Storage of multiple positioning capability sets and activation / deactivation trigger options

Abstract

Aspects presented herein may enable a UE to store multiple sets of UE processing capabilities in one or more entities and activate one of the stored sets based on the UE's current processing availability to improve positioning latency. In one aspect, the UE transmits to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity a plurality of capability sets associated with UE positioning processing, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning processing and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning processing, the first level being different from the second level. The UE transmits to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity an indication to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Greek Provisional Patent Application No. 20220100215, entitled "STORAGE OF MULTIPLE POSITIONING CAPABILITY SETS AND ACTIVATION / DEACTIVATION TRIGGERING OPTIONS," filed on March 8, 2022, the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated by reference into this specification.

[0002]

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more specifically to wireless communications with positioning.

[0003] introduction

[0003] Wireless communication systems have been widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services, such as telephone, video, data, messaging, and broadcast. A typical wireless communication system may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0004]

[0004] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunications standards to provide a common protocol that allows different wireless devices to communicate at a city, country, region, or even global level. An exemplary telecommunications standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of the continuing mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., for the Internet of Things (IoT)), and other requirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR may be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. Further improvements are needed in 5G NR technology that may also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and the telecommunications standards that employ those technologies.

[0005]

[0005] Some communication systems may also support some cellular network-based positioning techniques, where the geographic location of a wireless device may be determined based on measuring radio signals exchanged between the wireless device and other wireless devices. For example, the distance between a wireless device and a transmission reception point (TRP) may be estimated based on the time it takes for a reference signal (e.g., a positioning reference signal (PRS)) transmitted from the TRP to reach the wireless device. Other examples of cellular network-based positioning techniques may include downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and / or downlink and uplink-based positioning methods. Summary of the Invention

[0006]

[0006] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor is it intended to identify key or critical elements of all aspects, nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description presented later.

[0007]

[0007] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus transmits a plurality of capability sets associated with a UE positioning process, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level, to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity. The apparatus transmits an instruction to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity.

[0008]

[0008] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus receives from a user equipment (UE) a plurality of capability sets associated with a UE positioning process, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level. The apparatus receives an instruction from the UE to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for the UE positioning.

[0009]

[0009] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects include the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of only a few of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed, and the description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1]

[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system and access network. [Figure 2A]

[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a first frame in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B]

[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a DL channel in a subframe in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2C]

[0013] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a second frame, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2D]

[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a UL channel in a subframe in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3]

[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a base station and user equipment (UE) in an access network. [Figure 4]

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of UE positioning based on reference signal measurements, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 5A]

[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a downlink-positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) transmitted from multiple transmission / reception points (TRPs) in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B]

[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an uplink-sounding reference signal (UL-SRS) transmitted from a UE, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 6]

[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of estimating a UE's location based on multiple round trip time (RTT) measurements from multiple TRPs, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 7]

[0020] 1 is a communication flow illustrating an example multi-RTT positioning procedure, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 8]

[0021] 4 is a communication flow illustrating exemplary main steps of a UE positioning operation in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 9]

[0022] 1 is a communication flow illustrating an example of an access and mobility management function (AMF) storing UE positioning capabilities in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 10]

[0023] 1 is a communication flow illustrating an example capability transfer procedure (eg, an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) capability transfer procedure) in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 11]

[0024] 1 is a communication flow illustrating an example capabilities indication procedure (eg, an LPP capabilities indication procedure) in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure. [Figure 12]

[0025] 1 is a communication flow illustrating an example of storing UE positioning capabilities in an AMF in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 13]

[0026] 1 is a communication flow illustrating an example of a UE storing multiple sets of UE processing capabilities in a network entity in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 14]

[0027] 1 is a communication flow illustrating an example of a UE storing multiple sets of UE SL processing capabilities in an SL positioning entity, in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure. [Figure 15]

[0028] 1 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication according to an aspect presented herein. [Figure 16]

[0029] 1 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication according to an aspect presented herein. [Figure 17]

[0030] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware implementation for an exemplary apparatus according to aspects presented herein. [Figure 18]

[0031] 1 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication according to an aspect presented herein. [Figure 19]

[0032] 1 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication according to an aspect presented herein. [Figure 20]

[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware implementation for an exemplary apparatus according to aspects presented herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011]

[0034] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describes various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The Detailed Description includes specific details intended to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0012]

[0035] Certain aspects of a telecommunications system are now presented with respect to various apparatus and methods that are described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0013]

[0036] As an example, the elements, or any portion of the elements, or any combination of the elements, may be implemented as a "processing system" including one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functions described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system may execute software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0014]

[0037] Thus, in one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be accessed by a computer and that can be used to store computer-executable code in the form of instructions or data structures.

