On-demand positioning reference signal configuration

Abstract

Techniques for providing an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) to a user equipment (UE) are discussed herein. An example method for determining a location of a user equipment according to the present disclosure includes receiving first assistance data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration, transmitting a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration, receiving second assistance data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration based at least in part on the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration, obtaining measurements from one or more positioning reference signals based at least in part on the second assistance data, and determining a location based at least in part on the measurements obtained from the one or more positioning reference signals.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 186,226, filed May 10, 2021, entitled “ON-DEMAND POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL CONFIGURATION”, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 17 / 684,158, filed March 1, 2022, entitled “ON-DEMAND POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL CONFIGURATION”, each of 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), and fifth generation (5G) service (e.g., 5G New Radio (NR)). 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), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Access (GSM) variants of TDMA, and the like.

[0003] It is often desirable to know the location of a user equipment (UE), e.g., a mobile phone, and herein the terms "location" and "position" are synonymous and used interchangeably. A location services (LCS) client may wish to know the location of the UE and may communicate with a location center to request the location of the UE. The location center and the UE may exchange messages as necessary to obtain a location estimate for the UE. The location center may return the location estimate to the LCS client, e.g., for use in one or more applications.

[0004] Obtaining the location of a mobile device accessing a wireless network can be useful for many applications including, for example, emergency calling, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating friends or family, etc. Existing positioning methods include methods based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices, such as base stations and access points, including satellite vehicles and terrestrial radio sources in the wireless network. Stations in the wireless network can be configured to transmit reference signals to enable mobile devices to perform positioning measurements. Improvements in positioning-related signaling can improve the efficiency of mobile devices. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] An example method for determining a location of a user equipment according to the present disclosure includes receiving first assistance data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration, transmitting a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration, receiving second assistance data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration, obtaining measurements from one or more positioning reference signals based at least in part on the second assistance data, and determining a location based at least in part on the measurements obtained from the one or more positioning reference signals.

[0006] Implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features: The first assistance data may include an indication of one or more positioning reference signal configuration parameters that may be modified on demand. The first assistance data may be received via one or more positioning system information blocks transmitted by the base station. The request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration may include a request to modify at least one of a positioning reference signal bandwidth, a duration of a positioning occasion, and a frequency of a positioning occasion. The request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration may include a positioning reference configuration identifier associated with the one or more positioning reference signal parameters. The request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration may be included in a mobile originated location request message. The second assistance data may be received from a location management function via a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message. The first assistance data may be associated with a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations, and transmitting the request to modify the one or more parameters may include providing an identifier associated with one of the plurality of positioning reference signal configurations. Receiving the second assistance data may include receiving an identifier associated with one of a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations.

[0007] An example method for providing assistance data associated with an on-demand positioning reference signal according to the present disclosure includes sending first assistance data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration to a user equipment, receiving a request from the user equipment to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration, generating second assistance data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration, and sending the second assistance data to the user equipment.

[0008] Implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features: The first assistance data may include an indication of one or more positioning reference signal configuration parameters that may be modified on demand. Sending the first assistance data may include providing one or more positioning system information blocks to the base station. The request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration may include a request to modify at least one of a positioning reference signal bandwidth, a duration of a positioning occasion, and a frequency of a positioning occasion. The request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration may include a positioning reference configuration identifier associated with the one or more positioning reference signal parameters. The request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration may be included in a mobile originated location request message. The second assistance data may be included in a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message. The first assistance data may be associated with a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations, and the request to modify one or more parameters may include an identifier associated with one of the plurality of positioning reference signal configurations. The second assistance data may include an identifier associated with one of a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations.

[0009] An exemplary method for transmitting an on-demand positioning reference signal according to the present disclosure includes transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on a first positioning reference signal configuration, receiving a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration, and transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration.

[0010] Implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features: The request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration may include a request to modify at least one of a positioning reference signal bandwidth, a duration of a positioning occasion, and a frequency of the positioning occasion. The request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration may include a start time and a duration for transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on the second positioning reference signal configuration. The request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration may include a positioning reference configuration identifier associated with the one or more positioning reference signal parameters. The second positioning reference signal configuration may include a desired beam direction.

[0011] An example apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, where the at least one processor is configured to: receive first assistance data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration; send a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; receive second assistance data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, where the second positioning reference signal configuration is based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; obtain measurements from one or more positioning reference signals based at least in part on the second assistance data; and determine a location based at least in part on the measurements obtained from the one or more positioning reference signals.

[0012] An example apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, where the at least one processor is configured to: send first assistance data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration to a user equipment; receive a request from the user equipment to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; generate second assistance data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, where the second positioning reference signal configuration is based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; and send the second assistance data to the user equipment.

[0013] An example apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, where the at least one processor is configured to transmit one or more positioning reference signals based on a first positioning reference signal configuration, receive a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration, and transmit one or more positioning reference signals based on a second positioning reference signal configuration, where the second positioning reference signal configuration is based at least in part on the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [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] 2 is a block diagram of components of an exemplary transmit / receive point shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of the exemplary server shown in FIG. [Figure 5A] FIG. 2 illustrates an example downlink positioning reference signal resource set. [Figure 5B] FIG. 2 illustrates an example downlink positioning reference signal resource set. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example subframe format for positioning reference signal transmission. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of an example positioning frequency layer. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is an example message flow diagram for an on-demand DL-PRS procedure. [Figure 9] A diagram showing an example data structure for requested DL-PRS configuration information. [Figure 10] A diagram illustrating an example data structure for DL-PRS configuration information associated with a DL-PRS configuration identifier. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is an example message flow diagram for a DL-PRS reconfiguration procedure. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is an example message flow diagram for a user equipment initiated on-demand DL-PRS request procedure. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is an example message flow diagram for an assistance data modification procedure. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is an example message flow diagram for an assistance data pre-configuration procedure. [Figure 15] 4 is a process flow for an exemplary method implemented in a user equipment for determining location using an on-demand positioning reference signal. [Figure 16] 4 is a process flow of an example method for providing assistance data associated with an on-demand positioning reference signal. [Figure 17] 4 is a process flow of an exemplary method for transmitting an on-demand positioning reference signal. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Techniques for providing an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) to a user equipment (UE) are discussed herein. Previous implementations of downlink (DL) PRS transmissions are typically in an "always-on" configuration, such that a base station transmits a PRS regardless of the UE's requirements in the network. Such an "always-on" configuration may utilize scarce resources, such as bandwidth, energy, etc., and may require unnecessary overhead when UE positioning is not required during a particular time or in a particular area of ​​the network. In a network utilizing beamformed DL-PRS transmissions (e.g., 5G NR), DL-PRS transmissions in all beam sweeping directions may result in unnecessary transmission of DL-PRS. The "always-on" configuration may also utilize static allocation of DL-PRS resources. In general, static DL-PRS resource allocation does not allow for temporary increase of DL-PRS resources to achieve higher positioning accuracy and / or lower latency positioning requirements in a certain area or at a certain time. Similarly, static allocation of DL-PRS resources does not allow reducing DL-PRS resources when positioning requirements can be met with fewer DL-PRS resources.

[0016] The on-demand DL-PRS techniques described herein enable a network to dynamically change DL-PRS resource allocation as needed (e.g., based on requirements for a specific use case or application). In one example, the on-demand DL-PRS techniques may enable a network to dynamically change configuration parameters such as the periodicity of DL-PRS opportunities, the duration of DL-PRS opportunities, the bandwidth of the DL-PRS, and the spatial direction of the DL-PRS.

