Processing window design for positioning

Abstract

Techniques are provided that can provide a target UE with a processing window (PW) configuration that defines a PW during which the target UE can measure one or more RS resources. The PW can optionally enable the target UE to transmit an uplink (UL) RS. The PW configuration can be provided to the target UE by the target UE's serving base station in response to a request for a PW configuration by the target UE or a location server. The request can include information regarding the RS configuration to be provided to the target UE.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] 1. Field The present disclosure relates generally to the field of wireless communications, and more specifically, to processing of radio frequency (RF) signals for positioning of mobile devices.

[0002] 2.Background In a Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) mobile communications network, a network node (e.g., a base station or a reference user equipment (UE)) may transmit a reference signal (RS) that can be measured at a target UE to determine the target UE's location using any of a variety of network-based positioning methods. Increasing the number of signals measured by the target UE can result in improved accuracy. The target UE can be configured to measure some signals during a measurement gap (MG), but there are limitations on how the MG can be used. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Techniques are provided that can provide a target UE with a PW configuration that defines a processing window (PW) during which the target UE can measure one or more RS resources. The PW can optionally enable the target UE to transmit an uplink (UL) RS. The PW configuration can be provided to the target UE by the target UE's serving base station in response to a request for a PW configuration by the target UE or a location server. The request can include information regarding the RS configuration to be provided to the target UE.

[0004] An example method for coordinating reference signal (RS) processing at a user equipment (UE) according to the present disclosure may include receiving an RS configuration at the UE indicating timing of one or more RS resources. The method may also include obtaining a processing window (PW) configuration based at least in part on the RS configuration, the PW configuration including information indicating one or more RS reception times of the at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources and a processing time of the at least one PW. The method may also include performing one or more measurements with the UE during the one or more RS reception times of the at least one PW.

[0005] An example method for coordinating reference signal (RS) processing for a user equipment (UE) according to the present disclosure can include receiving, at a base station, a request for a processing window (PW) configuration for the UE, where the base station includes a serving base station for the UE, where the request includes information indicating an RS configuration, where the RS configuration indicates timing of one or more RS resources. The method can also include determining, at the base station, a PW configuration based at least in part on the information indicating the RS configuration, where the PW configuration includes information indicating one or more RS reception times of the at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources and a processing time of the at least one PW.

[0006] An exemplary user equipment (UE) for coordinating reference signal (RS) processing according to the present disclosure may comprise a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, where the one or more processors are configured to receive, via the transceiver, an RS configuration indicating timing of one or more RS resources. The one or more processors may be further configured to obtain a processing window (PW) configuration based at least in part on the RS configuration, the PW configuration including information indicating one or more RS reception times of the at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources and a processing time of the at least one PW. The one or more processors may be further configured to perform, using the transceiver, one or more measurements during the one or more RS reception times of the at least one PW.

[0007] An exemplary base station for coordinating reference signal (RS) processing for user equipment (UE) according to the present disclosure may comprise a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, where the one or more processors are configured to receive, via the transceiver, a request for a processing window (PW) configuration for the UE, where the base station includes a serving base station for the UE, where the request includes information indicative of an RS configuration, where the RS configuration indicates timing of one or more RS resources. The one or more processors may be further configured to determine a PW configuration based at least in part on the information indicative of the RS configuration, where the PW configuration includes information indicative of one or more RS reception times of at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources and a processing time of the at least one PW.

[0008] This Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used alone to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to the entire specification, any or all drawings, and appropriate portions of each claim of this disclosure. The above, together with other features and examples, are described in more detail below in the following specification, claims, and accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a positioning system, according to one embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) positioning system illustrating an embodiment of a positioning system (e.g., the positioning system of FIG. 1) implemented within a 5G NR communication system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of beamforming that can be used by different devices, according to some embodiments. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a frame structure and associated terminology for NR. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a radio frame sequence together with Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) positioning occasions. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 illustrates an example comb structure showing how an RF signal can utilize different sets of resource elements, according to some embodiments. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a hierarchical structure of how PRS resources and PRS resource sets can be used by different Transmission Reception Points (TRPs) of a given position frequency layer (PFL) as defined in 5G NR. [Figure 8]1 is a time chart illustrating two different options for slot usage of a resource set, according to one embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of how a process involving a request for a processing window (PW) configuration from a network node may be implemented according to some embodiments. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of how a process involving a request for a processing window (PW) configuration from a network node may be implemented according to some embodiments. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 illustrates various components of a PW according to one embodiment. [Figure 12] 1 illustrates a basic example of merging two PW fragments according to one embodiment. [Figure 13A] A diagram illustrating different types of merging between PW fragments according to different embodiments. [Figure 13B] A diagram illustrating different types of merging between PW fragments according to different embodiments. [Figure 13C] A diagram illustrating different types of merging between PW fragments according to different embodiments. [Figure 13D] A diagram illustrating different types of merging between PW fragments according to different embodiments. [Figure 14] A diagram illustrating different types of merging between PW fragments according to different embodiments. [Figure 15A] A diagram illustrating different types of merging between PW fragments according to different embodiments. [Figure 15B] A diagram illustrating different types of merging between PW fragments according to different embodiments. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 illustrates how the value of the time difference τ between PW fragments can be defined in different ways depending on the desired functionality. [Figure 17]FIG. 9 is a diagram of slot usage of a resource set similar to FIG. 8, showing how PW can be determined in muted and unmuted scenarios. [Figure 18] 1 is a flow diagram of a method for coordinating RS processing in a UE according to one embodiment. [Figure 19] 1 is a flow diagram of a method for coordinating RS processing for UEs according to one embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a UE that can be utilized in the embodiments described herein. [Figure 21] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a base station that can be utilized in the embodiments described herein. [Figure 22] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a computer system that can be utilized in the embodiments described herein.

[0010] According to some exemplary implementations, like reference numbers in various figures refer to like elements. In addition, multiple instances of an element may be indicated by the first number of the element followed by a letter or a hyphen and a second number. For example, multiple instances of element 110 may be indicated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc., or as 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When referring to such an element using only the first number, it should be understood to be any instance of that element (e.g., element 110 in the previous example refers to elements 110-1, 110-2, and 110-3, or elements 110a, 110b, and 110c). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The following description is directed to several implementations for the purposes of illustrating the inventive aspects of various embodiments, however, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. Described implementations include those based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) IEEE 802.11 standard (including those identified as Wi-Fi technology), the Bluetooth standard, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), GSM / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, EV-DO Rev B, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolved High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA+), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced Mobile Phone The present invention may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to any communications standard, such as any of the Amplification and Modulation Propagation System (AMPS), or other known signals used to communicate within a wireless network, cellular network, or internet of things (IoT) network, such as a system utilizing 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G technologies, or further implementations thereof.

[0012] As used herein, an "RF signal" comprises an electromagnetic wave that carries information through space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multiple channels or paths.

[0013] Additionally, unless otherwise specified, references to "reference signals," "positioning reference signals," "reference signals for positioning," and the like may be used to refer to signals used for positioning of a user equipment (UE). Such signals are generally referred to herein as reference signals (RS). As explained in more detail herein, such signals may comprise any of a variety of signal types, but may not necessarily be limited to positioning reference signals (PRS) as defined in the relevant wireless standard.

[0014] As described in further detail below, embodiments herein enable the use of a processing window (PW) by a UE to process reference signals for positioning the UE. According to some embodiments, this can be done without the use of a measurement gap (MG), allowing the UE to measure reference signals within an active downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP). Such measurements can be used alone or together with other measurements (which may, for example, utilize MG) for positioning the UE. Further details follow after the initial description of the related systems and techniques.

[0015] 1 is a simplified diagram of a positioning system 100 in which a UE 105, a location server 160, and / or other components of the positioning system 100 can use techniques provided herein for PW design for positioning of a UE 105, according to an embodiment. Techniques described herein may be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 may include a UE 105, one or more satellites 110 (also referred to as space vehicles (SVs)) for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), such as a Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou, a base station 120, access points (APs) 130, a location server 160, a network 170, and an external client 180. In general, the positioning system 100 can estimate the position of the UE 105 based on RF signals received by and / or transmitted from the UE 105, as well as known positions of other components (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, base stations 120, APs 130) that transmit and / or receive the RF signals. Further details regarding specific position estimation techniques are discussed in more detail with respect to FIG.

[0016] It should be noted that FIG. 1 provides only a generalized view of the various components, and that any or all of the components may be utilized as appropriate, and that each of the components may be replicated as necessary. In particular, while only one UE 105 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the positioning system 100. Similarly, the positioning system 100 may include more or fewer base stations 120 and / or APs 130 than those shown in FIG. 1. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the positioning system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality. In some embodiments, for example, the external client 180 may be directly connected to the location server 160. Those skilled in the art will recognize many modifications to the illustrated components.

[0017] Depending on the desired functionality, network 170 may include any of a variety of wireless and / or wireline networks. Network 170 may comprise any combination of, for example, public and / or private networks, local area networks and / or wide area networks, etc. Furthermore, network 170 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, network 170 may comprise, for example, a cellular or other mobile network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), and / or the Internet. Examples of network 170 include a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network, a fifth generation (5G) wireless network (also referred to as a New Radio (NR) wireless network or a 5G NR wireless network), a Wi-Fi WLAN, and the Internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or being defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP, see below). Network 170 may also include more than one network and / or more than one type of network.

[0018] The base stations 120 and the access points (APs) 130 may be communicatively coupled to the network 170. In some embodiments, the base stations 120 may be owned, maintained, and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may utilize any of a variety of wireless technologies, as described herein below. Depending on the technology of the network 170, the base stations 120 may include a node B, an evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station (RBS), a NR NodeB (gNB), a Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), etc. The base stations 120 that are gNBs or ng-eNBs may be part of a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), which may connect to a 5G core network (5GC) if the network 170 is a 5G network. The APs 130 may comprise, for example, a Wi-Fi AP or a Bluetooth AP or an AP with cellular capabilities (e.g., 4G LTE and / or 5G NR). Thus, the UE 105 may send and receive information to and from network connectivity devices, such as the location server 160, by accessing the network 170 via the base station 120 using the first communication link 133. Additionally or alternatively, the AP 130 may also be communicatively coupled to the network 170 such that the UE 105 may communicate with network connectivity devices, including the location server 160, and Internet connectivity devices using the second communication link 135 or via one or more other UEs 145.

[0019] As used herein, the term "base station" may generally refer to a single physical transmission point or multiple co-located physical transmission points that may be located at a base station 120. A Transmission Reception Point (TRP) (also known as a transmit / receive point) corresponds to this type of transmission point, and the term "TRP" may be used interchangeably with the terms "gNB", "ng-eNB", and "base station" herein. In some cases, a base station 120 may include multiple TRPs, e.g., each TRP associated with a different antenna or different antenna array for the base station 120. A physical transmission point may comprise an array of antennas of the base station 120 (e.g., as in the case of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and / or when the base station utilizes beamforming). The term "base station" may additionally refer to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, which may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station).

[0020] As used herein, the term "cell" may generally refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with base station 120 and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)) to distinguish neighboring 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), etc.) that may provide access to different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., a sector) of a geographic coverage area in which the logical entity operates.

[0021] The location server 160 may comprise a server and / or other computing devices configured to determine an estimated location of the UE 105 and / or provide data (e.g., “assistance data”) to the UE 105 to facilitate position measurement and / or location determination by the UE 105. According to some embodiments, the location server 160 may comprise a Home Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (H-SLP), which may support a SUPL User Plane (UP) location method defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and may support location services for the UE 105 based on subscription information for the UE 105 stored in the location server 160. In some embodiments, the location server 160 may comprise a Discovered SLP (D-SLP) or an Emergency SLP (E-SLP). The location server 160 may also comprise an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC), which supports location of the UE 105 using a Control Plane (CP) location method for LTE radio access by the UE 105. The location server 160 may further comprise a Location Management Function (LMF) that supports location determination of the UE 105 using a control plane (CP) location method for NR or LTE radio access by the UE 105.

[0022] In a CP location solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of the UE 105 may be exchanged between elements of the network 170 and the UE 105 as signaling from the perspective of the network 170 using existing network interfaces and protocols. In a UP location method, signaling for controlling and managing the location of the UE 105 may be exchanged between the location server 160 and the UE 105 as data from the perspective of the network 170 (e.g., data transported using Internet Protocol (IP) and / or Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)).

[0023] As mentioned previously (and described in more detail below), the estimated location of the UE 105 may be based on measurements of RF signals sent from and / or received by the UE 105. In particular, these measurements may provide information regarding the relative distance and / or angle of the UE 105 from one or more components in the positioning system 100 (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, AP 130, base station 120). The estimated position of the UE 105 may be estimated geometrically (e.g., using multi-angle surveying and / or multilateration) based on the distance and / or angle measurements along with the known locations of the one or more components.

