input device(s) 350, a display 355, and a memory 360. The memory 360 includes an operating system (OS) 361 and one or more applications 362.

[0083] The RF transceiver 310 receives an incoming RF signal transmitted by a gNB of the wireless network 100 from the antenna 305. The RF transceiver 310 down-converts the incoming RF signal to generate an intermediate frequency (IF) or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is transmitted to the RX processing circuit 325, where the RX processing circuit 325 generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. The RX processing circuit 325 transmits the processed baseband signal to speaker 330 (such as for voice data) or to processor / controller 340 for further processing (such as for web browsing data).

[0084] The TX processing circuit 315 receives analog or digital voice data from microphone 320 or other outgoing baseband data (such as network data, email or interactive video game data) from processor / controller 340. The TX processing circuit 315 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. The RF transceiver 310 receives the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from the TX processing circuit 315 and up-converts the baseband or IF signal into an RF signal transmitted via the antenna 305.

[0085] The processor / controller 340 can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute an OS 361 stored in the memory 360 in order to control the overall operation of UE 116. For example, the processor / controller 340 can control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of backward channel signals through the RF transceiver 310, the RX processing circuit 325 and the TX processing circuit 315 according to well-known principles. In some embodiments, the processor / controller 340 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

[0086] The processor / controller 340 is also capable of executing other processes and programs residing in the memory 360, such as operations for channel quality measurement and reporting for systems with 2D antenna arrays as described in embodiments of the disclosure. The processor / controller 340 can move data into or out of the memory 360 as required by an execution process. In some embodiments, the processor / controller 340 is configured to execute the application 362 based on the OS 361 or in response to signals received from the gNB or the operator. The processor / controller 340 is also coupled to an I / O interface 345, where the I / O interface 345 provides UE 116 with the ability to connect to other devices such as laptop computers and handheld computers. I / O interface 345 is a communication path between these accessories and the processor / controller 340.

[0087] The processor / controller 340 is also coupled to the input device(s) 350 and the display 355. An operator of UE 116 can input data into UE 116 using the input device(s) 350. The display 355 may be a liquid crystal display or other display capable of presenting text and / or at least limited graphics (such as from a website). The memory 360 is coupled to the processor / controller 340. A part of the memory 360 can include a random access memory (RAM), while another part of the memory 360 can include a flash memory or other read-only memory (ROM).

[0088] Although FIG. 3A illustrates an example of UE 116, various changes can be made to FIG. 3A. For example, various components in FIG. 3A can be combined, further subdivided or omitted, and additional components can be added according to specific requirements. As a specific example, the processor / controller 340 can be divided into a plurality of processors, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs) and one or more graphics processing units (GPUs). Furthermore, although FIG. 3A illustrates that the UE 116 is configured as a mobile phone or a smart phone, UEs can be configured to operate as other types of mobile or fixed devices.

[0089] FIG. 3B illustrates an example gNB 102 according to the disclosure. The embodiment of gNB 102 shown in FIG. 3B is for illustration only, and other gNBs of FIG. 1 can have the same or similar configuration. However, a gNB has various configurations, and FIG. 3B does not limit the scope of the disclosure to any specific implementation of a gNB. It should be noted that gNB 101 and gNB 103 can include the same or similar structures as gNB 102.

[0090] As shown in FIG. 3B, gNB 102 includes a plurality of antennas 370a-370n, a plurality of RF transceivers 372a-372n, a transmission (TX) processing circuit 374, and a reception (RX) processing circuit 376. In certain embodiments, one or more of the plurality of antennas 370a-370n include a 2D antenna array. gNB 102 also includes a controller / processor 378, a memory 380, and a backhaul or network interface 382.

[0091] RF transceivers 372a-372n receive an incoming RF signal from antennas 370a-370n, such as a signal transmitted by UEs or other gNBs. RF transceivers 372a-372n down-convert the incoming RF signal to generate an IF or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is transmitted to the RX processing circuit 376, where the RX processing circuit 376 generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. RX processing circuit 376 transmits the processed baseband signal to controller / processor 378 for further processing.

[0092] The TX processing circuit 374 receives analog or digital data (such as voice data, network data, email or interactive video game data) from the controller / processor 378. TX processing circuit 374 encodes, multiplexes and / or digitizes outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. RF transceivers 372a-372n receive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from TX processing circuit 374 and up-convert the baseband or IF signal into an RF signal transmitted via antennas 370a-370n.

[0093] The controller / processor 378 can include one or more processors or other processing devices that control the overall operation of gNB 102. For example, the controller / processor 378 can control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of backward channel signals through the RF transceivers 372a-372n, the RX processing circuit 376 and the TX processing circuit 374 according to well-known principles. The controller / processor 378 can also support additional functions, such as higher-level wireless communication functions. For example, the controller / processor 378 can perform a Blind Interference Sensing (BIS) process such as that performed through a BIS algorithm, and decode a received signal from which an interference signal is subtracted. A controller / processor 378 may support any of a variety of other functions in gNB 102. In some embodiments, the controller / processor 378 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

[0094] The controller / processor 378 is also capable of executing programs and other processes residing in the memory 380, such as a basic OS. The controller / processor 378 can also support channel quality measurement and reporting for systems with 2D antenna arrays as described in embodiments of the disclosure. In some embodiments, the controller / processor 378 supports communication between entities such as web RTCs. The controller / processor 378 can move data into or out of the memory 380 as required by an execution process.

[0095] The controller / processor 378 is also coupled to the backhaul or network interface 382. The backhaul or network interface 382 allows gNB 102 to communicate with other devices or systems through a backhaul connection or through a network. The backhaul or network interface 382 can support communication over any suitable wired or wireless connection(s). For example, when gNB 102 is implemented as a part of a cellular communication system, such as a cellular communication system supporting 5G or new radio access technology or NR, LTE or LTE-A, the backhaul or network interface 382 can allow gNB 102 to communicate with other gNBs through wired or wireless backhaul connections. When gNB 102 is implemented as an access point, the backhaul or network interface 382 can allow gNB 102 to communicate with a larger network, such as the Internet, through a wired or wireless local area network or through a wired or wireless connection. The backhaul or network interface 382 includes any suitable structure that supports communication through a wired or wireless connection, such as an Ethernet or an RF transceiver.

