Common Batch Mode Reporting Framework

Abstract

The batch measurement reporting method includes the steps of receiving a batch request from a network entity at the wireless signaling device indicating a plurality of positioning methods; receiving one or more PRS resources at the wireless signaling device; measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources for each of the plurality of positioning methods at the wireless signaling device in accordance with the batch request to combine and determine the plurality of PRS measurements; and transmitting a batch measurement report from the wireless signaling device to the network entity based on the plurality of PRS measurements, the batch measurement report including a respective batch measurement sub-report for each of the plurality of positioning methods, each respective batch measurement sub-report including a respective batch of the plurality of PRS measurements.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of Greek Patent Application No. 20210100303, filed May 5, 2021, entitled “COMMON BATCH MODE REPORTING FRAMEWORK,” which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-enabled wireless service, fourth generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), or WiMax), fifth generation (5G) service, and the like. Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and personal communication service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include Cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Access (GSM) variants of TDMA, and the like.

[0003] The fifth generation (5G) mobile standard calls for higher data transfer speeds, a larger number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, providing one gigabit per second for each office floor where dozens of people work. To support large-scale sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Thus, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly increased compared to the current 4G standard. In addition, it should increase signaling efficiency and significantly reduce latency compared to the current standard. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] An example wireless signaling device includes a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor is configured to: receive a batch request from a network entity via the transceiver indicating a plurality of positioning methods; receive one or more PRS resources (positioning reference signal resources); measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources for each of the plurality of positioning methods in accordance with the batch request to combine and determine the plurality of PRS measurements; and transmit a batch measurement report based on the plurality of PRS measurements to the network entity via the transceiver, wherein the batch measurement report includes a respective batch measurement sub-report for each of the plurality of positioning methods, each respective batch measurement sub-report including a respective batch of the plurality of PRS measurements.

[0005] Implementations of such a wireless signaling device may include one or more of the following features: The processor is configured to measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with one or more respective positioning method specific configuration parameters for each of a plurality of positioning methods, where the one or more respective positioning method specific configuration parameters are included in a batch request. The batch request includes one or more common batch configuration parameters, and the processor is configured to measure the one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with at least the one or more common batch configuration parameters, where the one or more common batch configuration parameters include a measurement window, or a first indication of the one or more PRS resources, or a second indication of one or more PRS instances of the one or more PRS resources, or a measurement periodicity, or any combination thereof. the batch request includes one or more first common batch configuration parameters, the processor is configured to measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with at least the one or more first common batch configuration parameters, the multiple positioning methods are a first multiple positioning methods, the one or more PRS resources include the one or more first PRS resources, the one or more first common batch configuration parameters include a first measurement window corresponding to the first multiple positioning methods, the batch request includes one or more second common batch configuration parameters corresponding to a second multiple positioning methods and including a second measurement window, the second multiple positioning methods are different from the first multiple positioning methods, and the processor is configured to measure the one or more first PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the first measurement window and to measure the one or more second PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the second measurement window in accordance with the one or more second common batch configuration parameters. The processor is configured to prioritize reporting a set of matching PRS measurements for different positioning methods among the plurality of PRS measurements over non-matching PRS measurements among the plurality of PRS measurements.The processor is configured to prioritize reporting of the multiple PRS measurements based on an ordering of the multiple positioning methods indicated in the batch reporting request.

[0006] Another example wireless signaling device includes means for receiving a batch request from a network entity indicating a plurality of positioning methods; means for receiving one or more PRS resources; means for measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources for each of the plurality of positioning methods in accordance with the batch request to determine a combination of the plurality of PRS measurements; and means for transmitting a batch measurement report to the network entity based on the plurality of PRS measurements, the batch measurement report including a respective batch measurement sub-report for each of the plurality of positioning methods, each respective batch measurement sub-report including a respective batch of the plurality of PRS measurements.

[0007] Implementations of such a wireless signaling device may include one or more of the following features: The means for measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources comprises means for measuring the one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with one or more respective positioning method specific configuration parameters for each of a plurality of positioning methods, where the one or more respective positioning method specific configuration parameters are included in the batch request. The batch request includes one or more common batch configuration parameters, and the means for measuring the one or more of the one or more PRS resources comprises means for measuring the one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with at least the one or more common batch configuration parameters, where the one or more common batch configuration parameters include a measurement window, or a first indication of the one or more PRS resources, or a second indication of the one or more PRS instances of the one or more PRS resources, or a measurement periodicity, or any combination thereof.the batch request includes one or more first common batch configuration parameters, the means for measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources comprises means for measuring the one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with at least the one or more first common batch configuration parameters, the multiple positioning methods are a first multiple positioning methods, the one or more PRS resources include the one or more first PRS resources, the one or more first common batch configuration parameters include a first measurement window corresponding to the first multiple positioning methods, the batch request includes one or more second common batch configuration parameters corresponding to a second multiple positioning methods and including a second measurement window, the second multiple positioning methods are different from the first multiple positioning methods, the means for measuring the one or more PRS resources comprises means for measuring one or more of the one or more first PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the first measurement window, and the wireless signaling device comprises means for measuring one or more second PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the second measurement window in accordance with the one or more second common batch configuration parameters. The wireless signaling device includes means for prioritizing reporting of a set of matching PRS measurements for different positioning methods among the plurality of PRS measurements over non-matching PRS measurements among the plurality of PRS measurements. The wireless signaling device includes means for prioritizing reporting of the plurality of PRS measurements based on an order of the plurality of positioning methods indicated in the batch reporting request.

[0008] The batch measurement reporting method includes the steps of receiving a batch request from a network entity at the wireless signaling device indicating a plurality of positioning methods; receiving one or more PRS resources at the wireless signaling device; measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources for each of the plurality of positioning methods at the wireless signaling device in accordance with the batch request to combine and determine the plurality of PRS measurements; and transmitting a batch measurement report from the wireless signaling device to the network entity based on the plurality of PRS measurements, the batch measurement report including a respective batch measurement sub-report for each of the plurality of positioning methods, each respective batch measurement sub-report including a respective batch of the plurality of PRS measurements.

[0009] Implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features: Measuring the one or more of the one or more PRS resources includes measuring the one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with one or more respective positioning method specific configuration parameters for each of a plurality of positioning methods, where the one or more respective positioning method specific configuration parameters are included in the batch request. The batch request includes one or more common batch configuration parameters, and measuring the one or more of the one or more PRS resources includes measuring the one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with at least the one or more common batch configuration parameters, where the one or more common batch configuration parameters include a measurement window, or a first indication of the one or more PRS resources, or a second indication of one or more PRS instances of the one or more PRS resources, or a measurement periodicity, or any combination thereof.the batch request includes one or more first common batch configuration parameters, measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources includes measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with at least the one or more first common batch configuration parameters, the multiple positioning methods are a first multiple positioning methods, the one or more PRS resources include one or more first PRS resources, the one or more first common batch configuration parameters include a first measurement window corresponding to the first multiple positioning methods, the batch request includes one or more second common batch configuration parameters corresponding to a second multiple positioning methods and including a second measurement window, the second multiple positioning methods are different from the first multiple positioning methods, measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources includes measuring one or more of the one or more first PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the first measurement window, and the method includes measuring one or more second PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the second measurement window in accordance with the one or more second common batch configuration parameters. The method includes prioritizing reporting a set of matching PRS measurements for different positioning methods among the plurality of PRS measurements over non-matching PRS measurements among the plurality of PRS measurements. The method includes prioritizing reporting of the plurality of PRS measurements based on an ordering of the plurality of positioning methods indicated in a batch reporting request.

[0010] An exemplary non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions that cause a processor of a wireless signaling device to receive a batch request from a network entity indicating a plurality of positioning methods; receive one or more PRS resources; measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources for each of the plurality of positioning methods in accordance with the batch request to determine a combination of the plurality of PRS measurements; and transmit a batch measurement report to the network entity based on the plurality of PRS measurements, the batch measurement report including a respective batch measurement sub-report for each of the plurality of positioning methods, each respective batch measurement sub-report including a respective batch of the plurality of PRS measurements.

[0011] Implementations of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features: The processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources include processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources according to one or more respective positioning method-specific configuration parameters for each of a plurality of positioning methods, where the one or more respective positioning method-specific configuration parameters are included in a batch request. The batch request includes one or more common batch configuration parameters, and the processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources include processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to measure the one or more of the one or more PRS resources according to at least the one or more common batch configuration parameters, where the one or more common batch configuration parameters include a measurement window, or a first indication of the one or more PRS resources, or a second indication of one or more PRS instances of the one or more PRS resources, or a measurement periodicity, or any combination thereof.The batch request includes one or more first common batch configuration parameters, and the processor readable instructions for causing a processor to measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources include processor readable instructions for causing a processor to measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with at least the one or more first common batch configuration parameters, the plurality of positioning methods are a first plurality of positioning methods, the one or more PRS resources include one or more first PRS resources, the one or more first common batch configuration parameters include a first measurement window corresponding to the first plurality of positioning methods, and the batch request includes a second plurality of positioning methods and a second measurement window corresponding to the second plurality of positioning methods. The processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources include one or more second common batch configuration parameters including a fixed window, the second plurality of positioning methods being different from the first plurality of positioning methods, and the processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to measure one or more of the one or more first PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the first measurement window, and the storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to measure one or more second PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the second measurement window according to the one or more second common batch configuration parameters. The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to prioritize reporting a set of matching PRS measurements for different positioning methods among the plurality of PRS measurements over non-matching PRS measurements among the plurality of PRS measurements. The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to prioritize reporting of the plurality of PRS measurements based on an order of the plurality of positioning methods indicated in the batch reporting request.

[0012] An example apparatus includes a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the processor configured to: send a batch request via the transceiver to the wireless signaling device indicating a plurality of positioning methods to be followed by the wireless signaling device to measure PRS resources for a batch report for each of the plurality of positioning methods; and receive a batch report including a respective batch of PRS measurements for each of the plurality of positioning methods.

[0013] Implementations of such an apparatus may include one or more of the following features: The processor is configured to transmit a batch request for one or more of the plurality of positioning methods, the batch request further indicating one or more common batch configuration parameters including a measurement window, or a first indication of PRS resources, or a second indication of one or more PRS instances of PRS resources, or a measurement periodicity, or any combination thereof; The plurality of positioning methods are a first plurality of positioning methods, the batch request further indicating one or more first common batch configuration parameters including a first measurement window corresponding to the first plurality of positioning methods, and the processor is configured to transmit a batch request including one or more second common batch configuration parameters corresponding to a second plurality of positioning methods and including a second measurement window, the second plurality of positioning methods being different from the first plurality of positioning methods; The processor is configured to transmit an indication to the wireless signaling device via the transceiver to prioritize reporting a set of matching PRS measurements of the PRS measurements over non-matching PRS measurements of the PRS measurements. The processor is configured to transmit instructions to the wireless signaling device via the transceiver to prioritize reporting of the PRS measurements based on an order of the multiple positioning methods indicated in the batch request.

[0014] Another example apparatus includes means for transmitting a batch request to a wireless signaling device indicating a plurality of positioning methods according to which the wireless signaling device will measure PRS resources for a batch report for each of the plurality of positioning methods, and means for receiving a batch report including a respective batch of PRS measurements for each of the plurality of positioning methods.

[0015] Implementations of such an apparatus may include one or more of the following features: The means for transmitting the batch request comprises means for transmitting a batch request to include one or more respective positioning method specific configuration parameters for one or more of the plurality of positioning methods. The batch request further indicates one or more common batch configuration parameters including a measurement window, or a first indication of PRS resources, or a second indication of one or more PRS instances of PRS resources, or a measurement periodicity, or any combination thereof. The plurality of positioning methods are a first plurality of positioning methods, and the batch request further indicates one or more first common batch configuration parameters including a first measurement window corresponding to the first plurality of positioning methods, and the means for transmitting the batch request comprises means for transmitting a batch request including one or more second common batch configuration parameters corresponding to a second plurality of positioning methods and including a second measurement window, the second plurality of positioning methods being different from the first plurality of positioning methods. The apparatus includes means for transmitting an indication to the wireless signaling device to prioritize reporting a set of matching PRS measurements of the PRS measurements over non-matching PRS measurements of the PRS measurements. The apparatus includes means for transmitting instructions to the wireless signaling device to prioritize reporting of PRS measurements based on an order of multiple positioning methods indicated in the batch request.

[0016] An example method of obtaining a batch report includes sending a batch request from the device to the wireless signaling device indicating multiple positioning methods that the wireless signaling device will follow to measure PRS resources for the batch report for each of the multiple positioning methods, and receiving at the device a batch report including a respective batch of PRS measurements for each of the multiple positioning methods.

[0017] Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features: The step of transmitting the batch request includes transmitting a batch request for one or more of the plurality of positioning methods including one or more respective positioning method specific configuration parameters. The batch request further indicates one or more common batch configuration parameters including a measurement window, or a first indication of PRS resources, or a second indication of one or more PRS instances of PRS resources, or a measurement periodicity, or any combination thereof. The plurality of positioning methods are a first plurality of positioning methods, and the batch request further indicates one or more first common batch configuration parameters including a first measurement window corresponding to the first plurality of positioning methods, and the step of transmitting the batch request includes transmitting a batch request including one or more second common batch configuration parameters corresponding to a second plurality of positioning methods and including a second measurement window, the second plurality of positioning methods being different from the first plurality of positioning methods. The method includes transmitting an indication from the apparatus to the wireless signaling device for preferentially reporting a set of matching PRS measurements of the PRS measurements over non-matching PRS measurements of the PRS measurements. The method includes transmitting instructions from the apparatus to a wireless signaling device to prioritize reporting of PRS measurements based on an order of the multiple positioning methods indicated in the batch request.

