Systems and methods for positioning mobile devices in fifth generation wireless network

Abstract

To provide a method and user equipment (UE) for enabling location support for 5G New Radio (NR) wireless access by the user equipment (UE) by utilizing existing LTE location support.SOLUTION: In a wireless network, UE receives a first LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) message comprising a location request from a location server via a serving 5G base station; based on the received first LPP message, obtains at least one location measurement that comprises a measurement for a Radio Access Technology (RAT)-independent position method or a measurement for an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) position method; and sends a second LPP message comprising location information determined based on the obtained at least one location measurement to the location server via the serving 5G base station.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Background technology]

[0001]

[0001] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to electronic devices, and more particularly to methods and apparatus used to support location of mobile devices using fifth generation (5G) wireless networks. [Technical Field]

[0002]

[0002] Standards supporting 5G wireless networks are being developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In the first release of 5G (3GPP Release 15), the 5G Core Network (5GC) is expected to support voice services and emergency calls. In some regions (e.g., the United States, Japan), supporting emergency calls may require supporting unambiguous location of mobile devices. However, the first release (Release 15) of the Next Generation Radio Access network (NG-RAN) used to support 5G wireless access may not have native 5G positioning support. Although emergency calls initiated over 5G can be redirected via fallback to fourth generation (4G, or Long Term Evolution (LTE)) with location support, the fallback reduces the reliability of emergency calls (e.g., when 4G wireless coverage is not available) and may not meet regulatory requirements in some countries. Therefore, a solution is needed that allows emergency calls to be set up using 5G wireless access with location support, but without location support using 5G wireless access positioning methods. Summary of the Invention

[0003]

[0003] The techniques described herein are directed to enabling location support for 5G wireless access by utilizing existing LTE location support. More specifically, in 5GC, LTE positioning protocol (LPP) messages can be communicated between user equipment (UE) and a location management function (LMF) via NG-RAN for location support. The UE can also receive timing information and take measures to use existing LTE base stations.

[0004]

[0004] An example method in a user equipment (UE) for supporting UE location over fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR) wireless access, according to the present disclosure, comprises receiving a first Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message from a location server, the first LPP message comprising a location request and received via a serving 5G base station. The method further comprises obtaining at least one location measurement based on the first LPP message, the at least one location measurement comprising a measurement result for a Radio Access Technology (RAT)-independent position method or a measurement result for an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) position method. The method also includes determining location information based on the at least one location measurement result and sending a second LPP message to a location server, where the second LPP message comprises the location information and is sent via the serving 5G base station.

[0005] Alternative embodiments of the method may include one or more of the following features: The location server may comprise a Location Management Function (LMF). The location information may comprise a location estimate for the UE. The location information may comprise at least one location measurement. The first LPP message may comprise an LPP Request Location Information message, and the second LPP message may comprise an LPP Provide Location Information message. The at least one location measurement may comprise a location measurement for a RAT-independent position method, where the RAT-independent position method may comprise Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), Real Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential A-GNSS, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth, Sensor, or any combination thereof. The at least one location measurement may comprise a location measurement for an E-UTRA position method, where the E-UTRA position method may comprise Observed Time Difference Of Arrival (OTDOA) for E-UTRA, or Enhanced Cell ID (ECID) for E-UTRA, or any combination thereof.The method further comprises receiving a third LPP message from a location server, the third LPP message comprising assistance data for a RAT-independent positioning method or an E-UTRA positioning method and received via a serving 5G base station, and obtaining at least one location measurement result based on the assistance data. The third LPP message may comprise an LPP Provide Assistance Data message. The method may further comprise sending a request for a measurement gap to the serving 5G base station and obtaining at least one location measurement result during the measurement gap. The request for the measurement gap may comprise an NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. The at least one location measurement result may comprise a Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement result for OTDOA for E-UTRA, and the method further comprises sending a request for an idle period to a serving 5G base station and obtaining LTE timing and a System Frame Number (SFN) for an OTDOA reference cell during the idle period, where the request for the measurement gap is based on the LTE timing and SFN. The OTDOA reference cell may comprise a cell for an evolved Node B (eNB) in an E-UTRA network (E-UTRAN) or a cell for a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB) in a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN), where the serving 5G base station is in the NG-RAN. The request for the idle period may comprise an NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.The method may further comprise receiving a fourth LPP message from the location server, where the fourth LPP message comprises a request for LPP positioning capability for the UE and is received via the serving 5G base station, and the method may also comprise sending a fifth LPP message to the location server, where the fifth LPP message comprises LPP positioning capability for the UE when the UE has NR wireless access and is sent via the serving 5G base station. The fourth LPP message may comprise an LPP Request Capabilities message, and the fifth LPP message may comprise an LPP Provide Capabilities message. The method may further comprise sending an indication to an Access Management Function (AMF), where the indication comprises an indication that the UE supports LPP over NR wireless access, and the AMF forwards the indication to the location server. The first LPP message may be received in a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) transport message, and the second LPP message may be sent in a NAS transport message.

[0006] According to the present disclosure, an exemplary user equipment (UE) having fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) wireless access comprises a wireless communication interface, a memory, and a processing unit communicatively coupled to the wireless communication interface and the memory, wherein the processing unit is configured to cause the UE to receive, using the wireless communication interface, a first Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message from a location server, where the first LPP message comprises a location request and is received via a serving fifth generation (5G) base station. The processing unit is further configured to cause the UE to obtain, using the wireless communication interface, at least one location measurement result based on the first LPP message, where the at least one location measurement result comprises a measurement result for a radio access technology (RAT)-independent positioning method or a measurement result for an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) positioning method. The processing unit is also further configured to cause the UE to determine location information based on the at least one location measurement result and send, using the wireless communication interface, a second LPP message to the location server, where the second LPP message comprises the location information and is sent via the serving 5G base station.

[0007] Alternative embodiments of the UE may include one or more of the following features: The processing unit may be further configured to cause the UE to determine location information by determining a location estimate for the UE. The processing unit may be configured to cause the UE to obtain at least one location measurement comprising measurements for a RAT-independent positioning method, where the RAT-independent positioning method may comprise Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential A-GNSS, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth, sensors, or any combination thereof. The processing unit may be further configured to cause the UE to obtain at least one location measurement comprising measurements for an E-UTRA positioning method, where the E-UTRA positioning method may comprise Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) for E-UTRA, or Enhanced Cell ID (ECID) for E-UTRA, or any combination thereof. The processing unit may be further configured to cause the UE to receive a third LPP message from a location server using the wireless communication interface, where the third LPP message comprises assistance data for a RAT-independent positioning method or an E-UTRA positioning method and is received via a serving 5G base station, and obtain at least one location measurement result based on the assistance data. The processing unit may be further configured to cause the UE to receive a third LPP message comprising an LPP Provide Assistance Data message. The processing unit may be further configured to cause the UE to send a request for a measurement gap to the serving 5G base station using the wireless communication interface and obtain at least one location measurement result during the measurement gap. The processing unit may be configured to cause the UE to send the request for the measurement gap using an NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.The at least one location measurement may comprise a Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement for OTDOA for E-UTRA, and the processing unit may be configured to cause the UE to send a request for an idle period to a serving 5G base station using the wireless communication interface, obtain LTE timing and a system frame number (SFN) for the OTDOA reference cell during the idle period, and base the request for a measurement gap on the LTE timing and SFN. The processing unit may be further configured to cause the UE to receive a fourth LPP message from a location server using the wireless communication interface, where the fourth LPP message comprises a request for LPP positioning capability of the UE and is received via the serving 5G base station, and to send a fifth LPP message to the location server using the wireless communication interface, where the fifth LPP message comprises LPP positioning capability of the UE and is sent via the serving 5G base station when the UE has NR wireless access. The processing unit is further configured to cause the UE to send an indication to an Access Management Function (AMF) using the wireless communication interface, the indication indicating that the UE supports LPP over NR wireless access, and the AMF forwards the indication to the location server.

[0008]

[0008] An example device, according to the present description, comprises means for receiving a first Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message from a location server, the first LPP message comprising a location request and received via a serving fifth generation (5G) base station. The example device further comprises means for obtaining at least one location measurement based on the first LPP message, the at least one location measurement comprising a measurement result for a radio access technology (RAT)-independent positioning method or a measurement result for an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) positioning method. The example device also comprises means for determining location information based on the at least one location measurement and means for sending a second LPP message to the location server, the second LPP message comprising the location information and sent via the serving 5G base station. Alternative embodiments may include any of a variety of additional features. For example, in some embodiments, the location information may comprise a location estimate for the device.

[0009]

[0009] An exemplary non-transitory computer-readable medium, according to this description, incorporates instructions for causing a user equipment (UE) to support location of the user equipment (UE) via fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) wireless access. The instructions, when executed by a processing unit of the UE, are further configured to cause the UE to receive a first Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message from a location server, the first LPP message comprising a location request and received via a serving 5G base station. The instructions are further configured to cause the UE to obtain at least one location measurement result based on the first LPP message, the at least one location measurement result comprising a measurement result for a radio access technology (RAT)-independent positioning method or a measurement result for an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) positioning method. The instructions are also further configured to cause the UE to determine location information based on the at least one location measurement result and send a second LPP message to the location server, the second LPP message comprising the location information and sent via the serving 5G base station. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010]

[0010] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive aspects are described with reference to the following figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures unless otherwise specified. [Figure 1]

[0011] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a communication system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2]

[0012] FIG. 2 is an illustrative example of a communication system having different architectures that may implement the techniques herein, according to one embodiment. [Figure 3]FIG. 3 is an illustrative example of a communication system having different architectures that may implement the techniques herein, according to one embodiment. [Figure 4]

[0013] FIG. 4 is a signaling flow diagram illustrating various messages sent between components of a communication system during an LPP location session, according to one embodiment. [Figure 5]

[0014] FIG. 5 is a signaling flow diagram illustrating additional messages communicated between various components of a communication system according to one embodiment. [Figure 6]

[0015] FIG. 6 is a time-based diagram illustrating the structure of an example LTE subframe sequence with Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) positioning occasions. [Figure 7]

[0016] FIG. 7 is a time-based diagram illustrating a further aspect of PRS transmission for LTE cells supported by an eNB. [Figure 8]

[0017] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method for supporting location of a UE through 5G wireless access, according to different embodiments. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method for supporting location of a UE through 5G wireless access, according to different embodiments. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method for supporting location of a UE through 5G wireless access, according to different embodiments. [Figure 11]

[0018] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a UE. [Figure 12]

[0019] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computing system.

[0011]

[0020] Elements, phases, steps, and actions having the same reference label in different figures may correspond to one another (e.g., may be similar or identical to one another). Additionally, some elements in various figures are labeled with a numeric prefix followed by an alphabetic or numeric suffix. Elements using the same numeric prefix but different suffixes may be different instances of the same type of element. A numeric prefix without any suffix may be used herein to refer to any element using that numeric prefix. For example, FIG. 1 shows different instances of evolved Node Bs (eNBs) 170-1, 170-2, and 170-3. A reference to eNB 170 may refer to any of eNBs 170-1, 170-2, and 170-3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012]

[0021] Several exemplary embodiments will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification. The description that follows provides embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present disclosure. Rather, the description of the embodiment that follows will provide one skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing an embodiment. It will be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0013]

[0022] Techniques described herein are directed to providing location support for UEs with wireless access to the NG-RAN. According to some embodiments, such UEs (with wireless access to the NG-RAN) may be located using (i) radio access technology (RAT)-independent positioning methods (e.g., Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), WiFi, Bluetooth, sensors, etc.) and / or (ii) RAT-dependent positioning methods for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) (e.g., Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Observed Time Difference Of Arrival (OTDOA), etc.) that do not rely on new types of location support for 5G wireless access. To manage the location of UEs, the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 36.355 for supporting UE location over LTE may be reused (with or without minor modifications) for 5G wireless access by the UE. This may be possible by transporting LPP messages between the UE and a 5GC location server (e.g., Location Management Function (LMF)) using a transport protocol such as the 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) (referred to herein as 5G NAS) protocol. Transport (e.g., 5G NAS) messages used to transport messages for other services (e.g., network access, mobility management, session management) may be transported between the Access Management Function (AMF) in 5GC and the UE via the NG-RAN as part of normal 5G operation. An appropriate transport (e.g., 5G NAS) message or messages may then carry the LPP messages between the AMF and the UE with little or no impact on the NG-RAN.LPP messages can be transferred between the AMF and the LMF using the new 5GC protocol. The new 5GC protocol is similar to the Location Services (LCS) Application Protocol (LCS AP) defined in 3GPP TS29.171, which is used between a mobility management function (MME) and an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) to support the location of UEs with 4G (LTE) wireless access. The new 5GC protocol (for communication between the AMF and the LMF) is referred to herein as the "5G LCS AP." The AMF can also notify the LMF (e.g., using a 5G LCSAP) that a UE has 5G wireless access and can provide the LMF with a 5G serving cell ID.