[0017] In operation, the network may not allow the UE to request certain DL-PRS parameters (e.g., bandwidth, periodicity, etc.) and may limit the possible DL-PRS configurations that the UE may request. For example, the network may define a DL-PRS configuration suitable for high-precision positioning, another DL-PRS configuration for medium-precision positioning, and another DL-PRS configuration for low-precision positioning, or the like. The UE may then request a particular DL-PRS configuration suitable for the current situation. In an example, the UE may be configured to include an identifier field or other information associated with a predefined or preconfigured DL-PRS configuration instead of the individual parameters that define the DL-PRS configuration. However, such an identifier field may require a priori knowledge of which particular DL-PRS configurations are available in the network and whether the UE is allowed to request such DL-PRS configurations from the network.

[0018] In an embodiment, the on-demand DL-PRS procedure provided herein may utilize a new assistance data information element (IE) (e.g., IE On-Demand-DL-PRS-Configurations) that includes a set of possible DL-PRS configurations. Each DL-PRS configuration in the set may include several associated DL-PRS parameters that define, for example, bandwidth, duration, power, periodicity, muting, etc. In an example, each DL-PRS configuration in the set may be identified by a DL-PRS configuration identifier, or a similar field. The On-Demand-DL-PRS-Configuration IE may be included in a positioning system information block (posSIB) that may be included in a broadcast of a positioning system information (posSI). The UE may be configured to receive the new posSIB and store the IE On-Demand-DL-PRS-Configuration information. The UE may be configured to acquire the posSIB in different radio resource control (RRC) states (i.e., RRC_IDLE, RRC_INACTIVE, RRC_CONNECTED) and thus knows which specific DL-PRS configurations may be requested on-demand.

[0019] In an example, when a UE needs a DL-PRS configuration for performing positioning measurements (e.g., upon a location request from a UE internal client (e.g., an app)), the UE may initiate a Mobile Originated Location Request (MO-LR) procedure and send an Assistance Data Request message to a network entity, such as a Location Management Function (LMF). The Assistance Data Request message may include a DL-PRS configuration identifier associated with the desired DL-PRS configuration. The network entity may then configure one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs) with the requested DL-PRS configuration and provide the UE with associated DL-PRS assistance data for the new DL-PRS configuration as part of the MO-LR procedure. The UE may then be configured to perform DL-PRS measurements, calculate a location, and provide the location to the internal client. For location requests from an external client, and in UE-assisted mode (e.g., when the UE is required to obtain DL-PRS measurements but the currently available DL-PRS is insufficient), the same procedure may be utilized, where the UE requests a specific DL-PRS from a set of allowed and pre-configured (via broadcast) on-demand DL-PRS configurations. These techniques and configurations are examples and other techniques and configurations may be used.

[0020] 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.

[0021] 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.

[0022] 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.

[0023] 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.

[0024] 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.

[0025] 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.

[0026] 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, a 5G core network (5GC) 140, and a server 150. 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.

[0027] 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 serve 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 BSs, 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 to a respective geographic area, e.g., a cell. Each cell may be partitioned into multiple sectors depending on the base station antennas.

[0028] 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.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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).

[0031] The UE 105 or other devices may be configured to communicate in different networks and / or for different purposes and / or using different 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 supports operation over multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers simultaneously. Each modulated signal can be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carry pilot signals, overhead information, data, etc. The UEs 105, 106 can 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).

[0032] 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).

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] 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).

[0038] Each of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may include a radio unit (RU), a distributed unit (DU), and a central unit (CU). For example, the gNB 110a includes an RU 111, a DU 112, and a CU 113. The RU 111, the DU 112, and the CU 113 divide the functionality of the gNB 110a. Although the gNB 110a is shown with a single RU, a single DU, and a single CU, the gNB may include one or more RUs, one or more DUs, and / or one or more CUs. The interface between the CU 113 and the DU 112 is referred to as the F1 interface. The RU 111 is configured to perform digital front-end (DFE) functions (e.g., analog-to-digital conversion, filtering, power amplification, transmit / receive) and digital beamforming, and includes a portion of the physical (PHY) layer. The RU 111 may implement a DFE using massive multiple-input / multiple-output (MIMO) and may be integrated with one or more antennas of the gNB 110a. The DU 112 hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), and physical layer of the gNB 110a. One DU can support one or more cells, and each cell is supported by a single DU. The operation of the DU 112 is controlled by the CU 113. The CU 113 is configured to implement functions for transferring user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc., although some functions are exclusively allocated to the DU 112. The CU 113 hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 110a. The UE 105 may communicate with the CU 113 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with the DU 112 via the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers, and with the RU 111 via the PHY layer.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] The server 150, e.g., a cloud server, is configured to obtain and provide a location estimate of the UE 105 to the external client 130. The server 150 may be configured to run a microservice / service that obtains a location estimate of the UE 105, for example. The server 150 may pull a location estimate from (e.g., by sending a location request thereto), for example, the UE 105, one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b (e.g., via the RU 111, the DU 112, and the CU 113), and / or the ng-eNB 114, and / or the LMF 120. As another example, the UE 105, one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b (e.g., via the RU 111, the DU 112, and the CU 113), and / or the LMF 120 may push a location estimate of the UE 105 to the server 150.

[0042] The GMLC 125 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 130 via the server 150 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 to the GMLC 125 either directly or via the AMF 115, which may then return a location response (e.g., including the location estimate) to the external client 130 via the server 150. 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.

[0043] 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 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.

[0044] 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 UE receive-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx Time Difference), a reference signal received power (RSRP), and / or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) for the gNB 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, and / or a WLAN AP. The location measurements may additionally or instead include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase for SV190-193.

[0045] 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).

[0046] 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, Rx-Tx time difference, RSRP, RSRQ, or time of arrival (ToA) measurements for signals transmitted by the UE 105) and / or may 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.

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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.

[0050] 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.

[0051] 2, the UE 200 is an example of one of the 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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 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, for example, 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 the DSP 231 and / or general purpose / applications processor 230.

[0055] 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 sensor-assisted 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., via dead reckoning, or sensor-based location determination, or sensor-assisted 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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, and the like.The NR system may be configured to operate on different frequency layers, such as FR1 (e.g., 410-7125 MHz) and FR2 (e.g., 24.25-52.6 GHz), and may extend into new bands, such as sub-6 GHz and / or above 100 GHz (e.g., FR2x, FR3, FR4). The wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communications, e.g., a network interface that may be used to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to send communications to and receive communications 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 communications, for example. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, for example, by optical and / or electrical connections. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated 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.

[0059] 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 .

[0060] 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.

[0061] 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 CMOS 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.

[0062] 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.

[0063] 3, an example TRP 300 of the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 comprises a computing platform including a processor 310, a memory 311 including software (SW) 312, a transceiver 315, and (optionally) an SPS receiver 317. The processor 310, the memory 311, the transceiver 315, and the SPS receiver 317 may be communicatively coupled to one another by a bus 320 (e.g., may be configured for optical and / or electrical communications). One or more of the depicted devices (e.g., the wireless transceiver and / or the SPS receiver 317) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The SPS receiver 317 may be configured similarly to the SPS receiver 217 to be capable of receiving and acquiring the SPS signal 360 via the SPS antenna 362. 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.

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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).

[0067] 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, such as 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.

[0068] 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.

[0069] 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.

[0070] 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).

[0071] For terrestrial positioning of UEs in cellular networks, 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 base stations 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.

[0072] 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.

[0073] 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.

[0074] 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.

[0075] 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 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.

[0076] 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), Rx-Tx time measurement, 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.

[0077] 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 Rx-Tx or UE Rx-Tx) may be included 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 station Tx→RxThe 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] 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.

[0081] 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.

[0082] 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.

[0083] 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.

[0084] 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).

[0085] 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.

[0086] 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.