[0018] An exemplary non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprises processor-readable instructions that cause a processor of the apparatus to send a batch request to the wireless signaling device indicating a plurality of positioning methods that the wireless signaling device will follow to measure PRS resources for a batch report for each of the plurality of positioning methods, and to receive a batch report including a respective batch of PRS measurements for each of the plurality of positioning methods.

[0019] Implementations of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features: The processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to send a batch request include processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to send a batch request to include one or more respective positioning method-specific configuration parameters for one or more of the multiple positioning methods, the batch request further indicating one or more common batch configuration parameters including a measurement window, or a first indication of PRS resources, or a second indication of one or more PRS instances of PRS resources, or a measurement periodicity, or any combination thereof, the multiple positioning methods being a first multiple positioning methods, the batch request further indicating one or more first common batch configuration parameters including a first measurement window corresponding to the first multiple positioning methods, and the processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to send a batch request include processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to send a batch request including one or more second common batch configuration parameters corresponding to a second multiple positioning methods and including a second measurement window, the second multiple positioning methods being different from the first multiple positioning methods. The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to transmit instructions to the wireless signaling device to prioritize reporting of a set of matching PRS measurements among the PRS measurements over non-matching PRS measurements among the PRS measurements. The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to transmit instructions to the wireless signaling device to prioritize reporting of the PRS measurements based on an order of multiple positioning methods indicated in a batch request. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of the exemplary user equipment shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of an exemplary transmit / receive point. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of an exemplary server in which various embodiments are illustrated in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example signaling device. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a timing diagram of a positioning reference signal instance. [Figure 7] 1 is a signaling and process flow for providing batch reporting criteria, measuring positioning reference signal resources, and batch reporting location information. [Figure 8] 13 is pseudocode for a location information request information element. [Figure 9] 9 is pseudocode for the common location information request information element of FIG. 8. [Figure 10] 10 is pseudocode for the common batch report information element of FIG. 9. [Figure 11] 11 is an exemplary flow of measuring a positioning reference signal according to the common batch reporting information element shown in FIG. 10 with a single measurement window. [Figure 12] 11 is an exemplary flow of measuring a positioning reference signal according to the common batch reporting information element shown in FIG. 10 with multiple measurement windows. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a block flow diagram of a batch measurement reporting method. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 is a block flow diagram of a method for obtaining a batch report. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Techniques for providing batch reporting are discussed herein. For example, one or more common batch reporting parameters may be included in a common location information element for requesting location information from a signaling device. The common batch reporting parameters may be applied for multiple positioning methods, and one or more further criteria may be provided for measuring positioning reference signal (PRS) resources for one or more of the positioning methods. The common batch reporting parameters may, for example, specify a measurement window for receiving PRS resources and / or for transmitting PRS resources to report measurements of the PRS resources, may specify multiple measurement windows each corresponding to a different set of positioning methods, may specify a PRS resource to be measured, may specify a PRS instance to be measured, and / or may specify a measurement periodicity. Multiple positioning methods may correspond to measurements of PRS over multiple communication links (e.g., Uu and sidelink). Batch reporting may be supported for individual positioning methods, and / or common batch reporting may be supported for multiple positioning methods. These are examples, and other examples may be implemented.

[0022] Items and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned: For example, positioning accuracy and / or latency may be improved by obtaining consistent PRS measurements for multiple positioning methods (e.g., time-aligned or from the same PRS resource set, etc.), for example, by allowing better mixing of different positioning methods, and / or by tracking how measurements change over time across different methods. Other capabilities may be provided, and not every implementation according to this disclosure must provide any, much less all, of the described capabilities.

[0023] Obtaining the location of a mobile device accessing a wireless network can be useful for many applications including, for example, emergency calling, personal navigation, consumer asset tracking, locating friends or family, etc. Existing positioning methods include methods based on measurements of radio signals transmitted from various devices or entities, including satellite vehicles (SVs) and terrestrial radio sources in the wireless network, such as base stations and access points. Standardization for 5G wireless networks is expected to include support for various positioning methods, which may use reference signals transmitted by base stations in a manner similar to how LTE wireless networks currently use positioning reference signals (PRS) and / or cell-specific reference signals (CRS) for position determination.

[0024] The description refers to sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. The various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. The sequences of actions described herein may be embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause an associated processor to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the various aspects described herein may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which are within the scope of this disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0025] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. Generally, such a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset tracking device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at some times) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal", "mobile station", "mobile device", or variations thereof. Generally, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, through which the UE may be connected to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms are possible for a UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet, such as via a wired access network, a WiFi network (e.g., based on IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0026] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed. Examples of base stations include an Access Point (AP), a network node, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), or a general Node B (gNode B, gNB). Furthermore, in some systems the base station may provide purely edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functionality.

[0027] A UE may be embodied by any of several types of devices including, but not limited to, a printed circuit (PC) card, a compact flash device, an external or internal modem, a wireless or wired phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a consumer asset tracking device, an asset tag, etc. A communication link through which a UE can send signals to a RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a RAN can send signals to a UE is called a downlink channel or a forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0028] The term "cell" or "sector" as used herein may correspond to one of multiple cells of a base station or to the base station itself, depending on the context. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., over a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)) to distinguish adjacent cells operating over the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some examples, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., sector) of a geographic coverage area over which a logical entity operates.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a communication system 100 includes a UE 105, a UE 106, a radio access network (RAN), here a fifth generation (5G) next generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) 135, and a 5G core network (5GC) 140. The UE 105 and / or the UE 106 may be, for example, an IoT device, a location tracker device, a cellular phone, a vehicle (e.g., a car, a truck, a bus, a boat, etc.), or other device. The 5G network may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network, the NG-RAN 135 may also be referred to as a 5G RAN or as an NR RAN, and the 5GC 140 may also be referred to as an NG core network (NGC). Standardization of the NG-RAN and 5GC is underway in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). Thus, the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may comply with current or future standards for 5G support from the 3GPP®. The NG-RAN 135 may be another type of RAN, e.g., a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. The UE 106 may be configured to send and / or receive signals to / from similar other entities in the system 100 and may be similarly coupled to the UE 105, although such signaling is not shown in FIG. 1 for ease of illustration. Similarly, this discussion focuses on the UE 105 for simplicity. The communication system 100 may use information from a constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 for a satellite positioning system (SPS) (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or Beidou or some other local or regional SPS, such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 1, the NG-RAN 135 includes NR Node Bs (gNBs) 110a, 110b, and Next Generation eNode Bs (ng-eNBs) 114, and the 5GC 140 includes an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, a Session Management Function (SMF) 117, a Location Management Function (LMF) 120, and a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and the ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other and each configured to wirelessly communicate bidirectionally with the UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to the AMF 115 and configured to communicate bidirectionally therewith. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and the ng-eNB 114 may be referred to as base stations (BSs). The AMF 115, the SMF 117, the LMF 120, and the GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to the external client 130. The SMF 117 may act as an initial point of contact for a service control function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions. A base station, such as the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114, may be a macro cell (e.g., a high-power cellular base station), or a small cell (e.g., a low-power cellular base station), or an access point (e.g., a short-range base station configured to communicate with a short-range technology, such as WiFi, WiFi-Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, etc.). One or more base stations, e.g., one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114, may be configured to communicate with the UE 105 over multiple carriers. Each of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and the ng-eNB 114 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic area, e.g., a cell. Each cell may be partitioned into multiple sectors depending on the base station antennas.

[0031] FIG. 1 provides a generalized illustration of the various components, any or all of which may be used as desired, and each may be duplicated or omitted as desired. Specifically, while one UE 105 is illustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be used in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a greater (or lesser) number of SVs (i.e., more or less than the four SVs 190-193 illustrated), gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external client 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections that may include additional (intermediary) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Additionally, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0032] 1 illustrates a 5G-based network, similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Implementations described herein (whether for 5G technology and / or one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure the directional signals at a UE (e.g., the UE 105), and / or provide location assistance to the UE 105 (via the GMLC 125 or other location server), and / or calculate a location for the UE 105 at a location enabled device, such as the UE 105, gNBs 110a, 110b, or LMF 120, based on measurements received at the UE 105 for such directionally transmitted signals. The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114 and gNBs (gNodeBs) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by or include various other location server functionality and / or base station functionality, respectively, in various embodiments.

[0033] The system 100 is capable of wireless communication in that the components of the system 100 can communicate with each other (at least sometimes using wireless connections) directly or indirectly, e.g., via the gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNBs 114, and / or 5GCs 140 (and / or one or more other devices, not shown, such as one or more other base transceiver stations). For indirect communication, the communication may be altered during transmission from one entity to another, e.g., to change header information of the data packets, to change format, etc. The UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be a mobile wireless communication device, but may communicate wirelessly and via wired connections. The UE 105 may be any of a variety of devices, e.g., a smartphone, a tablet computer, a vehicle-based device, etc., although these are examples and the UE 105 is not required to be any of these configurations and other configurations of UEs may be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart jewelry, smart glasses or headsets, etc.). Still other UEs, whether currently existing or developed in the future, may be used. Additionally, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) may be implemented within the system 100 and may communicate with each other and / or with the UE 105, the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, the 5GC 140, and / or the external client 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. The 5GC 140 may communicate with the external client 130 (e.g., a computer system) to, for example, enable the external client 130 to request and / or receive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 125).

[0034] The UE 105 or other devices may be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communications, multiple frequencies of Wi-Fi communications, satellite positioning, one or more types of communications (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), V2X (Vehicle-to-Vehicle, e.g., V2P (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian), V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.). The V2X communications may be cellular (Cellular V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Connection)). The system 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals at different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers simultaneously. Each modulated signal may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carry pilot signals, overhead information, data, etc. The UEs 105, 106 may communicate with each other through UE-to-UE sidelink (SL) communications by transmitting over one or more sidelink channels, such as a Physical Sidelink Synchronization Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), or a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH).

[0035] The UE 105 may include and / or be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a secure user plane location (SUPL) enabled terminal (SET), or some other name. Moreover, the UE 105 may correspond to a cell phone, a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a PDA, a consumer asset tracking device, a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a health monitor, a security system, a smart city sensor, a smart meter, a wearable tracker, or some other portable or movable device. Typically, but not necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth (BT), Global Interoperable Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., with NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc. The UE 105 may support wireless communications using, for example, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), which may connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable. Using one or more of these RATs, the UE 105 may be able to communicate with the external client 130 (e.g., via elements of the 5GC 140, not shown in FIG. 1, or possibly via the GMLC 125) and / or the external client 130 may be able to receive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 125).

[0036] The UE 105 may comprise a single entity or may comprise multiple entities, for example in a personal area network where the user may utilize audio, video and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or body sensors and a separate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of the location of the UE 105 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and provides location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for the UE 105 that may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., elevation, height or depth above ground, floor, or basement). Alternatively, the location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as an address or designation of a point or small area somewhere in a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of the UE 105 may be expressed as an area or volume (defined either geographically or in the shape of a city) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a relative location, including, for example, distance and direction from a known location. The relative location may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin in the known location, which may be defined, for example, geographically, in terms of cities, or by reference to a point, area, or volume shown, for example, on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, use of the term location may include any of these variants unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of a UE, it is common to determine values ​​for local x, y, and possibly z coordinates and then convert the local coordinates to absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level) if desired.

[0037] The UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. The UE 105 may be configured to indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. The D2D P2P links may be supported in any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, etc. One or more of a group of UEs using D2D communication may be within a geographic coverage area of ​​a transmission / reception point (TRP), such as one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may not otherwise be able to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may use a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be practiced between UEs without the involvement of a TRP. One or more of a group of UEs using D2D communication may be within a geographic coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may not otherwise be able to receive transmissions from a base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may use a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be practiced between UEs without the involvement of a TRP.

[0038] The base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1 include NR Node Bs referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b. The pair of gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 may be interconnected via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, which may provide wireless communication access to the 5G C 140 on behalf of the UE 105 using 5G. In FIG. 1, the serving gNB for the UE 105 is assumed to be gNB 110a, although another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) may act as the serving gNB if the UE 105 moves to another location and may act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to the UE 105.

[0039] 1 may include a ng-eNB 114, also referred to as a next generation evolved node B. The ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135, possibly via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE wireless access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured to function as a positioning-only beacon that may transmit signals to assist in determining a location of the UE 105, but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or from other UEs.

[0040] The gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNBs 114 may each comprise one or more TRPs. For example, each sector in a cell of a BS may comprise a TRP, but the multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., share a processor but have separate antennas). The system 100 may exclusively include a macro TRP, or the system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro, pico, and / or femto TRPs. A macro TRP may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals subscribing to the service. A pico TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals subscribing to the service. A femto or home TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access by terminals having an association with a femto cell (e.g., a terminal for a user in a home).

