SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVING POSITIONING OF USER EQUIPMENT - Patent application

Abstract

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including, but not limited to, systems and methods for positioning of a user equipment (UE). Presented is a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium for positioning. A wireless communication node may identify a condition associated with a positioning method related to a wireless communication device. The wireless communication node may determine a value of a qualification flag based on whether at least one of measurement results or assistance data associated with the positioning method satisfies the condition.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including, but not limited to, systems and methods for positioning of user equipment (UE). [Background technology]

[0002] The standardization body, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®), is currently in the process of defining a new air interface, called 5G New Radio (5G NR) and Next Generation Packet Core Network (NG-CN or NGC). The 5G NR will have three main components: the 5G Access Network (5G-AN), the 5G Core Network (5GC), and the User Equipment (UE). To facilitate the availability of different data services and requirements, elements of the 5GC, also called network functions, have been simplified with some of them being software-based so that they can be adapted according to the need. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are directed to solving problems associated with one or more of the problems presented in the prior art, and providing additional features that will become readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. According to various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example, not limitation, and various modifications to the disclosed embodiments may be made while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon perusal of the present disclosure.

[0004] At least one aspect is directed to a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium for positioning. A wireless communication node may identify a condition associated with a positioning method associated with a wireless communication device. The wireless communication node may determine a value of a qualification flag based on whether at least one of measurement results or assistance data associated with the positioning method satisfies the condition.

[0005] In some embodiments, the qualification flag may be configured for a particular wireless communication node for a particular positioning method, hi some embodiments, the wireless communication node may perform a logical operation on multiple error sources associated with a particular positioning method to determine the value of the qualification flag.

[0006] In some embodiments, the qualification flag may be configured based on a particular positioning reference signal (PRS) resource. In some embodiments, the qualification flag may be configured based on a particular positioning reference signal (PRS) frequency layer. In some embodiments, the qualification flag may be configured for a particular positioning method.

[0007] In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may report to the core network a value of a certified flag set by the wireless communication device. In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may calculate a value of the certified flag. In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may report the value of the certified flag to the core network.

[0008] In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may receive a message from the core network indicating the condition, hi some embodiments, the message may be transmitted through at least one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer.

[0009] In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may receive a message from the core network indicating a plurality of positioning methods and their respective integrity parameters, hi some embodiments, the wireless communication node may report to the core network a value of a qualification flag associated with each of the plurality of positioning methods. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] Various exemplary embodiments of the present solution are described in detail below with reference to the following figures or drawings. The drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and merely depict exemplary embodiments of the present solution to facilitate the reader's understanding of the present solution. Thus, the drawings should not be considered as limiting the scope, scope, or applicability of the present solution. Please note that for clarity and ease of illustration, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example cellular communication network in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example base station and user equipment device in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0013] [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary downlink positioning method qualification configuration procedure, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment.

[0014] [Figure 4] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary uplink positioning method qualification configuration procedure, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment.

[0015] [Diagram 5]FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example mapping between positioning methods and measurements, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment.

[0016] [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for positioning of a wireless communication device in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Detailed Description Various exemplary embodiments of the present solution are described below with reference to the accompanying figures to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the present solution. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, after perusing the present disclosure, various changes or modifications to the examples described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the present solution. Thus, the present solution is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. In addition, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is merely an example approach. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of a disclosed method or process can be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present solution. Thus, those skilled in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or acts in a sample order, and that the present solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented, unless expressly stated otherwise.

[0018] 1. Mobile communication technology and environment FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication network and / or system 100 in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following discussion, the wireless communication network 100 may be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband Internet of Things (NE-IoT) network, and is referred to herein as "network 100." Such an example network 100 includes a base station 102 (hereinafter also referred to as "BS 102," a wireless communication node), user equipment devices 104 (hereinafter also referred to as "UE 104," a wireless communication device), which may communicate with each other via communication links 110 (e.g., wireless communication channels), and a cluster of cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 overlaying a geographic area 101. In FIG. 1, the BS 102 and the UE 104 are contained within the respective geographic boundaries of the cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 may include at least one base station operating in its allocated bandwidth and providing adequate wireless coverage to its intended users.