[0024] Terrestrial components such as AP 130 and base station 120 may be fixed, although embodiments are not so limited. Mobile components may be used. For example, in some embodiments, the location of the UE 105 may be estimated based at least in part on measurements of RF signals 140 communicated between the UE 105 and one or more other UEs 145, which may be mobile or fixed. When one or more other UEs 145 are used in the location determination of a particular UE 105, the UE 105 whose location is to be determined may be referred to as a "target UE" and each of the one or more other UEs 145 used may be referred to as an "anchor UE". For purposes of location determination of a target UE, the location of each of the one or more anchor UEs may be known and / or may be determined together with the target UE. Direct communication between one or more other UEs 145 and the UE 105 may comprise sidelink and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication techniques. Sidelink, as defined by 3GPP, is a form of D2D communication under cellular-based LTE and NR standards.

[0025] The estimated location of the UE 105 may be used in various applications, such as to aid in direction finding or navigation for a user of the UE 105, or to aid another user (e.g., associated with the external client 180) in locating the UE 105. "Location" may also be referred to herein as a "location estimate," "estimated location," "location," "position," "position estimate," "position fix," "estimated location," "location fix," or "fix." The process of determining a location may be referred to as a "positioning," "place determination," "position determination," or the like. The location of the UE 105 may comprise the absolute location of the UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude and possibly altitude) or the relative location of the UE 105 (e.g., a location expressed as a distance north-south, east-west, and possibly up-down from some other known fixed location (e.g., including the location of a base station 120 or AP 130), or from some other location, such as the location of the UE 105 at some known prior time or the location of another UE 145 at some known prior time). A location may be specified as a geodetic location including coordinates that may be absolute (e.g., latitude, longitude and optionally altitude), relative (e.g., relative to some known absolute location), or local (e.g., X, Y, and optionally Z coordinates according to a coordinate system defined for a local area such as a factory, warehouse, university campus, shopping mall, sports stadium, or convention center). The location may alternatively be a civic location, which may comprise one or more of a street address (e.g., including names and signs of a country, state, county, city, road and / or street, and / or road or street number), and / or signs or names, such as a point, a building, a part of a building, a floor of a building, and / or a room within a building. The position may further include an indication of uncertainty or error, such as the horizontal and possibly vertical distance within which the position error is expected to lie, or an indication of an area or volume (e.g., a circle or ellipse) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with some level of confidence (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0026] The external client 180 may be a web server or remote application that may have some association with the UE 105 (e.g., that may be accessed by a user of the UE 105), or may be a server, application, or computer system that provides location services to some other user, which may include obtaining and providing the location of the UE 105 (e.g., to enable services such as finding friends or relatives or locating children or pets). Additionally or alternatively, the external client 180 may obtain and provide the location of the UE 105 to emergency service providers, government agencies, etc.

[0027] As previously mentioned, the exemplary positioning system 100 may be implemented using a wireless communication network, such as an LTE-based network or a 5G NR-based network. FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of a 5G NR positioning system 200 illustrating one implementation of a positioning system (e.g., the positioning system 100) implementing 5G NR. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may be configured to determine a position of a UE 105 by using access nodes, which may include NR NodeBs (gNBs) 210-1 and 210-2 (collectively and generically referred to herein as gNBs 210), ng-eNBs 214, and / or WLANs 216 to perform one or more positioning methods. The gNBs 210 and / or ng-eNBs 214 may correspond to the base stations 120 of FIG. 1, and the WLANs 216 may correspond to one or more access points 130 of FIG. 1. Optionally, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 105 by using the LMF 220 (which may correspond to the location server 160) to implement one or more positioning methods. Here, the 5G NR positioning system 200 comprises the UE 105 and components of a 5G NR network comprising a Next Generation (NG) Radio Access Network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 235 and a 5G Core Network (5G CN) 240. The 5G network may also be referred to as an NR network. The NG-RAN 235 may also be referred to as a 5G RAN or NR RAN, and the 5G CN 240 may also be referred to as an NG Core Network. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may further utilize information from GNSS satellites 110 of a Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar system such as a GNSS system (e.g., GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS)). Described below are additional components of the 5G NR positioning system 200. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may include additional or alternative components.

[0028] It should be noted that FIG. 2 provides only a generalized view of the various components, and that any or all of the components may be utilized as appropriate, and that each of the components may be duplicated or omitted as desired. In particular, while only one UE 105 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the 5G NR positioning system 200. Similarly, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include a greater (or lesser) number of GNSS satellites 110, gNBs 210, ng-eNBs 214, wireless local area networks (WLANs) 216, access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 215, external clients 230, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the 5G NR positioning system 200 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Further, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0029] 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 mobile phone, a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, but not necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX™), 5G NR (e.g., using NG-RAN 235 and 5G CN 240), etc. The UE 105 may also support wireless communications using a WLAN 216 (such as one or more RATs as previously described with respect to FIG. 1), which may connect to other networks, such as the Internet. Use of one or more of these RATs may enable the UE 105 to communicate with and / or receive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via elements of the 5G CN 240 not shown in FIG. 2, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225) external clients 230. The external clients 230 of FIG. 2 may correspond to the external clients 180 of FIG. 1 implemented in or communicatively coupled to a 5G NR network.

[0030] The UE 105 may include a single entity or multiple entities, such as in a personal area network where the user may utilize audio, video, and / or data I / O devices and / or body sensors and a separate wired or wireless modem. An estimate of the UE 105's position may be referred to as a position, position estimate, position fix, fix, location, location estimate, or location fix, and may be geodesic, thus providing the UE 105's position coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) that may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., elevation, height or depth above ground, floor, or basement). Alternatively, the UE 105's location may be represented as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address, or a destination or small area designation of some point within a building, such as a particular room or floor). The UE 105's location may also be represented as an area or volume (defined either geodesically or in a civic format) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may also be a relative location comprising distance and direction, or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates, defined with respect to some origin at a known location, which may be defined, for example, geodetically, civic-wise, or with reference to a point, area, or volume shown on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of a UE, it is common to evaluate local X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates and then convert the local coordinates, if necessary, to absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0031] A base station in the NG-RAN 235 shown in FIG. 2 may correspond to the base station 120 in FIG. 1 and may include a gNB 210. A pair of gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235 may be connected to each other (e.g., directly as shown in FIG. 2 or indirectly via another gNB 210). The communication interface between the base stations (gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) may be referred to as an Xn interface 237. 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 210, which may provide wireless communication access to the 5G CN 240 on behalf of the UE 105 using 5G NR. The wireless interface between the base station (gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) and the UE 105 may be referred to as a Uu interface 239. The 5G NR radio access may also be referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access. In FIG. 2, the serving gNB for UE 105 is assumed to be gNB 210-1, but other gNBs (e.g., gNB 210-2) can act as serving gNBs if UE 105 moves to another location or can act as secondary gNBs to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105.

[0032] The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown in FIG. 2 may also or instead include next generation evolved node Bs, also referred to as ng-eNBs 214. The ng-eNBs 214 may be connected to one or more gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235, e.g., directly or indirectly via other gNBs 210 and / or other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNBs 214 may provide LTE wireless access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. Some of the gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2) and / or ng-eNBs 214 in FIG. 2 may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons that can transmit signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) and / or broadcast assistance data to assist in positioning the UE 105, but cannot receive signals from the UE 105 or from other UEs. Some gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2 and / or another gNB not shown) and / or ng-eNB 214 that may be configured to function as detection-only nodes may scan for signals including, for example, PRS data, assistance data, or other location data. Such detection-only nodes may not transmit signals or data to the UE, but may transmit signals or data (e.g., related to PRS, assistance data, or other location data) to other network entities (e.g., 5G CN 240, external client 230, or one or more components of the controller) that may receive and store or use the data for positioning of at least the UE 105. It should be noted that although only one ng-eNB 214 is shown in FIG. 2, some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNBs 214. Base stations (e.g., gNBs 210 and / or ng-eNBs 214) may communicate directly with each other via the Xn communication interface. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may communicate directly or indirectly with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200, such as the LMF 220 and the AMF 215.

[0033] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also include one or more WLANs 216 that may connect to a Non-3GPP InterWorking Function (N3IWF) 250 in the 5G CN 240 (e.g., in the case of an untrusted WLAN 216). For example, the WLAN 216 may support IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi access for the UE 105 and may include one or more Wi-Fi APs (e.g., AP 130 of FIG. 1). Here, the N3IWF 250 may connect to other elements in the 5G CN 240, such as the AMF 215. In some embodiments, the WLAN 216 may support another RAT, such as Bluetooth. The N3IWF 250 may provide support for secure access by the UE 105 to other elements in the 5G CN 240 and / or may support interworking of one or more protocols used by the WLAN 216 and the UE 105 to one or more protocols used by other elements of the 5G CN 240, such as the AMF 215. For example, the N3IWF 250 may support IPSec tunnel establishment with the UE 105, termination of IKEv2 / IPSec protocols with the UE 105, termination of the N2 and N3 interfaces to the 5G CN 240 for the control and user plane, respectively, relay of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) control plane non-access stratum (NAS) signaling between the UE 105 and the AMF 215 across the N1 interface. In some other embodiments, the WLAN 216 may directly connect to elements in the 5G CN 240 (e.g., the AMF 215, shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2) without going through the N3IWF 250. For example, a direct connection of WLAN 216 to 5GCN 240 may occur if WLAN 216 is a trusted WLAN to 5GCN 240 and may be enabled using a Trusted WLAN Interworking Function (TWIF) (not shown in FIG. 2), which may be an element within WLAN 216. Note that while only one WLAN 216 is shown in FIG. 2, some embodiments may include multiple WLANs 216.

[0034] An access node may comprise any of a variety of network entities that enable communication between the UE 105 and the AMF 215. As mentioned, this may include the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214, the WLAN 216, and / or other types of cellular base stations. However, an access node providing the functionality described herein may additionally or alternatively include entities that enable communication to any of a variety of RATs not shown in FIG. 2, which may include non-cellular technologies. Thus, the term "access node" as used in the embodiments described herein below may include, but is not necessarily limited to, the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214, or the WLAN 216.

[0035] In some embodiments, an access node such as gNB210, ng-eNB214, and / or WLAN216 (alone or in combination with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200) may be configured to obtain position measurement results for uplink (UL) signals received from the UE105 in response to receiving a request for location information from the LMF220, and / or to obtain downlink (DL) position measurement results obtained by the UE105 for DL ​​signals received by the UE105 from one or more access nodes. As mentioned, FIG. 2 illustrates access nodes (gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and WLAN 216) configured to communicate according to 5G NR, LTE, and Wi-Fi communication protocols, respectively, although access nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols may be used, such as, for example, a Node B using a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) protocol for a Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), an eNB using an LTE protocol for an Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), or Bluetooth Beacons using a Bluetooth protocol for a WLAN. For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to the UE 105, the RAN may comprise an E-UTRAN, which may comprise a base station with an eNB supporting LTE wireless access. The core network for the EPS may comprise an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). In that case, the EPS may include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, which in Figure 2 corresponds to the NG-RAN 235 and the EPC corresponds to the 5GCN 240. The methods and techniques described herein with respect to obtaining the civic position of the UE 105 may also be applicable to such other networks.

[0036] The gNB 210 and ng-eNB 214 may communicate with the AMF 215, which communicates with the LMF 220 for positioning functions. The AMF 215 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers of the UE 105 from an access node of a first RAT (e.g., the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214, or the WLAN 216) to an access node of a second RAT. The AMF 215 may also be responsible for supporting signaling connections to the UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 220 may support positioning of the UE 105 using CP positioning methods when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 235 or the WLAN 216, including UE-assisted / UE-based and / or network-based procedures / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference Of Arrival (OTDOA) (sometimes referred to as Time Difference Of Arrival (TDOA) in NR), Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), WLAN positioning, Round Trip Signal Propagation Delay (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, and / or other positioning procedures and methods. The LMF 220 may also process location service requests for the UE 105, for example, received from the AMF 215 or from the GMLC 225. The LMF 220 may be connected to the AMF 215 and / or to the GMLC 225. In some embodiments, a network such as the 5GCN 240 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a SUPL Location Platform (SLP).It should be noted that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the positioning functions (including determining the location of the UE 105) may be performed at the UE 105 (e.g., by measuring downlink PRS (DL-PRS) signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214 and / or the WLAN 216 and / or by using assistance data provided to the UE 105, for example, by the LMF 220).

[0037] The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 230 and may forward such location requests to the AMF 215 for forwarding by the AMF 215 to the LMF 220. A location response from the LMF 220 (e.g., including a location estimate for the UE 105) may similarly be returned to the GMLC 225, either directly or via the AMF 215, which may then return a location response (e.g., including the location estimate) to the external client 230.