[0096] The memory 380 is coupled to the controller / processor 378. A part of the memory 380 can include an RAM, while another part of the memory 380 can include a flash memory or other ROMs. In certain embodiments, a plurality of instructions, such as the BIS algorithm, are stored in the memory. The plurality of instructions are configured to cause the controller / processor 378 to execute the BIS process and decode the received signal after subtracting at least one interference signal determined by the BIS algorithm.

[0097] As will be described in more detail below, the transmission and reception paths of gNB 102 (implemented using RF transceivers 372a-372n, TX processing circuit 374 and / or RX processing circuit 376) support aggregated communication with FDD cells and TDD cells.

[0098] Although FIG. 3B illustrates an example of gNB 102, various changes may be made to FIG. 3B. For example, gNB 102 can include any number of each component shown in FIG. 3A. As a specific example, the access point can include many backhaul or network interfaces 382, and the controller / processor 378 can support routing functions to route data between different network addresses. As another specific example, although shown as including a single instance of the TX processing circuit 374 and a single instance of the RX processing circuit 376, gNB 102 can include multiple instances of each (such as one for each RF transceiver).

[0099] In this application, the time-domain unit (also known as a time unit) can be: one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, one OFDM symbol group (composed of multiple OFDM symbols), one time slot, one time slot group (composed of multiple time slots), one subframe, one subframe group (composed of multiple subframes), one system frame, one system frame group (composed of multiple system frames); it can also be an absolute time unit, such as 1 millisecond, 1 second, etc. The time unit can also be a combination of multiple granularities, such as N1 time slots plus N2 OFDM symbols.

[0100] In this application, the frequency-domain unit (also known as a frequency unit) can be: one subcarrier, one subcarrier group (composed of multiple subcarriers), one resource block (RB), also known as a physical resource block (PRB), one resource block group (composed of multiple RBs), one bandwidth part (BWP), one bandwidth part group (composed of multiple BWPs), one frequency band / carrier, one frequency band group / carrier group; it can also be an absolute frequency domain unit, such as 1 Hz, 1 KHz, etc.; the frequency unit can also be a combination of multiple granularities, such as M1 PRBs plus M2 subcarriers.

[0101] The followings describe exemplary embodiments of the disclosure in further detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The text and drawings are provided as examples to aid the reader in understanding the disclosure, and they are not intended nor should they be interpreted to limit the scope of the disclosure in any way. Although certain embodiments and examples have been provided, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art, based on the disclosed content herein, that changes may be made to the illustrated embodiments and examples without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0102] A transmission link of a wireless communication system mainly includes a downlink communication link from the 5G New Radio (NR) gNB to a User Equipment (UE), a uplink communication link from the UE to the network, and a sidelink communication link (SL) from a UE to a UE, which can also be called a sidelink, etc.

[0103] Nodes for positioning measurement in a wireless communication system, such as the current wireless communication system, include: a UE that initiates positioning request messages and is used for downlink positioning measurement, a location management function (LMF) that is used for UE positioning and location assistance data distribution, a gNB or transmission-reception point (TRP) that broadcasts location assistance data and performs uplink positioning measurement, and a UE that is used for sidelink positioning measurement.

[0104] When a UE performs positioning measurement in Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive mode and / or idle mode, a reception of a DownLink Positioning Reference Signal (DL PRS) can be performed during a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) period. When the UE performs downlink positioning measurement, the UE in RRC INACTIVE mode and / or idle mode is expected to prioritize the reception of any other DL signals and DL channels than the reception of DL PRS, that is, when the DL PRS overlaps with other downlink signals and / or channels in a time domain and / or a frequency domain, the UE does not expect to measure the DL PRS and expects to receive other downlink signals and / or channels. The other downlink signals and / or channels may include a synchronization signal block (SSB) signal, a system information block 1 (SIB1) signal, a control resource set 0 (CORESET0) signal, a message 2 (MSG2) / message B (MSGB) signal, a paging signal, and a downlink small data transmission (DL SDT) signal. When the UE expects to perform uplink positioning measurement, if the transmission of SRS for positioning in RRC_INACTIVE mode and / or the idle mode along with the switching time, in unpaired spectrum, collides in time domain with other DL signals or channels or UL signals or channels, the SRS for positioning transmission is dropped in the symbol(s) where the collision occurs. At this point, it is urgent to address how to further reduce the power consumption of the UE in performing the positioning measurement.

[0105] For example, how to configure a signal for positioning is a problem that needs to be solved. Another problem that needs to be addressed is how to avoid a UE frequently entering a RRC connection mode for updating a configuration of the signal for positioning. Additionally, how to determine a measurement position of the signal for positioning to reduce a frequency at which the UE wakes up, so that the UE can complete a positioning measurement process as soon as possible. Moreover, how to report a measurement result to avoid additional power consumption. The signal for positioning, for example, may be the DL PRS or the UL SRS for positioning, but the disclosure does not limit the naming of the signal for positioning. In the following content of the disclosure, PRS or SRS is taken as an example to explain, but the signal for positioning is not limited thereto.

[0106] Specifically, the disclosure provides a method and device for low-power consumption signal configuration and measurement. In one embodiment of the disclosure, a method for updating a UL SRS configuration for positioning, a method for determining a measurement position of a DL PRS and / or a UL SRS for positioning, and a method for reporting DL PRS measurement result are disclosed. The present embodiment provides an exemplary illustration using the DL PRS or the UL SRS for positioning, but the methods disclosed can also be applied for measurement of other signals, such as a synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB), and a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), etc..

[0107] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed by a user equipment (UE) according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0108] As shown in FIG. 4, in step 410, the UE receives a plurality of pieces of configuration information for a reference signal (RS) for positioning transmitted by a base station. In step 420, the UE receives a signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information transmitted by the base station. In step 430, the UE transmits the RS for positioning based on the activated configuration information.