[0014]

[0023] Use of LPP, such as the methods described above, may allow existing positioning methods supported by LPP for LTE access by a UE to be reused to locate the UE via 5G wireless access. In some embodiments, existing UE support for RAT-independent positioning methods may be reused, and / or portions of the procedures described below in P1 through P4 may be used to enable the UE to make RAT-independent positioning measurements. In embodiments using E-UTRA RAT-dependent positioning methods (e.g., ECID and / or OTDOA), the UE may be able to tune away from 5G wireless access to make LTE measurements. In such embodiments, the procedures described below in P1 through P4 may be used. The P1 UE may request a short idle period (e.g., 10-50 milliseconds (ms)) from its serving 5G base station (referred to herein as a gNB) using, for example, a 5G radio resource control (RRC) protocol. A P2 UE may tune away from 5G wireless access during idle periods and acquire LTE timing (e.g., LTE system frame number (SFN) and subframe boundaries) for a particular reference cell indicated by the LMF in LPP assistance data (AD) previously provided to the UE by the LMF. The P3 UE may use the acquired LTE timing from P2 and the known 5G timing from the previous 5G wireless access to determine a series of periodic measurement gaps (e.g., each lasting 6 ms) for the 5G timing. For OTDOA over E-UTRA, the measurement gaps may correspond to positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning occasions for the LTE reference cell and neighbor cells, which are provided to the UE by the LMF as OTDOA ADs (as further described herein in connection with Figures 6 and 7). The UE may determine a 5G signaling boundary, such as the start of a 5G radio frame or 5G subframe, that coincides with the start of the first measurement gap. The UE may then send a request for measurement gaps to the serving gNB, for example, using a 5G RRC protocol. This request may be confirmed by the gNB (e.g., via a 5G RRC response message) or deemed accepted by the gNB. A P4 UE may tune away from 5G wireless access during each measurement gap and obtain one or more LTE measurements (e.g., reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements for OTDOA).

[0015]

[0024] Measurements taken by the UE (e.g., as described above in P1 to P4) may be returned to the LMF in an LPP message (e.g., sent to the AMF in a NAS transport message and sent by the AMF to the LMF using a 5G LCS AP).

[0016]

[0025] These techniques may have limited impact on the UE and little or no impact on the NG-RAN if requests for measurement gaps and idle periods are supported by the NG-RAN for other types of measurements (e.g., 5G measurements to support cell changes and handovers). Further details and embodiments are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017]

[0026] 1 is a diagram of a communication system 100 capable of implementing the techniques described herein, according to one embodiment. Here, the communication system 100 comprises a user equipment (UE) 105 and components of a 5G system (5GS) 185, including an NG-RAN 135 and a 5GC 140. The NG-RAN 135 may also be referred to as a 5G radio access network (5G RAN), or a radio access network (RAN) for NR. The communication system 100 further comprises components of an evolved packet system (EPS) 145 supporting LTE wireless access, which includes an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) network (E-UTRAN) 150 and an evolved packet core (EPC) 155. The communication system 100 may further utilize information from GNSS satellite vehicles (SVs) 190. Further components of the communication system 100 are described below. It should be understood that communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components. EPS 145, in some embodiments, may belong to or be managed by the same network operator that manages or owns 5GS 185 (or, in other embodiments, may be managed or owned by a different network operator).

[0018]

[0027] It should be understood that FIG. 1 is merely a generalized illustration of various components, and that any or all of them may be utilized as appropriate, each of which may be replicated as needed. Specifically, while only one UE 105 is illustrated, it should be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the communications system 100. Similarly, the communications system 100 may include a greater or lesser number of SVs 190, eNBs 170, gNBs 110, ng-eNBs 180, external clients 130, and / or other components. Those skilled in the art will recognize many modifications to the illustrated components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the communications system 100 comprise data and signaling connections that may include additional (intermediary) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, these components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0019]

[0028] The UE 105 may be referred to herein as and / or may comprise 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. Additionally, the UE 105 may correspond to a cell phone, a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tracking device, or some other portable or movable device. Typically, but not necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs), such as using GSM, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE (e.g., EPS 145), High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth (BT), WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), 5G New Radio (NR), also referred to simply as “5G” (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc. The UE 105 may also support wireless communications using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), which may connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, a Digital Subscriber Line or packet cable. One or more of these RATs may enable the UE 105 to communicate with the external client 130 (via elements of the 5GC 140 not shown in FIG. 1 or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC)) and / or enable the external client 130 to receive location information about the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 125).

[0020]

[0029] The UE 105 may comprise a single entity or may comprise multiple entities, such as in a Persol Area Network, where a user may use audio, video, and / or data I / O devices and / or body sensors and a separate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of the location of the UE 105 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geodetic, thus providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for the UE 105, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, ground level, floor level, or height above or below basement level). Alternatively, the location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or as a designation of some point or small area in a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of the UE 105 may also be expressed as an area or volume (defined either geographically or in civic form) where the UE 105 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67% or 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may further be a relative location comprising distance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates defined relative to some origin in a known location, which may be defined, for example, geographically or in civic terms, or by 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 comprise any of these variations unless otherwise specified.

[0021]

[0030] Base stations in the E-UTRAN 150 (4G RAN) comprise evolved Node Bs (eNode Bs or eNBs) (170-1, 170-2, and 170-3) (collectively and generically referred to herein as eNBs 170). Base stations in the NG-RAN 135 comprise NR Node Bs (gNBs) 110-1 and 110-2 (collectively and generically referred to herein as gNBs 110) and next generation eNBs (ng-eNBs) 180-1 and 180-2 (collectively and generically referred to herein as ng-NBs 180). Access to an LTE network supported by the EPS 145 is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of the eNBs 170. The eNBs 170 may provide wireless communication access to the EPC 155 on behalf of the UE 105 using LTE. Similarly, access to the 5GS 185 is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 110, which may provide wireless communication access to the 5GS 185 using 5G NR. In some embodiments, access to the 5GS 185 is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of the ng-eNBs 180, which may provide wireless communication access to the 5GS 185 using LTE. The ng-eNBs 180 may provide LTE wireless access to the UE 105 similar to or the same as the LTE wireless access provided to the UE 105 by the eNB 170 at the physical layer. Further, in some embodiments, the NG-RAN 135 may include the gNB 110 but not the ng-eNB 180, or may include the ng-eNB 180 but not the gNB 110. Additionally, in some embodiments, the EPS 145 may not be present.

[0022]

[0031] In the communication system 100, location support for the UE 105 may utilize LPP transport between the LMF 120 and the UE 105 using transport protocols such as the 5G NAS protocol and 5G LCS AP as previously described. The use of LPP and transport of LPP may be similar or identical for both the UE 105 accessing the 5GC 140 via the gNB 110 and the UE 105 accessing the 5GC 140 via the ng-eNB 180.

[0023]

[0032] With respect to LTE wireless access, the EPC 155 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 165 that may function as a main signaling node in the EPC 155 to support the mobility of the UE 105 and to provide signaling access and a voice bearer path to the UE 105. With respect to positioning functionality, the MME 165 may relay information to and from an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) 160. The E-SMLC 160 may support positioning (referring to the location of the UE 105) of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the E-UTRAN 150 and may support positioning methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), OTDOA, ECID, real-time kinematic, and / or WLAN positioning (also referred to as WiFi positioning), which are well known in the art. The E-SMLC 160 may also process location service requests for the UE 105 received, for example, from the MME 165. The EPC 155 may include other elements not shown in FIG. 1, such as, for example, a packet data network (PDN) gateway and / or a GMLC.

[0024]

[0033] For NR (5G) wireless access, the gNB 110 may communicate directly or indirectly with the Access Management Function (AMF) 115, which communicates with the LMF 120 for location functions. Similarly, for LTE wireless access to the NG-RAN 135, the ng-eNB 180 may communicate directly or indirectly with the AMF 115. Furthermore, the gNBs 110 and / or ng-eNBs 180 may communicate directly with each other, allowing some gNBs 110 and / or some ng-eNBs 180 to communicate only indirectly with the AMF 115 via one or more other gNBs 110 and / or ng-eNBs 180. The AMF 115 may support the mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers, and may be involved in supporting signaling connections to the UE 105, possibly assisting in establishing data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE accesses the NG-RAN 135 and may support positioning methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), OTDOA, ECID, RTK, and / or WLAN positioning, which are similar to the E-SMLC 160. The LMF 120 may also process location service requests for the UE 105, for example, received from the AMF 115 or from the GMLC 125. In some embodiments, the LMF 120 may implement functionality similar to an E-SMLC, such as the E-SMLC 160, which may enable the LMF 120 to query an eNB 170 in the E-UTRAN 150 (e.g., using the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS36.455) and obtain assistance data from the eNB 170 to support OTDOA positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 has NR or LTE wireless access via the NG-RAN 135. Additionally or alternatively, this functionality may be enabled via E-SMLC 160. For example, LMF 120 may be combined with E-SMLC 160 in the same physical entity or may have communication access to E-SMLC 160.

[0025]

[0034] 1, the LMF 120 and the eNB 170 may communicate using LPPa, where LPPa messages are transferred between the eNB 170 and the LMF 120 via the MME 165 and the E-SMLC 160. Here, the LPPa transport between the E-SMLC 160 and the eNB 170 (via the MME 165) is defined for existing LTE locations in 3GPP TS 36.305, and the transport of LPPa messages between the E-SMLC 160 and the LMF 120 may be internal (e.g., when the LMF 120 and the E-SMLC 160 are combined) or may use a proprietary protocol when the LMF 120 and the E-SMLC 160 are separated. In an embodiment in which the UE 105 accesses the 5GC 140 via LTE access to an ng-eNB 180 in the NG-RAN 135, an LPPa-like message may be transferred between the ng-eNB 180 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 (as indicated by dashed arrow 191 in FIG. 1 ). The transferred LPPa-like message, as indicated by dashed arrow 191, may be a message for the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 38.455, which may support the transfer of information identical to or similar to that transferred using an LPPa.

[0026]

[0035] 1, LPP messages may be exchanged between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and the NG-RAN 135 (e.g., via either the gNB 110-1 or the ng-eNB 180-1 in the NG-RAN 135), as indicated by solid arrows 192 in FIG. 1; for example, LPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using the 5G LCS Application Protocol (AP), and may be transferred between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 via the serving eNB 110 or serving ng-eNB 180 for the UE 105 using 5G NAS. Because the AMF 115 can relay LPP communications to and from the UE 105 within 5G NAS messages, the LPP communications may have little or no impact on the NG-RAN 135 (which may communicate 5G NAS messages, like any other 5G NAS messages).

[0027]

[0036] The LPPa and NRPPa protocols may enable a location server to request and obtain location-related information from base stations regarding either the location of a particular UE or the location configuration for the base station. Location-related information provided by the eNB 170 (e.g., via the E-SMLC 160 and MME 165) to the LMF 120 using LPPa may include timing information, information for PRS transmissions by the eNB 170 (as described below in connection with Figures 6 and 7), and location coordinates for the eNB 170. Similarly, location-related information provided by the ng-eNB 180 to the LMF 120 using NRPPa may include timing information, information for PRS transmissions by the ng-eNB 180 (as described below in connection with Figures 6 and 7), and location coordinates for the ng-eNB 180. For example, in the case of an LPPa, E-SMLC160, or LMF120, an LPPa message may be sent to eNB170-1 via MME165 (possibly via E-SMLC160 in the case of an LPPa message sent from LMF120) to request information related to the location of UE105 (e.g., location measurement results for ECID positioning obtained by eNB170-1 or obtained by UE105 and forwarded by eNB170-1) or information related to the location configuration of eNB170-1 (e.g., the location of PRS configuration for eNB170-1 or eNB170-1 for OTDOA positioning). The eNB170-1 may then obtain any requested location configuration information or location measurement results (e.g., when location information for the UE105 is requested) and return the requested information to the E-SMLC160 or the LMF120 via the MME165 (and possibly via the E-SMLC160 when the information is requested by the LMF120).The use of NRPPa can be carried out in a similar manner, for example, with the LMF 120 sending an NRPPa message to the gNB 110-1 or ng-eNB 180-1 via the AMF 115 to request location configuration for the gNB 110-1 or ng-eNB 180-1 or information related to the location of the UE 105, and with the gNB 110-1 or ng-eNB 180-1 returning the requested information in another NRPPa message to the original LMF 120 via the AMF 115.