[0038] A network exposure function (NEF) 245 may be included in the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may support secure exposure of capabilities and events related to the 5GCN 240 and the UE 105 to the external client 230, which may then be referred to as an access function (AF), and may enable secure provision of information from the external client 230 to the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may be connected to the AMF 215 and / or to the GMLC 225 for the purposes of obtaining the location (e.g., civic location) of the UE 105 and providing the location to the external client 230.

[0039] As further shown in FIG. 2, the LMF 220 may communicate with the gNB 210 and / or the ng-eNB 214 using the NR Positioning Protocol annex (NRPPa) as defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa messages may be transferred between the gNB 210 and the LMF 220 and / or between the ng-eNB 214 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215. As further shown in FIG. 2, the LMF 220 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) as defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 and the serving gNB 210-1 or the serving ng-eNB 214 for the UE 105. For example, LPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 220 and the AMF 215 using messages for service-based operations (e.g., based on HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)) and between the AMF 215 and the UE 105 using a 5G NAS protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods, such as A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, multi-cell RTT, AoD, and / or ECID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using network-based positioning methods, such as ECID, AoA, uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA), and / or may be used by the LMF 220 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214, such as parameters defining DL-PRS transmissions from the gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214.

[0040] In the case of UE 105 access to WLAN 216, LMF 220 may use NRPPa and / or LPP to obtain the location of UE 105 in a manner similar to that just described for UE 105 access to gNB 210 or ng-eNB 214. Thus, NRPPa messages may be forwarded between WLAN 216 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 and N3IWF 250 to support network-based positioning of UE 105 and / or forwarding of other location information from WLAN 216 to LMF 220. Alternatively, NRPPa messages may be forwarded between N3IWF 250 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 to support network-based positioning of UE 105 based on location-related information and / or location measurements known to or accessible to N3IWF 250 and forwarded from N3IWF 250 to LMF 220 using NRPPa. Similarly, LPP and / or LPP messages may be transferred between UE 105 and LMF 220 via AMF 215, N3IWF 250, and serving WLAN 216 for UE 105 to support UE-assisted or UE-based positioning of UE 105 by LMF 220.

[0041] In a 5G NR positioning system 200, positioning methods may be classified as "UE-assisted" or "UE-based." This may depend on where the request to determine the location of the UE 105 originates. For example, if the request originates at the UE (e.g., from an application or "app" executed by the UE), the positioning method may be classified as UE-based. On the other hand, if the request originates from an external client or the AF 230, the LMF 220, or other devices or services in the 5G network, the positioning method may be classified as UE-assisted (or "network-based").

[0042] With the UE-assisted positioning method, the UE 105 can obtain location measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 220) for computation of a location estimate for the UE 105. The location measurement results of the RAT-dependent positioning method may include one or more of a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), a Round Trip signal propagation Time (RTT), a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), a Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), a Time of Arrival (TOA), an AoA, a Receive Time-Transmission Time Difference (Rx-Tx), a Differential AoA (DAoA), an AoD, or a Timing Advance (TA) for one or more access points for the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214, and / or the WLAN 216. Additionally or alternatively, similar measurements may be made from sidelink signals transmitted by other UEs, which may act as anchor points for positioning of the UE 105 if their locations are known. The location measurements may also or instead include measurements of RAT-independent positioning methods such as GNSS (e.g., GNSS pseudoranges, GNSS code phase, and / or GNSS carrier phase for GNSS satellites 110), WLAN, etc.

[0043] In a UE-based positioning method, the UE 105 may obtain a position measurement result (which may be the same as or similar to the position measurement result for a UE-assisted positioning method, for example) and may further calculate the position of the UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as the LMF 220, an SLP, or broadcast by the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214, or the WLAN 216).

[0044] In a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214), one or more APs (e.g., in WLAN216), or N3IWF250 may obtain location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AoA, or TOA measurements) for signals transmitted by UE105, and / or, in the case of N3IWF250, may receive measurements obtained by UE105 or APs in WLAN216 and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF220) for calculation of a position estimate for UE105.

[0045] Positioning of the UE 105 may also be classified as UL-based, DL-based, or DL-UL-based depending on the type of signal used for positioning. For example, if the positioning is based only on signals received at the UE 105 (e.g., from a base station or other UEs), the positioning may be classified as DL-based. On the other hand, if the positioning is based only on signals transmitted by the UE 105 (e.g., which may be received by a base station or other UEs), the positioning may be classified as UL-based. DL-UL-based positioning includes positioning based on signals both transmitted and received by the UE 105, such as RTT-based positioning. Sidelink (SL)-assisted positioning comprises signals communicated between the UE 105 and one or more other UEs. According to some embodiments, the UL, DL, or DL-UL positioning described herein may be capable of using SL signaling as a supplement or replacement of SL, DL, or DL-UL signaling.

[0046] Depending on the type of positioning (e.g., UL-based, DL-based, or DL-UL-based), the type of reference signal used may vary. For example, for DL-based positioning, these signals may comprise PRS (e.g., DL-PRS transmitted by the base station or SL-PRS transmitted by other UEs) that may be used for measuring TDOA, AoD, and RTT. Other reference signals that may be used for positioning (UL, DL, or DL-UL) may include Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS), Synchronization Signals (e.g., Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), Synchronization Signal (SS)), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Demodulation Reference Signals (DMRS), etc. Moreover, reference signals may be transmitted in a Tx beam (e.g., using beamforming techniques) and / or received in a Rx beam, which may affect the measurement results of angles such as AoD and / or AoA.

[0047] FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified environment 300 including two TRPs 320-1 and 320-2 (which may correspond to the base station 120 of FIG. 1 and / or the gNB 210 and / or the ng-eNB 214 of FIG. 2) having antenna arrays capable of performing beamforming to generate directional beams for transmitting and / or receiving RF signals. FIG. 3 also illustrates a UE 105 that may also use beamforming to transmit and / or receive RF signals. Such directional beams are used in 5G NR wireless communication networks. Each of the directional beams may have a beamwidth centered in a different direction, allowing different beams of the TRP 320 to correspond to different areas within a coverage area for the TRP 320.

[0048] Different operating modes may enable TRP320-1 and 320-2 to use more or fewer beams. For example, in a first operating mode, TRP320 may use 16 beams, where each beam may have a relatively wide beamwidth. In a second operating mode, TRP320 may use 64 beams, where each beam may have a relatively narrow beamwidth. Depending on the capabilities of TRP320, the TRP may use any number of beams that TRP320 may be capable of forming. The operating modes and / or number of beams may be defined in the relevant wireless standard and may correspond to different directions (e.g., horizontal and vertical) in either or both azimuth and elevation. Different operating modes may be used to transmit and / or receive different signal types. Additionally or alternatively, UE105 may be capable of using different numbers of beams, which may also correspond to different operating modes, signal types, etc.

[0049] In some situations, the TRP 320 may use beam sweeping, a process in which the TRP 320 may transmit RF signals in different directions using different respective beams, often continuously, effectively "sweeping" across a coverage area. For example, the TRP 320 may sweep across 120 degrees or 360 degrees in the azimuth direction, with each beam sweep being cyclically repeatable. Each directional beam may include an RF reference signal (e.g., PRS resource), with base station 320-1 generating a set of RF reference signals including Tx beams 305-a, 305-b, 305-c, 305-d, 305-e, 305-f, 305-g, and 305-h, and base station 320-2 generating a set of RF reference signals including Tx beams 309-a, 309-b, 309-c, 309-d, 309-e, 309-f, 309-g, and 309-h. As previously mentioned, UE 320 may also include an antenna array, so that it can receive RF reference signals transmitted by base stations 320-1 and 320-2 using beamforming to form respective receive beams (Rx beams) 311-a and 311-b. This form of beamforming (by base station 320 and optionally by UE 105) can be used to make communications more efficient. They can also be used for other purposes, including making measurements for position determination (eg, AoD and AoA measurements).

[0050] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a frame structure and associated terminology for NR that may serve as the basis for physical layer communication between the UE 105 and the base station / TRP. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined time length (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices 0-9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods within each slot may be assigned an index. A minislot may have a subslot structure (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols). Additionally, a complete Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) of a subframe is illustrated in FIG. 4, showing how a subframe may be partitioned into multiple Resource Blocks (RBs) across both time and frequency. A single RB may comprise a grid of resource elements (REs) spanning 14 symbols and 12 subcarriers.

[0051] Each symbol in a slot may indicate a link direction (e.g., downlink (DL), uplink (UL), or flexible) or data transmission, or the link direction of each subframe may be dynamically switched. The link direction may be based on the slot format. Each slot may include DL / UL data as well as DL / UL control information. In NR, a synchronization signal (SS) block is transmitted. The SS block includes a primary SS (PSS), a secondary SS (SSS), and a two-symbol physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The SS block may be transmitted at a fixed slot position, such as symbols 0-3 as shown in FIG. 4. The PSS and SSS may be used by the UE for cell search and cell acquisition. The PSS may provide half-frame timing, and the SS may provide cyclic prefix (CP) length and frame timing. The PSS and SSS may provide cell identity information. The PBCH carries some basic system information, such as the downlink system bandwidth, timing information within a radio frame, SS burst set period, and system frame number.

[0052] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a radio frame sequence 500 with PRS positioning occasions. A "PRS instance" or "PRS opportunity" is one instance of a periodically repeating time frame (e.g., a group of one or more consecutive slots) during which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS opportunity may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning occasion", a "PRS positioning instance", a "positioning occasion", a "positioning instance", or simply an "opportunity" or "instance". The subframe sequence 500 may be applicable to broadcasting a PRS signal (DL-PRS signal) from a base station 120 in the positioning system 100. The radio frame sequence 500 may be used in 5G NR (e.g., 5G NR positioning system 200) and / or LTE. As in FIG. 4, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis) in FIG. 5, with time increasing from left to right. Frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0053] FIG. 5 illustrates that PRS positioning occasions 510-1, 510-2, and 510-3 (collectively and generically referred to herein as positioning occasions 510) are associated with a System Frame Number (SFN), a cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS )515, L PRS The length or span of the subframes, and the PRS period (T PRS ) 520. The cell-specific PRS subframe configuration is determined by the “PRS configuration index” I PRS The cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS ) 515 may be defined in terms of the number of subframes transmitted starting from system frame number (SFN) 0 to the start of the first (subsequent) PRS positioning occasion.

[0054] The PRS may be transmitted by a wireless node (e.g., base station 120) after appropriate configuration (e.g., by an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) server). The PRS may be transmitted in special positioning subframes or slots that are grouped into positioning occasions 510. For example, PRS positioning occasion 510-1 may be N PRS 1, the number of positioning subframes may be N PRS can be between 1 and 160 (e.g., can include values ​​1, 2, 4, and 6, as well as other values). The PRS opportunities 510 can be grouped into one or more PRS opportunity groups. As previously mentioned, the PRS positioning opportunities 510 are grouped into a number T PRS and may occur periodically at millisecond (or subframe) intervals denoted by T PRS may be equal to 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, or 1280 (or any other suitable value). PRSmay be measured in terms of the number of subframes between the starts of successive positioning occasions.

[0055] In some embodiments, the UE 105 may include a PRS configuration index I in the assistance data for a particular cell (e.g., base station). PRS When receiving the PRS period T, the UE 105 uses the stored indexed data to PRS 520 and cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS ) 515. The UE 105 may then determine the radio frame, subframe and slot when the PRS is scheduled in the cell. The assistance data may be determined, for example, by a location server (e.g., location server 160 of FIG. 1 and / or LMF 220 of FIG. 2) and includes assistance data for the reference cell and several neighboring cells supported by various wireless nodes.

[0056] Typically, PRS opportunities from all cells in a network using the same frequency are aligned in time and have a fixed, known time offset (e.g., a cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS) 515). In an SFN synchronous network, all wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 120) may be aligned on both frame boundaries and system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN synchronous network, all cells supported by various wireless nodes may use the same PRS configuration index for any particular frequency of PRS transmission. On the other hand, in an SFN asynchronous network, various wireless nodes may be aligned on frame boundaries but not on system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN asynchronous network, the PRS configuration index for each cell may be configured separately by the network such that the PRS occasions are aligned in time. If the UE 105 can acquire the cell timing (e.g., SFN or frame number) of at least one of the cells, e.g., the reference cell or the serving cell, the UE 105 can determine the timing of the PRS occasions 510 of the reference cell and neighbor cells for TDOA positioning. The timing of other cells may then be derived by the UE 105, e.g., based on the assumption that the PRS occasions from different cells overlap.