[0109] The configuration parameter(s) of the UL SRS for positioning used by the UE in the RRC INACTIVE mode and / or the idle mode is configured by the base station the last time the UE was in RRC connection mode. When the UE needs to update the configuration parameter(s) of the UL SRS for positioning, the UE will re-enter the RRC connection mode to obtain the latest configuration parameter(s) of the UL SRS for positioning. To further reduce the additional power consumption caused by frequent entry into the RRC connection mode, a method for updating the configuration parameter of the UL SRS for positioning may include a combination of one or more of the followings:

[0110] ○ The base station may configure N SRSs with different configuration parameters. When the network determines that a measured Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) of the SRS for positioning is less than a first threshold T1 or the quality of each measurement of the SRS for positioning is less than a second threshold T2, the UE activates (determines / obtains) a set of configuration parameter of the UL SRS for positioning by receiving Downlink Control Information (DCI) or SIB1 or paging message. The network may be the base station or LMF. This method is more suitable for updating SRS parameter(s) when the channel condition changes;

[0111] ○ The base station may configure N SRSs with different configuration parameters. The UE initiates a request for updating configuration parameter(s) of the UL SRS for positioning to the base station via MSG1 and / or MSG3 and / or UL SDT. Optionally, when the UE detects that the cell identifier (ID) in SIB1 has changed, the UE initiates a request for updating the configuration parameter(s) of the UL SRS for positioning to the base station via MSG1 and / or MSG3 and / or UL SDT. After UE transmits the message for requesting for updating the configuration parameter(s) of the UL SRS for positioning, UE activates (determines / obtains) a set of configuration parameter for the UL SRS for positioning by receiving DCI or SIB1 or paging message or DL SDT. This method is more suitable for updating the parameter of the UL SRS for positioning when UE state is changes, the change may be a cell handover of the UE or a change in an average movement speed of the UE;

[0112] ○ The base station may configure N SRSs with different configuration parameters. The UE requests a set of configuration parameter of the UL SRS for positioning from the base station via MSG1 and / or MSG3 and / or UL SDT. After UE transmits a message for requesting for updating the configuration parameter of the UL SRS for positioning, UE activates (determines / obtains) the configuration parameter of the UL SRS for positioning by receiving DCI or SIB1 or a paging message or DL SDT. This method allows the UE to provide an index of its preferred configuration parameter of the UL SRS for positioning to the base station, so that the positioning result is more accurate;

[0113] ○ The UE requests for updating part or all of configuration parameters of the UL SRS for positioning from the base station via MSG1 and / or MSG3 and / or UL SDT. UE updates part or all of the configuration parameters of the UL SRS for positioning by receiving the parameters indicated in DCI or SIB1 or paging messages or DL SDT. For example, the UE may request for updating the SRS periodicity from the base station via MSG1 and / or MSG3 and / or UL SDT, and the UE may update the current SRS periodicity by receiving a SRS periodicity configured in DCI or SIB1 or a paging message or DL SDT. This method may reduce the signaling overhead for updating the configuration of the UL SRS for positioning;

[0114] ○ The UE transmits part or all of the configuration parameters of the UL SRS for positioning expected by UE to the base station via MSG1 and / or MSG3 and / or UL SDT, and the UE updates part or all of the configuration parameters of the UL SRS for positioning by receiving the parameters indicated in DCI, or SIB1, or a paging message, or DL SDT. For example, UE may transmit a SRS periodicity it expects to be configured to the base station via MSG1 and / or MSG3 and / or UL SDT, and update the periodicity of the UL SRS for positioning by receiving the SRS periodicity configured in DCI or SIB1 or a paging message or DL SDT. This method allows UE to provide base station with its preferred configuration parameters of the UL SRS for positioning, so that such configured SRS is more suitable for a current requirement for positioning of the UE.

[0115] ○ The SRSs with different configuration parameters each includes at least one of the following: a transmission comb size of a SRS, a time-domain starting position of a SRS, a repetition factor of a SRS, a frequency-domain position of a SRS, a frequency-domain offset of a SRS, a frequency-domain hopping of a SRS, a resource type of a SRS, a spatial relation of a SRS, a periodicity and an offset of a SRS;

[0116] ○ The values of N, the first threshold T1, and the second threshold T2 may be parameter values reported by UE subject to UE capability, and / or parameter values configured and / or pre-configured by the base station that UE receives. N is a real number greater than or equal to 1, T1 and T2 are real numbers greater than or equal to 0.

[0117] During a process of a UE using a UL SRS for positioning to perform uplink positioning, if the serving cell or serving base station of the UE changes, for example, if a cell reselection occurs during the process that the UE performs the uplink positioning, a method for timing advance (TA) adjustment of the UL SRS for positioning may a combination of one or more of the following:

[0118] ○ The TA of the UL SRS for positioning does not change, that is, it still equals to the TA of the serving cell or serving base station before the serving cell or serving base station changes. For example, the TA of the UL SRS for positioning is still equal to the TA of the serving cell before the cell reselection. This method helps to reduce interference between a UL SRS used for positioning and an uplink signal of an original serving cell or serving base station of the UE;

[0119] ○ The TA of the UL SRS for positioning varies with a change in the serving cell or serving base station. When there is a change in the serving cell or serving base station, such as a cell reselection, UE calculates the TA of the UL SRS for positioning based on a current serving cell or base station, for transmitting the UL SRS for positioning after the change or the reselection. This method helps to reduce the interference between the UL SRS for positioning and the uplink signal of the current serving cell or serving base station;

[0120] ○ The TA of the UL SRS for positioning is equal to the maximum value among the TA of the serving cell or serving base station before the change in the serving cell or serving base station and the TA of the serving cell or serving base station after the change in the serving cell or serving base station, in order to reduce interference between the UL SRS for positioning and the uplink signal.

[0121] ○ UE may calculate a current TA of the SRS for positioning based on the TA of the serving cell or base station (the last serving cell) and a reception of a time difference between the serving cell or base station and other cells or base stations indicated by the serving base station. The other cells or base stations can be camping cells or base stations, or cells or base stations within a validity area of the SRS, or neighboring cells or base stations.