[0087] 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.

[0088] 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 SRS for positioning signal is sent by the UE, and because the PRS and SRS for positioning signals 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.

[0089] 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.

[0090] 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).

[0091] A position estimate (e.g., for a UE) may be referred to by other names, such as a 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 defined relative to some other known location, or may be defined 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).

[0092] 5A and 5B, an exemplary downlink PRS resource set is shown. In general, a PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources across one base station (e.g., TRP 300) with the same periodicity, common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor across slots. A first PRS resource set 502 includes 4 resources and a repetition factor of 4, with a time gap equal to 1 slot. A second PRS resource set 504 includes 4 resources and a repetition factor of 4, with a time gap equal to 4 slots. The repetition factor indicates the number of times each PRS resource is repeated within each single instance of a PRS resource set (e.g., values ​​of 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32). The time gap represents the offset in slots (e.g., values ​​of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32) between two repeated instances of PRS resources corresponding to the same PRS resource ID within a single instance of a PRS resource set. The duration of a PRS resource set including the repeated PRS resources does not exceed the PRS period. Repetition of PRS resources allows receiver beams to sweep across the repetitions and to combine RF gains to increase coverage. Repetition may also allow intra-instance muting.

[0093] Referring to FIG. 6, an exemplary subframe and slot format for transmission of a positioning reference signal is shown. The exemplary subframe and slot format is included in the PRS resource set shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B. The subframe and slot formats in FIG. 6 are examples and not limitations, and include Com 2 602 having a 2 symbol format, Com 4 604 having a 4 symbol format, Com 2 606 having a 12 symbol format, Com 4 608 having a 12 symbol format, Com 6 610 having a 6 symbol format, Com 12 612 having a 12 symbol format, Com 2 614 having a 6 symbol format, and Com 6 616 having a 12 symbol format. Generally, a subframe may include 14 symbol periods with indexes 0-13. The subframe and slot format may be used for a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Typically, a base station may transmit a PRS from antenna port 6 on one or more slots in each subframe configured for PRS transmission. The base station may avoid transmitting the PRS on resource elements allocated to the PBCH, primary synchronization signal (PSS), or secondary synchronization signal (SSS), regardless of their antenna ports. The cell may generate reference symbols for the PRS based on the cell ID, symbol period index, and slot index. In general, the UE may be able to distinguish between PRSs from different cells.

[0094] The base station may transmit the PRS over a particular PRS bandwidth, which may be configured by higher layers. The base station may transmit the PRS on subcarriers spaced across the PRS bandwidth. The base station may also transmit the PRS based on parameters such as PRS periodicity TPRS, subframe offset PRS, and PRS duration NPRS. The PRS periodicity is the periodicity in which the PRS is transmitted. The PRS periodicity may be, for example, 160, 320, 640, or 1280 ms. The subframe offset indicates the particular subframe in which the PRS is transmitted. And the PRS duration indicates the number of consecutive subframes in which the PRS is transmitted in each period (PRS opportunity) of PRS transmission. The PRS duration may be, for example, 1, 2, 4, or 6 ms.

[0095] The PRS periodicity TPRS and subframe offset PRS may be signaled via a PRS configuration index IPRS. The PRS configuration index and PRS duration may be independently configured by higher layers. A set of NPRS consecutive subframes in which a PRS is transmitted may be referred to as a PRS opportunity. Each PRS opportunity may be enabled or muted, e.g., the UE may apply a muting bit to each cell. A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources across base stations with the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor across slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32 slots).

[0096] Generally, the PRS resource shown in Figures 5A and 5B may be a set of resource elements used for the transmission of the PRS. The set of resource elements may span multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the frequency domain and N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols in a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, the PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs. The PRS resource is described by at least the following parameters: PRS resource identifier (ID), sequence ID, comb size N, resource element offset in the frequency domain, starting slot and starting symbol, number of symbols per PRS resource (i.e., duration of the PRS resource), and QCL information (e.g., QCL with other DL reference signals). Currently, one antenna port is supported. The comb size indicates the number of subcarriers in each symbol carrying the PRS. For example, a comb size of comb 4 means that every fourth subcarrier of a given symbol carries the PRS.

[0097] A PRS resource set is a set of PRS resources used for transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same transmission / reception point (e.g., TRP 300). Each of the PRS resources in a PRS resource set has the same periodicity, a common muting pattern, and the same repetition factor over slots. A PRS resource set may be identified by a PRS resource set ID and 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 with 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. Note that this does not have any implications on whether the base station and the beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0098] Referring to FIG. 7, a conceptual diagram of an exemplary positioning frequency layer 700 is shown. In an example, the positioning frequency layer 700 may be a collection of PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs. The positioning frequency layer may have the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP) type, the same point A, the same value of DL PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB, and the same value of comb size. Numerologies supported for PDSCH may be supported for PRS. Each of the PRS resource sets in the positioning frequency layer 700 is a collection of PRS resources across one TRP with the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor across slots.

[0099] It should be noted that the terms positioning reference signal and PRS refer to reference signals that may be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS signals, Navigation Reference Signals (NRS) in 5G, Downlink Positioning Reference Signals (DL-PRS), Uplink Positioning Reference Signals (UL-PRS), Tracking Reference Signals (TRS), Cell-Specific Reference Signals (CRS), Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS), Primary Synchronization Signals (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signals (SSS), Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), etc.

[0100] The ability of a UE to process PRS signals may vary based on the capabilities of the UE. Generally, however, industry standards may be developed to establish common PRS capabilities for UEs in a network. For example, an industry standard may require that a UE can process a certain duration of a DL PRS symbol in milliseconds (ms) per Tms, assuming a maximum DL PRS bandwidth in MHz supported and reported by the UE. By way of example and not limitation, the maximum DL PRS bandwidth of the FR1 band may be 5, 10, 20, 40, 50, 80, 100 MHz, and the maximum DL PRS bandwidth of the FR2 band may be 50, 100, 200, 400 MHz. The standard may indicate DL PRS buffering capabilities as Type 1 (i.e., subslot / symbol level buffering) or also as Type 2 (i.e., slot level buffering). The common UE capabilities may indicate the duration N of a DL PRS symbol in ms that a UE can process per Tms, assuming a maximum DL PRS bandwidth in MHz supported and reported by the UE. Exemplary values ​​of T may include 8, 16, 20, 30, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280 ms, and exemplary values ​​of N may include 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 32, 35, 40, 45, 50 ms. The UE may be configured to report a combination of (N, T) values ​​per band, where N is the duration of DL PRS symbols in ms processed per T ms for a given maximum bandwidth (B) in MHz supported by the UE. In general, the UE may not be expected to support DL PRS bandwidths that exceed this reported DL PRS bandwidth value. The UE DL PRS processing capability may be defined for a single positioning frequency layer 700. The UE DL PRS processing capability may not depend on the DL PRS comb coefficient configuration, such as that illustrated in FIG. 6. The UE processing capability may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources under which the UE can process in a slot.For example, the maximum numbers for FR1 bands may be 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64 for each SCS 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, and the maximum numbers for FR2 bands may be 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64 for each SCS 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz.