[0041] As noted, while FIG. 1 illustrates nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as, for example, an LTE protocol or an IEEE 802.11x protocol, may be used. For example, in an evolved packet system (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to the UE 105, the RAN may include an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations including evolved node Bs (eNBs). A core network for the EPS may include an evolved packet core (EPC). The EPS may include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where in FIG. 1, the E-UTRAN corresponds to the NG-RAN 135 and the EPC corresponds to the 5GC 140.

[0042] The gNBs 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the AMF 115, which for positioning functionality communicates with the LMF 120. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers, and may be responsible for supporting signaling connections to the UE 105 and potentially data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 may communicate with the UE 105 directly, e.g., through wireless communication, or directly with the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135 and may support position procedures / methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., downlink (DL) OTDOA or uplink (UL) OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Extended Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), and / or other position methods. The LMF 120 may process location service requests for the UE 105, for example, received from the AMF 115 or from the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to the AMF 115 and / or to the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be referred to by other names, such as a Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value Added LMF (VLMF). A node / system implementing the LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP).At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including derivation of the location of the UE 105) may be implemented in the UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements taken by the UE 105 on signals transmitted by wireless nodes by the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 and / or assistance data provided to the UE 105, for example, by the LMF 120). The AMF 115 may act as a control node that handles signaling between the UE 105 and the 5GC 140 and may provide QoS (Quality of Service) flow and session management. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers, and may be responsible for supporting signaling connections to the UE 105.

[0043] The GMLC 125 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 130 and may forward such location requests to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120 or may forward the location requests directly to the LMF 120. A location response (e.g., including a location estimate for the UE 105) from the LMF 120 may be returned either directly or via the AMF 115 to the GMLC 125, which may then return a location response (e.g., including the location estimate) to the external client 130. Although the GMLC 125 is shown connected to both the AMF 115 and the LMF 120, in some implementations it may not be connected to the AMF 115 or the LMF 120.

[0044] As further shown in FIG. 1, the LMF 120 can communicate with the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 using a New Radio Position Protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP® Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP® TS 36.455, and NRPPa messages are transferred between the gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and the LMF 120 and / or between the ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115. As further shown in FIG. 1, the LMF 120 and the UE 105 can communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP® TS 36.355. The LMF 120 and the UE 105 may also or instead communicate using a New Radio Positioning Protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, 110b or the serving ng-eNB 114 for the UE 105. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using a 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP), and between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using a 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocols may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based location methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID.The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using network-based location methods such as E-CID (e.g., when used in conjunction with measurements obtained by the gNBs 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location related information from the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining directional SS (synchronization signal) or PRS transmissions from the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. The LMF 120 may be co-located or integrated with the gNBs or TRPs, or may be located remotely from the gNBs and / or TRPs, and may be configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNBs and / or TRPs.

[0045] Using the UE-assisted location method, the UE 105 can obtain location measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 120) for calculation of a location estimate for the UE 105. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of a received signal strength indication (RSSI), a round trip signal propagation time (RTT), a reference signal time difference (RSTD), a reference signal received power (RSRP), and / or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) for the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, and / or the WLAN APs. The location measurements may additionally or instead include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase for the SV190-193.

[0046] Using the UE-based location method, the UE 105 can obtain location measurements (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to the location measurements for the UE-assisted location method) and can calculate the location of the UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as the LMF 120 or broadcast by the gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, or other base station or AP).

[0047] With a network-based location method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or Time of Arrival (ToA) measurements for signals transmitted by the UE 105) and / or receive measurements obtained by the UE 105. The one or more base stations or APs may send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for calculation of a location estimate for the UE 105.

[0048] The information provided to the LMF 120 by the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 using the NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directional SS or PRS transmissions, and location coordinates. The LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE 105 via the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 as assistance data in LPP and / or NPP messages.

[0049] An LPP or NPP message sent from the LMF 120 to the UE 105 can instruct the UE 105 to do any of a variety of things depending on the desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message may include instructions for the UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other location method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct the UE 105 to obtain one or more measurements (e.g., beam ID, beam width, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within a particular cell supported by one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station, such as an eNB or WiFi AP). The UE 105 may send the measurement quantities back to the LMF 120 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., in a 5G NAS message) via the serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115.

[0050] As mentioned, although the communication system 100 is described in the context of 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionality), such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc., used to support and interact with mobile devices, such as the UE 105. In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the 5GC 140 may be connected to a WLAN using a non-3GPP inter-networking function (N3IWF, not shown in FIG. 1 ) in the 5GC 140. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for the UE 105 and may comprise one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may connect to the WLAN and to other elements in the 5GC 140, such as the AMF 115. In some embodiments, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may be replaced with one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in an EPS, the NG-RAN 135 may be replaced with an E-UTRAN including eNBs, and the 5GC 140 may be replaced with an EPC including a mobility management entity (MME) instead of the AMF 115, an E-SMLC instead of the LMF 120, and a GMLC that may be similar to the GMLC 125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa instead of NRPPa to send and receive location information to and from the eNBs in the E-UTRAN, and may use LPP to support positioning of the UE 105. In these other embodiments, positioning of the UE 105 using a directional PRS may be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for a 5G network, with the difference being that the functions and procedures described herein for the gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 may apply instead to other network elements, such as eNBs, WiFi APs, MMEs, and E-SMLCs, in some cases.

[0051] As mentioned, in some embodiments, the positioning functionality may be implemented, at least in part, using directional SS or PRS beams sent by base stations (such as gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) that are within range of a UE (e.g., UE 105 of FIG. 1) whose position is to be determined. The UE may, in some instances, use directional SS or PRS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, etc.) to calculate the UE's position.

[0052] 2, UE 200 is an example of one of UEs 105, 106 and comprises a computing platform including a processor 210, a memory 211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215 (including a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a position device (PD) 219. The processor 210, memory 211, sensors 213, transceiver interface 214, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, and position device 219 may be communicatively coupled to one another by a bus 220 (which may be configured for optical and / or electrical communications, for example). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., camera 218, position device 219, and / or one or more of sensors 213, etc.) may be omitted from UE 200. Processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 210 may include multiple processors, including general purpose / application processor 230, digital signal processor (DSP) 231, modem processor 232, video processor 233, and / or sensor processor 234. One or more of processors 230-234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, sensor processor 234 may comprise a processor for, e.g., RF (radio frequency) sensing (where one or more (cellular) wireless signals are transmitted and reflections are used to identify, map, and / or track objects), and / or ultrasound, etc. The modem processor 232 can support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs).For example, a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module or Subscriber Identification Module) may be used by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and another SIM may be used by an end user of the UE 200 for connectivity. The memory 211 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 211 may store software 212, which may be processor-readable processor-executable software code including instructions configured to cause the processor 210 to perform various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 212 may not be directly executable by the processor 210, but may be configured to cause the processor 210 to perform functions, for example, when compiled and executed. The description may refer to the processor 210 performing functions, but includes other implementations, such as the processor 210 executing software and / or firmware. The description may refer to the processor 210 performing a function as a shorthand for one or more of the processors 230-234 performing the function. The description may refer to the UE 200 performing a function as a shorthand for one or more of the suitable components of the UE 200 performing the function. The processor 210 may include memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or instead of the memory 211. The functionality of the processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0053] The configuration of UE 200 shown in FIG. 2 is an example of the present disclosure including the claims, and is not limiting, and other configurations may be used. For example, an exemplary configuration of a UE includes one or more of processors 230-234 of processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Other exemplary configurations include one or more of processors 230-234 of processor 210, memory 211, a wireless transceiver, one or more of sensors 213, a user interface 216, an SPS receiver 217, a camera 218, a PD 219, and / or a wired transceiver.

[0054] The UE 200 may include a modem processor 232 that may be capable of performing baseband processing of signals received and downconverted by the transceiver 215 and / or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 can perform baseband processing of signals to be upconverted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Also or alternatively, the baseband processing may be performed by the general purpose / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231, although other configurations may be used to perform the baseband processing.

[0055] The UE 200 may include sensors 213, which may include one or more of various types of sensors, such as, for example, one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g., collectively responsive to acceleration of the UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscopes). The sensors 213 may include, for example, one or more magnetometers (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometers) for determining an orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which may be used for any of a variety of purposes, such as to support one or more compass applications. The environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones, etc. The sensors 213 may generate analog and / or digital signal indications in support of one or more applications, such as, for example, applications directed to positioning and / or navigation operations, that may be stored in memory 211 and processed by DSP 231 and / or general purpose / applications processor 230.

[0056] The sensors 213 can be used in relative location measurement, relative location determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by the sensors 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based location determination, and / or sensorist-type location determination. The sensors 213 can be useful in determining whether the UE 200 is fixed (stationary) or mobile and / or whether certain useful information regarding the mobility of the UE 200 should be reported to the LMF 120. For example, based on the information acquired / measured by the sensors 213, the UE 200 may notify / report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movement or that the UE 200 has moved, and report the relative displacement / distance (e.g., by dead reckoning, or sensor-based location determination, or sensorist-type location determination enabled by the sensors 213). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensors / IMUs can be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of other devices relative to the UE 200, etc.

[0057] The IMU may be configured to provide measurements on the direction of motion and / or speed of motion of the UE 200, which may be used in the relative location determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU may detect the linear acceleration and speed of rotation of the UE 200, respectively. The linear acceleration and rotational speed measurements of the UE 200 may be integrated over time to determine the instantaneous direction and displacement of the UE 200's motion. The instantaneous direction and displacement of the motion may be integrated to track the location of the UE 200. For example, a reference location of the UE 200 may be determined for a moment in time, e.g., using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means), and measurements from the accelerometers and gyroscopes taken after this moment in time may be used in dead reckoning to determine the current location of the UE 200 based on the motion (direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to the reference location.

[0058] The magnetometer can determine magnetic field strength in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of the UE 200. For example, the orientation can be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer can include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer can include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer can provide a means for sensing the magnetic field and providing an indication of the magnetic field, for example, to the processor 210.

[0059] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to an antenna 246 to transmit (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receive (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals 248 and convert signals from the wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 248. The wireless transmitter 242 includes appropriate components (e.g., a power amplifier and a digital-to-analog converter). The wireless receiver 244 includes appropriate components (e.g., one or more amplifiers, one or more frequency filters, and an analog-to-digital converter). The wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the TRP and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc. The new radio may use mm-wave and / or sub-6 GHz frequencies.The wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that can be used to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to send and receive communications to and from the NG-RAN 135. The wired transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 254 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured for optical and / or electrical communication, for example. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, e.g., by optical and / or electrical connections. The transceiver interface 214 may be integrated, at least in part, with the transceiver 215. The wireless transmitter 242, the wireless receiver 244, and / or the antenna 246 may include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and / or multiple antennas, respectively, for sending and / or receiving appropriate signals, respectively.

[0060] The user interface 216 may include one or more of several devices, such as, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a display device, a vibrating device, a keyboard, a touch screen, and the like. The user interface 216 may include a plurality of any of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to allow a user to interact with one or more applications housed by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 for processing by the DSP 231 and / or the general purpose / application processor 230 in response to an action from the user. Similarly, an application housed on the UE 200 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 for presenting output signals to the user. The user interface 216 may include audio input / output (I / O) devices, including, for example, a speaker, a microphone, digital-to-analog circuitry, analog-to-digital circuitry, amplifiers and / or gain control circuitry (including a plurality of any of these devices). Other configurations of audio I / O devices may be used. Also or alternatively, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors that respond to contact and / or pressure, for example, on a keyboard and / or a touch screen of the user interface 216 .

[0061] The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring the SPS signals 260 via the SPS antenna 262. The SPS antenna 262 is configured to convert the SPS signals 260 from wireless signals to wired signals, e.g., electrical or optical signals, and may be integrated with the antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process the acquired SPS signals 260, in whole or in part, to estimate the location of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to use the SPS signals 260 to determine the location of the UE 200 by trilateration. The general purpose / application processor 230, the memory 211, the DSP 231, and / or one or more specialized processors (not shown), together with the SPS receiver 217, may be used to process the acquired SPS signals, in whole or in part, and / or to calculate the estimated location of the UE 200. The memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of the SPS signals 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from the wireless transceiver 240) for use in performing positioning operations. The general purpose / application processor 230, the DSP 231, and / or one or more specialized processors, and / or the memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for use in processing the measurements to estimate the location of the UE 200.

[0062] The UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or video images. The camera 218 may comprise, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device or a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) imager), a lens, analog-to-digital circuitry, a frame buffer, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of signals representing the captured images may be performed by the general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. Also or alternatively, a video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of signals representing the captured images. The video processor 233 may decode / decompress stored image data, for example, for display on a display device (not shown) of the user interface 216.

