Method and apparatus for positioning of inactive user equipment - Patents.com

Abstract

Positioning of the UE is supported in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive state. The UE receives from a location server a request for periodic or triggered positioning and an indication of whether uplink, downlink, or uplink and downlink positioning is used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state. When an event is detected, the UE sends a first event report and a second event report to the location server to report the event and enable positioning of the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state. The event reports are each transmitted in a small data transmission (SDT). The first event report may include a request assistance data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, and the second event report may include location measurements performed by the UE.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Field of Disclosure The present disclosure relates generally to communications, and more particularly, to techniques for supporting location services for user equipment (UE). [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-enabled wireless service, and fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., LTE or WiMax). The fifth-generation (5G) new wireless (NR) standard calls for higher data rates, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. 5G NR by the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, and data rates of one gigabit per second to a few dozen workers on an office floor.

[0003] In some applications, it may be useful or necessary to be able to obtain the location of a mobile device through a wireless communication system. For example, locating a mobile device may be required for applications such as navigation assistance, public safety support, asset tracking, and management of moving objects in a factory or warehouse. For some applications and / or certain types of mobile devices, it may be desirable to locate the mobile device with reduced power consumption by the mobile device and / or reduced latency. Thus, methods and systems for achieving reduced power consumption and / or reduced latency may be beneficial. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Positioning of the UE is supported in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) inactive state. The UE receives from a location server a request for periodic or triggered positioning and an indication of whether uplink, downlink, or uplink and downlink positioning is used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state. When an event is detected when the UE is in the RRC inactive state, the UE sends a first event report and a second event report to the location server to report the event and enable positioning of the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state. The event reports are each transmitted in a small data transmission (SDT). The first event report may include a request assistance data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, and the second event report may include location measurements performed by the UE.

[0005] In one implementation, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) to support location location of the UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state includes receiving a request to perform periodic or triggered location location; receiving an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; detecting an event while in the RRC inactive state; and transmitting a first event report and a second event report to report the event and enable location location of the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted using small data transmission (SDT).

[0006] In one implementation, a user equipment (UE) configured to support location determination of a UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state includes a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with an entity in a wireless network, at least one memory, and at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, where the at least one processor is configured to receive, via the wireless transceiver, a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination, receive, via the wireless transceiver, an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state, detect an event while in the RRC inactive state, and transmit, via the wireless transceiver, a first event report and a second event report to report the event, and enable location determination of the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state, where the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted using a small data transmission (SDT).

[0007] In one implementation, a user equipment (UE) configured to support location determination of a UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state includes means for receiving a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination; means for receiving an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; means for detecting an event while in the RRC inactive state; and means for transmitting a first event report and a second event report while the UE is in the RRC inactive state to report the event and enable location determination of the UE, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted via a small data transmission (SDT).

[0008] In one implementation, a non-transitory storage medium including stored program code, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) to support location determination of a UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the program code including instructions to receive a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination, receive an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state, detect an event while in the RRC inactive state, send a first event report and a second event report to report the event, and enable location determination of the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state, the first event report and the second event report each being transmitted using small data transmission (SDT).

[0009] In one implementation, a method performed by a location server to support location determination of a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state includes sending a request to the UE to perform periodic or triggered location determination; sending an indication to the UE of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for subsequent location reporting events when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; and receiving a first event report and a second event report from the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state to report detection of an event by the UE and enable location determination of the UE, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted by the UE using small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in the RRC inactive state.

[0010] In one implementation, a location server configured to support location determination of a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state includes an external interface configured to wirelessly communicate with an entity in a wireless network, at least one memory, and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: send a request to the UE via the external interface to perform periodic or triggered location determination; send an indication to the UE via the external interface whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; receive a first event report and a second event report from the UE via the external interface to report detection of an event by the UE and enable location determination of the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted by the UE using a small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in the RRC inactive state.

[0011] In one implementation, a location server configured to support location determination of a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state includes means for sending a request to the UE to perform periodic or triggered location determination; means for sending an indication to the UE of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for subsequent location reporting events when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; and means for receiving a first event report and a second event report from the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state to report detection of an event by the UE and enable location determination of the UE, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted by the UE using small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in the RRC inactive state.

[0012] In one implementation, a non-transitory storage medium including stored program code, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in a location server to support location determination of a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the program code including instructions to send a request to the UE to perform periodic or triggered location determination, send an indication to the UE of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state, and receive a first event report and a second event report from the UE to report detection of an event by the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state and enable location determination of the UE, the first event report and the second event report each being transmitted by the UE using small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in the RRC inactive state.

[0013] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the explanation of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided only to illustrate, not limit, the aspects. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a high-level system architecture of a wireless communication system according to one aspect of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 1 shows a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection state machine and state transitions. [Diagram 3] 1 shows a signaling flow illustrating various messages transmitted between components of a communication system during a location preparation procedure for a delayed mobility termination location request (MT-LR). [Figure 4A] 13 shows a signaling flow illustrating various messages transmitted between components of a communication system for event reporting for a delayed MT-LR request for uplink or uplink and downlink positioning while the UE is in an RRC inactive state. [Figure 4B-1]1 shows a signaling flow illustrating various messages transmitted between components of a communication system for initiation and reporting of location events for delayed MT-LR procedures for location events that are periodic or triggered while the UE is in an RRC inactive state. [Figure 4B-2] 1 shows a signaling flow illustrating various messages transmitted between components of a communication system for initiation and reporting of location events for delayed MT-LR procedures for location events that are periodic or triggered while the UE is in an RRC inactive state. [Figure 4C] 1 shows a signaling flow illustrating various messages transmitted between components of a communication system for initiation and reporting of location events for a delayed MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events when the UE is in an RRC inactive state and downlink positioning or positioning is not used for event reporting. [Figure 4D] 1 shows a signaling flow illustrating various messages transmitted between components of a communication system for initiation and reporting of location events for a delayed MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events when the UE is in an RRC inactive state and UL positioning is used for event reporting; [Figure 4E-1] 1 shows a signaling flow illustrating various messages transmitted between components of a communication system for initiation and reporting of location events for a delayed MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events while the UE is in an RRC inactive state and when uplink and downlink positioning are used for event reporting. [Figure 4E-2] 1 shows a signaling flow illustrating various messages transmitted between components of a communication system for initiation and reporting of location events for a delayed MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events while the UE is in an RRC inactive state and when uplink and downlink positioning are used for event reporting. [Diagram 5]1 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain example features of a UE configured for event reporting for delayed MT-LR while in an RRC inactive state. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain example features of a location server configured for UE event reporting for delayed MT-LR while in an RRC inactive state. [Figure 7] 1 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain example features of a base station configured for UE event reporting for delayed MT-LR while in an RRC inactive state. [Figure 8] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for supporting UE location services performed by a UE. [Figure 9] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for supporting location services for a UE, performed by a location server.

[0015] Elements, phases, steps, and / or actions having the same reference label in different drawings may correspond to one another (e.g., may be similar or identical to one another). Furthermore, some elements in various drawings are labeled using a numeric prefix followed by an alphabetic or numeric suffix. Elements with the same numeric prefix but different suffixes may be different instances of the same type of element. A numeric prefix without a suffix is ​​used herein to refer to any element that is prefixed with that numeric prefix. For example, different instances of base stations 110-1, 110-2, 110-3 are shown in FIG. 1. In this case, a reference to base station 110 refers to any of base stations 110-1, 110-2, 110-3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and associated drawings, directed to various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0017] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0018] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, desired design, corresponding technology, etc.

[0019] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that various activities described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. In addition, the sequence or sequences of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functions described herein. Thus, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein, for example, as "logic configured to" perform the described actions.

[0020] The terms "User Equipment (UE)" and "base station" as used herein are not intended to be specific or limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT) unless otherwise specified. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer tracking device for tracking consumer items, packages, assets or entities such as individuals or pets, a wearable (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, Augmented Reality (AR) / Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at a particular time) and may communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). The term "UE" as used herein may be referred to interchangeably as an "Access Terminal" or "AT", "Client Device", "Wireless Device", "Subscriber Device", "Subscriber Terminal", "Subscriber Station", "User Terminal" or "UT", "Mobile Terminal", "Mobile Station", "Mobile Device", or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, through which the UE may be connected to external networks, such as the Internet, and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as via a wired access network, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0021] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with a UE depending on the network in which it is deployed and may alternatively be referred to as an Access Point (AP), a network node, NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), new radio (NR) NodeB (also referred to as gNB), etc. Additionally, in some systems, the base station may simply provide edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems, the base station may provide additional control and / or network management functionality. A communication link through which a UE may send signals to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a base station may send signals to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to either a UL / reverse traffic channel or a DL / forward traffic channel.

[0022] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmission point or multiple physical transmission points that may or may not be co-located. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical transmission point, the physical transmission point may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to the base station's cell. When the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical transmission points, the physical transmission point may be an array of base station antennas (e.g., as in a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system or when the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, the physical transmission points may be a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a carrier medium) or a Remote Radio Head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical transmission points may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and a neighboring base station whose reference RF signal the UE is measuring.

[0023] To support UE positioning, two broad classifications of positioning solutions have been defined: control plane and user plane. In control plane (CP) positioning, signaling related to positioning and its support may be carried over existing network (and UE) interfaces and using existing protocols dedicated to the transport of signaling. In user plane (UP) positioning, signaling related to positioning and its support may be carried as part of other data, using protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

[0024] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) has defined control plane positioning strategies for UEs using radio access according to Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) (2G), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) (3G), Long Term Evolution (LTE) for the fourth generation (4G), and New Radio (NR) for the fifth generation (5G). These strategies are defined in 3GPP Technical specifications (TSs) 23.271 and 23.273 (common part), 43.059 (GSM access), 25.305 (UMTS access), 36.305 (LTE access), and 38.305 (NR access). The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) has also defined a UP location solution known as Secure User Plane Location (SUPL), which may be used to locate UEs accessing any of a number of radio interfaces supporting IP packet access, such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) with GSM, GPRS with UMTS, or IP access with LTE or NR.

[0025] Both the CP and UP positioning solutions may utilize a location server (LS) to support positioning. The location server may be part of or accessible from the serving network or home network for the UE, or may simply be accessible via the Internet or via a local intranet. If positioning of the UE is required, the location server may initiate a session with the UE (e.g., a location session or a SUPL session) to coordinate location measurements by the UE and determination of an estimated position of the UE. During the location session, the location server may request positioning capabilities of the UE (or the UE may provide them without a request), provide assistance data to the UE (e.g., if requested by the UE or even without a request), and request location estimates or location measurement results from the UE, e.g., for GNSS, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), AOD, multi-cell RTT, and / or Extended Cell ID (ECID) positioning methods. The assistance data may be used by the UE to acquire and measure GNSS and / or PRS signals (e.g., by providing expected characteristics of these signals, such as frequency, expected time of arrival, signal coding, signal Doppler, etc.).

[0026] In a UE-based mode of operation, assistance data may also or instead be used by the UE to help determine a location estimate from obtained location measurements (e.g. where the assistance data provides satellite ephemeris data in the case of GNSS positioning, or other base station characteristics such as base station location and PRS configuration in the case of terrestrial positioning using, e.g., DL-TDOA, AOD, multi-cell RTT, etc.).

[0027] In a UE assisted operating mode, the UE may return location measurements to the location server, which may determine an estimated location of the UE based on these measurements and possibly also other known or configured data (e.g. satellite ephemeris data for GNSS positioning, or base station locations and possibly base station characteristics including PRS configuration in case of terrestrial positioning using, e.g., DL-TDOA, AOD, multi-cell RTT, etc.).

[0028] In another standalone operation mode, the UE may perform location related measurements without using any positioning assistance data from a location server and may further calculate a location or a change in location without using any positioning assistance data from a location server. Positioning methods that may be used in the standalone mode include GPS and GNSS (e.g., where the UE obtains satellite orbit data from data broadcast by the GPS and GNSS satellites themselves) and sensors.

[0029] Positioning methods (also called position methods) can be categorized as "uplink" (UL), "downlink" (DL), and "uplink and downlink" (UL+DL). UL positioning methods utilize UL measurements (e.g., UL PRS, sometimes called SRS for positioning) of signals transmitted by the target UE. The measurements are typically obtained by one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs), access points, or other network entities. UL positioning methods include UL-AOA, UL-TDOA, and ECID. DL positioning methods utilize DL measurements of signals transmitted by one or more base stations, access points, SVs, or other signal sources. The measurements are obtained by the target UE being positioned. DL positioning methods include DL-AOA, DL-TDOA, DL-AOD, A-GNSS, WLAN (also called WiFi or Wi-Fi), and ECID. UL+DL positioning methods utilize both DL measurements taken by the target UE of signals transmitted by one or more base stations, access points, SVs, or other signal sources, and UL measurements of signals transmitted by the target UE and acquired by one or more base stations, access points, or other entities. UL+DL positioning methods include RTT and multi-cell RTT.

[0030] For 3GPP CP location, the location server may be an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) in case of LTE access, a standalone SMLC (SAS) in case of UMTS access, a serving mobile location center (SMLC) in case of GSM access, or a Location Management Function (LMF) in case of 5G NR access. For OMA SUPL location, the location server may be: (i) a home SLP (H-SLP) if it is in or associated with the UE's home network or provides the UE with a persistent subscription for location services; (ii) a discovered SLP (D-SLP) if it is in or associated with some other (non-home) network or is not associated with any network; (iii) an emergency SLP (E-SLP) if it supports location for emergency calls initiated by the UE. The SUPL Location Platform (SLP) may act as either a SUPL Location Platform (SLP), an E-SLP (E-SLP), or (iv) a visited SLP (V-SLP) if it is in or associated with the serving network or current local area for the UE.

[0031] During the location session, the location server and the UE may exchange messages defined according to some positioning protocol to coordinate the determination of the estimated position. Possible positioning protocols may include, for example, the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) defined by 3GPP in 3GPP TS37.355, and the LPP Extension (LPPe) protocol defined by OMA in OMA TSs OMA-TS-LPPe-V1_0, OMA-TS-LPPe-V1_1, and OMA-TS-LPPe-V2_0. The LPP and LPPe protocols may be used in combinations where an LPP message contains one embedded LPPe message. The combined LPP and LPPe protocols may be referred to as LPP / LPPe. The LPP and LPP / LPPe may be used to help support 3GPP control plane solutions for LTE or NR access, where LPP or LPP / LPPe messages are exchanged between the UE and the E-SMLC or between the UE and the LMF. LPP or LPPe messages may be exchanged between the UE and the E-SMLC via a serving mobility management entity (MME) and a serving eNodeB (eNB) for the UE. LPP or LPPe messages may also be exchanged between the UE and the LMF via a serving access and mobility management function (AMF) and a serving NR Node B (also referred to as gNodeB or gNB) for the UE. LPP and LPP / LPPe may also be used to help support the OMA SUPL approach for many types of wireless access (such as LTE, NR, and WiFi) that support IP messaging, in which case LPP or LPP / LPPe messages may be exchanged between a SUPL Enabled Terminal (SET), the term used for the UE for SUPL, and an SLP, and transported within a SUPL message, such as a SUPL POS or SUPL POS INIT message.

[0032] The location server and the base station (e.g., eNodeB for LTE access or gNodeB for NR access) may exchange messages to enable the location server to (i) obtain location measurements of a particular UE from the base station, or (ii) obtain location information from the base station that is not related to a particular UE, such as antenna position coordinates for the base station, cells (e.g., cell identities) supported by the base station, cell timing for the base station, and / or parameters for signals transmitted by the base station, such as PRS signals. In the case of LTE access, the LPP A (LPPa) protocol may be used to transfer such messages between the base station, which is an eNodeB, and the location server, which is an E-SMLC. In the case of NR access, the New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) protocol may be used to transfer such messages between the base station, which is a gNodeB, and the location server, which is an LMF.

[0033] During a positioning session, the UE may infrequently transmit positioning measurements to the location server. For example, the location server may not request frequent positioning measurements, e.g., the periodic trigger for positioning measurements may have a long period. In another example, there may be a relatively long period between the receipt by the UE of a request for assistance data or positioning measurements and the time when the positioning information is transmitted by the UE. Since positioning-related messages between the location server and the UE pass transparently through the base station as LPP messages, the base station, e.g., gNB, may not be aware of the timing of the positioning measurement command from the location server to the UE and / or when the positioning measurements are prepared or transmitted by the UE.

[0034] The connection between the UE and the base station (e.g., the RRC connection) can only be released by the base station. In the absence of information related to the timing of the positioning measurements, the base station may not release the connection with the UE, and thus the UE may remain connected to the base station during the entire positioning measurement session, which may result in additional resource and power consumption by the UE. Furthermore, even if the base station releases the connection with the UE, if positioning measurements are transmitted by the UE immediately after the connection is released, a new connection may need to be initiated, which will consume additional power and time.

[0035] For example, a GNSS fix may take longer than 15 seconds for E911 or location tracking applications, and remaining connected to a base station for such extended periods may result in excess power consumption by the UE.

[0036] As described herein, user equipment (UE) positioning, including positioning using UL or UL+DL positioning methods, may be supported while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state. The RRC inactive state may be used to reduce latency and / or power consumption by the UE and may support faster access by the UE to a serving network, or faster access by the serving network to the UE, than if the UE were in an idle state without an RRC connection.

[0037] For UL-only positioning (e.g., UL-TDOA, UL-AOA) or UL+DL positioning (e.g., multi-RTT), the UE needs a UL PRS configuration (e.g., SRS for positioning). The UL PRS configuration is determined by the serving base station (e.g., gNB) of the target device (e.g., UE). For periodic or triggered delayed MT-LR while the UE is in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the UE may send an event report with location measurements to the location server via the serving base station using small data transmission (SDT). SDT in 3GPP refers to data transmission in RRC inactive state. Specifically, SDT is a transmission for short data bursts in RRC_inactive state, in which the UE does not need to establish and disconnect a connection for transmission, and is used when it needs to transmit a small amount of data (such as a location measurement report). In general, the UE is required to perform multiple transmissions and receptions of control signals to initiate and maintain a connection with the network. When the payload size of the data is relatively small compared to the amount of control signaling, making a connection for small data transmission may be inefficient (e.g., in terms of UE power consumption) due to control signaling overhead. Therefore, SDT procedures have been developed in 3GPP to enable data transmission during the RRC inactive state.

[0038] To initiate the SDT procedure, the UE may transmit the RRC RESUME REQUEST message and data in parallel, instead of transmitting the data after the RRC RESUME REQUEST message is transmitted and processed by the network. Additional transmissions and / or receptions using SDT may then also be performed without the UE entering the RRC_CONNECTED state. The UE performs the SDT procedure without transitioning to the RRC_CONNECTED state.

[0039] Since SDT is a UE initiated procedure, it is well suited for DL-only positioning methods (e.g. DL-TDOA) where the target UE performs DL measurements while the target UE is in RRC_INACTIVE state and reports the measurements or calculated location to the location server. However, the current SDT procedure cannot reliably support UL-only and UL+DL positioning methods. For example, to transmit UL PRS to one or more base stations, the target UE needs a UL PRS (e.g. SRS for positioning) configuration provided to the UE by the serving base station. For the UL-only positioning method, there are no measurements from the UE to be reported to the location server. For the UL+DL positioning method, the UE can report location measurements of DL PRS only after the UE transmits UL PRS to one or more base stations.

[0040] Therefore, the SDT procedure needs to be able to both provide UL PRS configuration information to the target UE and to report location measurements to the location server. In order to be SDT procedure and standard compliant, the need for UL PRS configuration information in the target UE also needs to be triggered by the target UE itself, which is not currently possible in the current 3GPP standard for UEs in RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0041] With the enhanced procedures described herein, the UE may receive, for example, a request for periodic or triggered location from a location server (e.g., LMF) and may later enter an RRC inactive state. When an event is detected, the UE sends a first event report with a small data transmission (SDT) to the location server (LMF) along with an RRC resume request that may include an LPP request assistance data message indicating a request for a UL PRS configuration. The location server determines UL PRS resources for the UE and sends an NRPPa positioning information request to a serving base station for the UE, which sends the UL PRS configuration to the UE, for example, in a subsequent DL SDT or in an RRC release message. The UE sends the UL PRS while remaining in the RRC inactive state, and the UL PRS is measured by one or more base stations, for example, after receiving an RRC release message from the base station. The UE may additionally receive and measure downlink PRS from one or more base stations while remaining in the RRC inactive state. The UE may then, while remaining in an RRC inactive state, send a second event report with the SDT to the location server along with an RRC resume request, which may include, for example, an LPP Provide Location Information message with the measurement values.