[0101] 8, an example message flow 800 for an on-demand DL-PRS procedure is shown. The example message flow 800 includes the UE 105 and an example TRP 300, such as gNB1 110a, and elements of the core network 140, such as the AMF 115, the LMF 120, and the external client 130. The message flow 800 may be used to extend the existing MO-LR procedure for requesting assistance data (e.g., for DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, or multi-RTT). For example, the UE 105 may be configured to request assistance data from the LMF 120 for UE-assisted or UE-based positioning using one or more of the positioning methods and may include an additional parameter to indicate a preference for DL-PRS.The additional parameters may, for example, describe a desired PRS configuration, including a preferred time or period for the PRS configuration (e.g., current time, start time and stop time), a preferred PRS resource bandwidth, a preferred duration of the PRS positioning occasion, a preferred periodicity of the PRS positioning occasion, a preferred carrier frequency or frequency layer for the PRS resources, a preferred number and location of gNBs / TRPs for which the PRS configuration is requested around the location of the UE, where the locations of the gNBs / TRPs may be specified using PCI or CGI or may be expressed in absolute global coordinates or may be a zone identifier (e.g., NR The desired number and locations of gNBs / TRPs may be specified as a particular location or geographical area, which may be expressed using a zone ID (similar to a zone ID used in Rel-16 sidelink) or using coordinates relative to a known reference location (such as the location of a particular cell, such as a serving cell, provided to the UE in the assistance data); one or more directions of a preferred PRS beam for individual gNB, RSRP, or RSRQ measurements (e.g., Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements) performed by the UE on available DL signals; Quality of Service (QoS) parameters describing the accuracy and latency of the target location (e.g., desired accuracy and response time for any location estimate based on PRS measurements (e.g., as required by a UE internal client (e.g., app)); and PRS capabilities of the UE (e.g., as defined for LPP). Other parameters may also be used based on the configuration and capabilities of the respective gNBs and UE.

[0102] In an embodiment, the UE 105 may not have information about possible on-demand DL-PRS configurations available. In this case, the UE 105 may send one or more messages, such as an LPP Assistance Data Request message, that include parameters for a desired DL-PRS configuration (e.g., one or more of the configuration parameters of FIG. 9). In one example, the DL-PRS parameters as defined in the LPP IEs NR-DL-PRS-AssistanceData and NR-DL-PRS-Info may be explicitly provided to the LMF 120 in the LPP Assistance Data Request message.

[0103] In an embodiment, the UE 105 may have one or more pre-configured or pre-defined available DL-PRS configurations that may be requested on-demand. In an example, each pre-configured or pre-defined DL-PRS configuration may have an associated set of DL-PRS parameters (e.g., one or more of the configuration parameters of FIG. 9) and may be identified by a DL-PRS configuration identifier / index value (e.g., as shown in FIG. 10). The LPP Assistance Data Request message may include the DL-PRS configuration identifier / index of the desired on-demand DL-PRS configuration (or a list of desired DL-PRS configuration identities / indexes ordered according to priority). In another example, the LPP Assistance Data Request message includes a list of DL-PRS parameters (e.g., one or more of the configuration parameters of FIG. 9) that are requested to change compared to the pre-configured DL-PRS configuration. For example, the LPP Assistance Data Request message may include a request to change the DL-PRS bandwidth or the DL-PRS beam direction in a previously provided DL-PRS Assistance Data message.

[0104] The set of possible on-demand DL-PRS configurations may be defined by a "primary DL-PRS configuration" (e.g., defining a default DL-PRS) and one or more "secondary DL-PRS configurations", where the secondary DL-PRS configurations may include different DL-PRS parameters compared to the primary DL-PRS configuration (i.e., using delta coding / signaling to reduce overhead). This set of possible on-demand DL-PRS configurations may be defined as a new LPP assistance data IE, which may also be mapped to a new posSIB for broadcast of possible on-demand DL-PRS configurations. The new posSIB type, together with an identifier value, may be configured to define a list of possible on-demand DL-PRS configurations (which may not be currently active).

[0105] In one example, the LPP Assistance Data Request message may be configured to include an explicit parameter list for the desired DL-PRS configuration to support on-demand DL-PRS. The new LPP Assistance Data IE includes a set of possible DL-PRS configurations that may be requested by the UE on-demand (e.g., IE On-Demand-DL-PRS-Configurations). Each DL-PRS configuration in the IE On-Demand-DL-PRS-Configurations may have an associated set and identifier of DL-PRS parameters (e.g., one or more of the configuration parameters of FIG. 9). In one example, the posSIB type may be configured to include the LPP IE On-Demand-DL-PRS-Configurations. In one example, the LPP Assistance Data Request message may include an index / pointer / identifier that corresponds to an element in the LPP IE On-Demand-DL-PRS-Configurations that defines the requested on-demand DL-PRS.

[0106] In operation, the extended LPP Assistance Data Request message may be included in an MO-LR request message (e.g., in case of a UE internal LCS client) or may be part of an active / ongoing LPP session (e.g., to modify a provided DL-PRS configuration). The LMF 120 may be configured to request changes in DL-PRS transmission from multiple gNBs / TRPs.

[0107] Referring to message flow 800, in steps 1a and 1b, the LMF 120 may provide one or more posSIBs including a set of possible on-demand DL-PRS configurations to the gNB 110a in an NRPPa assistance information control message for broadcast in the positioning system information. The set of possible on-demand DL-PRS configurations may include a primary DL-PRS configuration (e.g., a default DL-PRS configuration) and one or more secondary DL-PRS configurations, where the secondary DL-PRS configurations may define possible changes in the DL-PRS compared to the primary DL-PRS configuration (e.g., different bandwidth, duration of positioning occasions, and / or frequency of positioning occasions, etc.). Each possible on-demand DL-PRS configuration is associated with a unique identifier. Alternatively, or in addition, the posSIB may also indicate which specific DL-PRS parameters may be requested to be changed on-demand.

[0108] In step 2a, the UE 105 may be configured to send a MO-LR request message to the serving AMF 115, the MO-LR request message being included in a UL NAS transport message including a request for on-demand DL-PRS transmission. The MO-LR request may include an LPP assistance data request message defining parameters for a preferred DL-PRS configuration, which may also include a start time and / or duration for when and / or how long the requested DL-PRS configuration is needed at the UE (e.g., seconds, minutes, or hours). The request may additionally include an LPP capability provision message including the DL-PRS capabilities of the UE 105, and an LPP location information provision message (e.g., providing E-CID measurements). Alternatively, in step 2b, the external client 130, or some entity in the 5GC (e.g., the GMLC 125), requests some location service (e.g., positioning) for the UE 105 from the serving AMF 115. Alternatively, in step 2c, the serving AMF 115 for the UE 105 may be configured to determine the need for any location services (e.g., to locate the UE 105 for an emergency call).

[0109] In step 3, the AMF 115 may be configured to invoke a Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation service operation to the LMF 120. If step 2a is performed, the service operation may include the MO-LR request from step 2a. If step 2b or 2c is performed, the service operation may include a request for the current location of the UE 105, an LCS client type, and may include the required QoS. In step 4, the LMF 120 may perform one or more LPP procedures (e.g., to obtain DL-PRS positioning capabilities of the UE 105). In step 5, the LMF 120 may be configured to determine a new DL-PRS configuration for one or more gNBs (e.g., gNB 110a) based on the request received in step 3. The determination in step 5 may also be based on location requests from and / or for other UEs near the UE 105 received by the LMF 120 at approximately the same time.

[0110] In step 6, the LMF 120 may be configured to initiate an NRPPa DL-PRS reconfiguration procedure with each of the gNBs determined in step 5. If some gNBs indicate that they cannot support the new DL-PRS configuration, the LMF 120 may be configured to perform step 11 to restore the old DL-PRS configuration in each of the gNBs that indicated that the new DL-PRS configuration can be supported, in order to avoid interference between gNBs that support the new DL-PRS configuration and those that do not. In this case, the LMF 120 may provide the old DL-PRS configuration to the UE in step 8 instead of the new DL-PRS configuration.

