Signaling communication device transmission timing error group association for uplink arrival time difference - Patents.com

Abstract

A communication device of a communication network may receive a request message from a network node of the communication network. The request message may request an indication of reference signal ("RS") resources used by the communication device to communicate with the network node and an indication of a timing error group ("TEG") identifier ("ID") associated with the RS resources. The communication device may send an indication of the RS resources and an indication of the TEG ID to the network node.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD The present disclosure relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to signaling communication device transmission timing error group associations for uplink time difference of arrival. [Background technology]

[0002] FIG. 1 shows an example of a new radio ("NR") network (e.g., a 5G network) that includes a fifth generation ("5G") core ("5GC") network 130, network nodes 120a-120b (e.g., 5G base stations ("gNBs")), and a number of communication devices 110 (also referred to as user equipment ("UE").

[0003] An example of an NR positioning architecture is shown in Figure 2. Since Release 15 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and the introduction of NR, it has been agreed that the long term evolution positioning protocol ("LPP"), which is a point-to-point communication protocol between a location management function ("LMF") and a target device, will be reused for UE positioning in both NR and LTE.

[0004] A logical node called the LMF may be in the core network and may be the main server responsible for calculating the UE position based on both Radio Access Technology ("RAT") specific positioning methods in NR, E-UTRA, or a hybrid manner. NR Positioning Protocol A ("NRPPa") is the communication protocol between the Next Generation Radio Access Network ("NG-RAN") and the LMF.

[0005] In Release 16, new and enhanced positioning methods are specified in NR to help calculate UE positioning, such as NR Extended Cell Identifier ("E-CID"), multiple round trip time ("RTT") positioning, downlink angle of departure ("DL-AoD"), downlink time difference of arrival ("DL-TDOA"), uplink time difference of arrival ("UL-TDOA"), uplink angle of arrival ("UL-AoA") including azimuth of arrival ("A-AoA") and zenith of arrival ("Z-AoA"). Summary of the Invention

[0006] Currently, there are several challenges. To mitigate UE Tx timing error for UL TDOA, the UE should send UL SRS resource association information for positioning with Tx TEG to the serving gNB, and the serving gNB should forward the association information provided by the UE to the LMF. However, the signaling of the association information adds load to the network. A signaling mechanism for sending UL SRS resource association information for positioning with Tx TEG should be well designed / optimized. One problem includes determining how to specify an information element (IE) for carrying association information from the UE to its serving gNB and further to the LMF for UL TDOA. The second problem is that after the UL SRS is configured by the serving gNB for the UE, it is unclear what the mechanism is for the UE to send the initial and updated association information, and the transmission mechanism between the serving gNB and the LMF. The third problem is that it is unclear whether the neighbor gNB has knowledge of the UL SRS resource association information for positioning with Tx TEG. If a neighbor gNB has knowledge of the association information, it is unclear to whom (LMF or serving gNB) this information should be forwarded and how the association information should be forwarded.

[0007] Some aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other problems. Some embodiments herein provide a mechanism whereby the UE initially provides TEG associations to the serving gNB for UL-TDOA for all (or a subset) of the configured SRS resources, and then for subsequent association reports, the UE sends only delta associations for the SRS resources for which it changes the TEG association.

[0008] Additional or alternative embodiments herein provide mechanisms that the gNB uses to forward TEG associations periodically, as needed, or upon request to the LMF.

[0009] Additional or alternative embodiments herein provide a mechanism for a gNB to receive TEG associations and measure multiple UL SRSs associated with different UE Tx TEGs, which also covers the case of a split gNB architecture with a gNB-CU and a gNB-DU.

[0010] Additional or alternative embodiments herein provide mechanisms by which the LMF receives TEG associations and utilizes that information to instruct neighbor gNBs to measure UL-SRS associated with different UE Tx TEGs.

[0011] In some examples, a procedure is provided for configuring IEs in RRC, MAC-CE, F1 and NRPPa to carry UL SRS resource association information for positioning with Tx TEG.

[0012] In an additional or alternative example, a procedure is provided for configuring a mechanism for how the UE should send initial and updated association information to the serving gNB and a transmission mechanism between the serving gNB and the LMF for UL-TDOA.

[0013] In an additional or alternative example, a procedure is provided for configuring an LMF request to use the association information to instruct neighbor gNBs which UL SRS to measure to achieve high positioning accuracy.

[0014] In an additional or alternative example, a procedure is provided for configuring the LMF to inform the receiving point / gNB of the TEG association and to ask the listening RP / gNB to prioritize listening to certain TEGs over others.

[0015] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of operation according to some embodiments herein. The gNB neighbor informs the gNB serving of the latency requirement for determining the UE's positioning. The gNB serving sends an instruction to the UE to configure SRS and requests SRS resource and TEG ID association. In response, the UE provides the SRS resource and TEG ID association to the gNB serving. The gNB serving then provides the SRS resource and TEG ID association to the gNB neighbor. The LMF prioritizes SRS resource measurements for a particular TEG ID and provides preferred SRS resource management information to the gNB neighbor. Using the SRS resource and TEG ID association and preferred SRS resource measurement information, the gNB neighbor provides the measurement results to the LMF. The LMF then estimates the positioning.

[0016] In some embodiments, the steps of "prioritizing SRS resource measurements for a particular TEG ID", "providing prioritized SRS resource measurement information", and "providing measurement results" may be optional in some embodiments.

[0017] In additional or alternative embodiments, the LMF optionally provides delay budget (latency) requirements to the serving gNB, which configures the UL SRS and requests TEG association (piggybacking the TEG information requirements in the SRS configuration). Additionally, the serving gNB instructs the UE whether it shall use RRC-based reporting or MAC CE-based reporting. If no instructions are provided, a default method is selected by the UE.

[0018] According to some embodiments, there is provided a method of operating a communication device of a communication network. The method includes receiving a request message from a network node of the communication network. The request message requests an indication of reference signal ("RS") resources to be used by the communication device to communicate with the network node and an indication of a timing error group ("TEG") identifier ("ID") associated with the RS resources. The method further includes sending the indication of the RS resources and the indication of the TEG ID to the network node.

[0019] According to another embodiment, a method of operating a first network node of a communications network is provided. The method includes determining a Timing Error Group ("TEG") Identifier ("ID") associated with Reference Signal ("RS") resources used by a communications device to communicate with the first network node. The method further includes sending a message to a second network node configured to provide a Location Management Function ("LMF"). The message includes an indication of the RS resources and an indication of the TEG ID.

[0020] According to another embodiment, a method of operating a first network node of a communication network is provided. The first network node is configured to provide a Location Management Function ("LMF"). The method includes receiving a message from a second network node. The message includes an indication of reference signal ("RS") resources used for communication between the second network node and a communication device, an indication of a first timing error group ("TEG") identifier ("ID") associated with the RS resources and the communication device, and an indication of a second TEG ID associated with the RS resources and the second network node. The method further includes estimating a location of the communication device based on the message.

[0021] According to other embodiments, a communications device, a network node, a computer program and / or a computer program product is provided for performing one of the above methods.

[0022] Some embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages: Some embodiments enable a network ("NW") to quickly / dynamically get TEG association updates and use this information to improve relative time of arrival ("RTOA") measurements. Additional or alternative embodiments provide an option to provide only delta TEG associations, which reduces signaling overhead. Additional or alternative embodiments reduce latency since the listening gNB / RP measures only a subset of preferred SRS resources instead of the complete resources.

