Setting radio positioning signal priority

Abstract

According to some embodiments, a method is performed by a wireless device capable of receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS). The method includes receiving a PRS prioritization window (PPW) configuration from a network node. The PPW configuration includes a PRS priority indicator indicating a priority associated with one or more of a positioning frequency layer (PFL), a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource. The priority indicates a priority of the PRS relative to other signals or channels received by the wireless device during the PPW. The method further includes monitoring the PRS during the PPW according to the priority indicator in the PPW configuration.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications and, more particularly, to configuring priorities for wireless positioning signals. [Background technology]

[0002] In general, all terms used herein should be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the+ element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. should be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless otherwise specified. The steps of any method disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as after or before another step and / or it is implicit that a step must be after or before another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, where appropriate. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may be applied to any other embodiment, and vice versa. Other objects, features, and advantages of the accompanying embodiments will become apparent from the following description.

[0003] Positioning has been a topic in Long Term Evolution (LTE) standardization since Release 9 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). The primary objective was initially to meet regulatory requirements for emergency call positioning, but other use cases such as positioning for the Industrial Internet of Things (I-IoT) are becoming important. Positioning in New Radio (NR) is supported, for example, by the architecture shown in Figure 1.

[0004] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the Location Services (LCS) protocol in Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) Release 15. The Location Management Function (LMF) is the location node in NR. There is also interaction between the location node and the gNodeB via the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa). The location node interfaces with the user equipment (UE) via the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) while the interaction between the gNodeB and the device is supported via the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol. The LPP is common to both NR and LTE. FIG. 1 shows both a gNB and an ng-eNB, but both are not always present. Furthermore, if both a gNB and an ng-eNB are present, the NG-C generally only exists for one of them.

[0005] Legacy LTE standards support the following techniques: Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) is essentially cell ID information to associate a wireless device with the serving area of ​​a serving cell, plus additional information to determine location with finer granularity. Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) uses GNSS information extracted by the wireless device and assistance information provided to the device by an Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC). The wireless device uses Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) to estimate the time difference of reference signals from different base stations and transmits the results to the E-SMLC for multilateration. The wireless device uses Uplink TDOA (UTDOA) to transmit a unique waveform that will be detected by multiple location measurement units (e.g., eNBs) at a known location. The measurements are forwarded to the E-SMLC for multilateration.

[0006] NR Release 16 specifies several positioning capabilities, including reference signals, measurements, and positioning methods. The reference signals include a new downlink (DL) reference signal, the NR DL PRS (Positioning Reference Signal). The main advantage of the NR DL PRS signal over the LTE DL PRS is the expanded configurable resource block (RB) size from 24 to 272 RBs. Ta bandwidth, which results in significant improvement in time of arrival (TOA) accuracy. The NR DL PRS can be configured with a comb factor of 2, 4, 6, or 12. comb-12 allows for twice the number of orthogonal signals as the comb-6 LTE PRS. Beam sweeping is also supported in the NR DL PRS in Release 16.

[0007] NR Release 16 also specifies a new uplink (UL) reference signal based on the NR UL Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), called the "SRS for positioning". The Release 16 NR SRS for positioning has 12 symbols (compared to 4 symbols in the Release 15 SRS). Symbol NR SRS for positioning also facilitates improved TOA measurement range, as well as staggered comb resource element (RE) patterns for more orthogonal signals based on comb offset (combs 2, 4, and 8) and cyclic shifts. However, the use of cyclic shifts longer than the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol divided by the comb factor is not supported by Release 16, even though this is the main advantage of comb staggering, at least in indoor scenarios. Power control based on neighboring cell synchronization signal block (SSB) / DL PRS is supported, as is spatial quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship to channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), SSB, DL PRS, or another SRS.

[0008] NR Release 16 positioning techniques are already in LTE of Not only the NR positioning methods that have been extended in NR, but also the methods newly introduced in NR Contains NR positioning methods supported in LTE and enhanced in NR include DL TDOA (Downlink TDOA), E-CID, RAT-independent methods (based on non-3GPP sensors such as GPS, pressure sensors, Wifi signals, Bluetooth, etc.), and UL TDOA (Uplink TDOA). Newly introduced methods in NR include multi-cell RTT, where the LMF collects RTT (round trip time) measurements as the basis for multilateration, and DL Angle of Radiation (AoD) and UL Angle of Arrival (AoA), where multilateration is performed using angle and power (RSRP) measurements.

[0009] NR Release 16 positioning includes measurements. NR Release 16 includes UE measurements such as DL Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) to facilitate DL TDOA positioning, multi-cell UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements to facilitate multi-cell round trip time (RTT) measurements, and DL PRS Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP). NR Release 16 includes gNB measurements such as Uplink Relative Arrival Timing (UL-RTOA) useful for UL TDOA positioning, gNb Rx-Tx time difference, UL SRS-RSRP, and Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Zenith Angle of Arrival (ZoA) useful for multi-cell RTT measurements.

[0010] NR Release 16 positioning involves signal configuration. In NR Release 16, DL PRS is configured by each cell separately, and the location server (i.e., LMF) collects all configurations via the NRPPa protocol before sending an Assistance Data (AD) message to the UE via the LPP protocol. In the uplink, SRS signals are configured using RRC by the serving gnodeB, which forwards the appropriate SRS configuration parameters to the LMF upon request.

[0011] Release 16 NR DL PRS are organized into a three-level hierarchy that includes PRS frequency layers, PRS resource sets, and PRS resources. A PRS frequency layer collects PRS resource sets from multiple base stations that (potentially) have certain parameters in common. If two PRS resource sets are in the same frequency layer, they operate in the same band with the same subcarrier spacing, have the same comb factor, and have the same starting PRB and bandwidth.

[0012] PRS Resource Set: corresponds to a collection of PRS beams (resources) that all originate from the same transmitting / receiving point (TRP). All resources in the same set have the same comb factor. A PRS resource corresponds to a beam on which a PRS is transmitted.

[0013] Similar to LTE, in NR, a unique reference signal is transmitted from each antenna port in the gNB for downlink channel estimation at the UE. The reference signal for downlink channel estimation is commonly referred to as a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0014] A CSI-RS signal is transmitted on a set of time-frequency resource elements (REs) associated with an antenna port. For channel estimation across the system bandwidth, the CSI-RS is generally transmitted across the entire system bandwidth. The set of REs used for CSI-RS transmission is called a CSI-RS resource. From the UE's perspective, an antenna port is equivalent to the CSI-RS that the UE uses to measure the channel. Up to 32 (i.e., N_tx=32) antenna ports are supported in NR, and therefore 32 CSI-RS signals can be configured for the UE.

[0015] NR supports three types of CSI-RS transmission: periodic, aperiodic, and semi-persistent. For periodic CSI-RS transmission, CSI-RS is transmitted periodically in a subframe or slot. This CSI-RS transmission is semi-statically configured with parameters such as CSI-RS resource, periodicity, subframe or slot offset, similar to LTE.

[0016] An aperiodic CSI-RS transmission is a one-shot CSI-RS transmission that occurs in any subframe or slot. One-shot means that the CSI-RS transmission occurs only once each time it is triggered. The CSI-RS resources (i.e., resource element positions consisting of subcarrier positions and OFDM symbol positions) for aperiodic CSI-RS are semi-statically configured. Aperiodic CSI-RS transmission is triggered by dynamic signaling over the PDCCH. The triggering may also include selecting a CSI-RS resource from multiple CSI-RS resources.

[0017] Semi-persistent CSI-RS (SP CSI-RS) transmissions are similar to periodic CSI-RS transmissions. Resources for semi-persistent CSI-RS transmissions are semi-statically configured with parameters such as periodicity and subframe or slot offset. However, unlike periodic CSI-RS transmissions, dynamic signaling is used to activate and potentially deactivate CSI-RS transmissions. In NR, activation and deactivation is performed using MAC CE signaling. An example is shown in Figure 2.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a timing diagram illustrating semi-persistent CSI-RS transmission. The horizontal axis represents time. The timeline includes activation and deactivation triggers, and CSI-RS is transmitted periodically in the subframes shown.

[0019] As shown in Figure 3, a cell is composed of multiple TRPs, with each TRP located at a separate coordinate.

[0020] 3 is a block diagram illustrating a cell with multiple TRPs. The example shown includes three TRPs.

[0021] This kind of configuration is expected to be used in I-IOT scenarios. As an example, one cell with 10, 20 or more TRPs can be used to cover an entire factory building.

[0022] For positioning, three separate coordinates are needed to perform multilateration. In a scenario where a serving cell has multiple TRPs located at separate coordinates, these can be used for positioning.

[0023] NR Release 17 includes gapless PRS measurements. In Release 16, all PRS-based measurements (including PRS RSRP, RSTD for OTDOA, and UE Rx-Tx for RTT) are measured during measurement gaps. During measurement gaps, the UE can expect the network not to transmit any data, and therefore the UE can specifically tune itself to measure the PRS. For example, to measure the PRS (i.e., DL PRS), the UE will potentially use a different bandwidth than the active bandwidth portion that is configured to receive data.