[0111] In step 7, each of the gNBs (e.g., gNB 110a) that acknowledged support for the new DL-PRS configuration in step 6 may be configured to change from the old DL-PRS configuration to the new DL-PRS configuration, either after (or just before) sending an acknowledgment in step 6 if no start time was provided, or at the start time indicated in step 6. In some cases, the old DL-PRS configuration may correspond to not transmitting DL-PRS. In step 8, LMF 120 may be configured to send an LPP Provide Assistance Data message to UE 105 to provide the new DL-PRS configuration determined in stage 5 and acknowledged in stage 6. This message may also include a start time and duration for each new DL-PRS configuration. If steps 2b or 2c were performed, LMF 120 may initiate LPP and possibly NRPPa procedures to obtain the location of UE 105.

[0112] In step 9, the LMF 120 may return a Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation response to the AMF 115. If step 2a is performed, the message may indicate whether the DL-PRS assistance data was successfully transferred. If step 2b or step 2c is performed, the message may include the location of the UE 105. In step 10a, if step 2a is performed, the AMF 115 may forward the response from step 9 to the UE 105 via a MO-LR response. In step 10b, if step 2b is performed, the AMF 115 may forward the response to the external client 130 / 5GC LCS entity.

[0113] In step 11, if a duration for the new DL-PRS was not included in step 6, the LMF 120 may be configured to initiate an NRPPa DL-PRS reconfiguration procedure with each of the gNBs determined in step 5 to restore the old DL-PRS configuration for each gNB. In step 12, each of the gNBs may start transmitting the old DL-PRS configuration either when the duration received in step 6 expires or after receiving and acknowledging a request to restore the old DL-PRS configuration in step 11. In some cases, the old DL-PRS configuration may correspond to not transmitting a DL-PRS.

[0114] 9, an example data structure 900 for requested DL-PRS configuration information is shown. The data structure 900 may be one or more tables and fields configured to be stored and transferred between network entities such as the LMF 120, the gNB 110a, and the UE 105. In an example, the parameters 902 may correspond to the PRS resources shown in FIG. 7. In an embodiment, the on-demand DL-PRS procedure provided herein may utilize a new assistance data information element (IE) that indicates the parameters 902 as a set of possible DL-PRS configurations. Each DL-PRS configuration in the set may include several associated DL-PRS parameters 902. The parameters 902 may be based on a request from the UE or the LMF. For example, the UE-derived subset of parameters 904 may be based on parameters that the UE 105 may be aware of or have control over. Similarly, the LMF-derived subset of parameters 906 may be based on parameters that the LMF 120 may want to modify. The listing of parameters in the subsets of parameters 904, 906 is by way of example and not limitation, as other subsets may be used.

[0115] In an example, referring to FIG. 10, each DL-PRS configuration in the set may be identified by a DL-PRS configuration identifier 1002, or a similar field. For example, each of the DL-PRS configuration identifiers 1002 may be associated with a parameter list and corresponding parameter value 1004 based on the parameters 902 of FIG. 9. Thus, a first DL-PRS parameter set 1006a may be identified by the DL-PRS configuration identifier 1002, and a second DL-PRS parameter set 1006b, a third DL-PRS parameter set 1006c, and a fourth DL-PRS parameter set 1006d may be identified by their respective DL-PRS configuration identifiers. Additional DL-PRS parameter sets may also be configured. In an example, an On-Demand-DL-PRS-Configuration IE may be included in one or more posSIBs that may be included in a posSIB broadcast. In operation, the UE may be configured to receive new posSIBs and store the IE On-Demand-DL-PRS-Configuration information. The UE may be configured to acquire posSIB in different RRC states (ie, RRC_IDLE, RRC_INACTIVE, RRC_CONNECTED) and therefore knows which specific DL-PRS configurations may be requested on demand.

[0116] With reference to FIG. 11 and further with reference to FIGS. 8-9, an example message flow 1100 for DL-PRS reconfiguration is shown. The message flow includes the LMF 120 and one or more TRPs 300, such as gNB 110a. The purpose of the message flow 1100 is to allow the LMF 120 to request a change to DL-PRS transmission. In step 1, the LMF 120 may be configured to send an NRPPa DL-PRS reconfiguration request message to a selected gNB (e.g., gNB 110a) to request a change to DL-PRS transmission. The message may include DL-PRS configuration information determined for that gNB and may also include a start time and duration of each new DL-PRS configuration. The DL-PRS configuration for each gNB may be used to change the DL-PRS bandwidth, the duration of DL-PRS positioning occasions, DL-PRS transmission on a new frequency, and / or the frequency of DL-PRS positioning occasions, etc., based on one or more of the parameters 902. In an embodiment, the requested DL-PRS configuration may be selected from a set of one or more pre-configured DL-PRS configuration parameter sets 1006a-d to support on-demand DL-PRS transmission. In the case of a directional DL-PRS beam, the LMF 120 may determine a directional DL-PRS beam for each gNB to be received by the target UE. The directional DL-PRS beam may be selected by the LMF 120 according to the known general location of the target UE. In step 2, if the new DL-PRS configuration can be supported by the gNB 110a, the gNB 110a returns a positive response in the NRPPa DL-PRS Reconfiguration Response message. If the new DL-PRS configuration cannot be supported by the gNB 110a, the gNB 110a may be configured to return a failure message.

[0117] With reference to FIG. 12 and further with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, an example message flow 1200 for a UE-initiated on-demand DL-PRS request procedure is shown. The message flow 1200 includes the LMF 120 and the UE 105. The purpose of the message flow 1200 is to allow the UE 105 to request a change to DL-PRS transmission. This procedure is applicable, for example, when the UE 105 does not have knowledge of possible DL-PRS configurations or when the current DL-PRS configuration corresponds to not transmitting DL-PRS. In step 1, the UE 105 may be configured to send an LPP Assistance Data Request message to the LMF 120 to request a change to one or more DL-PRS transmissions. The message may include parameters 902 for a preferred DL-PRS configuration (which may include a preferred DL-PRS bandwidth, a preferred duration of a DL-PRS positioning occasion, a preferred DL-PRS beam direction for a gNB if known by the UE). The message may also include a start time and / or duration (e.g., the number of seconds, minutes, or hours the DL-PRS configuration is needed) for when and / or how long the requested DL-PRS configuration is needed at the UE 105. The message may be carried in a MO-LR Request message as described in step 2a of message flow 800. In step 2, the LMF 120 may be configured to send a Provide LPP Assistance Data message to the UE 105 that includes the new DL-PRS configuration information (e.g., updated parameters 902). This message may also include the start time and duration of each new DL-PRS configuration.

[0118] With reference to FIG. 13 and further with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, an example message flow 1300 for an assistance data modification procedure is shown. The message flow 1300 includes the UE 105, the gNB 110a, and the LMF 120. The purpose of the message flow 1300 is to enable the UE 105 to request a change to a DL-PRS transmission when the UE 105 has knowledge of possible DL-PRS configurations (e.g., via previously provided assistance data or via broadcast information). In step 1a, the gNB 110a may be configured to broadcast DL-PRS assistance data in a positioning system information message corresponding to a currently active DL-PRS transmission, possibly including an indication of which DL-PRS parameters may be modified on demand. In step 1b, the LMF 120 may be configured to provide the UE 105 with DL-PRS assistance data corresponding to a currently active DL-PRS transmission, possibly including an indication of which DL-PRS parameters may be modified on demand (e.g., during an active LPP session). In step 2, the UE 105 is configured to send an LPP Assistance Data Request message to the LMF 120 to request changes to the currently active DL-PRS transmission. The message may include an indication of which DL-PRS parameters 902 are requested to change (this may include changes to DL-PRS bandwidth, changes to DL-PRS positioning occasions, changes to DL-PRS resources (e.g., "beam on / off" via DL-PRS resource ID addition / release), etc.). The message may also include a start time and / or duration (e.g., the number of seconds, minutes, or hours the DL-PRS configuration is needed) for when and / or how long a modified DL-PRS configuration is needed at the target device. If step 1a is performed, the message may be carried in a MO-LR Request message as described in step 2a of message flow 800.In step 3, the LMF 120 may be configured to provide to the UE 105 a modified LPP Provide Assistance Data message indicating DL-PRS parameters (e.g., one or more of parameters 902) that have been modified compared to the assistance data provided in step 1 and that may include a start time and / or duration.