[0019] For example, the BS 102 may operate in an allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide adequate coverage to the UE 104. The BS 102 and the UE 104 may communicate via downlink radio frames 118 and uplink radio frames 124, respectively. Each radio frame 118 / 124 may be further divided into subframes 120 / 127, which may include data symbols 122 / 128. In this disclosure, the BS 102 and the UE 104 are generally described herein as non-limiting examples of "communication nodes" that may practice the methods disclosed herein. Such communication nodes may be capable of wireless and / or wired communication in accordance with various embodiments of the present solution.

[0020] 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM / OFDMA signals) in accordance with some embodiments of the present solution. System 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operational features that need not be described in detail herein. In one illustrative embodiment, system 200 can be used to communicate (e.g., transmit and receive) data symbols in a wireless communication environment, such as wireless communication environment 100 of FIG. 1, as described above.

[0021] The system 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter "BS 202") and a user equipment device 204 (hereinafter "UE 204"). The BS 202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each of which is coupled and interconnected with each other, as needed, via a data communication bus 220. The UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each of which is coupled and interconnected with each other, as needed, via a data communication bus 240. The BS 202 communicates with the UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which may be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for the transmission of data as described herein.

[0022] As would be understood by one skilled in the art, system 200 may further include any number of modules other than those shown in FIG. 2. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software may depend on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those familiar with the concepts described herein may implement such functionality in a suitable manner for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

[0023] According to some embodiments, the UE transceiver 230 may be referred to herein as an “uplink” transceiver 230 including a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and an RF receiver, each with circuitry coupled to the antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in a time-duplex manner. Similarly, according to some embodiments, the BS transceiver 210 may be referred to herein as a “downlink” transceiver 210 including an RF transmitter and an RF receiver, each with circuitry coupled to the antenna 212. A downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in a time-duplex manner. The operation of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212 at the same time that the uplink receiver circuitry is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 for reception of transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250. Conversely, the operation of the two transceivers 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the uplink transmitter is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 at the same time that the downlink receiver is coupled to the downlink antenna 212 for reception of transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250. In some embodiments, there is close time synchronization with minimal guard time between changes in duplex direction.

[0024] The UE transceiver 230 and base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate over a wireless data communication link 250 and cooperate with suitably configured RF antenna arrays 212 / 232 that may support a particular wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some demonstrative embodiments, the UE transceiver 210 and base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards and equivalents. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited in application to a particular standard and associated protocol. Rather, the UE transceiver 230 and base station transceiver 210 may be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variations thereof.

[0025] According to various embodiments, the BS 202 may be, for example, an evolved Node B (eNB), a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femto station, or a pico station. In some embodiments, the UE 204 may be embodied in various types of user devices, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet, a laptop computer, a wearable computing device, etc. The processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented or realized with a general purpose processor, an associative memory, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the processor may be realized as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, or the like. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

[0026] Furthermore, the steps of the methods or algorithms described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied in hardware, firmware, software modules, or any practical combination thereof, executed directly by the processor modules 214 and 236, respectively. The memory modules 216 and 234 may be realized as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, the memory modules 216 and 234 may be coupled to the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, such that the processor modules 210 and 230 may read information from and write information to the memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. The memory modules 216 and 234 may also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, the memory modules 216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

[0027] The network communications module 218 generally represents hardware, software, firmware, processing logic, and / or other components of the base station 202 that enable bidirectional communications between the base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with the base station 202. For example, the network communications module 218 may be configured to support Internet or WiMAX traffic. In a typical deployment, without limitation, the network communications module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface so that the base station transceiver 210 may communicate with conventional Ethernet-based computer networks. As such, the network communications module 218 may include a physical interface for connection to a computer network (e.g., a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)). As used herein with respect to a specified operation or function, the terms “configured for,” “configured to,” and conjugations thereof refer to devices, components, circuits, structures, machines, signals, etc. that are physically constructed, programmed, formatted, and / or arranged to perform a specified operation or function.