[0057] With respect to the frame structure of FIG. 4, a collection of REs used for transmission of a PRS is called a "PRS resource." A collection of resource elements can span multiple RBs in the frequency domain and one or more consecutive symbols in a slot in the time domain, within which a pseudorandom quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) sequence is transmitted from an antenna port of a TRP. Within a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, PRS resources occupy consecutive RBs in the frequency domain. The transmission of PRS resources within a given RB has a particular combination, or "comb," size. (Comb size may also be referred to as "comb density.") The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of a PRS resource configuration, and the configuration uses every Nth subcarrier of a certain symbol of an RB. For example, for comb-4, for each of the four symbols of the PRS resource configuration, REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (e.g., subcarriers 0, 4, 8) are used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. For example, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 may be used in the PRS. Examples of different comb sizes using different numbers of symbols are provided in FIG.

[0058] A "PRS resource set" comprises a group of PRS resources used for transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a cell ID). A "PRS resource repetition" is the repetition of a PRS resource between PRS occasions / instances. The number of repetitions of a PRS resource may be defined by the "repetition factor" of the PRS resource. In addition, PRS resources in a PRS resource set may have the same periodicity across slots, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor. The periodicity may be 2 m×{4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,160,320,640,1280,2560,5120,10240} slots, and μ=0,1,2,3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1,2,4,6,8,16,32} slots.

[0059] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set may be associated with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (if the TRP may transmit one or multiple beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus a "PRS resource" (or simply "resource") may also be referred to as a "beam." Note that this does not have any implication on whether the TRP and beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0060] In the 5G NR positioning system 200 shown in FIG. 2, the TRPs (gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216) may transmit frames or other physical layer signaling sequences supporting PRS signals (i.e., DL-PRS) according to the frame configurations as previously described, which may be measured and used for location determination of the UE 105. As mentioned, other types of wireless network nodes, including other UEs, may also be configured to transmit PRS signals configured in a similar (or the same) manner as described above. Because the transmission of the PRS by the wireless network node may be directed to all UEs within radio range, the wireless network node may be considered to transmit (or broadcast) the PRS.

[0061] FIG. 7 is a diagram of a hierarchical structure of how PRS resources and PRS resource sets can be used by different TRPs of a given positioning frequency layer (PFL) as defined in 5G NR. With respect to the network (Uu) interface, the UE 105 can be configured with one or more DL-PRS resource sets from each of one or more TRPs. Each DL-PRS resource set includes K≧1 DL-PRS resource(s), which can correspond to the TRP's Tx beams as previously described. A DL-PRS PFL is defined as a collection of DL-PRS resource sets having the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP) type, the same DL-PRS bandwidth value, the same center frequency, and the same value of comb size. In the current version of the NR standard, the UE 105 can be configured with up to four DL-PRS PFLs.

[0062] NR has multiple frequency bands spanning different frequency ranges (e.g., Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2)). The PFLs can be in the same band or different bands. In some embodiments, they may be in different frequency ranges. In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, multiple TRPs (e.g., TRP1 and TR2) may be on the same PFL. As previously mentioned, in current NR, each TRP can have up to two PRS resource sets, each with one or more PRS resources.

[0063] Different PRS resource sets may have different periodicities. For example, one PRS resource set may be used for tracking and another PRS resource set may be used for acquisition. Additionally or alternatively, one PRS resource set may have a larger number of beams and another PRS resource set may have a smaller number of beams. Thus, different resource sets may be used by the wireless network for different purposes.

[0064] FIG. 8 is a time chart illustrating two different options for slot usage of a resource set, according to one embodiment. Since each example repeats each resource four times, the resource set is said to have a repetition factor of four. A consecutive sweep 810 involves repeating a single resource (resource 1, resource 2, etc.) four times before moving on to a subsequent resource. In this example, where each resource corresponds to a different beam of the TRP, the TRP repeats a beam for four slots in a row before moving on to the next beam. Since each resource is repeated in consecutive slots (e.g., resource 1 is repeated in slots n, n+1, n+2, etc.), the time gap is said to be one slot. On the other hand, in an interleaved sweep 820, the TRP may move from one beam to the next beam for each subsequent slot, cycling through the four beams in four revolutions. Since each resource is repeated every four slots (e.g., resource 1 is repeated in slots n, n+4, n+8, etc.), the time gap is said to be one slot. Of course, embodiments are not so limited. The resource sets may comprise different amounts of resources and / or repetitions. Moreover, as mentioned above, each TRP may have multiple resource sets, multiple TRPs may utilize a single PFL, and the UE may be able to make measurements of PRS resources transmitted via multiple PFLs.

[0065] Thus, to obtain PRS measurements from the TRPs and / or PRS signals transmitted by the UE in the network, the UE may be configured to observe the PRS resources for a period of time called a measurement period. That is, to determine the location of the UE using the PRS signals, the UE 105 and a location server (e.g., the LMF 220 in FIG. 2) may initiate a location determination session in which the UE is given a period of time to observe the PRS resources and report the PRS measurements obtained to the location server. As described in more detail below, this measurement period may be determined based on the capabilities of the UE.

[0066] To measure and process PRS resources during a measurement period, the UE can be configured to perform a measurement gap (MG) pattern. The UE can, for example, request a measurement gap from a serving TRP, which can then provide the configuration to the UE (e.g., via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol).

[0067] As mentioned above, the UE may be configured to execute an MG pattern to measure and process PRS resources of a PRS resource set outside the active DL bandwidth portion (BWP) where the UE transmits and receives data to and from the serving TRP. To allow the network to configure the UE to adapt to the (possibly dynamic) processing and buffering capabilities of the UE, the UE may provide capabilities related to PRS processing to the network (e.g., the TRP or a location server). Various parameters of the MG pattern may be configured taking these capabilities into account.

[0068] However, there may be certain conditions where a measurement gap opportunity may not be required. For example, the UE may be able to measure a reference signal (RS) outside the MG (e.g., PRS and / or other signals that can be used for positioning) within the reference signal processing window (PW). This may occur, for example, when the reference signal is within an active DL BWP and has the same numerology as the active DL BWP. To perform RS measurements and processing within the PW, the UE may assign a higher priority to the RS operation than other DL / UL reference signals / data.

[0069] Performing measurements without the use of a MG may provide one or more advantages over using a MG. For example, in some cases, the measured RS may be located within an active BWP, so that RF circuitry (e.g., transceiver RF chains) may not need to be tuned to a separate BWP, which may save time and increase efficiency. Additionally, some configurations may allow the UE to continue to receive non-RS data / signaling during the PW, which may further save time and increase efficiency. Additionally or alternatively, the PW may allow the UE to transmit UL signals, which may not be allowed during traditional MG. This may be particularly useful when UE positioning is based on measurements of UL signals (e.g., UL-AoA, RTT, and / or other measurements utilizing UL signals from the UE). The embodiments disclosed herein utilize PWs, as described in more detail below, and thus may include these and other advantages.

[0070] The UE may have different capabilities to perform measurements without using a MG. According to a first capability, for example, the UE may be able to prioritize an RS (e.g., DL PRS) over other DL signals / channels in all symbols within a PW. This may affect DL signals / channels from all DL component carriers (CCs), or only DL signals / channels from a specific band / CC. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may be able to prioritize an RS over other DL signals / channels only in symbols within a window used to receive the RS. In either case, the UE may be able to provide capability information (e.g., indicating the capability to perform measurements without a MG) to a serving base station (e.g., serving gNB) and / or a location server (e.g., LMF). Furthermore, the UE may determine the priority of the RS based on one or more of an indication / configuration from a serving base station, a rule-based decision (e.g., indicated from a rule in a management specification), an indication / configuration received from a location server, etc. Depending on the desired functionality, the UE may be able to obtain RS measurements both inside and outside the MG for a single position determination.

[0071] Embodiments herein are directed to PW configuration and signaling that enable coordination of PWs between a serving base station and a UE. Because a UE may measure RSs transmitted by one or more other UEs (e.g., in addition to or as an alternative to RSs transmitted by one or more base stations), the UE that makes the measurements (and whose location is determined) may be referred to herein as a target UE. The one or more other UEs (that transmit signals measured by the target UE), if used, may be referred to herein as an anchor UE. Techniques for configuring and signaling a PW used by a target UE to measure at least one RS may include coordination between a serving base station and a UE by configuration or by implicit derivation.

[0072] According to the first technique, for example, a network node (e.g., a target UE or a location server) can send a request to configure a PW to a serving base station of the target UE. If the network node includes a location server, the request can be sent via NRPPa. If the network node includes the target UE, the target UE can provide the request via Uplink Control Information (UCI) and / or Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE).

[0073] 9 and 10 are flow diagrams illustrating examples of how the first technique (PW request from a network node) may be implemented, according to some embodiments. These processes may be part of a positioning session (e.g., an LPP positioning session) between the UE 105 and the LMF 220, although the embodiments herein are not so limited. Communications between the UE 105 and the LMF 220 may be relayed by (and may be transparent to) various devices, including the serving gNB 210, as shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore, the positioning session may include additional or alternative steps not shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10.

[0074] In FIG. 9, process 900 includes initiating a positioning session at block 910. This may include a request for the location of the UE 105 (e.g., initiating a UE-based or UE-assisted positioning session) and a request for capabilities by the LMF 220. At arrow 920, the UE 105 provides capabilities to the LMF 220, including PW-related capabilities as described herein. More specifically, this may include an indication that the UE 105 is capable of receiving various PW configurations. At arrow 930, the LMF 220 provides an RS configuration (e.g., DL-PRS configuration) to the UE 105. Since the RS configuration indicates when the RS can be measured, the UE 105 can determine whether it can use a PW to measure the RS, and if so, can request a corresponding PW configuration from the serving gNB 210, as indicated by arrow 940. According to some embodiments, the serving gNB 210 can provide a confirmation or acknowledgment of the PW configuration request, as indicated by block 945. Depending on the desired functionality, the RS configuration may be included in the assistance data provided by the LMF 220. In turn, the serving gNB 210 provides a PW configuration at arrow 950, and the UE 105 performs one or more corresponding RS measurements using the PW, as indicated at block 960. The measurements may further be in response to a location request (not shown) received from the LMF 220.

[0075] Figure 10 shows an alternative embodiment in which process 1000 has operations 1010-1060 similar to the corresponding operations of process 900 of Figure 9. However, rather than the UE 105 sending a PW configuration request (arrow 940 of Figure 9), the LMF 220 sends a PW configuration request to the serving gNB 210 at arrow 1040. This process 1000 (e.g., rather than process 900 of Figure 9) may be performed to help reduce bandwidth usage between the UE 105 and the serving gNB 210.

[0076] The processes 900 and 1000 of Figures 9 and 10 provide a dynamic approach for PW request and configuration. That is, PWs can be requested and configured as needed. Additionally or alternatively, PWs can be configured by the serving gNB 210 providing a list of pre-configured PW configurations to the UE, where the UE can activate, deactivate, and / or switch PW configurations based on the list of pre-configured PW configurations using UCI / MAC-CE / RRC in real time. More specifically, the list of pre-configured PW configurations can include a list of PW configurations pre-configured with different parameter values, and the UE can select a configuration in the list to use for a given PW. (The parameters of the PW configurations are described in more detail below.) In such a case, the UE 105 or the LMF 220 can send a request to the serving gNB 210 to reconfigure the list of pre-configured PW configurations based on a given RS configuration (e.g., in a manner similar to requests 940 and 1040 of Figures 9 and 10). The list may be indexed to allow the UE to communicate the selection of the PW configuration using an index indication.

[0077] According to a second technique for configuring and signaling a PW used by a target UE to measure at least one RS, instead of sending a request to the serving gNB 210 (e.g., by the UE 105 or the LMF 220), the PW can be implicitly derived based on the RS configuration. That is, the LMF 220 or the UE 105 can send the RS configuration to the serving gNB 210, and the UE 105 and the serving gNB 210 can each separately derive the PW configuration according to an applicable rule (e.g., as defined in a management specification). This can reduce the latency for configuring a PW for RS measurement (e.g., in a process similar to process 900 or process 1000) since the serving gNB 210 can omit providing the PW configuration to the UE 105.

[0078] Depending on the desired functionality, the PW configuration may include a combination of values ​​for one or more different parameters. The start time may include one such parameter, which may be indicated, for example, by a number of symbols, slots, subframes, or frames after the receipt of the PW request. The duration of the PW is another parameter, time, which may also be indicated by a number of symbols, slots, subframes, or frames. If the PW includes multiple PW opportunities (e.g., similar to the PRS opportunities described with respect to FIG. 5), the PW configuration may include an indication of periodicity, which may also be indicated by a number of symbols, slots, subframes, or frames. Additionally or alternatively, the PW configuration may include an indication of the BWP for the RS measurement(s) to be made during the PW. According to some embodiments, the PW configuration may also include an indication of RS data, such as the priority of the RS within the PW.