[0042] FIG. 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G NR network based architecture for supporting UE UL or UL+DL positioning in an RRC inactive state as described herein. FIG. 1 illustrates a communication system 100 with a UE 102, which may be referred to herein as a “target UE” since the UE 102 may be a target of a location request. FIG. 1 also illustrates components of a fifth generation (5G) network including a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) 112 including base stations (BSs), also referred to as New Radio (NR) NodeBs or gNBs 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, and Next Generation Evolved NodeBs (ng-eNBs) 114, and a 5G Core Network (5GCN) 150 that communicates with external clients 130. The architecture of the gNB 110 may be divided into functional parts including, for example, one or more of a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU), one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DUs), and one or more gNB Remote Units (gNB-RUs), any of which may be physically co-located with or physically separate from other parts of the gNB 110. The 5G network may also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network, the NG-RAN 112 may also be referred to as an NR RAN or a 5G RAN, and the 5GCN 150 may also be referred to as a Next Generation (NG) Core network (NGC). Communications system 100 may further utilize information from Space Vehicles (SVs) 190 for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou, or any other local or regional Satellite Positioning System (SPS) such as IRNSS, EGNOS, or WAAS. Additional components of communications system 100 are described below. Communications system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0043] 1 shows a serving gNB 110-1 for a target UE 102, and neighbor gNBs 110-2, 110-3, and an ng-eNB 114. A neighboring gNB 110 may be any gNB 110 that can receive and measure an uplink (UL) signal transmitted by the target UE 102 and / or transmit a downlink (DL) reference signal (RS), e.g., a positioning reference signal (PRS), that can be received and measured by the target UE 102.

[0044] Entities within the NG-RAN 112 that transmit DL reference signals (RSs) to be measured by the target UE 102 for a particular location session are generally referred to as "transmission points" (TPs) and may include the serving gNB 110-1, and one or more of neighboring gNBs 110-2, 110-3, and ng-eNB 114.

[0045] Entities in the NG-RAN 112 that receive and measure UL signals (e.g., RS) transmitted by the target UE 102 for a particular location session are generally referred to as "reception points" (RPs) and may include one or more of the serving gNB 110-1 and neighbor gNBs 110-2, 110-3, and ng-eNB 114.

[0046] It should be noted that FIG. 1 provides only a generalized illustration of the various components, and that any or all of the components may be utilized as appropriate, and each of them may be duplicated or omitted as necessary. In particular, while only one UE 102 is illustrated, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include more or fewer SVs 190, gNBs 110, external clients 130, and / or other components. The connections shown connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0047] Although FIG. 1 illustrates a 5G-based network, similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), also referred to as 4G, and IEEE 802.11 WiFi. For example, if a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), e.g., an IEEE 802.11 air interface, is used, the UE 102 may communicate with an Access Network (AN) rather than an NG-RAN, and thus the component 112 may be referred to herein as an AN or RAN, represented by the terms "RAN," "(R)AN," or "(R)AN 112." In the case of an AN (e.g., an IEEE 802.11 AN), the AN may be connected to a Non-3GPP Interworking Function (N3IWF) that is connected to the AMF 154 (e.g., in the 5GCN 150) (not shown in FIG. 1).

[0048] The target UE 102 as used herein may be an electronic device and may be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a secure user plane location (SUPL) enabled terminal (SET), or by some other name. The target UE 102 may be a standalone device or may be embedded in another device to be monitored or tracked, for example, a factory tool. Moreover, the UE 102 may correspond to a smart watch, digital glasses, a fitness monitor, a smart car, a smart appliance, a cell phone, a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a PDA, a consumer tracking device for tracking entities such as consumer items, packages, assets, or individuals and pets, a control device, or some other portable or movable device. The UE 102 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network, where, for example, a user may utilize audio, video, and / or data I / O devices, and / or body sensors and a separate wireline or wireless modem. Although not necessarily, the UE 102 may typically support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as GSM, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 112 and 5GC 150), etc.The UE 102 may also support wireless communications using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), which may connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable. Use of one or more of these RATs may enable the UE 102 to communicate with external clients 130 (e.g., via the UPF 158 and the Internet 175) and / or enable the external clients 130 to receive location information regarding the UE 102 (e.g., via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 160).

[0049] The UE 102 may enter into a connection with a wireless communication network that may include the NG-RAN 112. In one example, the UE 102 may communicate with the cellular communication network by transmitting wireless signals to or receiving wireless signals from a cellular transceiver in the NG-RAN 112, such as the gNB 110-1. The transceiver provides user plane and control plane protocol termination towards the UE 102 and may be referred to as a base station, base transceiver station, radio base station, radio transceiver, radio network controller, transceiver function, Base Station Subsystem (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), or some other suitable terminology.

[0050] In certain implementations, the UE 102 may have circuitry and processing resources capable of obtaining location-related measurements. The location-related measurements obtained by the UE 102 may include signal measurements received from satellite vehicles (SVs) 190 belonging to a satellite positioning system (SPS) or global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou, and / or may include signal measurements received from terrestrial transmitters fixed at known locations (e.g., gNB 110). The UE 102 or the gNB 110-1 or a location server (e.g., LMF 152) to which the UE 102 may send measurements can then obtain a location estimate for the UE 102 based on these location-related measurements using any one of several positioning methods, such as, for example, GNSS, Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT), Angle of Departure (AOD), DL Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, WLAN (also called WiFi) positioning, or Extended Cell ID (ECID), or a combination thereof. In some of these techniques (e.g., A-GNSS, AFLT, DL-TDOA), pseudoranges or timing differences may be measured at the UE 102 to three or more terrestrial transmitters (e.g., gNB110) fixed at known locations, or to four or more SV190s with precisely known orbit data, or a combination thereof, based at least in part on pilots, positioning reference signals (PRS), or other positioning-related signals transmitted by transmitters or satellites and received at the UE 102.

[0051] 1 may correspond to, for example, a Location Management Function (LMF) 152 or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 162, and may be capable of providing positioning assistance data to the UE 102 including information regarding signals to be measured (e.g., expected signal timing, signal coding, signal frequency, signal Doppler), terrestrial transmitter (e.g., gNB 110) location and identification information, and / or GNSS SV 190 signal, timing, and orbit information to facilitate positioning techniques such as, for example, A-GNSS, AFLT, AOD, DL-TDOA, multi-cell RTT, and ECID. This facilitation may include improving signal collection and measurement accuracy by the UE 102 and, in some cases, enabling the UE 102 to calculate its estimated location based on the location measurements. For example, a location server (e.g., LMF 152 or SLP 162) may include an almanac, also referred to as a Base Station Almanac (BSA), that indicates the locations and identities of cellular and / or local transceivers in a particular area or areas, such as a particular event venue, and may provide information describing signals transmitted by cellular base stations or APs (e.g., gNBs), such as transmit power and signal timing. The UE 102 may obtain measurements of signal strength (e.g., received signal strength indication (RSSI)) of signals received from the cellular transceiver and / or the local transceiver, and / or may obtain a signal-to-noise ratio (S / N), a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a time of arrival (TOA), an angle of arrival (AOA), an angle of departure (AOD), a receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx), or a round trip time (RTT) for a signal propagation between the UE 102 and the cellular transceiver (e.g., gNB 110) or a local transceiver (e.g., WiFi access point (AP)).The UE 102 can use these measurements together with assistance data (e.g., terrestrial almanac data or GNSS satellite data such as GNSS almanac and / or GNSS ephemeris information) received from a location server (e.g., LMF 152 or SLP 162) or broadcast by a base station (e.g., gNB 110) in the NG-RAN 112 to determine the location of the UE 102.

[0052] In some implementations, network entities are used to assist in the location of the target UE 102. For example, entities in the network, such as gNBs 110-1 and 110-2, may measure UL signals transmitted by the UE 102. The UL signals may include or comprise UL reference signals, such as UL Positioning Reference Signals (PRSs) or UL Sounding Reference Signals (SRSs). The entities that obtain the location measurements (e.g., gNBs 110-1 and 110-2) may then forward the location measurements to the UE 102 or the LMF 152, which may use the measurements to determine or assist in determining the location of the UE 102. Examples of location measurements that may use UL signals may include RSSI, RSRP, RSRQ, TOA, Rx-Tx, AOA, and RTT.

[0053] The estimate of the location of the UE 102 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, location, location estimate, or location fix, and may be geodetic and thus provide location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the UE 102 that may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height or depth above ground, floor level or basement level). Alternatively, the location of the UE 102 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as an address or designation of some point or small area in a building such as a particular room or floor). The location of the UE 102 may also be expressed as an area or volume (defined either geodetically or in civic form) within which the UE 102 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 102 may further be a relative location comprising distance and direction, or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates, defined with respect to some origin at a known location, which may be defined, for example, geodesically, civic-wise, or with reference to a point, area, or volume shown on a map, floor plan, or building plan. The location may be expressed as an absolute location estimate for the UE, such as a location coordinate or address, or as a relative location estimate for the UE, such as a distance and direction from a previous location estimate or from a known absolute location. The location of the UE may include a linear velocity, an angular velocity, a linear acceleration, an angular acceleration, an angular orientation for the UE, e.g., an orientation of the UE relative to a fixed global or local coordinate system, an identification of a trigger event for identifying the location of the UE, or any combination thereof. For example, the trigger event may include an area event, a motion event, or a velocity event. An area event may be, for example, the UE moving into, moving out of, and / or remaining in a defined area. A motion event may include, for example, the movement of the UE by a threshold straight-line distance or a threshold distance along the UE trajectory.A speed event may include, for example, the UE achieving a minimum or maximum speed, a threshold increase and / or decrease in speed, and / or a threshold change in direction. In the description contained herein, use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of a UE, it is common to solve for local x, y, and possibly z coordinates and then convert the local coordinates, if necessary, to absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0054] As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of gNBs 110 in the NG-RAN 112 may be connected to each other, for example, directly as shown in FIG. 1, or indirectly via other gNBs 110-1, 110-2. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 102 via wireless communication between the UE 102 and one or more of the gNBs 110-1 and 110-2, and the gNBs 110-1, 110-2 may provide wireless communication access to the 5GCN 150 for the UE 102 using 5G (e.g., NR). In FIG. 1, the serving gNB for the UE 102 is assumed to be the gNB 110-1, while other gNBs (e.g., gNBs 110-2, 110-3, or ng-eNB 114) may act as a serving gNB when the UE 102 moves to another location, or as a secondary gNB to provide additional through-out and bandwidth to the UE 102. Some gNBs in FIG. 1 (e.g., gNB 110-2, 110-3, or ng-eNB 114) may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons that may transmit signals (e.g., directional PRS) to assist in positioning of UE 102, but may not receive signals from UE 102 or from other UEs.

[0055] As noted above, while FIG. 1 illustrates nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as, for example, an LTE protocol, may also be used. Such nodes configured to communicate using another protocol may be controlled, at least in part, by the 5GCN 150. Thus, the NG-RAN 112 may include any combination of gNBs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) supporting LTE, or other types of base stations or access points. As an example, the NG-RAN 112 may include one or more ng-eNBs 114 that provide LTE wireless access to the UE 102 and may connect to entities in the 5GC 150, such as the AMF 154.

[0056] The gNBs 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, and ng-eNB 114 may communicate with an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 154, which may communicate with a Location Management Function (LMF) 152 for positioning functionality. The AMF 154 may support the mobility of the UE 102, including cell changes and handovers, and may be responsible for supporting signaling connections to the UE 102 and possibly helping to establish and release Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions for the UE 102 supported by the UPF 158. Other functions of the AMF 154 may include: termination of the Control Plane (CP) interface from the NG-RAN 112, termination of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling connections from UEs such as the UE 102, NAS encryption and integrity protection, registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, access authentication and authorization.

[0057] The gNB 110-1 may support positioning of the UE 102 when the UE 102 accesses the NG-RAN 112. The gNB 110-1 may also process location service requests for the UE 102, e.g., received directly or indirectly from the GMLC 160. In some embodiments, a node / system implementing the gNB 110-1 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location determination support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 162. It should be noted that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the positioning functionality (including derivation of the location of the UE 102) may be performed in the UE 102 (e.g., using signal measurements on signals transmitted by wireless nodes and assistance data provided to the UE 102).

[0058] The GMLC 160 may support location requests for the UE 102 received from the external client 130 and may forward such location requests to the serving AMF 154 for the UE 102. The AMF 154 may then forward the location request to either the gNB 110-1 or the LMF 152, which may obtain one or more location estimates for the UE 102 (e.g., according to a request from the external client 130) and return the location estimate(s) to the AMF 154, which may return the location estimate(s) to the external client 130 via the GMLC 160. The GMLC 160 may contain subscription information for the external client 130 and may authenticate and authorize location requests for the UE 102 from the external client 130. GMLC 160 may further initiate a location session for UE 102 by sending a location request for UE 102 to AMF 154, and may include identification information for UE 102 and the type of location determination being requested (e.g., current location, or a periodic or triggered location sequence) in the location request.

[0059] As shown, a Unified Data Management (UDM) 161 may be connected to the GMLC 160. The UDM 161 is similar to a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) for LTE access, and if necessary, the UDM 161 may be combined with the HSS. The UDM 161 is a central database that contains user-related and subscription-related information for the UE 102 and may perform the following functions: UE authentication, UE identification, access authorization, registration and mobility management, subscription management, and short message service management. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the UDM 161 may be connected to other elements in the 5GCN 150, such as the AMF 154.

[0060] 1, external client 130 may be connected to core network 150 via GMLC 160 and / or SLP 162. External client 130 may optionally be connected to core network 150 via Internet 175 and / or to an SLP 164 that is external to 5GCN 150. External client 130 may be a server, a web server, or a user device such as a personal computer, UE, etc.

[0061] A Network Exposure Function (NEF) 163 may be coupled to the GMLC 160 and the AMF 154. In some implementations, the NEF 163 may be coupled to communicate directly with the external client 130 or the Application Function (AF) 132. The NEF 163 may support secure exposure of capabilities and events related to the 5GCN 150 and the UE 102 to the external client 130 or the AF 132, and may enable secure provision of information from the external client 130 or the AF 132 to the 5GCN 150. For example, the NEF 163 may also function to obtain the current or last known location of the UE 102, and may obtain an indication of a change in the location of the UE 102, or when the UE 102 becomes available (or reachable). The external client 130 or the AF 132 may access the NEF 163 to obtain location information related to the UE 102.

[0062] The LMF 152 and the gNB 110-1 may communicate using the New Radio Position Protocol A (NRPPa). The NRPPa may be as defined in 3GPP TS 38.455, with NRPPa messages being forwarded between the gNB 110-1 and the LMF 152. Furthermore, the LMF 152 and the UE 102 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) as defined in 3GPP TS 37.355, with LPP messages being forwarded between the UE 102 and the LMF 152 via the serving AMF 154 and the serving gNB 110-1 for the UE 102. For example, the LPP messages may be transferred between the AMF 154 and the UE 102 using a 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 102 using DL and UL+DL positioning methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), DL Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), DL Angle of Departure (DL-AOD), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, and / or Extended Cell Identity (ECID). The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 102 using UL and UL+DL positioning methods such as uplink (UL) time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), uplink (UL) angle of arrival (UL-AOA), multi-cell RTT, or ECID (when used in conjunction with measurements obtained by or received from the gNB 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, or ng-eNB 114), and / or may be used by the LMF 152 to obtain location related information from the gNB 110, such as parameters defining DL-TDOA, DL-AOD, or positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions from the gNB 110 to support multi-cell RTT.

[0063] The gNBs 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, or ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the AMF 154 using a Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP), for example, as defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.413. The NGAP may enable the AMF 154 to request the location of the UE 102 from the gNB 110-1 for the target UE 102, and may enable the gNB 110-1 to return a location for the target UE 102 to the AMF 154.

[0064] The gNBs 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, or ng-eNB 114 may communicate with each other using the Xn Application Protocol (XNaP), for example, as defined in 3GPP TS 38.423. The XnAP may allow one gNB 110 to request another gNB 110 to obtain UL location measurements for a target UE 102 and return the UL location measurements. The XnAP may also allow a gNB 110 to request another gNB 110 to transmit a downlink (DL) reference signal (RS) or PRS to enable the target UE 102 to obtain DL location measurements for the transmitted DL RS or PRS.

[0065] A gNB (e.g., gNB 110-1) may communicate with target UE 102 using a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol, e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 38.331. RRC may enable a gNB (e.g., gNB 110-1) to request location measurements of DL RS or DL ​​PRS transmitted by gNB 110-1 and / or by other gNBs 110-2, 110-3, or ng-eNB 114 from target UE 102 and return some or all of those location measurements. RRC may also enable a gNB (e.g., gNB 110-1) to request target UE 102 to transmit UL RS, PRS, or SRS to enable gNB 110-1 or other gNBs 110-2, 110-3, or ng-eNB 114 to obtain UL location measurements of the transmitted UL RS, PRS, or SRS.

[0066] In a UE-assisted positioning method, the UE 102 may obtain location measurements (e.g., RSSI, Rx-Tx, RTT, AOA, RSTD, RSRP and / or RSRQ measurements of a gNB 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, or ng-eNB 114 or a WLAN AP, or GNSS pseudorange, code phase and / or carrier phase measurements of SV190) and transmit the measurements to an entity performing a location server function, e.g., the LMF 152, or the SLP 162, to calculate a location estimate for the UE 102. In a UE-based positioning method, the UE 102 may obtain location measurements (which may be the same or similar to the location measurements for the UE-assisted positioning method, for example) and may calculate a location of the UE 102 (e.g., with the aid of assistance data received from a location server, such as the LMF 152 or the SLP 162). In a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs 110-1, 110-2) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, AOA, RSRP, RSRQ, Rx-Tx, or TOA of a signal transmitted by UE 102) and / or may receive measurements obtained by UE 102 and may transmit the measurements to a location server, e.g., LMF 152, to calculate a location estimate for UE 102.

[0067] Information provided to gNB 110-1 by gNB 110-2, 110-3, or ng-eNB 114 using XnAP may include timing and configuration information for PRS transmissions and location coordinates of gNB 110-2, 110-3, or ng-eNB 114. gNB 110-1 may then provide some or all of this information to UE 102 as assistance data in an RRC message. The RRC message sent from gNB 110-1 to UE 102 may include an embedded LPP message, in some implementations.

[0068] The RRC message sent from the gNB 110-1 to the UE 102 may instruct the UE 102 to do any of a variety of things depending on the desired functionality. For example, the RRC message may include instructions for the UE 102 to take measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, and / or DL-TDOA (or some other positioning method), or to transmit uplink (UL) signals, such as positioning reference signals (PRSs), sounding reference signals (SRSs), or both. In the case of DL-TDOA, the RRC message may instruct the UE 102 to take one or more measurements (e.g., RSTD measurements) of PRS signals transmitted within a particular cell supported by a particular gNB 110. The UE 102 may use those measurements to determine the position of the UE 102, for example, using DL-TDOA.

[0069] The gNB 110 in the NG-RAN 112 may also broadcast positioning assistance data to UEs, such as UE 102.

[0070] As shown, a Session Management Function (SMF) 156 interfaces between the AMF 154 and the UPF 158. The SMF 156 may manage the establishment, modification, and release of PDU sessions for the UE 102, perform IP address allocation and management for the UE 102, act as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server for the UE 102, and select and control the UPF 158 for the UE 102.

[0071] The User Plane Function (UPF) 158 may support voice and data bearers for the UE 102 and enable voice and data access of the UE 102 to other networks such as the Internet 175. The functions of the UPF 158 may include external PDU session points of interconnection to data networks, routing and forwarding of packets (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP)), user plane portion of packet inspection and policy rule application, handling of user plane Quality of Service (QoS), as well as buffering of downlink packets and triggering of downlink data notifications. The UPF 158 may be connected to the SLP 162 to enable support of the location of the UE 102 using the SUPL location solution defined in the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). The SLP 162 may further be connected to or accessible from the external client 130.

[0072] Although FIG. 1 illustrates a network architecture for a non-roaming UE 102, it should be understood that a corresponding network architecture with suitable well-known modifications may be provided for a roaming UE 102.