[0028] The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (referred to herein as the "Open Systems Interconnection Model") is a conceptual and logical layout that defines the network communications used by systems (e.g., wireless communication devices, wireless communication nodes) that are open to interconnection and communication with other systems. The model is separated into seven subcomponents or layers, each of which represents a conceptual collection of services provided to the layers above and below it. The OSI model also defines logical networks and effectively describes computer packet transfers by using different layer protocols. The OSI model may also be referred to as the seven-layer OSI model or seven-layer model. In some embodiments, the first layer may be the physical layer. In some embodiments, the second layer may be the medium access control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, the third layer may be the radio link control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, the fourth layer may be the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, the fifth layer may be the radio resource control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, the sixth layer may be a non-access layer (NAS) layer or an Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and the seventh layer may be another layer.

[0029] 2. Systems and methods for improving user equipment positioning Positioning integrity may be considered for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning methods and assisted GNSS positioning methods. Positioning integrity may provide a method for evaluating the reliability of a position estimate. The scope of such positioning integrity may be limited to Radio Access Technology (RAT) independent positioning methods under certain approaches. It may also be considered to extend the positioning integrity method to RAT dependent positioning and identification methods and to implement a signaling transmission procedure between a location management function (LMF) and a user equipment (UE) for RAT dependent positioning integrity. Presented herein are systems and methods for implementing a signaling procedure for a RAT dependent positioning method. Below are detailed contents described that may be transmitted or reported during reporting procedures.

[0030] Positioning integrity may be a measure of the confidence in the accuracy of location-related data provided by a positioning system and the ability to provide timely and valid warnings to location service (LCS) clients when the positioning system does not meet the conditions for intended operation. For statistical evaluation, a protection level (PL) may be defined to measure a real-time upper bound of the positioning error at a specified confidence level. The confidence level may be determined by a target integrity risk (TIR) ​​probability. The PL may depend on various factors such as the TIR, the time to alert (TTA), the positioning error (PE), among others. The PL may, for example, satisfy the following inequality: Probability per unit time [(PE>AL) and (PL<=AL) to be longer than TTA)]<required TIR (Equation 2.1) When a PL bounds the positioning error in the horizontal plane or on the vertical axis, it may be referred to as a Horizontal Protection Level (HPL) or Vertical Protection Level (VPL), respectively. A specific equation for the PL may not be specified since it is implementation-defined. To be considered valid, the PL should satisfy the above inequality.

[0031] Embodiment 1: Radio Access Technology (RAT) dependent positioning method In general, positioning integrity may be a measure of confidence in the accuracy of location-related data provided by a positioning system and the ability of the positioning system to provide timely and useful warnings to LCS clients when the conditions for intended operation are not met. Positioning integrity monitoring may already be supported by GNSS service providers. Certain standards may exist for extending revenue-generating collaboration of connected devices that may benefit from positioning integrity.

[0032] Therefore, it may be beneficial to extend the integrity procedures for A-GNSS to RAT-dependent positioning, including all radio positioning methods (e.g., as defined in Rel-16 and 17), so that the integrity may enable an application or LCS client to make the correct decision. For example, when a radio positioning system cannot provide sufficiently accurate positioning services for an autonomous driving use case, the system may trigger a concern event report to an LCS client for a warning, and then the driving mode may be switched to manual driving for safety.

[0033] To extend positioning integrity to RAT-dependent positioning methods, new error sources and integrity parameters defined for RAT-dependent positioning methods may be considered. Error sources for RAT-dependent positioning methods may include the following: For timing-based positioning methods, error sources may include, among others, transmission / reception point (TRP) or UE measurement errors (e.g., time of arrival (ToA) and receive-transmit timing difference, among others) and errors in assistance data (e.g., TRP location, inter-TRP synchronization error). Under angle-based positioning methods, error sources may include, among others, TRP or UE measurement errors (e.g., angle of arrival (AoA), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received path power (RSRPP)) and errors in assistance data (e.g., TRP location and TRP beam antenna information). Additional error sources for other positioning methods, such as sidelink positioning, may exist.