[0015]

[0038] Although aspects and implementations are described in this application by way of example for some embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that additional implementations and use cases may occur in many different configurations and scenarios. The innovations described herein may be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging configurations. For example, implementations and / or applications may occur with integrated chip implementations and other non-modular component-based devices (e.g., end user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail / purchasing devices, medical devices, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled devices, etc.). Some embodiments may or may not be specifically targeted to a use case or application, but a wide variety of combination applicability of the described innovations may occur. Implementations may range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations, and even aggregated, distributed, or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations. In some practical settings, devices incorporating the described aspects and features may also include additional components and features for implementation and practice of the claimed and described aspects. For example, transmitting and receiving wireless signals necessarily involves a number of components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, RF chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processor(s), interleavers, summers / analog summers, etc.). It is contemplated that the innovations described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed configurations, aggregated or separated components, end-user devices, etc. of various sizes, shapes, and configurations.

[0016]

[0039] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system and access network 100. The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes base stations 102, UEs 104, an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., 5G Core (5GC)). The base stations 102 may include macro cells (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cells (low-power cellular base stations). The macro cells include base stations. The small cells include femto cells, pico cells, and micro cells.

[0017]

[0040] Aspects presented herein may improve UE positioning performance and latency. Aspects presented herein may enable a UE to store multiple sets of UE processing capabilities in one or more network entities, such as an AMF, an LMF, and / or another UE. Each of the multiple sets of UE processing capabilities may include a different level of UE positioning processing. Thus, the UE may indicate to one or more network entities which set of UE processing capabilities should be activated based on the UE's current processing availability / capability to improve positioning efficiency and latency.

[0018]

[0041] In certain aspects, the UE 104 may include a capability set indication component 198 configured to store a plurality of sets of UE processing capabilities in one or more network entities and activate one set of the stored UE processing capabilities based on the current processing availability of the UE. In one configuration, the capability set indication component 198 may be configured to transmit a plurality of capability sets associated with UE positioning processing, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning processing and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning processing, the first level being different from the second level, to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity. In such a configuration, the capability set indication component 198 may transmit an indication to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning.

[0019]

[0042] In certain aspects, the UE 104, the base station 102 / 180, the AMF 192, the LMF, and / or the GMLC may include a capability set storage and activation component 199 configured to store a plurality of sets of UE processing capabilities for the UE and activate one set of the stored UE processing capabilities for the UE based on an instruction of the UE. In one configuration, the capability set storage and activation component 199 may be further configured to receive from the UE a plurality of capability sets associated with UE positioning processing, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning processing and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning processing, the first level being different from the second level. In such a configuration, the capability set storage and activation component 199 may receive an instruction from the UE to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning.

[0020]

[0043] A base station 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with the EPC 160 over a first backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). A base station 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with the core network 190 over a second backhaul link 184. In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 can perform one or more of the following functions: forwarding user data, encryption and decryption of radio channels, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, non-access stratum (NAS) message delivery, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and alert message delivery. The base stations 102 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC 160 or the core network 190) via a third backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface). The first backhaul link 132, the second backhaul link 184, and the third backhaul link 134 can be wired or wireless.

[0021]

[0044] In some aspects, the base station 102 or 180 may be referred to as a RAN and may include aggregated or separated components. As an example of a separated RAN, the base station may include a central unit (CU) 103, one or more distributed units (DUs) 105, and / or one or more remote units (RUs) 109, as shown in FIG. 1. The RAN may be separated by a division between the RU 109 and the aggregated CU / DU. The RAN may be separated by a division between the CU 103, the DU 105, and the RU 109. The RAN may be separated by a division between the CU 103 and the aggregated DU / RU. The CU 103 and one or more DUs 105 may be connected via an F1 interface. The DUs 105 and the RUs 109 may be connected via a fronthaul interface. The connection between the CU 103 and the DU 105 may be referred to as a midhaul, and the connection between the DU 105 and the RU 109 may be referred to as a fronthaul. The connection between the CU 103 and the core network may be referred to as a backhaul. The RAN may be based on a functional division between various components of the RAN, for example, between the CU 103, the DU 105, or the RU 109. The CU may be configured to perform processing of one or more aspects of a wireless communication protocol, for example, one or more layers of a protocol stack, and the DU(s) may be configured to process other aspects of the wireless communication protocol, for example, other layers of the protocol stack. In various implementations, the division between layers processed by the CU and layers processed by the DU may occur at different layers of the protocol stack. As one non-limiting example, the DU 105 may provide logical nodes for hosting at least a portion of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and a physical (PHY) layer based on a functional division.The RU may provide a logical node configured to host at least a portion of the PHY layer and radio frequency (RF) processing. The CU 103 may host higher layer functions above the RLC layer, such as, for example, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, etc. In other implementations, the division between layer functions provided by the CU, DU, or RU may be different.

[0022]

[0045] An access network may include one or more IAB nodes 111 that exchange wireless communications with UEs 104 or other integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes 111 to provide access and backhaul to a core network. In an IAB network of multiple IAB nodes, an anchor node may be referred to as an IAB donor. An IAB donor may be a base station 102 or 180 that provides access to a core network 190 or an EPC 160 and / or control to one or more IAB nodes 111. An IAB donor may include a CU 103 and a DU 105. An IAB node 111 may include a DU 105 and a mobile termination (MT) 113. The DU 105 of an IAB node 111 may act as a parent node, and the MT 113 may act as a child node.