[0073] In a 5G network supporting NR, the UE 102 may be in an RRC connected state (also referred to as a "connected state"), an RRC idle state (also referred to as an "idle state"), or an RRC inactive state (also referred to as an "inactive state"). The serving gNB 110-1 in the NG-RAN 112 may transition the UE 102 (from the connected state) to an inactive state, where the UE connection context is preserved by the gNB 110-1 and the UE 102. The functionality of the UE 102 in the inactive state is largely the same as in the idle state, and the UE 102 monitors paging in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle. However, while in the inactive state, the UE 102 may also perform, for example, periodically, RAN-based notification area updates, acquire system information when moving outside a configured RAN-based notification area, and (if configured) send a system information (SI) request. When the RRC connection is resumed (i.e., when the UE 102 returns to a connected state), the UE connection context is already stored by the gNB 110 and the UE 102, so data activity resumption may be faster compared to establishing an RRC connection from an idle state after the RRC connection is released. Thus, using the inactive state, the UE 102 may return to a connected state with reduced power consumption and lower latency than transitioning from an idle state to a connected state. In addition, the UE 102 may be able to perform limited communication with the 5G network (e.g., the AMF 154 or the LMF 152) while in the inactive state without having to transition back to a connected state. As shown further below herein, this capability may be used to support positioning of the UE 102 with reduced power consumption and / or reduced latency by the UE 102. Note that only the serving gNB 110 can suspend the RRC connection to transition the UE 102 to an inactive state, but the resumption to a connected state may be triggered by either the UE 102 or the gNB 110.

[0074] 2 illustrates, by way of example, a simple UE RRC state machine 200 and state transitions in NR, e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38.331. The UE 102 may only have one RRC state in NR at a time. As shown, the UE 102 may have an NR RRC_CONNECTED state 202, an NR RRC_INACTIVE state 204, or an NR RRC_IDLE state 206. The UE 102 may be in either the RRC_CONNECTED state 202 or the RRC_INACTIVE state 204 when an RRC connection is established. Otherwise, i.e., when an RRC connection is not established, the UE 102 is in the RRC_IDLE state 206.

[0075] In the RRC_Idle state 206, UE-specific DRX may be configured by higher layers and UE controlled mobility may be based on network configuration. While in the RRC_Idle state 206, the UE 102 may monitor short messages sent with a Paging Radio Network Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI) on the Downlink Control Information (DCI), monitor a paging channel for Core Network (CN) paging using a 5G-Serving Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (S-TMSI), perform neighbor cell measurements and cell (re)selection, obtain system information, send SI requests (if configured), and perform logging of available measurements along with location and time for log measurement configured UEs.

[0076] In the RRC_INACTIVE state 204, UE-specific DRX may be configured by higher layers or by the RRC layer, and UE controlled mobility may be based on network configuration. Additionally, the UE 102 stores the UE inactive Access Stratum (AS) context and the RAN-based notification area is configured by the RRC layer. While in the RRC_INACTIVE state 204, the UE 102 may monitor short messages sent on the P-RNTI over the DCI, monitor paging channels for CN paging using 5G-S-TMSI and RAN paging using the fully inactive RNTI (I-RNTI), and perform neighbor cell measurements and cell (re)selection. Additionally, the UE 102 may periodically perform RAN-based notification area updates, obtain system information when moving outside the configured RAN-based notification area, send SI requests (if configured), and perform logging of available measurements with location and time for UEs for which logged measurements are configured.

[0077] In the RRC_CONNECTED state 202, the UE 102 stores the AS context and is configured for forwarding of unicast data to / from the UE 102, and at lower layers, the UE 102 may be configured with UE-specific DRX. A UE 102 configured to support Carrier Aggregation (CA) may use one or more Secondary Cells (Scells) aggregated with a Serving Primary Cell (SPCell) for increased bandwidth. A UE 102 configured to support Dual Connectivity (DC) may use one Secondary Cell Group (SCG) aggregated with a Master Cell Group (MCG) for increased bandwidth. Additionally, the RRC_CONNECTED state 202 includes network controlled mobility within NR and to / from E-UTRA. While in the RRC_CONNECTED state 202, the UE 102 may monitor short messages sent with the P-RNTI over the DCI, and, if configured, may monitor a control channel associated with the shared data channel to determine if data is scheduled for it, provide channel quality and feedback information, perform neighbor cell measurements and measurement reporting, and obtain system information.

[0078] 2, from the NR RRC_CONNECTED state 202, the UE 102 may transition to the NR RRC_IDLE state 206 by being released by the serving gNB 110. The UE 102 may transition from the NR RRC_IDLE state 206 to the NR RRC_CONNECTED state 202 by establishing an RRC connection to the serving gNB 110.

[0079] Additionally, from the NR RRC_CONNECTED state 202, the UE 102 may transition to an NR RRC_INACTIVE state 204 by being released with a suspend indication (sometimes simply referred to as suspended) by the serving gNB 110. From the NR RRC_INACTIVE state 204, the UE 102 may transition back to the NR RRC_CONNECTED state 202 by resuming the RRC connection. Because both the serving gNB 110 (also referred to as the anchor gNB after the UE 102 enters the inactive state) and the UE 102 store the UE connection context, including the AS context, resuming the NR RRC_CONNECTED state 202 from the NR RRC_INACTIVE state 204 may be significantly faster and require less messaging than establishing the NR RRC_CONNECTED state 202 from the NR RRC_IDLE state 206. Additionally, as shown, while in the NR RRC_INACTIVE state 204, the UE 102 may transition to the NR RRC_IDLE state 206 by being released by the gNB 110.

[0080] FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling flow 300 illustrating various messages transmitted between components of the communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 during a location preparation procedure for a Periodically Triggered Delayed Location Request for a Mobility-Terminated Location Request (MT-LR).

[0081] In stage 1, which includes stages 1a, 1b-1, and 1b-2, the external LCS client 130 or the AF 132 (via the NEF 163) sends a request to the GMLC 160 for location reports regarding periodic location events, triggered location events, or UE-available location events. The external LCS client 130, for example, sends an LCS Service Request message to the GMLC 160 in stage 1a, or the AF 132 sends an Nnef_EventExposure_Subscribe message to the NEF 163 in stage 1b-1, which in turn sends an Ngmlc_Location_ProvideLocation request message in stage 1b-2. The request sent in stage 1 indicates a request for either periodic location estimates for the UE 102 (e.g., at fixed periodic intervals) or triggered location reports (e.g., location estimates) for the UE 102 to be returned to the external LCS client 130 or the AF 132 whenever a trigger event occurs in the UE 102. For example, a trigger event may occur when the UE 102 moves beyond a defined threshold distance from a previous location where a location report (e.g., a location estimate) was sent to the external LCS client 130 or AF 132, or when the UE 102 moves out or into some defined geographic area. The GMLC 160 may typically be the Home GMLC (H-GMLC) of the UE 102.

[0082] In stage 2, the GMLC 160 may verify the UE privacy requirements via a Nudm_SDM_Get message with the UDM 161 .

[0083] In stage 3, GMLC 160 queries UDM 161 for the AMF address (and, in case of roaming, the VGMLC address) via the Nudm_UECM_Get message.

[0084] At stage 4, the GMLC 160 sends a location request to the serving AMF 154 (in case of roaming, via a Visited GMLC (V-GMLC) (not shown)) via a Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo request message.

[0085] In stage 5, the AMF 154 returns a positive response (Namf_Location_ProvidePositioningInfo response message) to the GMLC 160 indicating that the request has been accepted.

[0086] In stage 6, which includes stages 6a, 6b-1, and 6b-2, the GMLC 160 returns an affirmative response indicating that the request has been accepted to the external LCS client 130 or the AF 132. For example, the GMLC 160 sends an LCS Service Response message to the external LCS client 130 in stage 6a, or the GMLC 160 sends an Ngmlc_Location_ProvideLocation Response message to the NEF 163 in stage 6b-1, and the NEF 163 sends an Nnef_EventExposure_Notify message to the AF 132 in stage 6b-2.

[0087] In stage 7, if the UE 102 is not currently reachable (for example, if the UE 102 is using extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) or power saving mode (PSM)), the AMF 154 waits for the UE 102 to become reachable.

[0088] At stage 8, if the UE 102 is in a connection management (CM) idle state, the AMF 154 initiates a network-triggered service request procedure to establish a signaling connection with the UE 102.

[0089] In stages 9 and 10, the AMF 154 can notify the UE 102 of the location request and can verify privacy requirements if required via a Location Notification Invoke Request message and a Location Notification Return Result message forwarded using the NAS.

[0090] In stage 11, AMF 154 selects LMF 152.

[0091] At stage 12, the AMF 154 initiates a request for delayed UE location (periodic or triggered location) with the LMF 152 via an Nlmf Location_DetermineLocation request message. The request sent by the AMF 154 to the LMF 152 may include all or at least some of the information included in the original request in stage 1, including information regarding the periodic or triggered location request, and may further include an identification of the UE 102, an identification or address for the GMLC 160, and any label or reference for the location session established by the signaling flow 300.

[0092] In stage 13, the LMF 152 may perform a positioning procedure with the UE 102. During this stage, the LMF 152 may obtain the UE 102 positioning capability and may obtain the (initial) UE 102 location, for example by exchanging LPP messages with the UE 102. The UE 102 positioning capability may indicate the UE 102 support for at least one of uplink positioning, downlink positioning, uplink and downlink positioning, or a combination thereof while in the RRC inactive state. The LMF 152 may then decide in stages 14 and 16 whether to enable uplink positioning, downlink positioning, and / or uplink and downlink positioning in the RRC inactive state based on the UE 102 positioning capability.

[0093] In stage 14, since periodic or triggered location has been requested, the LMF 152 sends a Supplementary Services (SS) LCS Periodic Trigger Invocation Request message including delayed MT-LR information to the UE 102, which may include information about the requested periodic or triggered location, such as the type of event, the requested positioning method (e.g., UL, DL, or UL+DL positioning method), the reporting interval, and the identity or address of the GMLC 160, a label or reference to the location session established by the signaling flow 300, and / or an embedded LPP packet data unit (PDU) indicating specific allowed or requested location measurements. The LMF 152 may indicate that the UE 102 may send an event report in an RRC inactive state (e.g., as described in Figures 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E). If the request in stage 14 can be supported, the UE 102 returns a positive response in a SS LCS Periodic Trigger Call Return Result message to the LMF 152 (stage 15).

[0094] In stages 16-18, the LMF 152 provides the response to the external LCS client 130 or the AF 132 (via the NEF 163) via intermediate network entities. For example, in stage 16, the LMF 152 provides the response to the AMF 154 in a Nlmf_Location_DetermineLocation response message. In stage 17, the AMF 154 provides the response to the GMLC 160 in a Namf_Location_EventNotify message. In stage 18, which includes stages 18a, 18b-1 and 18b-2, the GMLC 160 sends the response to the external LCS client 130 or the AF 132. The GMLC 160, for example, sends an LCS Service Response message to the external LCS client 130 at stage 18a, or the GMLC 160 sends an Ngmlc_Location_EventNotify message to the NEF 163 at stage 18b-1, which in turn sends an Nnef_EventExposure_Notify message to the AF 132 at stage 18b-2. The response indicates whether periodic or triggered location determination was successfully activated in the UE 102.

[0095] 4A shows a signaling flow 400 illustrating various messages transmitted between components of the communication system 100 depicted in FIG. 1 for event reporting for a periodically triggered delayed MT-LR procedure with SDT for UL or UL+DL positioning of the UE 102 while the UE 102 is in an RRC inactive state. The signaling flow 400 can be a continuation of the signaling flow 300 shown in FIG. 3, as indicated by stage 1a of FIG. 4A. Thus, stages 1-18 of FIG. 3 may have occurred prior to the events and stages described with respect to FIG. 4A. Note that this is typically true except when a location server located in the NG-RAN 112 is used, in which case signaling may have occurred earlier as in FIG. 3, but using the location server in the NG-RAN 112 instead of or in addition to the LMF 152. The signaling flow 400 utilizes two event reports sent by the UE 102 to the LMF 152 for the UL+DL positioning method, a first event report supporting the UL positioning portion and a second event report supporting the DL positioning portion. The LMF 152 sends an event report acknowledgment to the UE 102 after receiving each event report. This can help keep the UE 102 in an RRC inactive state and avoid the need for the gNB 110-S to place the UE 102 in a connected state, which would generate additional delays and signaling.

[0096] 4A illustrates the presence of a serving gNB 110-S and an anchor gNB 110-A in the NG-RAN 112, which may possibly be the same gNB 110. The serving gNB 110-S interacts with the UE 102, and the anchor gNB 110-A maintains a connection with the AMF 154 on behalf of the UE 102. The anchor gNB 110-A represents a previous serving gNB 110 for the UE 102, e.g., from before the UE 102 entered an RRC inactive state. For example, before entering the RRC inactive state, the UE 102 was in a connected state with the serving gNB 110 and the serving AMF 154. At some point, the serving gNB 110 may have sent an RRC release message with a suspend indication to the UE 102. The UE 102 then enters an RRC inactive state, and the serving gNB 110 may then become the anchor gNB 110-A (although in some cases, the anchor gNB 110-A may be or remain different from the last serving gNB 110, as described in 3GPP TS 38.300). After entering the RRC inactive state, the UE 102 may move. If the UE 102 is to report periodic or triggered events for periodic or triggered location location, the movement of the UE 102 may require the UE 102 to use a different serving gNB 110 shown in FIG. 4A as the serving gNB 110-S, while the previous serving gNB 110 acts as the anchor gNB 110-A. In some implementations, for example, if the UE 102 has not moved significantly, the serving gNB 110-S and the anchor gNB 110-A may be the same entity. The NG-RAN 112 may also include other gNBs 110 (not shown in FIG. 4A), which may be collectively referred to as gNBs 110.

[0097] 4A illustrates the use of the LMF 152 located within the 5GCN 150, as shown in FIG. 1. Communications between the gNB 110 and the LMF 152 may be transmitted via the AMF 154. In some implementations, a location server may be located within the NG-RAN 112, which may be referred to as, for example, a location server surrogate (LSS) or a Location Management Component (LMC). For all stages in the signaling flow 400, NRPPa messages from the gNB 110 to the LMF 152 are not required, with the LSS or LMC being located, for example, in the anchor gNB 110-A.

[0098] As indicated by stage 1a, a delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events is performed as shown in FIG. 3 or as specified in 3GPP TS 23.273. The UE 102 may receive delayed MT-LR information including information about the requested periodic or triggered location determination, such as, for example, the type of event, the requested positioning method, and the reporting interval, together with the periodic or triggered call request message. The UE 102 or the LMF 152 may provide a portion of the delayed MT-LR information along with the UE 102's positioning capability information to an initial serving gNB 110 (which may be, for example, gNB 110-A) for the UE 102, and the initial serving gNB 110 may use the delayed MT-LR information and the UE 102's positioning capability to transition the UE 102 to an RRC inactive state. The LMF 152 may perform one or more positioning procedures in stage 13 of FIG. 3 (or step 15 of 3GPP TS 23.273, section 6.3.1) to request and acquire UE 102 positioning capability or provide any necessary assistance data to the UE 102. For UL+DL positioning using multi-RTT, the LCS periodic triggered location call in stage 14 of FIG. 3 (or step 16 of 3GPP TS 23.273, section 6.3.1) may include an embedded LPP Location Information Request message indicating the allowed or requested multi-RTT location measurements for each reported location event. The UE 102 is released from RRC_CONECTED to RRC_INACTIVE by the initial serving gNB 110 by RRC Release with SuspendConfig (not shown in FIG. 4A). The UE 102 may be configured in CG-SDT or RA-SDT for small data transmission.

[0099] In stage 1b, the initial serving gNB 110 (here denoted as gNB 110-A) may receive NRPPa assistance information from the LMF 152, such as the UE 102 capability for UL+DL positioning in RRC_INACTIVE or information for a configured delayed MT-LR in the UE 102. The initial serving gNB 110 can use this information to transfer the UE's RRC state to RRC_INACTIVE instead of RRC_IDLE. In case of periodic events, the initial serving gNB 110 can then also know when to normally expect an event report from the UE 102.

[0100] As indicated by block 402, the UE 102 is then in an RRC inactive state. For example, the UE 102 may have entered the RRC inactive state, as described above. The UE 102 then does not have an active RRC connection with the NG-RAN 112, but still has a non-access stratum (NAS) signaling connection with the serving AMF 154 via the anchor gNB 110-A. Thus, while in the RRC inactive state, there is a signaling connection between the AMF 154 and the anchor gNB 110-A on behalf of the UE 102, but that signaling connection does not actively extend to the UE 102.

[0101] In stage 2, the UE 102 monitors for the occurrence of triggered or periodic events requested during stage 1. The UE 102 may detect events for periodic or triggered delayed MT-LRs that were caused in the UE 102 in stages 14 and 15 of FIG. 3. The events may be, for example, periodic or triggered events as described for stage 1 of FIG. 3. Immediately after (or at some point before) the event is detected, the UE 102 may determine, from the request in stage 14 of FIG. 3, which positioning method to use for the detected event. The determined positioning method(s) may be based on (i) the positioning method(s) included in the LPP Location Information Request message carried in the LCS Periodic Trigger Call Request in stage 14 of FIG. 3, and / or (ii) the positioning method(s) used for the last event report sent by the UE 102. The UE 102 may also determine whether event reporting using SDT is allowed in the RRC inactive state based on (i) an indication received in stage 14, or (ii) an indication previously received from a previous serving gNB 110 (e.g., received when the UE 102 first entered the RRC inactive state or previously). After event reporting using SDT is allowed in the RRC inactive state and an event is detected in stage 2, the UE 102 performs only the stage for SDT procedure #1 (as described below) for the UL positioning method, the UE 102 performs the stage for SDT procedure #2 (as described below) for the DL positioning method + stage 14a and does not perform stage 18b, or the UE 102 performs the stage (+ stage 14a) for SDT procedures #1 and #2 for the UL+DL positioning method. When event reporting is not allowed in the RRC inactive state, the UE 102 can send an RRC resume request to the current serving gNB, which is gNB 110-S, to enter the RRC connected state and then report the event using the solutions for periodic or triggered delayed MT-LR described in 3GPP TS 23.273 and 3GPP TS 38.305.In that case, the remainder of the signaling flow 400 is not performed. Otherwise, the UE 102 performs the stages described below for the signaling flow 400 when event reporting is allowed in the RRC inactive state.

[0102] SDT procedure #1 includes stages 3 to 13 of FIG. 4A and may be performed for a UL-PRS (SRS) configuration that may be used for UL-only or UL+DL positioning methods (but not for DL-only positioning methods).

[0103] In stage 3, when (or slightly before) an event is detected, UE 102 performs a two-step or four-step random access channel (RACH) procedure. In the case of two-step RACH, UE 102 includes an RRC Resume Request message in the PUSCH payload for MsgA, and in the case of four-step RACH, UE 102 sends an RRC Resume Request message in msg3 to gNB 110-S. Otherwise, if configured grant (CG)-SDT resources are configured and valid on the selected UL carrier, UE 102 sends an RRC Resume Request message in a CG transmission to gNB 110-S. UE 102 sends an RRC UL Information Transfer message including a UL NAS Transport message with an RRC Resume Request with SDT. UE 102 includes an LCS Event Report in the payload container of the UL NAS Transport message and includes a deferred routing identifier (received during stage 1a) in the additional information parameter of the UL NAS Transport message (e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 24.501). In case of UL+DL positioning (multi-RTT), the LCS event report includes an embedded LPP Request Assistance Data message with information element (IE) NR-Multi-RTT-Request Assistance Data and nr-Ad type set to "ul-srs" to request UL-PRS for multi-RTT positioning, e.g. as specified in 3GPP TS 37.355. In case of UL-only positioning, the LPP Request Assistance Data message is not currently defined in the LPP protocol. UL-only positioning is a network-based positioning method that does not require assistance data or location measurement reports from the UE. Therefore, the LPP Request / Provide Assistance Data procedure and the LPP Request / Provide Location Information procedure are not applicable to UL-only positioning. In case of UL-only positioning, a new LPP Request Assistance Data message may be used to enable request of UL PRS in case of UL-only positioning, or the LPP Request Assistance Data message for multi-RTT may be extended or generalized to support UL-only positioning as well.Alternatively, in case of UL-only positioning, the LCS event report in stage 3 does not include an embedded LPP Request Assistance Data message. The LMF 152 can then infer from the absence of an LPP message in the LCS event report that UL-only positioning is being performed, and can also then infer that a second SDT procedure is not being performed by the UE 102. That is, the LMF 152 does not have to wait for the second LCS event report before performing stage 17.5. In case of UL+DL positioning (multiple RTT), the LCS event report may further include an embedded LPP Provide Location Information message with (E)CID measurements. The embedded LPP Request Assistance Data and / or the Cell ID in the LPP Provide Location Information may help the LMF 152 determine whether additional DL-PRS Assistance Data is required at the UE 102 or whether additional TRPs should be ordered for UL measurements in stage 11 (i.e., for potential UE 102 movement after stage 1). For example, if the UE 102 observes a cell for which no DL-PRS assistance data is provided for multi-RTT (e.g., during stage 1a), the UE 102 may request additional DL-PRS assistance data in the LPP Request Assistance Data message during LCS event reporting in addition to the UL-PRS request. The cell IDs observed by the UE 102 may be provided in the LPP Provide Location Information for E-CID message. The LMF 152 may also use the UE reporting cell IDs to determine the cells for which the UE 102 measures DL-PRS in stage 14a and instruct the gNB 110 / TRP corresponding to these cells to measure UL PRS (transmitted by the UE 102) in stage 11, thereby helping to ensure that the LMF 152 obtains UL measurements for the same cells for which the UE 102 obtains DL measurements, thereby enabling the RTT to be determined by the LMF 152 for each of these cells in stage 17.5.