[0122] ○ The UE may calculate the current TA of the SRS for positioning based on an absolute time based on a specific time of a specific signal which is obtained by base station indication, and / or a time difference of the specific signals between the serving cell or base station and the camping cell or base station, and / or a TA configured by lastbase station. The specific signal may be an SSB or SIB signal, and the specific time may be an SFN. This operation may reduce time errors in TA calculation caused by a synchronization offset between base stations.

[0123] The method for the UE to determine SRS power control pathloss reference signal (RS) and / or spatial relation RS, for example, the method for UE to determine the power control pathloss RS and / or the spatial relation RS of SRS for positioning within multi-cell in RRC inactive state, may include a combination of one or more of the following:

[0124] ○ Subject to UE capability, the UE may use a different spatial transmission filters for SRS for positioning resources transmission, and / or may use a fixed spatial transmission filters which may be determined based on UE implementation. The SRS power control pathloss RS for positioning is the same as the SRS spatial relation RS for positioning determined by UE;

[0125] ○ The UE receives one or more SRS power control pathloss RS(s) and / or spatial relation RS(s) configured by the base station. Optionally, the RS(s) may be configured by the base station via MAC CE. The method of UE using the RS(s) configured by the base station may include a combination of one or more of the following:

[0126] ■ When Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) of one configured SRS power control pathloss RS and / or spatial relation RS is greater than and / or equal to a third threshold and / or Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) is greater than and / or equal to a fourth threshold, UE uses the RS configured by the base station.

[0127] ■ When the RSRQs of more than one configured SRS power control pathloss RSs and / or spatial relation RSs are greater than and / or equal to the third threshold and / or the RSRPs are greater than and / or equal to the fourth threshold, the RS with the highest RSRQ and / or the strongest RSRP among the RSs may be used, or any one of more than one configured SRS power control pathloss RSs and / or spatial relation RSs may be used as the SRS power control pathloss RS and / or the spatial relation RS.

[0128] ■ If the RSRQs of one or more RSs configured by the base station are less than and / or equal to the third threshold and / or the RSRPs are less than and / or equal to the fourth threshold, UE will use a SSB and / or PRS with the highest RSRQ and / or the strongest RSRP, and / or an SSB as the one the UE used to obtain MIB in a camping cell, and / or a specific signal according to a specific time, and / or a latest SSB received by the camping cell or a previous SSB closest to the current SRS resource or resource set, and / or a SSB with the largest RSRP or RSRQ among the X SSBs closest to the current SRS resource or resource set, as the SRS power control pathloss RS and / or spatial relation RS, based on UE implementation or by downlink measurement, or UE may request the base station to update the SRS configuration, for example, UE may request the base station to update the SRS configuration through a UL SDT or RACH procedure, and / or the UE suspends the transmission of the SRS for positioning resource or resource set.

[0129] ■ If the UE determines that one or more semi-persistent or periodic downlink RSs configured for a SRS resource for positioning can be accurately measured, a path loss RS and / or a spatial relation RS in SRS power control can use a RS with the highest RSRQ and / or the strongest RSRP among the RSs, or any one of more than one configured SRS power control path loss RSs and / or spatial relation RSs, as a SRS power control path loss RS and / or spatial relation RS.

[0130] ■ If the UE determines that the UE cannot accurately measure the configured downlink RS(s) for a SRS resource for positioning where the one or more DL RS(s) is semi-persistent or periodic , the pathloss RS in SRS power control and / or the spatial relation RS can use a SSB with the highest RSRQ and / or the strongest RSRP, and / or a PRS for camping cell and / or an SSB as the one the UE used to obtain MIB in a camping cell, and / or a specific signal according to a specific time, as the SRS power control pathloss RS and / or spatial relation RS; and / or use a latest SSB received from a new camping cell or a previous SSB closest to the current SRS resource or resource set and in a case that a RSRP of a selected SSB is greater than a preconfigured value or a predefined threshold value, or a latest SSB based on a measurement from a new camping cell and in a case that a RSRP of a selected SSB is greater than a preconfigured value or a predefined threshold value, or a SSB with the largest RSRP or RSRQ among the X SSBs closest to the current SRS resource or resource set, as a SRS power control pathloss RS and / or spatial relation RS. Or the UE requests the base station to update the SRS configuration, for example, the UE requests the base station to update the SRS configuration through the UL SDT or RACH process, and / or the UE suspends the transmission of the SRS for positioning resource or resource set.

[0131] ■ The specific signal may be SSB or SIB or CSI-RS signal, and the specific time may be SFN.

[0132] ■ After determining the RS, UE notifies the base station of an index of the RS selected by UE via UL SDT or MSG 1 or MSG A.

[0133] ■ The third threshold T3 and fourth threshold T4 may be parameter values reported by UE based on its own processing capability, and / or parameter values configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which are received by UE, where T3 and T4 are real numbers greater than or equal to 0.

[0134] After the UE determines the spatial relation for the SRS resources transmission by UE implementation, UE notifies the base station of the selected method for determining SRS resource spatial relation RS for beam scanning at the base station end, by a high-level signaling such as assistant information, or a physical layer signaling such as UL SDT or MSG 1 or MSG A. Optionally, the high-level signaling or the physical layer signaling may include the number of SRSs transmitted by UE using a same beam direction and / or the total number of SRSs transmitted in different beam directions. For example, if the UE uses multiple spatial transmission filters to determine the spatial relation of SRS resources for transmission, the high-level signaling or the physical layer signaling may include the total number of SRSs transmitted by the UE using multiple beam directions, in order for the base station to determine the number of SRSs to be measured on a same receiving beam, where the beam directions and the SRSs have a definite one-to-one spatial relation. If the UE uses a fixed spatial transmission filter to determine the spatial relation of the SRS resources for transmission, the high-level signaling or the physical layer signaling may include the number of SRSs transmitted by UE using the same beam direction, in order for the base station to perform beam scanning at the receiver and determine the number of beams that may be scanned at the base station.