[0023] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate several non-limiting embodiments of the inventive concepts. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a fifth generation ("5G") network. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a New Radio ("NR") positioning architecture. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example of uplink ("UL")-time difference of arrival ("TDOA") operation. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a transmit ("TX") timing error that is not canceled when making a 5G network node ("gNB") TDOA measurement. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a communication device (e.g., user equipment ("UE")) using different antenna panels to communicate with different transmit and receive points ("TRPs"). [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a positioning error due to a timing error. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of when a timing error cancels out / does not cancel out. [Figure 8] 1 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example of operations for signaling UE TX Timing Error Group ("TEG") association for UL-TDOA according to some embodiments. [Figure 9] 1 is a table illustrating an example of initial UE TX TEG association to sounding reference signal ("SRS") resources reported by a UE to a serving gNB in ​​accordance with some embodiments. [Figure 10] 1 is a table illustrating an example of a delta association report, according to some embodiments. [Figure 11] 1 is a table illustrating an example of a delta association report, according to some embodiments. [Figure 12] 11 is a table illustrating an example of an F1 positioning information update message, according to some embodiments. [Figure 13] 1 is a table illustrating an example of an information element ("IE") containing TEG associations, according to some embodiments. [Figure 14]1 is a table illustrating an example of an NR Positioning Protocol A ("NRPPa") positioning information update message, according to some embodiments. [Figure 15] 1 is a table illustrating an example of an IE including TEG associations, according to some embodiments. [Figure 16] 1 is a table illustrating an example of an IE indicating a spatial relationship for transmission of UL SRS by a UE in accordance with some embodiments. [Figure 17-1] 1 is a table illustrating an example of a measurement request message sent by an LMF to request an NG-RAN node to configure positioning measurements, according to some embodiments. [Figure 17-2] Continued from Figure 17-1. [Figure 18] 11 is a table illustrating an example of an ifReportCharacteristicPeriodic IE, according to some embodiments. [Figure 19] 1 is a table illustrating an example of potential settings associated with a measurement request message, according to some embodiments. [Figure 20] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a UE Assistance Information message according to some embodiments. [Figure 21] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a UE Assistance Information message according to some embodiments. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of an ASN.1 code for a UE TX association report, according to some embodiments. [Diagram 23] 1 is a table illustrating an example of a flag for indicating whether a UE sends a full configuration or only a delta configuration, according to some embodiments. [Figure 24] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a media access control ("MAC") control element ("CE") representing either a full configuration or a delta configuration, according to some embodiments. [Diagram 25] 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operations performed by a communications device according to some embodiments. [Figure 26]1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation performed by a network node, according to some embodiments. [Figure 27] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operations performed by a network node configured to provide a Location Management Function (LMF), according to some embodiments. [Figure 28] 1 is a block diagram of a communication system according to some embodiments. [Figure 29] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a user equipment according to some embodiments. [Diagram 30] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a network node according to some embodiments. [Diagram 31] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a host computer in communication with user equipment according to some embodiments. [Diagram 32] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment, according to some embodiments. [Diagram 33] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating with user equipment via a base station over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Examples of embodiments of the inventive concept are shown, and the embodiments are provided as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. However, the inventive concept may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the inventive concept to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. It may be implicitly assumed that a component from one embodiment is present / used in another embodiment.

[0026] FIG. 3 shows an example of a signaling exchange for uplink ("UL")-Time Difference of Arrival ("TDOA") positioning (which may also be applicable for UL-Angle of Arrival ("AOA").

[0027] In Rel-16, multi-RTT positioning operations were specified as part of the UE performing UE receive ("Rx")-transmit ("Tx") measurements.

[0028] In Release 17, improved accuracy was proposed for time-based methods (multiple RTT, DL TDOA, UL TDOA) to mitigate timing errors, which resulted in the introduction of the Timing Error Group ("TEG") concept. The principle stems from the observation that signals transmitted or received on different beams may be carried on different RF chains or different antenna panels. Even after calibration in the UE / Transmit and Receive Point ("TRP") implementation, there will always be residual timing errors in the transmit and receive timing between signals transmitted on these different Radio Frequency ("RF") chains / antenna panels.

[0029] As a result of such residual timing error (hereafter referred to as timing error), the UE may not know exactly when a signal such as SRS is transmitted from the UE antenna, as shown in Figure 4. If the UE has only one antenna panel, this TX (transmit) timing error will cancel out when TDOA measurements are formed from gNB Time of Arrival (TOA) measurements.

[0030] FIG. 4 illustrates that as a result of timing errors, a UE may not know exactly when a signal, such as a sounding reference signal (“SRS”), will be transmitted from the UE antenna, thereby resulting in an unknown TX delay τ TX It is shown that τ TX is the remaining error after the compensation performed by the UE for the known delay, and τ TX Note that can be positive or negative.

[0031] As shown in Figure 5, when a UE has multiple antenna panels, the TX timing error may be different for different UE antenna panels, and as a result, the TX timing error does not always cancel when forming a gNB TDOA measurement. When the same UE antenna panel is utilized for both the target TRP and the reference TRP, the TX timing error cancels when the reference signal time difference ("RSTD") is formed (e.g., RSTD2 = (d2 - d ref However, when different UE antenna panels are used for the target TRP and for the reference TRP, the TX timing errors do not cancel when the RSTD is formed (e.g., RSTD1=(d1-d ref ) / c+τ TX,a -τ TX,b ).

[0032] As a result of the Tx timing error difference (i.e., when the Tx timing errors do not cancel, as in the case of RSTD1 in FIG. 5), the accuracy for UL TDOA positioning is reduced, as shown by the simulation for the InF-SH scenario (3GPP TR38.857V17.0.0) in FIG. 6. UL TDOA positioning accuracy for two UE antenna panels with random TX timing errors with normal distribution for stdσ=0, 1, 2, 4 and 8ns truncated at 2σ in the InF-SH scenario. A 2-symbol comb 2UL SRS was used at 28GHz carrier, 120kHz subcarrier spacing, and 400MHz bandwidth. The positioning accuracy is significantly reduced for large TX timing errors.

[0033] However, the TX timing errors cancel if one reference TRP is used for each UE antenna panel when forming the RSTD measurements, as shown in Figure 7. In the figure, TRP-1 is added as the reference TRP for antenna panel a, and the standard REF-TRP is maintained as the reference TRP for antenna panel b.

[0034] FIG. 7 shows that when making an RSTD measurement in the conventional manner using one reference TRP, the TX timing errors do not generally cancel (e.g., RSTD1=(d1-d ref ) / c+τ RX,a -τ RX,b , and RSTD3 = (d3 - d ref ) / c+τ RX,a -τ Rx,b ). However, if one reference TRP is used for each antenna panel when forming the RSTD measurements, the TX timing errors cancel. In the figure, TRP-1 is added as the reference TRP for antenna panel a, and the standard REF-TRP is maintained as the reference TRP for antenna panel b, thereby resulting in two TX timing error-free RSTD measurements (e.g., RSTD2=(d2-d ref ) / c), and RSTD 3-1 =RSTD3-RSTD1=(d3-d1) / c).

[0035] The TEG concept was introduced in 3GPP NR Release 17 to allow the LMF to know which measurements can be combined such that associated TX timing errors cancel. When the LMF knows which measurements can be grouped using the TEG concept, the TX timing errors can be mitigated and the positioning performance can be significantly improved. Different types of TEGs in both the UE and the TRP were introduced in NR Release 17. These include the UE Tx "timing error group" ("UE Tx TEG"), the TRP Tx "timing error group" ("TRP Tx TEG"), the UE Rx "timing error group" ("UE Rx TEG"), and the TRP Rx "timing error group" ("TRP Rx TEG").

[0036] The UE Tx TEG is associated with the transmission of one or more UL SRS resources for positioning purposes with a Tx timing error within a certain margin.

[0037] The TRP Tx TEG is associated with the transmission of one or more DL PRS resources having a Tx timing error within a certain margin.