[0028]

[0037] In the case where the NRPPa message is sent to ng-eNB 180-1, LMF 120 may request information similar to or identical to that which may be requested from eNB 170-1 using LPPa, and thus this information comprises ECID location measurements for UE 105, PRS configuration information for ng-eNB 180-1 applicable to OTDOA positioning of UE 105, or the location of ng-eNB 180-1. In the case where the NRPPa message is sent to gNB 110-1, LMF 120 may request a serving cell identity (ID) for UE 105, or location measurements (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurements for LTE) obtained by UE 105 and provided by UE 105 to gNB 110-1 (e.g., using RRC). The LMF 120 may also request (e.g., in a later 3GPP release) an NR-related location estimate obtained by the gNB 110-1 for the UE 105, or location configuration information for the gNB 110-1, such as NR PRS configuration information for the gNB 110-1.

[0029]

[0038] The LMF 120 may provide some or all of the location-related information received from the eNB 170, ng-eNB 180, and / or gNB 110 (e.g., using LPPa and / or NRPPa) to the UE 105 as assistance data in LPP messages sent to the UE 105 via the NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140.

[0030]

[0039] An LPP message communicated from the LMF 120 to the UE 105 (e.g., via the NG-RAN 135) may instruct the UE 105 to do any of a variety of things, depending on the desired functionality. For example, the LPP message may include instructions for the UE 105 to take measurements related to GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN positioning, RTK, and / or OTDOA. In the case of OTDOA, the LPP message may inform the UE 105 to take one or more measurements (e.g., measurements of reference signal time difference (RSTD)) of a particular eNB 170 and / or ng-eNB 180. Thus, if the UE 105 is served by a gNB 110 or ng-eNB 180 in the NG-RAN 135, in the case of measurements of a particular eNB 170, the UE 105 can behave as if it were served by the E-UTRAN 150 and EPC 155 (rather than the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140). Similarly, if the UE 105 is served by a gNB 110 in the NG-RAN 135, in the case of measurements on a particular ng-eNB 180, it can operate as if it were served by an ng-eNB 180 in the NG-RAN 135. The UE 105 may then send the measurement results in an LPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message) back to the LMF 120 via the NG-RAN 135.

[0031]

[0040] Note that the identification of the ng-eNB 180 as part of the NG-RAN 135 in FIG. 1 is merely a matter of terminology. For example, the ng-eNB 180-1 may be treated as being part of the E-UTRAN 150 rather than part of the NG-RAN 135 and may refer to the eNB 170-1 rather than the ng-eNB 180-1. Such an eNB 170-1 would still be connected to the AMF 115 rather than to the MME 165, as shown by dashed line 193, to provide LTE wireless access to the UE 105 via the 5GC 140 rather than via the EPC 155. In that case, the eNB 170-1 may be able to perform exactly the same functions as the ng-eNB 180-1. In such a case, eNB170-1 may communicate with LMF120 using NRPPa (or LPPa) rather than with E-SMLC120 using LPPa, where NRPPa (or LPPa) messages may be transferred between eNB170-1 and LMF120 via AMF115 and possibly via gNB110 (e.g., gNB110-1), as described below in connection with FIG. 2 when UE105 is served by ng-eNB180-1. Similarly, when UE105 is served by eNB170-1, with eNB170-1 providing LTE access to 5GC140 rather than EPC155, LPP messages may be transferred between UE105 and LMF120 via AMF115, eNB170-1, and possibly gNB110 (e.g., gNB110-1), in a manner similar to that described below in connection with FIG. 2 for LPP message transfer when UE105 is served by ng-eNB180-1.

[0032]

[0041] As previously indicated, embodiments of the techniques provided herein can be utilized in systems having different architectures. FIGS. 2 and 3 are illustrative examples of communication systems 200 and 300, respectively, illustrating different architectures that may implement the techniques herein, according to some embodiments. The different architectures illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 provide different ways of connecting base stations in the NG-RAN 135 to the 5GC 140 and different base station placements for the NG-RAN 135 for the communication system 100. Thus, the communication systems 200 and 300 may represent different variations of the communication system 100. The components of the communication systems 200 and 300 correspond to those illustrated in the communication system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 and described above. These components include the UE 105, the ng-eNB 180-1, the gNB 110-1, the NG-RAN 135, the 5GC 140, the AMF 115, and the LMF 120. As described in more detail below, optional components, interfaces, and protocols are illustrated with dashed lines. Here, the NR interface (NR-Uu), the LTE or enhanced or evolved LTE interface (eLTE-Uu), the AMF to NG-RAN interface (N2), the AMF to LMF interface (NLs), and the gNB to ng-eNB interface (Xn) (also referred to as the gNB to gNB and ng-eNB to ng-eNB interfaces) are shown with dashed or solid lines between components. The protocols LPP and NRPPa used between pairs of components are further illustrated with dashed and solid lines with double arrows, each arrow connecting a pair of components. Arrows through intermediate components indicate where the intermediate component can relay messages related to the protocol illustrated by the arrow. For example, as shown, all communications between the LMF 120 and other components in FIGS. 2 and 3 are relayed through the AMF 115, which acts as an intermediate component.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the architectures illustrated in Figures 2-3 may include additional and / or alternative components not shown (such as the GMLC 125 and external client 130 of Figure 1). Additionally, it is further noted that while the NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 are illustrated, the embodiments described herein may be implemented with other RAN and / or core components.

[0033]

[0042] 2 , the gNB 110 resides in the NG-RAN 135 and is directly connected to the AMF in the 5G-RAN 140, as illustrated by the connection of the gNB 110-1 in the NG-RAN 135 to the AMF 115 in the 5G-RAN 140. When the ng-eNB 180 (e.g., optionally the ng-eNB 180-1) does not reside in the NG-RAN 135, the communication system 200 may be referred to as a standalone 5G (or NR) architecture, also referred to as “Option 2” in 3GPP. With this arrangement or option, LPP messages 210 may be exchanged between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the gNB 110-1 and the AMF 115, and NRPPa messages 220 may be exchanged between the gNB 110-1 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115. When an ng-eNB 180 (e.g., optionally an ng-eNB 180-1) is present in the NG-RAN 135, the communications system 200 may be referred to as a standalone 5G (or NR) with non-standalone E-UTRA architecture, also referred to as “Option 4” in 3GPP. With this arrangement or option, when the UE 105 is served by the ng-eNB 180-1, LPP messages 230 may be exchanged between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the gNB 110-1, the ng-eNB 180-1, and the AMF 115, and NRPPa messages 240 may be exchanged between the ng-eNB 180-1 and the LMF 120 via the gNB 110-1 and the AMF 115. With this arrangement (option 4), LPP and NRPPa messages may not be transferred directly between the AMF 115 and the ng-eNB 180-1, but instead may be transferred via the gNB 110-1 using the Xn interface to transfer messages between the gNB 110-1 and the ng-eNB 180-1.

[0034]

[0043] 3 illustrates different embodiments that may be implemented depending on desired functionality, similar to FIG. 2. However, the roles of the gNB 110-1 and the ng-eNB 180-1 are reversed. Thus, in the communications system 300, the ng-eNB 180 resides in the NG-RAN 135 and connects directly to the AMF in the 5GC 140, as illustrated by the connection of the ng-eNB 180-1 in the NG-RAN 135 to the AMF 115 in the 5GC 140. When the gNB 110 (e.g., optionally the gNB 110-1) is not present in the NG-RAN 135, the communications system 300 may be referred to as a standalone E-UTRA 5GS architecture, also referred to as "Option 5" in 3GPP. With this arrangement or option, LPP messages 310 may be exchanged between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the ng-eNB 180-1 and the AMF 115, and NRPPa messages 320 may be exchanged between the ng-eNB 180-1 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115. When the gNB 110 (e.g., optionally the gNB 110-1) resides in the NG-RAN 135, the communication system 300 may be referred to as a standalone E-UTRA with non-standalone NR architecture, also referred to as "Option 7" in 3GPP. With this arrangement or option, when UE 105 is served by gNB 110-1, LPP messages 330 may be exchanged between UE 105 and LMF 120 via gNB 110-1, ng-eNB 180-1, and AMF 115, and NRPPa messages 340 may be exchanged between gNB 110-1 and LMF 120 via ng-eNB 180-1 and AMF 115. With this arrangement (option 7), LPP and NRPPa messages may not be transferred directly between AMF 115 and gNB 110-1, but instead may be transferred via ng-eNB 180-1 using the Xn interface to transfer messages between gNB 110-1 and ng-eNB 180-1.

[0035]

[0044] It should be noted that the use of existing LPP protocols for positioning of a UE 105 with access to the NG-RAN 135 as previously described and illustrated with reference to FIGS. 1-3 may be adapted or replaced by a new or modified protocol for the NG-RAN 135 (or another RAN, if available). In some embodiments, adaptations may include extending or replacing the LPP, which may require supporting positioning methods in which the UE 105 obtains measurements of NR signals transmitted by one or more gNBs 110. Such NR-related measurements may include measurements of RSRP, RSRQ, RSTD, round trip signal propagation time (RTT), and / or angle of arrival (AOA). In one embodiment, referred to as Alternative A1, the LPP may be extended to support new NR RAT-dependent (and other available RAT-independent) positioning methods, such as NR RAT-dependent positioning methods similar to OTDOA or ECID for LTE access. In another embodiment, referred to as option A2, a new protocol (e.g., NR Positioning Protocol (NPP or NRPP)) may be defined entirely to be used in place of the LPP, where the new protocol provides support for NR RAT-dependent and other RAT-independent positioning methods; in a further embodiment, referred to as option A3, the new protocol (e.g., NPP or NRPP) may be limited to supporting NR RAT-dependent positioning methods only and may be defined to be used in combination with the LPP when both NR RAT-dependent and RAT-only positioning (and / or LTE RAT-dependent positioning) are required. Option A3 may use one of three variants. In the first variant of A3, messages related to the new protocol may be embedded within the LPP messages as new External Protocol Data Units (EPDUs) according to the EPDU definition in 3GPP TS36.355.In a second variant of A3, the LPP messages may be incorporated into messages for the new protocol, for example, using EPDUs similar to the definition of EPDUs in 3GPP TS 36.355. In a third variant of A3, the new protocol may be separate from the LPP (e.g., not incorporated within the LPP or unable to incorporate the LPP), but with the LMF 120, the UE 105 may exchange one or more messages for both the new protocol and the LPP using the same NAS transport container. In another embodiment, referred to as option A4, the new protocol may be defined that incorporates portions of the LPP (e.g., by importing Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) data types from the LPP) to support RAT-independent and / or E-UTRA RAT-dependent positioning methods.

[0036]

[0045] While the various options A1 to A4 above may be most appropriate for positioning the UE 105 using NR wireless access to the gNB 110 in the NG-RAN 135, they may also be applicable for positioning the UE 105 using LTE access to the ng-eNB 180 in the NG-RAN 135, potentially using NR RAT-dependent positioning methods for the gNB 110 in proximity to the UE 105, whose signals are measurable by the UE 105.

[0037]

[0046] 4 is a signaling flow diagram illustrating various messages sent between components of communication system 100 in a location session using LPP (also referred to as a session, an LPP session, or an LPP location session) between UE 105 and LMF 120, according to one embodiment. The signaling flow in FIG. 4 is applicable when UE 105 has NR (5G) wireless access to gNB 110-1 in NG-RAN 135, which is assumed in the example in FIG. 4. The LPP session may be triggered by action 401 when LMF 120 receives a location request for UE 105. Depending on the scenario and type of location support in 5GC 140, the location request may arrive to LMF 120 from AMF 115 or from GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may query the AMF 115 for information about the UE 105, or the AMF 115 may send information about the UE 105 to the LMF 120 (not shown in FIG. 4 ) (e.g., if the AMF 115 sent a location request to the LMF 120 in action 401). The information may indicate that the UE 105 has wireless access to the NG-RAN 135, may provide a current NR serving cell for the UE 105 (e.g., a cell supported by the gNB 110-1, which may be the serving gNB for the UE 105) when the UE 105 has NR wireless access (or when the UE 105 has access to the NG-RAN 135), and / or may indicate that the UE 105 supports location using LPP. Some or all of this information may have been obtained by AMF115 from UE105 and / or from gNB110-1, for example, when UE105 registers with AMF115 (e.g., using NAS).