[0104] In stage 4, the serving gNB 110-S sends the LCS event report together with the LPP Request Assistance Data message (when included in stage 3) in the NGAP uplink NAS transport message to the serving AMF 154. The AMF determines the LMF 152 from the deferred routing identifier received in the Additional Information IE of the UL NAS transport message and forwards the LCS event report with the embedded LPP message to the LMF 152 via triggering a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation. The AMF 154 also includes the payload container type and the correlation identifier set to the deferred routing identifier. The serving gNB 110-S can send the LCS event report to the AMF 154 and the LMF 152 via the anchor gNB 110-A when the gNB 110-S is not the same as the gNB 110-A.

[0105] In stage 5, the LMF 152 sends an NRPPa positioning information request message to the serving gNB 110-S (e.g., via gNB 110-A) to request a UL-PRS for the UE 102. The NRPPa positioning information request PDU is first provided to the AMF 154 using a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer service operation towards the AMF 154 to request transfer of the NRPPa PDU to the serving gNB 110-S for the UE. The AMF 154 then forwards the NRPPa PDU to the serving gNB-110-S (possibly via gNB 110-A) in an NGAP downlink UE-related NRPPa transport message.

[0106] In stage 6, including stage 6a, the serving gNB 110-S determines the available resources for the UL-PRS. In some implementations, the serving gNB 110-S may provide the UL-PRS configuration to the UE 102 via a subsequent DL SDT in stage 6b (e.g., in the case of semi-persistent UL-PRS).

[0107] In stage 7, the serving gNB 110-1 provides the UL-PRS configuration information to the LMF 152 in an NRPPa Positioning Information Response message. The NRPPa Positioning Information Response PDU is first provided to the AMF 154 (e.g., via the gNB 110-A) in an NGAP uplink UE-associated NRPPa transport message. The AMF 154 then forwards the NRPPa PDU to the LMF 152 by invoking a Namf_Communication_N2InfoNotify service operation towards the LMF 152.

[0108] In stage 8, in the case of semi-persistent UL-PRS, the LMF152 requests activation of UL-PRS transmission by sending an NRPPa positioning activation request message to the serving gNB110-S of the UE102 (e.g., via gNB110-A).

[0109] At stage 9, in the case of semi-persistent UL-PRS, the serving gNB110-S activates UL-PRS transmission in the UE102 via a MAC-CE UL PRS activation request.

[0110] In stage 10, in the case of semi-persistent UL-PRS, the serving gNB 110-S sends an NRPPa positioning activation response message to the LMF 152 (e.g., via gNB 110-A) indicating successful UL-PRS activation in the UE 102.

[0111] At stage 11, the LMF 152 sends an NRPPa measurement request including a UL-PRS measurement configuration to one or more gNBs 110.

[0112] At stage 12, LMF152 sends a supplementary service LCS event report acknowledgement to the serving gNB110-S (e.g., via gNB110-A).

[0113] In stage 13, the serving gNB 110-S sends an RRC release message with suspendConfig to keep the UE 102 in RRC_INACTIVE state. The serving gNB 110-S can use NRPPa assistance information from stage 1b to assist in this step. For example, if NRPPa assistance information from stage 1b is received by the anchor gNB 110-A, the gNB 110-A can instruct the gNB 110-S to keep the UE 102 in RRC INACTIVE state. The RRC release message includes an RRC DL information transfer including the event report acknowledgment received in stage 12. If stage 6b did not occur (e.g., in case of periodic UL-PRS), the RRC release message includes UL-PRS configuration. If stage 9 did not occur (e.g., in case of semi-persistent UL-PRS), the RRC release message includes MAC-CE UL PRS activation.

[0114] SDT procedure #2 includes stages 15 to 20 and may be performed for measurement reporting, for example for DL ​​only or UL+DL positioning methods. Stages 14a, 15, 16, 18 to 20 are not performed in case of UL only positioning method.

[0115] In stage 14a, the UE 102 receives DL PRS from one or more gNBs 110 and may perform DL positioning measurements if DL-only or UL+DL positioning is performed. The UE 102 may also, or instead, perform DL position measurements for other positioning methods, such as A-GNSS or WLAN, for example, if requested during stage 1a.

[0116] At stage 14b, the UE 102 may transmit a UL PRS (e.g., a UL SRS) according to the UL PRS configuration received at stage 6b or stage 13. Each gNB 110 configured at stage 11 performs UL-PRS (e.g., a UL SRS) measurements.

[0117] In stage 15, the UE 102 sends an RRC UL Information Transfer message including a UL NAS Transport message with an RRC Resume Request with the SDT. The UE 102 includes the LCS Event Report and LPP Provide Location Information messages in the payload container of the UL NAS Transport message and includes the Deferred Routing Identifier (received during stage 1a) in the additional information of the UL NAS Transport message as defined in 3GPP TS 24.501.

[0118] At stage 16, the serving gNB 110-S sends the LCS event report with the LPP location information provision message in an NGAP uplink NAS transport message to the serving AMF 154 (e.g., via gNB 110-A). The AMF 154 determines the LMF 152 from the deferred routing identifier received in the additional information IE of the UL NAS transport message and forwards the LCS event report with the embedded LPP message to the LMF 152 via triggering a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation. The AMF 154 also includes the payload container type and the correlation identifier set to the deferred routing identifier.

[0119] At stage 17, after performing UL-PRS (e.g., UL SRS) measurements, the gNBs 110 each provide the UL measurements to the LMF 152 in an NRPPa measurement response message.

[0120] At stage 17.5, the LMF 152 may perform a position determination for the UE 102 using the DL PRS measurements (and / or other DL measurements) obtained at stage 16 and / or the UL PRS measurements obtained at stage 17. The LMF 152 may then send an event report including the determined position of the UE 102 to the external client 130 or the AF 132 via the GMLC 160 (in the case of the external client 130), or via the GMLC 160 and the NEF 163 (in the case of the AF 132), not shown in FIG.

[0121] In stage 18, in case of semi-persistent UL-PRS, the LMF 152 may send an NRPPa positioning deactivation request to the serving gNB 110-S (e.g., via gNB 110-A) to request deactivation of UL-PRS transmission in the UE 102 in stage 18a. The serving gNB 110-S deactivates the UL-PRS transmission via a MAC-CE PRS deactivation sent in stage 18b.

[0122] At stage 19, LMF152 sends an LCS event report acknowledgement to the serving gNB110-S (e.g., via gNB110-A).

[0123] In stage 20, the serving gNB 110-S sends an RRC release message with suspendConfig to keep the UE 102 in RRC_INACTIVE state. For example, the gNB 110-A can instruct the gNB 110-S to keep the UE 102 in RRC INACTIVE state. The RRC release message includes an RRC DL information transfer including the event report acknowledgment received in stage 19. If stage 18b did not occur (semi-persistent UL-PRS case), the RRC release message includes a MAC-CE UL-PRS deactivation.

[0124] As shown, at block 404, the UE 102 may remain in an RRC inactive state and the procedure may be repeated.

[0125] The signaling flow 400 allows the anchor gNB 110-A to remain the anchor gNB for the UE 102 at block 404 after the event report occurs. However, it is also possible that the serving gNB 110-S becomes the new anchor gNB for the UE 102 during stage 13 or during stage 20. For example (e.g., as described in 3GPP TS 38.300), the serving gNB 110-S can request and obtain the UE 102 context from the anchor gNB 110-A (not shown in FIG. 4A ), and then perform a path switch with the serving AMF 154 for the UE 102 and send a context release indication to the anchor gNB 110-A (not shown in FIG. 4A ). The serving gNB 110-S then becomes the new anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102, which eliminates the need to send messages to and receive messages from the LMF 152 via the anchor gNB 110-A. Becoming a new anchor gNB 110-A may add additional signaling and delay, but may also reduce delay by avoiding further signaling between the serving gNB 110-S and the anchor gNB 110-A. Reducing delay for subsequent event reports may be beneficial, especially if the UE 102 continues to access the same serving gNB 110-S for subsequent event reports.

[0126] FIG. 4B, which includes FIG. 4B-1 and FIG. 4B-2, illustrates location event initiation and reporting for a delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events when the UE 102 is in an RRC inactive state. This procedure may be applicable to a UE 102 with NR access to 5GC. FIG. 4B illustrates a similar procedure to FIG. 4A, in which the UE 102 sends one or two event reports as in FIG. 4A. The serving gNB 110-S and anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102 are not shown in FIG. 4B, but may still be in the NG-RAN 112 and then behave as described in FIG. 4A with respect to supporting signaling between the UE 102 and the AMF 154 and LMF 152.

[0127] In stage 1 of Figure 4B, a delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events as shown in Figure 3 or as specified in 3GPP TS 23.273 is performed with the following differences:

[0128] As specified in stage 14 of Figure 3 or in step 16 of 3GPP TS 23.273, section 6.3.1, the LMF 152 indicates to the UE 102 whether UL, DL, or UL+DL positioning is to be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE 102 is in an RRC inactive state. For example, the LMF 152 may include an indication of which type of positioning may be used in the LCS periodic trigger call request sent to the UE 102 in stage 14 of Figure 3, or may include an LPP message with such an indication in the LCS periodic trigger call request sent to the UE 102 in stage 14 of Figure 3 (or step 16 in 3GPP TS 23.273, section 6.3.1). If UL positioning is used, the LMF 152 does not include an LPP positioning message in the LCS periodic trigger call request sent to the UE 102 in stage 14 of Figure 3. If DL positioning is used, the LMF 152 includes an LPP positioning message in an LCS periodic triggered call request sent to the UE 102 in stage 14 of Figure 3, where the LPP positioning message (e.g., LPP location information request message) requests DL location measurements or a location estimate based on the DL location measurements. If UL+DL positioning is used, the LMF 152 includes an LPP positioning message in an LCS periodic triggered call request sent to the UE 102 in stage 14, where the LPP positioning message (e.g., LPP location information request message) identifies the UL+DL positioning method and requests DL location measurements for this positioning method. The LMF 152 also includes a deferred routing identifier, which is the identity of the LMF 152, in the LCS periodic triggered location call. If the location of UE 102 is not required for event reporting or if the cell ID based location is sufficient for location quality of service (QoS), LMF 152 follows the procedure for DL ​​positioning but does not include an LPP positioning message in the LCS periodic trigger call request sent to UE 102 in stage 14.The UE 102 will then not obtain DL location measurements in stage 4 or will not include the LPP positioning message in the supplementary service event report message sent in stage 5.

[0129] The deferred routing identifier indicating the default LMF 152 may not be included in the LCS periodic triggered location call sent in stage 14 of Figure 3 (step 16 of 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1) because for event reporting in the following stages 5-21, the LMF 152 needs to know what type of positioning was indicated in stage 1 in order to correctly support these subsequent stages. However, the default LMF 152 may not know what type of positioning was indicated in stage 1.

[0130] 4B, the UE 102 enters an RRC inactive state some time before the event is detected. For example, the previous serving gNB 110 for the UE 102 may have sent an RRC release message with a suspend indication to the UE 102. The UE 102 then enters an RRC inactive state, and the previous serving gNB 110 may then become the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102 (although in some cases, the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102 may be or may remain different from the last serving gNB 110 for the UE 102, as described in 3GPP TS 38.300). If the UE 102 is not in an RRC inactive state when an event is detected (e.g., in stage 3), the UE 102 may follow the procedures described for steps 22-31 in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1 to report the event to the LMF 152 and to the LCS client 130 or the AF 132 depending on the type of LPP message or the lack of an LPP message received in stage 1 (e.g., stage 14 in FIG. 3). The LMF 152 may not know if the UE 102 is in an RRC inactive state. This allows the LMF 152 to follow the procedures described herein or in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1 for event reporting. Using the procedures described in FIG. 4B here, a UE 102 that was initially in an RRC inactive state can remain in an RRC inactive state after the procedure is completed. Using the 3GPP TS 23.273 Section 6.3.1 procedures, a UE 102 that was initially in an RRC Inactive state may be moved to an RRC Connected state during the 3GPP TS 23.273 Section 6.3.1 procedures.

[0131] In stage 3, the UE 102 monitors and detects the trigger events requested during stage 1.

[0132] In stage 4, if DL positioning was indicated in stage 1, the UE 102 obtains the DL location measurements or location estimates requested in the LPP message received in stage 1. If UL positioning or UL+DL positioning was indicated in stage 1, stage 4 is skipped.

[0133] In stage 5, the UE 102 sends an RRC Resume Request with Small Data Transmission (SDT) to a serving gNB 110 (e.g., gNB 110-S) in the NG-RAN 112. The RRC Resume Request includes an RRC UL Information Transfer message that includes a UL NAS Transport message that includes an Auxiliary Service Event Report message. If DL positioning was indicated in stage 1, the UE 102 includes an LPP Positioning message (e.g., LPP Provide Location Information message) in the Auxiliary Service Event Report message that includes the DL location measurements or location estimates obtained in stage 4. If UL+DL positioning was indicated in stage 1, the UE 102 includes an LPP Positioning message (e.g., LPP Request Assistance Data message) in the Auxiliary Service Event Report message that includes a request for UL configuration to support the UL+DL positioning method indicated to the UE 102 in stage 1. If UL+DL positioning was indicated in stage 1, the event report message may also include an identifier (e.g., a numeric identifier) ​​that may identify the event report message. If UL positioning was indicated in stage 1, the UE 102 does not include an LPP positioning message in the Supplementary Service Event Report message. The Event Report message may also include other information (e.g., the type of event being reported) as described in TS 23.273 step 25 in section 6.3.1. The UL NAS Transport message also includes the deferred routing identifier received in stage 14 of FIG. 3.

[0134] In stage 6, the serving gNB 110 forwards the UL NAS transport message in an N2 uplink NAS transport message to the serving AMF 154. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110 for the UE 102 (e.g., not gNB 110-A), the UL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving AMF 154 via the anchor gNB 110.

[0135] At stage 7, the AMF 154 checks the integrity of the NAS message and decrypts its contents. The AMF 154 then forwards the event report to the serving LMF 152 by invoking the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation.

[0136] In stage 8, if UL or UL+DL positioning was indicated to the UE 102 in stage 1, the LMF 152 requests the serving gNB 110 to provide the UE 102 with a UL configuration (e.g., a UL SRS or UL PRS configuration) in stage 12 using a network-assisted positioning procedure as described in stages 5, 6a, 7, 8, 10 of FIG. 4A or as described in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.11.2. The serving gNB 110 then determines the UL configuration (e.g., a UL SRS or UL PRS configuration as in stage 6a of FIG. 4A) and provides details of the determined UL configuration back to the LMF 152 (e.g., as in stage 7 of FIG. 4A). The LMF 152 also requests UL location measurement of the UE 102 by the NG-RAN 112 gNB 110 node using a non-UE associated network assisted data procedure (e.g., as in stage 11 of FIG. 4A). Because the UE 102 is in an RRC Inactive state and therefore in a CM Connected state, the AMF 154 does not execute a network triggered service request to support UL or UL+DL positioning, which avoids the transition of the UE 102 to an RRC_Connected state.

[0137] In stage 9, the LMF 152 calls the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer operation to return an acknowledgement for the event report. If there is a change in the LMF 152, the acknowledgement may include the deferred routing identifier of the new LMF 152.

[0138] At stage 10, the AMF 154 forwards the acknowledgement to the serving gNB 110 in a DL NAS TRANSPORT message encapsulated in an N2 downlink NAS transport message. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110 for the UE 102, the DL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving gNB 110 via the anchor gNB 110.

[0139] At stage 11, the serving gNB 110 sends a subsequent DL SDT message to the UE 102 and includes the NAS message received at stage 10.

[0140] In stage 12, the serving gNB 110 sends an RRC release message to the UE 102 to keep the UE 102 in an RRC inactive state and includes any UL configuration requested by the LMF 152 in stage 8 and / or determined by the serving gNB 110 in stage 8 to support UL or UL+DL positioning. In some implementations (e.g., in case of semi-persistent UL-PRS), stage 6b and / or stage 9 of FIG. 4A may also be performed by the serving gNB 110 before stages 11 and 12. If DL positioning was indicated to the UE 102 in stage 1, the LMF 152 and the UE 102 skip stages 13-21 and proceed to stage 22.

[0141] At stage 13, if UL or UL+DL positioning was indicated in stage 1, the UE 102 transmits a UL positioning signal according to the UL configuration received in stage 12. If UL+DL positioning was indicated in stage 1, the UE 102 also obtains DL location measurements requested in stage 1. The NG-RAN 112 gNB 110 node that was requested to obtain UL location measurements in stage 8 obtains the UL location measurements of the UL positioning signal transmitted by the UE 102.

[0142] In stage 14, the NG-RAN 112 gNB node forwards the UL location measurements obtained in stage 13 to the LMF 152 using the non-UE 102 associated network assisted data procedure in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.11.3 or as shown in stage 17 of Figure 4A. If UL positioning was indicated to the UE 102 in stage 1, the LMF 152 and the UE 102 skip stages 15-21 and proceed to stage 22. If UL+DL positioning was indicated to the UE 102 in stage 1, the LMF 152 and the UE 102 continue with stages 15-21.

[0143] In stage 15, the UE 102 sends an RRC Resume Request with Small Data Transmission to the serving gNB 110. The RRC Resume Request includes an RRC UL Information Transfer message that includes a UL NAS Transport message that includes a Supplementary Service Event Report message. The event report message may indicate that this is a second event report associated with the first event report sent in stage 5 and includes an LPP Positioning message (e.g., LPP Provide Location Information message) that includes the DL location measurements obtained in stage 13. For example, the event report message may include an event type parameter that indicates that this is a second event report associated with a previous event report already sent to the LMF 152 (in stages 5-7). The event report message may also or instead include an identifier (e.g., a numeric identifier) ​​in the event report message that is the same as the identifier included in the first event report sent in stage 5. The UL NAS Transport Message also includes the deferred routing identifier received either at stage 14 in FIG. 3 (or step 16 in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1) or at stage 11 in this procedure if there has been a change in the LMF 152.

[0144] At stage 16, the serving gNB 110 forwards the UL NAS transport message in an N2 uplink NAS transport message to the serving AMF 154. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102, the UL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving AMF 154 via the anchor gNB 110-A.

[0145] At stage 17, the AMF 154 checks the integrity of the NAS message and decrypts its contents. The AMF 154 then forwards the event report to the serving LMF 152 by invoking the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation.

[0146] In stage 18, LMF 152 invokes Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer operation to return an acknowledgment for the event report. LMF 152 can use an indication of the second event report associated with the first event report received in stage 7 to treat the event report received from AMF 154 in stage 17 as a continuation of the first event report, rather than as a separate, unassociated event report. LMF 152 can also or alternatively use an identifier in the second event report that is the same as the identifier received in the first event report in stage 7 to treat the event report received in stage 17 as a continuation of the first event report, rather than as a separate, unassociated event report. For example, LMF 152 does not treat the second event report received in stage 17 in the same way as the first event report received in stage 7.

[0147] At stage 19, the AMF 154 forwards the acknowledgement to the serving gNB 110 in a DL NAS TRANSPORT message encapsulated in an N2 downlink NAS transport message. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102, the DL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving gNB 110 via the anchor gNB 110-A.