[0038] The UE Rx TEG is associated with one or more DL measurements that have an Rx timing error within a certain margin.

[0039] The TRP Rx TEG is associated with one or more UL measurements that have an Rx timing error within the margin.

[0040] In NR Rel-17, the TEG can be used to mitigate the impact of UE TX timing errors on UL TDOA / multi-RTT positioning. To achieve this, the UE needs to report the association between the SRS (transmitted in the SRS resource) and the UE Tx TEG (i.e., the associated UE TX TEG ID).

[0041] Described below is a mechanism for a UE to provide an association between a Tx TEG and an SRS to a serving gNB.

[0042] In some embodiments, the UE initially provides UE Tx TEG associations to the serving gNB for all (or a subset) of the configured SRS resources, and then for subsequent association reports, the UE sends only delta associations for those SRS resources for which it changes the TEG association.

[0043] Consider an example where there are 4 UE Tx TEGs and there are 16 SRS resources configured in the UE for positioning purposes. Figure 9 shows an example of initial UE Tx TEG association to SRS resources reported by the UE to the serving gNB.

[0044] Here, before the next association report, the UE Tx TEG IDs associated with some SRS resources change, while the UE Tx TEG IDs associated with other SRS resources remain unchanged. These changes may be, for example, due to UE cycling, which results in a new UE antenna panel (i.e., UE Tx TEG ID) becoming more suitable for transmitting SRS to a given TRP. Another reason may be that the UE turns off a particular UE antenna panel (i.e., UE Tx TEG ID) for power saving purposes, in which case the particular UE antenna panel (i.e., UE Tx TEG ID) becomes unavailable for SRS transmission. For example, it may be assumed that the UE turns off the UE antenna panel corresponding to UE Tx TEG ID#4. Then, the SRS to be transmitted from the SRS resources with ID#13, #14, #15, and #16 may not be associated with UE Tx ID#4 in the next association report (i.e., because the UE antenna panel associated with UE Tx TEG ID#4 is unavailable for SRS transmission). In this case, the UE may transmit an SRS in one or more of the SRS resources with IDs #13, #14, #15, and #16 using another UE antenna panel associated with UE Tx TEG ID #3. In an embodiment, the UE may report a delta association report to the serving gNB, where only UE Tx TEG ID associations are reported for SRS whose UE Tx TEG ID has changed relative to the previous association report instance. In the above example, only the SRS in SRS resources with IDs #13, #14, #15, and #16 have an associated UE Tx TEG ID change from #4 to #3. Figure 10 shows an example of a delta association report.

[0045] In an exemplary embodiment, when the serving gNB receives a delta association report from a UE, the serving gNB assumes that the UE TX TEG ID association for SRS transmitted in SRS resources with IDs not included in the delta association report remains unchanged (e.g., using the example above, the serving gNB assumes that the UE Tx TEG IDs for SRS with IDs #1-#12 remain unchanged from the previous association report instance).

[0046] In another example, a UE may transmit SRS only on a subset of SRS resources with IDs #13, #14, #15, and #16. Assume that the UE transmits SRS on SRS resources with IDs #13 and #16, but does not transmit SRS on SRS resources with IDs #14 and #15.

[0047] In the above example, only SRS in SRS resources with IDs #13, #14, #15, and #16 have an associated UE Tx TEG ID change from #4 to #3. Figure 11 shows an example of a delta association report (note that SRS resource IDs #14 and #15 are not included as part of the delta association report in this example).

[0048] Although only the UE Tx TEG ID and associated SRS resource IDs are shown in the example association and delta association reports above, in some other embodiments, one or more SRS resource set IDs of the associated SRS resource IDs (i.e., some SRS resource IDs may correspond to one SRS resource set and some other SRS resource IDs correspond to another SRS resource set) may also be included in the association and delta association reports.

[0049] In some embodiments, the UE may signal the initial UE TX TEG association to the SRS using an RRC message and convey the delta association report to the serving gNB using either an RRC message or a MAC Control Element message.

[0050] Described below is a mechanism for the serving gNB-DU to forward the TEG association to the serving gNB-CU.

[0051] In some embodiments, the serving gNB-DU sends UE TX TEG association information to the serving gNB-CU each time the serving gNB-DU receives a periodic update from the UE on an RRC message or a MAC-CE message. The UE TX TEG association information sent by the serving gNB-DU to the serving gNB-CU may include one or more SRS resource set IDs and one or more SRS resource IDs associated with the UE TX TEG ID. For example, the association information may include the following information: [UE Tx TEG ID#1, SRS resource set ID#1, SRS resource ID#1, #2, #3], [UE Tx TEG ID#2, SRS resource set ID#1, SRS resource ID#4, #5], [UE Tx TEG ID#3, SRS resource set ID#2, SRS resource ID#1, #2].

[0052] In another embodiment, the serving gNB-DU may report a delta association report to the serving gNB-CU, where only UE Tx TEG ID associations for SRS whose UE Tx TEG IDs have changed relative to the previous association report instance from the serving gNB-DU to the serving gNB-CU are reported. For example, assume that the serving gNB-DU sends an association report in one instance to the serving gNB-DU as shown in the example above. Before the next association report instance, the serving gNB-DU receives an update from the UE, where the UE Tx TEG IDs associated with SRS resource IDs #1 and #2 in SRS resource set ID #2 have changed. Then, in the next association report instance, the serving gNB-DU reports only the UE Tx TEG ID associations for SRS resource IDs #1 and #2 in SRS resource set ID #2 to the serving gNB-CU in the delta association report.

[0053] In one embodiment, the gNB-DU sends an indication of UE TEG association to the gNB-CU over F1. Such an indication may be signaled over a new F1 UE-related signaling procedure or by extending an existing positioning procedure in the F1 AP.

[0054] Without loss of generality, in the example shown in Figure 12, the UE Tx TEG association indication is signaled using the existing F1 positioning information update message. Figure 13 shows an example of a TEG association IE.

[0055] In another embodiment, the gNB-CU may request the gNB-DU to provide UE Tx TEG association over an F1AP class 1 procedure.

[0056] The following describes a mechanism for the serving gNB-CU to forward TEG association to the LMF.

[0057] In one embodiment, the serving gNB or serving gNB-CU sends an indication of the UE Tx TEG association received from the UE or serving gNB-DU to the positioning (e.g., LMF) over NRPPa. Such an indication may be signaled in a new uplink UE association NRPPa transport message or by reusing an existing NRPPa procedure.

[0058] Without loss of generality, in the example shown in Figure 14, the UE Tx TEG Association Indication is signaled using the existing NRPPa Positioning Information Update message, which is sent by the NG-RAN node to indicate that a change in SRS configuration has occurred. Figure 15 shows an example of a TEG Association IE.

[0059] In another embodiment, the positioning server may request the serving gNB or serving gNB-CU to provide the UE Tx TEG association over a class 1 NRPPa procedure.

[0060] It is described below that the LMF defines a mechanism for instructing an NG-RAN node on which UL-SRS to measure.

[0061] The LMF receives the TEG associations and utilizes the information to instruct NG-RAN nodes to measure UL-SRS associated with different UE Tx TEGs. In one particular embodiment, the LMF receives the TEG associations from a serving gNB and utilizes the information to instruct neighbor gNBs to measure UL-SRS associated with a particular UE Tx TEG.

[0062] In one embodiment, the LMF provides the UE Tx TEG in a new downlink non-UE associated NRPPa transport message or by reusing an existing NRPPa procedure such as a measurement procedure. Without loss of generality, in the following example, the Tx TEG indication (or TEG) is carried using the existing NRPPa measurement request message.