[0135] If the UE in RRC INACTIVE mode determines that the UE is not able to accurately measure the configured downlink RS in SRS-SpatialRelationInfoPos for a SRS resource for positioning where the DL RS is semi- persistent or periodic , a pathloss parameter in SRS power control or a spatial relation RS may be calculated based on the latest SSB received from a new camping cell or a previous SSB closest to the current SRS resource or resource set and in the case that the RSRP of the selected SSB is greater than a pre-configured value or a predefined threshold, or may be calculated based on the latest SSB measured from the new camping cell and in the case that the RSRP of the selected SSB is greater than a pre-configured value or a predefined threshold, or may be calculated based on the SSB with the maximum RSRP or RSRQ among the X SSBs closest to the current SRS resource or resource set. The X may be a parameter value reported by a UE subject to UEcapability and / or a parameter value configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which is received by UE, where X is a real number greater than or equal to 0. If the UE in RRC INACTIVE mode determines that the RSRP of the configured downlink RS in SRS-SpatialRelationInfoPos for a SRS resource for positioning is less than a fifth threshold, or RSRQ of the configured downlink RS in SRS-SpatialRelationInfoPos for a SRS resource for positioning is less than a sixth threshold, where the DL RS is semi- persistent or periodic , the pathloss parameter in SRS power control or spatial relation RS may be calculated based on the latest SSB received from a new camping cell or a previous SSB closest to a current SRS resource or resource set and in the case that the RSRP of the selected SSB is greater than a pre-configured value or a predefined threshold, or may be calculated based on the latest SSB measured from the new camping cell and in the case that the RSRP of the selected SSB is greater than the pre-configured value or the predefined threshold, or may be calculated based on the SSB with the maximum RSRP or RSRQ among the X SSBs closest to the current SRS resource or resource set. The fifth and sixth thresholds can be parameter values reported by UE subject to UE capability and / or parameter values configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which are received by UE, where the fifth and sixth thresholds are real numbers are greater than or equal to 0.

[0136] When an absolute value of a difference between the SSB RSRP of the serving cell or base station and the SSB RSRP of the camping cell or base station (SSB RSRP change between the serving cell and the camping cell) measured by UE is less than a seventh threshold, the p0 and a partial pathloss compensation factor alpha configured by the serving base station may be used for the SRS power control calculation. When the absolute value of the difference between the SSB RSRP of the service cell or base station and the SSB RSRP of the camping cell or base station measured by UE is greater than or equal to the seventh threshold, UE requests, via UL SDT or MSG 1 or MSG A, the base station to configure a new value of p0 and / or alpha through MIB / SIB, and / or determines alpha=1, and / or determines P0 of SRS based on P0 of a random access channel (PRACH) configured in SIB1. Considering a power ramping mechanism used in the PRACH, the P0 of the SRS determined by UE may be equal to the P0 of the PRACH plus a predefined or pre-configured delta value, where the predefined or pre-configured delta value is a real number greater than or equal to 0. The seventh threshold may be a parameter value reported by UE subject to UE capability and / or a parameter value configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which is received by UE, where the seventh threshold is a real number greater than or equal to 0.

[0137] If the base station configures an alpha used for the SRS power control calculation, UE uses the same configured alpha in multiple of cells within a validity area. Otherwise, alpha=1.

[0138] A condition for a UE requesting for SRS updating may include a combination of one or more of the following:

[0139] ○ A confidence level of positioning reliability is less than a predefined or pre-configured value V (for example, V=90%);

[0140] ○ The UE or LMF determines that the current positioning reliability is less than a predefined or pre-configured value and issues a positioning alert;

[0141] ○ A RSRP value obtained by SRS measurement is less than an eighth threshold;

[0142] ○ When the absolute value of the difference between the SSB RSRP of the service cell or base station and the SSB RSRP of the camping cell or base station measured by the UE is greater than a ninth gate threshold;

[0143] ○ The eighth threshold and ninth threshold may be parameter values reported by UE subject to UE capability and / or parameter values configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which are received by UE, where the eighth threshold and ninth threshold are real numbers greater than or equal to 0.

[0144] UE can reduce power consumption by skipping or not monitoring one or more paging occasions to extend the life span of the UE. The method of skipping or not monitoring one or more paging occasions may include a combination of one or more of the following:

[0145] ○ UE may monitor a paging occasion through Semi-Persistent Scheduling. Optionally, UE may activate and / or deactivate the monitoring of the paging occasion of Semi-Persistent Scheduling by receiving DCI or SIB1 or a paging message or DL SDT. When UE receives an activation request, it monitors a paging occasion once in each period, with Q as the period. Optionally, in each period, a first paging occasion within the period is monitored.

[0146] ○ The UE takes the time domain position where an indication message is received as a starting position and skips or does not monitor a corresponding paging occasion within a duration V. The indication message may be a DCI or SIB1 or a paging message or DL SDT. Optionally, indication information of 1 bit may be added to the indication message. When the indication information of 1 bit is set to 1, UE skips or does not monitor the paging occasion, and / or when the indication information of 1 bit is set to 0, UE does not skip or continues to monitor the paging occasion.

[0147] ○ Wherein, the period Q and the duration V may be parameter values reported by the UE based on its own processing capability and / or parameter values configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which are received by the UE. Q and V are real numbers greater than one paging occasion.

[0148] FIG. 5 illustrates a method performed by a base station according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0149] As shown in Fig. 5, in step 510, the base station transmits a plurality of pieces of configuration information for a RS for positioning; in step 520, the base station transmits a signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information; in step 530, the base station receives the RS for positioning based on the activated configuration information.

[0150] FIG. 6 illustrates a method performed by a UE according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0151] As shown in Figure 6, in step 610, the UE receives configuration information for a window, which includes a starting position based on a paging occasion; in step 620, the UE receives a first RS for positioning based on the configuration information. The method may also include receiving configuration information for a second RS for positioning. Wherein, the first RS is DL PRS, and the second RS is UL SRS, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0152] In order to reduce power consumption during DL PRS measurement, the UE can support a comb size of a mapping pattern for DL PRS that is more compact and flexible. The comb size of the mapping pattern for DL PRS may include a combination of one or more of the following:

[0153] ○ Comb size , which means that a PRS may occupy all frequency domain resource elements (REs) within the PRS bandwidth on one OFDM symbol, as shown in Table 1. This method is beneficial for reducing a measurement delay of PRS.