[0148] At stage 20, the serving gNB 110 sends a subsequent DL SDT message to the UE 102, including the NAS message received at stage 19.

[0149] At stage 21, the serving gNB 110 sends an RRC release message to the UE 102 to keep the UE 102 in an RRC inactive state.

[0150] In stage 22, and following one of stage 21 when UL+DL positioning is indicated in stage 1, stage 14 when UL positioning is indicated in stage 1, or stage 12 when DL positioning is indicated in stage 1, the UE 102 remains in an RRC inactive state.

[0151] If a location estimate is needed for event reporting in stage 23, the LMF 152 determines the UE 102 location using one of the following: for DL ​​positioning, the LMF 152 uses the DL location measurements or location estimates received in stage 7 or the cell ID provided by the AMF 154 in stage 7; for UL positioning, the LMF 152 uses the UL location measurements received in stage 14; for UL+DL positioning, the LMF 152 uses the UL location measurements received in stage 14 and the DL location measurements received in stage 17. The LMF 152 may not attempt to obtain additional location measurements from the UE 102 or the NG-RAN 112, for example because otherwise this may cause the UE 102 to enter an RRC_connected state and increase the power consumption of the UE 102.

[0152] At stage 24, an event report including any location obtained at stage 23 is sent from the LMF 152 to the LCS client 130 or the AF 132, and steps 28 to 31 of 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1 are performed to monitor the UE 102 for the next periodic or triggered event.

[0153] FIG. 4C illustrates location event initiation and reporting for delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events when UE 102 is in RRC inactive state and DL positioning or non-positioning is used for event reporting. This procedure may be applicable for UE 102 with NR access to 5GC. FIG. 4C illustrates a similar procedure to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, but limited to DL positioning or non-positioning of UE 102. The serving gNB 110-S and anchor gNB 110-A for UE 102 are not shown in FIG. 4C, but may still be in NG-RAN 112 and then behave as described in FIG. 4A with respect to supporting signaling between UE 102 and AMF 154 and LMF 152.

[0154] In stage 1 of Figure 4C, a delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events as shown in Figure 3 or as specified in 3GPP TS 23.273 is performed with the following differences:

[0155] In stage 14 of Figure 3, or as specified in step 16 of 3GPP TS 23.273, section 6.3.1, the LMF 152 indicates to the UE 102 that DL positioning or non-positioning will be used for subsequent location reporting events when the UE 102 is in an RRC inactive state. If DL positioning is used, the LMF 152 includes an LPP positioning message (e.g., an LPP location information request message) in the LCS periodic triggered call request sent to the UE 102 in stage 14 of Figure 3, where the LPP positioning message requests DL location measurements or a location estimate based on the DL location measurements. If the location of the UE 102 is not required for event reporting or if the cell ID based location is sufficient for location QoS, the LMF 152 does not include an LPP positioning message in the LCS periodic triggered call request sent to the UE 102 in stage 14 of Figure 3. The deferred routing identifier indicating the default LMF 152 may not be included in the LCS periodic triggered location call sent in stage 14 of Figure 3 (or in step 16 of 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1), because for event reporting in stages 5-11 below, the LMF 152 needs to know what type of positioning was indicated in stage 1 in order to correctly support these subsequent stages. However, the default LMF 152 typically does not know what type of positioning was indicated in stage 1.

[0156] In stage 2 of FIG. 4C, the UE 102 enters an RRC inactive state shortly before the event is detected, for example as described for stage 2 of FIG. 4B. If the UE 102 is not in an RRC inactive state when the event is detected, the UE 102 may follow the procedure described for steps 22-31 in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1 to report the event to the LMF 152 and the LCS client 130 or the AF 132. The LMF 152 may not know if the UE 102 is in an RRC inactive state. This allows the LMF 152 to follow the procedure described herein with respect to FIG. 4C or the procedure described in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1 for event reporting. With the procedure described herein with respect to FIG. 4C, the UE 102 that was initially in an RRC inactive state may remain in an RRC inactive state after the procedure is completed. Using the 3GPP TS 23.273 Section 6.3.1 procedures, a UE 102 that was initially in an RRC Inactive state may be moved to an RRC Connected state during the 3GPP TS 23.273 Section 6.3.1 procedures.

[0157] In stage 3, the UE 102 monitors and detects the trigger events requested during stage 1.

[0158] In stage 4, if DL positioning was indicated in stage 1, the UE 102 obtains the DL location measurements or location estimates requested in the LPP message received in stage 1. If DL positioning was not indicated in stage 1, stage 4 is skipped.

[0159] In stage 5, the UE 102 sends an RRC Resume Request (SDT) with Small Data Transmission to the serving gNB 110 in the NG-RAN 112. The RRC Resume Request includes an RRC UL Information Transfer message including a UL NAS Transport message including an Auxiliary Service Event Report message. If DL positioning was indicated in stage 1, the UE 102 includes an LPP Positioning message (e.g., an LPP Provide Location Information message) in the Auxiliary Service Event Report message including the DL location measurements or location estimates obtained in stage 4. If DL positioning was not indicated in stage 1, the UE 102 does not include an LPP Positioning message in the Auxiliary Service Event Report message. The event report message may also include other information (e.g., the type of event being reported) as described in TS 23.273 step 25 in subclause 6.3.1. The UL NAS Transport message also includes the deferred routing identifier received in stage 14 of FIG. 3.

[0160] In stage 6, the serving gNB 110 forwards the UL NAS transport message in an N2 uplink NAS transport message to the serving AMF 154. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102, the UL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving AMF 154 via the anchor gNB 110-A.

[0161] At stage 7, the AMF 154 checks the integrity of the NAS message and decrypts its contents. The AMF 154 then forwards the event report to the serving LMF 152 by invoking the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation.

[0162] In stage 8, the LMF 152 calls the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer operation to return an acknowledgement for the event report. If there is a change in the LMF 152, the acknowledgement may include the deferred routing identifier of the new LMF 152.

[0163] At stage 9, the AMF 154 forwards the acknowledgement to the serving gNB 110 in a DL NAS TRANSPORT message encapsulated in an N2 downlink NAS transport message. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102, the DL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving gNB 110 via the anchor gNB 110-A.

[0164] At stage 10, the serving gNB 110 sends a subsequent DL SDT message to the UE 102, including the NAS message received at stage 9.

[0165] At stage 11, the serving gNB 110 sends an RRC release message to the UE 102 to keep the UE 102 in an RRC inactive state.

[0166] Stage 11 is followed by stage 12, in which the UE 102 remains in an RRC inactive state.

[0167] At stage 13, if a location estimate is required for event reporting, the LMF 152 determines the UE 102 location using the DL location measurements or location estimates received at stage 7 or the cell ID provided by the AMF 154 at stage 7. The LMF 152 may not attempt to obtain additional location measurements from the UE 102 or the NG-RAN 112, for example, because otherwise this may cause the UE 102 to enter an RRC_Connected state, increasing the power consumption of the UE 102.

[0168] In stage 14, an event report including any location obtained in stage 13 is sent from the LMF 152 to the LCS client 130 or AF 132, and steps 28 to 31 of section 6.3.1 are performed to monitor the UE 102 for the next periodic or triggered event.

[0169] FIG. 4D illustrates location event initiation and reporting for delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events when the UE 102 is in RRC inactive state and UL positioning is used for event reporting. This procedure may be applicable to a UE 102 with NR access to 5GC. FIG. 4D illustrates a similar procedure to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, but limited to UL positioning of the UE 102. The serving gNB 110-S and anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102 are not shown in FIG. 4D, but may still be in the NG-RAN 112 and then behave as described in FIG. 4A with respect to supporting signaling between the UE 102 and the AMF 154 and LMF 152.

[0170] In stage 1 of Figure 4D, a delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events as shown in Figure 3 or as specified in 3GPP TS 23.273 is performed with the following differences:

[0171] As specified in stage 14 of FIG. 3 or in step 16 of 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1, the LMF 152 indicates to the UE 102 that UL positioning may be used for subsequent location reporting events when the UE 102 is in an RRC inactive state, for example by not including an LPP positioning message in the LCS periodic triggered location call request sent to the UE 102 in stage 14. A deferred routing identifier indicating the default LMF 152 may not be included in the LCS periodic triggered location call sent in stage 14 of FIG. 3 (or step 16 of 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1), because for event reporting in the following stages 4-11, the LMF 152 needs to know what type of positioning was indicated in stage 1 in order to correctly support these subsequent stages. However, the default LMF 152 may not usually know what type of positioning was indicated in stage 1.

[0172] In stage 2 of FIG. 4D, the UE 102 enters an RRC inactive state shortly before the event is detected, for example as described for stage 2 of FIG. 4B. If the UE 102 is not in an RRC inactive state when the event is detected, the UE 102 may follow the procedure described for steps 22-31 in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1 to report the event to the LMF 152 and the LCS client 130 or the AF 132. The LMF 152 may not know if the UE 102 is in an RRC inactive state. This allows the LMF 152 to follow the procedure described herein with respect to FIG. 4D or the procedure described in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1 for event reporting. With the procedure described herein with respect to FIG. 4D, the UE 102 that was initially in an RRC inactive state may remain in an RRC inactive state after the procedure is completed. Using the procedures of 3GPP TS 23.273, section 6.3.1, a UE that was initially in an RRC INACTIVE state may be moved to an RRC CONNECTED state during the procedures of 3GPP TS 23.273, section 6.3.1.

[0173] In stage 3 of FIG. 4D, the UE 102 monitors and detects the trigger event requested during stage 1.

[0174] In stage 4, the UE 102 sends an RRC Resume Request with Small Data Transmission (SDT) to the serving gNB 110 in the NG-RAN 112. The RRC Resume Request includes an RRC UL Information Transfer message that includes a UL NAS Transport message that includes an Auxiliary Service Event Report message. The UE 102 may not include an LPP Positioning message in the Auxiliary Service Event Report message. The event report message may include other information (e.g., the type of event being reported) as described in TS 23.273 step 25 in subclause 6.3.1. The UL NAS Transport message also includes the deferred routing identifier received in stage 14 of FIG. 3.

[0175] In stage 5, the serving gNB 110 forwards the UL NAS transport message in an N2 uplink NAS transport message to the serving AMF 154. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102, the UL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving AMF 154 via the anchor gNB 110-A.

[0176] At stage 6, the AMF 154 checks the integrity of the NAS message and decrypts its contents. The AMF 154 then forwards the event report to the serving LMF 152 by invoking the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation.

[0177] In stage 7, the LMF 152 uses a network-assisted positioning procedure, as described in stages 5, 6a, 7, 8, 10 of FIG. 4A, or as described in section 6.11.2 of 3GPP TS 23.273, to request the serving gNB 110 to provide the UE 102 with a UL configuration (e.g., a UL SRS or UL PRS configuration) in stage 11. The serving gNB 110 then determines the UL configuration (e.g., a UL SRS or UL PRS configuration as in stage 6a of FIG. 4A) and provides details of the determined UL configuration back to the LMF 152 (e.g., as in stage 7 of FIG. 4A). The LMF 152 also uses a non-UE related network assistance data procedure to request UL location measurements of the UE 102 by the NG-RAN 112 gNB 110 node (e.g., in stage 11 of FIG. 4A) using a non-UE related network assistance data procedure. Because the UE 102 is in an RRC inactive state and therefore in a CM connected state, the AMF 154 does not perform a network triggered service request to support UL positioning, which avoids the transition of the UE 102 to an RRC_connected state.

[0178] In stage 8, the LMF 152 calls the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer operation to return an acknowledgement for the event report. If there is a change in the LMF 152, the acknowledgement may include the deferred routing identifier of the new LMF 152.

[0179] At stage 9, the AMF 154 forwards the acknowledgement to the serving gNB 110 in a DL NAS TRANSPORT message encapsulated in an N2 downlink NAS transport message. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102, the DL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving gNB 110 via the anchor gNB 110-A.

[0180] At stage 10, the receiving gNB node sends a subsequent DL SDT message to the UE 102 and includes the NAS message received at stage 9.

[0181] In stage 11, the serving gNB 110 sends an RRC release message to the UE 102 to keep the UE 102 in an RRC inactive state and includes the UL configuration requested by the LMF 152 in stage 7 and / or determined by the serving gNB 110 in stage 7 to support UL positioning. In some implementations (e.g., in the case of semi-persistent UL-PRS), stage 6b and / or stage 9 of FIG. 4A may also be performed by the serving gNB 110 before stages 10 and 11.

[0182] At stage 12, the UE 102 transmits a UL positioning signal according to the UL configuration received at stage 11. The NG-RAN 112 gNB 110 node that was requested to obtain UL location measurements at stage 7 obtains the UL location measurements of the UL positioning signal transmitted by the UE 102.

[0183] At stage 13, the NG-RAN 112 gNB 110 node forwards the UL location measurements obtained in stage 12 to the LMF 152 using the non-UE 102 associated network assistance data procedures in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.11.3, or as shown at stage 17 in FIG. 4A.

[0184] Stage 13 is followed by stage 14, in which the UE 102 remains in an RRC inactive state.

[0185] At stage 15, the LMF 152 determines the UE 102 location using the UL location measurements received in stage 13. The LMF 152 may not attempt to obtain additional location measurements from the UE 102 or the NG-RAN 112, for example, because doing so could cause the UE 102 to enter an RRC_Connected state, increasing the power consumption of the UE 102.

[0186] In stage 16, an event report including any location obtained in stage 15 is sent from the LMF 152 to the LCS client 130 or AF 132, and steps 28 to 31 of section 6.3.1 are performed to monitor the UE 102 for the next periodic or triggered event.

[0187] FIG. 4E includes FIG. 4(E-1) and FIG. 4(E-2), and FIG. 9 illustrates location event initiation and reporting for delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events when UE 102 is in RRC inactive state and UL+DL positioning is used for event reporting. This procedure may be applicable to UE 102 with NR access to 5GC. FIG. 4E illustrates a similar procedure to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, but limited to UL+DL positioning of UE 102. The serving gNB 110-S and anchor gNB 110-A for UE 102 are not shown in FIG. 4E, but may still be in NG-RAN 112 and may then behave as described in FIG. 4A with respect to supporting signaling between UE 102 and AMF 154 and LMF 152.

[0188] In stage 1 of Figure 4E, a delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events as shown in Figure 3 or as specified in clause 6.3.1 of 3GPP TS 23.273 is performed with the following differences:

[0189] As specified in stage 14 of Figure 3 or in step 16 of 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1, the LMF 152 indicates to the UE 102 that UL+DL positioning will be used for subsequent location reporting events when the UE 102 is in an RRC inactive state by including an LPP positioning message (e.g., an LPP Location Information Request message) in the LCS Periodic Triggered Location Call request sent to the UE 102 in stage 14 of Figure 3, where the LPP positioning message identifies the UL+DL positioning method and requests DL location measurements for this positioning method. The LMF 152 also includes a deferred routing identifier, which is the identity of the LMF 152, in the LCS Periodic Triggered Location Call. The deferred routing identifier indicating the default LMF 152 may not be included in the LCS periodic triggered location call sent in stage 14 of Figure 3 (or step 16 of 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1) because for event reporting in stages 4 to 20 below, the LMF 152 needs to know what type of positioning was indicated in stage 1 in order to correctly support these subsequent stages. However, the default LMF 152 may not usually know what type of positioning was indicated in stage 1.

[0190] In stage 2, the UE 102 enters the RRC inactive state some time before the event is detected, e.g., as described for stage 2 in FIG. 4B. If the UE 102 is not in the RRC inactive state when the event is detected in step 3, the UE 102 may report the event to the LMF 152 and the LCS client 130 or the AF 132 according to the procedures described in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1 for steps 22-31. The LMF 152 may not know if the UE 102 is in the RRC inactive state. This may allow the LMF 152 to follow the procedures described herein with respect to FIG. 4E or the procedures described in section 6.3.1 for event reporting. Using the procedures described herein with respect to FIG. 4E, the UE 102 that was initially in the RRC inactive state may remain in the RRC inactive state after the procedures are completed. Using the procedures of 3GPP TS 23.273, section 6.3.1, a UE that was initially in an RRC INACTIVE state may be moved to an RRC CONNECTED state during the procedures of 3GPP TS 23.273, section 6.3.1.

[0191] In stage 3, the UE 102 monitors and detects the trigger events requested during stage 1.

[0192] In stage 4, the UE 102 sends an RRC Resume Request with Small Data Transmission (SDT) to the serving gNB 110 in the NG-RAN 112. The RRC Resume Request includes an RRC UL Information Transfer message that includes a UL NAS Transport message that includes an Auxiliary Service Event Report message. The UE 102 includes an LPP Positioning message (e.g., an LPP Request Assistance Data message) in the Auxiliary Service Event Report message that includes a request for UL configuration to support the UL+DL positioning method indicated to the UE 102 in stage 1. The event report message may also include other information (e.g., the type of event being reported) as described in step 25 of section 6.3.1 of 3GPP TS 23.273. The event report message may further include an identifier (e.g., a numeric identifier) ​​that may identify the event report message. The UL NAS Transport message also includes the deferred routing identifier received in stage 14 of FIG. 3.

[0193] In stage 5, the serving gNB 110 forwards the UL NAS transport message in an N2 uplink NAS transport message to the serving AMF 154. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102, the UL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving AMF 154 via the anchor gNB 110A.

[0194] At stage 6, the AMF 154 checks the integrity of the NAS message and decrypts its contents. The AMF 154 then forwards the event report to the serving LMF 152 by invoking the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation.

[0195] In stage 7, the LMF 152 requests the serving gNB 110 to provide the UE 102 with a UL configuration (e.g., a UL SRS or UL PRS configuration) in stage 11 using a network-assisted positioning procedure, as described in stages 5, 6a, 7, 8, 10 of FIG. 4A or as described in section 6.11.2 of 3GPP TS 23.273. The serving gNB 110 then determines the UL configuration (e.g., a UL SRS or UL PRS configuration as in stage 6a of FIG. 4A) and provides details of the determined UL configuration back to the LMF 152 (e.g., as in stage 7 of FIG. 4A). The LMF 152 also requests UL location measurements of the UE 102 by the NG-RAN 112 gNB 110 node using a non-UE 102 associated network assistance data procedure (e.g., as in stage 11 of FIG. 4A). Because the UE 102 is in an RRC Inactive state and therefore in a CM Connected state, the AMF 154 does not perform a network triggered service request to support UL+DL positioning, which avoids the transition of the UE 102 to an RRC_Connected state.

[0196] In stage 8, the LMF 152 calls the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer operation to return an acknowledgement for the event report. If there is a change in the LMF 152, the acknowledgement may include the deferred routing identifier of the new LMF 152.

[0197] At stage 9, the AMF 154 forwards the acknowledgement to the serving gNB 110 in a DL NAS TRANSPORT message encapsulated in an N2 downlink NAS transport message. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102, the DL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving gNB 110 via the anchor gNB 110-A.

[0198] At stage 10, the serving gNB 110 sends a subsequent DL SDT message to the UE 102, including the NAS message received at stage 9.

[0199] In stage 11, the serving gNB 110 sends an RRC release message to the UE 102 to keep the UE 102 in an RRC inactive state and includes any UL configuration requested by the LMF 152 in stage 7 and / or determined by the serving gNB 110 in stage 7 to support UL+DL positioning. In some implementations (e.g., in the case of semi-persistent UL-PRS), stage 6b and / or stage 9 of FIG. 4A may also be performed by the serving gNB 110 before stages 10 and 11.

[0200] At stage 12, the UE 102 transmits a UL positioning signal according to the UL configuration received in stage 11. The UE 102 also obtains DL location measurements as requested in stage 1. The NG-RAN 112 gNB 110 node that was requested to obtain UL location measurements in stage 7 obtains UL location measurements of the UL positioning signal transmitted by the UE 102.

[0201] At stage 13, the NG-RAN 112 gNB 110 node forwards the UL location measurements obtained in stage 12 to the LMF 152 using the non-UE 102 associated network assistance data procedures in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.11.3, or as shown at stage 17 in FIG. 4A.