[0024] NR Release 17 specifies an extension to allow measuring DL PRS without requiring a measurement gap: if the UE's bandwidth portion is wide enough to cover the DL PRS bandwidth, the UE can measure the PRS without requesting a measurement gap from the network. Summary of the Invention

[0025] Based on the above discussion, there are currently several challenges with controlling the priority of wireless positioning signals. Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these and other challenges. For example, according to certain embodiments, a positioning reference signal (PRS) processing window (PPW) is configured via a configuration message sent from a serving gNB to a user equipment (UE).

[0026] Certain embodiments include multi-level signaling of PRS priority using the existing PRS hierarchy used in the LPP and NRPPa protocols. According to these protocols, the hierarchy is as follows: a Transmitting / Receiving Point (TRP) can be configured with up to four positioning frequency layers, each frequency layer can be configured with up to two PRS resource sets, and each resource set can be configured with up to 64 PRS resources.

[0027] Certain embodiments reuse the hierarchy to signal PRS priority across a given level, for example setting a priority for Positioning Frequency Layer 1 (PFL1) sets the priority for all resources present in all resource sets within PFL1.

[0028] In general, certain embodiments include signaling of a priority indicator at a positioning frequency layer level, where the signaled priority applies to all PRS in a positioning frequency layer (PFL). Some embodiments include signaling of a priority indicator at a PRS resource set level, where the signaled priority applies to all PRS in a PRS resource set and in the corresponding PFL. Some embodiments include signaling of a priority indicator at a PPW level, where the signaled priority applies to all PRS in the PPW.

[0029] According to some embodiments, a method is performed by a wireless device capable of receiving a PRS. The method includes receiving a PPW configuration from a network node. The PPW configuration includes a PRS priority indicator indicating a priority associated with one or more of a PFL, a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource. The priority indicates a priority of the PRS relative to other signals or channels received by the wireless device during the PPW. The method further includes monitoring the PRS during the PPW according to the priority indicator in the PPW configuration for the purpose of measuring / processing the PRS.

[0030] According to a particular embodiment, monitoring the PRS during the PPW in accordance with a priority indicator in the PPW configuration includes measuring / processing the PRS when the priority of the PRS is higher than the priority of other signals or channels occurring simultaneously with the PRS.

[0031] According to a particular embodiment, the priority indicator includes a priority associated with the PFL, and the indicated priority applies to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with the PFL.

[0032] According to a particular embodiment, the priority indicator includes a priority associated with the PFL and the positioning resource set, and the indicated priority applies to all positioning resources associated with the PFL and the positioning resource set.

[0033] According to a particular embodiment, the priority indicator includes a priority associated with the PFL, a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource, and the indicated priority applies to the indicated positioning resource.

[0034] According to a particular embodiment, the priority indicator includes a first priority indicator and the PPW configuration further includes a second priority indicator. The first priority indicator includes a first priority associated with the PFL, and the second priority indicator includes a second priority associated with the PFL and a positioning resource set. The first priority indicator applies to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with the PFL, except for the positioning resource set indicated in the second priority indicator.

[0035] According to a particular embodiment, the priority indicator includes a first priority indicator and the PPW configuration further includes a second priority indicator. The first priority indicator includes a first priority associated with the PFL, and the second priority indicator includes a second priority associated with the PFL, a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource. The first priority indicator applies to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with the PFL, except for the positioning resources indicated in the second priority indicator.

[0036] According to a particular embodiment, the priority indicator includes a first priority indicator and the PPW configuration further includes a second priority indicator. The first priority indicator includes a first priority associated with the PFL and a first positioning resource set, and the second priority indicator includes a second priority associated with the PFL, a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource. The first priority indicator applies to all positioning resources associated with the PFL and the first positioning resource set, except for the positioning resources indicated in the second priority indicator.

[0037] According to some embodiments, a wireless device comprises processing circuitry operable to perform any of the wireless device methods described above.

[0038] Also disclosed is a computer program product including a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable program code, the computer readable program code being operative when executed by a processing circuit to perform any of the methods performed by the wireless device described above.

[0039] According to some embodiments, a method is performed by a network node for configuring a PPW. The method includes determining a PPW configuration for a wireless device. The PPW configuration includes a PRS priority indicator indicating a priority associated with one or more of a PFL, a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource. The priority indicates a priority of the PRS relative to other signals or channels received by the wireless device during the PPW. The method further includes transmitting the PPW configuration to the wireless device.

[0040] According to a particular embodiment, the method further includes obtaining positioning priority information from a Location Management Function (LMF). Determining the PPW configuration is based on the obtained positioning priority information.

[0041] According to a particular embodiment, the priority indicator includes a priority associated with the PFL, and the indicated priority applies to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with the PFL.

[0042] According to some embodiments, a network node comprises processing circuitry operable to perform any of the network node methods described above.

[0043] Another computer program product comprises a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable program code that, when executed by a processing circuit, is operable to cause the above-mentioned network node to perform any of the above-mentioned methods.

[0044] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages: For example, certain embodiments allow for signaling the priority of PRSs within a PPW at different levels of granularity, while also maintaining compact and efficient signaling. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0045] For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments, and their features and advantages, reference is made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0046] [Figure 1] is a block diagram illustrating the Location Services (LCS) protocol for Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) Release 15.

[0047] [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a timing diagram illustrating semi-persistent CSI-RS transmission.

[0048] [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a cell having multiple TRPs.

[0049] [Figure 4] 1 is a signaling diagram illustrating configuration of positioning priorities for user equipment (UE).

[0050] [Diagram 5] is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless network.

[0051] [Figure 6] 1 illustrates an exemplary user device according to an embodiment.

[0052] [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example method in a wireless device, in accordance with a particular embodiment.

[0053] [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method in a network node, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0054] [Figure 9] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless device and a network node in a wireless network, according to an embodiment.

[0055] [Figure 10] 1 illustrates an exemplary virtualization environment, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0056] [Figure 11] 1 illustrates an exemplary telecommunications network connected to a host computer through an intermediate network, in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0057] [Figure 12] 1 illustrates an exemplary host computer that communicates with user equipment over a partially wireless connection via a base station, according to some embodiments.

[0058] [Figure 13] 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0059] [Figure 14] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0060] [Figure 15] 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, according to an embodiment.

[0061] [Figure 16] 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0062] If a downlink channel with a higher priority or another downlink reference signal collides with the DL PRS measurement / processing, the UE drops the DL PRS measurement / processing.

[0063] NR Release 17 supports, subject to UE capability, PRS measurements outside measurement gaps within the PRS processing window and UE measurements within an active DL BWP with a PRS that has the same numerology as the active DL BWP. Subject to the UE determining that the DL PRS is of higher priority within the PRS processing window, it supports the following UE capabilities, referred to as Capability 1 and Capability 2:

[0064] Capability 1 includes PRS prioritization relative to all other downlink signals / channels in all symbols within the window. In Capability 1A, downlink signals / channels (per UE) from all downlink component carriers are affected. In Capability 1B, only downlink signals / channels from one band / component carrier are affected. Capability 2 includes PRS prioritization relative to other downlink signals / channels only in PRS symbols within the window.

[0065] The UE may declare its PRS processing capability outside of measurement gaps.

[0066] PRS-related conditions can be specified, e.g., measurement support outside the measurement gap may be applicable to serving cell PRS only, or to all PRS with conditions for non-serving cell PRS.

[0067] When the UE determines a higher priority over other downlink signals / channels via PRS measurement / processing, the UE is not expected to measure / process the DL PRS, which is applicable to all of the above capability options.

[0068] Three different UE capabilities may guide the UE behavior with respect to how the UE handles data traffic when a PRS is prioritized in a PRS prioritization window (PPW).

[0069] For capability 1A, if the DL PRS is determined to be of higher priority, downlink signaling / channels in a per-UE manner (i.e., both NR and LTE) within the PRS processing window are dropped. For capability 1B, if the DL PRS is determined to be of higher priority, only downlink signaling / channels from one band within the PRS processing window are dropped.

[0070] Depending on the UE capability for priority handling of PRS when PRS measurements are outside of the measurement gap, the following options are supported: In option 1, the UE may indicate support for two priority states: In state 1, the PRS has higher priority than all PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS; In state 2, the PRS has lower priority than all PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS.

[0071] In option 2, the UE may indicate support for three priority states: In state 1, the PRS is higher priority than all PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS; In state 2, the PRS is lower priority than the PDCCH and URLLC PDSCH, and higher priority than other PDSCH / CSI-RS; the URLLC channel corresponds to a dynamically scheduled PDSCH with PUCCH resources for carrying ACK / NAK marked as high priority; In state 3, the PRS is lower priority than all PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS.

[0072] In option 3, the UE may indicate support for a single priority state: In state 1, the PRS is higher priority than all PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS.

[0073] SSB is a different matter. The priority of the PRS for UEs supporting two and three priority states may be indicated at least in the RRC.