[0079] The PW configuration can change to correspond to actions performed during the PW. Additional information regarding these actions and corresponding PW components is provided with respect to FIG.

[0080] FIG. 11 illustrates various components of a PW 1110 according to one embodiment. As illustrated, the PW 1110 may include an initial RF chain tuning time 1120, a first RS receive time 1130, a non-RS signaling time 1140, a second RS receive time 1150, an optional UL-RS transmit time 1160, an RS processing time 1170, and a final RF chain tuning time 1180. However, it may be noted that the PW 1110 of FIG. 11 is provided as a non-limiting example. The presence and duration of different components may vary and may be accommodated by different PW configurations. In particular, the initial RF chain tuning time 1120 and the final RF chain tuning time 1180 may not be present if RF chain tuning is not required and may be based on the capabilities of the UE. Further, although two RS reception times (first RS reception time 1130 and second RS reception time 1150) are shown in FIG. 11, a PW may have fewer or more RS reception times, as needed. Generally speaking, a PW may include one or more times designated for RS reception. Each RS reception time may be based on the particular characteristics of the RS (e.g., RS configuration, comb size, number of symbols, repetition, muting pattern, etc.). A UL-RS transmission time 1160 may include a designated time for a UE to transmit a UL-RS (e.g., UL-PRS, SRS, etc.). According to some embodiments, a UL-RS transmission may be transmitted at any time during the PW 1110, however, as shown in FIG. 11, this time may be specified within the PW 1110. The UL-RS may not be needed in some instances and therefore may be omitted in some PW configurations.

[0081] For clarity, a PW may include different combinations of components as desired. RF chain tuning times (e.g., RF chain tuning times 1120 and 1180) are optional and may be included at the beginning and end of a PW if a BWP switch is required for the PW, which may be based on UE capabilities or PRS measurement requirements. As previously mentioned, one or more RS reception times (e.g., RS reception times 1130 and 1150) may be included if the UE measures one or more RS instances. (According to some embodiments, if the PW does not include a UL-RS transmission, at least one RS reception time must be included.) Similar to the RS reception times, RS processing times (e.g., RS processing time 1170) may be included if the UE measures one or more RS instances. UL-RS transmission times (e.g., UL-RS transmission time 1160) may be optionally included, although as previously mentioned, some embodiments may require the UL-RS transmission time if the RS reception time is not included in the PW. Finally, non-RS signaling time (eg, non-RS signaling time 1140) may be optionally included depending on the desired functionality.

[0082] The RS processing time 1170 can be based on the UE's capabilities. In the LPP, this capability can be reported by the UE to the LMF, for example, using the parameters durationOfPRS-Processing and / or maxNumOfDL-PRS-ResProcessedPerSlot. However, it can be noted that some of these parameters can assume a maximum PRS bandwidth that may not reflect the real-time bandwidth of the RS measurement during the PW. The real-time bandwidth may refer to the bandwidth of the currently active BWP or the bandwidth overlap between the active BWP and the measured RS. The gNB, UE, and / or LMF can either directly use this parameter as a worst-case bound or scale the processing time based on the ratio (real-time bandwidth / maximum RS bandwidth).

[0083] The non-RS signaling time 1140 may include a period within the PW 1110 during which UL and / or DL ​​data that may be unrelated to an RS may be communicated. Although shown between the first RS receive time 1130 and the second RS receive time 1150, the non-RS signaling time 1140 may be located elsewhere within the PW 1110, such as, for example, between the second RS receive time 1150 and the UL-RS transmit time 1160, after the UL-RS transmit time 1160, and / or before the first RS receive time 1130. This may help reduce the impact of the PW 1110 on non-RS communications. As with other features of the PW 1110, the location and duration of the non-RS signaling time 1140 may be determined with respect to symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or any combination thereof. At the symbol level, for example, the non-RS signaling time may include unused symbols in a slot that also contains symbols used by an RS instance. For example, if an RS instance has a Comb4 structure occupying four symbols of a 14-symbol slot (as shown in FIG. 6), the remaining ten symbols of the slot may be designated as non-RS signaling time 1140.

[0084] Depending on the desired functionality, the PW duration (e.g., as defined in the PW configuration) can be defined as N consecutive symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or any combination of these. In a first option, the duration of each PW instance can be defined at the symbol level or slot level. This can be done at a per RS ​​resource level, where each PW duration can span the symbols of a slot of RS resources, and can further include RF tuning time and / or processing time, if necessary. (With respect to FIG. 8, for example, one PW is defined for each resource.) This method can generate many PW fragments. Alternatively, this PW can capture all RS resources in an RS resource set, where each PW duration can span consecutive symbols of consecutive slots for all RS resources of a single RS resource set, and can further include RF tuning time and / or processing time, if necessary. (With respect to FIG. 8, for example, a single PW is defined for all resources.) In a second option, the PW can be defined with a PW duration and a merging condition, allowing a PW to be merged into another PW in certain circumstances.

[0085] Thus, a device (e.g., a target UE or a serving base station) can determine its PW configuration by applying rules for determining a PW based on an RS configuration. This can result in PW fragments that can be merged during a merging process. (As referred to herein, a "PW fragment" may refer to a PW prior to a merging process.) Handling of overlapping, adjacent, and / or nearby but non-adjacent PW fragments can be covered by applicable rules for merging PWs. Merging conditions can include conditions under which different PWs can be merged.

[0086] FIG. 12 illustrates a basic example of merging two PW fragments, where PW fragment 1 is followed by PW fragment 2, with each fragment having its own initial RF chain tuning time 1220, RS receive time 1230, RS processing time 1240, and final RF chain tuning time 1250. (To avoid confusion, these components are labeled only in PW fragment 1.) The PW fragments do not overlap, but PW fragment 1 and PW fragment 2 are close enough that a merging condition can exist that allows them to be merged as shown to produce the resulting PW 1260. Such a merging of two PW fragments (or, more broadly, into a PW) can be done by canceling one of them and assigning the overlap time to the other. In the example of FIG. 1, for example, the second PW fragment can be canceled and the time between the RS receive times of each PW fragment can be designated as the non-RS signaling time 1270 of the resulting PW 1260. This can result in an overall efficiency gain since the resulting PW 1260 can have only a single processing time 1280 and a single set of RF chain tuning times 1290.

[0087] Depending on the type of conditions present, different types of merging can occur. Several types of merging described herein are illustrated in Figures 13A-15B. While the examples illustrated in 13A-15B include PWs with tuning periods, it may be noted that, as previously discussed, some PWs may not include tuning periods. Nevertheless, PWs without tuning periods can be merged in a similar manner.

[0088] FIG. 13A illustrates a first type of merging in which a first PW fragment PW1 and a second PW fragment PW2 are merged to form a combined PW, PW3. (This convention is used in subsequent figures as well.) In this example, each PW begins and ends with a tuning period 1310 (only two of which are labeled to avoid confusion). Each tuning period can correspond to an RF chain tuning time 1120 or 1180, as shown in FIG. 11 and described above. In this example, the RS measurements or RS bandwidth taken on PW1 and PW2 utilize the same bandwidth, and thus the UE does not need to retune its RF chain between PW1 and PW2. Thus, the merged PW3 combines PW1 and PW2, allowing the UE to measure RS without retuning. This type of merging can occur between any number of adjacent PWs (e.g., two or more). Furthermore, the length of the resulting PW3 can be equal to the combined length of PW1 and PW2, allowing more time for RS measurements (or other operations, such as non-RS data, UL transmissions, etc.) since no retuning is required.

[0089] FIG. 13B illustrates a second type of merging similar to that shown in FIG. 13A. However, here a re-tuning is required between PW1 and PW2. The resulting PW3 can therefore include a tuning period 1320 that allows for this. The location of the tuning 1320 within PW3 can allow for one or more measurements for different frequency allocations (including BWP, CC, frequency layer, PFL, RS). Again, the length of the resulting PW3 can be equal to the combined length of PW1 and PW2, allowing more time for RS measurements (or other operations such as non-RS data, UL transmissions, etc.) since only one re-tuning is required.

[0090] Figure 13C illustrates a third type of merging, including an extension of the type of merging shown in Figure 13A, that applies when PW1 and PW2 are not adjacent, but are instead separated by a time τ. In this example, a merging condition exists when τ is less than or equal to a time threshold δ for merging PWs. PW3 can absorb the time difference τ. Thus, the length of PW3 may be equal to the combined length of PW1 and PW2 plus τ.

[0091] FIG. 13D illustrates a fourth type of merging that includes an extension of the type of merging illustrated in FIG. 13B, applied similarly to the example of FIG. 13C. Specifically, PW1 and PW2 are not adjacent, but instead are separated by a time τ. The resulting PW3 includes a tuning period that can allow for retuning during the PW, if necessary. Similar to the example of FIG. 13B, a tuning period can be located within PW3 to allow for one or more measurements for different frequency allocations. Again, the length of PW3 can be equal to the combined length of PW1 and PW2 plus τ.

[0092] FIG. 14 illustrates the merging of a first PW fragment PW1 and a second PW fragment PW2 that overlap in time by a period equal to τ. In this example, a merging condition exists when τ is less than or equal to a time threshold δ for merging PWs. (It may be noted that the time threshold used to merge overlapping PWs may be different from the time threshold used to merge separate PWs, as shown in FIG. 13C and FIG. 13D.) In FIG. 14, the length of PW1 and the length of PW2 are shown as PWL1 and PWL2, respectively. The merging may be performed such that the resulting PW3 has a length equal to PWL1+PWL2-τ. According to some embodiments, when retuning is required, the tuning period may be located within PW3 in one of two ways, as shown. That is, the tuning period may be located after the entire PWL1 or before the entire PWL2. This may be determined based on any of a variety of factors, including the start time of the PW, the length of the PW, the priority assigned to the PW (or to the RS being measured during the PW), etc. Additionally or alternatively, the tuning period may (i) be omitted (e.g., if not needed), or (ii) be located anywhere within PW3 to accommodate RS measurements as needed, similar to the examples shown in Figures 13A and 13B, respectively.

[0093] Figure 15A is a diagram similar to Figure 14. However, here PW1 and PW2 overlap in time by a period τ, which is greater than the time threshold δ for merging PWs. In this case, the resulting PW may contain PW1 or PW2, rather than a merge of PW1 and PW2. In other words, PW1 or PW2 may simply be cancelled. The decision of which PW to cancel may be based on factors similar to those described with respect to Figure 14 (start time, length, priority, etc.).

[0094] FIG. 15B illustrates, similar to FIG. 15A, when PW1 or PW2 may be cancelled. That is, as an alternative to merging PW1 and PW2 when they are separated by a period τ and τ is less than or equal to a time threshold δ (e.g., as shown in FIG. 13C and FIG. 13D), the target UE (in coordination with the network) may implement either PW1 or PW2 (effectively cancelling the non-implemented PW). Again, the decision of which PW fragment to cancel may be based on factors similar to those described with respect to FIG. 14 and FIG. 15A (start time, length, priority, etc.) in addition to the values ​​of τ and δ. According to some embodiments, whether tuning of the UE's RF circuitry is required between PW1 and PW2 may be a factor. That is, if tuning is required, PW1 or PW2 may be cancelled (e.g., based on one or more of the factors described above). Alternatively, if tuning is not required, PW1 and PW2 can be merged (eg, in the manner shown in FIG. 13C or FIG. 13D).

[0095] In the examples of merging PW fragments shown in Figures 13A-15B, the thresholds (e.g., the value of δ as a time threshold between PW fragments and / or as a threshold for overlap between PWs) can be determined in different ways depending on the desired functionality. According to some embodiments, the LMF or the serving gNB can define the thresholds of non-PRS time (e.g., in terms of number of symbols, slots, subframes, and / or frames). According to some embodiments, the thresholds may be set by an administrative specification.

[0096] Depending on the desired functionality, the value of the time difference τ between PWs (and the time threshold δ) can be defined in different ways. The following example is described with respect to PW fragments PW1 and PW2 as shown in FIG.

[0097] According to a first embodiment, a first value τ1 can be defined as the difference between the end of RS receive time 1630-1 (or UL-RS transmit time, if included) in PW1 and the start of RS receive time 1630-2 (or UL-RS transmit time) in PW2.

[0098] According to a third embodiment, a third value τ3 can be defined as the difference between the end of RS processing time 1640-1 (or RF chain tuning time 1650-1) in PW1 and the start of RS receive time 1630-2 (or UL-RS transmit time) in PW2.

[0099] According to a fourth embodiment, a fourth value τ4 can be defined as the difference between the end of the RS receive time 1630-1 (or the UL-RS transmit time, if included) in PW1 and the start of the RF chain tuning time 1620-2 in PW2.