[0063] In one of the embodiments, the LMF informs the NG-RAN nodes (TRP, RP) of the SRS resources that the LMF should prioritize to measure based on the TEG information. The LMF may identify the matching Rx TEG (antenna element / panel) of the TRP (listening node) that can be used to perform the measurement (as shown in the table of FIG. 16). Alternatively, the LMF may provide the TRP with the Rx beam from the TEG of the TRP that can be associated to perform the UL SRS measurement. This may happen as part of a spatial relationship as shown below.

[0064] In one embodiment, the LMF initiates the procedure by sending a Measurement Request message to the NG-RAN node, indicating in the TRP Measurement Request List IE the Tx TEG to be used by the TRP(s) for which measurements are requested.

[0065] In one embodiment, the LMF initiates the procedure by sending a Measurement Request message to the NG-RAN node indicating in the TRP Measurement IE a Tx TEG that the NG-RAN node may take into account when configuring measurements including, for example, UL RTOA and gNB-Rx-Tx.

[0066] In one embodiment, the LMF initiates the procedure by sending a Measurement Request message to the NG-RAN node indicating the Tx TEGs that the NG-RAN node may take into account for setting up positioning measurements for all of the indicated TRP(s).

[0067] FIG. 16 includes a table illustrating an example of information elements that indicate spatial relationships for transmission of UL SRS by a UE.

[0068] The TEG-ID may be the TRP Rx TEG-ID, so that when the UE happens to transmit a UL SRS, the TRP measures the UL SRS using the antenna panel / element, etc., associated with (matching) the TRP's Rx TEG-ID, if provided by the LMF. The UE Tx TEG may be combined with the TRP Rx TEG.

[0069] A measurement request message is sent by the LMF to request the NG-RAN node to configure positioning measurements. Figures 17-19 show examples of measurement request messages, conditions on when the message should be sent, and limits on what may be included in the message. Figure 17 shows an example of a measurement request message, with new parts in bold, according to some embodiments. Figure 18 includes a description that the "ifReportCharteristicsPeriodic" condition exists if the Reporting Characteristics IE is set to the value, Periodic. Figure 19 includes a description of "maxnoPosMeas" as the maximum number of measured quantities that may be configured and reported in one positioning measurement message. Figure 19 further includes a description of "maxnoofMeasTRPs" as the maximum number of TRPs that may be included in one message.

[0070] In one embodiment, supplemental information regarding Tx TEG association and how to use instructions to instruct the TRP to measure UL-SRS, UL-RTOA associated with different UE Tx TEGs is signaled over F1 from the gNB-CU to their gNB-DUs.

[0071] Defining IEs in RRC and MAC-CE to transmit TEG association from the UE to the serving gNB is described below.

[0072] An RRC message such as UEInformationResponse or UEAssistanceInformation may be extended to include information of the TEG association to the serving gNB. It is also possible to create a new RRC message to convey the TEG association.

[0073] Figure 20 shows an example of a UEAssistanceInformation IE including a TEG association. Figure 21 shows an example of a UEAssistanceInformation IE including a delta of a TEG association.

[0074] In some embodiments, a structure is provided to indicate the association of either using an SRS resource set, or using an SRS resource(s), or a combination of both. In a static environment where propagation and radio conditions do not change much, a TEG may be associated with an SRS resource set, and the UE may save signaling bits by not having to provide association of every SRS resource in the SRS resource set with the TEG. In such a case, the TEG is associated with an SRS resource set ID.

[0075] In additional or alternative embodiments, the TEG-ID is associated with an SRS resource in one or more SRS resource sets. In some embodiments, a default value TEG-ID, or a value of 0, if assigned, implicitly implies that an SRS transmission in that SRS resource does not have any association with a TEG.

[0076] FIG. 22 shows an example of an ASN.1 code for a UE Tx association report.

[0077] FIG. 23 shows an example in which a tag or flag is included to indicate whether the UE is sending a full configuration or just a delta configuration.

[0078] Figure 24 shows an example of a new MAC Control element, where an associated UL logical channel ID may be defined, so that the UE may report any delta / changes or complete / updated TEG configuration using the MAC CE, which may also reduce latency when compared to RRC. This mode may be preferred for non-delay tolerant positioning applications.

[0079] The "D / F" field in the MAC CE represents either the delta configuration or the full configuration. The MAC CE octets can further increase depending on the number of TEG IDs. For simplicity, a structure with one TEG ID is shown.

[0080] In the following description, the communication device 2900 shall be used to describe the functionality of the operation of the communication device, although the communication device may be any of the UEs 2812A-2812D, 2900, hardware 3204, or virtual machines 3208A, 3208B. Next, the operation of the communication device 2900 (implemented using the structure of FIG. 29) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 25, according to some embodiments of the inventive concept. For example, modules may be stored in the memory 2910 of FIG. 29, and these modules may provide instructions such that when the instructions of the modules are executed by the respective communication device processing circuitry 2902, the processing circuitry 2902 performs the respective operations of the flowchart.

[0081] FIG. 25 illustrates an example of operations performed by a communication device in a communication network.

[0082] At block 2510, the processing circuit 2902 receives configuration information via the communications interface 2912. In some embodiments, the configuration information includes an indication of a report type to use to send an indication of RS resources and / or an indication of a TEG ID to the network node. In additional or alternative embodiments, the report type includes at least one of an RRC report type and a MAC CE report type.

[0083] At block 2520, the processing circuit 2902 receives a request message via the communication interface 2912 requesting an indication of an RS resource and an associated TEG ID. In some embodiments, the indication of the RS resource includes an indication of a delta between a measurement of the RS resource and a previous measurement of the RS resource.

[0084] At block 2530, the processing circuit 2902 determines that a triggering event has occurred. In some embodiments, determining that a triggering event has occurred includes determining that a change in RS resource relative to a previously measured RS resource measurement exceeds a threshold.

[0085] At block 2540, the processing circuit 2902 transmits, via the communications interface 2912, an indication of the RS resources and the associated TEG ID. In some embodiments, transmitting the indication of the RS resources and the indication of the TEG ID includes transmitting at least one of the indication of the RS resources and the indication of the TEG ID at a predetermined periodicity.

[0086] In further or alternative embodiments, transmitting the indication of the RS resources and the indication of the TEG ID includes transmitting at least one of the indication of the RS resources and the indication of the TEG ID in response to determining that a triggering event has occurred.

[0087] In a further or alternative embodiment, sending the indication of RS resources includes sending an enhanced RRC message including at least one of a UEInformationResponse message and a UEAssistanceInformation message.

[0088] In additional or alternative embodiments, the RS resources include SRS resources.

[0089] 25 may be optional for some embodiments. For example, for some embodiments, blocks 2510 and 2530 may be optional.

[0090] In the following description, the network node may be any of the network nodes 2810A, 2810B, 3000, 3306, hardware 3204, or virtual machines 3208A, 3208B, but the network node 3000 shall be used to describe the functionality of the operation of the network node. Next, the operation of the network node 3000 (implemented using the structure of FIG. 30) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 26, according to some embodiments of the inventive concept. For example, modules may be stored in the memory 3004 of FIG. 30, and these modules may provide instructions such that when the instructions of the modules are executed by the respective network node processing circuitry 3002, the processing circuitry 3002 performs the respective operations of the flowchart.

[0091] FIG. 26 illustrates an example of operations performed by a network node of a communications network.

[0092] At block 2610, the processing circuit 3002 transmits configuration information to the communications device via the communications interface 3006. In some embodiments, the configuration information includes an indication of a report type for the communications device to use to transmit an indication of RS resources and / or an indication of a TEG ID to the network node. In additional or alternative embodiments, the report type includes at least one of an RRC report type and a MAC CE report type.