[0034] The integrity parameters may be included in the New Radio (NR) specific assistance data information. The parameters may include errors (e.g., origins of error sources as discussed above) and bounds. The integrity bounds may provide a statistical distribution of residual errors associated with the RAT dependent positioning method. The bounds may be calculated according to Equation 2.1, as discussed above. In the form of the mean and standard deviation used in the integrity overbounding model, the bounds may correspond to specific error sources. These sources may be reported to the LCS at the UE side or at the Location Management Function (LMF) side according to the error source and the positioning method.

[0035] For error sources from assistance data (e.g., TRP location), the bounds may be calculated at the LMF side. For error sources from measurements, the bounds may be calculated at the UE side within a downlink positioning method (e.g., Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA)). The bounds may be calculated at the gNB side within an uplink positioning method (e.g., Uplink Angle of Arrival (UL-AOA)). The bounds may be reported per TRP.

[0036] For the acknowledgement flag, if the condition provided in the assistance data cannot be satisfied during the validity time, the TRP may not be reported for the integrity calculation and the acknowledgement flag should be set to "true". The acknowledgement flag may correspond to a particular error. For the threshold, the threshold may represent the condition described in the acknowledgement flag section above. For the TTA, the TTA may define the maximum allowed elapsed time from when the error exceeds the boundary until the acknowledgement flag is issued. Under the RAT-dependent positioning method, the TTA may be configured per positioning reference signal (PRS) resource. In addition, the acceptable values ​​for the integrity risk allocation maximum and minimum values ​​(IRmax and IRmin) may be selected by the client. The values ​​may be provided by the network as service parameters according to the integrity service parameters. For the boundary calculation, the values ​​may be provided by the network as service parameters.

[0037] Embodiment 2: Certification Flag Configuration The qualification flag may correspond to a particular error. If the condition provided in the assistance data cannot be satisfied during the validity time, the qualification flag may be set to "true". In a RAT-dependent positioning method, if all types of measurement results or errors in the assistance data are valid for the integrity calculation, the qualification flag may be reused to inform the computing entity. For example, in a DL-TDOA positioning method, the ToA may be considered as one of the potential error sources that may affect the integrity result during the procedure. In this TRP for the integrity calculation, if the ToA in the measurement result is sufficiently insufficient, the qualification flag configured in this TRP may be set to "true" so that the PL calculation in this TRP should be terminated.

[0038] A general procedure of qualification flag configuration is shown in Figures 3 and 4 for both downlink and uplink positioning methods, considering error source origins from both measurement results and assistance data. Figure 3 illustrates the downlink positioning method qualification configuration procedure. Figure 4 illustrates the uplink positioning method qualification configuration procedure. For the granularity of qualification flag configuration, there may be four cases, which are considered as presented below.

[0039] Case 1 The qualification flag may be configured per TRP for each positioning method. This case can be considered as the measurement results being transferred in the assistance data per TRP. An example of the RRC configuration is as follows: [ka]

[0040] Case 2 Considering that the error source may originate from the beam information, a qualification flag may be configured for each PRS resource. The integrity result may be monitored for each beam, and the flag may be set to "true" if the beam information cannot meet a certain condition. An example of the RRC configuration is as follows: [ka] [ka]

[0041] Case 3 Considering that there are several error sources, such as synchronization between TRP and TRP location, these error sources may not be covered if the qualification flag is configured per TPR. To take these into account, the qualification flag may be configured on a larger scale, such as a PRS frequency tier. An example of RRC configuration is as follows: [ka]

[0042] Case 4 Since the types of error sources vary in different positioning methods and the conditions for setting the qualification flag also vary, the flag may be configured for each positioning method. An example of RRC configuration is as follows. [ka] [ka]

[0043] For qualification flag reporting, results may be reported per positioning method. For example, under DL-TDOA, reporting may be set as follows: [ka]

[0044] Embodiment 3: Location Management Function (LMF) for reporting measurement results To report a precise qualification flag, the UE and gNB may obtain whether the measurement results from the potential error resources are sufficiently insufficient. Thus, the LMF may inform the UE or gNB of a threshold value for each measurement result from the potential error source. In the TRP for the completeness calculation, if the measurement result is insufficient than the expected threshold value, the flag may be set to "true".