[0063] The position device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200, the movement of the UE 200, and / or the relative location of the UE 200, and / or time. For example, the PD 219 may be in communication with and / or include a portion or all of the SPS receiver 217. The PD 219 may interface with the processor 210 and memory 211 as necessary to perform at least a portion of one or more positioning methods, but the description herein may refer to the PD 219 being configured to perform or performing according to a positioning method. The PD 219 may also or alternatively be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 using terrestrial-based signals (e.g., at least some of the wireless signals 248) for trilateration, to assist in acquiring and using the SPS signals 260, or both. The PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 based on another technique, such as a serving base station cell (e.g., cell center) and / or E-CID. The PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 using one or more images from the camera 218 and image recognition combined with known locations of landmarks (e.g., natural landmarks such as mountains and / or man-made landmarks such as buildings, bridges, roads, etc.). The PD 219 may be configured to use one or more other techniques to determine the location of the UE 200 (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., as part of the UE's location beacon)) and may use a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS and terrestrial positioning signals) to determine the location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may include one or more of the sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, etc.) that may sense the orientation and / or movement of the UE 200 and provide an indication thereof that the processor 210 (e.g., general purpose / application processor 230 and / or DSP 231) may be configured to use to determine the movement (e.g., velocity vector and / or acceleration vector) of the UE 200.The PD 219 may be configured to provide an indication of uncertainty and / or error in a determined position and / or movement. The functionality of the PD 219 may be provided in various manners and / or configurations, for example, by the general purpose / application processor 230, the transceiver 215, the SPS receiver 217, and / or another component of the UE 200, and may be provided by hardware, software, firmware, or various combinations thereof.

[0064] 3, an example of a TRP 300 of a gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 comprises a computing platform including a processor 310, a memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, the memory 311, and the transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 320 (e.g., may be configured for optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., a wireless transceiver) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may include multiple processors (e.g., including a general purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, as shown in FIG. 2). The memory 311 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 311 may store software 312, which may be processor-readable processor-executable software code including instructions that, when executed, are configured to cause the processor 310 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 312 may not be directly executable by the processor 310, but may be configured, for example, when compiled and executed, to cause the processor 310 to perform functions.

[0065] The description may refer to the processor 310 performing a function, but includes other implementations, such as when the processor 310 executes software and / or firmware. The description may refer to the processor 310 performing a function as a shorthand for one or more of the processors included in the processor 310 performing a function. The description may refer to the TRP 300 performing a function as a shorthand for one or more suitable components (e.g., the processor 310 and the memory 311) of the TRP 300 (and thus one of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) performing a function. The processor 310 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or instead of the memory 311. The functionality of the processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0066] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices over wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 to transmit (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and / or receive (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 348 and convert signals from the wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 348. Thus, the wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) in accordance with various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, Zigbee, and so on.The wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communications, e.g., a network interface, and / or one or more other network entities that may be used to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to send communications to and receive communications from the LMF 120. The wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured for optical and / or electrical communications, for example.

[0067] 3 is an example of the present disclosure, including the claims, and is not limiting, and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses that the TRP 300 is configured to or performs certain functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0068] 4, a server 400, of which the LMF 120 is an example, comprises a computing platform including a processor 410, a memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. The processor 410, the memory 411, and the transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 420 (which may be configured for optical and / or electrical communication, for example). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., a wireless transceiver) may be omitted from the server 400. The processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 410 may include multiple processors (e.g., including a general purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, as shown in FIG. 2). The memory 411 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a disk memory, and / or a read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 411 can store software 412, which may be processor-readable processor-executable software code that includes instructions that, when executed, are configured to cause the processor 410 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410, but may be configured, for example, when compiled and executed, to cause the processor 410 to perform a function. The description may refer to the processor 410 performing a function, but includes other implementations, such as the processor 410 executing software and / or firmware. The description may refer to the processor 410 performing a function as a shorthand for one or more of the processors included in the processor 410 performing the function. The description may refer to the server 400 performing a function as a shorthand for one or more of the appropriate components of the server 400 performing the function.The processor 410 may include memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or in place of the memory 411. The functionality of the processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0069] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices over wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 to transmit (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and / or receive (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 and convert signals from the wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 448. Thus, the wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) in accordance with various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, Zigbee, and so on. The wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communications, e.g., a network interface, and / or one or more other network entities that may be used to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to send communications to and receive communications from the TRP 300.The wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured for optical and / or electrical communications, for example.

[0070] The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing a function, but includes other implementations, such as the processor 410 executing software (stored in memory 411) and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the server 400 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the suitable components of the server 400 (e.g., the processor 410 and the memory 411) performing the function.

[0071] The configuration of the server 400 shown in FIG. 4 is an example and not a limitation of the present disclosure including the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Also or alternatively, the description herein discusses the server 400 being configured to or performing certain functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the TRP 300 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the TRP 300 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0072] Positioning Technique For terrestrial positioning of a UE in a cellular network, techniques such as Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) and Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) often operate in a "UE-assisted" mode, in which measurements of reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) transmitted by the base station are taken by the UE and then provided to a location server. The location server then calculates the UE's position based on the measurements and the known locations of the base stations. Because these techniques use a location server, rather than the UE itself, to calculate the UE's position, these positioning techniques are not frequently used in applications such as car or cell phone navigation, which instead typically rely on satellite-based positioning.

[0073] UEs can use Satellite Positioning Systems (SPS) (Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)) for high-precision positioning using Precise Point Positioning (PPP) or Real Time Kinematic (RTK) techniques. These techniques use assistance data, such as measurements from ground stations. With LTE Release 15, the data is encrypted so that UEs that have subscribed to the service can read the information exclusively. Such assistance data changes over time. Thus, UEs that have subscribed to the service cannot easily "break the encryption" for other UEs by passing the data to them that have not paid for the subscription. This passing needs to be repeated every time the assistance data changes.

[0074] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measurements (e.g., TDOA, Angle of Arrival (AoA), etc.) to a positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has a Base Station Almanac (BSA) that contains multiple "entries" or "records", one record for each cell, each record including the geographic cell location but may also include other data. An identifier for a "record" among the multiple "records" in the BSA may be referenced. The measurements from the BSA and the UE may be used to calculate the position of the UE.

[0075] In traditional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own position and thus avoids sending measurements to the network (e.g., a location server), which improves latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of the gNB (or more broadly, base station)). The BSA information may be encrypted. However, since the BSA information changes much less frequently than, for example, the previously described PPP or RTK assistance data, it may be easier to make the BSA information available (compared to PPP or RTK information) to UEs that have not subscribed and paid for a decryption key. The transmission of reference signals by the gNBs makes the BSA information potentially accessible for crowdsourcing or wardriving, essentially allowing the BSA information to be generated based on local and / or over-the-top observations.

[0076] Positioning techniques may be characterized and / or evaluated based on one or more criteria, such as position determination accuracy and / or latency. Latency is the time elapsed between an event that triggers the determination of location-related data and the data being available at a positioning system interface, e.g., the interface of the LMF 120. At the initialization of the positioning system, the latency for location-related data to become available is called the time-to-first-fix (TTFF) and is greater than the latency after the TTFF. The inverse of the time elapsed between two successive location-related data availability states is called the update rate, i.e., the rate at which location-related data is generated after the first fix. Latency may depend, for example, on the processing capabilities of the UE. For example, the UE may report its processing capabilities as the duration of DL PRS symbols in time (e.g., milliseconds) that the UE can process per amount of time T (e.g., T ms) assuming a 272 PRB (Physical Resource Block) allocation. Other examples of capabilities that may affect latency are the number of TRPs from which the UE can process PRSs, the number of PRSs the UE can process, and the bandwidth of the UE.

[0077] One or more of many different positioning techniques (also referred to as positioning methods) may be used to determine the location of an entity, such as one of the UEs 105, 106. For example, known position determination techniques include RTT, multi-RTT, OTDOA (also referred to as TDOA, including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), Extended Cell Identification (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses the time for a signal to travel from one entity to another and vice versa to determine the range between the two entities. The range, as well as the known location of a first one of the entities and the angle (e.g., azimuth) between the two entities may be used to determine the location of a second one of the entities. In multi-RTT (also referred to as multi-cell RTT), multiple ranges from one entity (e.g., UE) to another entity (e.g., TRP) and the known location of the other entity may be used to determine the location of an entity. In TDOA techniques, the difference in travel time between one entity and another may be used to determine the relative range from the other entity, and combined with the known location of the other entity may be used to determine the location of the one entity. The angles of arrival and / or departure may be used to help determine the location of the entities. For example, the angle of arrival or departure of a signal (determined using the signal, e.g., the travel time of the signal, the received power of the signal, etc.) combined with the range between the devices and the known location of one of the devices may be used to determine the location of the other device. The angle of arrival or departure may be an azimuth angle relative to a reference direction such as due north. The angle of arrival or departure may be a zenith angle directly upward from the entity (i.e., radiating outward from the center of the Earth).E-CID uses the identity of the serving cell, the timing advance (i.e., the difference between the receive time and transmit time at the UE), the estimated timing and power of detected neighbor cell signals, and possibly the angle of arrival (e.g., of the signal at the UE from the base station, or vice versa) to determine the location of the UE. In TDOA, the difference in the arrival times at a receiving device of signals from different sources, along with the known locations of the sources and known offsets in the transmit times from the sources, are used to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0078] In network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on serving cells of two or more neighboring base stations (and typically the serving base station, since at least three base stations are required). One or more base stations transmit the RTT measurement signals on low reuse resources (e.g., resources used by the base station to transmit system information) allocated by the network (e.g., a location server such as the LMF 120). The UE records the arrival time (also called receive time, reception time, time of reception, or ToA) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE's current downlink timing (e.g., derived by the UE from the DL signal received from its serving base station), transmits a common or individual RTT response message (e.g., SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) for positioning, i.e., UL-PRS) to one or more base stations (e.g., when commanded by its serving base station), and records the time difference T between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message. Rx→Tx (i.e., UE T Rx-Tx or UE Rx-Tx ) in the payload of each RTT response message. The RTT response message will contain a reference signal from which the base station can infer the ToA of the RTT response. The difference T between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT response at the base stationTx→Rx The time difference T Rx→Tx By comparing it with , the base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE, from which the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station by assuming the speed of light during this propagation time.

[0079] The UE-centric RTT estimation is similar to the network-based method, except that the UE transmits an uplink RTT measurement signal (e.g., when instructed by the serving base station), which is received by multiple base stations in the vicinity of the UE. Each participating base station responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include in the RTT response message payload the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal at the base station and the transmission time of the RTT response message from the base station.

[0080] For both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the party performing the RTT calculation (network or UE) typically (but not always) sends a first message or signal (e.g., an RTT measurement signal) and the other side responds with one or more RTT response messages or signals that may include the difference between the ToA of the first message or signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message or signal.

[0081] Multi-RTT techniques may be used to determine location. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) may send out one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and multiple second entities (e.g., other TSPs, such as base stations and / or UEs) may receive signals from the first entity and respond to the received signals. The first entity receives responses from the multiple second entities. The first entity (or another entity, such as an LMF) may use the responses from the second entities to determine a range to the second entity, and may use the multiple ranges and the known location of the second entities to determine the location of the first entity by trilateration.

[0082] In some examples, additional information may be obtained in the form of a linear direction (e.g., which may be in the horizontal plane or in three dimensions), or possibly an angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD), which defines a range of directions (e.g., from the base station's position to the UE). The intersection of the two directions may provide another estimate of the location for the UE.

[0083] For positioning techniques using PRS (positioning reference signal) signals (e.g., TDOA and RTT), PRS signals sent by multiple TRPs are measured, and the arrival time of the signal, the known time of transmission, and the known location of the TRPs are used to determine the range from the UE to the TRP. For example, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) may be determined for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs and used in TDOA techniques to determine the location of the UE. This positioning reference signal may be referred to as a PRS or a PRS signal. PRS signals are typically sent using the same power, and PRS signals with the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency shift) may interfere with each other, such that a PRS signal from a more distant TRP may be overwhelmed by a PRS signal from a closer TRP, such that the signal from the more distant TRP cannot be detected. PRS muting may be used to help reduce interference by muting some PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signal, e.g., to zero, and thus not transmitting the PRS signal). In this way, weaker PRS signals (at the UE) may be more easily detected by the UE without stronger PRS signals interfering with the weaker PRS signals. The term RS, and its variants (e.g., PRS, SRS, CSI-RS (Channel State Information-Reference Signal)), may refer to one reference signal or multiple reference signals.