[0202] In stage 14, the UE 102 sends an RRC Resume Request with Small Data Transmission to the serving gNB 110. The RRC Resume Request includes an RRC UL Information Transfer message that includes a UL NAS Transport message that includes a Supplementary Service Event Report message. The event report message may indicate that this is a second event report associated with a first event report sent in stage 4, and includes an LPP Positioning message (e.g., LPP Provide Location Information message) that includes DL location measurements obtained in stage 12. For example, the event report message may include an event type parameter that indicates that this is a second event report associated with a previous event report already sent to the LMF 152 (in stages 4-6). The event report message may also or alternatively include an identifier (e.g., a numeric identifier) ​​in the event report message that is the same as the identifier included in the first event report sent in stage 4. The UL NAS Transport Message also includes the deferred routing identifier received either at stage 14 in FIG. 3 (or step 16 in 3GPP TS 23.273 section 6.3.1) or at stage 10 of this procedure if there has been a change in the LMF 152 in FIG.

[0203] At stage 15, the serving gNB 110 forwards the UL NAS transport message in an N2 uplink NAS transport message to the serving AMF 154. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102, the UL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving AMF 154 via the anchor gNB 110-A.

[0204] At stage 16, the AMF 154 checks the integrity of the NAS message and decrypts its contents. The AMF 154 then forwards the event report to the serving LMF 152 by invoking the Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation.

[0205] In stage 17, LMF 152 invokes Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer operation to return an acknowledgment for the event report. LMF 152 can use an indication of the second event report associated with the first event report received in stage 6 to treat the event report received from AMF 154 in stage 16 as a continuation of the first event report, rather than as a separate, unassociated event report. LMF 152 can also or alternatively use an identifier in the second event report that is the same as the identifier received in the first event report in stage 6 to treat the event report received in stage 16 as a continuation of the first event report, rather than as a separate, unassociated event report. For example, LMF 152 does not treat the second event report received in stage 16 in the same way as the first event report received in stage 6.

[0206] At stage 18, the AMF 154 forwards the acknowledgement to the serving gNB 110 in a DL NAS TRANSPORT message encapsulated in an N2 downlink NAS transport message. If the serving gNB 110 is not the anchor gNB 110-A for the UE 102, the DL NAS transport message may be forwarded to the serving gNB 110 via the anchor gNB 110-A.

[0207] At stage 19, the serving gNB 110 sends a subsequent DL SDT message to the UE 102, including the NAS message received at stage 18.

[0208] At stage 20, the serving gNB 110 sends an RRC release message to the UE 102 to keep the UE 102 in an RRC inactive state.

[0209] Stage 20 is followed by stage 21, in which the UE 102 remains in an RRC inactive state.

[0210] At stage 22, the LMF 152 determines the UE 102 location using the UL location measurements received at stage 13 and the DL location measurements received at stage 16. The LMF 152 may not attempt to obtain additional location measurements from the UE 102 or the NG-RAN 112, for example, because doing so could cause the UE 102 to enter an RRC_Connected state, increasing the power consumption of the UE 102.

[0211] At stage 23, an event report including any location obtained at stage 22 is sent from the LMF 152 to the LCS client 130 or AF 132, and steps 28 to 31 of section 6.3.1 are performed to monitor the UE 102 for the next periodic or triggered event.

[0212] FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic block diagram illustrating certain example features of a UE 500, which may be, for example, the UE 102 illustrated in FIG. 1, configured to support location determination of the UE 500 while in an RRC inactive state, for example, as described herein. The UE 500 may execute, for example, the signaling flows of FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D, and / or FIG. 4E, the process flows illustrated in FIG. 8, and the associated algorithms disclosed herein. The UE 500 may include, for example, one or more processors 502, memory 504, an external interface (e.g., wireless network interface), such as at least one wireless transceiver 510, and one or more sensors 513, which may be operatively coupled to, for example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium 520 and one or more connections 506 (e.g., buses, lines, fibers, links, etc.) to the memory 504. The SPS receiver 515 may receive and process SPS signals, for example, from the SV 190 illustrated in FIG. 1. The one or more sensors 513 may be, for example, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), which may include one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, magnetometers, etc. The UE 500 may further include additional items not shown, such as a user interface through which a user may interface with the UE, which may include a display, a keypad, or other input devices such as a virtual keypad on a display. In some example implementations, all or a portion of the UE 500 may be in the form of a chipset or the like.

[0213] At least one wireless transceiver 510 may be a transceiver for both the WWAN and WLAN communication systems, or may include separate transceivers for WWAN and WLAN. The wireless transceiver 510 may include a transmitter 512 and a receiver 514 coupled to one or more antennas 511 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals and converting signals from wireless signals to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals. Thus, the transmitter 512 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 514 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 510 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with base stations and access points and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc. The new radio may use mm-wave frequencies and / or sub-6 GHz frequencies. The wireless transceiver 510 may be communicatively coupled, e.g., by optical and / or electrical connections, to a transceiver interface, which may be at least partially integrated with the wireless transceiver 510.

[0214] In some embodiments, the UE 500 may include an antenna 511, which may be internal or external. The UE antenna 511 may be used to transmit and / or receive signals that are processed by the wireless transceiver 510. In some embodiments, the UE antenna 511 may be coupled to the wireless transceiver 510. In some embodiments, measurements of signals received (transmitted) by the UE 500 may be performed at the connection point of the UE antenna 511 and the wireless transceiver 510. For example, the measurement points of reference for the received (transmitted) RF signal measurements may be the input (output) terminal of the receiver 514 (transmitter 512) and the output (input) terminal of the UE antenna 511. In a UE 500 with multiple UE antennas 511 or antenna arrays, the antenna connectors may be viewed as virtual points representing the aggregate output (input) of the multiple UE antennas. In some embodiments, the UE 500 may measure received signals, including signal strength and TOA measurements, and the raw measurements may be processed by one or more processors 502.

[0215] The one or more processors 502 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 502 may be configured to perform functions described herein by implementing one or more instructions or program code 508 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 520 and / or the memory 504. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 502 may represent one or more circuits configurable to perform at least a portion of a data signal computation procedure or process related to the operation of the UE 500.

[0216] The medium 520 and / or memory 504 may store instructions or program code 508, including executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 502, cause the one or more processors 502 to operate as a special purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in the UE 500, the medium 520 and / or memory 504 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by the one or more processors 502 to perform the methods described herein. Although a component or module is shown as software in the medium 520 executable by the one or more processors 502, it should be understood that the component or module may be stored in the memory 504 or may be dedicated hardware either within or external to the one or more processors 502.

[0217] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 520 and / or memory 504 and be utilized by the one or more processors 502 to manage both the communications and functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the medium 520 and / or memory 504 as shown in the UE 500 is merely exemplary, and that the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or structured in various ways depending on the implementation of the UE 500.

[0218] The medium 520 and / or the memory 504 may include a positioning session module 522 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 502, configures the one or more processors 502 to engage in a positioning session with a location server through a serving base station via the wireless transceiver 510, including receiving a location service request including a request for positioning capabilities and a periodic or triggered position determination, such as a request for positioning measurements, e.g., for a UE-assisted positioning process, or a request for location information, e.g., a location estimate, e.g., for a UE-based positioning process. The one or more processors 502 are configured to transmit a response to the location service request, e.g., by providing the positioning capabilities and the requested location information. The one or more processors 502 may be configured to monitor for events, e.g., periodic events or triggered events. The one or more processors 502 may be configured to generate and transmit an event report in the SDT, e.g., along with an RRC resumption request, which may include a request for assistance data (e.g., for UL PRS configuration), as described in stage 3 of FIG. 4A. The one or more processors 502 may be further configured to receive assistance data and other information, e.g., to receive and measure DL PRS and to transmit UL PRS. For example, the one or more processors 502 may be configured to receive one or more UL PRS configurations, which may be provided in a subsequent DL SDT or in an RRC message, such as an RRC release message, as described in stage 6b or stage 13 of FIG. 4A. The one or more processors 502 may be configured to receive MAC-CE UL PRS activation at the MAC-CE level or in an RRC message, such as an RRC release message, as described in stages 9 and 13 of FIG. 4A.The one or more processors 502 may be configured to perform positioning related procedures such as transmitting UL PRS and / or receiving and measuring DL PRS for positioning measurements such as Rx-Tx, AOA, AOD, TOA, RSRP, etc. The one or more processors 502 may be configured to generate and send positioning location information including, for example, DL PRS measurements and / or location estimates if generated, to the LMF in an event report in the SDT along with an RRC resumption request, as described in stage 15 of FIG. 4A. The one or more processors 502 may be configured to receive a MAC-CE UL-PRS deactivation, for example, at the MAC-CE level or in an RRC message such as an RRC release message, as described in stages 18b and 20 of FIG. 4A.

[0219] The medium 520 and / or the memory 504 may include an RRC inactive module 524 that configures the one or more processors 502 to send and receive messages with the gNB to enter an RRC inactive state.

[0220] The medium 520 and / or memory 504 may include an RRC resume module 526 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 502, configures the one or more processors 502 to send and receive messages related to an RRC resume request to and from the gNB. For example, the one or more processors 502 may be configured to send an SDT to the serving gNB along with an RRC resume request message, and may be configured to include an LPP request assistance data message requesting a UL PRS configuration, and / or positioning location information including, for example, DL PRS measurements and / or a location estimate if generated. The one or more processors 502 may be configured to receive a subsequent DL SDT message from the serving gNB, which may include a UL PRS configuration. The one or more processors 502 may be configured to receive an RRC release message from the serving gNB, which may include an event report acknowledgement, and may be configured to receive the UL PRS configuration in the RRC release message.

[0221] The methods described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, the methods may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. In the case of a hardware implementation, the one or more processors 502 may be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0222] For firmware and / or software implementations, the methods may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium 520 or memory 504 coupled to and executed by one or more processors 502. The memory may be implemented within the one or more processors or external to the one or more processors. The term "memory" as used herein refers to any type of long-term memory, short-term memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or other memory, and is not limited to a particular type or number of memories, or to a particular type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0223] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 508 on a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as the medium 520 and / or memory 504. Examples include computer readable media encoded with data structures and computer readable media encoded with computer program code 508. For example, a non-transitory computer readable medium including stored program code 508 may include program code 508 for supporting location determination of UEs in an RRC inactive state in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer readable medium 520 includes physical computer storage media. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code 508 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. As used herein, "disk" and "disc" include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, although a "disk" typically reproduces data magnetically and a "disc" reproduces data optically using a laser. Combinations of the above are also intended to be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0224] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 520, the instructions and / or data may be provided as signals on a transmission medium contained within a communications device. For example, a communications device may include a wireless transceiver 510 having signals indicative of the instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to perform the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communications device includes a transmission medium having signals indicative of information to perform the disclosed functions.

[0225] Memory 504 may represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 504 may include, for example, primary memory and / or secondary memory. Primary memory may include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, etc. Although shown in this example as separate from one or more processors 502, it should be understood that all or a portion of the primary memory may be provided within or otherwise co-located / coupled with one or more processors 502. Secondary memory may include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as the primary memory, and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as, for example, disk drives, optical disk drives, tape drives, solid state memory drives, etc.

[0226] In certain implementations, the secondary memory may operably receive or be otherwise configurable to couple to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 520. Thus, in certain example implementations, the methods and / or apparatus presented herein may take the form of a computer-readable medium 520 that may include computer-implementable program code 508 stored thereon, in whole or in part, which when executed by one or more processors 502 may be operably enabled to perform all or a portion of the example operations as described herein. The computer-readable medium 520 may be part of the memory 504.

[0227] 6 illustrates a schematic block diagram illustrating certain example features of a location server 600, e.g., the LMF 152 or SLP 162 shown in FIG. 1, or the LMC or LSS located in the NG-RAN 112, configured to support positioning of a UE (e.g., the UE 102) in an RRC inactive state as described herein. The location server 600 may execute the signaling flows of FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C, FIG. 4D, and / or FIG. 4E, e.g., the process flows shown in FIG. 9, and algorithms disclosed herein. The location server 600 may include one or more processors 602, memory 604, and an external interface 616 (e.g., a wireline or wireless network interface to base stations and / or entities in a core network), which may be operatively coupled to, e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium 620 and one or more connections 606 (e.g., a bus, a line, a fiber, a link, etc.) to the memory 604. In certain example implementations, all or a portion of the location server 600 may take the form of a chipset or the like.

[0228] The one or more processors 602 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 602 may be configured to perform the functions described herein by implementing one or more instructions or program code 608 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 620 and / or the memory 604. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 602 may represent one or more circuits that can be configured to perform at least a portion of a data signal calculation procedure or process related to the operation of the location server 600.

[0229] The medium 620 and / or memory 604 may store instructions or program code 608, including executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 602, cause the one or more processors 602 to operate as a special purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in the location server 600, the medium 620 and / or memory 604 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by the one or more processors 602 to perform the methods described herein. Although the components or modules are shown as software in the medium 620 executable by the one or more processors 602, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in the memory 604 or may be dedicated hardware either within or external to the one or more processors 602.

[0230] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 620 and / or memory 604 and be utilized by the one or more processors 602 to manage both the communications and functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the medium 620 and / or memory 604 as shown in the location server 600 is only an example, and thus the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or structured differently depending on the implementation of the location server 600.

[0231] The medium 620 and / or memory 604 may include a positioning session module 622 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 602, configures the one or more processors 602 to engage in a positioning session with a UE through a serving base station via the external interface 616, including transmitting a location service request, e.g., as described herein, such as a request for positioning capabilities and a request for location information, e.g., positioning measurements, e.g., for a UE-assisted positioning process, or a location estimate, e.g., for a UE-based positioning process. The one or more processors 602 are configured to receive a response to the location service request, e.g., including receiving the positioning capabilities and the requested location information from the UE. The one or more processors 602 may be configured to transmit and receive messages for a periodic location session. The one or more processors 402 may be configured to receive an event report from a UE in an RRC inactive state, the event report including an LPP Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for a UL PRS configuration. The one or more processors 602 may be further configured to send an NRPPa positioning information request for the UE to a serving base station to request a UL positioning reference signal for the UE while the UE is in an RRC inactive state. The one or more processors 602 may be further configured to receive a UL positioning reference signal configuration from the serving base station and send a UL measurement request including the UL positioning reference signal configuration to the at least one base station. The one or more processors 602 may be further configured to send an event report acknowledgement to the UE in the RRC inactive state. The one or more processors 602 may be further configured to receive a measurement response from the at least one base station including a measurement value of the UL PRS sent by the UE in the RRC inactive state and determine a location of the UE based at least in part on the measurement response from the at least one base station.The one or more processors 602 may be further configured to receive an event report from a UE in an RRC inactive state including an LPP Provide Location Information message including location measurements performed by the UE in an RRC inactive state, such as Rx-Tx, AOA, TOA, RSRP, or other types of measurements, such as using WiFi or SPS measurements. The one or more processors 602 may be further configured to determine a location of the UE based at least in part on the location measurements in the LPP Provide Location Information message.

[0232] The methods described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, the methods may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. In the case of a hardware implementation, the one or more processors 602 may be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0233] For firmware and / or software implementations, the methods may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in non-transitory computer-readable medium 620 or memory 604 coupled to one or more processors 602 and executed by one or more processors 702. Memory may be implemented within one or more processors or external to one or more processors. The term "memory" as used herein refers to any type of long-term memory, short-term memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or other memory, and is not limited to a particular type or number of memories, or to a particular type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0234] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 608 on a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as the medium 620 and / or memory 604. Examples include computer readable media encoded with data structures and computer readable media encoded with computer program code 608. For example, a non-transitory computer readable medium including stored program code 608 may include program code 608 for supporting suspension of an RRC connection between a UE and a base station during a positioning session in a manner consistent with disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer readable medium 620 includes physical computer storage media. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code 608 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. As used herein, "disk" and "disc" include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, although a "disk" typically reproduces data magnetically and a "disc" reproduces data optically using a laser. Combinations of the above are also intended to be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0235] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 620, the instructions and / or data may be provided as signals on a transmission medium contained within the communications device. For example, the communications device may include an external interface 616 having signals indicative of the instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to perform the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communications device includes a transmission medium having signals indicative of information to perform the disclosed functions.

[0236] Memory 604 may represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 604 may include, for example, primary memory and / or secondary memory. Primary memory may include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, etc. Although shown in this example as separate from one or more processors 602, it should be understood that all or a portion of the primary memory may be provided within or otherwise co-located / coupled with one or more processors 602. Secondary memory may include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as the primary memory, and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as, for example, disk drives, optical disk drives, tape drives, solid state memory drives, etc.

[0237] In certain implementations, the secondary memory may operably receive or be otherwise configurable to couple to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 620. Thus, in certain example implementations, the methods and / or apparatus presented herein may take the form of a computer-readable medium 620 that may include computer-implementable program code 608 stored thereon, in whole or in part, which when executed by one or more processors 602 may be operably enabled to perform all or a portion of the example operations as described herein. The computer-readable medium 620 may be part of the memory 604.

[0238] FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram illustrating certain example features of a base station 700, e.g., the gNB 110 of FIG. 1, capable of supporting location determination of a UE (e.g., the UE 102) in an RRC inactive state as described herein. The base station 700 may be an eNB, a gNB 110, or an ng-eNB 114. The base station 700 may perform the signaling flows of FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and / or 4E. The base station 700 may include external interfaces, which may include, e.g., one or more processors 702, memory 704, a transceiver 710 (e.g., a wireless network interface), and a communication interface 716 (e.g., a wired or wireless network interface, directly or via one or more intervening entities, to entities in the core network, such as other base stations and / or location servers), which may be operatively coupled with a non-transitory computer-readable medium 720 and one or more connections 706 (e.g., a bus, wires, fibers, links, etc.) to the memory 704. The base station 700 may further include additional items not shown, such as a user interface that may include, for example, a display, a keypad, or other input devices, such as a virtual keypad on the display, through which a user may interface with the base station. In certain exemplary implementations, all or a portion of the base station 700 may be in the form of a chipset and / or the like. The transceiver 710 may include, for example, a transmitter 712 enabled to transmit one or more signals over one or more types of wireless communication networks, and a receiver 714 for receiving one or more signals transmitted over one or more types of wireless communication networks. The communication interface 716 may be a wired or wireless transceiver capable of connecting to network entities, such as other base stations in the RAN, or to a location server, such as the LMF 152 or SLP 162 through various entities, such as the AMF 154 or UPF 158, shown in FIG. 1.

[0239] In some embodiments, the base station 700 may include an antenna 711, which may be internal or external. The antenna 711 may be used to transmit and / or receive signals that are processed by the transceiver 710. In some embodiments, the antenna 711 may be coupled to the transceiver 710. In some embodiments, measurements of signals received (transmitted) by the base station 700 may be performed at the connection point of the antenna 711 and the transceiver 710. For example, the measurement reference points of the received (transmitted) RF signal may be the input (output) terminal of the receiver 714 (transmitter 712) and the output (input) terminal of the antenna 711. In a base station 700 with multiple antennas 711 or an antenna array, the antenna connector may be considered to be a virtual point representing the aggregate output (input) of the multiple antennas. In some embodiments, the base station 700 may measure the received signals, including signal strength and TOA measurements, and the raw measurements may be processed by one or more processors 702.

[0240] The one or more processors 702 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 702 may be configured to perform the functions described herein by implementing one or more instructions or program code 708 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 720 and / or the memory 704. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 702 may represent one or more circuits configurable to perform at least a portion of a data signal calculation procedure or process associated with the operation of the base station 700.

[0241] The medium 720 and / or memory 704 may store instructions or program code 708, including executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 702, cause the one or more processors 702 to operate as a special purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in the base station 700, the medium 720 and / or memory 704 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by the one or more processors 702 to perform the methods described herein. Although the components or modules are shown as software in the medium 720 executable by the one or more processors 702, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in the memory 704 or may be dedicated hardware either within or outside the one or more processors 702. Several software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 720 and / or memory 704 and be utilized by the one or more processors 702 to manage both the communications and functionality described herein. It should be understood that the organization of the contents of the medium 720 and / or memory 704 as shown in the base station 700 is merely exemplary, and thus the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or structured in different ways depending on the implementation of the base station 700.

[0242] The medium 720 and / or memory 704 may include an RRC inactive module 722 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 702, configures the one or more processors 702 to transmit and receive messages related to an RRC inactive state to and from the UE, including an SDT message with a resume request and an RRC release message. The one or more processors 702 may be configured to receive, via the transceiver 710, an SDT with an event report and an RRC resume request message from the UE while the UE is in an RRC inactive state, and forward the event report to a location server (LMF), as described, for example, in stages 3, 4, and 15, 16 of FIG. 4A. The one or more processors 702 may be configured to transmit, via the transceiver 710, an RRC release message from the UE, where the UE remains in an RRC inactive state. The RRC release message may include, for example, an event report acknowledgment from the LMF as part of a positioning of the UE, and may include a UL PRS configuration or a UL PRS deactivation.