[0045] Since the type of error source varies according to the positioning method, the measurement threshold may be configured for each method. Figure 5 shows the mapping between the positioning method and the measurement value. The procedure may be as follows: The threshold can be set on the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer or the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer. The comparison between the measurement result and the threshold may occur in different entities. For a downlink positioning method (e.g., DL-TDOA), the UE may calculate a qualification flag for the measurement. For an uplink positioning method (e.g., UL-AOA), the gNB may calculate the result and report the qualification flag. A corresponding computing entity may send the qualification flag back to the LMF.

[0046] The threshold can be configured as follows (using DL-TDOA as an example): [ka] [ka]

[0047] Embodiment 4: Location Service (LCS) to notify the number of transmission / reception points In the RAT-dependent positioning procedure, the maximum value of TRP per frequency layer may be, for example, 64. Therefore, if the integrity result is reported to the LCS in each TRP, redundancy may exist. To solve this, the LCS may inform the calculation entity of the number of TRPs for which the integrity result is reported. The calculation entity may select the corresponding TRP according to the number.

[0048] The procedure may be as follows: The LMF may inform the UE or gNB of the number of TRPs used for integrity reporting in the assistance data. The number may be configured, for example, in the following manner: [ka]

[0049] The UE or gNB then determines the TRP to be used to report the integrity result. The calculation entity may identify the TRP with the best measurement result. The best measurement result may be obtained through the comparison described in the above section. For the reference signal time difference (RSTD), the reference TRP may be used and the flag may be set to "false". The UE or gNB may feed back the TRP ID to be used to report the integrity result to the LMF. The signaling for selecting the TRP may be at least one of the following: MAC layer or RRC layer.

[0050] Embodiment 5: Combination of multiple positioning methods There may be some cases where multiple positioning methods are combined for positioning. Unlike a single positioning method, error sources may be defined for all positioning methods included in the procedure. In addition, qualification flags may be reported to the LMF for each method, since the qualification flags and bounds correspond to specific error sources. When multiple qualification flags are defined, the qualification condition in Equation 2.2 may exist when any of the flags are set to "true". The completeness result may depend on all included positioning methods.

[0051] The procedure can be as follows: The LMF may inform the UE or gNB of multiple positioning methods and accordingly provide corresponding integrity parameters in the assistance data, including among others the threshold, the number of TRPs used for the integrity calculation, the TTA, and the TIR. For each method, the UE or gNB may report the measurement result and the corresponding qualification flag. The computing entity may calculate and report the corresponding boundary and PL value. The LMF may combine the reporting information and may conclude the integrity result.

[0052] Embodiment 6: Process for positioning of a wireless communication device Referring now to FIG. 6, depicted is a flow diagram of a process 600 for positioning of a wireless communication device. The process 600 may be performed by or implemented using any of the components described herein, such as the base station 102 or 202 and the user equipment (UE) 104 or 204, among others. Under the process 600, the core network may send a message with conditions for a positioning method to a wireless communication node (605). The wireless communication node may receive a message with conditions for a positioning method (610). The wireless communication node may identify conditions for the positioning method (615). The wireless communication node may perform positioning (620). The wireless communication device may report measurement results (625). The wireless communication node may determine a value for a qualified flag (630). The wireless communication node may report a value for the qualified flag (635). The core network may receive a value for the qualified flag (640).

[0053] In more detail, the core network (e.g., location management function) may provide, transmit, or otherwise send (605) a message with conditions for the positioning method to a wireless communication node (e.g., base station 102 or 202 or transmission / reception point (TRP)). The conditions may identify thresholds or other constraints to be met when performing a positioning method associated with a wireless communication device (e.g., user equipment 104 or 204). The positioning method may be a radio access technology (RAT) dependent method. The positioning method may include, among others, a timing-based positioning method or an angle-based positioning method, for example, in an uplink or downlink configuration.