[0074] The following parameters for the PRS processing window from the gNB to the UE may be supported: starting slot, periodicity, duration / length, cell and SCS information related to the above parameters, processing type (related to corresponding UE capability 1A / 1B / 2), band / CC-ID as required for each scenario where the PRS processing window applies, and cell and SCS information to determine where / when the PRS processing window applies.

[0075] The indication of the transaction type does not imply that the UE indication of multiple capabilities among (1A / 1B / 2) is already supported.

[0076] Some of the above parameters may not be essential for the PRS processing window.

[0077] As discussed above, depending on the UE capabilities, there can be three states for the priority of a PRS with respect to other DL channels and signals: 1. PRS has higher priority than all PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS 2. The PRS has lower priority than the PDCCH and URLLC PDSCH, but higher priority than other PDSCH / CSI-RS, and the URLLC PDSCH corresponds to a dynamically scheduled PDSCH with PUCCH resources for carrying ACK / NAK marked as high priority.

[0078] 3. The PRS has lower priority than all PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS.

[0079] Currently, there are several challenges. For example, PRS configuration information arrives at the gNB via the LMF. Based on this information and information about what type of traffic the UE currently has, the gNB configures the PRS Processing Window (PPW) for the UE.

[0080] There are three possible states for PRS priority, but it needs to be determined how to configure the priority of the PRS with respect to other downlink channels and signals.

[0081] As mentioned above, there are currently several challenges in controlling the priority of wireless positioning signals. Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these and other challenges. For example, according to certain embodiments, a positioning reference signal (PRS) processing window (PPW) is configured via a configuration message sent from a serving gNB to a user equipment (UE). Certain embodiments include multi-level signaling of PRS priority.

[0082] Certain embodiments are more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, however, other embodiments are within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as being limited to only the embodiments described herein, but rather, these embodiments are provided as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0083] The PRS prioritization window is a time window during which a PRS may have a higher priority than other downlink channels (e.g., Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) / Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)) and signals (e.g., Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS)). To configure the priority of a PRS with respect to other downlink channels and signals for a UE, the gNB may configure a PPW with a priority setting for each of the serving and non-serving PRS (i.e., a priority indicator is configured for each single PRS resource from either the serving or non-serving gNB). Information regarding each PRS resource may be forwarded by a Location Management Function (LMF) to the serving gNB, which is used by the serving gNB to set a priority for each PRS resource.

[0084] In some scenarios, the priority for each PRS resource occurring within a PPW may be configured as part of the PPW configuration by the serving gNB to the UE. However, this solution may require significant overhead since the priority status must be indicated for each PRS resource within the PPW. For this reason, certain embodiments described herein efficiently signal the priority of different PRS within a PPW from the serving gNB to the UE.

[0085] A particular embodiment includes a Priority Indicator Information Element (IE) in 3GPP TS 38.331. A possible way to write the Priority Indicator IE in ASN.1 pseudocode is as follows: Priority_indicator-r17 ::= SEQUENCE { PositioningFrequency_layer_ID INTEGER (0..3), OPTIONAL PositioningRS_Resource_set_ID INTEGER (0..2), OPTIONAL PositioningRS_Resource_ID INTEGER (0..63), OPTIONAL priority_state ENUMERATED(state1,state2,state3) } This is merely an example and particular embodiments may include any suitable implementation.

[0086] As shown in the above example, an ID for the positioning frequency layer (PFL), a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set, and a PRS resource ID are optionally included in the IE. One or more such priority indicators may be configured within each PPW configured by the serving gNB for the UE. The above IE structure allows the configured priority_state to be configured for PRSs with different granularity as follows:

[0087] If PositioningFrequency_layer_ID, PositioningRS_Resource_set_ID, and PositioningRS_Resource_ID are all omitted from the Priority_indicator-r17 IE, then only a single priority state is configured within the configured PPW. In this case, the single priority state applies to all PRS (including serving cell PRS and non-serving cell PRS) occurring within the configured PPW.

[0088] If PositioningRS_Resource_set_ID and PositioningRS_Resource_ID are omitted from the Priority_indicator-r17 IE and PositioningFrequency_layer_ID is present in the Priority_indicator-r17 IE, the priority indicator applies to all PRS resources in the PFL identified by that ID, PositioningFrequency_layer_ID. According to this embodiment, one priority_state may be configured per PFL as part of the PPW configuration. For example, if the serving cell PRS and non-serving cell PRS occurring within the configured PPW belong to S>1 different PFLs (where S is an integer), there will be S priority states configured in the PPW configuration. This may be configured as a list of S parameters of type Priority_indicator-r17 in the PPW configuration, each of the S parameters including PositioningFrequency_layer_ID and priority_state.

[0089] If PositioningRS_Resource_ID is omitted from the Priority_indicator-r17 IE and PositioningFrequency_layer_ID and PositioningRS_Resource_set_ID are present in the Priority_indicator-r17 IE, the priority indicator applies to all PRS resources in the resource set identified by PositioningRS_Resource_set_ID and the PFL identified by PositioningFrequency_layer_ID. According to this embodiment, one priority_state may be configured for each PRS resource set in each PFL as part of the PPW configuration. For example, if the serving cell PRS and non-serving cell PRS occurring within the configured PPW belong to P>1 different PRS resource sets that belong to one or more PFLs (where P is an integer), there will be P priority states configured in the PPW configuration. This can be configured as a list of P parameters of type Priority_indicator-r17 in the PPW configuration, where each of the P parameters includes PositioningFrequency_layer_ID, PositioningRS_Resource_set_ID, and priority_state.

[0090] According to some embodiments, the priority configuration consists of a list of priorities for each prioritized PFL, resource set, or PRS resource.

[0091] According to some embodiments, the PPW configuration includes a sequence of priority indicators that together configure the priority of the PRSs in the window. Each instance of the priority indicator may modify / complement previous instances of the priority indicator. According to some embodiments, a combination of priority indicators of different levels may be used to assign PRS priorities, and the order of priority indicators in the PPW configuration is used to update the PRS priorities. For example, in the first instance of the priority indicator IE, the PRS priority may be set for PFL#1 to "PRS priority higher than all PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS", and further, in the second instance of the priority indicator IE, the PRS priority for PRS resource#1 of resource set#1 of PFL#1 may be set to "PRS priority lower than all PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS". This assigns the priority "PRS higher priority than all PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS" to all PRSs in PFL#1 except PRS#1 in set#1 in PFL#1.

[0092] In NR Release 17, a PPW is a time window with a start, a length, and a periodicity. According to some embodiments, all PRSs not covered by a priority indicator are set by default to a default priority state, where the PRS is of lower priority than all PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS. According to some embodiments, the PRS priority indicator is provided as a single indicator that applies the same priority state to all PRSs in the PPW configuration.

[0093] The PRS indicator may also be indicated for all PRSs in a given positioning frequency layer. According to some embodiments, the PPW may include a PFL priority indicator, which sets all PRS resources in all resource sets in a positioning frequency layer associated with the priority indicator to the same priority state. The PRS indicator may also be indicated for all PRSs in a given resource set in a given positioning frequency layer. According to some embodiments, the PPW may include a PRS resource set priority indicator, which sets all PRS resources in an associated resource set in an associated positioning frequency layer in the priority indicator to the same priority state.

[0094] A PRS indicator may also be indicated for each PRS resource in a resource set in a given positioning frequency layer. According to one embodiment, the PPW may include a PRS resource priority indicator, which sets a single PRS resource in an associated resource set in an associated positioning frequency layer in the priority indicator to the same priority state.

[0095] An example of the above mentioned signaling is shown in FIG.

[0096] 4 is a signaling diagram illustrating the configuration of positioning priority for a user equipment. According to an illustrated embodiment, the LMF transmits an indication of positioning priority with granularity information on PFL, positioning resource set, and positioning resource to the gNB. The gNB uses the received positioning priority information to create a PPW configuration for the UE. The gNB transmits the PPW configuration to the UE.

[0097] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary wireless network according to an embodiment. A wireless network may include any type of communication, telecommunication, data communication, cellular, and / or radio network, or other similar types of systems and / or interfaces. In some embodiments, a wireless network may be configured to operate according to a particular standard or other type of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, certain embodiments of a wireless network may implement communications standards such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards, wireless local area network (WLAN) standards such as IEEE 802.11 standards, and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and / or ZigBee standards.

[0098] The network 106 may consist of one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTN), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks that enable communication between devices.

[0099] Network node 160 and WD 110 include various components, which are described in more detail below. These components cooperate to provide network node and / or wireless device functionality, e.g., to provide wireless connections in a wireless network. In various embodiments, a wireless network may comprise wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in communication of data and / or signals, whether via wired or wireless connections.

[0100] As used herein, a "network node" refers to a configured, arranged, and / or operative device that may communicate directly or indirectly with wireless devices and / or other network nodes or devices in a wireless network to enable wireless access to the wireless devices and / or perform other functions (e.g., management) in the wireless network.