[0023]

[0046] The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network including both small cells and macro cells may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home evolved NodeBs (eNBs) (HeNBs) that may provide service to restricted groups known as closed subscriber groups (CSGs). The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102, and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technologies, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link may be through one or more carriers. The base station 102 / UE 104 may use spectrum with a bandwidth of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400 MHz, etc.) per carrier, allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) in total, used for transmission in each direction. The carriers may be adjacent or non-adjacent to each other. The carrier allocation may be asymmetric for DL ​​and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​than for UL). The component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers.The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell), and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

[0024]

[0047] Particular UEs 104 may communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication links 158. The D2D communication links 158 may use DL / UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication links 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be through various wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0025]

[0048] The wireless communication system may further include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 that communicates with Wi-Fi stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154, such as in the 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum. When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the STAs 152 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communication to determine if a channel is available.

[0026]

[0049] The small cell 102' may operate in a licensed and / or unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz, etc.) used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. By employing NR in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell 102' may enhance coverage to and / or increase capacity of the access network.

[0027]

[0050] The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided into various classes, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified with frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). Although a portion of FR1 is higher than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as the "sub-6 GHz" band in various documents and papers. A similar nomenclature issue may arise with respect to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and papers, even though it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

[0028]

[0051] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as a frequency range designated FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). Frequency bands included within FR3 may inherit FR1 and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus may in effect extend the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to the mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency ranges designated FR2-2 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands is included within the EHF band.

[0029]

[0052] With the above aspects in mind, it should be understood that unless specifically stated otherwise, terms such as "sub-6 GHz," as used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that may be below 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Additionally, it should be understood that unless specifically stated otherwise, terms such as "millimeter wave," as used herein, may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR2-2, and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

[0030]

[0053] The base station 102, whether a small cell 102′ or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station), may include and / or be referred to as an eNB, g Node B (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations, such as the gNB 180, may operate at millimeter wave and / or quasi-millimeter wave frequencies in the conventional sub-6 GHz spectrum in communication with the UE 104. When the gNB 180 operates at millimeter wave or quasi-millimeter wave frequencies, the gNB 180 may be referred to as a millimeter wave base station. The millimeter wave base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 for the UE 104 to compensate for path loss and short distances. The base station 180 and the UE 104 may each include multiple antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays, to facilitate beamforming.

[0031]

[0054] The base station 180 may transmit a beamformed signal to the UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182′. The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signal from the base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182″. The UE 104 may also transmit a beamformed signal to the base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. The base station 180 may receive the beamformed signal from the UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 180 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and transmit direction for each of the base station 180 / UE 104. The transmit and receive directions for the base station 180 may or may not be the same. The transmit and receive directions for the UE 104 may or may not be the same.

[0032]

[0055] The EPC 160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a Serving Gateway 166, a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) Gateway 168, a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC) 170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. The MME 162 may communicate with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are forwarded through the Serving Gateway 166, which is itself connected to the PDN Gateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides IP address allocation for the UE as well as other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176, which may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), PS streaming services, and / or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for provisioning and delivery of MBMS user services. The BM-SC 170 may act as an entry point for content providers' MBMS transmissions and may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services in the public land mobile network (PLMN) and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions.The MBMS Gateway 168 can be used to distribute MBMS traffic to base stations 102 belonging to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a particular service, and can be responsible for session management (start / stop) and collection of eMBMS related charging information.

[0033]

[0056] The core network 190 may include an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a Session Management Function (SMF) 194, and a User Plane Function (UPF) 195. The AMF 192 may communicate with a Unified Data Management (UDM) 196. The AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the core network 190. In general, the AMF 192 provides QoS flow and session management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are forwarded through the UPF 195. The UPF 195 provides IP address allocation for the UE as well as other functions. The UPF 195 is connected to IP services 197. The IP services 197 may include Internet, intranet, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Packet Switch (PS) Streaming (PSS) services, and / or other IP services.

[0034]

[0057] A base station may include and / or be referred to as a gNB, Node B, eNB, access point, base transceiver station, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), transmit / receive point (TRP), or some other suitable terminology. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC 160 or core network 190 for the UE 104. Examples of the UE 104 include a cellular phone, a smartphone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small cooking appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, or any other similarly functional device. Some of the UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meters, gas pumps, toasters, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). The UEs 104 may also be referred to as stations, mobile stations, subscriber stations, mobile units, subscriber units, wireless units, remote units, mobile devices, wireless devices, wireless communication devices, remote devices, mobile subscriber stations, access terminals, mobile terminals, wireless terminals, remote terminals, handsets, user agents, mobile clients, clients, or some other suitable terminology. In some scenarios, the term UE may also apply to one or more companion devices, such as in a device constellation configuration. One or more of these devices may collectively access the network and / or may individually access the network.