[0243] The medium 720 and / or memory 704 may include a positioning session module 724 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 702, configures the one or more processors 702 to engage in a positioning session with the UE and a location server (e.g., LMF) via an external interface (transceiver 710 and communication interface 716). For example, the one or more processors 702 may be configured to receive an event report after (or before) an event is detected by the UE, e.g., in a received SDT with an RRC resume message, and send an indication of the event to the LMF via the external interface. The one or more processors 702 may be configured to receive an NRPPa positioning information request from the location server and determine a UL PRS configuration for the UE, which may be provided to the UE while in an RRC inactive state via a subsequent DL SDT or RRC release message. Furthermore, the one or more processors 702 may be configured to provide the positioning location information received from the UE to the LMF with the RRC resume message in the SDT. The one or more processors 702 may be configured to send a MAC-CE UL PRS activation at the MAC-CE level or in an RRC message, such as an RRC release message, as described in stages 9 and 13 of Figure 4A. The one or more processors 702 may be configured to send a MAC-CE UL-PRS deactivation at the MAC-CE level or in an RRC message, such as an RRC release message, as described in stages 18b and 20 of Figure 4A.

[0244] The methods described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, the methods may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. In the case of a hardware implementation, the one or more processors 702 may be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0245] For firmware and / or software implementations, the methods may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used to implement the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in non-transitory computer-readable medium 720 or memory 704 coupled to and executed by one or more processors 702. Memory may be implemented within one or more processors or external to one or more processors. The term "memory" as used herein refers to any type of long-term memory, short-term memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or other memory, and is not limited to a particular type or number of memories, or to a particular type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0246] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 708 on a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as the medium 720 and / or memory 704. Examples include computer readable media encoded with data structures and computer readable media encoded with computer program code 708. For example, a non-transitory computer readable medium including stored program code 708 may include program code 708 for supporting suspension of an RRC connection between a UE and a base station during a positioning session in a manner consistent with disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer readable medium 720 includes physical computer storage media. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code 708 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. As used herein, "disk" and "disc" include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, although a "disk" typically reproduces data magnetically and a "disc" reproduces data optically using a laser. Combinations of the above are also intended to be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0247] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 720, the instructions and / or data may be provided as signals on a transmission medium contained within a communications device. For example, a communications device may include a transceiver 710 having signals indicative of the instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to perform the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communications device includes a transmission medium having signals indicative of information to perform the disclosed functions.

[0248] Memory 704 may represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 704 may include, for example, primary memory and / or secondary memory. Primary memory may include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, etc. Although shown in this example as separate from one or more processors 702, it should be understood that all or a portion of the primary memory may be provided within or otherwise co-located / coupled with one or more processors 702. Secondary memory may include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as the primary memory, and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as, for example, disk drives, optical disk drives, tape drives, solid state memory drives, etc.

[0249] In certain implementations, the secondary memory may operably receive or be otherwise configurable to couple to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 720. Thus, in certain example implementations, the methods and / or apparatus presented herein may take the form of a computer-readable medium 720 that may include computer-implementable program code 708 stored thereon, in whole or in part, which when executed by one or more processors 702 may be operably enabled to perform all or a portion of the example operations as described herein. The computer-readable medium 720 may be part of the memory 704.

[0250] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 800 for supporting location determination of a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, performed by a UE, such as the UE 102 shown in FIG. 1 or the UE 500 shown in FIG. 5, in a manner consistent with the disclosed implementations.

[0251] In block 802, the UE receives a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination, for example, as described in stage 14 of Figure 3. The request to perform periodic or triggered location determination may be received from a first location server, for example, a Location Management Function (e.g., LMF 152). The means for receiving the request to perform periodic or triggered location determination may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520 of the UE 500, such as the positioning session module 522 shown in Figure 5.

[0252] In block 804, the UE receives an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, e.g., as described in stage 14 of Figure 3 and stage 1 of Figures 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E. In one implementation, the request to perform periodic or triggered position determination includes an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, e.g., as described in stage 14 of Figure 3 and stage 1 of Figures 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E. The means for receiving an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in an RRC inactive state may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as the positioning session module 522 shown in FIG. 5.

[0253] In block 806, the UE detects an event while in an RRC inactive state, e.g., as described in block 402 and stage 2 of Figure 4A and stages 2 and 3 of Figures 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E. Means for detecting an event while in an RRC inactive state may include the wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as the RRC inactive module 524 and positioning session module 522 shown in Figure 5.

[0254] In block 808, the UE transmits a first event report and a second event report while the UE is in an RRC inactive state to report the event and enable location of the UE, where the first event report and the second event report are transmitted using Small Data Transmission (SDT), for example, as described in stages 3 and 15 of Figure 4A, stages 5 and 15 of Figure 4B, and stages 4 and 14 of Figure 4E, respectively. The first event report and the second event report may be transmitted to a second location server, such as, for example, a Location Management Function (e.g., LMF 152), which may be the same as the first location server. The means for transmitting a first event report and a second event report to report an event and enable location determination of the UE while the UE is in an RRC inactive state, where the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted using small data transmission (SDT), may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as a positioning session module 522 and an RRC resume module 526 shown in FIG. 5.

[0255] In some implementations, each of the first and second event reports is transmitted in an RRC Resume Request message, for example, by the UE, as described, for example, in stages 3 and 15 of Figure 4A, stages 5 and 15 of Figure 4B, and stages 4 and 14 of Figure 4E. Means for transmitting each of the first and second event reports in an RRC Resume Request message may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as the positioning session module 522 and the RRC resume module 526 shown in Figure 5.

[0256] In some implementations, the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is related to the first event report, e.g., as described for stage 15 of FIG. 4B and stage 14 of FIG. 4E. In one implementation, the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes an event type parameter, e.g., as described for stage 15 of FIG. 4B and stage 14 of FIG. 4E. In one implementation, the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, e.g., as described for stages 5 and 15 of FIG. 4B and stages 4 and 14 of FIG. 4E, the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes a common identifier. In one implementation, the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report enables processing (e.g., by the second location server) of the second event report as a continuation of the first event report, e.g., as described for stage 18 of FIG. 4B and stage 17 of FIG. 4E.

[0257] In a particular implementation, referred to herein as a UL+DL implementation, an indication is received (e.g., by the UE) that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, e.g., as described in stage 14 of FIG. 3 and stage 1 of FIG. 4B and FIG. 4E. The first event report may include, e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration included by the UE, e.g., as described in stage 3 of FIG. 4A, stage 5 of FIG. 4B, and stage 4 of FIG. 4E. The UE may then receive a UL PRS configuration from the serving base station, e.g., as described in stages 6b and 13 of FIG. 4A, stage 12 of FIG. 4B, and stage 11 of FIG. 4E. In one implementation, the UL PRS configuration is received in a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT, e.g., as described in stage 6b of FIG. 4A. In one implementation, the UL PRS configuration is received in an RRC release message, e.g., as described in stage 13 of Figure 4A, stage 12 of Figure 4B, and stage 11 of Figure 4E. In another implementation, the UL PRS configuration is received in a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT, e.g., as described in stage 6b of Figure 4A. Means for receiving an indication that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in an RRC inactive state may include the wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 504 and / or medium 520 of the UE 500, such as the positioning session module 522 shown in Figure 5.The means for including a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration in the first event report may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 with dedicated hardware or with executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as the positioning session module 522 and RRC resume module 526 shown in FIG. 5. The means for receiving a UL positioning reference signal configuration from a base station may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 with dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as the positioning session module 522 and RRC resume module 526 shown in FIG. 5.

[0258] In some implementations (e.g., in some DL implementations or UL+DL implementations), the second event report includes an LPP location information provision message (e.g., included by the UE) that includes location measurements generated by the UE, e.g., as described in FIG. 4A, stage 15 of FIG. 4B, and stage 14 of FIG. 4E. The UE may receive downlink (DL) PRS from one or more base stations (e.g., one or more gNBs 110), e.g., as described in FIG. 4A, stage 14a, FIG. 4B, stage 13, FIG. 4E, and stage 12. The UE may then measure the DL PRS while in an RRC inactive state to generate location measurements, e.g., as described in FIG. 4A, stage 14a, FIG. 4B, stage 13, FIG. 4E, and stage 12. The means for including the LPP location information providing message including the location measurements generated by the UE in the second event report may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as the positioning session module 522 and the RRC resume module 526 shown in Figure 5. The means for receiving downlink (DL) PRS from one or more base stations may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as the positioning session module 522 shown in Figure 5. The means for measuring DL PRS while in an RRC inactive state to generate location measurements may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as a positioning session module 522 shown in FIG. 5.

[0259] In some of the UL+DL implementations, the UE may further transmit a UL PRS while in the RRC inactive state based on a UL PRS configuration that may enable UL PRS measurements by multiple base stations (e.g., gNB 110), and the location of the UE may be determined, e.g., by a second location server, based at least in part on the UL PRS measurements, e.g., as described in stages 14b, 17, and 17.5 of Figure 4A, stages 13, 14, and 23 of Figure 4B, and stages 12, 13, and 22 of Figure 4E. For example, the multiple base stations may obtain UL PRS measurements based on the transmitted UL PRS and may transmit the UL PRS measurements to the second location server. The means for transmitting a UL PRS while in an RRC inactive state based on a UL PRS configuration, which may enable UL PRS measurements by multiple base stations, where the location of the UE is determined based at least in part on the UL PRS measurements, may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as a positioning session module 522 shown in FIG. 5.

[0260] In some implementations (e.g., some of the UL+DL implementations), the UE may receive a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) UL PRS activation from the serving base station (e.g., serving gNB 110) in one of the subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release messages, e.g., as described in stages 9 and 13 of Figure 4A. The UE may later receive a MAC-CE UL PRS deactivation from the serving base station in one of the subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release messages, e.g., as described in stages 18b and 20 of Figure 4A. The means for receiving a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) UL PRS activation from a serving base station in one of a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release message, and a MAC-CE UL PRS deactivation from a serving base station in one of a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release message, may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as a positioning session module 522 and an RRC resume module 526 shown in FIG. 5 .

[0261] In some implementations, the UE may provide a serving base station, a location server (e.g., a first or second location server), or both, with the positioning capability of the UE indicating support for at least one of uplink positioning, downlink positioning, uplink and downlink positioning, or a combination thereof, while in an RRC inactive state, e.g., as described in stage 13 of FIG. 3 and stage 1a of FIG. 4A. Means for providing a serving base station, a location server, or both, with the positioning capability indicating support for at least one of uplink positioning, downlink positioning, uplink and downlink positioning, or a combination thereof, while in an RRC inactive state, may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 504 and / or a medium 520 in the UE 500, such as a positioning session module 522 shown in FIG.

[0262] In some implementations, the request to perform periodic or triggered position location, which may be received, for example, from the first location server, includes delayed MT-LR information for the UE, and the UE can provide the delayed MT-LR information for the UE and the UE's positioning capability to a serving base station (e.g., serving gNB 110), where the delayed MT-LR information includes one or more of a type of event, a requested positioning method, and a reporting interval, and the delayed MT-LR information and the UE's positioning capability enable the UE to be transitioned (e.g., by the serving base station) to an RRC inactive state, for example, as described in stage 14 of FIG. 3 and stage 1a and block 402 of FIG. 4A. The means for providing the delayed MT-LR information for the UE and the UE's positioning capability to the serving base station may include, for example, implementing the wireless transceiver 510 and one or more processors 502 with dedicated hardware, or executable code or software instructions in the memory 504 and / or medium 520 in the UE 500, such as the positioning session module 522 shown in FIG. 5.

[0263] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 900 for supporting location determination of a user equipment (e.g., UE 102) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, performed by a location server, such as the LMF 152 shown in FIG. 1 or the location server 600 shown in FIG. 6, in a manner consistent with the disclosed implementations.

[0264] In block 902, the location server sends a request to the UE to perform periodic or triggered location determination, e.g., as described in stage 14 of Figure 3. Means for sending a request to the UE to perform periodic or triggered location determination may include, for example, an external interface 616 and one or more processors 602 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 604 and / or medium 620 in the location server 600, such as the positioning session module 622 shown in Figure 6.

[0265] In block 904, the location server transmits an indication to the UE of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, e.g., as described in stage 14 of Figure 3 and stage 1 of Figures 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E. Means for transmitting an indication to the UE of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in an RRC inactive state may include, for example, an external interface 616 and one or more processors 602 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 604 and / or medium 620 in the location server 600, such as the positioning session module 622 shown in Figure 6.

[0266] In block 906, the location server receives a first event report and a second event report from the UE to report detection of an event by the UE and enable location determination of the UE while the UE is in an RRC inactive state, for example as described in stages 3, 4 and 15, 16 of FIG. 4A, stages 5-7 and 15-17 of FIG. 4B, and stages 4-6 and 14-16 of FIG. 4E, where the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted by the UE using small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in an RRC inactive state. The means for receiving a first event report and a second event report from the UE while the UE is in an RRC inactive state to report detection of an event by the UE and enable location determination of the UE, the first event report and the second event report each being sent by the UE using small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in an RRC inactive state, may include, for example, an external interface 616 and one or more processors 602 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in a memory 604 and / or a medium 620 in the location server 600, such as a positioning session module 622 shown in FIG. 6.

[0267] In one implementation, the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report, for example, as described in stages 15-18 of FIG. 4B and stages 14-17 of FIG. 4E. In one implementation, the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes an event type parameter, for example, as described in stages 15-18 of FIG. 4B and stages 14-17 of FIG. 4E. In one implementation, the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, and the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes the common identifier, for example, as described in stages 5 and 15-18 of FIG. 4B and stages 4 and 14-17 of FIG. 4E. The location server can treat the second event report as a continuation of the first event report based on the indication that the second event report is related to the first event report, for example, as described in stage 18 of FIG. 4B and stage 17 of FIG. 4E. The means for treating the second event report as a continuation of the first event report based on an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report may include, for example, implementing the external interface 616 and one or more processors 602 having dedicated hardware, or executable code or software instructions in the memory 604 and / or medium 620 in the location server 600, such as the positioning session module 622 shown in FIG. 6.

[0268] In some implementations, referred to herein as UL+DL implementations, an indication that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event is sent (e.g., by a location server) when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, e.g., as described in stage 14 of FIG. 3 and stage 1 of FIG. 4B and FIG. 4E. The first event report may then include a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, e.g., as described in stage 3 of FIG. 4A, stage 5 of FIG. 4B, and stage 4 of FIG. 4E. The location server may then send a request for a UL PRS configuration to a serving base station (e.g., serving gNB 110) for the UE while the UE is in an RRC inactive state, e.g., as described in stage 5 of FIG. 4A, stage 8 of FIG. 4B, and stage 7 of FIG. 4E. The location server may then receive the UL PRS configuration from the serving base station, where the serving base station transmits the UL PRS configuration to the UE, e.g., as described in stages 6b, 7, and 13 of Figure 4A, stages 8 and 12 of Figure 4B, and stages 7 and 11 of Figure 4E. The means for transmitting an indication that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for subsequent location reporting events when the UE is in an RRC inactive state may include, for example, the external interface 616 and one or more processors 602 with dedicated hardware or may implement executable code or software instructions in the memory 604 and / or medium 620 in the location server 600, such as the positioning session module 622 shown in Figure 6. The means for sending a request for a UL positioning reference signal for the UE to a serving base station while the UE is in an RRC inactive state may include, for example, an external interface 616 and one or more processors 602 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 604 and / or medium 620 in the location server 600, such as a positioning session module 622 shown in FIG. 6.The means for receiving the UL positioning reference signal configuration from the serving base station may include, for example, an external interface 616 and one or more processors 602 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 604 and / or medium 620 within the location server 600, such as the positioning session module 622 shown in FIG. 6.

[0269] In some of the UL+DL implementations, the location server sends a UL measurement request including the UL PRS configuration to at least one base station (e.g., gNB 110), as described, for example, in stage 11 of Figure 4A, stage 8 of Figure 4B, and stage 7 of Figure 4E. Means for sending the UL measurement request to at least one base station including the UL PRS configuration are implemented, for example, in the external interface 616 having dedicated hardware and one or more processors 602, or executable code or software instructions in the memory 604 and / or medium 620 in the location server 600, such as the positioning session module 622 shown in Figure 6.

[0270] In some of the UL+DL implementations, the second event report may include an LPP Provide Location Information message including location measurements performed by the UE in the RRC Inactive state, e.g., as described in stages 15 and 16 of Figure 4A, stages 15-17 of Figure 4B, and stages 14-16 of Figure 4E. The location server may then determine the location of the UE based at least in part on the location measurements in the LPP Provide Location Information message, e.g., as described in stage 17.5 of Figure 4A, stage 23 of Figure 4B, and stage 22 of Figure 4E. The means for determining the location of the UE based at least in part on the location measurements in the LPP Provide Location Information message may include, for example, an external interface 616 and one or more processors 602 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 604 and / or medium 620 in the location server 600, such as the positioning session module 622 shown in Figure 6.

[0271] In some of the UL+DL implementations, the location server may receive a measurement response from at least one base station including measurements of UL PRS transmitted by the UE in the RRC inactive state, e.g., as described in stage 17 of FIG. 4A, stage 14 of FIG. 4B, and stage 13 of FIG. 4E. The location server may then determine the location of the UE based further on the measurement response from the at least one base station, e.g., as described in stage 17.5 of FIG. 4A, stage 23 of FIG. 4B, and stage 22 of FIG. 4E. The means for receiving a measurement response from at least one base station including measurements of UL positioning reference signals transmitted by the UE in the RRC inactive state may include, for example, an external interface 616 and one or more processors 602 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 604 and / or medium 620 in the location server 600, such as the positioning session module 622 shown in FIG. 6. The means for determining the location of the UE further based on the measurement response from the at least one base station may include, for example, an external interface 616 and one or more processors 602 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 604 and / or medium 620 in the location server 600, such as a positioning session module 622 shown in FIG. 6.

[0272] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0273] Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may realize the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0274] The various example logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0275] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0276] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of media. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0277] In view of this description, embodiments may include various combinations of features. Example implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0278] Clause 1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) to support location location of the UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, comprising: receiving a request to perform periodic or triggered location location; receiving an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; detecting an event while in the RRC inactive state; and sending a first event report and a second event report to report the event and enable location location of the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each sent using small data transmission (SDT).

[0279] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination is received from a location server, and a first event report and a second event report are sent to the location server.

[0280] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the location server comprises a Location Management Function (LMF).

[0281] Clause 4. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein each of the first event report and the second event report is transmitted in an RRC resume request message.

[0282] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0283] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes an event type parameter.

[0284] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 5 or 6, wherein the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, and wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes the common identifier.

[0285] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 5 to 7, wherein an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report enables the second event report to be treated as a continuation of the first event report.

[0286] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the indication that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event is received when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, and the first event report includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, and the method further includes receiving a UL PRS configuration from a serving base station.

[0287] Clause 10. The method of clause 9, wherein the UL PRS configuration is received in a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT.

[0288] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 9 or 10, wherein the UL PRS configuration is received in an RRC release message.

[0289] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 9 to 11, further comprising transmitting UL positioning reference signals (PRSs) while in an RRC inactive state based on a UL PRS configuration enabling UL PRS measurements by multiple base stations, wherein a location of the UE is determined based at least in part on the UL PRS measurements.

[0290] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 9 to 12, further comprising receiving a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) UL PRS activation from the serving base station in one of a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release message, and receiving a MAC-CE UL PRS deactivation from the serving base station in one of a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release message.

[0291] Clause 14. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the second event report comprises an LPP Location Information Provide message including location measurements generated by the UE.

[0292] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, further comprising receiving a downlink (DL) PRS from one or more base stations and measuring the DL PRS while in an RRC inactive state to generate a location measurement.

[0293] Clause 16. The method of any of clauses 1 to 15, further comprising providing a positioning capability to a serving base station, a location server, or both, the positioning capability indicating support while in an RRC inactive state for at least one of uplink positioning, downlink positioning, uplink and downlink positioning, or a combination thereof.

[0294] Clause 17. The method of any of clauses 1 to 16, wherein the request to perform periodic or triggered location determination includes delayed MT-LR information for the UE, and the method further includes providing the delayed MT-LR information for the UE and the UE's positioning capability to a serving base station, the delayed MT-LR information including one or more of a type of event, a requested positioning method, and a reporting interval, and the delayed MT-LR information and the UE's positioning capability enable the UE to transition to an RRC inactive state.