[0101] Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., wireless access points), base stations (Bs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR Node Bs (gNBs)). Base stations may be classified based on the size of the coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power levels) and may be referred to as femto, pico, micro, or macro base stations.

[0102] A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment, such as an MSR BS, a network controller, such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a core network node (e.g., MSC, MME), an O&M node, an OSS node, a SON node, a positioning node (e.g., E-SMLC), and / or an MDT.

[0103] In another embodiment, the network node may be a virtual network node, as described in more detail below, but more generally, a network node may represent any suitable device (or devices) that is configured, arranged, and / or operable to enable access to a wireless network and / or provide access to wireless devices or provide some service to wireless devices that have accessed the wireless network.

[0104] In Figure 5, network node 160 includes processing circuitry 170, device-readable medium 180, interface 190, auxiliary equipment 184, power source 186, power circuitry 187, and antenna 162. The network node 160 shown in the exemplary wireless network of Figure 5 includes the illustrated hardware. Eh Although the present invention may represent a device including a combination of the components, other embodiments may include network nodes having different combinations of the components.

[0105] A network node includes the hardware and / or software required to carry out the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Eh It should be understood that the components of network node 160 may include any suitable combination of any of the above-mentioned components. Additionally, although the components of network node 160 are shown as a single box disposed within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in reality a network node may include multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium 180 may include multiple separate hard disk drives as well as multiple RAM modules).

[0106] Similarly, network node 160 may be comprised of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a Node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have their own respective components. In certain situations where network node 160 includes multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among multiple network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple Node Bs. In such a scenario, each unique Node B and RNC pair may possibly be considered as a single individual network node.

[0107] In some embodiments, the network node 160 may include multiple NothingNetwork node 160 may be configured to support multiple wireless access technologies (RATs). In such an embodiment, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device-readable media 180 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 162 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 160 may also include multiple configurations of the various illustrated components for the various wireless technologies integrated into network node 160, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within network node 160.

[0108] Processing circuitry 170 is configured to perform any decision, computation, or similar operation (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 170 may include processing the information acquired by processing circuitry 170, for example, by transforming the acquired information into other information, comparing the acquired or transformed information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or transformed information, and making a decision as a result of said processing. 。

[0109] Processing circuitry 170 may be a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or hardware, software, Eh The network node 160 may include one or more combinations of a device-readable medium 180, a network node 160 controller, and / or encoding logic operable to provide, alone or in conjunction with other network node 160 components, such as device-readable medium 180, network node 160 functionality.

[0110] For example, processing circuitry 170 may execute instructions stored on device-readable medium 180 or in memory within processing circuitry 170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits described herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

[0111] According to some embodiments, the processing circuitry 170 may include one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and a baseband processing circuitry 174. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and the baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units, such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 172 and the baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit. In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be realized by the processing circuitry 170 executing instructions stored on a device readable medium 180 or memory within the processing circuitry 170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry 170 without executing instructions stored on a separate or distinct device readable medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of these embodiments, whether or not the processing circuitry 170 executes instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium, the processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform the described functions. The advantages provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry 170 alone or other components of the network node 160, but are enjoyed by the network node 160 as a whole, and / or by end users and the wireless network as a whole.

[0112] The device-readable medium 180 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including, but not limited to, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disks), removable storage media (e.g., flash drives, compact discs (CDs) or digital video discs (DVDs)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 170. The device-readable medium 180 may include, but is not limited to, computer programs, software, and / or other information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 170. Eh The device-readable medium 180 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including applications including one or more of algorithms, logic, rules, codes, tables, etc., and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit 170 and utilized by the network node 160. The device-readable medium 180 may be used to store any operations performed by the processing circuit 170 and / or any data received via the interface 190. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 170 and the device-readable medium 180 may be considered to be integrated.

[0113] The interface 190 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between the network node 160, the network 106, and / or the WD 110. As shown, the interface 190 includes a port / terminal 194 for transmitting and receiving data to and from the network 106, for example, via a wired connection. The interface 190 may also be coupled to a portion of the antenna 162, or in certain embodiments includes wireless front-end circuitry 192.

[0114] The radio front-end circuitry 192 includes a filter 198 and an amplifier 196. The radio front-end circuitry 192 may be coupled to the antenna 162 and the processing circuitry 170. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 162 and the processing circuitry 170. The radio front-end circuitry 192 may process data that is sent over a wireless connection to other network nodes or WDs. J When receiving data, the antenna 162 may collect the radio signal and then convert it to digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 192. The radio front-end circuitry 192 may receive digital data using a combination of filters 198 and / or amplifiers 196. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 162. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 162 may collect the radio signal and then convert it to digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 192. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 170. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0115] According to certain alternative embodiments, network node 160 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 192; instead, processing circuitry 170 may include radio front-end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 162 without a separate radio front-end circuit 192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or a portion of RF transceiver circuitry 172 may be considered part of interface 190. In still other embodiments, interface 190 may be considered as part of a radio unit (not shown) and may include one or more ports or Terminals 194, radio front-end circuitry 192, and RF transceiver circuitry 172, and the interface 190 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 174 that is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0116] Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas, or an antenna array, configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 162 may be any type of antenna that may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 190 and may transmit and receive data and / or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may include one or more omni-directional, sector, or panel antennas operable to transmit and receive wireless signals between 2 GHz and 66 GHz, for example. An omni-directional antenna may be used to transmit and receive wireless signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit and receive wireless signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line-of-sight antenna used to transmit and receive wireless signals in a relatively straight line. In some examples, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 162 may be separate from network node 160 and may be connectable to network node 160 via an interface or port.

[0117] The antenna 162, the interface 190, and / or the processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain acquisition operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 162, the interface 190, and / or the processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0118] The power supply circuitry 187 may comprise or be coupled to a power management circuitry and is configured to provide power to the components of the network node 160 to perform the functions described herein. The power supply circuitry 187 may receive power from a power source 186. The power source 186 and / or the power supply circuitry 187 may be configured to provide power to the various components of the network node 160 in a manner appropriate for each component (e.g., voltage and current levels required by each component). The power source 186 may be included in the power circuitry 187 and / or the network node 160 or may be included external to the power circuitry.

[0119] For example, network node 160 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface, such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source provides power to power supply circuitry 187. As a further example, power source 186 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated with power supply circuitry 187. In the event of a failure of the external power source, the battery may provide backup power. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

[0120] Alternative embodiments of network node 160 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 5 that may be responsible for providing particular aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality essential to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 160 may include user interface devices that enable input of information into network node 160 and output of information from network node 160. This allows a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions of network node 160.

[0121] As used herein, a wireless device (WD) refers to an apparatus configured, arranged, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE). Wireless communication may involve transmitting and / or receiving radio signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information over the air.

[0122] According to some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network.

[0123] Examples of WD include smartphones, move Examples of such devices include, but are not limited to, telephones, mobile phones, voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptops, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), vehicle mounted wireless terminal devices, etc. WDs can support device-to-device (D2D) communications, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and in this case may be referred to as D2D communications devices.

[0124] As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things scenario (IoT), a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another WD and / or a network node. In this case, the WD may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which in the context of 3GPP may be referred to as an MTC device. As an example, the WD may be a UE that implements the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machines, or household or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.).

[0125] In other scenarios, the WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that may monitor and / or report its operating status or other functions related to its operation. Such wireless devices may represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the equipment may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Additionally, such wireless devices may be mobile, in which case they may be referred to as a mobile device or mobile terminal.

[0126] As shown, wireless device 110 includes antenna 111, interface 114, processing circuitry 120, device-readable medium 130, user interface equipment 132, auxiliary equipment 134, power source 136, and power circuitry 137. Wireless device 110 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for various wireless technologies supported by wireless device 110, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to name a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated on the same or different chip or chipset as other components in wireless device 110.

[0127] Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and is connected to interface 114. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 111 may be separate from wireless device 110 and may be connectable to wireless device 110 via an interface or port. Antenna 111, interface 114, and / or processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a wireless device. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a network node and / or another wireless device. In some embodiments, the wireless front-end circuitry and / or antenna 111 may be considered an interface.

[0128] As shown, the interface 114 includes a radio front-end circuit 112 and an antenna 111. The radio front-end circuit 112 includes one or more filters 118 and an amplifier 116. The radio front-end circuit 114 is coupled to the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120 and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120. The radio front-end circuit 112 may be coupled to or may be part of the antenna 111. In some embodiments, the wireless device 110 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 112; rather, the processing circuit 120 may include the radio front-end circuit and be connected to the antenna 111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit 122 may be considered part of the interface 114.

[0129] The radio front-end circuitry 112 may receive digital data to be sent over a wireless connection to other network nodes or wireless devices. The radio front-end circuitry 112 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 118 and / or amplifiers 116. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 111 may collect the radio signal and then convert it to digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 112. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 120. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0130] The processing circuitry 120 may be a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or hardware, software, Eh The processing circuitry 120 may include one or more combinations of hardware, software, and / or coding logic that are operable, alone or in conjunction with other wireless device 110 components, such as the device-readable medium 130, wireless device 110 functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or advantages described herein. For example, the processing circuitry 120 may execute instructions stored on the device-readable medium 130 or memory within the processing circuitry 120 to provide functionality disclosed herein.