[0035]

[0058] FIG. 2A is a diagram 200 illustrating an example of a first subframe in a 5G NR frame configuration. FIG. 2B is a diagram 230 illustrating an example of a DL channel in a 5G NR subframe. FIG. 2C is a diagram 250 illustrating an example of a second subframe in a 5G NR frame configuration. FIG. 2D is a diagram 280 illustrating an example of a UL channel in a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame configuration may be frequency division duplexed (FDD) where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to either DL or UL, or time division duplexed (TDD) where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to both DL and UL. In the example provided by Figures 2A, 2C, the 5G NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, subframe 4 is configured with slot format 28 (mostly DL), where D is DL, U is UL, and F is flexible for DL / UL use, and subframe 3 is configured with slot format 1 (all UL). Subframes 3 and 4 are shown with slot formats 1 and 28, respectively, although any particular subframe can be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0 and 1 are all DL and UL, respectively. The other slot formats 2-61 include a mix of DL symbols, UL symbols, and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with the slot format through a received slot format indicator (SFI) (either dynamically through DL control information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically through radio resource control (RRC) signaling). Please note that the following description also applies to the 5G NR frame structure, which is TDD.

[0036]

[0059] 2A-2D show certain frame configurations, and aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other wireless communication technologies, which may have different frame configurations and / or different channels. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into 10 subframes (1 ms) of equal size. Each subframe may include one or more time slots. A subframe may also include a minislot, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each slot may include 14 or 12 symbols depending on whether the cyclic prefix (CP) is normal or extended. For normal CP, each slot may include 14 symbols, and for extended CP, each slot may include 12 symbols. The symbols on the DL may be CP orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on the UL can be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also called single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power limited scenarios, i.e., limited to single stream transmission). The number of slots in a subframe is based on the CP and a number logic, which defines the subcarrier spacing (SCS), which effectively defines the symbol length / period equal to 1 / SCS.

[0037] [Table 1]

[0038]

[0060] For normal CP (14 symbols / slot), the different number logics μ0-4 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. For extended CP, number logic 2 allows 4 slots per subframe. Thus, for normal CP and number logic μ, 14 symbols / slot and 2 μ There are slots / subframes. The subcarrier spacing is 2 μ *15kHz, where μ is a number logic 0-4. Therefore, number logic μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz and number logic μ=4 has a subcarrier spacing of 240kHz. The symbol length / period is inversely proportional to the subcarrier spacing. Figures 2A-2D provide an example of a normal CP with 14 symbols per slot and number logic μ=2 with 4 slots per subframe. The slot duration is 0.25ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60kHz and the symbol duration is about 16.67μs. Within a set of frames, there may be one or more different bandwidth parts (BWPs) (see Figure 2B), which are frequency division multiplexed. Each BWP may have a specific number logic and CP (normal or extended).

[0039]

[0061] A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each time slot contains resource blocks (RBs) (also called physical RBs (PRBs)), which span 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0040]

[0062] As shown in Figure 2A, some of the REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RS) for the UE. The RS may include demodulation RS (DM-RS) (shown as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The RS may also include beam measurement RS (BRS), beam refinement RS (BRRS), and phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0041]

[0063] FIG. 2B shows an example of various DL channels in a subframe of a frame. A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI in one or more control channel elements (CCEs) (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs), where each CCE includes 6 RE groups (REGs), and each REG includes 12 consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol of an RB. The PDCCHs in one BWP may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). During a PDCCH monitoring occasion on the CORESET, the UE is configured to monitor PDCCH candidates in a PDCCH search space (e.g., common search space, UE-specific search space), where the PDCCH candidates have different DCI formats and different aggregation levels. Additional BWPs may be deployed at higher and / or lower frequencies across the channel bandwidth. A primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be present in symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is used by the UE 104 to determine the subframe / symbol timing and the physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be present in symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and the timing of the radio frame. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the DM-RS.The physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which carries the master information block (MIB), may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block (also called an SS block (SSB)). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted over the PBCH, such as system information blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.

[0042]

[0064] As shown in FIG. 2C , some of the REs carry DM-RS (depicted as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE may transmit DM-RS for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RS for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether a short or long PUCCH is transmitted and depending on the specific PUCCH format used. The UE may transmit sounding reference signals (SRS). The SRS may be transmitted in the last symbol of a subframe. The SRS may have a comb configuration, and the UE may transmit the SRS in one of the combs. The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

[0043]

[0065] 2D shows an example of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame. The PUCCH may be arranged as shown in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI) such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK) (i.e., one or more HARQ ACK bits indicating one or more ACKs and / or negative ACKs (NACKs)). The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry buffer status reports (BSRs), power headroom reports (PHRs), and / or UCIs.

[0044]

[0066] 3 is a block diagram of a base station 310 communicating with a UE 350 in an access network. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 may be provided to a controller / processor 375. The controller / processor 375 implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions. Layer 3 includes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, and Layer 2 includes a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 375 is responsible for RRC layer functions associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., MIBs, SIBs), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), mobility between radio access technologies (RATs), and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with forwarding higher layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and mapping of logical channels to transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), MAC SDUs from TBs, and MAC SDUs from TBs. It provides the MAC layer functions associated with demultiplexing of SDUs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0045]

[0067] The transmit (TX) processor 316 and receive (RX) processor 370 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 processes mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. This OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 374 may be used to determine the coding and modulation schemes as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX may modulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier with the respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0046]

[0068] At the UE 350, each receiver 354 RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 352. Each receiver 354 RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to a receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 350, they can be combined by the RX processor 356 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor 356 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, as well as the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by the base station 310. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator 358. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by the base station 310 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to a controller / processor 359, which implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions.