[0093] At block 2620, the processing circuit 3002 transmits a request message via the communication interface 3006 requesting an indication of the TEG ID associated with the RS resource.

[0094] At block 2630, the processing circuit 3002 receives, via the communications interface 3006, an indication of the RS resources and an associated TEG ID. In some embodiments, receiving the indication of the RS resources includes receiving an enhanced RRC message including at least one of a UEInformationResponse message and a UEAssistanceInformation message.

[0095] At block 2640, the processing circuit 3002 determines that a triggering event has occurred. In some embodiments, determining that a triggering event has occurred includes determining that a change in RS resources relative to previously measured RS resources exceeds a threshold.

[0096] At block 2645, the processing circuit 3002 receives a message via the communication interface 3006 that includes a request for an indication of RS resources and an indication of a TEG ID.

[0097] At block 2650, the processing circuit 3002 transmits the message via the communications interface 3006 to a second network node configured to provide the LMF. In some embodiments, transmitting the message to the second network node includes transmitting the message to the second network node in response to determining that a triggering event has occurred.

[0098] In additional or alternative embodiments, the TEG ID is a first TEG ID associated with an antenna of the communications device, and the message to the second network node further includes a second TEG ID associated with an antenna of the first network node. In some examples, the first TEG ID is a TX TEG ID and the second TEG ID is a RX TEG ID.

[0099] At block 2660 , the processing circuit 3002 receives, via the communication interface 3006 , the prioritized SRS resource measurement information.

[0100] At block 2670 , the processing circuit 3002 receives, via the communication interface 3006 , an indication of the estimated location of the communication device.

[0101] In some embodiments, the RS resource includes an SRS resource.

[0102] 26 may be optional for some embodiments. For example, for some embodiments, blocks 2610, 2640, 2650, 2660, and 2670 may be optional.

[0103] In the following description, the network node may be any of the network nodes 2808, 3000, 3306, hardware 3204, or virtual machines 3208A, 3208B, but the network node 3000 shall be used to describe the functionality of the operation of the network node. Next, the operation of the network node 3000 (implemented using the structure of FIG. 30) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 27 according to some embodiments of the inventive concept. For example, modules may be stored in the memory 3004 of FIG. 30, and these modules may provide instructions such that when the instructions of the modules are executed by the respective network node processing circuitry 3002, the processing circuitry 3002 performs the respective operations of the flowchart.

[0104] FIG. 27 illustrates an example of an operation performed by a first network node of a communication network, where the first network node is configured to provide an LMF.

[0105] At block 2710, the processing circuit 3002 transmits, via the communications interface 3006, an indication of the latency requirement to the second network node.

[0106] At block 2720, the processing circuit 3002 receives a message from a second network node via the communications interface 3006. In some embodiments, the message includes an indication of RS resources to be used for communications between the second network node and the communications device, an indication of a first TEG ID associated with the RS resources and the communications device, and an indication of a second TEG ID associated with the RS resources and the second network node.

[0107] At block 2730, the processing circuit 3002 determines a preferred RS resource measurement.

[0108] At block 2740, the processing circuit 3002 transmits, via the communication interface 3006, an indication of the prioritized RS resource measurement to the third network node.

[0109] At block 2750 , the processing circuit 3002 receives the measurement results from the third network node via the communication interface 3006 .

[0110] At block 2760, the processing circuit 3002 estimates a position of the communication device based on the message. In some embodiments, estimating the position of the communication device includes estimating the position of the communication device based on measurements.

[0111] In some embodiments, the RS resource includes an SRS resource.

[0112] 27 may be optional for some embodiments. For example, for some embodiments, blocks 2710, 2730, 2640, and 2650 may be optional.

[0113] FIG. 28 illustrates an example of a communication system 2800, according to some embodiments.

[0114] In this example, the communications system 2800 includes a communications network 2802 including an access network 2804, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 2806 including one or more core network nodes 2808. The access network 2804 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 2810a and 2810b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 2810), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. The network nodes 2810 facilitate direct or indirect connectivity of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 2812a, 2812b, 2812c, and 2812d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 2812) to the core network 2806 over one or more wireless connections.

[0115] Exemplary wireless communication over a wireless connection includes transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic, radio, infrared, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 2800 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals, whether via a wired or wireless connection. The communication system 2800 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, wireless network, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0116] The UE 2812 may be any of a wide variety of communications devices, including a wireless device configured, configured, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with the network node 2810 and other communications devices. Similarly, the network node 2810 is configured, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate, directly or indirectly, with the UE 2812 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the communications network 2802 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the communications network 2802.

[0117] In the illustrated example, the core network 2806 connects the network node 2810 to one or more hosts, such as the host 2816. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network nodes may be directly coupled to the hosts. The core network 2806 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., the core network node 2808) structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, and therefore those descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 2808. Exemplary core network nodes include one or more of the following functions: a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Subscription Identifier De-concealing Function (SIDF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), a Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), a Network Publishing Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0118] The host 2816 may be owned or under the control of, and operated by or on behalf of, a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 2804 and / or the communication network 2802. The host 2816 may host various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data regarding various ambient conditions detected by multiple UEs, analytics functions, social media, functions for controlling or possibly interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such functions implemented by a server.

[0119] Overall, the communication system 2800 of Figure 28 enables connectivity between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as a particular standard, including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G), a wireless local area network (WLAN) standard, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi), and / or any other suitable wireless communication standard, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communications (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low power wide area network (LPWAN) standard, such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0120] In some examples, the communication network 2802 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP standardized features. Thus, the communication network 2802 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the communication network 2802. For example, the communication network 2802 may provide ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or providing massive machine-based communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to still further UEs.

[0121] In some examples, the UE 2812 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 2804 on a predefined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the access network 2804. Furthermore, the UE may be configured to operate in a single or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, the UE may operate in any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e., configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Enhanced UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0122] In this example, the hub 2814 communicates with the access network 2804 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UEs 2812c and / or 2812d) and a network node (e.g., network node 2810b). In some examples, the hub 2814 may be a controller, a router, a content source and content analysis, or any of the other communication devices described herein with respect to UEs. For example, the hub 2814 may be a broadband router that allows access to the core network 2806 for the UE. As another example, the hub 2814 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The commands or instructions may be received from the UE, the network node 2810, or may be due to executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions in the hub 2814. As another example, the hub 2814 may be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 2814 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker, or other media distribution device, the hub 2814 may retrieve, via a network node, VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information, which the hub 2814 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the hub 2814 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, particularly in the case where one or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices.

[0123] The hub 2814 may have a full-time / permanent or intermittent connection to the network node 2810b. The hub 2814 may also enable different communication schemes and / or schedules between the hub 2814 and the UEs (e.g., UEs 2812c and / or 2812d) and between the hub 2814 and the core network 2806. In other examples, the hub 2814 is connected to the core network 2806 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 2814 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 2804 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, a UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node 2810 while still being connected via a wired or wireless connection through the hub 2814. In some embodiments, the hub 2814 may be a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose main function is to route communications from the UE to / from the network node 2810b to the UE. In other embodiments, the hub 2814 may be a non-dedicated hub, i.e., a device that is capable of operating to route communications between the UE and the network node 2810b, but that is further capable of operating as a communication initiation and / or termination point for some data channels.

[0124] FIG. 29 illustrates a UE 2900, according to some embodiments. A UE, as used herein, refers to a device capable of, set up, configured, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cell phones, voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback appliances, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptop computers, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), vehicle mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless devices, and the like. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0125] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communications, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communications, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE does not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates an associated device. Instead, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) that is intended for sale to or operation by a human user, but may not be associated with or may not initially be associated with a particular human user. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart power meter) that is not intended for sale to or operation by an end user, but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user.