[0131] As shown, the processing circuitry 120 includes one or more of an RF transceiver circuitry 122, a baseband processing circuitry 124, and an application processing circuitry 126. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may include different components and / or different combinations of components. In one embodiment, the processing circuitry 120 of the wireless device 110 may include a SOC. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 122, the baseband processing circuitry 124, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be on separate chips or chipsets.

[0132] In alternative embodiments, some or all of the baseband processing circuitry 124 and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined on one chip or chipset, and the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In further alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122 and the baseband processing circuitry 124 may be on the same chip or chipset, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In yet other alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 122, the baseband processing circuitry 124, and the application processing circuitry 126 may be combined on the same chip or chipset. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be part of the interface 114. The RF transceiver circuitry 122 may condition the RF signals for the processing circuitry 120.

[0133] In particular embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by the wireless device may be provided by the processing circuitry 120 executing instructions stored on a device-readable medium 130, which in particular embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry 120 without executing instructions stored on a separate or distinct device-readable storage medium, such as in a hardwired manner.

[0134] In any of these embodiments, whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium, the processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform the described functions. The advantages provided by such functions are not limited to only the processing circuitry 120 or to other components of the wireless device 110, but are enjoyed by the wireless device 110 and / or by end users and wireless networks generally.

[0135] Processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any decision, computation, or similar operation described herein as being performed by a wireless device (e.g., a particular acquisition operation). These operations performed by processing circuitry 120 may include processing the information acquired by processing circuitry 120, for example, by transforming the acquired information to other information, comparing the acquired or transformed information to information stored by wireless device 110, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or transformed information, and making a decision as a result of said processing.

[0136] The device-readable medium 130 may be operable to store applications including one or more of computer programs, software, logic, rules, codes, tables, etc., and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuit 120. The device-readable medium 130 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., compact disc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuit 120. According to some embodiments, the processing circuit 120 and the device-readable medium 130 may be integrated.

[0137] The user interface equipment 132 may provide components that allow a human user to interact with the wireless device 110. Such interaction may be in many forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The user interface equipment 132 may be operable to generate output to a user and to allow the user to provide input to the wireless device 110. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface equipment 132 installed on the wireless device 110. For example, if the wireless device 110 is a smartphone, the interaction may occur via a touch screen, and if the wireless device 110 is a smart meter, the interaction may occur via a screen that provides usage (e.g., number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alarm (e.g., if smoke is detected).

[0138] The user interface equipment 132 may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, as well as output interfaces, devices and circuits. The user interface equipment 132 is configured to enable input of information into the wireless device 110 and is connected to the processing circuit 120 to enable the processing circuit 120 to process the input information. The user interface equipment 132 may include, for example, a microphone, proximity or other sensor, keys / buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. The user interface equipment 132 is also configured to enable output of information from the wireless device 110 and to enable the processing circuit 120 to output information from the wireless device 110. The user interface equipment 132 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibration circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input / output interfaces, devices, and circuits of the user interface equipment 132, the wireless device 110 can communicate with an end user and / or a wireless network and can provide the end user and / or the wireless network with the benefit of the functionality described herein.

[0139] The auxiliary device 134 is operable to provide more specific functions not typically performed by wireless devices. It may include dedicated sensors for taking measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communication, etc. The component load and types of the auxiliary device 134 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0140] Power source 136 may be in the form of a battery or battery pack in some embodiments. Other types of power sources may also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a power cell. Wireless device 110 may further include power circuitry 137 for delivering power from power source 136 to various portions of wireless device 110 that require power from power source 136 to perform any of the functions described or illustrated herein. Power circuitry 137 may include power management circuitry in certain embodiments.

[0141] Power circuitry 137 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source, in which case wireless device 110 may be connectable to an external power source (such as an electrical outlet) via an interface such as an input circuit power cable. In certain embodiments, power circuitry 137 may also be operable to distribute power from the external power source to power source 136. This may be for charging power source 136, for example. Power circuitry 137 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification of the power from power source 136 to make it suitable for the respective components of wireless device 110 being powered.

[0142] Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in connection with a wireless network, such as the exemplary wireless network illustrated in FIG. 5. The wireless network in FIG. 5 shows only network 106, network nodes 160 and 160b, and wireless devices 110, 110b, and 110c for simplicity. In practice, the wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable for supporting communications between wireless devices or between wireless devices and other communication devices, such as landlines, service providers, or other network nodes or end devices. Of the illustrated components, network node 160 and wireless device 110 are depicted with additional details. The wireless network may provide communications and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless device's access to and / or use of services provided by or via the wireless network.

[0143] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary user equipment, according to certain embodiments. As used herein, user equipment or UE does not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to or operation by a human user, but may or may not initially be associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to or operation by an end user, but may be associated with or operated for a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 200, as shown in FIG. 6, is an example of a wireless device configured to communicate according to one or more communications standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®), e.g., 3GPP®'s GSM, UMTS, LTE, and / or 5G standards, and may be any UE specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®), including NB-IoT UE, Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE 200. As previously mentioned, the terms wireless device and UE may be used interchangeably. Thus, although FIG. 6 is a user equipment, the components described herein are equally applicable to a wireless device and vice versa.

[0144] In FIG. 6, UE 200 includes a processing circuit 201 operatively coupled to an input / output interface 205, a radio frequency (RF) interface 209, a network connection interface 211, a memory 215 including a random access memory (RAM) 217, a read only memory (ROM) 219, and a storage medium 221, a communication subsystem 231, a power source 233, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 221 has an operating system 223, an application program 225, and data 227. In other embodiments, storage medium 221 can include other similar types of information. Some UEs may use all of the components shown in FIG. 6 or only a subset of the components. The level of integration between components may vary from one UE to another. Additionally, some UEs may include multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0145] In Fig. 6, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. The processing circuit 201 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute machine instructions stored in memory as a machine-readable computer program, such as one or more hardware implemented state machines (e.g., discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.), programmable logic with appropriate firmware, one or more stored programs, a general purpose processor such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), as well as appropriate software, or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 201 may include two central processing units (CPUs). The data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0146] In the illustrated embodiment, the input / output interface 205 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or an input and an output device. The UE 200 may be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 205.

[0147] An output device can use the same type of interface port as an input device, for example, a USB port can be used to provide input and output to and from the UE 200. An output device can be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof.

[0148] The UE 200 may be configured such that a user uses an input device via the input / output interface 205 to capture information into the UE 200. The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., digital camera, digital video camera, webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, directional keys, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from the user. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, a sensor, a touch-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., digital camera, digital video camera, webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional keys, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from the user. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, a touch-sensitive display ... Fo The sensor may be a sensor, a light sensor, or a photo sensor.

[0149] In FIG. 6, the RF interface 209 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. The network connection interface 211 may be configured to provide a communication interface to the network 243a. The network 243a may include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a communication network, other similar networks, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 243a may have a Wi-Fi network. The network connection interface 211 may be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, etc. The network connection interface 211 may implement receiver and transmitter functions appropriate for a communication network link (e.g., optical, electronic, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or may be implemented separately.

[0150] The RAM217 stores software such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers. Eh The ROM 219 may be configured to interface to the processing circuit 201 via the bus 202 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during execution of a program. The ROM 219 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to the processing circuit 201. For example, the ROM 219 may be stored in non-volatile memory and configured to store unchanging low level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input / output (I / O), start-up, or receiving keystrokes from a keyboard.

[0151] The storage medium 221 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a removable cartridge, or a flash drive. In one example, the storage medium 221 may be configured to include an operating system 223, an application program 225 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data files 227. The storage medium 221 may store any of a variety of operating systems or combinations of multiple operating systems for use by the UE 200.

[0152] The storage medium 221 may be configured to include multiple physical drives such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical disk drive, an internal hard disk drive, a Blu-ray optical disk drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disk drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro-DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM / RUIM) module, other memory, or a combination thereof. The storage medium 221 may enable the UE 200 to access computer executable instructions, application programs, etc. stored in a temporary or non-transitory storage medium, offload data, or upload data. Products such as those utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in the storage medium 221, including device-readable media.

[0153] In FIG. 6, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to communicate with the network 243b using the communication subsystem 231. The network 243a and the network 243b may be the same network or networks, or may be different networks or networks. The communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with the network 243b. For example, the communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication, such as another wireless device, UE, or base station of a radio access network (RAN), according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.2, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc. Each transceiver may include a transmitter 233 and / or a receiver 235 to respectively implement transmitter or receiver functions (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.) appropriate for the RAN link. Additionally, the transmitter 233 and receiver 235 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or may be implemented separately.