[0084] Positioning reference signals (PRS) include downlink PRS (DL PRS, often simply referred to as PRS) and uplink PRS (UL PRS), which may be referred to as SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) for positioning. The PRS may include a PN code (pseudorandom code) or may be generated using a PN code (e.g., by modulating a carrier signal with the PN code) so that the source of the PRS may act as a pseudolite. The PN code may be unique for the PRS source (at least within a designated area so that identical PRS from different PRS sources do not overlap). The PRS may include PRS resources and / or PRS resource sets of a frequency layer. A DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply frequency layer) is a collection of DL PRS resource sets from one or more TRPs with PRS resources having common parameters configured by higher layer parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer, DL-PRS-ResourceSet, and DL-PRS-Resource. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS resource set in the frequency layer and a DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the DL PRS resources. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS resource set in the frequency layer and a DL PRS cyclic prefix (CP) for the DL PRS resources. In 5G, a resource block occupies 12 consecutive subcarriers and a specified number of symbols. A common resource block is a set of resource blocks that occupy a channel bandwidth. A bandwidth part (BWP) is a set of consecutive common resource blocks, which may include all common resource blocks in the channel bandwidth or a subset of common resource blocks. Also, a DL PRS point A parameter defines the frequency of the reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of the resource block), and the DL PRS resources belong to the same DL PRS resource set with the same point A, and all DL PRS resource sets belong to the same frequency layer with the same point A.The frequency layers also have the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same value of comb size (i.e., the frequency of PRS resource elements per symbol, such that for comb N, every Nth resource element is a PRS resource element). A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and may be associated with a particular TRP (identified by a cell ID) transmitted by an antenna panel of a base station. A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set may be associated with an omnidirectional signal and / or a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (a base station may transmit one or multiple beams). Each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus a "PRS resource" (or simply a "resource") may also be referred to as a "beam". This does not have any implication on whether the base station and the beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0085] The TRP may be configured to send the DL PRS per schedule, for example, by instructions received from a server and / or by software in the TRP. According to the schedule, the TRP may send the DL PRS intermittently, for example, periodically at regular intervals from the initial transmission. The TRP may be configured to send one or more PRS resource sets. A resource set is a collection of PRS resources across one TRP, where the resources have the same periodicity, common muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor across a slot. Each of the PRS resource sets includes multiple PRS resources, and each PRS resource includes multiple OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) resource elements (REs) that may be within multiple resource blocks (RBs) within N (one or more) consecutive symbols in a slot. PRS resources (or reference signal (RS) resources in general) may be referred to as OFDM PRS resources (or OFDM RS resources). An RB is a collection of REs over an amount of one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain and an amount of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain (12 for 5G RBs). Each PRS resource is configured with an RE offset, a slot offset, a symbol offset within the slot, and a number of consecutive symbols that the PRS resource may occupy within the slot. The RE offset defines the starting RE offset of the first symbol in the DL PRS resource in frequency. The relative RE offsets of the remaining symbols in the DL PRS resource are defined based on the initial offset. The slot offset is the starting slot of the DL PRS resource relative to the corresponding resource set slot offset. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting slot. The transmitted RE may be repeated across the slot, and each transmission is called a repetition, such that there may be multiple repetitions in the PRS resource. The DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP, and each DL PRS resource has a DL PRS resource ID.A DL PRS resource ID in a DL PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (although a TRP may transmit one or multiple beams).

[0086] The PRS resources may also be defined by quasi-co-location and start PRB parameters. The quasi-co-location (QCL) parameter may define any quasi-co-location information of DL PRS resources with other reference signals. The DL PRS may be configured to be QCL type D with DL PRS or SS / PBCH (synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel) blocks from a serving or non-serving cell. The DL PRS may be configured to be QCL type C with SS / PBCH blocks from a serving or non-serving cell. The start PRB parameter defines the start PRB index of the DL PRS resources relative to reference point A. The start PRB index has a granularity of one PRB and may have a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 2176 PRBs.

[0087] A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources with the same periodicity, the same muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor across slots. Any time when all repetitions of all PRS resources of a PRS resource set are configured to be transmitted is called an "instance." Thus, an "instance" of a PRS resource set is a specified number of repetitions for each PRS resource, and a specified number of PRS resources in a PRS resource set, such that an instance is complete when a specified number of repetitions for each of the specified number of PRS resources have been transmitted. An instance may also be referred to as an "opportunity." A DL PRS configuration, including a DL PRS transmission schedule, may be provided to the UE to facilitate (or even enable) the UE to measure the DL PRS.

[0088] Multiple frequency layers of a PRS may be aggregated to provide an effective bandwidth larger than any of the layer bandwidths individually. Multiple frequency layers that meet criteria such as component carriers (which may be contiguous and / or distinct) and quasi-colocated (QCL) and have the same antenna ports may be stitched to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for DL ​​PRS and UL PRS), increasing time-of-arrival measurement accuracy. Stitching involves combining PRS measurements across individual bandwidth fragments into an integrated one, such that the stitched PRS can be treated as if taken from a single measurement. When QCL'd, the different frequency layers behave similarly, allowing stitching of PRSs to provide a larger effective bandwidth. The larger effective bandwidth may be referred to as the aggregate PRS bandwidth or the aggregate PRS frequency bandwidth, and provides better time-domain resolution (e.g., of TDOA). An aggregated PRS includes a collection of PRS resources, where each PRS resource of the aggregated PRS may be referred to as a PRS component, and each PRS component may be transmitted on a different component carrier, band, or frequency layer, or on a different portion of the same band.

[0089] RTT positioning is an active positioning technique in that the RTT uses positioning signals sent by the TRP to the UE and by the UE (involved in RTT positioning) to the TRP. The TRP can send DL-PRS signals that are received by the UE, and the UE can send SRS (sounding reference signal) signals that are received by multiple TRPs. The sounding reference signal may be called SRS or SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, cooperative positioning may be used with the UE sending a single UL-SRS for positioning that is received by multiple TRPs, rather than sending a separate UL-SRS for positioning for each TRP. A TRP involved in multi-RTT typically searches for UEs currently camped on that TRP (served UEs, where the TRP is the serving TRP) and UEs camped on nearby TRPs (neighbor UEs). The neighbor TRPs may be TRPs of a single BTS (base transceiver station) (e.g., gNB), or a TRP of one BTS and a TRP of a separate BTS. For RTT positioning, including multi-RTT positioning, the DL-PRS signal and the UL-SRS signal in the positioning PRS / SRS signal pair used to determine the RTT (and thus the range between the UE and the TRP) may occur close in time to each other such that errors due to UE movement and / or UE clock drift and / or TRP clock drift are within acceptable limits. For example, the signals in the positioning PRS / SRS signal pair may be transmitted within about 10 ms of each other from the TRP and the UE, respectively. Because the positioning SRS is sent by the UE, and because the positioning PRS and SRS are conveyed close in time to each other, it has been found that radio frequency (RF) signal congestion (which may cause excessive noise, etc.) may occur, especially if many UEs are attempting positioning simultaneously, and / or computational congestion may occur at the TRP attempting to measure many UEs simultaneously.

[0090] RTT positioning may be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, the UE 200 determines the RTT and corresponding range to each of the TRPs 300 and the location of the UE 200 based on the range to the TRPs 300 and the known location of the TRPs 300. In UE-assisted RTT, the UE 200 measures positioning signals and provides the measurement information to the TRPs 300, which determines the RTT and range. The TRPs 300 provide ranges to a location server, e.g., server 400, which determines the location of the UE 200, e.g., based on the range to the different TRPs 300. The RTT and / or range may be determined by the TRP 300 receiving the signal from the UE 200, by a combination of the TRP 300 and one or more other devices, e.g., one or more other TRPs 300 and / or server 400, or by one or more devices other than the TRP 300 receiving the signal from the UE 200.

[0091] Various positioning techniques are supported in 5G NR. NR-specific positioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL-only, UL-only, and DL+UL positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. Combined DL+UL-based positioning methods include RTT with one base station and RTT with multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

[0092] A position estimate (e.g., for a UE) may be referred to by other names such as location estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, etc. A position estimate may be geodetic and may comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or may be city-related and may comprise a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. A position estimate may further be specified relative to some other known location or may be specified in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A position estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to fall with some specified or default confidence level).

[0093] Positioning device 4, the description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing functions, but also includes other implementations, such as the processor 410 executing software (stored in memory 411) and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the server 400 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more of the appropriate components of the server 400 (e.g., the processor 410 and memory 411) performing functions. The processor 410 (possibly along with the memory 411 and, if necessary, the transceiver 415) may include a PRS scheduling unit 460 and a PRS measurement / report request unit 470. The PRS scheduling unit 460 and the PRS measurement / report request unit 470 are discussed further below, and the description may refer generally to the processor 410, or generally to the server 400, as performing any of the functions of the PRS scheduling unit 460 or the PRS measurement / report request unit 470.

[0094] 5, the wireless signaling device 500 includes a processor 510, a transceiver 520, and a memory 530 communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 540. The device 500 may include the components shown in FIG. 5. The device 500 may include one or more other components, such as any of those shown in FIG. 2, where the UE 200 may be an example of the wireless signaling device 500, or one or more of the components shown in FIG. 3, where the TRP 300 may be an example of the wireless signaling device 500. For example, the processor 510 may include one or more of the components of the processor 210. The transceiver 520 may include one or more of the components of the transceiver 215, such as the wireless transmitter 242 and the antenna 246, or the wireless receiver 244 and the antenna 246, or the wireless transmitter 242, the wireless receiver 244, and the antenna 246. Also or alternatively, the transceiver 520 may include a wired transmitter 252 and / or a wired receiver 254. The memory 530 may be configured similarly to the memory 211, e.g., including software with processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor 510 to perform functions. As another example, the processor 510, the transceiver 520, and the memory 530 may include one or more components of the processor 310, the transceiver 315, and the memory 311, respectively. Still other examples of wireless signaling devices may be implemented. For example, the wireless signaling device 500 may be a reference location device that is a standalone device, or part of a base station (e.g., a gNB). The device 500 may include, for example, an enhanced transmission point (eTP) and / or an enhanced receiving point (eRP) where the device 500 is part of a base station. The wireless signaling device 500 is capable of receiving and / or transmitting wireless signals (e.g., DL-PRS, UL-PRS, SL-PRS) and may be configured to forward (transmit and / or receive) wired signals.

[0095] The description herein may refer to the processor 510 performing functions, but includes other implementations, such as the processor 510 executing software (stored in memory 530) and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the device 500 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more of the appropriate components of the device 500 (e.g., the processor 510 and memory 530) performing the functions. The processor 510 (possibly together with the memory 530 and, if necessary, the transceiver 520) may include a PRS measurement unit 560, a PRS measurement reporting unit 570, and / or a PRS transmission unit 580. Depending on the implementation of the signaling device 500, one or more of the units 560, 570, 580 may be omitted from the signaling device 500. The PRS measurement unit 560, the PRS measurement reporting unit 570, and the PRS transmission unit 580 are discussed further below, and the description may refer to the processor 510 generally, or to the wireless signaling device 500 generally, as implementing any of the functions of the PRS measurement unit 560, or the PRS measurement reporting unit 570, or the PRS transmission unit 580.

[0096] The PRS measurement unit 560 and the PRS transmission unit 580 are configured to measure and transmit the appropriate PRS. For example, the PRS measurement unit 560 may be configured to measure DL-PRS, UL-PRS, and / or SL-PRS, and the PRS transmission unit 580 may be configured to transmit UL-PRS, DL-PRS, and / or SL-PRS. For example, if the device 500 is a UE, the PRS measurement unit 560 could be configured to measure DL-PRS and SL-PRS and could be configured to measure UL-PRS, and the PRS transmission unit 580 could be configured to transmit UL-PRS and SL-PRS and could be configured to transmit DL-PRS. As another example, if the device 500 is part of a TRP or a base station, the PRS measurement unit 560 may be configured to measure the UL-PRS and may be configured to measure the DL-PRS and / or the SL-PRS, and the PRS transmission unit 580 may be configured to transmit the DL-PRS and may be configured to transmit the UL-PRS and / or the SL-PRS. As another example, if the device 500 is a standalone reference location device, the PRS measurement unit 560 and the PRS transmission unit 570 may be configured similarly to the configurations for the device 500 that is a UE.

[0097] The transmission and measurement of the PRS may aid in position determination and / or measurement calibration of a mobile device such as a UE. For example, various PRS measurements may be used to support UE-assisted and / or UE-based position determination using one or more of various positioning techniques. For example, the DL-PRS may be measured by the PRS measurement unit 560 to determine the RSTD for DL-TDOA or to determine the RSRP for DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, and / or multi-RTT techniques. As another example, the DL-PRS and UL-PRS may be measured by the PRS measurement unit 560 to determine the UE Rx-Tx time difference for multi-RTT. As another example, SSB or CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal) for RRM (Radio Resource Management) may be measured by the PRS measurement unit 560 to determine SS-RSRP (Synchronization Signal RSRP for RRM), SS-RSRQ (for RRM), CSI-RSRP (for RRM), CSI-RSRQ (for RRM) for E-CID.

[0098] Measurement reporting may be triggered (event-based) or periodic (timing-based), as specified, for example, in the 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) 38.355 technical specification. For triggered reporting, the occurrence of an event causes the reporting of one or more measurements. For example, if the cell change field is set to TRUE, the target device (i.e., the device whose location is to be determined, such as a UE) provides the requested location information every time the primary cell changes. The maximum duration for triggered reporting may be set by a reportingDuration field in the Requested Location Information IE (Information Element). Periodic reporting may be configured by the number of reports to be given (by the reportingAmount field of the IE, with values ​​of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc.) and the reporting interval, for example, in time in seconds, between each report (such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, or 64).

[0099] Batch Reporting Measurement of PRS resources and reporting of PRS measurements may be performed in batches. Batch measurements and / or reporting may reduce signaling overhead. Batch measurements of PRS resources for different positioning methods may help ensure that PRS measurements for different positioning methods are taken under similar conditions so that different positioning methods may be used in combination to determine a location of a target UE, or to calibrate measurements, or to verify a location determined by one method with a location determined by another method, and / or for other purposes. Measurements may be made for multiple PRSs, across multiple PRS instances, and for multiple positioning methods and reported in a batch report (which may include multiple batch sub-reports).