[0126] The UE 2900 includes a processing circuit 2902 operably coupled to an input / output interface 2906, a power source 2908, a memory 2910, a communication interface 2912, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof, via a bus 2904. Some UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 29. The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. Additionally, some UEs may include multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0127] The processing circuit 2902 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored in the memory 2910 as a machine-readable computer program. The processing circuit 2902 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.), programmable logic together with appropriate firmware, one or more stored computer programs, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) together with appropriate software, a general-purpose processor, or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 2902 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0128] In this example, the input / output interface 2906 may be configured to provide one or more interfaces to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information to the UE 2900. Examples of input devices include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. A presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor for sensing input from a user. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a universal serial bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0129] In some embodiments, the power source 2908 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. The power source 2908 may further include a power circuit for delivering power to various parts of the UE 2900 from the power source 2908 itself and / or from an external power source via an input circuit, or an interface such as a power cable. Delivering power may be for charging the power source 2908, for example. The power circuit may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification on the power from the power source 2908 to make it suitable for the respective component of the UE 2900 to which it is powered.

[0130] The memory 2910 may be or be configured to include memory, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, hard disk, removable cartridge, flash drive, etc. In one example, the memory 2910 includes one or more application programs 2914, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 2916. The memory 2910 may store any of a variety of different operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by the UE 2900.

[0131] The memory 2910 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical disk drive, an internal hard disk drive, a Blu-Ray optical disk drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disk drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro-DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory, such as a tamper-proof module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or an ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC, commonly known as a "SIM card". The memory 2910 may enable the UE 2900 to access instructions, application programs, and the like stored on a temporary or non-transitory memory medium, to offload data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 2910, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0132] The processing circuit 2902 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other networks using a communication interface 2912. The communication interface 2912 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 2922. The communication interface 2912 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in the access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 2918 and / or a receiver 2920 suitable for providing network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). Moreover, the transmitter 2918 and receiver 2920 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 2922) and may share circuit components, software or firmware or may alternatively be implemented separately.

[0133] In the embodiment shown, the communication capabilities of communication interface 2912 may include cellular communications, Wi-Fi communications, LPWAN communications, data communications, voice communications, multimedia communications, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communications, location-based communications such as use of a Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication capability, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communications protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0134] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE may provide an output of data captured by the UE's sensors to a network node via a wireless connection through the UE's communications interface 2912. Data captured by the UE's sensors may be communicated to a network node via another UE over a wireless connection. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes when reporting detected temperature), in response to a triggering event (e.g., an alert is sent when humidity is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0135] As another example, the UE comprises an actuator, motor, or switch associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts a control surface or rotor of a drone in flight according to the received input, or a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0136] The UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application areas, including, but not limited to, urban wearable technology, augmented industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are devices that are or are embedded in connected refrigerators or freezers, TVs, connected lighting devices, power meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, water inundation / humidity sensors, electronic door locks, connected doorbells, air conditioning systems such as heat pumps, autonomous vehicles, surveillance systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smart watches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), wearables for haptic augmentation or sensory augmentation, water sprinklers, animal or product tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any kind of medical device such as a heart rate monitor or a remote-controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an IoT device comprises, in addition to the other components described with respect to UE 2900 shown in FIG. 29, circuitry and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device.

[0137] As yet another particular example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, the UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, bus, truck, ship, and airplane, or other equipment capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operating status or other functions related to its operation.

[0138] In fact, any number of UEs may be used together for a single use case. For example, a first UE may be a drone or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller that operates the drone. When a user makes a change from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust a throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or second UE may also include two or more of the functions described above. For example, a UE may comprise a sensor and an actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0139] FIG. 30 illustrates a network node 3000 according to some embodiments. A network node, as used herein, refers to a device capable of, set up, configured, and / or operable to communicate, directly or indirectly, with UEs in a communication network and / or with other network nodes or devices. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., wireless access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)).

[0140] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated another way, their transmit power level) and may therefore be referred to as femto, pico, micro, or macro base stations depending on the amount of coverage provided. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0141] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, MSR equipment such as a multi-standard radio (MSR) BS, a network controller such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmitting node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), an operation and maintenance (O&M) node, an operation support system (OSS) node, a self-organizing network (SON) node, a positioning node (e.g., an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), and / or a minimization of drive test (MDT).

[0142] The network node 3000 includes a processing circuit 3002, a memory 3004, a communication interface 3006, and a power source 3008. The network node 3000 may be assembled from multiple physically separate components (e.g., a Node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In some scenarios in which the network node 3000 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., a BTS component and a BSC component), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control several Node Bs. In such scenarios, each unique Node B and RNC pair may be considered as a single separate network node in some cases. In some embodiments, the network node 3000 may be configured to support several radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 3004 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 3010 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 3000 may also include multiple sets of the various shown components for different wireless technologies, e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies, integrated into the network node 3000. These wireless technologies may be integrated in the same or different chips or sets of chips and other components within the network node 3000.

[0143] The processing circuitry 3002 may comprise one or more combinations of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resources, or combinations of hardware, software and / or coded logic operable to provide the network node 3000 functionality, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 3000 components, such as memory 3004.

[0144] In some embodiments, the processing circuit 3002 comprises a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuit 3002 includes one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 3012 and a baseband processing circuit 3014. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 3012 and the baseband processing circuit 3014 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit 3012 and the baseband processing circuit 3014 may be on the same chip or set of chips, board, or unit.

[0145] The memory 3004 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer readable memory, including, but not limited to, persistent storage, solid state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and / or computer executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuit 3002. The memory 3004 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including applications including one or more of computer programs, software, logic, rules, codes, tables, and / or other instructions that may be executed by the processing circuit 3002 and utilized by the network node 3000. The memory 3004 may be used to store calculations performed by the processing circuit 3002 and / or data received via the communication interface 3006. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 3002 and the memory 3004 are integrated.

[0146] The communication interface 3006 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks, and / or UEs. As shown, the communication interface 3006 comprises a port(s) / terminal(s) 3016 for sending and receiving data to and from a network, for example over a wired connection. The communication interface 3006 also includes a radio front-end circuit 3018, which is coupled to an antenna 3010 or, in some embodiments, may be part of the antenna 3010. The radio front-end circuit 3018 comprises a filter 3020 and an amplifier 3022. The radio front-end circuit 3018 may be connected to the antenna 3010 and the processing circuit 3002. The radio front-end circuit may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 3010 and the processing circuit 3002. The radio front-end circuit 3018 may receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 3018 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 3020 and / or amplifiers 3022. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 3010. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 3010 may collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 3018. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 3002. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0147] In some alternative embodiments, the network node 3000 does not include a separate radio front-end circuit 3018, and instead the processing circuit 3002 includes the radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 3010. Similarly, in some embodiments all or a portion of the RF transceiver circuitry 3012 is part of the communications interface 3006. In still other embodiments, the communications interface 3006 includes one or more ports or terminals 3016, the radio front-end circuitry 3018, and the RF transceiver circuitry 3012 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communications interface 3006 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 3014 that is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0148] The antenna 3010 may include one or more antennas or an antenna array configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 3010 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 3018 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, the antenna 3010 is separate from the network node 3000 and connectable to the network node 3000 through an interface or port.

[0149] The antenna 3010, the communication interface 3006, and / or the processing circuit 3002 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or some acquisition operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signal may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 3010, the communication interface 3006, and / or the processing circuit 3002 may be configured to perform any transmitting operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signal may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0150] The power source 3008 provides power to the various components of the network node 3000 in a form suitable for each component (e.g., at voltage and current levels required for each respective component). The power source 3008 may further comprise or be coupled to a power management circuit for supplying the components of the network node 3000 with power for performing the functions described herein. For example, the network node 3000 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., a power grid, an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface, such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source provides power to the power circuit of the power source 3008. As a further example, the power source 3008 may comprise a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated in the power circuit. The battery may provide backup power in the event that the external power source fails.