[0154] According to the illustrated embodiment, the communication capabilities of the communication subsystem 231 may include data communications, voice communications, multimedia communications, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, short-range communications, location-based communications such as using a Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication capability, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 231 may include cellular communications, Wi-Fi communications, Bluetooth, and GPS communications. The network 243b may include wired and / or wireless networks such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a communication network, other similar networks, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 243b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a short-range wireless network. The power source 213 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 200.

[0155] The features, advantages, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of the UE 200 or may be distributed across multiple components of the UE 200. Furthermore, the features, advantages, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Furthermore, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to communicate with any of such components via the bus 202. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that, when executed by the processing circuit 201, perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functions of any of such components may be split between the processing circuit 201 and the communication subsystem 231. In another example, the computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0156] 7 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method in a wireless device according to a particular embodiment. According to a particular embodiment, one or more steps of FIG. 7 may be performed by the wireless device 110 described with respect to FIG. 5. A wireless device capable of receiving a PRS.

[0157] The method begins at step 712, where a wireless device (e.g., wireless device 110) receives a PPW configuration from a network node (e.g., network node 160). The PPW configuration includes a PRS priority indicator indicating a priority associated with one or more of a PFL, a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource. The priority indicates a priority of the PRS relative to other signals or channels received by the wireless device during the PPW.

[0158] According to a particular embodiment, the priority indicator includes a priority associated with the PFL, and the indicated priority applies to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with the PFL.

[0159] The priority indicator may include any of the priority indicators described in the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0160] In step 714, the wireless device monitors the PRS in the PPW according to a priority indicator in the PPW configuration to measure / process the PRS. For example, monitoring includes measuring / processing the PRS when the priority of the PRS is higher than the priority of other signals or channels that occur simultaneously with the PRS.

[0161] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the method 700 of Figure 7. Additionally, one or more steps in the method of Figure 7 may be performed in parallel or in any suitable order.

[0162] 8 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method in a network node, according to an embodiment. According to a particular embodiment, one or more steps of FIG. 8 may be performed by the network node 160 described with respect to FIG. 5. The network node may configure the PPW.

[0163] The method begins in step 812, where a network node (eg, network node 160) may obtain positioning priority information from a Location Management Function (LMF).

[0164] In step 814, the network node determines a PPW configuration for the wireless device. The PPW configuration includes a PRS priority indicator indicating a priority associated with one or more of the PFL, the positioning resource set, and the positioning resource. The priority indicates a priority of the PRS relative to other signals or channels received by the wireless device during the PPW.

[0165] Determining the PPW configuration may be based on the obtained positioning priority information.

[0166] According to a particular embodiment, the priority indicator includes a priority associated with the PFL, and the indicated priority applies to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with the PFL.

[0167] The priority indicator may include any of the priority indicators described in the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0168] In step 816, the network node transmits the PPW configuration to the wireless device.

[0169] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the method 800 of Figure 8. Additionally, one or more steps in the method of Figure 8 may be performed in parallel or in any suitable order.

[0170] FIG. 9 shows a schematic block diagram of two apparatuses in a wireless network (e.g., the wireless network shown in FIG. 5). These apparatuses include a wireless device and a network node (e.g., the wireless device 110 and the network node 160 shown in FIG. 5). The apparatuses 1600 and 1700 are operable to perform the example methods described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, respectively, and possibly any other process or method disclosed herein. It should also be understood that the methods of FIGS. 8 and 9 need not be performed solely by the apparatus 1600 and / or the apparatus 1700. At least some operations of the methods may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0171] The virtual devices 1600 and 1700 may include processing circuitry that may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware that may include digital signal processors (DSPs), dedicated digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may have one or more types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, and the like. The program code stored in memory, in some embodiments, has program instructions for implementing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols, as well as instructions for implementing one or more of the techniques described herein.

[0172] According to some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the receiving module 1602, the determining module 1604, and any other suitable units of the device 1600 to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Similarly, the above-mentioned processing circuitry may be used to cause the determining module 1704, the transmitting module 1706, and any other suitable units of the device 1700 to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0173] 9, the apparatus 1600 includes a receiving module 1602 configured to receive a PPW configuration according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein. A determining module 1604 is configured to determine a PRS priority according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0174] 9, the apparatus 1700 includes a determining module 1704 configured to determine a PPW configuration according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein. A transmitting module 1706 is configured to transmit a PPW configuration to a wireless device according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein.

[0175] 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 300 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or apparatus, including virtualizing a hardware platform, storage, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized wireless access node) or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device) or component thereof, and relates to embodiments in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers running on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0176] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented within one or more virtual environments 300 hosted by one or more hardware nodes 330. Additionally, in embodiments where the virtual nodes are not wireless access nodes or do not require wireless connectivity (e.g., core network nodes), the network nodes may be fully virtualized.

[0177] The functionality may be implemented by one or more applications 320 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) that operate to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of the embodiments disclosed herein. The applications 320 execute in a virtualization environment 300 that provides hardware 330 having a processing circuit 360 and a memory 390. The memory 390 includes instructions 395 executable by the processing circuit 360 such that the applications 320 are operable to provide one or more of the features, advantages, and / or functions disclosed herein.

[0178] The virtualization environment 300 comprises a general-purpose or dedicated network hardware device 330 that comprises a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry 360, which may be a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processor, a dedicated application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or dedicated processors. D The device may include memory 390-1, which may be a non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 395 or software executed by the processing circuitry 360. Each hardware device may include a network interface 390-2, which may include a physical network interface 380. -The hardware devices may include one or more network interface controllers 370, also known as network interface cards (NICs). Each hardware device may also include a non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage medium 390-2 having stored thereon software 395 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuitry 360. The software 395 may comprise any type of software, including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 350 (also referred to as hypervisors), software for running virtual machines 340, and software that enables the implementation of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in connection with some embodiments described herein.

[0179] A virtual machine 340 may include virtualized processing, virtualized memory, virtualized networking or interfaces, and virtualized storage, and may be executed by a corresponding virtualization layer 350 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of an instance of a virtual appliance 320 may be implemented on one or more virtual machines 340, and the implementation may be done in different ways.

[0180] During operation, the processing circuitry 360 executes software 395 to instantiate a hypervisor or virtualization layer 350, sometimes referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM), which may present a virtual operating platform to the virtual machines 340 that appears as networked hardware.

[0181] 10, the hardware 330 may be a standalone network node having general or specific components. The hardware 330 may have an antenna 3225 and may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 330 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., a data center or customer premises equipment (CPE)), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via a management and orchestration (MANO) 3100 that oversees, among other things, the lifecycle management of the application 320.

[0182] Hardware virtualization occurs in several contexts, including Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). NFV combines many network equipment types with industry-standard, high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and datacenter To It may also be used to integrate into physical storage that may be deployed, as well as customer premises equipment.

[0183] In the context of NFV, a virtual machine 340 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that executes programs as if they were running on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each virtual machine 340, and the portion of the hardware 330 that runs that virtual machine, is dedicated hardware to that virtual machine and / or hardware shared by that virtual machine with other virtual machines 340, forming a separate virtual network element (VNE).

[0184] Further, in the context of NFV, a virtual network function (VNF) is responsible for handling a specific network function running in one or more virtual machines 340 on top of the hardware networking infrastructure 330 and corresponds to the application 320 in FIG. 18.

[0185] According to some embodiments, one or more radio units 3200, each including one or more transmitters 3220 and one or more receivers 3210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 3225. The radio units 3200 may communicate directly with the hardware node 330 via one or more suitable network interfaces, and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide radio functionality to the virtual node, such as a radio access node or base station.

[0186] According to some embodiments, some signaling may be done using the control system 3230, which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes 330 and the radio unit 3200.

[0187] With reference to Fig. 11, according to one embodiment, a communication system has a communication network 410, such as a 3GPP type cellular network, comprising an access network 411, such as a radio access network, and a core network 414. The access network 411 comprises a number of base stations 412a, 412b, 412c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 413a, 413b, 413c. Each base station 412a, 412b, 412c is connectable to the core network 414 via a wired or wireless connection 415. A first UE 491 located in the coverage area 413c is configured to be wirelessly connected or paged with the corresponding base station 412c. A second UE 492 in the coverage area 413a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 412a. Although multiple UEs 491, 492 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where a single UE is present within the coverage area and is connected to a corresponding base station 412.

[0188] The telecommunications network 410 is itself connected to a host computer 430, which may be embodied in hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 430 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider or may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The connections 421 and 422 between the telecommunications network 410 and the host computer 430 may extend directly from the core network 414 to the host computer 430 or may go through any intermediate network 420. The intermediate network 420 may be one of a public network, a private network, or a hosted network, or a combination of two or more thereof, and the intermediate network 420 may be a backbone network or the Internet, if any, and in particular the intermediate network 420 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0189] The communication system of FIG. 11 generally enables connectivity between the connected UEs 491, 492 and the host computer 430. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 450. The host computer 430 and the connected UEs 491, 492 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 450 using the access network 411, the core network 414, any intermediate networks 420, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 450 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 450 passes are unaware of the routing of the uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 412 does not need to be informed of the past routing of incoming downlink communications with data originating from the host computer 430 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 491. Similarly, the base station 412 does not need to be aware of the future routing of outgoing uplink communications from the UE 491 towards the host computer 430.