[0100] 6, the PRS resource set may be repeated at a rate defined by the instance periodicity such that multiple instances of the PRS resource set of multiple PRS resources are conveyed. The PRS instance periodicity may be, for example, 4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, or 10240 milliseconds. For example, if the reporting period is 1 second and the instance periodicity is 4 ms, then 250 instances occur in each reporting period. 6 shows PRS resources 600 for five PRS instances 621, 622, 623, 624, 625 (although numerous other PRS instances may be conveyed), each including a PRS resource set of multiple PRS resources, here four PRS resources per resource set, although this is a non-limiting example and other amounts of PRS resources may be included in the PRS resource set (and which PRS resources are included in each PRS resource set and / or the amount of PRS resources may vary between different instances). PRS instance N includes, for example, M PRS resources, such that PRS instance 621 (instance 1) includes PRS resources labeled PRS11, PRS12, PRS13, PRS14, PRS instance 622 (instance 2) includes PRS resources labeled PRS21, PRS22, PRS23, PRS24, etc. The PRS resources may differ in time and / or frequency from one another.

[0101] There may be limitations for PRS resource measurements. For example, the device 500 may have a limited number of Rx-Tx measurements per PRS source, or a limited number of measurements that can be provided in a single batch report, or a threshold measurement periodicity, etc. Measurement capabilities may be different (i.e., different limits may be provided) for different frequency bands.

[0102] The PRS measurement reporting unit 570 may be configured to provide a batch measurement report according to one or more positioning methods to be implemented and / or according to one or more batch configuration parameters received from the PRS measurement / report request unit 470 of the server 400 and corresponding to multiple measurements of one or more PRS resources from one or more PRS instances, e.g., PRS instances 621-625. The batch reporting may help to ensure that RTT positioning can be performed by reporting multiple UL-PRS resource measurements, such that a UL-PRS can be aligned with a corresponding DL-PRS to enable RTT calculation. The PRS measurement reporting unit 570 may report one or more measurement instances (e.g., of RSTD, DL RSRP, and / or UE Rx-Tx) to the server 400 in a single batch measurement report, e.g., for UE-assisted positioning, where each measurement instance includes one or more measurements (of the same or different types) of one or more PRS resources of one or more corresponding PRS instances.

[0103] With reference to FIG. 7 and further with reference to FIGS. 1-6, a signaling and process flow 700 for providing batch reporting parameters, measuring PRS resources, and batch reporting location information includes the steps shown. The flow 700 is an example, and steps may be added, reordered, and / or deleted. As shown in FIG. 7, signals may be transferred between signaling devices 701, 702, 703, and a network device 704. The signaling devices 701-703 may be examples of the signaling device 500, and thus any of the signaling devices 701-703 may be a UE, a TRP, or another device (e.g., a reference location device). The network device 704 may include one or more devices, such as the TRP 300 and the server 400 (e.g., an LMF), separately, or the TRP 300 and the server 400 (e.g., an LMF) integrated into a single device, such as an LMF in a RAN. Although the discussion of network device 704 refers to components of server 400, the discussion is applicable to components of another device, such as an integrated TRP and server.

[0104] In step 710, a positioning session is started between the network device 704 and the signaling devices 701-703. The positioning session is started so that the signaling devices 701-703 can obtain assistance data for PRS transfer (e.g., between each other and / or with the network device 704). The positioning session may be used to help determine the location of the devices (e.g., the signaling device 701 and / or another device) and / or to help calibrate the signaling information (e.g., timing). To start the positioning session, the signaling devices 701-703 perform a handshake with the network device 704 by exchanging appropriate messages to establish respective positioning sessions for transferring PRS signaling. The handshaking may include determining one or more positioning techniques to be used and / or appropriate position information (measurements and / or location estimates) to be determined.

[0105] In stage 720, the signaling device 701 transmits a capability report to the network device 704, and the signaling devices 701-703 request and receive respective assistance data (AD). The processor 510 of the signaling device 701 may be configured to generate and transmit a capability report 721 to the network device 704. The capability report 721 may indicate that the signaling device 701 is configured to provide a batch report of Uu and SL positioning, for example, a batch report in which Uu signal measurements (e.g., DL-PRS signal measurements and / or UL-PRS signal measurements, e.g., ToA, ToD, Rx-Tx, RSRP, etc.) and SL signal measurements (e.g., ToA, ToD, Rx-Tx, etc.) occur in parallel. The Uu signal measurements are measurements related to signals transferred over the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and a network entity such as the network device 704 (e.g., the TRP 300)). The capability report 721 may therefore indicate that the signaling device 701 may report Uu and SL signal measurements that are aligned (e.g., corresponding to PRS received and / or transmitted simultaneously, such that conditions are similar for the various measurements (e.g., when a PRS is transmitted / received by the signaling device 701, the relative relationship between the signaling device 701 and the device transmitting / receiving the PRS is the same)).

[0106] The capability report 721 may also or alternatively indicate the prioritization behavior of the signaling device 701. The prioritization behavior may indicate what priority the signaling device 701 gives to making / reporting measurements, e.g., how the signaling device 701 determines which measurements to make and / or report when the signaling device 701 does not (e.g., cannot) make and / or report all measurements that are required. For example, if the signaling device 701 has a measurement limit that is exceeded, the signaling device 701 makes and reports measurements that are aligned (e.g., within a PRS instance, etc.) with higher priority than measurements that are not aligned with other respective measurements. As another example, the signaling device 701 may prioritize one type of measurement over another type, e.g., based on the implemented positioning method for which the measurement is required. The capability report 721, however, may not include a prioritization behavior. For example, the signaling device 701 may be statically configured (e.g., designed and manufactured) with a prioritization behavior, and the network device 704 may be statically configured with knowledge of the prioritization behavior (e.g., with prioritization rules stored in memory).

[0107] The signaling device 701 may be configured to prioritize measurements and / or reports based on one or more instructions from the network device 704. For example, the signaling device 701 may prioritize PRS measurements and / or PRS measurement reports according to an order of measurement / report instructions given to the signaling device 701 by the network device 704 (e.g., if a measurement / report request lists RTT before AoD, the signaling device 701 may prioritize RTT measurements and / or reports of such measurements over AoD measurements). The network device 704 (e.g., LMF) may be configured to determine the priority of PRS measurements and / or PRS measurement reports based on one or more expected metrics, e.g., expected positioning accuracy and / or quality of service of multiple positioning methods. For example, the PRS measurement / report request unit 470 may be configured to prioritize making and / or reporting measurements corresponding to a positioning method with a higher expected positioning accuracy over making and / or reporting measurements corresponding to a positioning method with a lower expected positioning accuracy.

[0108] Also at stage 720, the signaling devices 701-703 send Assistance Data (AD) requests 722, 723, 724 to the network device 704, which sends respective ADs 725, 726, 727. The AD requests 722-724 request ADs to assist the signaling devices 701-703 in signal forwarding, e.g., to measure PRS, to guide PRS transmission, etc. The network device 704 determines the ADs 725-727, e.g., the server 400 negotiates with the TRP 300 to determine the ADs 725-727. The ADs 725-727 include one or more respective PRS schedules, e.g., a DL-PRS schedule, a UL-PRS schedule, and / or a SL-PRS schedule, as appropriate. The PRS schedule indicates the timing and frequency of the PRS resources to assist the signaling devices 701-703 in measuring the scheduled PRS resources and / or, if necessary, in transmitting the PRS resources according to the schedule.

[0109] 8, the AD 725 includes a location information request, e.g., a location information request 800 (shown in pseudocode) including a common information portion 810 and an individual information portion 820. The common information portion 810 indicates one or more parameters used to determine and / or report location information (e.g., measurements, processed measurements, location estimates) for different positioning methods. The common parameters may include, for example, location information type, triggered reporting parameters, quality of service, etc. The individual information portions include respective criteria for one or more positioning methods, the criteria being specific to each respective method (e.g., different from one or more other methods). The criteria may include, for example, measurements to be made and a reporting configuration for reporting the measurements. In the location information request 800, the individual information parts 820 include a request for ECID location information 821, a request for multi-RTT location information 822, a request for DL-AoD location information 823, a request for DL-TDOA location information 824, a request for SL location information 825, and a request for DL ​​joint positioning location information 826. Each of the requests 821-826 is optional, i.e., may or may not be included in the location information request 800. The request 825 is, for example, a request for location information for sidelink positioning between multiple UEs, i.e., positioning using SL-PRS transmission. The request 826 is a request for location information for a positioning method using a combination of DL-PRS and SL-PRS, e.g., measurement by the UE of DL-PRS from one or more TRPs and measurement of SL-PRS transmitted between the UEs.

[0110] 9 and 10, the AD 725, e.g., common information portion 810 of location information request 800, includes one or more parameters indicating one or more batch PRS configurations (e.g., batch PRS measurement configurations and / or batch PRS measurement report configurations), which may be referred to as batch criteria. As shown in FIG. 9, the common information portion 810 of request 800 includes a common location information request information element (IE) 900 that includes a list of respective information IEs that guide the determination of location information for multiple positioning methods. Among the IEs is a common batch reporting IE 910 that provides common batch reporting criteria. Despite including the term "report," the common batch reporting IE 910 may include one or more measurement parameters for measuring PRS and / or one or more reporting parameters for batch reporting PRS measurements. As shown in FIG. 10, Common Batch Report IE 1000, which is an example of Common Batch Report IE 910, includes Common Batching Method IE 1010, which is a coded list indicating the positioning methods to which Common Batching Report IE 1020 applies, and includes individual method configurations 1030 that contain method-specific configuration information.

[0111] The common batching method IE 1010 indicates which positioning method uses the common batching report IE 1020. Here, the common batching method IE 1010 includes a bit string where each bit corresponds to a positioning method and the value of the bit indicates whether the common batch configuration applies to the corresponding positioning method. For example, a bit value of 0 may indicate that the signaling device 701 does not use the common batching report IE 1020 to measure the PRS for the corresponding positioning method and batch report the PRS measurements, and therefore uses a method-specific configuration for the PRS for such positioning method (if the positioning method is being used). On the other hand, a bit value of 1 may indicate that the signaling device 701 uses the common batching report IE 1020 to measure the PRS and batch report the PRS measurements for the corresponding positioning method.

[0112] The common batching report IE 1020 indicates a batching configuration for the method indicated by the common batching method IE 1010. For example, the common batching report IE 1020 may indicate that multiple measurements are to be reported together as part of a batch report. The common batching report IE 1020 may also or alternatively indicate any combination of the following parameters: one or more measurement windows for receiving / transmitting PRS resources to be measured for batch reporting, measurement periodicity, reporting periodicity, amount of PRS instances to measure, amount of PRS resources to measure, amount of PRS resource sets to measure, amount of Positioning Frequency Layers (PFLs) to measure, amount of TRPs to measure, amount of PRS measurements to batch report, from which PRS instances to measure PRS resources, from which PRS instances to report PRS measurements, which PRS resources to measure, which PRS resources to batch report measurements of, reporting windows, etc. When multiple methods are associated with the same batch reporting request, a measurement window (which may be referred to as a scheduled location time, or a scheduled location window, or a pre-scheduled location window, or a pre-scheduled location time) may be given in the location request applicable to multiple positioning methods. The measurement window is the time during which the network device 704 (e.g., LMF) wants to make PRS measurements. The network device 704 may determine the measurement window based on a location request from a location client (e.g., an application) for the location of the target UE. The signaling device 701 is expected to measure reference signals received during the measurement window and / or transmit reference signals during the measurement window for the positioning method (e.g., in SL / Uu positioning for DL-PRS reception and SL-PRS and UL-PRS transmission). The reporting window may indicate, for example, a time to start batch reporting and a time to stop batch reporting (e.g., a time span (e.g., 10 seconds) relative to the start time).The common batch reporting IE 1020 provides parameters to help ensure that measurements for different positioning methods (e.g., parallel Uu and SL positioning) are time-aligned, i.e., measurements are taken for the different measurements at the same or nearly the same time such that the positioning conditions are (or can be assumed to be) the same (e.g., from the same PRS instance, with the same measurement periodicity, etc.). Positioning conditions include relative location (relative separation and direction) between devices forwarding signals (e.g., signaling device 701 relative to other signaling devices 702, 703), clock drift (of devices measuring and / or sending PRS), and / or channel characteristics. When measurements are aligned, the relative locations (and channel conditions) of signaling devices 701-703 are not significantly different for each of the aligned measurements, so that the different positioning methods should result in the same location estimate for signaling device 701. Different positioning methods may be used in combination, for example, to determine a composite location estimate for the signaling device 701 and / or to use measurements and / or location estimates determined for one or more positioning methods to calibrate measurements and / or location estimates determined for one or more other positioning methods.

[0113] Each of the individual method configurations 1030 corresponds to a respective positioning method (here, multi-RTT, DL-AoD, DL-TDOA, SL, and DL joint positioning). Each of the configurations 1030 is conditional, and each respective configuration is included if the corresponding positioning method is indicated in the common batching method IE 1010. Each of the configurations 1030 provides a method-specific set of configuration parameters, e.g., what measurements should be made (e.g., ToA and Rx-Tx for RTT, and RSRP for AoD). If the measurements for the required positioning methods are the same, the configurations 1030 may be omitted altogether. For any positioning method for which measurements are desired but the use of common batch configuration parameters is not indicated in the common batching method IE 1010, a method-specific configuration may be used that includes one or more further parameters, such as parameters as discussed above with respect to the common batching report IE 1020 and what measurements should be made.