[0100] Finally, according to a fifth embodiment, a fifth value τ5 may be defined as the difference between the end of the RS processing time 1640-1 (or RF chain tuning time 1650-1) in PW1 and the start of the RF chain tuning time 1620-2 in PW2. According to a variation of this embodiment, τ5 may be calculated as the difference between the end of the RS processing time 1640-1 or the RF chain tuning time 1650-1 in PW1 (whichever is later) and the start of the RF chain tuning time 1620-2 or the RS receive time 1630-2 in PW2 (whichever is earlier).

[0101] It may be noted that these are non-limiting examples of how the value τ may be determined. According to other embodiments, the value of τ may be determined using some other combination of start and / or end times of various components of PW1 and PW2. Furthermore, it may be noted that the boundaries of each PW fragment may be further shifted by a small delta caused by the expected RSTD (e.g., based on different transmission sources for different RS resources). Thus, according to some embodiments, the shifted boundaries, which may be rounded to the latest or earliest symbol or slot, may be used for the determination of the value of τ.

[0102] According to some embodiments, a merging rule can be used to merge two or more PWs until a stopping rule is satisfied. Similar to the merging condition, different stopping rules can be satisfied in different situations. For example, according to some embodiments, the stopping rule can be satisfied if the time gap (e.g., the value of τ as provided in FIG. 13C or FIG. 13D) is larger than a threshold. It can be noted that RS signal muting (e.g., PRS muting), which may be included as part of the RS configuration, can satisfy the stopping rule by generating a time gap larger than a threshold. An example of this is shown in FIG. 17.

[0103] Figure 17 is a diagram of slot usage of a resource set similar to Figure 8, showing how the PW can be determined in muted and unmuted scenarios. In the unmuted example 1710, a single PW is used to measure all repetitions of all resources, and an initial RF chain tuning time 1720 is followed by an RS receive time 1730 that encompasses all repetitions of all resources. The RS receive time 1730 is then followed by an RS processing time 1740 that includes a final RF chain tuning time 1750.

[0104] In a muted example 1760, a contiguous block of resources in a resource set is muted, resulting in a period between the first set of resources and the second set of resources (labeled "Muted Resources" in FIG. 17) that may be greater than a time threshold. If so, different PWs may be used to capture different sets of resources, as shown. In the example of FIG. 17, a first PW (PW1) is defined to capture the first set of resources and a second PW (PW2) is defined to capture the second set of resources.

[0105] It may be noted that the unmuted example 1710 includes non-interleaved resources and the muted example 1760 includes interleaved resources, although the embodiments are not so limited. Muting and PW usage as shown in FIG. 17 may occur when resources are interleaved and / or non-interleaved.

[0106] According to some embodiments, additional or alternative stopping rules may be applied. This may include cases where, for example, time gaps due to muting may or may not be considered for the stopping rule, such as defined in a management specification or by preference of the LMF, the target UE, and / or the serving gNB. Additionally or alternatively, stopping rules may be applied when the number of RS resources in the PW reaches the processing and / or buffering capacity of the target UE. For example, if the number of PRS resources in the PW reaches the limit of the UE's processing capacity (e.g., which may result in a buffer overflow), the PW merging operation may be terminated for any subsequent PW fragments.

[0107] According to some embodiments, the start time of a PW can be based on a SFN offset, a subframe offset, a periodicity, and / or an RS set offset. For example, the start time of a PW may be aligned at a symbol level (e.g., the first symbol of an RS resource minus an RF tuning time (if necessary)) or at a slot level (e.g., the slot of the first symbol of a PRS resource minus an RF tuning time (if necessary)). Similarly, the end time of a PW can be defined at a symbol level or at a slot level. That is, the PW end time may be aligned at a symbol level (e.g., the last symbol of a PRS resource plus a processing time or an RF tuning time) or at a slot level (e.g., the slot of the last symbol of a PRS resource plus a processing time or an RF tuning time).

[0108] Figure 18 is a flow diagram of a method 1800 for coordinating RS processing in a UE, according to one embodiment. The means for performing the functions illustrated in one or more of the blocks illustrated in Figure 18 may be performed by hardware and / or software components of a UE (e.g., a target UE). Exemplary components of a UE are illustrated in Figure 20, which is described in more detail below.

[0109] In block 1810, the functions include receiving, at the UE, an RS configuration indicating timing of one or more RS resources. (The one or more RS resources may be transmitted by one or more radio network nodes, such as a base station, a UE, etc.) This may correspond, for example, to the actions at arrow 930 of FIG. 9 or arrow 1030 of FIG. 10, as previously described. As shown, the RS configuration indicates when the one or more RS resources should be transmitted. The RS configuration may further include information regarding the BWP, CC, RB, and / or other frequency-related aspects of the RS resources, as well as the comb number, periodicity, and / or other characteristics of the RS resources (e.g., as described herein with respect to FIG. 5).

[0110] The means for performing the functions in block 1810 may comprise a bus 2005, a processor(s) 2010, a memory 2060, a wireless communication interface 2030, and / or other components of the UE 2000 as shown in FIG.

[0111] At block 1820, the function includes obtaining a PW configuration based at least in part on the RS configuration, the PW configuration including information indicating (i) one or more RS reception times of the at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources and (ii) a processing time of the at least one PW. As described herein with respect to FIG. 11, the one or more RS reception times may include a time block during which the UE may receive one or more RS resources. The RS processing time may include a time block during which the received RS resources are processed (e.g., by performing correlation, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), etc.) to obtain measurements of the RS resources.

[0112] As shown in the above-mentioned embodiments, the UE can obtain the PW configuration in different ways. For example, according to some embodiments, obtaining the PW configuration includes sending a request for a PW configuration from the UE to a serving base station of the UE, the request including information indicating an RS configuration, and receiving the PW configuration from the serving base station of the UE after sending the request. According to some embodiments, obtaining the PW configuration can include determining a PW configuration at the UE based on application of one or more predefined rules to the RS configuration. As shown previously, determining the PW configuration can include applying a rule to determine one or more PW fragments, and then merging the one or more PW fragments when a merging condition exists. Thus, according to some embodiments, applying the one or more predefined rules can include determining at least two PW fragments based on the RS configuration, and merging the at least two PW fragments. In such embodiments, merging the at least two PW fragments may be based on a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time, or a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments overlaps in time with a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a second threshold time, or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, applying the one or more predetermined rules may include determining the at least two PW fragments based on an RS configuration, wherein the first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from the second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than the first threshold time.

[0113] The means for performing the functions in block 1820 may comprise the bus 2005, the processor(s) 2010, the memory 2060, the wireless communication interface 2030, and / or other components of the UE 2000 as shown in FIG.

[0114] In block 1830, the function includes performing one or more measurements with the UE during one or more RS reception times of at least one PW. As shown elsewhere herein, this may include receiving one or more RS resources during one or more RS reception times of the PW and processing one or more RS resources during an RS processing time of the PW. The means for performing the function in block 1830 may comprise a bus 2005, a processor(s) 2010, a memory 2060, a wireless communication interface 2030, and / or other components of the UE 2000 as shown in FIG.

[0115] Depending on the desired functionality, the method 1800 may include one or more additional operations as shown in the previous embodiments. For example, according to some embodiments, the at least one PW may include a first PW separated in time from a second PW by a time gap caused by RS resource muting. According to some embodiments, the at least one PW may further include a UL RS transmission time, and the method 1800 may further include performing a UL RS transmission during the UL RS transmission time of the at least one PW. According to some embodiments, obtaining a PW configuration may include selecting, by the UE, a PW configuration from a plurality of PW configurations provided to the UE by a serving base station of the UE. According to some embodiments, the PW configuration may further include information indicating a start time of the at least one PW, a duration of the at least one PW, a periodicity of the at least one PW, a priority of one or more RS resources, or an indication of a bandwidth portion (BWP) of one or more RS resources, or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the method may further include transmitting UE capability information from the UE to a location server, and the RS configuration is received at the UE from the location server in response to transmitting the UE capability information. The at least one PW may further include a radio frequency (RF) chain tuning time, a period for non-RS communication, or an uplink (UL) RS transmission time, or a combination thereof. The one or more RS resources may include one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources. According to some embodiments, the method 1800 may include transmitting information indicative of the one or more measurements from the UE to a location server.

[0116] Figure 19 is a flow diagram of a method 1900 of coordinating RS processing for a UE, according to one embodiment. Means for performing the functions illustrated in one or more of the blocks illustrated in Figure 19 may be performed by hardware and / or software components of a base station (e.g., a serving base station for the UE). Exemplary components of a base station are illustrated in Figure 21, which is described in more detail below.

[0117] In block 1910, the function includes receiving, at a base station, a request for a PW configuration for a UE, the base station including a serving base station for the UE, the request including information indicative of an RS configuration, the RS configuration indicating timing of one or more RS resources. As noted in the embodiments above, the request for a PW configuration may be received from a UE or a location server. As noted above, the RS configuration may include information regarding the BWP, CC, RB, and / or other frequency-related aspects of the RS resources, as well as the com number, periodicity, and / or other characteristics of the RS resources (e.g., as described herein with respect to FIG. 5). The information indicative of the RS configuration received in the request in block 1910 may include some or all of the information of the RS configuration.

[0118] Means for performing functions in block 1910 may include a bus 2105, a processor(s) 2110, a memory 2160, a wireless communication interface 2130, and / or other components of the base station 2100, as shown in FIG.

[0119] In block 1920, the function includes determining, at the base station, a PW configuration based at least in part on the information indicative of the RS configuration, the PW configuration including information indicative of one or more RS receive times of the at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources and a processing time of the at least one PW. Again, the one or more RS receive times may include a time block during which the UE may receive one or more RS resources. The RS processing time may include a time block during which the received RS resources are processed (e.g., by performing correlation, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), etc.) to obtain measurements of the RS resources.

[0120] Different embodiments may implement the functionality in block 1920 differently depending on the desired functionality. According to some embodiments, determining the PW configuration may include determining the PW configuration based on application of one or more predefined rules to the information indicative of the RS configuration. According to some embodiments, applying the one or more predefined rules includes determining at least two PW fragments based on the information indicative of the RS configuration and merging the at least two PW fragments. Merging the at least two PW fragments may be based on a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time, or a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments overlaps in time with a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a second threshold time, or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, applying the one or more predetermined rules includes determining at least two PW fragments based on information indicative of the RS configuration, wherein a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time.

[0121] Means for performing functions in block 1920 may include a bus 2105, a processor(s) 2110, a memory 2160, a wireless communication interface 2130, and / or other components of the base station 2100, as shown in FIG.

[0122] The embodiment of the method 1900 may include one or more additional operations depending on the desired functionality. According to some embodiments, the at least one PW may include a first PW separated in time from a second PW by a time gap caused by RS resource muting. According to some embodiments, the method 1900 may further include providing the plurality of PW configurations to the UE by the base station. The PW configuration may further include information indicating a start time of the at least one PW, a duration of the at least one PW, a periodicity of the at least one PW, a priority of the one or more RS resources, or an indication of a bandwidth portion (BWP) of the one or more RS resources, or a combination thereof. The at least one PW may further include a radio frequency (RF) chain tuning time, a period for non-RS communication, or an uplink (UL) RS transmission time, or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the one or more RS resources include one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources.

[0123] FIG. 20 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a UE 2000 that may be utilized as described herein above (e.g., in connection with FIGS. 1-19) and thus may correspond to the UEs (e.g., UE 105) of the other figures. For example, the UE 2000 may perform one or more of the functions of the method illustrated in FIG. 18. It should be noted that FIG. 20 is only intended to provide a generalized view of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as desired. It should be noted that in some instances, the components illustrated by FIG. 20 may be localized in a single physical device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located in different physical locations. Additionally, as previously mentioned, the functionality of the UE discussed in the above-described embodiments may be performed by one or more of the hardware and / or software components illustrated in FIG. 20.