[0190] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary host computer that communicates with a user device via a base station over a partially wireless connection, according to some embodiments. An exemplary implementation according to one embodiment of the UE base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraph is described below with reference to FIG. 12. In the communication system 500, the host computer 510 has hardware 515 with a communication interface 516 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of another communication device of the communication system 500. The host computer 510 further comprises a processing circuit 518 that may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuit 518 may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 510 further comprises software 511, which is stored in or accessible to the host computer 510 and executable by the processing circuit 518. The software 511 includes a host application 512. The host application 512 is operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 530, connecting via an OTT connection 550 that terminates at the host computer 510. In providing services to the remote user, the host application 512 may provide user data that is transmitted using the OTT connection 550.

[0191] The communication system 500 further includes a base station 520 provided within the communication system and comprising hardware 525 enabling communication with the host computer 510 and the UE 530. The hardware 525 may have a communication interface 526 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of another communication device of the communication system 500, as well as a wireless interface 527 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 570 with a UE 530 located in a coverage area (not shown in FIG. 12) served by the base station 520. The communication interface 526 may be configured to facilitate a connection 560 to the host computer 510. The connection 560 may be direct or may pass through a core network (not shown in FIG. 12) of the telecommunications system and / or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. According to the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 525 of the base station 520 further comprises a processing circuit 528, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Additionally, base station 520 includes software 521 that is stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0192] The communication system 500 further includes the already mentioned UE 530, whose hardware 535 may have a wireless interface 537 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 570 with a base station serving the coverage area in which the UE 530 is currently located. The hardware 535 of the UE 530 further includes a processing circuit 538, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or combinations thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 530 further comprises software 531, which may be stored or accessible in the UE 530 and executable by the processing circuit 538. The software 531 includes a client application 532, which is operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via the UE 530 with the support of the host computer 510. In the host computer 510, the running host application 512 may communicate with the running client application 532 via the host computer 510 and the OTT connection 550 terminated at the UE 530. In providing services to a user, the client application 532 may receive request data from the host application 512 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 550 may transport both request data and user data. The client application 532 may interact with the user and generate user data that the user provides.

[0193] It should be noted that the host computer 510, base station 520, and UE 530 shown in Figure 12 may be similar to or identical to the host computer 430, one of the base stations 412a, 412b, 412c, and one of the UEs 491, 492 of Figure 5, respectively, i.e., the internal operation of these entities may be as shown in Figure 12 or may be independent therefrom, and the surrounding network topology may be that of Figure 5.

[0194] 12, the OTT connection 550 is depicted abstractly, without explicit reference to any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages through these devices, to illustrate communication between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 via the base station 520. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, which may be configured to be hidden from the UE 530, or from the service provider operating host computer 510, or both. While the OTT connection 550 is operational, the network infrastructure may further decide to dynamically change the routing (e.g., based on network load balancing considerations or reconfiguration).

[0195] The wireless connection 570 between the UE 530 and the base station 520 follows the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE 530 using the OTT connection 550 of which the wireless connection 570 forms the last leg. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments can improve the signaling overhead and reduce latency, thereby providing advantages such as reduced user wait time, improved responsiveness, and extended battery life.

[0196] Measurement procedures may be provided to monitor data rates, latencies, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve. Additionally, there may be optional network functionality to reconfigure the OTT connection 550 between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 in response to variances in the measurement results. The measurement procedures and / or network functionality to reconfigure the OTT connection 550 may be implemented in the software 511 and hardware 515 of the host computer 510, or in the software 531 and hardware 535 of the UE 530, or both. According to an embodiment, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with the communication devices through which the OTT connection 550 passes, and the sensors may participate in the measurement procedures by providing values ​​of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or by providing values ​​of other physical quantities from which the software 511, 531 can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 550 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration need not affect the base station 520 and may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 520. Such procedures and functionality may be those known and practiced in the art. According to certain embodiments, the measurements may include proprietary UE signaling to facilitate measurements of host computer 510 throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be performed by having software 511 and 531 send messages, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, using OTT connection 550 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0197] Figure 13 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system has a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described in connection with Figures 11 and 12. To simplify this disclosure, only the figures that refer to Figure 13 are included in this section.

[0198] In step 610, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 611 of step 610 (optional), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 620, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 630 (optional), the base station transmits the user data carried in the host computer initiated transmission to the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 640 (optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0199] Figure 14 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system has a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described in connection with Figures 11 and 12. To simplify this disclosure, only the figures that refer to Figure 14 are included in this section.

[0200] In step 710 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 720, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmitted signal may be passed through a base station in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 730 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried by the transmitted signal.

[0201] Figure 15 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system has a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be as described in connection with Figures 11 and 12. To simplify this disclosure, only the figures that refer to Figure 15 are included in this section.

[0202] In step 810 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 820, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 821 (which may be optional) of step 820, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 811 (which may be optional) of step 810, the UE executes a client application that provides user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further take into account user input received from the user. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data was provided, the UE begins transmitting the user data to the host computer in sub-step 830 (which may be optional). In step 840 of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

[0203] Figure 16 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system has a host computer, a base station, and a terminal, which may be as described in connection with Figures 11 and 12. To simplify the disclosure, only the figures that refer to Figure 16 are included in this section.

[0204] In step 910 (which may be optional), the base station receives user data from the UE in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 920 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 930 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0205] The term unit may have its conventional meaning in the field of electronic equipment, electrical devices, and / or electronic devices, and may have, for example, electric and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing respective tasks, procedures, calculations, output and / or display functions, etc., as described herein.

[0206] For the systems and devices disclosed herein, invention Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The components of the systems and devices may be integrated or separated. Furthermore, the operations of the systems and devices may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Furthermore, the operations of the systems and devices may be performed by software or other means. Eh A, hardware Eh The method may be implemented using any suitable logic, including, for example, a program, a programmable logic controller, and / or other logic. As used herein, "each" refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set.

[0207] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the invention. The methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Further, the steps may be performed in any suitable order.

[0208] The above description sets forth numerous specific details. However, it is understood that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the understanding of this description. Those skilled in the art will be able to implement the appropriate functionality without undue experimentation, including the description.

[0209] References in this specification to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," and the like indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not all embodiments may necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to implement such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described. Although the present disclosure has been described with respect to a particular embodiment, modifications and substitutions of the embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the above description of the embodiment does not constrain the present disclosure. Other modifications, substitutions, and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, as defined by the following claims.

[0210] Exemplary embodiments Group A Embodiments

[0211] Example 1: A method performed by a user device, the method comprising: receiving, from a base station, a positioning reference signal (PRS) priority indicator indicating a PRS priority for all PRSs in a positioning frequency layer (PFL); - applying the PRS priority to all PRSs in the PFL.

[0212] Example 2: A method performed by a user device, the method comprising: ● receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) priority indicator from a base station indicating a PRS priority for all PRSs in a PRS resource set; - applying the PRS priority to all PRSs in the PRS resource set.

[0213] Example 3: A method performed by a user device, the method comprising: receiving, from a base station, a positioning reference signal (PRS) priority indicator indicating a PRS priority for all PRSs in a PRS processing window (PPW); - applying the PRS priority to all PRSs of the PPW.

[0214] Example 4: A method performed by a user device, the method comprising: Any of the user equipment steps, features or functions described above may occur alone or in combination with other steps, features or functions described above.

[0215] Example 5: The method of the above-mentioned embodiments further comprises one or more additional user device steps, features, or functions as described above.

[0216] Example 6: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: ● Providing user data; - transferring said user data to a host computer via transmission to said base station.

[0217] Group B Embodiments Example 7: A method performed by a base station, the method comprising: Receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) priority indicator indicating a PRS priority for all PRSs of a positioning frequency layer (PFL); - transmitting said PRS priority indicator to a user equipment.

[0218] Example 8: A method performed by a base station, the method comprising: ● receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS) priority indicator indicating a PRS priority for all PRSs in a PRS resource set; - transmitting said PRS priority indicator to a user equipment.

[0219] Example 9: A method performed by a base station, the method comprising: receiving, from a base station, a positioning reference signal (PRS) priority indicator indicating a PRS priority for all PRSs in a PRS processing window (PPW); - transmitting said PRS priority indicator to a user equipment.

[0220] Example 10: A method performed by a base station, the method comprising: Detecting an aviation radar signal; - limiting transmissions so as not to interfere with the detected aircraft radar.

[0221] Example 11: The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein detecting the aviation radar signal includes combining antenna ports into a subset of ports for detecting an elevation angle and a subset of ports for detecting an azimuth angle.

[0222] Example 12: The method according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein detecting the aviation radar signal includes beamforming one or more antenna ports towards the horizon.