[0154] ○ Optionally, to reduce inter-user interference, when a PRS only occupies one OFDM symbol, the REs in the frequency domain may be mapped with an interval of M REs. This method may further reduce the inter-user interference of DL PRS. M may be a parameter value reported by UE based on its own processing capability and / or a parameter value configured and / or a pre-configured by the base station which is received by UE, where M is a real number greater than or equal to 0.

[0155] ○ Comb size , when the comb size is 14, in order to ensure integrity of the mapping pattern, the number of the corresponding OFDM symbols in the time domain may be 14, which can support a configuration combination of comb size when the number of OFDM symbols is 14. The frequency domain offset k on the corresponding OFDM symbols in the configuration combination may be {0,7,4,11,1,8,5,12,9,6,13,3,10}, as shown in Table 1, where NA indicates that a corresponding configuration is not supported. This method is suitable for PRS configuration in an indoor scene with lower Doppler or when UE is in a RRC inactive state, with higher positioning measurement accuracy.

[0156] [Table 1] Values of Frequency Domain Offset k on Different OFDM Symbols

[0157]

[0158] In order to reduce an additional power consumption caused by UE being frequently awakened to perform a positioning measurement, the requirement for PRS measurement in RRC nonactivated mode or RRC inactive mode and / or RRC idle modeis applicable on the premise that all PRS resources within one positioning frequency layer are configured in up to two separate windows within available time (T_ available), where T_ available is the least common multiple of a PRS periodicity and a DRX cycle, and the maximum length of each window is 5ms or 10ms. Wherein, the starting positions of the two separate windows can include a combination of one or more of the following:

[0159] ○ The starting position of the first window may be the position with an offset of d1 time slots or S1 milliseconds from an OFDM symbol or a time slot at starting or ending of a paging occasion or a paging occasion indicated by paging early indication (PEI). This configuration method can enable a UE to perform a DL PRS measurement after or simultaneously with paging monitoring to avoid frequently switching between DRX off and DRX on, thereby reducing the power overhead of the UE. d1 and S1 may be parameter values reported by the UE subject to UE capability and / or parameter values configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which are received by the UE, where d1 and S1 are real numbers greater than or equal to 0.

[0160] ○ The starting position of the first window may be the position with an offset of d2 time slots or S2 milliseconds from an OFDM symbol or a time slot at the end of the last SSB before a starting position of a paging occasion or a paging occasion indicated by PEI. d2 and S2 may be parameter values reported by the UE subject to UE capability and / or parameter values configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which are received by the UE, where d2 and S2 are real numbers greater than or equal to 0.

[0161] ○ The starting position of the second window may be the position with an offset of d3 time slots or S3 milliseconds from OFDM symbol or time slot at starting or ending of a paging occasion or a paging occasion indicated by PEI. d3 and S3 can be parameter values reported by the UE subject to UE capability and / or parameter values configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which are received by the UE. Wherein, d3 is a real number greater than or equal to d1+R, S3 is a real number greater than or equal to S1+5ms or S1+10ms, where R is a number of time slots corresponding to 5ms or 10ms calculated based on a subcarrier spacing of a granularity or a Numerology of a current configuration.

[0162] ○ The starting position of the second window may be the position with an offset of d4 time slots or S4 milliseconds from an OFDM symbol or a time slot at the starting or the ending of the first window. This method determines a relative position of the first and second windows, which can provide reference for determining the configuration information for DL PRS, allowing for measurement of more DL PRSs within the window. d4 and S4 may be parameter values reported by the UE subject to UE capability and / or parameter values configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which are received by the UE, where d4 and S4 are real numbers greater than or equal to 0.

[0163] ○ Optionally, UE may report or predefine a time interval D subject to UE capability. If the offset is greater than the time interval D, UE may enter a DRX off state. If the offset is less than the time interval D, UE continues to remain in a DRX on state to wait for subsequent positioning measurements. This method can avoid additional power consumption caused by UE being in the DRX on state for a long time. Wherein, the offset may include d1, d2, d3, d4 or S1, S2, S3, S4.

[0164] To reduce power consumption during DL PRS and UL SRS measurements, a method for configuring a UL SRS may include a combination of one or more of the following:

[0165] ○ Transmit UL SRS up to UE implementation Optionally, the UE starts to transmit a UL SRS at C1 time units after the ending position of each window used for DL PRS measurement, or takes C1 time units after the ending position of each window used for DL PRS measurement as a starting point for a UL SRS transmission window or duration, the length of the UL SRS transmission window or duration is L1. C1 and L1 are parameter values predefined by the UE subject to UE capability, where C1 and L1 are real numbers greater than or equal to 0.

[0166] ○ Subject to UE capabilities and / or indicated by base station, UE starts to transmit UL SRS at C2 time units after an ending position of each window used for DL PRS measurement, or takes C2 time units after an ending position of each window used for DL PRS measurement as a starting point for a UL SRS transmission window, the length of the UL SRS transmission window or duration is L2. This method can enable UE to transmit the UL SRS as soon as possible after measuring the DL PRS, making it more suitable for multi-RTT positioning measurement. C2 and L2 may be parameter values reported by UE subject to UE capability and / or parameter values configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which are received by UE, where C2 and L2 are real numbers greater than or equal to 0.

[0167] ○ Subject to UE capabilities and / or indicated by base station, the starting position of the UL SRS transmission window is configured to be C3 time units after the ending position of each window used for DL PRS measurement, and the duration of the transmission window is L3. UE requests the base station to activate the UL SRS transmission window via MSG1 and / or MSG3 and / or UL SDT, and UE activates one or more UL SRS transmission windows for UL SRS transmission by receiving DCI or SIB1 or a paging message or DL SDT. This method can enable the base station to know a location of receiving the UL SRS in advance, avoiding scheduling other signals and / or channels within an activated window. C3 and L3 may be parameter values reported by UE subject to UE capability and / or parameter values configured and / or pre-configured by the base station which are received by the UE, where C3 and L3 are real numbers greater than or equal to 0.