[0119] With reference to FIG. 14 and further with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, an example message flow 1400 for an assistance data pre-configuration procedure is shown. The message flow 1400 includes the UE 105, the gNB 110a, and the LMF 120. The purpose of the message flow 1400 is to enable the UE 105 to request a change to DL-PRS transmission to a set of possible DL-PRS configurations previously provided to the UE 105. In step 1a, the gNB 110a may be configured to broadcast multiple DL-PRS assistance data configurations that may be requested on demand in the positioning system information as described in step 1b of the message flow 800. The broadcasted DL-PRS assistance data configurations may be applicable locally (e.g., to the broadcasting gNB 110a and neighboring gNBs (not shown in FIG. 14)) or may be valid throughout the public land mobile network (PLMN) and may be distinguished by a local / global indication.

[0120] In step 1b, the LMF 120 may be configured to provide multiple DL-PRS assistance data configurations to the UE 105 (e.g., as part of a location session). Each DL-PRS configuration in steps 1a and 1b may have a unique identifier and may be valid for a certain geographical region and duration, e.g., as defined by the coverage area and validity time of the assistance data reference TRP. The multiple DL-PRS assistance data sets may be provided as a primary configuration (i.e., a currently active or default DL-PRS configuration) along with a number of secondary configurations, which may include only DL-PRS configuration parameters that are different compared to the primary DL-PRS configuration (i.e., delta signaling). In step 2, the UE 105 may be configured to send an LPP Assistance Data Request message to the LMF 120 to request a change to the DL-PRS transmission. The message may include a DL-PRS configuration identifier 1002 of the requested DL-PRS configuration from the set of possible DL-PRS configurations provided in steps 1a and 1b. If step 1a is performed, the message may be carried in an MO-LR request message as described in step 2b of message flow 800. In step 3, LMF 120 may provide UE 105 with a DL-PRS configuration identifier 1002 for the new DL-PRS configuration.

[0121] With reference to Figure 15 and further with reference to Figures 1-14, a method 1500 performed in a user equipment for determining location using an on-demand positioning reference signal includes the steps shown. However, method 1500 is an example and not a limitation. Method 1500 may be modified, for example, by adding, deleting, reordering, combining, performing simultaneously steps, and / or splitting a single step into multiple steps.

[0122] In stage 1502, the method includes receiving first assistance data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration. The UE 200, including the transceiver 215 and the processor 230, is a means for receiving the first assistance data. In an embodiment, the TRP 300, such as the gNB 110a, may be configured to broadcast the first assistance data as DL-PRS assistance data in a positioning system information message corresponding to a currently active DL-PRS transmission. In an example, the first assistance data may include multiple DL-PRS assistance data configurations that may be requested on demand in the positioning system information. In an embodiment, the LMF 120 may be configured to provide DL-PRS assistance data corresponding to a currently active DL-PRS transmission, possibly including an indication of which DL-PRS parameters may be modified on demand (e.g., during an active LPP session).

[0123] At stage 1504, the method includes transmitting a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration. The UE 200, including the transceiver 215 and the processor 230, is a means for transmitting a request to modify one or more parameters. In an example, the UE 200 may be configured to send an LPP Assistance Data Request message to the LMF 120 to request a change to the first positioning reference signal configuration (e.g., a currently active DL-PRS transmission). The message may include an indication of which DL-PRS parameters 902 are requested to change (which may include a change to the DL-PRS bandwidth, a change to the DL-PRS positioning occasion, a change to the DL-PRS resource (e.g., "beam on / off" via DL-PRS resource ID addition / release), etc.). The message may also include a start time and / or duration (e.g., the number of seconds, minutes, or hours the DL-PRS configuration is needed) for when and / or how long the modified DL-PRS configuration is needed at the target device. In one embodiment, the request to modify one or more parameters may be carried in an MO-LR request message as described in step 2 a of message flow 800.

[0124] At stage 1506, the method includes receiving second assistance data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration based at least in part on the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration. The UE 200 including the transceiver 215 and the processor 230 is a means for receiving the second assistance data. In an embodiment, the LMF 120 may be configured to provide a modified LPP assistance data provide message to the UE 200 indicating DL-PRS parameters that have been modified compared to the first assistance data provided at stage 1502. In an example, the second assistance data may include a DL-PRS configuration identifier 1002 associated with the second positioning reference signal configuration (e.g., a new DL-PRS configuration).

[0125] At stage 1508, the method includes obtaining measurements from one or more positioning reference signals based at least in part on the second assistance data. The UE 200, including the transceiver 215 and the processor 230, is a means for obtaining measurements for one or more reference signals. The UE 200 is configured to acquire and measure DL-PRS transmitted by one or more gNBs (e.g., gNB 110a) according to the DL-PRS configuration provided in the second assistance data received at stage 1506. For example, but not limited to, the UE 200 may obtain UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements, ToA, TDoA, RSTD, or other reference signal measurements based on the DL-PRS transmissions.

[0126] At stage 1510, the method includes determining a location based at least in part on measurements obtained from one or more positioning reference signals. The UE 200 including the processor 230 is an exemplary means for determining a location. The UE 200 is configured to determine a location based on DL-PRS measurements obtained at stage 1508. For example, the UE 200 may utilize UE RxTx time difference measurements and gNB RxTx time difference measurements to determine distances to multiple gNBs and utilize the locations of the gNBs to determine a current location using a multi-RTT positioning technique. Other known positioning techniques such as OTDOA, AoD, and ECID may also be used to determine the location of the UE 200.

[0127] 1-14, a method 1600 for providing assistance data associated with an on-demand positioning reference signal includes the steps shown. However, the method 1600 is by way of example and not limitation. The method 1600 may be modified, for example, by having steps added, removed, reordered, combined, performed simultaneously, and / or by dividing a single step into multiple steps.

[0128] At stage 1602, the method includes sending first assistance data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration to the user equipment. The server 400, including the transceiver 415 and the processor 410, is a means for sending the first assistance data. In an embodiment, the LMF 120 may be configured to provide DL-PRS assistance data corresponding to currently active DL-PRS transmissions, possibly including an indication of which DL-PRS parameters may be modified on demand (e.g., during an active LPP session). In an example, the first assistance data may include multiple DL-PRS assistance data configurations that may be requested on demand in the positioning system information.

[0129] At stage 1604, the method includes receiving a request from a user equipment to modify one or more parameters of a first positioning reference signal configuration. The server 400, including the transceiver 415 and the processor 410, is a means for receiving the request to modify one or more parameters. In an example, the UE 200 may be configured to send an LPP Assistance Data Request message to the LMF 120 to request a change to the first positioning reference signal configuration (e.g., a currently active DL-PRS transmission). The message may include an indication of which DL-PRS parameters 902 are requested to change (which may include a change to DL-PRS bandwidth, a change to DL-PRS positioning occasions, a change to DL-PRS resources (e.g., "beam on / off" via DL-PRS resource ID addition / release), etc.). The message may also include a start time and / or duration (e.g., the number of seconds, minutes, or hours the DL-PRS configuration is needed) for when and / or how long the modified DL-PRS configuration is needed at the target device. In one embodiment, the request to modify one or more parameters may be carried in an MO-LR request message as described in step 2 a of message flow 800.