[0047]

[0069] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 359 provides transport and logical channel demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and / or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

[0048]

[0070] Similar to the functionality described in connection with DL transmission by base station 310, the controller / processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with forwarding of higher layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping of logical channels to transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0049]

[0071] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator 358 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used by the TX processor 368 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme as well as to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antennas 352 via separate transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0050]

[0072] The UL transmission is processed at the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described with respect to the receiver functions at the UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives a signal through its corresponding antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the RX processor 370.

[0051]

[0073] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 375 provides transport and logical channel demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 350. The IP packets from the controller / processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and / or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

[0052]

[0074] In some examples, at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 may be configured to perform aspects associated with the capability set instruction component 198 and / or the capability set storage and activation component 199 of Figure 1. In other examples, at least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 may be configured to perform aspects associated with the capability set storage and activation component 199 of Figure 1.

[0053]

[0075] A network may support several cellular network based positioning techniques, such as downlink-based, uplink-based, and / or downlink and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods may include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., in LTE), downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) (e.g., in NR), and / or downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) (e.g., in NR). In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, a UE may measure the difference between the respective times of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRSs)) received from a pair of base stations, called reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and report them to a positioning entity (e.g., location management function (LMF)). For example, the UE may receive assistance data (ASD) from the UE. The UE may receive identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (sometimes referred to as a reference cell or reference gNB) and at least one non-reference base station in the PRS (Peer-to-Radio (PRS)). The UE may then measure the RSTD between the reference base station and each of the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity may estimate the location of the UE. In other words, the position of the UE may be estimated based on measuring reference signals transmitted between the UE and one or more base stations and / or transmission / reception points (TRPs) of one or more base stations. Thus, the PRS may enable the UE to detect and measure neighboring TRPs and perform positioning based on the measurements.For purposes of this disclosure, the suffixes "-based" and "-assisted" may refer to nodes that are involved in performing a positioning calculation (and may also provide measurements) and nodes that provide measurements (but may not perform the positioning calculation), respectively. For example, the act of a UE providing measurements to a base station / positioning entity to be used in computing a position estimate may be described as "UE-assisted," "UE-assisted positioning," and / or "UE-assisted position calculation," while the act of the UE calculating its own position may be described as "UE-based," "UE-based positioning," and / or "UE-based position calculation."

[0054]

[0076] In some examples, the term "TRP" may refer to one or more antennas of a base station, and the term "base station" may refer to a complete unit (e.g., base station 102 / 180) including aggregated or separated components, as described in connection with FIG. 1. For example, as an example of a separated RAN, a base station may include a CU, one or more DUs, one or more RUs, and / or one or more TRPs. One or more separated components may be located at different locations. For example, different TRPs may be located at different geographic locations. In another example, a TRP may refer to a set of geographically collocated antennas (e.g., an antenna array (having one or more antenna elements)) supporting transmission point (TP) and / or reception point (RP) functions. Thus, a base station may transmit signals to and / or receive signals from other wireless devices (e.g., UEs, another base station, etc.) via one or more TRPs. For purposes of this disclosure, in some examples, the term "TRP" may be used interchangeably with the term "base station."

[0055]

[0077] For DL-AoD positioning, the positioning entity may use beam reports from the UE of received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmission beams to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the transmitting base station(s). The positioning entity may then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the transmitting base station(s).

[0056]

[0078] Uplink-based positioning methods may include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., Sounding Reference Signals (SRSs)) transmitted by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations may measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRSs) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity may use the signal strength measurements and the angle(s) of the receive beam(s) to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the base station(s). Based on the determined angles and the known locations of the base stations, the positioning entity may then estimate the location of the UE.

[0057]

[0079] Downlink and uplink based positioning methods may include enhanced cell-ID (E-CID) positioning and multiple round trip time (RTT) positioning (also called "multi-cell RTT"). In the RTT procedure, an initiator (base station or UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to a responder (UE or base station), and the responder transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the initiator. The RTT response signal may include a difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal, called the receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference. The initiator may calculate the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response signal, called the transmit-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference. The propagation time (also called "time of flight") between the initiator and the responder may be calculated from the Tx-Rx time difference and the Rx-Tx time difference. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the UE may determine the distance between the initiator and the responder. For multi-RTT positioning, the UE may perform RTT procedures with multiple base stations to allow its location to be determined based on the known locations of the base stations (e.g., using multilateration). RTT and multi-RTT methods may be combined with other positioning techniques, such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD, to improve location accuracy.