[0151] Embodiments of the network node 3000 may include additional components other than those shown in Figure 30 to provide certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any of the functionality described herein and / or functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 3000 may include user interface devices to enable input of information into the network node 3000 and output of information from the network node 3000. This may enable a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 3000.

[0152] FIG. 31 is a block diagram of a host 3100, which may be an embodiment of the host 2816 of FIG. 28, in accordance with various aspects described herein. The host 3100, as used herein, may be or comprise various combinations of hardware and / or software, including processing resources in a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, a container, or a server farm. The host 3100 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0153] The host 3100 includes a processing circuit 3102 operably coupled to an input / output interface 3106, a network interface 3108, a power source 3110, and a memory 3112 via a bus 3104. In other embodiments, other components may be included. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 29 and 30, and therefore those descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 3100.

[0154] The memory 3112 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 3114 and data 3116, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by the UE for the host 3100 or data generated by the host 3100 for the UE. An embodiment of the host 3100 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 3114 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9), and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application program 3114 may also provide user authentication and license checks, and may periodically report health, route, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in the core network or on the edge of the core network. Thus, the host 3100 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for the UE. The host application program 3114 may support a variety of protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0155] FIG. 32 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 3200 in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualizing means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device, which may include virtualizing a hardware platform, storage devices, and networking resources. Virtualization as used herein may apply to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to implementations in which at least a portion of functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 3200 hosted by one or more of the hardware nodes, such as a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a hardware computing device acting as a host. Furthermore, in embodiments in which a virtual node does not require wireless connectivity (e.g., a core network node or a host), the node may be fully virtualized.

[0156] An application 3202 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, a virtual appliance, a network function, a virtual node, a virtual network function, etc.) is run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0157] Hardware 3204 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices described herein, such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, etc. Software is executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 3206 (also referred to as a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor (VMM)), provide VMs 3208a and 3208b (one or more of which may be referred to generally as VMs 3208), and / or implement any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described with respect to some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 3206 may present to VMs 3208 a virtual operating platform that appears to be networking hardware.

[0158] The VMs 3208 may comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 3206. Different embodiments of the virtual appliance 3202 instance may be implemented on one or more of the VMs 3208, and the implementation may be done in different ways. Hardware virtualization is referred to in some contexts as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that may be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0159] In the context of NFV, the VMs 3208 may be software implementations of physical machines that run programs as if they were running on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 3208 and the portion of the hardware 3204 on which it runs, whether hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with other of the VMs, forms a separate virtual network element. Further in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling a particular network function running in one or more VMs 3208 on the hardware 3204 and corresponds to the application 3202.

[0160] The hardware 3204 may be implemented in a standalone network node with general or specific components. The hardware 3204 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 3204 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (such as in a data center or CPE, for example) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via a management and orchestration 3210 that oversees, among other things, the lifecycle management of the application 3202. In some embodiments, the hardware 3204 is coupled to one or more radio units, each including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers, which may be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces, and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide a virtual node with wireless capabilities, such as a radio access node or base station. In some embodiments, some signaling may be provided using a control system 3212, which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes and the radio units.

[0161] FIG. 33 illustrates a communication diagram of a host 3302 communicating with a UE 3306 via a network node 3304 over a partial wireless connection, according to some embodiments. Exemplary implementations according to various embodiments of a UE (such as the UE 2812a of FIG. 28 and / or the UE 2900 of FIG. 29), a network node (such as the network node 2810a of FIG. 28 and / or the network node 3000 of FIG. 30), and a host (such as the host 2816 of FIG. 28 and / or the host 3100 of FIG. 31) described in the previous paragraph will now be described with reference to FIG.

[0162] Similar to the host 3100, an embodiment of the host 3302 includes hardware, such as a communications interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 3302 also includes software stored on or accessible by the host 3302 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 3306 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 3350 extending between the UE 3306 and the host 3302. In providing services to a remote user, the host application may provide user data that is transmitted using the OTT connection 3350.

[0163] The network node 3304 includes hardware that enables the network node 3304 to communicate with the host 3302 and the UE 3306. The connection 3360 may be direct or may pass through one or more other intermediate networks, such as a core network (similar to the core network 2806 of FIG. 28) and / or one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, the intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0164] The UE 3306 includes hardware and software stored in or accessible by the UE 3306 and executable by the processing circuitry of the UE. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or an operator-specific "app," which may be operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via the UE 3306 with the support of the host 3302. At the host 3302, a running host application may communicate with a running client application via an OTT connection 3350 that terminates at the UE 3306 and the host 3302. In providing services to a user, the client application of the UE may receive request data from the host application of the host and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 3350 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application of the UE may interact with the user to generate user data that the client application of the UE provides to the host application through the OTT connection 3350.

[0165] The OTT connection 3350 may extend through a connection 3360 between the host 3302 and a network node 3304 and through a wireless connection 3370 between the network node 3304 and the UE 3306 to provide a connection between the host 3302 and the UE 3306. The connections 3360 and wireless connections 3370 through which the OTT connection 3350 may be provided are depicted abstractly to show communication between the host 3302 and the UE 3306 through the network node 3304, without explicit reference to intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages through these devices.

[0166] As an example of transmitting data over the OTT connection 3350, in step 3308, the host 3302 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 3306. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 3306 that shares data with the host 3302 without explicit human interaction. In step 3310, the host 3302 initiates a transmission conveying the user data towards the UE 3306. The host 3302 may initiate the transmission in response to a request transmitted by the UE 3306. The request may be triggered by human interaction with the UE 3306 or by the operation of a client application executing on the UE 3306. The transmission may proceed via the network node 3304 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Thus, in step 3312, the network node 3304 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host 3302 to the UE 3306, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 3314, the UE 3306 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executing on the UE 3306 associated with the host application executed by the host 3302.

[0167] In some examples, the UE 3306 executes a client application that provides user data to the host 3302. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to data received from the host 3302. Thus, in step 3316, the UE 3306 may provide the user data, which may be implemented by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further take into account user input received from a user via an input / output interface of the UE 3306. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data is provided, the UE 3306 initiates transmission of the user data towards the host 3302 via the network node 3304 in step 3318. In step 3320, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 3304 receives the user data from the UE 3306 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 3302. In step 3322, the host 3302 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 3306.

[0168] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE 3306 using the OTT connection 3350, of which the wireless connection 3370 forms the final segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may enable a multi-node cloud-based system (e.g., a FaaS system) to schedule functions based on the capabilities and status requirements of the cloud-based system, thereby guaranteeing E2E RT runtime for RT functions.

[0169] In an exemplary scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 3302. As another example, the host 3302 may process audio and video data that may have been retrieved from the UE for use in creating a map. As another example, the host 3302 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicular congestion (e.g., controlling traffic signals). As another example, the host 3302 may store surveillance videos uploaded by the UE. As another example, the host 3302 may store or control access to media content, such as video, audio, VR or AR, that the host 3302 may broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the UE. As other examples, the host 3302 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-constrained electrical loads to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams, etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0170] In some examples, measurement procedures may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve upon. There may further be an optional network function to reconfigure the OTT connection 3350 between the host 3302 and the UE 3306 in response to fluctuations in the measurement results. The measurement procedures and / or the network function to reconfigure the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 3302 and / or the UE 3306. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 3350 passes, and the sensors may participate in the measurement procedures by providing values ​​of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or other physical quantities from which software may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 3350 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration need not directly change the operation of the network node 3304. Such procedures and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements by the host 3302 of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be implemented in causing messages to be sent, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, using the OTT connection 3350 while software monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

[0171] Although the computing devices (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) described herein may include the depicted combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. The determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described herein may be performed by a processing circuit, which may process information by, for example, transforming the obtained information to other information, comparing the obtained or transformed information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained or transformed information and as a result of said processing making a decision. Moreover, while a component is illustrated as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in reality the computing device may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single depicted component, and functionality may be partitioned among the separate components. For example, a communications interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of those components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communications interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functionality of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, and computationally intensive functionality may be implemented in hardware.