[0130] In stage 1606, the method includes generating second assistance data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration based at least in part on the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration. The server 400 including the transceiver 415 and the processor 410 is a means for generating the second assistance data. In an embodiment, the LMF 120 may be configured to generate a modified LPP Provide Assistance Data message to indicate DL-PRS parameters that have been modified compared to the first assistance data provided in stage 1602. In an example, the second assistance data may include a DL-PRS configuration identifier 1002 associated with the second positioning reference signal configuration (e.g., a new DL-PRS configuration).

[0131] At stage 1608, the method includes sending the second assistance data to the user equipment. The server 400 including the transceiver 415 and the processor 410 is a means for sending the second assistance data. In an embodiment, the LMF 120 may send a Provide LPP Assistance Data message to the UE 200.

[0132] With reference to Figure 17 and with further reference to Figures 1-14, a method 1700 for transmitting an on-demand positioning reference signal includes the steps shown. However, the method 1700 is by way of example and not limitation. The method 1700 may be modified, for example, by adding, deleting, reordering, combining, performing steps simultaneously, and / or splitting a single step into multiple steps.

[0133] In stage 1702, the method includes transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on a first positioning reference signal configuration. The TRP 300, including the transceiver 315 and the processor 310, is a means for transmitting one or more positioning reference signals. In an embodiment, the TRP 300, such as the gNB 110a, is configured to transmit DL-PRS based on the first configuration. The first PRS configuration may be a PRS transmitted prior to receiving an on-demand request from the UE or the LMF. In an example, the TRP 300 may be configured to broadcast DL-PRS assistance data in a positioning system information message corresponding to a currently active DL-PRS transmission, possibly including an indication of which DL-PRS parameters may be modified on-demand.

[0134] In stage 1704, the method includes receiving a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration. The TRP 300, including the transceiver 315 and the processor 310, is a means for receiving the request to modify one or more parameters. In an embodiment, the LMF 120 may be configured to send an NRPPa DL-PRS reconfiguration request message to the TRP 300 to request a change to the DL-PRS transmission. The message may include the DL-PRS configuration information determined for that TRP, and may also include a start time and duration of each new DL-PRS configuration. The DL-PRS configuration for each TRP may be used to change the DL-PRS bandwidth, the duration of the DL-PRS positioning opportunity, the DL-PRS transmission on the new frequency, and / or the frequency of the DL-PRS positioning opportunity, etc., based on one or more of the parameters 902. In an embodiment, the requested DL-PRS configuration may be selected from a set of one or more pre-configured DL-PRS configuration parameter sets 1006a-d to support on-demand DL-PRS transmission. In the case of a directional DL-PRS beam, the LMF 120 may determine a directional DL-PRS beam for each gNB to be received by the target UE. The directional DL-PRS beam may be selected by the LMF 120 according to the known general location of the target UE.

[0135] In stage 1706, the method includes transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration. The TRP 300, including the transceiver 315 and the processor 310, is a means for transmitting one or more positioning reference signals. In an embodiment, the TRP 300 can be configured to change an old DL-PRS configuration (e.g., a first reference signal configuration) to a new DL-PRS configuration (e.g., a second reference signal configuration).

[0136] 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.

[0137] Functional or other components shown in the figures and / or discussed herein in connection or communication with each other are, unless otherwise stated, communicatively coupled, that is, the components may be directly or indirectly connected so as to enable communication between them.

[0138] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include the plural unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, a "processor" can include one processor or multiple processors. 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.

[0139] 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.

[0140] 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 statement that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to perform at least one of performing function X or performing 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 perform 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 to measure Y (and may be configured to select to measure either X and Y, or both). Significant variations may be made according to particular requirements. For example, customized hardware may be used, and / or particular elements may be implemented in hardware, software executed by the processor (including portable software such as applets), or both. Additionally, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be utilized.

[0141] 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 disclosures and elements of the configurations can be combined in the same manner. Also, technology evolves, and thus many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

[0142] 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 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).

[0143] In the description, specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of the example configurations (including implementations). However, the configurations can be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring 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 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0144] 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.

[0145] 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.

[0146] Example implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0147] Clause 1. A method for determining a location of a user equipment, the method comprising the steps of receiving first Assistance Data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration; transmitting a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; receiving second Assistance Data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; obtaining measurements from one or more positioning reference signals based at least in part on the second Assistance Data; and determining a location based at least in part on the measurements obtained from the one or more positioning reference signals.

[0148] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the first assistance data includes an indication of one or more positioning reference signal configuration parameters that can be modified on demand.

[0149] Clause 3. The method of clause 1, wherein the first assistance data is received via one or more positioning system information blocks transmitted by a base station.

[0150] Clause 4. The method of clause 1, wherein the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a request to modify at least one of a positioning reference signal bandwidth, a duration of a positioning occasion, and a frequency of a positioning occasion.

[0151] Clause 5. The method of clause 1, wherein the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a positioning reference configuration identifier associated with the one or more positioning reference signal parameters.

[0152] Clause 6. The method of clause 1, wherein the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration is included in a mobile-originated location request message.

[0153] Clause 7. The method of clause 1, wherein the second assistance data is received from a location management function via a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message.

[0154] Clause 8. The method of clause 1, wherein the first assistance data is associated with a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations, and the step of transmitting the request to modify the one or more parameters includes the step of providing an identifier associated with one of the plurality of positioning reference signal configurations.

[0155] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein receiving the second assistance data includes receiving an identifier associated with one of a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations.

[0156] Clause 10. A method for providing Assistance Data associated with an on-demand positioning reference signal, comprising the steps of: sending first Assistance Data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration to a user equipment; receiving a request from the user equipment to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; generating second Assistance Data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; and sending the second Assistance Data to the user equipment.

[0157] Clause 11. The method of clause 10, wherein the first assistance data includes an indication of one or more positioning reference signal configuration parameters that can be modified on demand.

[0158] Clause 12. The method of clause 10, wherein the step of sending the first assistance data includes providing one or more positioning system information blocks to the base station.

[0159] Clause 13. The method of clause 10, wherein the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a request to modify at least one of a positioning reference signal bandwidth, a duration of a positioning occasion, and a frequency of a positioning occasion.

[0160] Clause 14. The method of clause 10, wherein the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a positioning reference configuration identifier associated with the one or more positioning reference signal parameters.

[0161] Clause 15. The method of clause 10, wherein the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration is included in a mobile-originated location request message.

[0162] Clause 16. The method of clause 10, wherein the second assistance data is included in a long-term evolution positioning protocol message.

[0163] Clause 17. The method of clause 10, wherein the first assistance data is associated with a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations, and the request to modify the one or more parameters includes an identifier associated with one of the plurality of positioning reference signal configurations.

[0164] Clause 18. The method of clause 17, wherein the second assistance data includes an identifier associated with one of a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations.

[0165] Clause 19. A method for transmitting on-demand positioning reference signals, comprising the steps of transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on a first positioning reference signal configuration, receiving a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration, and transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration.

[0166] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, wherein the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a request to modify at least one of a positioning reference signal bandwidth, a duration of a positioning occasion, and a frequency of a positioning occasion.

[0167] Clause 21. The method of clause 19, wherein the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a start time and a duration for transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on the second positioning reference signal configuration.

[0168] Clause 22. The method of clause 19, wherein the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a positioning reference configuration identifier associated with the one or more positioning reference signal parameters.

[0169] Clause 23. The method of clause 19, wherein the second positioning reference signal configuration includes a desired beam direction.

[0170] Clause 24. An apparatus comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receive first assistance data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration; transmit a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; receive second assistance data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; obtain measurements from the one or more positioning reference signals based at least in part on the second assistance data; and determine a location based at least in part on the measurements obtained from the one or more positioning reference signals.