[0168] To avoid an additional power consumption caused by frequent wake-ups of a UE during reporting a DL PRS measurement result, a method for reporting a DL PRS measurement result may include a combination of one or more of the following:

[0169] ○ Considering that all PRS resources within a positioning frequency layer are only configured in up to two separate windows within T_available, the DL PRS measurement result may be reported to the base station via the first MSG1 and / or MSG3 and / or UL SDT after each window in T_available;

[0170] ○ The DL PRS measurement results of two separate windows may be reported simultaneously via the first MSG1 and / or MSG3 and / or UL SDT after the last window in T_available or may be reported by combining through a statistical method. The statistical method can be the mean or maximum or minimum values of DL PRS measurements; this method can reduce a signaling overhead caused by frequently reporting measurement results, or can improve qualities of reported measurement results.

[0171] FIG. 7 illustrates a method performed by a base station according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0172] As shown in Fig. 7, in step 710, the base station transmits configuration information for a window, which includes a starting position based on a paging occasion; in step 720, based on the configuration information, the base station transmits a first RS for positioning. The method may also include: the base station transmitting configuration information for a second RS for positioning. wherein, the first RS is DL PRS, and the second RS is UL SRS, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0173] According to an embodiment, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) may be provided.

[0174] According to an embodiment, the method may include receiving a plurality of pieces of configuration information for a reference signal (RS) for positioning transmitted by a base station.

[0175] According to an embodiment, the method may include receiving a signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information transmitted by the base station.

[0176] According to an embodiment, the method may include transmitting the RS for positioning based on the activated configuration information.

[0177] According to an embodiment, the signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information may be included in downlink control information (DCI) or system information block 1 (SIB1) or a paging message.

[0178] According to an embodiment, the method may include transmitting a message for requesting for updating the configuration information for the RS for positioning.

[0179] According to an embodiment, the message for requesting for updating the configuration information for the RS for positioning may be at least one of message 1 (MSG)1, message 3 (MSG3), or uplink small data transmission (UL SDT).

[0180] According to an embodiment, the message for requesting for updating the configuration information for the RS for positioning may include at least one of an expected configuration parameter, a preferred configuration parameter, or indexes thereof.

[0181] According to an embodiment, a method performed by a base station may be provided.

[0182] According to an embodiment, the method may include transmitting a plurality of pieces of configuration information for a reference signal (RS) for positioning.

[0183] According to an embodiment, the method may include transmitting a signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information.

[0184] According to an embodiment, the method may include receiving the RS for positioning based on the activated configuration information.

[0185] According to an embodiment, the signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information may be included in at least one of downlink control information (DCI) or system information block 1 (SIB1) or a paging message.

[0186] According to an embodiment, the method may include receiving a message for requesting for updating the configuration information for the RS for positioning.

[0187] According to an embodiment, the method may include transmitting the signaling for activating one of the plurality of pieces of configuration information in a case that a measured Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) of Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) for positioning is less than a first threshold (T1) or a quality of each measurement of the SRS for positioning is less than a second threshold (T2).

[0188] According to an embodiment, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) may be provided.

[0189] According to an embodiment, the method may include receiving configuration information for a window.

[0190] According to an embodiment, the configuration information may include a starting position which is determined based on a paging occasion.

[0191] According to an embodiment, the method may include receiving a first reference signal (RS) for positioning based on the configuration information.

[0192] According to an embodiment, the window may include a first sub-window.

[0193] According to an embodiment, a starting position of the first sub-window may include at least one of: a position with a specific offset from a reference point which is the starting or ending position of a paging occasion or a paging occasion indicated by a paging early indication (PEI) ; or a position with a specific offset from a reference point which is the ending position of the last Synchronization Signal and PBCH block (SSB) before the starting position of the paging occasion or the paging occasion indicated by the PEI.

[0194] According to an embodiment, the window may include a second sub-window.

[0195] According to an embodiment, a starting position of the second sub-window may include at least one of: a position with a specific offset from a reference point which is the starting or ending position of a paging occasion or a paging occasion indicated by a paging early indication (PEI); or a position with a specific offset from a reference point which is the starting or ending position of the first sub-window.

[0196] According to an embodiment, the method may include receiving configuration information for a second RS for positioning.

[0197] According to an embodiment, the configuration information may include a starting position for transmitting the second RS or a starting position of a second window for transmitting the second RS.

[0198] According to an embodiment, the starting position for the second RS transmission or the starting position of the second window for the second RS transmission may be at C time units after the ending position of each window for downlink Positioning Reference Signal (DL PRS) measurement.

[0199] According to an embodiment, the method may include transmitting a signaling for requesting for activating the second sub-window to the base station.

[0200] According to an embodiment, the signaling may include at least one of message 1 (MSG1), message 3 (MSG3), or uplink small data transmission (UL SDT).

[0201] According to an embodiment, the configuration information for the second RS for positioning may be carried in at least one of downlink control information (DCI), system information block 1 (SIB1), a paging message, or downlink small data transmission (DL SDT).

[0202] According to an embodiment, the method may include reporting a measurement result of the first RS.

[0203] According to an embodiment, the reporting may be in at least one of a first message 1 (MSG1), message 3 (MSG3), or uplink small data transmission (UL SDT) after each first sub-window.

[0204] According to an embodiment, the reporting may be in at least one of a first MSG1, MSG3, or UL SDT after the last window.

[0205] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of UE 800 according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0206] As shown in Fig. 8, UE 800 includes a transceiver 810 and a controller 820, wherein the transceiver 810 is configured to transmit and receive data and signals, and the controller 820 is configured to execute the method described with reference to FIG. 4 and / or FIG. 6.

[0207] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of base station 900 according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0208] As shown in Fig. 9, UE 900 includes a transceiver 910 and a controller 920, the transceiver 910 is configured to transmit and receive data and signals, and the controller 920 is configured to execute the method described with reference to FIG. 5 and / or FIG. 7.