[0058]

[0080] The E-CID positioning method may be based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE may report the serving cell ID and timing advance (TA), as well as the identities, estimated timing, and signal strength of detected neighboring base stations. The location of the UE is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0059]

[0081] To assist the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., a location server, an LMF, or an SLP) may provide assistance data (AD) to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include an identifier of the base station (or a cell / TRP of the base station) from which to measure the reference signal, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning subframes, the periodicity of the positioning subframes, a muting sequence, a frequency hopping sequence, a reference signal identifier, a reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may be obtained directly from the base station (e.g., in a periodically broadcasted overhead message, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes without using the assistance data.

[0060]

[0082] In the case of an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and an associated uncertainty (e.g., a search space window) around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the value range of the expected RSTD may be plus or minus (+ / -) 500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, the value range for the expected RSTD uncertainty may be + / - 32 μs when any of the resources used for the positioning measurements are in FR1. In other cases, the value range for the expected RSTD uncertainty may be + / - 8 μs when all of the resources used for the positioning measurements are in FR2. In this context, "RSTD" may refer to one or more measurements indicating the difference in arrival time between a PRS transmitted by a base station, referred to herein as a "neighbor base station" or "measurement base station," and a PRS transmitted by a reference base station. The reference base station may be selected by the location server and / or by the UE to provide good or sufficient signal strength observed at the UE so that the PRS can be acquired and / or measured more accurately and / or more quickly, such as without any special assistance from the serving base station.

[0061]

[0083] A location estimate may also be referred to as a position estimate, location, position, location fix, fix, etc. A location estimate may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or may be urban, include an address, a postal address, or some other linguistic description of the location. A location estimate may also be defined relative to some other known location, or defined absolutely (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to fall with some specified or default level of confidence). For purposes of this disclosure, the reference signals may include PRS, tracking reference signal (TRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), cell-specific reference signal (CRS), CSI-RS, demodulation reference signal (DMRS), PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame configuration is used for uplink or downlink communications. In some examples, a set of resource elements (REs) used for transmitting a PRS may be referred to as a "PRS resource." A set of resource elements may span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and one or more consecutive symbol(s) within a slot in the time domain. Within a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource may occupy consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain. In other examples, a "PRS resource set" may refer to a set of PRS resources used for transmitting a PRS signal, and each PRS resource may have a PRS resource ID. In addition, PRS resources in a PRS resource set may be associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set may be identified by a PRS resource set ID and associated with a particular TRP (e.g., identified by a TRP ID).In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set may have the same periodicity across slots, a common muting pattern configuration, and / or the same repetition factor. The periodicity may be the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. For example, the periodicity may be 2^μ. * The PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set may be associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (if the TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus may also be referred to as a "PRS resource" or simply a "resource", also sometimes referred to as a "beam". In some examples, a "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" may be one instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a group of one or more consecutive slots) in which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning occasion", "PRS positioning instance", "positioning occasion", "positioning instance", "positioning repetition", or simply an "occasion", "instance", and / or "repetition".

[0062]

[0084] A "positioning frequency layer (PFL)" (which may also be referred to as a "frequency layer") may be a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs having the same values ​​for certain parameters. Specifically, the collection of PRS resource sets may have the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning, for example, that all numerologies supported for PDSCH are also supported for PRS), the same Point A, the same value of downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and / or the same comb size, etc. The Point A parameter may take the value of the parameter ARFCN-ValueNR (where "ARFCN" stands for "absolute radio frequency channel number"), which may be an identifier / code that specifies a pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. In some examples, the downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of 4 PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. In other examples, up to four frequency layers may be configured and up to two PRS resource sets may be configured per TRP per frequency layer.

[0063]

[0085] The concept of frequency layers may be similar to component carriers (CCs) and BWPs, where CCs and BWPs may be used by one base station (or macrocell base station and small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while frequency layers may be used by multiple (e.g., three or more) base stations to transmit PRSs. The UE may indicate the number of frequency layers that the UE can support its positioning capabilities when the UE transmits to the network, such as during a positioning protocol session. For example, the UE may indicate whether it can support one or four PFLs.

[0064]

[0086] 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of UE positioning based on reference signal measurements according to various aspects of the disclosure. In one example, the location of the UE 404 may be estimated based on multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT) measurements, where multiple TRPs 402 may perform round trip time (RTT) measurements on signals transmitted to and received from the UE 404 to determine an approximate distance of the UE 404 to each of the multiple TRPs 402. Similarly, the UE 404 may perform RTT measurements on signals transmitted to and received from the TRPs 402 to determine an approximate distance of each TRP to the UE 404. A location management function (LMF) associated with the TRPs 402 and / or the UE 404 may then estimate the position of the UE 404 based at least in part on the approximate distance of the UE 404 to the multiple TRPs 402. For example, the TRP 406 may transmit at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) 410 to the UE 404 and may receive at least one uplink sounding reference signal (UL-SRS) 412 transmitted from the UE 404. Based at least in part on measuring the RTT 414 between the transmitted DL-PRS 410 and the received UL-SRS 412, a serving base station associated with the TRP 406 or an LMF associated with the TRP 406 may determine a location (e.g., distance) of the UE 404 relative to the TRP 406. Similarly, the UE 404 may transmit the UL-SRS 412 to the TRP 406 and may receive the transmitted DL-PRS 410 from the TRP 406. Based at least in part on measuring the RTT 414 between the transmitted UL-SRS 412 and the received DL-PRS 410, the UE 404 or an LMF associated with the UE 404 may determine a location of the TRP 406 relative to the UE 404. The multi-RTT measurement mechanism may be initiated by the TRP 406 / 408 and / or the LMF associated with the UE 404. The TRP may configure UL-SRS resources to the UE via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. In some examples, the UE and the TRP may report multi-RTT measurements to the LMF, and the LMF may estimate the location of the UE based on the reported multi-RTT measurements.