[0171] Clause 25. The apparatus of clause 24, wherein the first assistance data includes an indication of one or more positioning reference signal configuration parameters that can be modified on demand.

[0172] Clause 26. The apparatus of clause 24, wherein the first assistance data is received via one or more positioning system information blocks transmitted by a base station.

[0173] Clause 27. The apparatus of clause 24, wherein the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a request to modify at least one of a positioning reference signal bandwidth, a duration of a positioning occasion, and a frequency of a positioning occasion.

[0174] Clause 28. The apparatus of clause 24, wherein the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a positioning reference configuration identifier associated with the one or more positioning reference signal parameters.

[0175] Clause 29. The apparatus of clause 24, wherein the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration is included in a mobile-originated location request message.

[0176] Clause 30. The apparatus of clause 24, wherein the second assistance data is received from a location management function via a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message.

[0177] Clause 31. The apparatus of clause 24, wherein the first assistance data is associated with a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations, and the at least one processor is further configured to provide an identifier associated with one of the plurality of positioning reference signal configurations.

[0178] Clause 32. The apparatus of clause 31, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive an identifier associated with one of a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations.

[0179] Clause 33. An apparatus comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: send first assistance data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration to a user equipment; receive a request from the user equipment to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; generate second assistance data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; and send the second assistance data to the user equipment.

[0180] Clause 34. The apparatus of clause 33, wherein the first assistance data includes an indication of one or more positioning reference signal configuration parameters that can be modified on demand.

[0181] Clause 35. The apparatus of clause 33, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to provide one or more positioning system information blocks to the base station.

[0182] Clause 36. The apparatus of clause 33, wherein the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a request to modify at least one of a positioning reference signal bandwidth, a duration of a positioning occasion, and a frequency of a positioning occasion.

[0183] Clause 37. The apparatus of clause 33, wherein the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a positioning reference configuration identifier associated with the one or more positioning reference signal parameters.

[0184] Clause 38. The apparatus of clause 33, wherein the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration is included in a mobile-originated location request message.

[0185] Clause 39. The apparatus of clause 33, wherein the second assistance data is included in a long-term evolution positioning protocol message.

[0186] Clause 40. The apparatus of clause 33, wherein the first assistance data is associated with a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations, and the request to modify the one or more parameters includes an identifier associated with one of the plurality of positioning reference signal configurations.

[0187] Clause 41. The apparatus of clause 40, wherein the second assistance data includes an identifier associated with one of a plurality of positioning reference signal configurations.

[0188] Clause 42. An apparatus comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: transmit one or more positioning reference signals based on a first positioning reference signal configuration; receive a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; and transmit one or more positioning reference signals based on a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration.

[0189] Clause 43. The apparatus of clause 42, wherein the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a request to modify at least one of a positioning reference signal bandwidth, a duration of a positioning occasion, and a frequency of a positioning occasion.

[0190] Clause 44. The apparatus of clause 42, wherein the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a start time and a duration for transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on the second positioning reference signal configuration.

[0191] Clause 45. The apparatus of clause 42, wherein the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration includes a positioning reference configuration identifier associated with the one or more positioning reference signal parameters.

[0192] Clause 46. The apparatus of clause 42, wherein the second positioning reference signal configuration includes a desired beam direction.

[0193] Clause 47. An apparatus for determining a location of a user equipment, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving first Assistance Data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration; means for transmitting a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; means for receiving second Assistance Data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; means for obtaining measurements from one or more positioning reference signals based at least in part on the second Assistance Data; and means for determining a location based at least in part on the measurements obtained from the one or more positioning reference signals.

[0194] Clause 48. An apparatus for providing Assistance Data associated with an on-demand positioning reference signal, the apparatus comprising: means for sending first Assistance Data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration to a user equipment; means for receiving a request from the user equipment to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; means for generating second Assistance Data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; and means for sending the second Assistance Data to the user equipment.

[0195] Clause 49. An apparatus for transmitting on-demand positioning reference signals, comprising: means for transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on a first positioning reference signal configuration; means for receiving a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; and means for transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration.

[0196] Clause 50. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to determine a location of a user equipment, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising: code for receiving first assistance data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration; code for transmitting a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; code for receiving second assistance data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; code for obtaining measurements from one or more positioning reference signals based at least in part on the second assistance data; and code for determining a location based at least in part on the measurements obtained from the one or more positioning reference signals.

[0197] Clause 51. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to provide Assistance Data associated with an on-demand positioning reference signal, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising: code for sending first Assistance Data associated with a first positioning reference signal configuration to a user equipment; code for receiving a request from the user equipment to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; code for generating second Assistance Data associated with a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify the one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; and code for sending the second Assistance Data to the user equipment.

[0198] Clause 52. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to transmit on-demand positioning reference signals, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising: code for transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on a first positioning reference signal configuration; code for receiving a request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration; and code for transmitting one or more positioning reference signals based on a second positioning reference signal configuration, the second positioning reference signal configuration being based at least in part on the request to modify one or more parameters of the first positioning reference signal configuration. [Explanation of symbols]

[0199] 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 110 gNB 111RU 112DU 113 CU 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), 5G Core 150 servers 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 248 Wireless Signal 250 Wired Transceiver 252 Wired Transmitter 254 Wired Receiver 262 SPS Antenna 300 Sending / Receiving Points, TRP 310 Processor 311 Memory 312 Software (SW) 315 Transceiver 320 Bus 340 Wireless Transceiver 342 Wireless Transmitter 344 Wireless Receiver 346 Antenna 348 Wireless Signal 350 Wired Transceiver 352 Wired Transmitter 354 Wired Receiver 360 SPS signal 362 SPS Antenna 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 502 First PRS Resource Set 504 Second PRS Resource Set 1002 DL-PRS configuration identifier 1004 Parameter Value 1006 DL-PRS parameter set

Claims

1. 1. A method for determining a location of a user equipment, comprising: transmitting a request for assistance data including a prioritized list of desired downlink positioning reference signal configurations; receiving assistance data including one or more downlink positioning reference signal configurations based at least in part on the prioritized list of desired downlink positioning reference signal configurations; obtaining measurements from one or more positioning reference signals based at least in part on the assistance data; and determining the location based at least in part on the measurements obtained from the one or more positioning reference signals.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving a plurality of downlink positioning reference signal configurations, wherein the prioritized list of desired downlink positioning reference signal configurations includes one or more of the plurality of downlink positioning reference signal configurations. The method of claim 1.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising a step of receiving an indication of one or more positioning reference signal configuration parameters that can be modified on demand.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the multiple downlink positioning reference signal configurations are received via one or more positioning system information blocks transmitted by a base station.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the assistance data is received from a Location Management Function via a Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the request for assistance data includes the step of providing a prioritized list of identifiers associated with the desired downlink positioning reference signal configuration.

7. The method described in claim 6, wherein the step of receiving the assistance data including the one or more downlink positioning reference signal configurations includes a step of receiving one or more identifiers in a prioritized list of identifiers.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for assistance data, including the prioritized list of desired downlink positioning reference signal configurations, is included in a mobile-originated location request message.

9. A method for transmitting a request for assistance data comprising: transmitting a prioritized list of desired downlink positioning reference signal configurations; and means for receiving assistance data including one or more downlink positioning reference signal configurations based at least in part on the prioritized list of desired downlink positioning reference signal configurations; means for obtaining measurements from one or more positioning reference signals based at least in part on said assistance data; means for determining the location based at least in part on the measurements obtained from the one or more positioning reference signals; a user device.

10. A user equipment as described in claim 9, configured to perform a method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

11. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to determine a location of a user equipment in accordance with a method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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