[0054] The message may include, identify, or otherwise indicate conditions associated with the positioning method. In some embodiments, the message may include or identify assistance data including conditions for the positioning method. The message may also indicate one or more positioning methods to be performed. The message may identify multiple positioning methods to be performed. For each positioning method, the message may include one or more corresponding integrity parameters. The integrity parameters may be specific to the type of positioning method to be performed and may be included as part of the assistance data associated with the positioning method. In some embodiments, the message may be communicated or transmitted through a medium access control (MAC) layer or a radio resource control (RRC) layer. The wireless communication node may identify, retrieve, or otherwise receive (610) a message with conditions for the positioning method from the core network.

[0055] The wireless communication node may determine or otherwise identify (615) conditions associated with the positioning method associated with the wireless communication device. In response to receiving from the core network, the wireless communication node may extract or identify conditions for the positioning methods from the message. In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may identify conditions for each positioning method indicated in the message. The wireless communication node may identify an integrity parameter corresponding to the positioning method.

[0056] The wireless communication node may perform or implement the positioning method with the wireless communication device in accordance with the positioning method (620). As discussed above, the positioning method may include, among others, a timing-based positioning method or an angle-based positioning method, for example, in an uplink or downlink configuration. In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may implement each positioning method as identified by the message.

[0057] The wireless communication device may provide, transmit, or otherwise report the measurement results to the wireless communication node (625). In implementing the positioning method, the wireless communication device may calculate, determine, or otherwise generate the measurement results in accordance with the positioning method. For example, when the positioning method is timing-based, the wireless communication device may determine, among other things, a time of arrival (ToA) or a receive-transmit timing difference. When the positioning method is angle-based, the wireless communication device may determine, among other things, an angle of arrival (AoA), a reference signal received power (RSRP), and a reference signal received path power (RSRPP). From the implementation, the wireless communication node may receive, retrieve, or otherwise identify the measurement results for the positioning method from the wireless communication device.

[0058] The wireless communication node may calculate, set, or otherwise determine (630) a value for the qualified flag. In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may determine a value for the qualified flag for each positioning method implemented. The value for the qualified flag may be associated with the positioning method. For example, the qualified flag may correspond to one or more errors associated with the positioning method. In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may determine a value for the qualified flag for each positioning method implemented. In some embodiments, the qualified flag may be configured for a particular wireless communication node for a particular positioning method. In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may read or identify a value for the qualified flag that was set by the wireless communication device.

[0059] To calculate or set a value for the qualification flag, the wireless communication node may determine whether measurements or assistance data associated with the positioning method satisfy a condition. The determination may be based on whether the measurements or assistance data satisfy the condition within a set time period. In some embodiments, the wireless communication node may perform, execute, or otherwise implement a logical operation on multiple error sources associated with a particular positioning method to determine the value of the qualification flag. The logical operation may specify, define, or otherwise identify a combination of error sources (e.g., an integrity bound) associated with a particular positioning method. The error sources may depend on the type of positioning method (e.g., timing-based, angle-based, and other methods).

[0060] Based on the determination, the wireless communication node may set a value for the qualified flag. When the measurement results or the auxiliary data satisfy the condition, the wireless communication node may set the qualified flag to a first value (e.g., a Boolean value of "true"). For example, if the measurement error is within a threshold defined by the condition, the wireless communication node may set the qualified flag to "true". On the other hand, when the measurement results or the auxiliary data do not satisfy the condition, the wireless communication may set the qualified flag to a second value (e.g., a Boolean value of "false"). For example, if the measurement error is outside the threshold defined by the condition, the wireless communication node may set the qualified flag to "true".

[0061] The authorization may be configured (e.g., by the wireless communication node) using an RRC configuration. In some embodiments, the authorization flag may be configured on a per wireless communication node (e.g., TRP) basis for each positioning method implemented. In some embodiments, the authorization flag may be configured based on a particular positioning reference signal (PRS) resource. The PRS may be a reference signal used for the positioning method, and the PRS resource may correspond, for example, to a beam. In some embodiments, the authorization flag may be configured based on a particular PRS frequency tier. The PRS frequency tier may correspond, for example, to a frequency tier for the PRS. In some embodiments, the authorization value may be configured for a particular positioning method.