[0209] It should be understood that "at least one of / at least one" described in this disclosure includes any and / or all possible combinations of the listed items. The various embodiments and examples described in this disclosure may be changed and combined in any appropriate form, and " / " described in this disclosure represents "and / or".

[0210] The various illustrative logic frames, modules, and circuits described in this disclosure can be implemented or performed using general-purpose processors, Digital Signal Processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this specification. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternative solutions, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of DSP and microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors working in cooperation with the DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0211] The steps of the method or algorithm described in this disclosure can be directly implemented in hardware, in software modules executed by processors, or in a combination of both. Software modules may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disks, removable disks, or any other form of storage media known in the art. An exemplary storage media is coupled to the processor to enable the processor to read and write information from / to the storage media. In the alternative implementation, the storage media may be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage media may reside in the ASIC. ASIC may reside in the user terminal. In the alternative implementation, the processor and storage media may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0212] In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, each function may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable media. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, the latter including any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one location to another. A storage media can be any available media accessible by a general or special-purpose computer.

[0213] In conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the description provided in this specification describes exemplary configurations, methods, and devices, and does not represent all examples that can be implemented or fall within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used in this specification means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration" and does not imply "preferred" or "superior to other examples." The detailed description includes specific details with the purpose of providing an understanding of the described technology. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the examples described.

[0214] While the present specification includes specific implementation details, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of any embodiment or claimed subject matter, but rather as descriptions of specific features of specific embodiments of the particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of individual embodiments in this specification may also be combined in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may be implemented separately in multiple embodiments or in any suitable sub-combination. Additionally, although features may be described in the preceding context as functioning in certain combinations and may even be initially claimed as such, one or more features from the claimed combinations may be omitted in some cases, and the claimed combinations may be directed to sub-combinations or variants of sub-combinations.

[0215] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the method of the disclosure is illustrative of exemplary processes. Based on design preferences, it can be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the method may be rearranged to achieve the functions and effects disclosed in the disclosure. The attached method claims present the elements of various steps in an exemplary order, and are not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented, unless otherwise specifically stated. Furthermore, although elements may be described or claimed in the singular form, it should be anticipated that the plural form is also contemplated unless specifically stated to limit to the singular. Therefore, the disclosure is not limited to the illustrated examples, and any device used to perform the functions described herein is included in various aspects of the disclosure.

[0216] The text and drawings are provided as examples only to help readers understand the disclosure. They are not intended and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any way. Although certain embodiments and examples have been provided, based on the content disclosed herein, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications to the illustrated embodiments and examples can be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1.A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a communication system, the method comprising:receiving configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning to be transmitted by the UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state;identifying whether to update timing advance (TA); andtransmitting, based on the configuration information and the TA, the SRS in the RRC inactive state using transmission power.2.The method of claim 1, wherein in case of identifying to update the TA, the TA is updated at cell reselection, andwherein in case of identifying not to update the TA, the TA is identical to a last TA obtained by the UE in a RRC connected state.3.The method of claim 1, wherein in case that a pathloss for the transmission power is not available to be measured based on a downlink reference signal configured based pathloss reference signal information in the configuration information, the pathloss is obtained by using a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block corresponding to a SS / PBCH block used to obtain a master information block (MIB).4.The method of claim 1, wherein in case that a pathloss for the transmission power is not available to be measured based on a downlink reference signal configured based on spatial relation information in the configuration information, transmission of the SRS in the RRC inactive state is not performed, andwherein the downlink reference signal is a semi-persistent signal or a periodic signal, andwherein the configuration information is used for multiple cells within a validity area for the UE in the RRC inactive state.5.The method of claim 4, wherein an alpha parameter for identifying the transmission power is commonly configured for the multiple cells based on the configuration information.6.A user equipment (UE) in a communication system, the UE comprising:a transceiver; anda processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to:receive configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning to be transmitted by the UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state;identify whether to update timing advance (TA); andtransmit, based on the configuration information and the TA, the SRS in the RRC inactive state using transmission power.7.The UE of claim 6, wherein in case of identifying to update the TA, the TA is updated at cell reselection, andwherein in case of identifying not to update the TA, the TA is identical to a last TA obtained by the UE in a RRC connected state.8.The UE of claim 6, wherein in case that a pathloss for the transmission power is not available to be measured based on a downlink reference signal configured based pathloss reference signal information in the configuration information, the pathloss is obtained by using a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block corresponding to a SS / PBCH block used to obtain a master information block (MIB).9.The UE of claim 6, wherein in case that a pathloss for the transmission power is not available to be measured based on a downlink reference signal configured based on spatial relation information in the configuration information, transmission of the SRS in the RRC inactive state is not performed, andwherein the downlink reference signal is a semi-persistent signal or a periodic signal, andwherein the configuration information is used for multiple cells within a validity area for the UE in the RRC inactive state.10.The UE of claim 9, wherein an alpha parameter for identifying the transmission power is commonly configured for the multiple cells based on the configuration information.11.A method performed by a base station in a communication system, the method comprising:transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning; andreceiving, from the UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the SRS associated a timing advance (TA) and transmission power.12.The method of claim 11, wherein in case that a serving cell for the UE is not changed, the TA associated with the SRS is maintained as a TA for the UE in a last time where the UE is in a RRC connected state, andwherein in case that the serving cell is changed, the TA associated with the SRS is updated from the TA for the UE in the last time where the UE is in the RRC connected state.13.The method of claim 11, wherein the configuration information is used for multiple cells in the RRC inactive state, andwherein an alpha parameter for the transmission power is commonly configured for the multiple cells based on the configuration information.14.A base station in a communication system, the base station comprising:a transceiver; anda processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to:transmit, to a user equipment (UE), configuration information for a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning; andreceive, from the UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the SRS associated a timing advance (TA) and transmission power.15.The base station of claim 14, wherein in case that a serving cell for the UE is not changed, the TA associated with the SRS is maintained as a TA for the UE in a last time where the UE is in a RRC connected state, andwherein in case that the serving cell is changed, the TA associated with the SRS is updated from the TA for the UE in the last time where the UE is in the RRC connected state.

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