[0124] A UE 2000 is shown comprising hardware elements that may be electrically coupled (or in other manners of communication as needed) via a bus 2005. The hardware elements may include a processor(s) 2010, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., application processors), one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processor (DSP) chips, graphics acceleration processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), and / or other processing structures or processing means. The processor(s) 2010 may include one or more processing units that may be housed in a single integrated circuit (IC) or multiple ICs. As shown in FIG. 20, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 2020 depending on the desired functionality. Position determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may be performed in the processor(s) 2010 and / or in the wireless communication interface 2030 (discussed below). The UE 2000 may also include one or more input devices 2070, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more keyboards, touch screens, touch pads, microphones, buttons, dials, switches, etc., and one or more output devices 2015, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more displays (e.g., touch screens), light emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0125] The UE 2000 may also include a wireless communication interface 2030, which may include, but is not limited to, a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth device, an IEEE 802.11 device, an IEEE 802.15.4 device, a Wi-Fi device, a WiMAX device, a WAN device, and / or various cellular devices), which may enable the UE 2000 to communicate with other devices as described in the above embodiments. The wireless communication interface 2030 may enable data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) with the TRP of the network, for example, via an eNB, a gNB, an ng-eNB, an access point, various base stations and / or other access node types, and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices communicatively coupled to the TRP or base station, as described herein. The communication may be performed via one or more wireless communication antenna(s) 2032 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 2034. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antenna(s) 2032 may include multiple individual antennas, an antenna array, or any combination thereof. The antenna(s) 2032 may be capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals using beams (e.g., Tx beams and Rx beams). Beamforming may be performed using digital and / or analog beamforming techniques with respective digital and / or analog circuitry. The wireless communication interface 2030 may include such circuitry.

[0126] Depending on the desired functionality, the wireless communication interface 2030 may comprise separate receivers and transmitters, or any combination of transceivers, transmitters, and / or receivers, for communicating with base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs) and other terrestrial transceivers, such as wireless devices and access points. The UE 2000 may communicate with different data networks, which may include a variety of network types. For example, a wireless wide area network (WWAN) may be a CDMA network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) network, etc. The CDMA network may implement one or more RATs, such as CDMA2000®, WCDMA®, etc. CDMA2000® includes IS-95, IS-2000, and / or IS-856 standards. The TDMA network may implement GSM, Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS), or some other RAT. The OFDMA network may utilize LTE, LTE Advanced, 5G NR, etc. 5G NR, LTE, LTE Advanced, GSM, and WCDMA are described in documents from 3GPP. CDMA2000 is described in documents from a consortium named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. The wireless local area network (WLAN) may also be an IEEE 802.11x network, and the wireless personal area network (WPAN) may be a Bluetooth network, an IEEE 802.15x, or some other type of network. The techniques described herein may also be used for any combination of WWAN, WLAN, and / or WPAN.

[0127] The UE 2000 may further include sensor(s) 2040. The sensor(s) 2040 may include, but are not limited to, one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., accelerometer(s), gyroscope(s), camera(s), magnetometer(s), altimeter(s), microphone(s), proximity sensor(s), light sensor(s), barometer(s), etc.), some of which may be used to obtain location related measurements and / or other information.

[0128] An embodiment of the UE 2000 may also include a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver 2080 capable of receiving signals 2084 from one or more GNSS satellites using an antenna 2082 (which may be the same as antenna 2032). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements may be utilized to complement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. The GNSS receiver 2080 may use conventional techniques to extract a position of the UE 2000 from GNSS satellites 110 of a GNSS system such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) over Japan, IRNSS over India, and Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) over China. Furthermore, the GNSS receiver 2080 can be used with various augmentation systems (e.g., Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS)) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as, for example, the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and the Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN).

[0129] It may be noted that although the GNSS receiver 2080 is shown in FIG. 20 as a separate component, the embodiment is not so limited. The term “GNSS receiver” as used herein may include hardware and / or software components configured to obtain GNSS measurements (measurements from GNSS satellites). In some embodiments, the GNSS receiver may thus include a measurement engine executed (as software) by one or more processors, such as the processor(s) 2010, the DSP 2020, and / or a processor in the wireless communication interface 2030 (e.g., in a modem). The GNSS receiver may also optionally include a positioning engine, which may use the GNSS measurements from the measurement engine to determine the position of the GNSS receiver using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), weighted least squares (WLS), a hatch filter, a particle filter, etc. The positioning engine may also be executed by one or more processors, such as the processor(s) 2010 or the DSP 2020.

[0130] The UE 2000 may further include and / or be in communication with a memory 2060. The memory 2060 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM) that may be programmable, flash updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0131] The memory 2060 of the UE 2000 may also comprise software elements (not shown in FIG. 20) including other code, such as an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments as described herein and / or may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments. By way of example only, one or more procedures described with respect to the method(s) described above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in the memory 2060 executable by the UE 2000 (and / or the processor(s) 2010 or DSP 2020 within the UE 2000). In some implementations, such code and / or instructions may then be used to configure and / or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0132] FIG. 21 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a base station 2100 that may be utilized as described above in this specification (e.g., in connection with FIGS. 1-19) and thus may correspond to a base station or TRP (e.g., base station 120, TRP 320, etc.) as described with respect to these other figures. It should be noted that FIG. 21 is intended only to provide a generalized view of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as desired. In some embodiments, the base station 2100 may correspond to a gNB, ng-eNB, and / or (more generally) a TRP.

[0133] A base station 2100 is shown comprising hardware elements that may be electrically coupled (or in other manners communicate as needed) via a bus 2105. The hardware elements may include a processor(s) 2110, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more general purpose processors, one or more special purpose processors (such as DSP chips, graphics acceleration processors, ASICs, etc.), and / or other processing structures or processing means. As shown in FIG. 21, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 2120 depending on the desired functionality. According to some implementations, position determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may be performed in the processor(s) 2110 and / or in the wireless communication interface 2130 (discussed below). The base station 2100 may also include one or more input devices, which may include, but are not limited to, a keyboard, a display, a mouse, a microphone, a button(s), a dial(s), a switch(es), etc., and one or more output devices, which may include, but are not limited to, a display, a light emitting diode (LED), a speaker, etc.

[0134] The base station 2100 may also include a wireless communication interface 2130, which may include, but is not limited to, a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth device, an IEEE 802.11 device, an IEEE 802.15.4 device, a Wi-Fi device, a WiMAX device, a cellular communication facility, etc.), which may enable the base station 2100 to communicate as described herein. The wireless communication interface 2130 may enable data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) to UEs, other base stations / TRPs (e.g., eNBs, gNBs, and ng-eNBs), and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices described herein. Communication may be performed via one or more wireless communication antenna(s) 2132 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 2134.

[0135] The base station 2100 may also include a network interface 2180, which may include support for wired communication technologies. The network interface 2180 may include a modem, a network card, a chipset, etc. The network interface 2180 may include one or more input and / or output communication interfaces to allow data to be exchanged with a network, a communication network server, a computer system, and / or any other electronic device described herein.

[0136] In many embodiments, base station 2100 may further comprise memory 2160. Memory 2160 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as RAM and / or ROM that may be programmable, flash updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0137] The memory 2160 of the base station 2100 may also comprise software elements (not shown in FIG. 21 ) including other code, such as an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments as described herein and / or may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments. By way of example only, one or more procedures described with respect to the method(s) described above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in the memory 2160 executable by the base station 2100 (and / or the processor(s) 2110 or DSP 2120 within the base station 2100). In some implementations, such code and / or instructions may then be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0138] FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system 2200 that may be used in whole or in part to provide the functionality of one or more network components described in the embodiments herein (e.g., location server 160 of FIG. 1, LMF of FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, etc.). It should be noted that FIG. 22 is only intended to provide a generalized view of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as desired. Thus, FIG. 22 broadly illustrates how individual system elements may be implemented in a relatively separated or relatively more integrated manner. In addition, it may be noted that the components illustrated by FIG. 22 may be localized in a single device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located in different geographic locations.

[0139] A computer system 2200 is shown comprising hardware elements that may be electrically coupled (or in other ways in communication as appropriate) via a bus 2205. The hardware elements may include a processor(s) 2210, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general purpose processors, one or more special purpose processors (such as digital signal processing chips, graphics acceleration processors, etc.), and / or other processing structures that may be configured to perform one or more of the methods described herein. The computer system 2200 may also include one or more input devices 2215, which may include, but is not limited to, a mouse, a keyboard, a camera, a microphone, etc., and one or more output devices 2220, which may include, but is not limited to, a display device, a printer, etc.

[0140] The computer system 2200 may further include (and / or be in communication with) one or more non-transitory storage devices 2225, which may include, but are not limited to, local and / or network accessible storage and / or solid-state storage devices, such as, but not limited to, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, RAM and / or ROM, which may be programmable, flash updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc. Such data stores may include databases and / or other data structures used to store and manage messages and / or other information to be sent to one or more devices via the hub, as described herein.

[0141] The computer system 2200 may also include a communication subsystem 2230, which may include wireless communication technologies managed and controlled by a wireless communication interface 2233, as well as wired technologies (such as Ethernet, coaxial communication, universal serial bus (USB)). The wireless communication interface 2233 may include one or more wireless transceivers capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals 2255 (e.g., signals according to 5G NR or LTE) via a wireless antenna(s) 2250. Thus, the communication subsystem 2230 may include a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset, etc., which may enable the computer system 2200 to communicate in any or all of the communication networks described herein to any device on the respective network, including a user equipment (UE), a base station and / or other TRP, and / or any other electronic device described herein. Thus, the communication subsystem 2230 may be used to receive and transmit data as described in the embodiments herein.

[0142] In many embodiments, the computer system 2200 further comprises a working memory 2235, which may include a RAM device or a ROM device, as described above. The software elements shown as residing in the working memory 2235 may include other code, such as an operating system 2240, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more applications 2245, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments as described herein and / or may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments. By way of example only, one or more procedures described with respect to the method(s) described above may be implemented as code and / or instructions executable by a computer (and / or a processor within a computer). In one aspect, such code and / or instructions may then be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0143] A set of these instructions and / or code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as storage device(s) 2225 described above. In some cases, the storage medium may be incorporated within a computer system, such as computer system 2200. In other embodiments, the storage medium may be separate from the computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as an optical disk) and / or provided in an installation package, such that the storage medium may be used to program, configure, and / or adapt a general-purpose computer with the instructions / code stored thereon. These instructions may be in the form of executable code that is executable by computer system 2200 and / or may be in the form of source and / or installable code that, when compiled and / or installed on computer system 2200 (e.g., using any of a variety of commonly available compilers, installation programs, compression / decompression utilities, etc.), is then in the form of executable code.

[0144] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial modifications may be made according to particular requirements. For example, customized hardware may also be used and / or particular elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connection to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be employed.

[0145] With reference to the accompanying figures, components that may include memory may include non-transitory machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may participate in providing instructions / code to a processor and / or other devices for execution. Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable media may be used to store and / or transport such instructions / code. In many implementations, the computer-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. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, magnetic media and / or optical media, any other physical media with a pattern of holes, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or code.

[0146] The methods, systems, and devices described herein are examples. Various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components, as appropriate. For example, features described with respect to some embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of the embodiments may be combined in a similar manner. Various components of the diagrams provided herein may be embodied in hardware and / or software. Also, technology evolves, and thus many of the elements are examples that do not limit the scope of the disclosure to those specific examples.

[0147] It has proven convenient at times, primarily for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, numeric values, or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these or similar terms are merely convenient labels and must be associated with the appropriate physical quantities. Unless otherwise indicated, and as is apparent from the above description, throughout this specification, descriptions utilizing terms such as "processing," "calculating," "calculating," "determining," "ascertaining," "identifying," "associating," "measuring," "performing," and the like, will be understood to refer to actions or processes of a particular apparatus, such as a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals that are generally represented as electronic, electrical, or magnetic physical quantities in the memory, registers, or other information storage, transmission, or display devices of the special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device.

[0148] The terms "and" and "or" as used herein may include various meanings that are expected to depend at least in part on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, "or," when used to link a list such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, which are used herein in an inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, which are used herein in an exclusive sense. Additionally, the term "one or more" as used herein may be used to represent any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or may be used to represent any combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and claimed subject matter is not limited to this example. Furthermore, the term "at least one of," when used to link a list such as A, B, or C, may be interpreted to mean any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0149] Although several embodiments have been described, various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the above elements may only be components of a larger system, and other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the various embodiments. Also, some steps may be undertaken before, during, or after the above elements are considered. Thus, the above description does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0150] In view of this description, embodiments may include various combinations of features. Example implementations are described in the following numbered clauses. Clause 1. A method for coordinating reference signal (RS) processing in a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, in the UE, an RS configuration indicating timing of one or more RS resources; obtaining a processing window (PW) configuration based at least in part on the RS configuration, the PW configuration including information indicating one or more RS reception times of at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources and a processing time of the at least one PW; and performing one or more measurements with the UE during the one or more RS reception times of the at least one PW.

[0151] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the at least one PW further includes an uplink (UL) RS transmission time, the method further including performing an UL RS transmission during the UL RS transmission time of the at least one PW.

[0152] Clause 3. The method of clause 1 or 2, wherein obtaining a PW configuration includes: sending a request for a PW configuration from the UE to a serving base station of the UE, the request including information indicating an RS configuration; and receiving the PW configuration from the serving base station of the UE after sending the request.