[0114] In stage 730, appropriate reference signals are transferred between the signaling device 701 and one or more of the signaling devices 702, 703 and / or the network device 704 based on the positioning method to be implemented. The network device 704 may send a DL-PRS 731 to the signaling device 701. The signaling device 702 and / or the signaling device 703 may send a PRS 732, 733 (e.g., DL-PRS, SL-PRS, UL-PRS, depending on the respective configurations of the signaling devices 701-703) to the signaling device 701. The signaling device 701 may send a UL-PRS 736 to the network device 704 (e.g., if the signaling device 701 is a UE). Signaling device 701 may send PRS 737, 738 (eg, DL-PRS, SL-PRS, UL-PRS, depending on the configuration of each of signaling devices 701-703) to one or both of signaling devices 702, 703, respectively.

[0115] In step 740, the signaling device 701 measures some or all of the PRSs 731-733. For example, the PRS measurement unit 560 of the signaling device 701 measures one or more PRS resources of the PRSs 731-733 according to the common batch reporting IE 1000 and, if necessary, any method-specific configuration.

[0116] Also referring to FIG. 11, an example flow 1100 of measuring PRS according to the common batch report IE 1000 (including method specific configuration) for RTT and AoD is shown. Here, PRS resources 600 of PRS instances 621-625 shown in FIG. 6 are received by a signaling device 701. In step 1110, the signaling device 701 applies the common batch configuration parameters given in the common batch report IE 1020 to the PRS resources 600, which in this example results in the signaling device 701 filtering in time and frequency for a PRS resource subset 1120. In the example shown in FIG. 11, a time window 1115 is applied as part of the common batch configuration parameters for measuring PRS resources in PRS instances 621-624. A single measurement window may be configured for multiple positioning methods. In stage 1130, the signaling device 701 applies the method specific configuration for RTT and the AoD positioning method to the PRS resource subset 1120, which in this example results in ToA measurements for RTT 1140 and RSRP measurements for AoD 1150. Stages 1110, 1130 are shown separately for illustrative purposes but may be combined.

[0117] 12, an example of measuring PRS according to a common batch reporting IE 1000 (including method-specific configuration) for RTT and AoD, in which multiple measurement windows are commonly applied, is shown. In step 1210, the signaling device 701 applies a common batch configuration parameter to the PRS resource 600. In this example, the common batch configuration parameter includes two different measurement windows 1211, 1212, each corresponding to a combination of positioning methods (here, multi-RTT and SL-RTT for the measurement window 1211, and DL-TDOA and DL-AoD for the measurement window 1212). The signaling device 701 is expected to measure a reference signal received during the measurement window and / or transmit a reference signal during the measurement window for the positioning method corresponding to the measurement window. Applying the common batch configuration parameter including two different measurement windows 1211, 1212 results in two PRS resource subsets 1221, 1222. In stage 1230, the signaling device 701 applies the respective method-specific batch configuration parameters to the PRS resource subsets 1221, 1222, resulting in ToA / Rx-Tx measurements for multi-RTT 1241, ToA / Rx-Tx measurements for SL-RTT 1242, ToA measurements for DL-TDOA 1243, and RSRP measurements for DL-AoD 1244. The measurements 1241-1244 for all four positioning methods may be included in a single batch measurement report (e.g., as discussed below). The example shown in and discussed with respect to FIG. 12 is not a limitation of this disclosure.

[0118] In step 750, the signaling device 701 transmits a batch measurement report 751 to the network device 704. The batch measurement report 751 batch reports location information (e.g., PRS measurements) according to batch reporting criteria provided to the signaling device 701 in step 720, e.g., batch reporting configuration parameters provided in the common batching report IE 1020 and / or appropriate configuration 1030. The batch measurement report 751 includes a batch of measurements for each positioning method for which batch measurement reporting was requested by the network device 704 in the location information request in AD 725.

[0119] 1-12, a batch measurement reporting method 1300 includes the steps shown, although method 1300 is by way of example and not limitation. Method 1300 may be modified, for example, by having steps added, removed, reordered, combined, or performed simultaneously, and / or by dividing a single step into multiple steps.

[0120] At stage 1310, the method 1300 includes receiving a batch request (and possibly one or more common batch configuration parameters) from a network entity at a wireless signaling device indicating a plurality of positioning methods. For example, the signaling device 701 receives an AD 725 including an indication of the positioning methods (and one or more corresponding common batch configuration parameters, e.g., common batching method IE 1010 and common batching report 1020). The processor 510 may comprise means for receiving the batch request, possibly in combination with the memory 530, in combination with the transceiver 520 (e.g., antenna 246 and wireless receiver 244, or wired receiver 254, or antenna 346 and wireless receiver 344, or wired receiver 354).

[0121] At stage 1320, the method 1300 includes receiving, at the wireless signaling device, one or more PRS resources. For example, the signaling device 701 receives DL-PRS 731, PRS 732, and / or PRS 733 at stage 730. The processor 510, possibly in combination with the memory 530, in combination with the transceiver 520 (e.g., antenna 246 and wireless receiver 244, or antenna 346 and wireless receiver 344), may comprise means for receiving one or more PRS resources.

[0122] At stage 1330, method 1300 includes measuring, at the wireless signaling device, one or more of the one or more PRS resources for each of the multiple positioning methods according to a batch request (e.g., at least one or more common batch configuration parameters) for combining and determining the multiple PRS measurements. For example, at stage 740, the signaling device 701 measures one or more PRS resources of the received PRS based on the positioning method and possibly common batch configuration parameters (e.g., which PRS resource to measure, from which PRS instance to measure the one or more PRS resources, measurement periodicity, etc.). The processor 510, possibly in combination with the memory 530, may comprise means for measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources.

[0123] At stage 1340, the method 1300 includes transmitting a batch measurement report based on the multiple PRS measurements from the wireless signaling device to a network entity, the batch measurement report including a respective batch measurement sub-report for each of a plurality of positioning methods, each respective batch measurement sub-report including a respective batch of the multiple PRS measurements. For example, the signaling device 701 transmits a batch measurement report 751 including a respective batch of measurements for each positioning method for which location information is requested to the network device 704. The processor 510 may comprise means for transmitting the batch measurement report in combination with the transceiver 520 (e.g., the antenna 246 and wireless transmitter 242, or the wired transmitter 252, or the antenna 346 and wireless transmitter 342, or the wired transmitter 352), possibly in combination with the memory 530.

[0124] Implementations of the method 1300 may include one or more of the following features: In an example implementation, measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources includes measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources according to one or more respective positioning method-specific configuration parameters for each of a plurality of positioning methods, where the one or more respective positioning method-specific configuration parameters are included in the batch request. For example, the signaling device 701 measures the PRS resources according to an appropriate individual method configuration 1030 corresponding to the positioning method for which measurement is requested. In another example implementation, the batch request includes one or more common batch configuration parameters, and measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources includes measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources according to at least one or more common batch configuration parameters, where the one or more common batch configuration parameters include a measurement window, or a first indication of the one or more PRS resources, or a second indication of one or more PRS instances of the one or more PRS resources, or a measurement periodicity, or any combination thereof.In another example implementation, the batch request includes one or more first common batch configuration parameters, measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources includes measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources according to at least the one or more first common batch configuration parameters, the plurality of positioning methods is a first plurality of positioning methods, the one or more PRS resources includes one or more first PRS resources, the one or more first common batch configuration parameters include a first measurement window corresponding to the first plurality of positioning methods, and the batch request includes a second measurement window corresponding to the second plurality of positioning methods. and one or more second common batch configuration parameters including a second measurement window and a second combination of positioning methods, the second plurality of positioning methods being different from the first plurality of positioning methods, and measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources includes measuring one or more of the one or more first PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the first measurement window, and the method 1300 further includes measuring one or more second PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the second measurement window according to the one or more second common batch configuration parameters. For example, as shown in and discussed with respect to FIG. 12, the signaling device 701 may measure PRS for different combinations of positioning methods in different measurement windows. The processor 510, possibly in combination with the memory 530, may comprise means for measuring the one or more second PRS resources.

[0125] Also or alternatively, implementations of the method 1300 may include one or more of the following features: In an example implementation, the method 1300 includes prioritizing reporting a set of aligned PRS measurements for different positioning methods among the plurality of PRS measurements over non-aligned PRS measurements among the plurality of PRS measurements. For example, the signaling device 701 (e.g., the PRS measurement unit 560 or the processor 310) may respond to not being able to report all PRS measurements by prioritizing reporting of PRS measurements that are time-aligned (e.g., from the same PRS instance) and correspond to the plurality of different positioning methods over one or more non-aligned PRS measurements (e.g., measurements from a PRS instance for one positioning method and no PRS measurements from the same PRS instance for another positioning method). As an illustrative example, assume that the wireless signaling device 500 receives a batch reporting configuration for reporting PRS measurements for two different positioning methods for three PRS instances, namely instance 1, instance 2, and instance 3. For instance 1, the wireless signaling device 500 performs a first RSTD measurement and a first Rx-Tx measurement for the TDOA method and the RTT method, respectively. For instance 2, the wireless signaling device 500 performs a second RSTD measurement and a second Rx-Tx measurement for the TDOA method and the RTT method, respectively. For instance 3, the wireless signaling device 500 performs a third RSTD measurement for the TDOA method (without performing a third Rx-Tx measurement for the RTT method). Since this example implements prioritizing a consistent measurement over a non-consistent measurement, the wireless signaling device 500 prioritizes reporting the first and second RSTD measurements and the first and second Rx-Tx measurements over reporting the third RSTD measurement. The processor 510, possibly in combination with the memory 530, may comprise means for prioritizing reporting a consistent PRS measurement over a non-consistent PRS measurement.In another example implementation, the method 1300 includes prioritizing the reporting of the multiple PRS measurements based on an order of the multiple positioning methods indicated in the batch reporting request. For example, the signaling device 701 may respond to not being able to report all PRS measurements by prioritizing the reporting of the PRS measurements to match the order of the positioning methods indicated in the location information request in the AD 725, and thus treat the first listed positioning method as the highest priority positioning method and assign the highest priority for reporting the PRS measurements to the PRS measurements for that positioning method, and so on. The processor 510, possibly in combination with the memory 530, may comprise means for prioritizing the reporting of the PRS measurements based on an order of the positioning methods indicated in the batch reporting request.

[0126] 1-12, a method 1400 of obtaining a batch report includes the steps shown, although method 1400 is by way of example and not limitation. Method 1400 may be modified, for example, by having steps added, removed, reordered, combined, performed simultaneously, and / or by splitting a single step into multiple steps.

[0127] In step 1410, the method 1400 includes transmitting a batch request (and possibly one or more common batch configuration parameters) from the apparatus to the wireless signaling device, indicating multiple positioning methods that the wireless signaling device follows to measure PRS resources (positioning reference signal resources) for batch reporting for each of the multiple positioning methods. For example, in step 720, the network device 704 (e.g., the PRS measurement / report request unit 470) transmits a location information request in the AD 725 to the signaling device 701. The location information request indicates the positioning method and possibly one or more batch configuration parameters, e.g., common batching report IE 1020, that the signaling device 701 may use to determine PRS measurements for the multiple positioning methods. For example, the signaling device 701 (e.g., the PRS measurement unit 560 if the signaling device 701 is a UE, or the processor 310 if the signaling device 701 is a TRP) may measure the PRS according to the positioning method and possibly one or more configuration parameters (e.g., periodicity, defined PRS instance, and / or defined PRS resource, etc.), or may measure the PRS that satisfies the configuration parameters (e.g., QoS). The network device 704 may determine the configuration parameters to send to the signaling device 701 based on one or more factors, e.g., the positioning method that is most likely to provide reasonable positioning accuracy. The processor 410, possibly in combination with the memory 411, may comprise means for sending the batch request in combination with the transceiver 415 (e.g., the wired transmitter 452, or the wireless transmitter 442 and antenna 446).

[0128] At stage 1420, the method 1400 includes receiving, at the apparatus, a batch report including a respective batch of PRS measurements for each of the plurality of positioning methods. For example, at stage 750, the network device receives a batch measurement report 751 including the PRS measurements according to the batch request. The processor 410, possibly in combination with the memory 411, in combination with the transceiver 415 (e.g., the wired receiver 454, or the wireless receiver 444 and antenna 446), may comprise means for receiving the batch report.

[0129] Implementations of the method 1400 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, the step of transmitting the batch request includes transmitting a batch request for one or more of the plurality of positioning methods to include one or more respective positioning method specific configuration parameters. For example, the network device 704 transmits an appropriate configuration 1030 for the signaling device 701 to use to determine PRS measurements for the processing method as long as the one or more parameters are appropriate in addition to the common batching report IE 1020. The processor 410, possibly in combination with the memory 411, in combination with the transceiver 415 (e.g., the wired transmitter 452, or the wireless transmitter 442 and antenna 446), may comprise means for transmitting the batch request for including one or more respective positioning method specific configuration parameters. In another example implementation, the batch request further indicates one or more common batch configuration parameters including a measurement window, or a first indication of PRS resources, or a second indication of one or more PRS instances of the PRS resources, or a measurement periodicity, or any combination thereof. In another example implementation, the plurality of positioning methods is a first plurality of positioning methods, the batch request further indicates one or more first common batch configuration parameters including a first measurement window corresponding to the first plurality of positioning methods, and sending the batch request includes sending a batch request including one or more second common batch configuration parameters corresponding to a second plurality of positioning methods and including a second measurement window, the second plurality of positioning methods being different from the first plurality of positioning methods. For example, the network device 704 may indicate a plurality of measurement windows each corresponding to a corresponding set of positioning methods (although the same positioning method may be included in the different sets).