[0062] The wireless communication node may provide, transmit, or otherwise report to the core network a value for the certified flag (635). The value of the certified flag may be reported along with corresponding measurement results or assistance data associated with the positioning method. In some embodiments, the value for the certified flag reported to the core network may be set by the wireless communication device. In an embodiment, the wireless communication may report values ​​for the certified flag associated with each of the implemented positioning methods. The core network may identify, retrieve, or otherwise receive a value for the certified flag from the wireless communication node (640). In some embodiments, the core network may receive a value for the certified flag from the wireless communication node in addition to the corresponding measurement results or assistance data. Using the values ​​for the certified flag, the measurement results, and the assistance data, the core network may determine an integrity result for the positioning method.

[0063] Although various embodiments of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they are presented only as examples and not as limitations. Similarly, various diagrams may depict example architectures or configurations, which are provided to enable those skilled in the art to understand example features and functions of the present solution. However, such a person skilled in the art will understand that the present solution is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but may be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as would be understood by a person skilled in the art, one or more features of one embodiment can be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Thus, the scope and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the example embodiments described above.

[0064] It should also be understood that any designation of elements herein using designations such as "first," "second," etc., generally does not limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations may be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, the designation of a first and second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

[0065] In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols that may be referenced in the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0066] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that any of the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementations, analog implementations, or a combination of the two), firmware, various forms of programs or design code incorporating instructions (which may be referred to herein for convenience as "software" or "software modules"), or any combination of these techniques. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or a combination of these techniques, depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions do not cause a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0067] Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein may be implemented in or performed by an integrated circuit (IC), which may include a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, modules, and circuits may further include an antenna and / or a transceiver to communicate with various components in a network or device. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functions described herein.

[0068] When implemented in software, the functions can be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that can enable a computer program or code to be transferred from one geographic location to another. A storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

[0069] In this document, the term "module" as used herein refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. Additionally, for purposes of discussion, various modules are described as discrete modules; however, as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions according to embodiments of the present solution.

[0070] In addition, memory or other storage and communication components may be employed in embodiments of the solution. For purposes of clarity, it should be understood that the above description describes embodiments of the solution with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements, or domains may be used without detracting from the solution. For example, functionality illustrated as being performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers may be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Thus, the designation of specific functional units does not indicate a strict logical or physical structure or organization, but merely a designation of a suitable means for providing the described functionality.

[0071] Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as recited in the following claims.

Claims

1. 1. A wireless communication method, comprising: Identifying, by the wireless communication node, a condition associated with a positioning method associated with the wireless communication device; determining, by said wireless communication node, a value of a qualification flag based on whether at least one of measurement results or assistance data associated with said positioning method satisfies said condition; A wireless communication method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the qualification flag is configured for a particular wireless communication node for a particular positioning method.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: performing, by the wireless communication node, a logical operation on a plurality of error sources associated with the particular positioning method to determine a value of the qualification flag.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the qualification flag is configured based on a particular positioning reference signal (PRS) resource.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the qualification flag is configured based on a particular positioning reference signal (PRS) frequency band.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the qualification flag is configured for the particular positioning method.

7. The wireless communication method of claim 1 , further comprising reporting, by the wireless communication node, a value of the qualification flag set by the wireless communication device to a core network.

8. calculating, by the wireless communication node, a value of the qualification flag; reporting, by the wireless communication node, the value of the qualification flag to a core network; The wireless communication method of claim 1 , further comprising:

9. receiving, by the wireless communication node, a message from a core network indicating the condition; The method of claim 1 , wherein the message is transmitted through at least one of a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer.

10. receiving, by said wireless communication node, a message from a core network indicating a plurality of positioning methods and their respective integrity parameters; reporting, by the wireless communication node, to a core network, a value of a qualification flag associated with each of the plurality of positioning methods; The wireless communication method of claim 1 , further comprising:

11. A wireless communication device comprising a processor and a memory, said processor configured to read a code from said memory and to perform a method as recited in any of claims 1-10.

12. A computer program product comprising computer readable program medium code stored thereon, the code, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to perform a method recited in any of claims 1-10.

Images