[0065]

[0087] In another example, the UE's location may be estimated based on multiple antenna beam measurements, where a downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) and / or uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA) of transmission between the UE and one or more TRPs may be used to estimate the UE's location and / or distance with respect to each TRP. For example, referring again to FIG. 4, for DL-AoD, the UE 404 may perform reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements for a set of DL-PRS 416 transmitted from multiple transmission beams (e.g., DL-PRS beams) of the TRP 408, and the UE 404 may provide DL-PRS beam measurements to the serving base station (or to an LMF associated with the base station). Based on the DL-PRS beam measurements, the serving TRP or LMF may derive a departure azimuth angle (e.g., φ) and departure zenith angle (e.g., θ) for the DL-PRS beam of the TRP 408. The serving TRP or LMF may then estimate the position of the UE 404 relative to the TRP 408 based on the departure azimuth angle and departure zenith angle of the DL-PRS beam. Similarly, in the case of UL-AoA, the position of the UE may be estimated based on the UL-SRS beam measurements measured at different TRPs, such as TRP 402. Based on the UL-SRS beam measurements, the serving base station or an LMF associated with the serving base station may derive the arrival azimuth angle and arrival zenith angle for the UL-SRS beam from the UE, and the serving base station or LMF may estimate the UE's position and / or UE distance relative to each of the TRPs based on the arrival azimuth angle and arrival zenith angle of the UL-SRS beam.

[0066]

[0088] FIG. 5A is a diagram 500A illustrating an example of DL-PRS transmitted from multiple TRPs according to various aspects of the disclosure. In one example, the serving base station may configure the DL-PRS to be transmitted from one or more TRPs in one slot or across multiple slots. If the DL-PRS is configured to be transmitted within a slot, the serving base station may configure the starting resource element in time and frequency from each of one or more TRPs. If the DL-PRS is configured to be transmitted across multiple slots, the serving base station may configure the gap between DL-PRS slots, the periodicity of the DL-PRS, and / or the density of the DL-PRS within a period. The serving base station may also configure the DL-PRS to start at any physical resource block (PRB) in the system bandwidth. In one example, the system bandwidth may range from 24 to 276 PRBs in steps of 4 PRBs (e.g., 24, 28, 32, 36, etc.). A serving base station may transmit DL-PRS in a PRS beam, which may be referred to as a "PRS resource," and the complete set of PRS beams transmitted from a TRP on the same frequency may be referred to as a "PRS resource set" or a "resource set of PRS," as described in connection with Figure 4. As shown in Figure 5A, DL-PRS transmitted from different TRPs and / or different PRS beams may be multiplexed across symbols or slots.

[0067]

[0089] In some examples, each symbol of the DL-PRS may be configured in a comb configuration of frequencies, and the DL-PRS from the TRP of the base station may occupy every Nth subcarrier. The comb value N may be configured to be 2, 4, 6, or 12. The length of the PRS in one slot may be a multiple of N symbols, and the position of the first symbol in the slot may be flexible as long as the slot consists of at least N PRS symbols. Figure 500A shows an example of a comb 6 DL-PRS configuration, where the pattern of DL-PRS from different TRPs may be repeated after 6 symbols.

[0068]

[0090] FIG. 5B is a diagram 500B illustrating an example of a UL-SRS transmitted from a UE according to various aspects of the disclosure. In one example, the UL-SRS from the UE may be configured in a comb-4 pattern, where the pattern of the UL-SRS may be repeated after four symbols. Similarly, the UL-SRS may be configured in SRS resources of an SRS resource set, where each SRS resource may correspond to an SRS beam, and the SRS resource set may correspond to a collection of SRS resources (e.g., beams) configured for the TRP. In some examples, the SRS resources may span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 consecutive OFDM symbols. In other examples, the comb size for the UL-SRS may be configured to be 2, 4, or 8.

[0069]

[0091] 6 is a diagram 600 illustrating an example of estimating a UE's location based on multiple RTT measurements from multiple TRPs according to various aspects of the disclosure. A UE 602 can be configured by a serving base station to decode DL-PRS resources 612 corresponding to and transmitted from a first TRP 604 (TRP-1), a second TRP 606 (TRP-2), a third TRP 608 (TRP-3), and a fourth TRP 610 (TRP-4). The UE 602 may also be configured to transmit the UL-SRS on a set of UL-SRS resources, which may include a first SRS resource 614, a second SRS resource 616, a third SRS resource 618, and a fourth SRS resource 620, such that the serving cell, e.g., a first TRP 604, a second TRP 606, a third TRP 608, and a fourth TRP 610, as well as other neighboring cells, may be able to measure the set of UL-SRS resources transmitted from the UE 602. In the case of multi-RTT measurements based on DL-PRS and UL-SRS, there may be a correlation between the UE's measurements for DL-PRS and the TRP's measurements for UL-SRS, so the smaller the gap between the UE's DL-PRS measurements and the UE's UL-SRS transmissions, the more accurate the estimation of the UE's location and / or distance to each TRP may be.