[0172] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by a processing circuit executing instructions stored in a memory, which in some embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuit without executing instructions stored in a separate or distinct device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the described functionality, whether or not it executes instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Benefits provided by such functionality are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and wireless networks in general, but not limited to the processing circuit alone or other components of the computing device.

Claims

1. 1. A method of operating a communications device in a communications network, the method comprising the steps of: receiving 2520 a request message from a network node of the communications network, the request message requesting an indication of Reference Signal (RS) resources to be used by the communications device to communicate with the network node and an indication of a Timing Error Group (TEG) Identifier (ID) associated with the RS resources; sending the indication of the RS resources and the indication of the TEG ID to the network node (2540); A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the indication of the RS resources and the indication of the TEG ID includes transmitting at least one of the indication of the RS resources and the indication of the TEG ID at a predetermined periodicity.

3. Determining that a triggering event has occurred (2530). Further comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the indication of RS resources and the indication of the TEG ID comprises transmitting at least one of the indication of RS resources and the indication of the TEG ID in response to determining that the triggering event has occurred.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining that the triggering event has occurred comprises determining that a change in the RS resource relative to a previously measured RS resource measurement exceeds a threshold.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of the RS resource comprises an indication of a delta between the measurement of the RS resource and a previous measurement of the RS resource.

6. Receiving configuration information from the network node (2510). The method of claim 1 further comprising:

7. the configuration information includes an indication of a report type to be used to transmit the indication of the RS resources and / or the indication of the TEG ID to the network node; 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the report type includes at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) report type and a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) report type.

8. the report type includes the RRC report type; 8. The method of claim 7, wherein transmitting the indication of the RS resources includes transmitting an enhanced RRC message including at least one of a UEInformationResponse message and a UEAssistanceInformation message.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the RS resource comprises a Sounding RS (SRS) resource.

10. 1. A method of operating a first network node of a communications network, the method comprising the steps of: determining (2630) a Timing Error Group (TEG) Identifier (ID) associated with a Reference Signal (RS) resource used by a communications device to communicate with the first network node; Sending a message to a second network node configured to provide a Location Management Function (LMF) (2650), the message including an indication of the RS resources and an indication of the TEG ID (2650); The method further comprising:

11. the message includes a second message; The method comprises: Receiving a first message from the second network node (2645), the first message including a request for the indication of the RS resources and an indication of the TEG ID (2645). The method of claim 10 further comprising:

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein transmitting the second message comprises transmitting the second message in response to receiving the first message.

13. the first message further comprises a request to periodically transmit positioning information associated with the communication device; The method of claim 11 , wherein transmitting the second message comprises periodically transmitting the second message based on the request to transmit periodically.

14. Determining that a triggering event has occurred (2640). Further comprising: transmitting the message to the second network node includes transmitting the message to the second network node in response to determining that the triggering event has occurred; determining that the triggering event has occurred includes determining that a change in the RS resource relative to a previously measured RS resource exceeds a threshold.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13.

15. 15. The method of claim 10, wherein transmitting the message includes transmitting the message over a New Radio Positioning Protocol A ("NRPPa") interface.

16. the TEG ID includes a first TEG ID associated with an antenna of the communication device; 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the message to the second network node further includes a second TEG ID associated with an antenna of the first network node.

17. the first TEG ID comprises a transmit (TX) TEG ID; The method of claim 16 , wherein the second TEG ID comprises a receive (RX) TEG ID.

18. receiving, from the second network node, prioritized SRS resource measurement information in response to transmitting the message to the second network node (2660).

18. The method of any one of claims 10 to 17, further comprising:

19. receiving from the second network node an indication of an estimated location of the communications device in response to transmitting the message to the second network node (2670).

19. The method of any one of claims 10 to 18, further comprising:

20. The method of claim 10 , wherein the RS resource comprises a Sounding RS (SRS) resource.

21. 1. A method of operating a first network node of a communications network, the first network node being configured to provide a Location Management Function (LMF), the method comprising the steps of: Receiving (2720) a message from a second network node, the message comprising: an indication of reference signal (RS) resources to be used for communication between the second network node and a communication device; and an indication of a first Timing Error Group (TEG) Identifier (ID) associated with the RS resource and the communication device; an indication of a second TEG ID associated with the RS resource and the second network node; and receiving (2720) a message including: estimating (2760) a location of the communication device based on the message; A method comprising:

22. Determining a preferred RS resource measurement (2730); sending an indication of the preferred RS resource measurement to a third network node communicatively coupled to the communications device (2740); receiving measurement results from the third network node (2750); Further comprising: and estimating the location of the communication device includes estimating the location of the communication device based on the measurements.

22. The method of claim 21.

23. and transmitting an indication of latency requirements to the second network node (2710).

23. The method of claim 21 or 22, further comprising:

24. 24. The method of claim 21, wherein the RS resource comprises a Sounding RS (SRS) resource.

25. A communications device (2812A-2812D, 2900, 3204) for operation in a communications network, said communications device adapted to perform operations comprising: receiving 2520 a request message from a network node of the communications network, the request message requesting an indication of Reference Signal (RS) resources to be used by the communications device to communicate with the network node and an indication of a Timing Error Group (TEG) Identifier (ID) associated with the RS resources; sending the indication of the RS resources and the indication of the TEG ID to the network node (2540); A communication device (2812A to 2812D, 2900, 3204).

26. 26. The communications device of claim 25, wherein the operations further include any of the operations of claims 2 to 9.

27. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by a processing circuit (2902) of a communications device (2812A-2812D, 2900, 3204) operating in a communications network, whereby execution of the program code causes the communications device to perform operations including any of the operations set forth in claims 1 to 9.

28. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium (2910) containing program code to be executed by a processing circuit (2902) of a communications device (2812A-2812D, 2900, 3204) operating in a communications network, whereby execution of the program code causes the communications device to perform operations including any of the operations recited in claims 1 to 9.

29. A network node (2808, 2810A, 2810B, 3000, 3306, 3204, 3208A, 3208B) operating in a communications network, said network node adapted to perform operations comprising: Determining (2630) a Timing Error Group (TEG) Identifier (ID) associated with a Reference Signal (RS) resource used by the communications device to communicate with the first network node; Sending a message to a second network node configured to provide a Location Management Function (LMF) (2650), the message including an indication of the RS resources and an indication of the TEG ID (2650); Network nodes (2808, 2810A, 2810B, 3000, 3306, 3204, 3208A, 3208B).

30. 30. The network node of claim 29, wherein the operations further comprise any of the operations of claims 11 to 24.

31. 25. A computer program comprising program code to be executed by a processing circuit (3002) of a network node (2808, 2810A, 2810B, 3000, 3306, 3204, 3208A, 3208B) operating in a communications network, whereby execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations including any of those described in claims 10 to 24.

32. 25. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium (3004) containing program code to be executed by a processing circuit (3002) of a network node (2808, 2810A, 2810B, 3000, 3306, 3204, 3208A, 3208B) operating in a communications network, whereby execution of the program code causes the network node to perform operations including any of the operations set forth in claims 10 to 24.

Images