[0295] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 1 to 17, wherein the request to perform periodic or triggered positioning includes an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in an RRC inactive state.

[0296] Clause 19. A user equipment (UE) configured to support location determination of a UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the UE comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with an entity in a wireless network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive, via the wireless transceiver, a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination; receive, via the wireless transceiver, an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; detect an event while in the RRC inactive state; and transmit, via the wireless transceiver, a first event report and a second event report to report the event; and enable location determination of the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state, the first event report and the second event report each being transmitted using small data transmission (SDT).

[0297] Clause 20. The UE of clause 19, wherein a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination is received from the location server, and the first event report and the second event report are sent to the location server.

[0298] Clause 21. The UE of clause 20, wherein the location server comprises a Location Management Function (LMF).

[0299] Clause 22. The UE of any of clauses 19 to 21, wherein each of the first event report and the second event report is sent in an RRC resumption request message.

[0300] Clause 23. The UE of any of clauses 19 to 22, wherein the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0301] Clause 24. The UE of clause 23, wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes an event type parameter.

[0302] Clause 25. The UE of any of clauses 23 or 24, wherein the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, and the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes the common identifier.

[0303] Clause 26. The UE of any of clauses 23 to 25, wherein an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report enables the UE to treat the second event report as a continuation of the first event report.

[0304] Clause 27. A UE as described in any of clauses 19 to 26, wherein an indication that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event is received when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, and the first event report includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, and the at least one processor is further configured to receive a UL PRS configuration from a serving base station via the wireless transceiver.

[0305] Clause 28. The UE of clause 27, wherein the UL PRS configuration is received in a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT.

[0306] Clause 29. The UE of any of clauses 27 or 28, wherein the UL PRS configuration is received in an RRC release message.

[0307] Clause 30. The UE of any of clauses 27 to 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit, while in an RRC inactive state, UL positioning reference signals (PRSs) via the wireless transceiver based on a UL PRS configuration enabling UL PRS measurements by multiple base stations, and a location of the UE is determined based at least in part on the UL PRS measurements.

[0308] Clause 31. The UE of any of clauses 27 to 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the wireless transceiver, a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) UL PRS activation from the serving base station in one of a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release message, and a MAC-CE UL PRS deactivation from the serving base station in one of a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release message.

[0309] Clause 32. The UE of any of clauses 19 to 31, wherein the second event report comprises an LPP Location Information Provide message including location measurements generated by the UE.

[0310] Clause 33. The UE of clause 32, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive downlink (DL) PRS from one or more base stations via the wireless transceiver and measure the DL PRS while in an RRC inactive state to generate a location measurement.

[0311] Clause 34. The UE of any of clauses 19 to 33, providing positioning capability to a serving base station, a location server, or both, the positioning capability indicating support while in an RRC inactive state for at least one of uplink positioning, downlink positioning, uplink and downlink positioning, or a combination thereof.

[0312] Clause 35. A UE as described in any of clauses 19 to 34, wherein the request to perform periodic or triggered location determination includes delayed MT-LR information for the UE, and the method further includes providing the delayed MT-LR information for the UE and the UE's positioning capability to a serving base station, the delayed MT-LR information including one or more of a type of event, a requested positioning method, and a reporting interval, and the delayed MT-LR information and the UE's positioning capability enable the UE to transition to an RRC inactive state.

[0313] Clause 36. A UE as described in any of clauses 19 to 35, wherein the request to perform periodic or triggered positioning includes an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in an RRC inactive state.

[0314] Clause 37. A user equipment (UE) configured to support location determination of a UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, comprising: means for receiving a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination; means for receiving an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; means for detecting an event while in the RRC inactive state; and means for transmitting a first event report and a second event report while the UE is in the RRC inactive state to report the event and enable location determination of the UE, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted via small data transmission (SDT).

[0315] Clause 38. The UE of clause 37, wherein a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination is received from the location server, and the first event report and the second event report are sent to the location server.

[0316] Clause 39. The UE according to clause 38, wherein the location server comprises a Location Management Function (LMF).

[0317] Clause 40. The UE of any of clauses 37 to 39, wherein each of the first event report and the second event report is sent in an RRC resumption request message.

[0318] Clause 41. The UE of any of clauses 37 to 40, wherein the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0319] Clause 42. The UE of clause 41, wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes an event type parameter.

[0320] Clause 43. The UE of any of clauses 41 or 42, wherein the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, and wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes the common identifier.

[0321] Clause 44. The UE of any of clauses 41 to 43, wherein an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report enables the UE to treat the second event report as a continuation of the first event report.

[0322] Clause 45. A UE as described in any of clauses 37 to 44, wherein when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, an indication is received that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event, and the first event report includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, and the UE further comprises means for receiving a UL PRS configuration from a serving base station.

[0323] Clause 46. The UE of clause 45, wherein the UL PRS configuration is received in a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT.

[0324] Clause 47. The UE of any of clauses 45 or 46, wherein the UL PRS configuration is received in an RRC release message.

[0325] Clause 48. The UE of any of clauses 45 to 47, further comprising means for transmitting UL positioning reference signals (PRSs) while in an RRC inactive state based on a UL PRS configuration enabling UL PRS measurements by a plurality of base stations, and wherein a location of the UE is determined based at least in part on the UL PRS measurements.

[0326] Clause 49. The UE of any of clauses 45 to 48, further comprising means for receiving a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), and for receiving UL PRS activation from the serving base station in one of a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release message, and for receiving MAC-CE UL PRS deactivation from the serving base station in one of a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release message.

[0327] Clause 50. The UE according to any of clauses 37 to 49, wherein the second event report comprises an LPP Location Information Provide message including location measurements performed by the UE.

[0328] Clause 51. The UE of clause 50, further comprising means for receiving a downlink (DL) PRS from one or more base stations and means for measuring the DL PRS while in an RRC inactive state to generate location measurements.

[0329] Clause 52. The UE of any of clauses 37 to 51, further comprising means for providing positioning capability to a serving base station, a location server, or both, the positioning capability indicating support for at least one of uplink positioning, downlink positioning, uplink and downlink positioning, or combinations thereof while in an RRC inactive state.

[0330] Clause 53. A UE as described in any of clauses 37 to 52, wherein the request to perform periodic or triggered position location includes delayed MT-LR information for the UE, and the method further includes providing the delayed MT-LR information for the UE to a serving base station, the delayed MT-LR information including one or more of a type of event, a requested positioning method, and a reporting interval, and the delayed MT-LR information and the positioning capability of the UE enable the UE to transition to an RRC inactive state.

[0331] Clause 54. A UE as described in any of clauses 37 to 53, wherein the request to perform periodic or triggered positioning includes an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in an RRC inactive state.

[0332] Clause 55. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon program code, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor within a user equipment (UE) to support location determination of a UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the program code including instructions for receiving a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination, receiving an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state, detecting an event while in the RRC inactive state, transmitting a first event report and a second event report to report the event, and enabling location determination of the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state, the first event report and the second event report each being transmitted using small data transmission (SDT).

[0333] Clause 56. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 55, wherein a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination is received from the location server, and the first event report and the second event report are sent to the location server.

[0334] Clause 57. The non-transitory storage medium according to clause 56, wherein the location server comprises a Location Management Function (LMF).

[0335] Clause 58. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 55 to 57, wherein each of the first event report and the second event report is transmitted in an RRC resume request message.

[0336] Clause 59. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 55 to 58, wherein the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0337] Clause 60. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 59, wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes an event type parameter.

[0338] Clause 61. A non-transitory storage medium as described in either clause 59 or 60, wherein the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, and the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes the common identifier.

[0339] Clause 62. A non-transitory storage medium according to any of clauses 59 to 61, wherein an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report enables the second event report to be treated as a continuation of the first event report.

[0340] Clause 63. A non-transitory storage medium according to any of clauses 55 to 62, wherein when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, an indication is received that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event, and the first event report includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, and the program code further includes instructions for receiving the UL PRS configuration from the serving base station.

[0341] Clause 64. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 63, wherein the UL PRS configuration is received in a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT.

[0342] Clause 65. A non-transitory storage medium according to any of clauses 63 to 64, wherein the UL PRS configuration is received in an RRC release message.

[0343] Clause 66. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 63 to 65, wherein the program code further comprises instructions for transmitting UL positioning reference signals (PRSs) while in an RRC inactive state based on a UL PRS configuration that enables UL PRS measurements by multiple base stations, and wherein a location of the UE is determined based at least in part on the UL PRS measurements.

[0344] Clause 67. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 63 to 66, further comprising instructions, the program code being configured to receive a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) UL PRS activation from the serving base station in one of a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release message, and receive a MAC-CE UL PRS deactivation from the serving base station in one of a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT or RRC release message.

[0345] Clause 68. The non-transitory storage medium according to any of clauses 55 to 67, wherein the second event report comprises an LPP Location Information Provide message including location measurements performed by the UE.

[0346] Clause 69. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 68, wherein the program code further comprises instructions for receiving a downlink (DL) PRS from one or more base stations and measuring the DL PRS while in an RRC inactive state to generate a location measurement.

[0347] Clause 70. A non-transitory storage medium according to any of clauses 55 to 69, providing a positioning capability to a serving base station, a location server, or both, the positioning capability indicating support for at least one of uplink positioning, downlink positioning, uplink and downlink positioning, or a combination thereof while in an RRC inactive state.

[0348] Clause 71. A non-transitory storage medium as described in any of clauses 55 to 70, wherein the request to perform periodic or triggered position location includes delayed MT-LR information for the UE, and the method further includes providing the delayed MT-LR information for the UE to a serving base station, the delayed MT-LR information including one or more of a type of event, a requested positioning method, and a reporting interval, and the delayed MT-LR information and the positioning capability of the UE enable the UE to transition to an RRC inactive state.

[0349] Clause 72. A non-transitory storage medium according to any of clauses 55 to 71, wherein the request to perform periodic or triggered positioning includes an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in an RRC inactive state.

[0350] Clause 73. A method performed by a location server to support location determination of a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, comprising: sending a request to the UE to perform periodic or triggered location determination; sending an indication to the UE of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for subsequent location reporting events when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; and receiving a first event report and a second event report from the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state to report detection of an event by the UE and enable location determination of the UE, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each sent by the UE using small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in the RRC inactive state.

[0351] Clause 74. The method of clause 73, wherein the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0352] Clause 75. The method of clause 74, wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report comprises an event type parameter.

[0353] Clause 76. The method of any of clauses 74 or 75, wherein the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, and the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes the common identifier.

[0354] Clause 77. The method of any of clauses 74 to 76, further comprising treating the second event report as a continuation of the first event report based on an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0355] Clause 78. The method of any of clauses 73 to 77, wherein the indication that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event is transmitted when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, and the first event report includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, the method further including: sending a request for an UL PRS configuration to a serving base station for the UE while the UE is in an RRC inactive state; and receiving the UL PRS configuration from the serving base station, the serving base station sending the UL PRS configuration to the UE.

[0356] Clause 79. The method of clause 78, further comprising transmitting a UL measurement request including the UL PRS configuration to at least one base station.

[0357] Clause 80. The method of any of clauses 78 or 79, wherein the second event report includes an LPP Location Information Provide message including location measurements performed by the UE in an RRC inactive state, and the method further includes determining a location of the UE based at least in part on the location measurements in the LPP Location Information Provide message.

[0358] Clause 81. The method of clause 80, further comprising: receiving a measurement response from at least one base station including a measurement value of a UL PRS transmitted by the UE in an RRC inactive state; and determining a location further based on the measurement response from the at least one base station.

[0359] Clause 82. A method according to any of clauses 73 to 81, wherein the location server comprises a Location Management Function (LMF).

[0360] Clause 83. A location server configured to support location determination of a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, comprising: an external interface configured to wirelessly communicate with an entity in a wireless network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: send a request to the UE to perform periodic or triggered location determination via the external interface; when the UE is in the RRC inactive state, send an indication to the UE of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event via the external interface; and receive a first event report and a second event report from the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state, to report detection of an event by the UE and enable location determination of the UE, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted by the UE using small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in the RRC inactive state.

[0361] Clause 84. The location server of clause 83, wherein the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0362] Clause 85. The location server of clause 84, wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes an event type parameter.

[0363] Clause 86. A location server as described in either clause 84 or 85, wherein the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, and wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes the common identifier.

[0364] Clause 87. The location server of any of clauses 84 to 86, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to treat the second event report as a continuation of the first event report based on an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0365] Clause 88. The location server of any of clauses 83 to 87, wherein the indication that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event is transmitted when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, and the first event report includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, and the at least one processor is further configured to send a request for a UL PRS configuration to a serving base station for the UE via an external interface while the UE is in an RRC inactive state, and receive a UL PRS configuration from the serving base station via the external interface, and the serving base station transmits the UL PRS configuration to the UE.

[0366] Clause 89. The location server of clause 88, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send a UL measurement request including the UL PRS configuration to the at least one base station.

[0367] Clause 90. A location server as described in any of clauses 88 to 89, wherein the second event report includes an LPP location information providing message including location measurements performed by the UE in an RRC inactive state, and the at least one processor is further configured to determine a location of the UE based at least in part on the location measurements in the LPP location information providing message.

[0368] Clause 91. The location server of clause 90, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the external interface, a measurement response from the at least one base station, the measurement response including a measurement value of the UL PRS transmitted by the UE in an RRC inactive state, and determine a location further based on the measurement response from the at least one base station.

[0369] Clause 92. A location server according to any one of clauses 83 to 91, wherein the location server comprises a location management function (LMF).

[0370] Clause 93. A location server configured to support location determination of a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, comprising: means for transmitting a request to the UE to perform periodic or triggered location determination; means for transmitting an indication to the UE of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for subsequent location reporting events when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; and means for receiving a first event report and a second event report from the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state to report detection of an event by the UE and enable location determination of the UE, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted by the UE using small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in the RRC inactive state.

[0371] Clause 94. The location server of clause 93, wherein the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0372] Clause 95. The location server of clause 94, wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report comprises an event type parameter.

[0373] Clause 96. A location server as described in either clause 94 or 95, wherein the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, and wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes the common identifier.

[0374] Clause 97. The location server of any of clauses 94 to 96, further comprising means for treating the second event report as a continuation of the first event report based on an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0375] Clause 98. The location server of any of clauses 93 to 97, wherein the indication that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event is transmitted when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, and the first event report includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, and the location server further comprises means for sending a request for a UL PRS configuration to a serving base station for the UE while the UE is in an RRC inactive state, and means for receiving the UL PRS configuration from the serving base station, and the serving base station sends the UL PRS configuration to the UE.

[0376] Clause 99. The location server of clause 98, further comprising means for transmitting a UL measurement request including the UL PRS configuration to at least one base station.

[0377] Clause 100. The location server of any of clauses 98 to 99, wherein the second event report includes an LPP Location Information Provide message including location measurements performed by the UE in an RRC inactive state, and the method further comprises means for determining a location of the UE based at least in part on the location measurements in the LPP Location Information Provide message.

[0378] Clause 101. The location server of clause 100, further comprising: means for receiving from at least one base station a measurement response including a measurement value of a UL PRS transmitted by a UE in an RRC inactive state; and means for determining a location further based on the measurement response from the at least one base station.

[0379] Clause 102. A location server according to any of clauses 93 to 101, wherein the location server comprises a Location Management Function (LMF).

[0380] Clause 103. A non-transitory storage medium including stored program code, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in a location server to support location determination of a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the program code including instructions for sending a request to the UE to perform periodic or triggered location determination, receiving an indication to the UE of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning are to be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state, and receiving a first event report and a second event report from the UE to report detection of an event by the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state and enable location determination of the UE, the first event report and the second event report each being transmitted by the UE using small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in the RRC inactive state.

[0381] Clause 104. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 103, wherein the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0382] Clause 105. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 104, wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes an event type parameter.

[0383] Clause 106. A non-transitory storage medium according to any of clauses 104 to 105, wherein the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, and the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes the common identifier.

[0384] Clause 107. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 104 to 106, wherein the program further includes instructions for treating the second event report as a continuation of the first event report based on an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

[0385] Clause 108. A non-transitory storage medium as described in any one of clauses 103 to 107, wherein the indication that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event is transmitted when the UE is in an RRC inactive state, and the first event report includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration, and the at least one processor is further configured to send a request for a UL PRS configuration to a serving base station for the UE while the UE is in an RRC inactive state and receive a UL PRS configuration from the serving base station, and the serving base station transmits the UL PRS configuration to the UE.

[0386] Clause 109. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 108, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send a UL measurement request including the UL PRS configuration to the at least one base station.

[0387] Clause 110. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 108 or 109, wherein the second event report includes an LPP location information providing message including location measurements performed by the UE in an RRC inactive state, and the at least one processor is further configured to determine a location of the UE based at least in part on the location measurements in the LPP location information providing message.

[0388] Clause 111. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 110, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, from the at least one base station, a measurement response including a measurement value of the UL PRS transmitted by the UE in an RRC inactive state, and determine a location further based on the measurement response from the at least one base station.

[0389] Clause 112. A non-transitory storage medium according to any one of clauses 103 to 111, wherein the location server comprises a Location Management Function (LMF).

[0390] Although the above disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Further, although elements of the disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

Claims

1. 1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) to support location determination of the UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the method comprising: receiving a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination; receiving an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; Detecting an event while in the RRC inactive state; transmitting a first event report and a second event report while the UE is in the RRC inactive state to report the event and enable UE location determination, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted using small data transmission (SDT).

2. a request to perform the periodic or triggered location is received from a location server, and the first event report and the second event report are sent to the location server; The method of claim 1 , wherein the location server comprises a Location Management Function (LMF).

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the first event report and the second event report is transmitted in an RRC resume request message.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

5. the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes an event type parameter; or the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, and the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes the common identifier; or The method of claim 4 , wherein the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report enables the second event report to be treated as a continuation of the first event report.

6. the indication that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event is received when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; the first event report includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration; The method further includes receiving the UL PRS configuration from a serving base station; The method of claim 1 , wherein the UL PRS configuration is received in a subsequent downlink (DL) SDT.

7. 1. A user equipment (UE) configured to support location determination for a UE in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the UE comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with entities in a wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory; wherein the at least one processor: receiving, via the wireless transceiver, a request to perform periodic or triggered location determination; receiving, via the wireless transceiver, an indication of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; Detecting an event while in the RRC inactive state; a UE configured to transmit, via the wireless transceiver, a first event report and a second event report, reporting the events and enabling location determination of the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted using small data transmission (SDT).

8. 8. The UE of claim 7, further comprising means for performing the method of any one of claims 2 to 6.

9. 1. A method performed by a location server to support location determination of a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, comprising: sending a request to the UE to perform periodic or triggered location location; sending an indication to the UE of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; receiving a first event report and a second event report from the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state to report detection of an event by the UE and enable locating the UE, wherein the first event report and the second event report are each transmitted by the UE using small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in the RRC inactive state.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the second event report includes an indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

11. the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes an event type parameter; or The method of claim 10 , wherein the first event report and the second event report each include a common identifier, and the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report includes the common identifier.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising treating the second event report as a continuation of the first event report based on the indication that the second event report is associated with the first event report.

13. the indication that uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event is sent when the UE is in the RRC inactive state; the first event report includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) Request Assistance Data message indicating a request for an uplink (UL) positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration; The method comprises: sending a request for the UL PRS configuration to a serving base station for the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state; receiving the UL PRS configuration from the serving base station, wherein the serving base station transmits the UL PRS configuration to the UE; The method comprises: The method of claim 9 , further comprising: transmitting a UL measurement request to at least one base station, the UL measurement request including the UL PRS configuration.

14. 1. A location server configured to support location determination of a user equipment (UE) in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, the location server comprising: an external interface configured to wirelessly communicate with entities in a wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory; wherein the at least one processor: sending a request to the UE via the external interface to perform periodic or triggered location determination; When the UE is in the RRC inactive state, sending an indication to the UE via the external interface of whether uplink positioning, downlink positioning, or uplink and downlink positioning will be used for a subsequent location reporting event; a location server configured to receive a first event report and a second event report from the UE via the external interface to report detection of an event by the UE and enable location determination of the UE while the UE is in the RRC inactive state, the first event report and the second event report each being transmitted by the UE using small data transmission (SDT) while the UE is in the RRC inactive state.

15. 15. A location server according to claim 14, further comprising means for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 10 to 13.

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