[0038]

[0047] To initiate an LPP session (e.g., based on the UE 105's indication that it supports LPP over NR wireless access), the LMF 120 may send an LPP request capability message to the AMF 115 serving the UE 105 (e.g., using a 5G LCSAP) in action 402. The AMF 115 may include the LPP request capability message within a 5G NAS transport message, which is sent to the UE 105 in action 403 (e.g., via a NAS communication path in the NG-RAN 135 as illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 ). The UE 105 may then respond to the AMF 115 by sending an LPP provision capability message to the AMF 115 also within a 5G NAS transport message in action 404. The AMF 115 may extract the LPP provision capability message from the 5G NAS transport message (e.g., using a 5G LCS AP) and relay the LPP provision capability message to the LMF 120 in action 405.

[0039]

[0048] Here, the LPP providing capability messages sent in actions 404 and 405 may indicate the positioning capabilities of the UE 105 while accessing a 5G network using NR (e.g., positioning methods supported by the UE 105, such as A-GNSS positioning, RTK positioning, OTDOA positioning, ECID positioning, WLAN positioning, etc.). This means that some of the positioning capabilities of the UE 105 may be different from when the UE 105 is accessing the EPC 155 via the E-UTRAN 150 using LTE. For example, in some scenarios, the UE 105 may have the capability to support OTDOA positioning for LTE (also referred to as OTDOA for E-UTRAN) while accessing an LTE network, but the UE 105 may not have the capability to support OTDOA positioning for LTE while accessing a 5G network using NR. In this case, the UE 105 may not indicate that it has OTDOA positioning capability for LTE in the LPP providing capability messages sent in actions 404 and 405. In some other scenarios, the UE 105 may support LTE positioning methods such as OTDOA and / or ECID when accessing a 5G network using NR (e.g., based on the techniques described herein), in which case the LPP providing capability message sent in actions 404 and 405 may indicate the UE's support. The UE's 105 positioning capabilities sent in actions 404 and 405 enable the LMF 120 to determine what capabilities the UE 105 has while accessing the 5G network.

[0040]

[0049] Using the positioning capabilities of the UE 105, the LMF 120 may determine assistance data for the UE 105 to support one or more of the positioning methods indicated by the supported UE 105. For example, if the UE 105 indicates support for OTDOA for LTE in actions 404 and 405, the LMF 120 may send an NRPPa OTDOA Information Request message to the ng-eNB 180-1 in action 406 (which is relayed to the ng-eNB 180-1 via the AMF 115 in action 407). The ng-eNB 180-1 may respond with an NRPPa OTDOA Information Response in action 408 (which is relayed to the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 in action 409). The LMF 120 may similarly send an LPPa OTDOA Information Request message to the eNB 170-1 in action 410 (which is relayed to the eNB 170-1 via the MME 165 in action 411). The eNB 170-1 may respond in action 412 with an LPPa OTDOA information response (which is relayed to the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 in action 413). Note that similar communications between the LMF 120 and other eNBs 170 and / or other ng-eNBs 180 may occur to collect OTDOA assistance data, and in some scenarios the LMF 120 may request information only from the eNB 170 (using LPPa) or only from the ng-eNB 180 (using NRPPa). Additionally, as shown in FIG. 4 and described with respect to FIG. 1, communications between the eNB 170 and the LMF 120 may be relayed via the E-SMLC 160. The information provided by each eNB170 and each ng-eNB180 to the LMF120 in the LPPa or NRPPa OTDOA information response (e.g., in actions 408-409 and 412-413) may include location coordinates of the eNB170 or ng-eNB180, PRS timing information and PRS configuration information (e.g., PRS configuration parameters) for the eNB170 or ng-eNB180, as described below with respect to Figures 6 and 7.

[0041]

[0050] The LMF 120 may then send to the UE 105 some or all of the assistance data received in actions 409 and 413 via an LPP Provide Assistance Data message sent to the AMF 115 in action 414 and relayed to the UE 105 by the AMF 115 in a 5G NAS transport message in action 415 (e.g., PRS configuration information for eNB 170-1 and / or ng-eNB 180-1). This is followed by an LLP Request Location Information message sent again from the LMF 120 to the AMF 115 in action 416, which is relayed to the UE 105 in a 5G NAS transport message by the AMF 115 and via the gNB 110-1 in action 417. The LPP Request Location Information message may request one or more location measurement results from the UE 105 and / or a location estimate in accordance with the positioning capabilities of the UE 105 sent to the LMF 120 in actions 404 and 405. Location measurements may include, for example, reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements for OTDOA for LTE, pseudorange or code phase measurements for A-GNSS, carrier phase measurements for RTK, WiFi measurements for WLAN positioning, and / or measurements for AOA, RSRP, and / or RSRQ for LTE (which may also be referred to as ECID for E-UTRA).

[0042]

[0051] In response, at block 418, the UE 105 may obtain some or all of the location measurement results requested at actions 416 and 417. In some embodiments, and if requested at actions 416 and 417, the UE 105 may also obtain a location estimate at block 418 based on the location measurement results, and possibly also based on some or all of the assistance data received at action 415. The location measurement results or location estimate are provided in an LPP Provide Location message, which may be sent by the UE 105 to the AMF 115 via the gNB 110-1 in a 5G NAS Transport message at action 419. The AMF 115 may extract the LPP Provide Location message from the 5G NAS Transport message and relay it to the LMF 120 (e.g., using a 5G LCS AP) at action 420. Using this information, the LMF 120 may determine or verify the UE location in block 421 and provide a location response in action 422 connecting the determined or verified location to the requesting entity.

[0043]

[0052] 4 , the LMF 120 requests the UE 105 to obtain OTDOA RSTD measurements for LTE in actions 416 and 417, and the OTDOA RSTD measurements obtained in block 418 may be obtained from the ng-eNB 180 (e.g., ng-eNB 180-1) and / or from the eNB 170 (e.g., eNB 170-1). This may cause problems if the carrier frequency used for LTE wireless access by the ng-eNB 180 and / or by the eNB 170 is different from the carrier frequency of the 5G network for NR wireless access, or simply when measuring the ng-eNB 180 and / or eNB 170 wireless signals (e.g., PRS signals) prevents or disrupts normal NR wireless access by the UE 105. In addition, the LTE timing of the ng-eNB 180 in the NG-RAN 135 and / or the LTE timing of the eNBs 170 in the E-UTRAN 150 may differ from the timing used by the gNB 110 in the NG-RAN 135, making RSTD measurements of PRS signals for difficult or impossible OTDOA for the UE 105 (e.g., as described with respect to Figures 6 and 7).

[0044]

[0053] To address these issues, the UE 105 may be configured to tune away from NR access to the gNB 110-1 for a period of time (e.g., 10 to 50 ms) to allow the UE 105 to search for and find a suitable reference LTE cell (e.g., supported by the ng-eNB 180-1 or by the eNB 170-1) that provides LTE coverage in the area of ​​the UE 105. Information regarding the particular reference LTE cell may be provided to the UE 105 by the LMF 120 in actions 414 and 415. For example, before action 414, the LMF 120 may determine the reference LTE cell based on the NR serving cell for the UE, e.g., by selecting an LTE reference cell having a similar or the same coverage area. The UE 105 may obtain LTE timing (e.g., the LTE system frame number (SFN)) and system information from the reference LTE cell. To allow the UE 105 to tune away for a period of time, the UE 105 may request an idle period from the serving gNB 110-1. Further details regarding this process are shown in FIG.

[0045]

[0054] 5 is a signaling flow diagram illustrating messages communicated between various components of communication system 100 that enable UE 105 to tune away from NR wireless access for serving gNB 110 in a 5G network to collect OTDOA timing information from ng-eNB 180 and eNB 170 in an LTE network, according to one embodiment. FIG. 5 may correspond to (e.g., may support in part or in whole) block 418 in FIG. 4. Note that while FIG. 5 illustrates tuning away from NR wireless access to obtain OTDOA measurements for LTE, some or similar procedures may be used to enable UE 105 to tune away from NR wireless access to obtain other types of location measurements, such as ECID positioning for LTE, A-GNSS, RTK, and / or WLAN positioning.

[0046]

[0055] In action 501, the UE 105 sends an NR radio resource control (RRC) idle period request to the gNB 110-1. The gNB 110-1 may typically be the serving gNB (or primary serving gNB) for the UE 105. The request may include a requested length of idle period (e.g., 50 ms) and, possibly, when the idle period should occur that is sufficient to measure and acquire LTE timing information in subsequent block 506. According to the desired functionality, the gNB 110-1 may reply by sending an RRC confirm idle period message in action 502 (otherwise, in some embodiments, the UE 105 may consider the request sent in action 501 to be approved). During the requested idle period, in block 503, the gNB 110-1 suspends NR transmissions to the UE 105 and suspends NR reception from the UE 105 to allow the UE 105 to tune away from NR wireless access during the idle period.

[0047]

[0056] The UE 105 may then tune away from a 5G NR carrier frequency (e.g., for the gNB 110-1) to an LTE carrier frequency supported by the ng-eNB 180 and / or by the eNB 170 during an idle period. In block 506, the UE 105 may then acquire LTE cell timing and a system frame number (SFN) for an OTDOA reference cell for the ng-eNB 180-1 or eNB 170-1 during an idle period. The LTE cell timing and SFN for the reference cell supported by the ng-eNB 180-1 or eNB 170-1 may be acquired by the UE 105 from an RRC System Information Block (SIB) broadcast by the ng-eNB 180-1 or eNB 170-1, respectively, in action 504 or action 505, respectively. For example, the UE 105 may acquire and measure Master Information Blocks (MIBs) and SIBs broadcast by the ng-eNB 180-1 or the eNB 170-1. The identity and carrier frequency for the reference cell may have been previously provided to the UE 105 by the LMF 120 as part of the assistance data sent to the UE 105 in actions 414 and 415. The UE 105 may then tune back to NR wireless access to the gNB 110-1.

[0048]

[0057] In block 507, UE 105 may convert the LTE timing of the PRS positioning occasions for the reference cell and neighbor cells for ng-eNB 180 and / or eNB 170 provided by LMF 120 (in the LPP assistance data sent in actions 414 and 415) to corresponding NR timing for gNB 110-1. This means converting the LTE PRS subframe timing to equivalent NR timing (e.g., in terms of NR subframes, NR radio frames, or other NR signaling units), as described below with respect to Figures 6 and 7. In performing this conversion, UE 105 may determine an appropriate NR measurement gap (in terms of NR timing) for measuring LTE PRS signals from ng-eNB 180 and / or eNB 170.

[0049]

[0058] 5, it should be noted that actions 501-502 and 504-505, as well as the functionality described in blocks 503, 506, and 507, are optional and may be used for OTDOA measurements if desired. That is, in some embodiments, the LMF 120 provides the UE 105 with information regarding PRS signals transmitted by the ng-eNB 180 and / or the eNB 170, including the times at which those PRS signals are transmitted. However, these times may be relative to LTE timing. Thus, by obtaining timing information from an LTE OTDOA reference cell (or some other LTE cell) in block 506, the UE 105 may discover the LTE timing at which the PRS signals are transmitted and the corresponding absolute times (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS) time) or local times (e.g., time internal to the UE). This may enable the UE 105 to convert the LTE signal timing for a PRS opportunity to the corresponding NR timing.

[0050]

[0059] As described below in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , typically, ng-eNB 180 and / or eNB 170 may use different LTE timing for different carrier frequencies but may synchronize when using the same LTE carrier frequency, so the actions performed in blocks 506 and 507 may be repeated by UE 105 for each distinct PRS carrier frequency used by the reference cell and neighboring cells for which UE 105 was requested to measure with LMF 120 in actions 414 and 415. This may enable UE 105 to determine the NR timing corresponding to the LTE timing for each distinct LTE carrier frequency. However, if LMF 120 provides UE 105 with the relationship between the LTE timing for each distinct PRS carrier frequency (e.g., as supported by LPP and as described below in connection with FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 ), UE 105 only needs to obtain the NR timing corresponding to one PRS carrier frequency in blocks 506 and 507 because UE 105 can use the relationship between the LTE timing for each distinct PRS carrier frequency to infer the NR timing corresponding to each PRS carrier frequency.

[0051]

[0060] The UE 105 may then send an NR RRC measurement gap request to the gNB 110-1 in action 508 to request measurement gaps (which may comprise, for example, a series of periodic short periods of approximately 5-10 ms in some embodiments) with respect to the NR timing. The gNB 110-1 may optionally confirm the request in action 509 (e.g., by sending an RRC confirm message to the UE 105), or the UE 105 may assume that the request is supported. During each measurement gap, in block 510, the gNB 110-1 may suspend NR transmissions to the UE 105 and suspend NR reception from the UE 105 to allow the UE 105 to tune away from NR wireless access during each measurement gap.