[0223] Example 13: The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein detecting the aviation radar signal includes sharing information with one or more base stations.

[0224] Example 14: A method performed by a base station, the method comprising: - Any of the steps, features or functions described above with respect to the base station may be included alone or in combination with other steps, features or functions described above.

[0225] Example 15: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: - Obtaining user data; and - transferring said user data to a host computer or a wireless device.

[0226] Group C Embodiments Example 16: A user device, comprising: - a processing circuit configured to perform any step of any embodiment in group A; A power supply circuit configured to supply power to the wireless device.

[0227] Example 17: A base station, comprising: - a processing circuit configured to perform any step of any embodiment in Group B; - A power supply circuit configured to supply power to the wireless device.

[0228] Example 18: A user equipment (UE), an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; a radio front-end circuit coupled to the antenna and to a processing circuit and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit; - the processing circuitry configured to perform any step of any embodiment in group A; an input interface coupled to the processing circuit and configured to enable input of information to the UE for processing by the processing circuit; - Face and ● An output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information processed by the processing circuit from the UE, and a battery connected to the processing circuit and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0229] Example 19: A communication system including a host computer, - processing circuitry configured to provide user data; a communication interface configured to transfer the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE); - The cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the base station being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group B.

[0230] Example 20: The communication system of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising the base station.

[0231] Example 21: The communication system of the preceding two embodiments, further comprising the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0232] Example 22: A communication system according to any one of the three preceding embodiments, - The processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application thereby to provide the user data, and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0233] Example 23: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data at said host computer; ● Initiating, at the host computer, a transmission conveying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, the base station performing any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group B.

[0234] Example 24: The method of any preceding embodiment, further comprising, at the base station, transmitting the user data.

[0235] Example 25: The method of the two preceding embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application, and the method further comprises executing at the UE a client application associated with the host application.

[0236] Example 26: A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and a processing circuit configured to perform any of the three preceding embodiments.

[0237] Example 27: A communication system including a host computer, - processing circuitry configured to provide user data; a communications interface configured to transfer the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE); The UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the components of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A.

[0238] Example 28: The communication system of the preceding example, wherein the cellular network further comprises a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

[0239] Example 29: A communication system according to the two previous embodiments, - The processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application thereby to provide the user data, and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0240] Example 30: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data at the host computer; ● Initiating, at the host computer, a transmission conveying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A.

[0241] Example 31: The method of any preceding embodiment, further comprising: receiving, at the UE, the user data from the base station.

[0242] Example 32: A communication system including a host computer, a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station; - The UE comprises a radio interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A.

[0243] Example 33: The communication system of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising the UE.

[0244] Example 34: The communication system of Example 2, further comprising the base station, the base station including a wireless interface configured to communicate with the UE, and a communication interface configured to transfer the user data carried by a transmission from the UE to the base station to the host computer.

[0245] Example 35: A communication system according to any one of the three preceding embodiments, - The processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application and the processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data.

[0246] Example 36: A communication system according to any one of the four preceding examples, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application and provide requested data thereby; - The processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data in response to the request data.

[0247] Example 37: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: - receiving, at the host computer, user data transmitted from the UE to the base station, wherein the UE performs any step of any of the embodiments in Group A.

[0248] Example 38: The method of any preceding embodiment, further comprising, at the UE, providing the user data to the base station.

[0249] Example 39: The method of the previous two embodiments, further comprising: executing, at said UE, a client application thereby providing said user data to be transmitted; - executing, at the host computer, a host application associated with the client application.

[0250] Example 40: The method of the three embodiments above may further comprise: executing, in the UE, a client application; receiving, at the UE, input data for the client application, where the input data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application; - the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

[0251] Example 41: A communication system including a host computer having a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, the base station having a wireless interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the base station being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group B.

[0252] Example 42: The communication system of the previous embodiment, further comprising the base station.

[0253] Example 43: The communication system of the preceding two embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0254] Example 44: A communication system according to any one of the three preceding embodiments, the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; - The UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data to be received by the host computer.

[0255] Example 45: A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: ● Receiving, at the host computer, from the base station, user data originating from a transmission received by the base station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A.

[0256] Example 46: The method of any preceding embodiment, further comprising receiving, at the base station, the user data from the UE.

[0257] Example 47: The method of the previous two embodiments, further comprising initiating, at the base station, transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

Claims

1. 1. A method performed by a wireless device capable of receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS), the method comprising: receiving a PRS prioritization window (PPW) configuration from a network node (712), where the PPW configuration includes a PRS priority indicator, the PRS priority indicator indicating a priority associated with one or more of a positioning frequency layer (PFL), a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource, the priority indicating a priority of the PRS relative to other signals or channels received by the wireless device during the PPW; monitoring (714) a PRS during the PPW according to the priority indicator in the PPW configuration; The method according to claim 1,

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the PRS during the PPW in accordance with the priority indicator in the PPW configuration includes measuring / processing the PRS if the priority of the PRS is higher than the priority of other signals or channels occurring simultaneously with the PRS.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the priority indicator comprises a priority associated with a PFL, and the indicated priority applies to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with the PFL.

4. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the priority indicator comprises a priority associated with a positioning resource set and a positioning resource set, and the indicated priority applies to all positioning resources associated with the positioning resource set and the positioning resource set.

5. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the priority indicator comprises priorities associated with a PFL, a positioning resource set and a positioning resource, and the indicated priorities are applied to the indicated positioning resources.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the priority indicator comprises a first priority indicator and the PPW configuration further comprises a second priority indicator; The first priority indicator includes a first priority associated with a PFL, and the second priority indicator includes a second priority associated with the PFL and a positioning resource set; The method of claim 1, wherein the first priority indicator is applied to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with the PFL, except for the positioning resource set indicated in the second priority indicator.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the priority indicator comprises a first priority indicator and the PPW configuration further comprises a second priority indicator; The first priority indicator includes a first priority associated with a PFL, and the second priority indicator includes a second priority associated with the PFL, a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource; The method of claim 1, wherein the first priority indicator is applied to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with the PFL, except for the positioning resources indicated in the second priority indicator.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the priority indicator comprises a first priority indicator and the PPW configuration further comprises a second priority indicator; The first priority indicator includes a first priority associated with a PFL and a first positioning resource set, and the second priority indicator includes a second priority associated with the PFL, a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource; The method of claim 1, wherein the first priority indicator is applied to all positioning resources associated with the PFL and the first positioning resource set, except for the positioning resources indicated in the second priority indicator.

9. A wireless device (110) capable of receiving a positioning reference signal (PRS), the wireless device comprising a processing circuit (120): receiving a PRS prioritization window (PPW) configuration from a network node (160), the PPW configuration including one or more PRS priority indicators, each of the one or more PRS priority indicators indicating a priority associated with one or more of a positioning frequency layer (PFL), a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource, the priority indicating a priority of the PRS relative to other signals or channels received by the wireless device during the PPW; monitoring a PRS during the PPW according to the priority indicator in the PPW configuration; A wireless device comprising processing circuitry that operates as follows.

10. 10. The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the processing circuitry is operative to monitor the PRS during the PPW in accordance with the priority indicator in the PPW configuration by measuring / processing the PRS if the priority of the PRS is higher than a priority of other signals or channels occurring simultaneously with the PRS.

11. A wireless device according to any one of claims 9 to 10, wherein the priority indicator comprises a priority associated with a PFL, the indicated priority being applied to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with the PFL.

12. 1. A method performed by a network node for configuring a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) Prioritization Window (PPW), the method comprising: determining 814 a PPW configuration for the wireless device, where the PPW configuration includes a PRS priority indicator, the priority indicator indicating a priority associated with one or more of a positioning frequency layer (PFL), a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource, the priority indicating a priority of the PRS relative to other signals or channels received by the wireless device during the PPW; transmitting (816) the PPW configuration to the wireless device; The method according to claim 1,

13. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising obtaining (812) positioning priority information from a Location Management Function (LMF), and wherein determining the PPW configuration is based on the obtained positioning priority information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 12, wherein the priority indicator comprises a priority associated with a PFL, and the indicated priority applies to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with the PFL.

15. A network node (160) capable of configuring a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) Prioritization Window (PPW), said network node comprising a processing circuit (170), determining a PPW configuration for a wireless device (110), the PPW configuration including a PRS priority indicator, the PRS priority indicator indicating a priority associated with one or more of a positioning frequency layer (PFL), a positioning resource set, and a positioning resource, the priority indicating a priority of the PRS relative to other signals or channels received by the wireless device during the PPW; transmitting the PPW configuration to the wireless device; A network node comprising processing circuitry operative to:

16. 16. The network node of claim 15, wherein the processing circuitry is further operative to obtain positioning priority information from a Location Management Function (LMF), and wherein determining the PPW configuration is based on the obtained positioning priority information.

17. A network node according to any one of claims 15 to 16, wherein the priority indicator comprises a priority associated with a PFL, the indicated priority applying to all positioning resource sets and their positioning resources associated with said PFL.

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