[0153] Clause 4. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein obtaining a PW configuration includes determining a PW configuration at the UE based on application of one or more predefined rules to the RS configuration.

[0154] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein applying the one or more predefined rules includes determining at least two PW fragments based on an RS configuration; and merging the at least two PW fragments.

[0155] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein merging the at least two PW fragments is based on a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time, or a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments overlaps in time with a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a second threshold time, or a combination thereof.

[0156] Clause 7. The method of clause 4, wherein applying the one or more predetermined rules includes determining at least two PW fragments based on an RS configuration, and a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time.

[0157] Clause 8. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 3 or 7, wherein obtaining a PW configuration includes selecting, by the UE, a PW configuration from a plurality of PW configurations provided to the UE by a serving base station for the UE.

[0158] Clause 9. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the PW configuration further includes information indicating a start time of at least one PW, a duration of at least one PW, a periodicity of at least one PW, a priority of one or more RS resources, or an indication of a bandwidth portion (BWP) of one or more RS resources, or a combination thereof.

[0159] Clause 10. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 9, further comprising transmitting UE capability information from the UE to the location server, and wherein the RS configuration is received at the UE from the location server in response to transmitting the UE capability information.

[0160] Clause 11. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 10, wherein at least one PW further comprises a radio frequency (RF) chain tuning time, a period for non-RS communication, or a UL RS transmission time, or a combination thereof.

[0161] Clause 12. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 11, wherein the one or more RS resources include one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources.

[0162] Clause 13. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 12, wherein performing one or more measurements with the UE during one or more RS reception times of at least one PW comprises assigning a higher priority to performing the one or more measurements than a priority of other data communications of the UE.

[0163] Clause 14. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 13, further comprising transmitting information from the UE to the location server indicative of the one or more measurements.

[0164] Clause 15. A method of coordinating reference signal (RS) processing for a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, at a base station, a request for a processing window (PW) configuration for the UE, the base station including a serving base station for the UE, the request including information indicating an RS configuration, the RS configuration indicating timing of one or more RS resources; and determining, at the base station, a PW configuration based at least in part on the information indicating the RS configuration, the PW configuration including information indicating one or more RS reception times of at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources and a processing time of the at least one PW.

[0165] Clause 16. The method of clause 15, wherein the request for PW configuration is received from a UE or a location server.

[0166] Clause 17. The method of clause 15 or 16, further comprising transmitting the PW configuration from the base station to the UE.

[0167] Clause 18. The method of any one of clauses 15 to 17, wherein determining the PW configuration comprises determining the PW configuration based on application of one or more predefined rules to information indicative of the RS configuration.

[0168] Clause 19. The method of clause 18, wherein applying the one or more predefined rules includes determining at least two PW fragments based on information indicative of the RS configuration; and merging the at least two PW fragments.

[0169] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, wherein merging the at least two PW fragments is based on a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time, or a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments overlaps in time with a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a second threshold time, or a combination thereof.

[0170] Clause 21. The method of clause 18, wherein applying the one or more predetermined rules includes determining at least two PW fragments based on information indicative of an RS configuration, wherein a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time.

[0171] Clause 22. The method of any one of clauses 15 to 21, wherein the at least one PW comprises a first PW separated in time from a second PW by a time gap caused by RS resource muting.

[0172] Clause 23. The method of any one of clauses 15 to 22, further comprising providing, by the base station, a plurality of PW configurations to the UE.

[0173] Clause 24. The method of any one of clauses 15 to 23, wherein the PW configuration further includes information indicating a start time of at least one PW, a duration of at least one PW, a periodicity of at least one PW, a priority of one or more RS resources, or an indication of a bandwidth portion (BWP) of one or more RS resources, or a combination thereof.

[0174] Clause 25. The method of any one of clauses 15 to 24, wherein at least one PW further includes a radio frequency (RF) chain tuning time, a period for non-RS communication, or an uplink (UL) RS transmission time, or a combination thereof.

[0175] Clause 26. The method of any one of clauses 15 to 25, wherein the one or more RS resources include one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources.

[0176] Clause 27. A user equipment (UE) for coordinating reference signal (RS) processing, the UE comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the one or more processors configured to: receive, via the transceiver, an RS configuration indicating timing of one or more RS resources; obtain a processing window (PW) configuration based at least in part on the RS configuration, the PW configuration including information indicating one or more RS reception times of at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources and a processing time of the at least one PW; and perform, using the transceiver, the one or more measurements during the one or more RS reception times of the at least one PW.

[0177] Clause 28. The UE of clause 27, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform an uplink (UL) RS transmission during an UL RS transmission time of at least one PW.

[0178] Clause 29. A UE as described in clause 27 or 28, wherein to obtain a PW configuration, one or more processors are configured to send a request for a PW configuration from the UE to a serving base station of the UE, the request including information indicating an RS configuration, and to receive the PW configuration from the serving base station of the UE after sending the request.

[0179] Clause 30. A UE as described in any one of clauses 27 to 29, wherein to obtain a PW configuration, one or more processors are configured to determine a PW configuration at the UE based on application of one or more predefined rules to the RS configuration.

[0180] Clause 31. The UE of clause 30, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine at least two PW fragments based on the RS configuration and merge the at least two PW fragments to perform the application of the one or more predetermined rules.

[0181] Clause 32. The UE of clause 31, wherein the one or more processors are configured to merge at least two PW fragments based on a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time, or a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments overlaps in time with a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a second threshold time, or a combination thereof.

[0182] Clause 33. The UE of clause 30, wherein to perform application of the one or more predetermined rules, the one or more processors are configured to determine at least two PW fragments based on the RS configuration, and a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time.

[0183] Clause 34. A UE as described in any one of clauses 27 to 29 or 33, wherein to obtain a PW configuration, one or more processors are configured to select a PW configuration from a plurality of PW configurations provided to the UE by a serving base station of the UE.

[0184] Clause 35. A UE as described in any one of clauses 27 to 34, wherein to obtain a PW configuration, one or more processors are configured to obtain information indicating a start time of at least one PW, a duration of at least one PW, a periodicity of at least one PW, a priority of one or more RS resources, or an indication of a bandwidth portion (BWP) of one or more RS resources, or a combination thereof.

[0185] Clause 36. A UE as described in any one of clauses 27 to 35, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit, via the transceiver, UE capability information from the UE to a location server, and the RS configuration is received at the UE from the location server in response to transmitting the UE capability information.

[0186] Clause 37. The UE of any one of clauses 27 to 36, wherein the one or more RS resources include one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources.

[0187] Clause 38. A UE as described in any one of clauses 27 to 37, wherein the one or more processors are configured to assign a higher priority to performing the one or more measurements with the UE during one or more RS reception times of at least one PW than a priority of other data communications of the UE.

[0188] Clause 39. A UE as claimed in any one of clauses 27 to 38, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit information indicative of the one or more measurements from the UE to the location server via the transceiver.

[0189] Clause 40. A base station for coordinating reference signal (RS) processing for a user equipment (UE), the base station comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the one or more processors configured to receive via the transceiver a request for a processing window (PW) configuration for the UE, where the base station includes a serving base station for the UE, the request including information indicating an RS configuration, the RS configuration including information indicating timing of one or more RS resources, and determining a PW configuration based at least in part on the information indicating the RS configuration, the PW configuration including information indicating one or more RS reception times of at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources and a processing time of the at least one PW.

[0190] Clause 41. The base station of clause 40, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive a request for PW configuration from a UE or a location server.

[0191] Clause 42. The base station of clause 40 or 41, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit a PW configuration to or from the UE.

[0192] Clause 43. A base station as claimed in any one of clauses 40 to 42, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the PW configuration based on application of one or more predefined rules to information indicative of the RS configuration.

[0193] Clause 44. The base station according to clause 43, wherein, to perform the application of the one or more predetermined rules, the one or more processors are configured to determine at least two PW fragments based on information indicating the RS configuration, and to merge the at least two PW fragments.

[0194] Clause 45. A base station as described in any one of clauses 40 to 44, wherein the one or more processors are configured to merge at least two PW fragments based on a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time, or a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments overlaps in time with a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a second threshold time, or a combination thereof.

[0195] Clause 46. The base station of clause 45, wherein to perform the application of the one or more predetermined rules, the one or more processors are configured to determine at least two PW fragments based on information indicating the RS configuration, and a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time.

[0196] Clause 47. The base station of any one of clauses 40 to 46, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to provide, by the base station, multiple PW configurations to the UE.

[0197] Clause 48. A base station as described in any one of clauses 40 to 47, wherein to determine the PW configuration, one or more processors are configured to determine information indicative of a start time of at least one PW, a duration of at least one PW, a periodicity of at least one PW, a priority of one or more RS resources, or an indication of a bandwidth portion (BWP) of one or more RS resources, or a combination thereof.

[0198] Clause 49. A base station as described in any one of clauses 40 to 48, wherein to determine the PW configuration, one or more processors are configured to determine a radio frequency (RF) chain tuning time, a period for non-RS communication, or an uplink (UL) RS transmission time, or a combination thereof.

[0199] Clause 50. A base station as claimed in any one of clauses 40 to 49, wherein the one or more RS resources include one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources.

[0200] Clause 51. Apparatus having means for carrying out the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 26.

[0201] Clause 52. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions comprising code for performing the method of any one of clauses 1 to 26.

Claims

1. 1. A method for coordinating reference signal (RS) processing in a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, at the UE, an RS configuration indicating timing of one or more RS resources; and obtaining a processing window (PW) configuration based at least in part on the RS configuration, wherein obtaining the PW configuration comprises determining the PW configuration by the UE based on application of one or more predetermined rules to the RS configuration, wherein the PW configuration comprises: one or more RS reception times of at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources; the duration of the at least one PW; obtaining a PW configuration, the PW configuration including information indicating performing the one or more measurements with the UE during the one or more RS reception times of the at least one PW; A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one PW further includes an uplink (UL) RS transmission time, the method further comprising: performing an UL RS transmission during the UL RS transmission time of the at least one PW.

3. obtaining the PW configuration, sending a request for PW configuration from the UE to a serving base station of the UE, the request including information indicating the RS configuration; receiving the PW configuration from the serving base station of the UE after sending the request; Including, The method of claim 1.

4. said applying said one or more predetermined rules determining at least two PW fragments based on the RS configuration; merging the at least two PW fragments; Including, The method of claim 1.

5. merging the at least two PW fragments, a determination that a first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments is separated in time from a second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a first threshold time; or a determination that the first PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments overlaps in time with the second PW fragment of the at least two PW fragments by less than a second threshold time; or combinations of these, Based on The method of claim 4.

6. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the PW configuration includes selecting, by the UE, the PW configuration from a plurality of PW configurations provided to the UE by a serving base station for the UE.

7. The PW configuration: a start time of said at least one PW; the duration of said at least one PW; the periodicity of said at least one PW; the priority of the one or more RS resources; or an indication of a bandwidth portion (BWP) of the one or more RS resources; or combinations of these, Further comprising information indicating The method of claim 1.

8. The at least one PW is Radio Frequency (RF) chain tuning time, a period for non-RS communications, or UL RS transmission time, or combinations of these, Further comprising: The method of claim 1.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more RS resources include one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources.

10. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the one or more measurements with the UE during the one or more RS reception times of the at least one PW includes assigning a priority to performing the one or more measurements that is higher than a priority of other data communications of the UE.

11. 1. A user equipment (UE) for coordinating reference signal (RS) processing, the UE comprising: A transmitter / receiver, Memory and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory; wherein the one or more processors: receiving, via the transceiver, an RS configuration indicating timing of one or more RS resources; and obtaining a processing window (PW) configuration based at least in part on the RS configuration, wherein to obtain the PW configuration, the one or more processors determine the PW configuration by the UE based on application of one or more predetermined rules to the RS configuration, and the PW configuration comprises: one or more RS reception times of at least one PW for performing one or more measurements of the one or more RS resources; the duration of the at least one PW; obtaining a PW configuration, the PW configuration including information indicating performing, using the transceiver, the one or more measurements during the one or more RS reception times of the at least one PW; configured to: UE.

12. The UE of claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform uplink (UL) RS transmission during a UL RS transmission time of the at least one PW.

13. To obtain the PW configuration, the one or more processors: sending a request for the PW configuration from the UE to a serving base station of the UE, the request including information indicating the RS configuration; receiving the PW configuration from the serving base station of the UE after sending the request; It is configured as follows: The UE of claim 11.

14. To perform the application of the one or more predetermined rules, the one or more processors: determining at least two PW fragments based on the RS configuration; merging the at least two PW fragments; It is configured as follows: The UE of claim 11.

15. The method of claim 5, further comprising: means for performing the method of claim 10. The UE of claim 11.

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