[0052]

[0061] The UE 105 may then acquire and measure the time of arrival (TOA) for the PRS broadcast for the reference cell or neighbor cell for the ng-eNB 180-1 in action 511, and may periodically (when each measurement gap occurs) tune away from the NR access to the gNB 110-1 to acquire and measure the TOA for the PRS broadcast for the reference cell and neighbor cell for the eNB 170-1 in 512. The UE 105 may then obtain an OTDOA RSTD measurement in block 513 from the difference between the two TOA measurements, as described below with respect to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. In this example, the UE 105 measures the PRS broadcast in cells for each of the ng-eNB 180-1 and eNB 170-1, and one of these cells is considered to be the reference cell for the OTDOA; however, other scenarios are possible in which the UE 105 measures the PRS broadcast in the pair of eNBs 170 or the pair of ng-eNBs 180 with one of these cells being the reference cell. Furthermore, in all scenarios, UE 105 may acquire additional TOA measurements during measurement gaps for PRS broadcast by other ng-eNBs 180 and / or other eNBs 170 for other cells and may use these additional TOA measurements to determine additional RSTD measurements in block 513. Additionally or alternatively, UE 105 may acquire other measurements in block 513 during measurement gaps, such as GNSS or RTK measurements for SV190. This may be done until sufficient measurements are acquired or until the maximum response interval expires. In action 514, UE 105 may then optionally send an RRC measurement gap stop message to gNB 110-1 to inform gNB 110-1 that the measurement gap is no longer needed.

[0053]

[0062] The UE 105 may then include the measurements in an LPP Provide Location message (eg, continuing the processing illustrated in FIG. 4 at action 419).

[0054]

[0063] 5, the LMF 120 may provide the UE 105 with the relationship between the NR timing and the LTE timing for the gNB 110-1 (e.g., for the OTDOA reference cell for the ng-eNB 180-1 or eNB 170-1) in the assistance data sent in actions 414 and 415. For example, the LMF 120 may request and obtain information from the gNB 110-1 using the NRPPa by using the same or similar procedures as used to obtain information related to the OTDOA from the ng-eNB 180-1 in actions 406-409. If the information obtained from gNB 110-1 and the information related to OTDOA obtained from ng-eNB 180-1 in actions 406-409 and / or from eNB 170-1 in actions 410-413 include timing information (e.g., NR timing information related to absolute time, such as GPS time for gNB 110-1 and LTE timing related to absolute time for ng-eNB 180-1 and / or eNB 170-1), then LMF 120 may infer a relationship between NR timing and LTE timing and provide this as assistance data to UE 105 in actions 414 and 415. In this case, UE 105 may not need to perform actions 501-502, actions 504-505, and blocks 506 and 507, and gNB 110-1 may not need to perform block 503.

[0055]

[0064] Figure 6 is a diagram of the structure of an LTE subframe sequence with PRS positioning occasions, according to one embodiment. In Figure 6, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis), increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top, as shown. As shown in Figure 6, downlink and uplink LTE radio frames 610 are each 10 ms in duration. For downlink Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode, the radio frame 610 is composed of 10 subframes 612, each 1 ms in duration. Each subframe 612 comprises two slots 614, each 0.5 ms in duration.

[0056]

[0065] In the frequency domain, the available bandwidth is divided into regularly spaced orthogonal subcarriers 616. For example, for a regular length cyclic prefix using 15 kHz spacing, the subcarriers 616 may be grouped into groups of 12 subcarriers. Each group of 12 subcarriers 616 in FIG. 6 is called a resource block, and in the above example, the number of subcarriers in a resource block is

number

number

number

[0057]

[0066] In the architecture illustrated in Figure 1, the ng-eNB 180 and / or eNB 170 may transmit a PRS (i.e., a downlink (DL) PRS) such as the PRS illustrated in Figure 6 and Figure 7 (as described below), which is measured and used for UE (e.g., UE 105) position determination. Because the transmission of the PRS by the ng-eNB 180 and / or eNB 170 is intended for all UEs within the radio range, the ng-eNB 180 and / or eNB 170 are also considered to broadcast the PRS.

[0058]

[0067] The PRS defined in 3GPP LTE Release 9 and later releases may be transmitted by the ng-eNB 180 and / or the eNB 170 after appropriate configuration (e.g., by an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) server). The PRS are transmitted in special positioning subframes that are grouped into positioning occasions (also called PRS positioning occasions or PRS opportunities). For example, in LTE, a PRS positioning occasion is a number N PRS The number of consecutive positioning subframes N may be between 1 and 160 (e.g., may include values ​​1, 2, 4, and 6, as well as other values). PRS The PRS positioning occasion for a cell supported by the ng-eNB 180 or the eNB 170 may include T PRS The number T of millisecond (or subframe) intervals, which can be equal to 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, or 1280. PRS As an example, FIG. 6 shows a PRS is equal to 4, T PRS 20 or more. In some embodiments, T PRS may be measured in terms of the number of subframes between the start of multiple consecutive PRS positioning occasions.

[0059]

[0068] Within each positioning occasion, the PRS may be transmitted at a constant power. The PRS may also be transmitted at zero power (i.e., muted). Muting, which turns off regularly scheduled PRS transmissions, may be useful when PRS signals between different cells overlap by occurring simultaneously or nearly simultaneously. In this case, PRS signals from some cells may be muted while PRS signals from other cells are transmitted (e.g., at a constant power). Muting may assist the UE 105 in signal acquisition and RSTD measurements for non-muted PRS signals by avoiding interference from muted PRS signals. Muting may be considered non-transmission of a PRS for a given positioning occasion for a particular cell. A muting pattern may be signaled to the UE 105 (e.g., using LPP) using a bit string. For example, in a bit string signaling a muting pattern, if a bit in position j is set to "0," the UE 105 implies that the PRS is muted for the jth positioning occasion.

[0060]

[0069] To further improve the hearability of the PRS, the positioning subframes may be low-interference subframes transmitted without a user data channel. As a result, in an ideally synchronized network, the PRS may receive interference from PRSs of other cells that have the same PRS pattern index (i.e., have the same frequency shift, but not from data transmission). For example, in LTE, the frequency shift may be assigned to the cell or Transmission Point (TP) if no PRS ID is assigned.

number

number

[0061]

[0070] To further improve PRS audibility (e.g., when the PRS bandwidth is limited, such as having only six resource blocks corresponding to a 1.4 MHz bandwidth), the frequency band for successive PRS positioning occasions (or successive PRS subframes) may be changed in a known and predictable manner via frequency hopping. Additionally, a cell supported by the ng-eNB 180 or eNB 170 may support more than one PRS configuration, where each PRS configuration is configured with a particular periodicity (T PRS ) and a specific number of subframes per positioning occasion (N PRS Further enhancements to the PRS may also be supported by the ng-eNB 180 or eNB 170.

[0062]

[0071] OTDOA assistance data is typically provided to the UE 105 by a location server (e.g., E-SMLC 160 or LMF 120) for a "reference cell" and one or more "neighbor cells" or "adjacent cells" associated with the "reference cell." For example, the assistance data may include the center channel frequency (also called carrier frequency) of each cell, various PRS configuration parameters (e.g., N PRS , T PRS , muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, PRS ID, PRS code sequence, PRS bandwidth), cell global ID, and / or other cell-related parameters applicable to OTDOA.

[0063]

[0072] PRS positioning by the UE 105 may be facilitated by including the serving cell for the UE 105 in the OTDOA assistance data (e.g., with a reference cell indicated as being the serving cell). In the case of a UE 105 with NR wireless access, the reference cell may be selected by the LMF 120 as some cell for the ng-eNB 180 or eNB 170 with good coverage in the expected alternate location of the UE 105 (e.g., as indicated by a known NR serving cell for the UE 105).

[0064]

[0073] The OTDOA assistance data may also include a "predicted RSTD" parameter, which provides the UE 105 with information about the RSTD value the UE 105 is expected to measure at its current location between the reference cell and each neighboring cell, along with the uncertainty of the expected RSTD parameter. The expected RSTD with uncertainty defines a search window for the UE 105 over which the UE 105 is expected to measure the RSTD value (or the TOA value corresponding to the RSTD value). The OTDOA assistance information may also include a PRS configuration information parameter, which enables the UE 105 to determine which PRS positioning occasions occur on signals received from various neighboring cells associated with the PRS positioning occasion for the reference cell, and the PRS sequences transmitted from various cells to measure the signal's time of arrival (TOA) or RSTD.

[0065]

[0074] Using the RSTD measurements, the known absolute or relative transmit timing of each cell, and the known locations of the ng-eNB 180 and / or eNB 170 physical transmit antennas for the reference and neighboring cells, the location of the UE 105 can be calculated (e.g., by the LMF 120 or by the UE 105). The RSTD for neighboring cell "k" with respect to the reference cell "Ref" can be calculated as follows: (TOA k -TOA Ref) The TOA measurements for different cells may be converted into RSTD measurements (e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 36.214 entitled "Physical layer; Measurements") and sent by the UE 105 to a location server (e.g., LMF 120). Using (i) the RSTD measurements, (ii) the known timing or relative transmit timing of each cell, and (iii) the known locations of the physical transmit antennas of the ng-eNB 180 and / or eNB 170 for the reference and neighboring cells, the location of the UE 105 may be determined.

[0066]

[0075] 7 illustrates a further aspect of PRS transmission for a cell supported by ng-eNB 180 or eNB 170. FIG. 7 shows that the PRS positioning occasion includes a system frame number (SFN), a cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS ), and PRS periodicity (T PRS ) 620. Typically, the cell-specific PRS subframe configuration is determined by the "PRS Configuration Index" I PRS The PRS periodicity (T PRS ) 620 and cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS ) (e.g., as shown in FIG. 7) is specified in 3GPP TS36.211 entitled "Physical channels and modulation" as illustrated in Table 1 below, along with the PRS configuration index I PRS It is defined based on [Table 1]

[0067]

[0076] The PRS configuration is defined with reference to the system frame number of the cell transmitting the PRS. PRS For the first subframe of the downlink subframe, the PRS instance may satisfy the following:

number

[0068]

[0077] As shown in Figure 7, the cell-specific subframe offset Δ PRS 752 may be defined in terms of the number of subframes transmitted starting from system frame number 0, from slot number 0 750 to the start of the first (subsequent) PRS positioning occasion. In FIG. 7, the number of consecutive positioning subframes 618 (N PRS ) is equal to 4.

[0069]

[0078] In some embodiments, the UE 105 uses a PRS configuration index I in the OTDOA assistance data for a particular cell. PRS When receiving the PRS, the UE 105 uses Table 1 to determine the PRS periodicity T PRS and PRS subframe offset Δ PRS The UE 105 may then determine the radio frame, subframe, and slot when the PRS is scheduled in the cell (e.g., using equation (1)). The OTDOA assistance data may include the number of neighbor cells defined by the LMF 120 and supported by the ng-eNB 180 and / or eNB 170, and assistance data for the reference cell.

[0070]

[0079] Typically, PRS opportunities from all cells in a network using the same carrier frequency are aligned in time and may have a fixed, known time offset relative to other cells in the network using different carrier frequencies. In an SFN synchronous network, all ng-eNBs 180 and all eNBs 170 may be aligned on both frame boundaries and system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN synchronous network, all cells supported by an ng-eNB 180 and an eNB 170 may use the same PRS configuration index for any particular frequency of PRS transmission. On the other hand, in an SFN asynchronous network, all ng-eNBs 180 and all eNBs 170 may be aligned on frame boundaries rather than system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN asynchronous network, the PRS configuration index for each cell may be configured separately by the network so that PRS opportunities are aligned in time.

[0071]

[0080] The UE 105 may determine the reference for OTDOA positioning and the LTE timing (also referred to as PRS timing) of the PRS opportunity of a neighbor cell if the UE 105 can acquire the cell timing (e.g., SFN or frame number) of at least one of a plurality of cells (e.g., a reference cell), for example, as in block 506 in Figure 5. The LTE timing of other cells may then be derived by the UE 105, for example, based on the assumption that PRS opportunities from different cells overlap.

[0072]

[0081] 6 and 7 show how LTE PRS timing may be conveyed, converted, and / or measured in blocks 506, 507, and 513 in FIG.