[0130] Also or alternatively, implementations of the method 1400 may include one or more of the following features: In one example implementation, the method 1400 includes transmitting an instruction from the apparatus to the wireless signaling device to prioritize reporting a set of matching PRS measurements over non-matching PRS measurements. For example, the AD 725 may instruct the signaling device 701 to give a higher reporting priority (and thus potentially a higher measurement priority) to matching PRS measurements over non-matching PRS measurements. The network device 704 may instruct the signaling device 701 to prioritize reporting of the PRS measurements according to an order of positioning methods indicated in the location information request, e.g., an order of reporting configurations corresponding to the positioning methods. The network device 704 may determine the priority based on one or more factors, such as the expected positioning accuracy and / or QoS that each positioning method provides. The processor 410, possibly in combination with the memory 411, and in combination with the transceiver 415 (e.g., the wired transmitter 452, or the wireless transmitter 442 and antenna 446), may comprise means for transmitting instructions for prioritizing the reporting of a set of matching PRS measurements and / or means for transmitting instructions for prioritizing the reporting of PRS measurements based on an order of positioning methods indicated in a batch request.

[0131] Other considerations Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination of these. Features implementing the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed such that portions of the functions are implemented in various physical locations.

[0132] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "including," and / or "comprising," as used herein, specify the presence of referenced features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0133] As used herein, the term RS (Reference Signal) may refer to one or more reference signals and may refer to any form of the term RS, e.g., PRS, SRS, CSI-RS, etc., as appropriate.

[0134] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, a statement that a function or action is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or action is based on the stated item or condition, and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions in addition to the stated item or condition.

[0135] Also, as used herein, "or" in a list of items (which may begin with "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates a disjunctive list, such as a list "at least one of A, B, or C" or a list "one or more of A, B, or C" or a list "A or B or C" meaning A, or B, or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination of two or more elements (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a recitation that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to perform a function with respect to at least one of A or B, or that an item is configured to perform function A or function B means that the item may be configured to perform the function with respect to A, or the function with respect to B, or the function with respect to A and B. For example, the phrases "a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B" or "a processor configured to measure A or measure B" mean that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and measure B (and may be configured to select for measuring either A and B, or both). Similarly, recitation of a means for measuring at least one of A or B includes a means for measuring A (which may or may not be capable of measuring B), or a means for measuring B (which may or may not be configured to measure A), or a means for measuring A and B (which may be capable of selecting for measuring either A and B, or both).As another example, a recitation that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to at least one of perform a function X or perform a function Y means that the item may be configured to perform function X, or may be configured to perform function Y, or may be configured to perform function X and to perform function Y. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to at least one of measuring X or measuring Y" means that the processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or may be configured to measure X and measure Y (and may be configured to select between measuring either X and Y, or both).

[0136] Substantial variations may be made according to specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may be used and / or certain elements may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor (including portable software such as applets), or both. Additionally, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be utilized. Functional or other components shown in the figures and / or discussed herein in connection with or in communication with each other are communicatively coupled unless otherwise noted. That is, the components may be directly or indirectly connected to enable communication therebetween.

[0137] The systems and devices described above are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, features described with respect to some configurations can be combined into various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations can be combined in a similar manner. Also, technology evolves, and thus many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

[0138] A wireless communication system is one in which communications are conveyed wirelessly, i.e., by electromagnetic and / or acoustic waves propagating through atmospheric space rather than through wires or other physical connections. A wireless communication network may not have all communications transmitted wirelessly, but is configured to have at least some communications transmitted wirelessly. Furthermore, the term "wireless communication device" or similar terms does not require that the functionality of the device is exclusively, or even primarily, for communication, or that communications using a wireless communication device are exclusively, or even primarily, wireless, or that the device is a mobile device, but indicates that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (unidirectional or bidirectional), e.g., at least one radio for wireless communication (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver).

[0139] In the description, specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of the example configurations (including implementations). However, the configurations may be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring the configurations. This description provides an example configuration and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of the configurations provides a description for implementing the described techniques. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements.

[0140] As used herein, the terms "processor-readable medium," "machine-readable medium," and "computer-readable medium" refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific manner. With a computing platform, various processor-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code to the processor for execution and / or be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., signals). In many implementations, the processor-readable medium is a physical and / or tangible storage medium. Such media may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0141] Although some example configurations have been described, various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used. For example, the above elements may be components of a larger system, in which other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the present disclosure. Also, some operations may be performed before, during, or after the above elements are considered. Thus, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0142] Unless otherwise specified, "about" and / or "approximately" as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, duration, etc., encompasses a variation of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or ±0.1% from the specified value, when such variation is appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein. Unless otherwise specified, "substantially" as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, duration, physical attribute (such as frequency), etc., also encompasses a variation of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, when such variation is appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.

[0143] A statement that a value exceeds (or is greater than or above) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold that is slightly greater than the first threshold, e.g., the second threshold is a value that is higher than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system. A statement that a value is less than (or is within or below) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold that is slightly lower than the first threshold, e.g., the second threshold is a value that is lower than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0144] 100 Communication system, system 105UE 106UE 110a NR Node B (gNB), gNB (g Node B), gNB 110b NR Node B (gNB), gNB (g Node B), gNB 114 Next Generation eNodeB (ng-eNB), ng-eNB (eNodeB), ng-eNB 115 Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 117 Session Management Facility (SMF) 120 Location Management Function (LMF) 125 Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 130 External Clients 135 Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) 140 5G Core Network (5GC) 185 Constellation 190 Satellite Vehicle (SV) 191 Satellite Vehicle (SV) 192 Satellite Vehicle (SV) 193 Satellite Vehicle (SV) 200UE 210 Processor 211 Memory 212 Software (SW) 213 Sensor 214 Transceiver Interface 215 Transceiver 216 User Interface 217 Satellite Positioning System (SPS) Receiver 218 Camera 219 Position Device (PD) 220 Bus 230 General Purpose / Application Processors, Processors 231 Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Processor 232 Modem Processor 233 Video Processor 234 Sensor processor, processor 240 Wireless Transceiver 242 Wireless Transmitter 244 Wireless Receiver 246 Antenna 250 Wired Transceiver 252 Wired Transmitter 254 Wired Receiver 262 SPS Antenna 300 TRP 310 Processor 311 Memory 312 Software (SW) 315 Transceiver 320 Bus 340 Wireless Transceiver 342 Wireless Transmitter 344 Wireless Receiver 346 Antenna 350 Wired Transceiver 352 Wired Transmitter 354 Wired Receiver 400 Servers 410 Processor 411 Memory 412 Software (SW) 415 Transceiver 420 Bus 440 Wireless Transceiver 442 Wireless Transmitter 444 Wireless Receiver 446 Antenna 450 Wired Transceiver 452 Wired Transmitter 454 Wired Receiver 460 PRS Scheduling Unit 470 PRS Measurement / Reporting Request Unit 500 Wireless signaling devices, devices, signaling devices 510 Processor 520 Transceiver 530 Memory 540 Bus 560 PRS measurement unit, unit 570 PRS Measurement Reporting Unit, Unit 580 PRS Transmitter Unit, Unit 701 Signaling Device 702 Signaling Device 703 Signaling Device 704 Network Devices

Claims

1. A transceiver; Memory, a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the processor comprising: receiving a batch request from a network entity via the transceiver indicating a plurality of positioning methods to be measured during a measurement window and measurement results for the plurality of positioning methods to be reported in a common batch measurement report; Receiving one or more positioning reference signal resources (PRS resources); measuring one or more of the one or more PRS resources for each of the plurality of positioning methods in the batch request during the measurement window to determine a combination of multiple PRS measurements; and transmitting a batch measurement report to the network entity via the transceiver, the batch measurement report including a respective batch measurement sub-report including a respective batch of the plurality of PRS measurements for each of the plurality of positioning methods indicated in the batch request.

2. receiving a batch request from a network entity at a wireless signaling device indicating a plurality of positioning methods to be measured during a measurement window and measurement results for the plurality of positioning methods to be reported in a common batch measurement report; receiving, at the wireless signaling device, one or more positioning reference signal resources (PRS resources); measuring, during the measurement window, one or more of the one or more PRS resources for each of the plurality of positioning methods at the wireless signaling device in the batch request to combine and determine a plurality of PRS measurements; and transmitting a batch measurement report from the wireless signaling device to the network entity, the batch measurement report including a respective batch measurement sub-report including a respective batch of the plurality of PRS measurements for each of the plurality of positioning methods indicated in the batch request.

3. 3. The wireless signaling device of claim 1, or the batch measurement reporting method of claim 2, wherein the processor or method is configured to measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with one or more respective positioning method-specific configuration parameters for each of the plurality of positioning methods, the one or more respective positioning method-specific configuration parameters being included in the batch request.

4. 3. The wireless signaling device of claim 1 or the batch measurement reporting method of claim 2, wherein the batch request includes one or more common batch configuration parameters, and the processor is configured to measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources according to at least the one or more common batch configuration parameters, the one or more common batch configuration parameters including the measurement window, or a first indication of the one or more PRS resources, or a second indication of one or more PRS instances of the one or more PRS resources, or a measurement periodicity, or any combination thereof.

5. the batch request includes one or more first common batch configuration parameters, and the processor is configured to measure one or more of the one or more PRS resources in accordance with at least the one or more first common batch configuration parameters; the plurality of positioning methods are a first plurality of positioning methods, the one or more PRS resources include one or more first PRS resources; the one or more first common batch configuration parameters include a first measurement window corresponding to the first plurality of positioning methods; The batch request further includes one or more second common batch configuration parameters corresponding to a second plurality of positioning methods and including a second measurement window, the second plurality of positioning methods being different from the first plurality of positioning methods; 3. The wireless signaling device of claim 1 or the batch measurement reporting method of claim 2, wherein the processor or method is configured to measure the one or more first PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the first measurement window, and to measure one or more second PRS resources arriving at the wireless signaling device during the second measurement window in accordance with the one or more second common batch configuration parameters.

6. 3. The wireless signaling device of claim 1, or the batch measurement reporting method of claim 2, wherein the processor or method is configured to prioritize reporting a set of matching PRS measurements among the plurality of PRS measurements for different positioning methods over non-matching PRS measurements among the plurality of PRS measurements.

7. The wireless signaling device of claim 1 or the batch measurement reporting method of claim 2, wherein the processor or method is configured to prioritize reporting of the plurality of PRS measurements based on an order of the plurality of positioning methods indicated in a batch reporting request.

8. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions, the processor-readable instructions causing a processor of a wireless signaling device to perform the method of claim 2.

9. A transceiver; Memory, a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the processor comprising: sending a batch request to the wireless signaling device via the transceiver indicating the multiple positioning methods to be followed for measuring positioning reference signal resources (PRS resources) during a measurement window, where measurement results for the multiple positioning methods should be reported in a common batch measurement report; and receiving a batch report, the batch report including a respective batch measurement sub-report including a respective batch of the plurality of PRS measurements for each of the plurality of positioning methods indicated in the batch request.

10. 1. A method for obtaining a batch report, comprising: sending a batch request from the apparatus to the wireless signaling device indicating a number of positioning methods that the wireless signaling device will follow to measure positioning reference signal resources (PRS resources) during a measurement window, where measurement results for the multiple positioning methods should be reported in a common batch measurement report; receiving the batch report at the device, the batch report including a respective batch measurement sub-report including a respective batch of the plurality of PRS measurements for each of the plurality of positioning methods indicated in the batch request.

11. 11. The apparatus of claim 9 or the method of claim 10, wherein the processor or the method is configured to transmit the batch request to include one or more respective positioning method specific configuration parameters for one or more of the plurality of positioning methods.

12. The batch request may include a measurement window, or a first indication of the PRS resource, or a second indication of one or more PRS instances of the PRS resource, or a measurement 11. The apparatus of claim 9 or the method of claim 10, further indicating one or more common batch configuration parameters including: a fixed periodicity;

13. the plurality of positioning methods are a first plurality of positioning methods, the batch request further indicates one or more first common batch configuration parameters including a first measurement window corresponding to the first plurality of positioning methods; The apparatus of claim 9 or the method of claim 10, wherein the processor or the method is configured to transmit the batch request including one or more second common batch configuration parameters corresponding to a second plurality of positioning methods and including a second measurement window, the second plurality of positioning methods being different from the first plurality of positioning methods.

14. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the processor or method is configured to transmit, via the transceiver, an instruction to the wireless signaling device to prioritize reporting a set of matching PRS measurements among the PRS measurements over non-matching PRS measurements among the PRS measurements.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 or the method of claim 10, wherein the processor or the method is configured to transmit, via the transceiver, an instruction to the wireless signaling device to prioritize reporting of the PRS measurements based on an order of the multiple positioning methods indicated in the batch request.

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