[0073]

[0082] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 800 for supporting UE location via 5G NR wireless access according to one embodiment. It should be noted that, like the drawings attached herein, FIG. 8 is provided as a non-limiting example. Other embodiments may vary depending on desired functionality. For example, the functional blocks illustrated in method 800 may be combined, divided, or rearranged to accommodate different embodiments. This method 800 may be performed by a UE, such as UE 105. The means for performing the functions of method 800 may include hardware and / or software means of a UE, such as UE 105, as shown and described above with respect to FIGS. 1-5 and in FIG. 11.

[0074]

[0083] The function in block 810 comprises receiving a first Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message from a location server such as a Location Management Function (e.g., LMF 120), where the first LPP message comprises a location request and is received via a serving 5G base station such as a gNB (e.g., gNB 110-1). Block 810 may correspond to action 417 in FIG. 4. Means for performing the function in block 810 may include, for example, a processing unit 1110, a bus 1105, a memory 1160, a wireless communication interface 1130, a wireless communication antenna 1132, and / or other hardware and / or software components of the UE 105, such as shown in FIG. 11 and described below.

[0075]

[0084] In block 820, at least one location measurement is obtained based on the first LPP message, where the at least one location measurement may be a measurement result for a radio access technology (RAT)-independent positioning method or a measurement result for an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) positioning method. In some embodiments, the RAT-independent positioning method may comprise assisted global navigation satellite system (A-GNSS), real-time kinematic (RTK), precise point positioning (PPP), differential A-GNSS, wireless local area network (WLAN) (also referred to as WiFi positioning), Bluetooth, sensors, or any combination thereof. The E-UTRA positioning method may comprise observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) for E-UTRA or enhanced cell ID (ECID) for E-UTRA. Block 820 may correspond to block 418 in FIG. 4.

[0076]

[0085] The means for performing the functions in block 820 may include, for example, a processing unit 1110, a bus 1105, a memory 1160, a wireless communication interface 1130, a wireless communication antenna 1132, and / or other hardware and / or software components of the UE 105, as shown in FIG. 11 and described below.

[0077]

[0086] The functions in block 830 include determining location information based on at least one location measurement. For example, the location information may comprise a location estimate for the UE. Alternatively, the location information may comprise at least one location measurement. Block 830 may correspond to block 418 in FIG. 4. Means for performing the functions in block 830 may include, for example, a processing unit 1110, a bus 1105, a memory 1160, a wireless communication interface 1130, a wireless communication antenna 1132, and / or other hardware and / or software components of the UE 105, such as shown in FIG. 11 and described below.

[0078]

[0087] The function at block 840 includes sending a second LPP message to a location server, where the second LPP message comprises the location information and is sent via the serving 5G base station. Block 840 may correspond to action 419 in FIG. 4. Means for performing the function at block 840 may include, for example, a processing unit 1110, a bus 1105, a memory 1160, a wireless communication interface 1130, a wireless communication antenna 1132, and / or other hardware and / or software components of the UE 105, such as shown in FIG. 11 and described below.

[0079]

[0088] Alternative embodiments of method 800 may include additional functionality depending on desired functionality. For example, in some embodiments, the first LPP message is an LPP Request Location Information message and the second LPP message is an LPP Provide Location Information message. Some embodiments further include receiving a third LPP message from a location server, where the third LPP message comprises assistance data for a RAT-independent positioning method or an E-UTRA positioning method and is received via the serving 5G base station, and obtaining the at least one location measurement result is based on the assistance data. The third LPP message may be an LPP Provide Assistance Data message (e.g., as in action 415 in FIG. 4).

[0080]

[0089] Some embodiments may further include receiving a fourth LPP message from the location server, where the fourth LPP message comprises a request for LPP positioning capability for the UE and is received via the serving 5G base station, and sending a fifth LPP message to the location server. The fifth LPP message may comprise LPP positioning capability for the UE and is sent via the serving 5G base station when the UE has NR wireless access. The fourth LPP message may comprise an LPP request capability message (e.g., as in action 403 in FIG. 4), and the fifth LPP message may comprise an LPP provide capability message (e.g., as in action 404 in FIG. 4).

[0081]

[0090] In some embodiments, method 800 may further comprise sending a request for a measurement gap to a serving 5G base station (e.g., as in action 508 in FIG. 5 ) and obtaining at least one location measurement during the measurement gap (e.g., as in actions 511, 512, or block 513 in FIG. 5 ). In some embodiments, the request for the measurement gap may comprise an NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. Further, in some embodiments, the at least one location measurement may comprise a Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement for OTDOA for E-UTRA, and the method further comprises sending a request for an idle period to a serving 5G base station (e.g., as in action 501 in FIG. 5 ) and obtaining LTE timing and / or a system frame number (SFN) for an OTDOA reference cell (e.g., for LTE) during the idle period (e.g., as in block 506 in FIG. 5 ), where the request for the measurement gap is based on the LTE timing and SFN (e.g., as in block 507 in FIG. 5 ). The request for the idle period may be sent to an NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. The OTDOA reference cell may be a cell for an eNB (e.g., eNB 170) in an E-UTRAN (e.g., E-UTRAN 150) or a cell for an ng-eNB (e.g., ng-eNB 180) in an NG-RAN (e.g., NG-RAN 135), which may include a serving 5G base station.

[0082]

[0091] Some embodiments further comprise sending an indication to an Access Management Function (AMF) (e.g., AMF 115), which may occur as part of positioning using the AMF, where the indication is an indication that the UE supports LPP over NR wireless access, where the AMF forwards the indication to a location server. Additionally or alternatively, for example, as described with respect to Figures 1-3, the first LPP message may be received in a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) transport message (e.g., a 5G NAS transport message) and the second LPP message may be sent in a NAS transport message (e.g., a 5G NAS transport message).

[0083]

[0092] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 900 in a location server, such as an LMF (e.g., LMF 120), for supporting location of a user equipment (UE), such as UE 105, over fifth-generation (5G) NR wireless access, according to one embodiment. Note that FIG. 9, like the drawings attached hereto, is provided as a non-limiting example. Other embodiments may vary depending on desired functionality. For example, the functional blocks illustrated in method 900 may be combined, divided, or rearranged to accommodate different embodiments. This method 900 may be performed by an LMF, such as LMF 120. Means for performing the functions of method 900 may include hardware and / or software means of a computer system, such as computer system 1200, shown in FIG. 12 and described in more detail below.

[0084]

[0093] The function at block 910 includes sending a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message to the UE, where a first LPP message comprises a location request and is sent via an Access Management Function (AMF) (e.g., AMF 115) and a serving 5G base station (e.g., gNB 110-1) for the UE. Block 910 may correspond to action 416 in FIG. 4. Means for performing the function at block 910 may include, for example, a processing unit 1210, a bus 1205, a communication subsystem 1230, a wireless communication interface 1233, a working memory 1235, an operating system 1240, an application 1245, and / or other hardware and / or software components of computer system 1200, such as those shown in FIG. 12 and described below.

[0085]

[0094] In block 920, a second LPP message is received from the UE, where the second LPP message comprises location information for the UE and is received via the AMF and the serving 5G base station, and the location information is based on at least one location measurement result obtained by the UE. The at least one location measurement result may be a measurement result for a radio access technology (RAT)-independent positioning method or a measurement result for an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) positioning method. In some embodiments, the RAT-independent positioning method may comprise assisted global navigation satellite system (A-GNSS), real-time kinematic (RTK), precise point positioning, differential A-GNSS, wireless local area network (WLAN), Bluetooth, sensors, or any combination thereof. The E-UTRA positioning method may comprise observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) for E-UTRA and / or extended cell ID (ECID) for E-UTRA. Block 920 may correspond to action 420 in FIG. 4. The means for performing the functions in block 920 may include, for example, a processing unit 1210, a bus 1205, a communication subsystem 1230, a wireless communication interface 1233, a working memory 1235, an operating system 1240, an application 1245, and / or other hardware and / or software components of the computer system 1200, as shown in FIG. 12 and described below.

[0086]

[0095] In block 930, the functions include determining a location estimate for the UE based on the location information. In some embodiments, the location information comprises a location estimate. In some other embodiments, the location information comprises at least one location measurement. Block 930 may correspond to block 421 in FIG. 4. Means for performing the functions in block 930 may include, for example, processing unit 1210, bus 1205, working memory 1235, operating system 1240, application 1245, and / or other hardware and / or software components of computer system 1200, as shown in FIG. 12 and described below.

[0087]

[0096] Alternative embodiments of method 900 may have one or more additional features. For example, the first LPP message may comprise an LPP Request Location Information message and the second LPP message may comprise an LPP Provide Location Information message.

[0088]

[0097] In some embodiments, method 900 may further comprise sending a third LPP message to the UE, where the third LPP message comprises assistance data for a RAT-independent positioning method and / or an E-UTRA positioning method and is sent via the AMF and the serving 5G base station, and where the at least one location measurement is based at least in part on the assistance data. In these embodiments, the third LPP message may comprise an LTE-Provided Assistance Data message (e.g., as action 414 in FIG. 4). In these embodiments, the at least one location measurement may be a location estimate for the OTDOA for E-UTRA, where the assistance data may comprise assistance data for at least one eNB (e.g., eNB 170) in the E-UTRAN (e.g., E-UTRAN 150) or at least one ng-eNB (e.g., eNB 180) in the NG-RAN (e.g., NG-RAN 135), which may include the serving 5G base station. In these embodiments, the assistance data may comprise configuration information for the PRS transmitted by at least one eNB or by at least one ng-eNB (e.g., as described with respect to action 414 for FIG. 4).

[0089]

[0098] Method 900 optionally further comprises sending a fourth LPP message to the UE, where the fourth LPP message comprises a request for LPP positioning capability for the UE and is sent via the AMF and the serving 5G base station, and receiving a fifth LPP message from the UE, where the fifth LPP message comprises LPP positioning capability for the UE and is received via the AMF and the serving 5G base station when the UE has NR wireless access. In some embodiments, the fourth LPP message may comprise an LPP request capability message (e.g., as in action 402 in FIG. 4), and the fifth LPP message may comprise an LPP provide capability message (e.g., as in action 405 in FIG. 4). Further, method 900 optionally comprises receiving an indication from the AMF, where the indication comprises an indication that the UE supports LPP over NR wireless access, and sending the fourth LPP message is based on the indication.

[0090]

[0099] FIG. 10 illustrates a method 1000 in a 5G base station, such as a gNB, for supporting location of a user equipment (UE), such as a UE 105, via NR wireless access, according to one embodiment. Note that FIG. 10, like the drawings attached herein, is provided as a non-limiting example. Other embodiments may vary depending on desired functionality. For example, the functional blocks illustrated in method 1000 may be combined, divided, or rearranged to accommodate different embodiments. Method 1000 may be performed by a gNB, such as gNB 110. Means for performing the functions of method 1000 may include hardware and / or software means of a computer system, such as computer system 1200, shown in FIG. 12 and described in more detail below.

[0091]

[0100] The functions in block 1010 include sending a first LPP message received from an AMF (e.g., AMF 115) to the UE. For example, block 1010 may include receiving a first LPP message (e.g., an LPP Request Location Information message) in a NAS transport message from the AMF (or from the AMF via an ng-eNB, such as ng-eNB 180) and sending the first LPP message in the NAS transport message to the UE as previously described in connection with FIGS. 1-3. In some embodiments, the 5G base station may be a serving base station for the UE. Block 1010 may correspond to supporting action 417 by gNB 110-1 in FIG. 4. The means for performing the functions in block 1010 may include, for example, a processing unit 1210, a bus 1205, a communication subsystem 1230, a wireless communication interface 1233, an antenna 1250, a working memory 1235, an operating system 1240, an application 1245, and / or other hardware and / or software components of computer system 1200, as shown in FIG. 12 and described below.

[0092]

[0101] In block 1020, the function includes receiving a request for a measurement gap from a UE (e.g., as in action 508 in FIG. 5). For example, the request for the measurement gap may comprise an NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. Means for performing the function in block 1020 may include, for example, processing unit 1210, bus 1205, communication subsystem 1230, wireless communication interface 1233, antenna 1250, working memory 1235, operating system 1240, application 1245, and / or other hardware and / or software components of computer system 1200, as shown in FIG. 12 and described below.

[0102] In block 1030, the functions include suspending NR transmission to the UE and suspending NR reception from the UE during a measurement gap, where the UE acquires at least one location measurement result based on the first LPP message during the measurement gap, the at least one location measurement result being a measurement result for a radio access technology (RAT)-independent positioning method or a measurement result for an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) positioning method. In some embodiments, the RAT-independent positioning method may comprise assisted global navigation satellite system (A-GNSS), real-time kinematic (RTK), precise point positioning (PPP), differential A-GNSS, wireless local area network (WLAN), Bluetooth, sensors, or any combination thereof. Further, the E-UTRA positioning method may comprise observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) for E-UTRA and / or enhanced cell ID (ECID) for E-UTRA. Block 1030 may correspond to block 510 in FIG. 5. The means for performing the functions in block 1030 may include, for example, a processing unit 1210, a bus 1205, a communication subsystem 1230, a wireless communication interface 1233, an antenna 1250, a working memory 1235, an operating system 1240, an application 1245, and / or other hardware and / or software components of computer system 1200, as shown in FIG. 12 and described below.

[0093]

[0103] In block 1040, the function includes forwarding a second LPP message received from the UE to the AMF, where the second LPP message comprises location information for the UE, and the location information is based on at least one location measurement result. For example, block 1040 may include receiving a second LPP message (e.g., an LPP Provide Location Information message) in a NAS transport message from the UE and sending the second LPP message in the NAS transport message to the AMF as previously described with respect to FIGS. 1-3 (or sending the second LPP message to the AMF via an ng-eNB, such as ng-eNB 180). In one embodiment, the location information comprises a location estimate for the UE. In another embodiment, the location information comprises at least one location measurement result. Block 1040 may correspond to supporting action 419 by gNB 110-1 in FIG. 4. The means for performing the functions in block 1040 may include, for example, a processing unit 1210, a bus 1205, a communication subsystem 1230, a wireless communication interface 1233, an antenna 1250, a working memory 1235, an operating system 1240, an application 1245, and / or other hardware and / or software components of computer system 1200, as shown in FIG. 12 and described below.

[0094]

[0104] Alternative embodiments of method 1000 may have one or more additional features. For example, as in action 509 in FIG. 5 , method 1000 optionally comprises sending an RRC message to the UE, where the RRC message may confirm the measurement gap requested by the UE at block 1010. Further, in some embodiments, the at least one location measurement result comprises a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement result for OTDOA for E-UTRA. In these embodiments, method 1000 optionally includes receiving a request from the UE for an idle period (e.g., as in action 501 in FIG. 5 ), suspending NR transmission to the UE and suspending NR reception from the UE during the idle period (e.g., as in action 503 in FIG. 5 ), where the UE acquires LTE timing and / or system frame number (SFN) for the OTDOA reference cell during the idle period (e.g., as in block 506 in FIG. 5 ), and the request for the measurement gap (e.g., as described with respect to block 507 with respect to FIG. 5 ) is based on the LTE timing and / or SFN. In these embodiments, the request for the idle period may comprise an NR radio resource control (RRC) message. In these embodiments, the method 1000 further comprises sending an RRC message to the UE, where the RRC message confirms the idle period (e.g., as in action 502 in FIG. 5).

[0095]

[0105] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a UE 105 that may be utilized as described above and in the embodiments described in connection with FIGS. 1-10. It should be noted that FIG. 11 is intended only to provide a general illustration of various components of a UE 105, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. In other words, because UEs can vary widely in functionality, they may include only a portion of the components illustrated in FIG. 11. It should be noted that in some instances, the elements illustrated in FIG. 11 may be localized in a single physical device and / or distributed among various networked devices, which may be located in different physical locations.

[0096]

[0106] The UE 105 is shown to comprise hardware elements that can be electrically coupled (or otherwise in communication as appropriate) via a bus 1105. The hardware elements may comprise a processing unit 1110, which may comprise, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing (DPS) chips, graphics acceleration processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICS), and / or the like), and / or other processing configurations or means, which may be configured to perform one or more of the methods described herein. As illustrated in FIG. 11 , some embodiments may have a separate DPS 1120, depending on the desired functionality. The UE 105 may also comprise one or more input devices 1170, which may comprise, but is not limited to, one or more touchscreens, touchpads, microphones, buttons, dials, switches, and / or the like, and one or more output devices 1115, which may comprise, but is not limited to, one or more displays, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, and / or the like.

[0097]

[0107] The UE 105 may also include a wireless communication interface 1130, comprising, but not limited to, a modem, a network card, an interferometric 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 WiFi device, a WiMAX device, a cellular communication facility, etc.), and / or the like, which may enable the UE 105 to communicate over the networks described above with reference to FIGS. 1-3. The wireless communication interface 1130 may allow data to be communicated with a network, an eNB, an ng-eNB, a gNB, and / or other network components, a computer system, and / or other electronic devices described herein. Communications may be carried via an antenna 1132, which transmits and / or receives one or more wireless communications via wireless signals 1134.

[0098]

[0108] According to the described functionality, the wireless communication interface 1130 may comprise separate transceivers for communicating with base stations (e.g., eNBs, ng-eNBs, and / or gNBs) and other terrestrial transceivers, such as wireless devices and access points. The UE 105 may communicate with different data networks, which may comprise various network types. For example, a wireless wide area network (WWAN) may be a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network, an orthogonal frequency multiple access (OFDMA) network, a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, WiMax (IEEE 802.16), etc. A CDMA network may implement one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as cdma2000, wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), etc. CDMA2000 includes IS-95, IS-2000, and / or IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS), or some other RAT. An OFDMA network may use LTE, LTE Advanced, New Radio (NR), etc. 5G, LTE, LTE Advanced, NR, 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. A wireless local area network (WLAN) may also be an IEEE 802.11x network, and a 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.

[0099]

[0109] The UE 105 may further include sensors 1140. Such sensors may include, but are not limited to, one or more internal sensors (e.g., accelerometer, gyroscope, inertial-measurement unit (IMU), camera, magnetometer, compass, altimeter, microphone, proximity sensor, light sensor, barometer, etc.), some of which may be used to supplement and / or facilitate the position determination described herein.

[0100]

[0110] Embodiments of the UE 105 may also include a GNSS receiver 1180 capable of receiving signals 1184 from one or more GNSS satellites (e.g., SV190) using a GNSS antenna 1182 (combined in some implementations with antenna 1132). Such positioning may be utilized to complement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. The GNSS receiver 1180 may extract the location of the UE 105 using conventional techniques from the GNSS SVs (e.g., SV190) of a GNSS system such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, Glonass, Compass, the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) for Japan, the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) for India, Beidou for China, and / or the like. Additionally, the GNSS receiver 1180 may use various augmentation systems (e.g., Satellite Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS)) that may be associated with or otherwise available for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. By way of example and not limitation, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation Systems (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Multi-Satellite Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), GPS-Aided Geostationary Satellite-Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geostationary Satellite-Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), and / or the like. Thus, as used herein, GNSS may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems and / or augmentation systems, and GNSS signals may include GNSS-like signals and / or other signals associated with such one or more GNSS.

[0101]

[0111] The UE 105 may further include and / or communicate with memory 1160. The memory 1160 may comprise local and / or network-accessible storage, such as, but not limited to, random access memory (“RAM”) and / or read-only memory (“ROM”), disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices, which may be programmable, flash-updateable, and / or the like. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, and / or the like.

[0102]

[0112] The memory 1160 of the wireless device 105 may also comprise software elements (not shown), including other code, such as an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs, which may comprise computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments as described herein. By way of example only, one or more procedures described with respect to the functions described above may be implemented as code and / or instructions executable by the UE 105 (and / or a processing unit within the UE 105). Thus, in one aspect, such code and / or instructions may 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.

[0103]

[0113] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system 1200 that may be used, in whole or in part, to provide the functionality of one or more network components as described in the above embodiments (e.g., LMF 120, AMF 115, gNBs 110, ng-eNB 180, eNB 170, etc.). It should be noted that FIG. 12 is intended only to provide a general illustration of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. Thus, FIG. 12 broadly illustrates how individual system elements may be implemented in a relatively separate or relatively more integrated manner. Additionally, it should be noted that the components illustrated by FIG. 12 may be localized into a single device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be dispersed across different geographic locations.

[0104]

[0114] Computer system 1200 is shown to comprise hardware elements that may be electrically coupled (or otherwise communicate as appropriate) via a bus 1205. The hardware elements may include a processing unit 1210, which may comprise, 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, and / or the like), and / or other processing configurations, which may be configured to perform one or more of the methods described herein. Computer system 1200 may also comprise one or more input devices 1215, which may comprise, but is not limited to, a mouse, keyboard, camera, microphone, and / or the like, and one or more output devices 1220, which may comprise, but is not limited to, a display device, printer, and / or the like.

[0105]

[0115] Computer system 1200 may further include (and / or be in communication with) one or more non-transitory storage devices 1225, which may comprise, but are not limited to, local and / or network-accessible storage and / or may comprise, but are not limited to, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as programmable and flash-updatable random access memory (“RAM”) and / or read-only memory (“ROM”), and / or the like. Such storage devices may be configured to perform any suitable data storage, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, and / or the like. Such data storage may include databases and / or other data structures, as described herein, using storage and management messages and / or other information sent to one or more devices via a hub.

[0106]

[0116] Computer system 1200 may also include a communications subsystem 1230, which may comprise wireless communications technologies managed and controlled by a wireless communications interface 1233, as well as wired technologies (such as Ethernet, coaxial communications, Universal Serial Bus (USB), and / or the like). Wireless communications interface 1233 may transmit and receive wireless signals 1255 (e.g., signals according to NR or LTE) via a wireless antenna 1250. Thus, communications subsystem 1230 may comprise a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communications device, a wireless communications device, and / or a chipset, and / or the like, which may enable computer system 1200 to communicate in any or all of the communications networks described herein to any device on the respective network, including a UE (e.g., UE 105), other computer systems (e.g., AMF 115, gNB 110, ng-eNB 180, and / or eNB 170), and / or any other electronic device described herein. Thus, the communications subsystem 1230 may be used to send and receive data as described in the embodiments herein.

[0107]

[0117] In many embodiments, computer system 1200 may further comprise working memory 1235, which may comprise RAM or ROM devices, as described above. Software elements shown as residing in working memory 1235 may comprise other code, such as an operating system 1240, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more applications 1245, which may comprise computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more procedures described with respect to the methods described above may be executed as code and / or instructions executable by a computer (and / or a processing unit within a computer); in one aspect, such code and / or instructions can 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.

[0108]

[0118] These sets of instructions and / or code may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as storage device 1225 described above. In some cases, the storage medium may be incorporated within a computer system, such as computer system 1200. 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 may be provided in an installation package such that the storage medium can be used to program, configure, and / or adapt a general-purpose computer with the stored instructions / code. These instructions may take the form of executable code that is executable by computer system 1200 and / or may take the form of source and / or installable code that is then compiled and / or installed on computer system 1200 (e.g., using any of a variety of commonly available compilers, installation programs, compression / decompression utilities, etc.).

[0109]

[0119] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that considerable modifications may be made according to particular needs. 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, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be used.

[0110]

[0120] Additionally, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may result in novel functionality in the UE, location server, and / or base station.

[0111]

[0121] For example, embodiments may include a method, means for performing, or device configured to perform a function in a location server for supporting location of a UE over 5G NR wireless access, where the functions include sending a first LPP message to the UE, the first LPP message comprising a location request and sent for the UE via the AMF and a serving 5G base station. The functions further include receiving a second LPP message from the UE, where the second LPP message comprises location information for the UE and is received via the AMF and the serving 5G base station, where the location information is based on at least one location measurement result obtained by the UE, the at least one location measurement result comprising a measurement result for a RAT-independent positioning method or a measurement result for an E-UTRA positioning method. The functions also include determining a location measurement result for the UE based on the location information.

[0112]

[0122] Alternative embodiments may additionally include one or more of the following features: The location information may comprise a location estimate or at least one location measurement; The first LPP message may comprise an LPP Request Location Information message, and the second LPP message may comprise an LPP Provide Location Information message; The RAT-independent positioning method may comprise Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning, Differential A-GNSS, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth, sensors, or any combination thereof; The E-UTRA positioning method may comprise Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) for E-UTRA, or Enhanced Cell ID (ECID) for E-UTRA, or any combination thereof. The function may further include sending a third LPP message to the UE, where the third LPP message comprises assistance data for a RAT-independent positioning method or an E-UTRA positioning method and is sent via the AMF and the serving 5G base station, and where the at least one location measurement result is based at least in part on the assistance data. The third LPP message may comprise an LPP Provide Assistance Data message. The at least one location measurement result comprises a location measurement result for an OTDOA for E-UTRA, where the assistance data comprises assistance data for at least one evolved Node B in an E-UTRA network (E-UTRAN) or at least one next generation eNB (ng-eNB) in a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), where the serving 5G base station is in the NG-RAN. The assistance data may comprise configuration information for a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted by the at least one eNB or by the at least one ng-eNB.The function further comprises sending a fourth LPP message to the UE, where the fourth LPP message comprises a request for LPP positioning capability of the UE and is sent via the AMF and the serving 5G base station, and receiving a fifth LPP message from the UE, where the fifth LPP message may comprise LPP positioning capability of the UE when the UE has NR wireless access and is received via the AMF and the serving 5G base station. The fourth LPP message comprises an LPP request capability message, and the fifth LPP message comprises an LPP provide capability message. The function further comprises receiving an indication from the AMF, where the indication comprises an indication that the UE supports LPP over NR wireless access, and sending the fourth LPP message is based on the indication.

[0113]

[0123] In another example, an embodiment may include a method, means for performing, or device configured to perform a function in a 5G New Radio (NR) base station to support location of a UE using 5G NR wireless access, where the function comprises sending a first Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message received from an Access Management Function (AMF) to the UE and suspending NR transmission to and NR reception from the UE during a measurement gap, where the UE obtains at least one location measurement result based on the first LPP message during the measurement gap, the at least one location measurement result being a measurement result for a Radio Access Technology (RAT)-independent positioning method or an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) positioning method. The function further comprises sending a second LPP message received from the UE to the AMF, where the second LPP message comprises location information for the UE, the location information being based on the at least one location measurement result.

[0114]

[0124] Alternative embodiments may additionally include one or more of the following features: The 5G NR base station may comprise a serving base station for the UE. The 5G NR base station may forward the first LPP message and the second LPP message in a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) transport message. The RAT-independent positioning method may comprise Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential A-GNSS, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth, sensors, or any combination thereof. The E-UTRA positioning method may comprise Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) for E-UTRA, or Enhanced Cell ID (ECID) for E-UTRA, or any combination thereof. The location information may comprise a location estimate for the UE. The location information may comprise at least one location measurement result. The request for a measurement gap may comprise an NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. The function may also comprise sending an RRC message to the UE, where the RRC confirms the measurement gap. The at least one location measurement result may comprise a Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement result for OTDOA for E-UTRA, and the function further comprises receiving a request for an idle period from the UE and suspending NR transmission to the UE and NR reception from the UE during the idle period, where the UE acquires LTE timing and a system frame number (SFN) for the OTDOA reference cell during the idle period, and the request for the measurement gap is based on the LTE timing and SFN. The request for the idle period may comprise an NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. The function further comprises sending an RRC message to the UE, where the RRC confirms the idle period.

[0115]

[0125] With reference to the accompanying drawings, components that may comprise memory may comprise 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 described above, various machine-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code to a processing unit and / or other device for execution. Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable media may be used to store and / or transport such instructions / code. In many implementations, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, magnetic and / or optical media, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with a pattern of holes, random access memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), flash EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described below, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or code.

[0116]

[0126] 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 a particular embodiment may be combined in other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of the embodiments may be combined in a similar manner. Various components of the diagrams described herein may be embodied in hardware and / or software. Also, because technology evolves, many elements are examples that do not limit the scope of the disclosure to those specific examples.

[0117]

[0127] References throughout this specification to "one example," "an example," "a particular example," or "an exemplary implementation" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with a feature and / or example may be included in at least one feature and / or example of the claimed subject matter. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one example," "an example," "a particular example," or "in a particular implementation," or other similar phrases, in various places throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same features, examples, and / or limitations. Furthermore, particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in one or more examples and / or characteristics.

[0118]

[0128] Some portions of the detailed descriptions contained herein are presented in terms of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on binary digital signals stored within the memory of a specific apparatus or special-purpose computing device or platform. In the context of this particular specification, the term specific apparatus or the like includes a general-purpose computer that, once programmed, performs particular operations pursuant to instructions from program software. Algorithmic descriptions or symbolic representations are examples of techniques used by those skilled in the signal processing or related arts to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, considered to be a self-consistent sequence of operations and / or similar signal processing leading to a desired result. In this context, operations or processing involve physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, such quantities may take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, data, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, numerals, or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these or similar terms are to be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise indicated, as will be apparent from the description herein, it will be understood that throughout this specification, descriptions utilizing terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," or the like refer to the actions or processes of a particular apparatus, such as a special purpose computer, a special purpose computing apparatus, or a similar special purpose electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a special purpose computer or a similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals that are typically represented as physical electronic or magnetic quantities within memories, registers, or other information storage, transmission, or display devices of the special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device.

[0119]

[0129] In the preceding detailed description, numerous specific details have been set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods and apparatuses that are known to those skilled in the art have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the claimed subject matter.

[0120]

[0130] The terms "and," "or," and "and / or," as used herein, can include a variety of meanings that are also expected to depend, at least in part, on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, when "or" is used to link a list such as A, B, or C, it is intended to mean A, B, and C, used herein in an inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, used herein in an exclusive sense. Additionally, the term "one or more," as used herein, can be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or it can be used to describe a plurality of features, structures, or characteristics or some other combination thereof. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example and that claimed subject matter is not limited to this example.

[0121]

[0131] While what are presently considered to be example features have been illustrated and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other modifications may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the claimed subject matter. Additionally, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation to the teachings of the claimed subject matter without departing from the central concept described herein.

[0122]

[0132] Accordingly, it is intended that claimed subject matter not be limited to the particular examples disclosed, but that such claimed subject matter also include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. 1. A method in a user equipment (UE) for supporting location of the UE via fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) wireless access, the method comprising: receiving a first Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message from a location server, wherein the first LPP message comprises a location request and is received via a serving 5G base station; obtaining at least one location measurement result based on the first LPP message, wherein the at least one location measurement result comprises a measurement result for a Radio Access Technology (RAT) independent positioning method or a measurement result for an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) positioning method; determining location information based on the at least one location measurement; sending a second LPP message to the location server, wherein the second LPP message comprises the location information and is sent via the serving 5G base station; A method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the location server comprises a Location Management Function (LMF).

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the location information comprises a location estimate for the UE.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the location information comprises the at least one location measurement.

5. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first LPP message comprises an LPP Request Location Information message and the second LPP message comprises an LPP Provide Location Information message.

6. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one location measurement comprises the measurement result for the RAT-independent positioning method, wherein the RAT-independent positioning method comprises Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential A-GNSS, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth, a sensor, or any combination thereof; or wherein the at least one location measurement comprises the measurement result for the E-UTRA positioning method, wherein the E-UTRA positioning method comprises Observed Time Difference of Arrival for E-UTRA (OTDOA), or Enhanced Cell ID for E-UTRA (ECID), or any combination thereof.

7. receiving a third LPP message from the location server, the third LPP message comprising assistance data for the RAT-independent positioning method or the E-UTRA positioning method and received via the serving 5G base station, and obtaining the at least one location measurement result based on the assistance data; The method of claim 1.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the third LPP message comprises an LPP Provide Assistance Data message.

9. Sending a request for a measurement gap to the serving 5G base station; obtaining the at least one location measurement during a measurement gap; The method of claim 8 further comprising:

10. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the request for a measurement gap comprises an NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

11. the at least one location measurement comprises a Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement for Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) for E-UTRA; sending a request for an idle period to the serving 5G base station; acquiring LTE timing and system frame number (SFN) for an OTDOA reference cell during the idle period, wherein the request for a measurement gap is based on the LTE timing and the SFN; The method of claim 9 further comprising:

12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the OTDOA reference cell comprises a cell for an evolved Node B (eNB) in an E-UTRA network (E-UTRAN) or a cell for a next generation eNB (ng-eNB) in a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), and the serving 5G base station is in the NG-RAN.

13. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the request for the idle period comprises an NR Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

14. receiving a fourth LPP message from the location server, wherein the fourth LPP message comprises a request for LPP positioning capability for the UE and is received via the serving 5G base station; Sending a fifth LPP message to the location server, wherein the fifth LPP message comprises the LPP positioning capability of the UE when the UE has NR wireless access and is sent via the serving 5G base station; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the fourth LPP message comprises an LPP request capabilities message and the fifth LPP message comprises an LPP provide capabilities message.

16. and sending an indication to an Access Management Function (AMF), the indication comprising an indication that the UE supports LPP over NR wireless access, the AMF forwarding the indication to the location server. The method of claim 1.

17. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first LPP message is received in a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) transport message and the second LPP message is sent in a NAS transport message.

18. A user equipment (UE) having fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) wireless access, a wireless communication interface; Memory and a processing unit communicatively connected to the wireless communication interface and the memory; and the processing unit is configured to cause the UE to: receiving a first Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message from a location server using the wireless communication interface, wherein the first LPP message comprises a location request and is received via a serving fifth-generation (5G) base station; obtaining, using the wireless communication interface, at least one location measurement result based on the first LPP message, wherein the at least one location measurement result comprises a measurement result for a Radio Access Technology (RAT) independent positioning method or a measurement result for an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) positioning method; determining location information based on the at least one location measurement; sending a second LPP message to the location server using the wireless communication interface, wherein the second LPP message comprises the location information and is sent via the serving 5G base station; The UE is configured to cause

19. 20. The UE of claim 18, wherein the processing unit is further configured to cause the UE to determine the location information by determining a location estimate for the UE.

20. 19. The UE of claim 18, wherein the processing unit is configured to cause the UE to obtain the at least one location measurement result comprising the measurement result for the RAT-independent positioning method, wherein the RAT-independent positioning method comprises Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential A-GNSS, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth, a sensor, or any combination thereof; or wherein the processing unit is configured to cause the UE to obtain the at least one location measurement result for the E-UTRA positioning method, wherein the E-UTRA positioning method comprises Observed Time Difference of Arrival for E-UTRA (OTDOA), or Enhanced Cell ID for E-UTRA (ECID), or any combination thereof.

21. The processing unit may include: receiving a third LPP message from the location server using the wireless communication interface, wherein the third LPP message comprises assistance data for the RAT-independent positioning method or the E-UTRA positioning method and is received via the serving 5G base station; obtaining the at least one location measurement based on the auxiliary data; and The UE of claim 18, further configured to:

22. 22. The UE of claim 21, wherein the processing unit is further configured to cause the UE to receive the third LPP message comprising an LPP Provide Assistance Data message.

23. The processing unit may include: sending a request for a measurement gap to the serving 5G base station using the wireless communication interface; obtaining the at least one location measurement during a measurement gap; The UE of claim 22, further configured to:

24. 23. The UE of claim 22, wherein the processing unit is configured to cause the UE to send the request for a measurement gap using an NR radio resource control (RRC) message.

25. The at least one location measurement comprises a Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement for Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) for E-UTRA, and the processing unit is configured to cause the UE to: sending a request for an idle period to the serving 5G base station using the wireless communication interface; acquiring LTE timing and system frame number (SFN) for an OTDOA reference cell during the idle period; basing the request for a measurement gap on the LTE timing and the SFN; 23. The UE of claim 22, configured to:

26. The processing unit may include: receiving a fourth LPP message from the location server using the wireless communication interface, wherein the fourth LPP message comprises a request for LPP positioning capability for the UE and is received via the serving 5G base station; Sending a fifth LPP message to the location server using the wireless communication interface, wherein the fifth LPP message comprises the LPP positioning capability of the UE and is sent via the serving 5G base station when the UE has NR wireless access; The UE of claim 18, further configured to:

27. The processing unit may include: The wireless communication interface is further configured to cause an indication to be sent to an Access Management Function (AMF), the indication indicating that the UE supports LPP over NR wireless access, and the AMF forwarding the indication to the location server.

19. The UE of claim 18.

28. A device, means for receiving a first Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message from a location server, wherein the first LPP message comprises a location request and is received via a serving fifth generation (5G) base station; means for obtaining at least one location measurement result based on the first LPP message, wherein the at least one location measurement result comprises a measurement result for a Radio Access Technology (RAT) independent positioning method or a measurement result for an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) positioning method. means for determining location information based on said at least one location measurement; means for sending a second LPP message to the location server, wherein the second LPP message comprises the location information and is sent via the serving 5G base station; A device comprising:

29. The device of claim 28 , wherein the location information comprises a location estimate for the device.

30. 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having embedded thereon instructions that cause a user equipment (UE) to support location of the UE via fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) wireless access, the instructions, when executed by a processing unit of the UE, to cause the UE to: receiving a first Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message from a location server, wherein the first LPP message comprises a location request and is received via a serving 5G base station; obtaining at least one location measurement result based on the first LPP message, wherein the at least one location measurement result comprises a measurement result for a Radio Access Technology (RAT) independent positioning method or a measurement result for an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) positioning method; determining location information based on the at least one location measurement; sending a second LPP message to the location server, wherein the second LPP message comprises the location information and is sent via the serving 5G base station; A non-transitory computer-readable medium for causing

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