[0070]

[0092] It should be noted that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" as used herein may also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS defined in LTE and NR, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. Furthermore, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may refer to downlink or uplink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise suggested by the context. If necessary to further distinguish between types of PRS, downlink positioning reference signals may be referred to as "DL-PRS" and uplink positioning reference signals (e.g., SRS for positioning, PTRS) may be referred to as "UL-PRS". In addition, for signals that may be transmitted in both uplink and downlink (e.g., DMRS, PTRS), "UL" or "DL" may be prepended to the signal to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" can be distinguished from "DL-DMRS."

[0071]

[0093] 7 is a communication flow 700 illustrating an example multi-RTT positioning procedure in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure. The numbering associated with communication flow 700 does not designate a particular temporal order, but is merely used as a reference to communication flow 700. Additionally, DL-only and / or UL-only positioning may use one or more subsets of this multi-RTT positioning procedure.

[0072]

[0094] At 710, the LMF 706 may request one or more positioning capabilities from the UE 702 (e.g., from the target device). In some examples, the requesting one or more positioning capabilities from the UE 702 may be associated with the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP). For example, the LMF 706 may request the positioning capabilities of the UE 702 using an LPP capability transfer procedure.

[0073]

[0095] At 712, the LMF 706 may request UL SRS configuration information for the UE 702. The LMF 706 may also provide assistance data (e.g., path loss reference, spatial relationship, and / or SSB configuration, etc.) specified by the serving base station 704. For example, the LMF 706 may send an NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) Positioning Information Request message to the serving base station 704 to request UL information for the UE 702.

[0074]

[0096] At 714, the serving base station 704 may determine available resources for the UL SRS, and at 716, the serving base station 704 may configure one or more UL SRS resource sets for the UE 702 based on the available resources.

[0075]

[0097] At 718, the serving base station 704 may provide the UL SRS configuration information to the LMF 706, such as via an NRPPa Positioning Information Response message.

[0076]

[0098] At 720, the LMF 706 can select one or more candidate neighboring BS / TRPs 708, and the LMF 706 can provide UL SRS configurations to the one or more candidate neighboring BS / TRPs 708 and / or serving base station 704, such as via an NRPPa measurement request message. The message can include information to enable the one or more candidate neighboring BS / TRPs 708 and / or serving base station to perform UL measurements.

[0077]

[0099] At 722, the LMF 706 may send an LPP Provide Assistance Data message to the UE 702. This message may include specified assistance data for the UE 702 to perform DL measurements.

[0078]

[0100] At 724, the LMF 706 may send an LPP Request Location Information message to the UE 702 to request multi-RTT measurements.

[0079]

[0101] At 726, in case of semi-persistent or non-periodic UL SRS, the LMF 706 may request the serving base station 704 to activate / trigger the UL SRS in the UE 702. For example, the LMF 706 may request activation of the UE SRS transmission by sending an NRPPa Positioning Activation Request message to the serving base station 704.

[0080]

[0102] At 728, the serving base station 704 may activate the UE SRS transmission and transmit an NRPPa positioning activation response message. In response, the UE 702 may begin UL-SRS transmission according to the time domain behavior of the UL SRS resource configuration.

[0081]

[0103] At 730, the UE 702 may perform DL measurements from one or more candidate neighboring BSs / TRPs 708 and / or serving base stations 704 provided in the assistance data. At 732, each of the configured one or more candidate neighboring BSs / TRPs 708 and / or serving base stations 704 may perform UL measurements.

[0082]

[0104] At 734, the UE 702 may report the DL measurements to the LMF 706, such as via an LPP Provide Location Information message.

[0083]

[0105] At 736, one or more candidate neighbor BS / TRPs 708 and / or each of the serving base station 704 may report the UL measurements to the LMF 706, such as via an NRPPa measurement response message.

[0084]

[0106] At 738, the LMF 706 may determine the RTT from the UE 702 and the BS / TRP Rx-Tx time difference measurements for each of one or more candidate neighboring BS / TRPs 708 and / or serving base stations 704 for which corresponding UL and DL measurements were provided at 734 and 736, and the LMF 706 may calculate the position of the UE 702.

[0085]

[0107] 8 is a communication flow 800 illustrating example main steps of a UE positioning operation according to various aspects of the disclosure. To support target UE positioning and delivery of location assistance data to UEs with RAN access (e.g., NG-RAN access in 5GS), location related functions may be distributed as shown in communication flow 800. In some examples, if the AMF receives a location service request when the UE is in an idle state, the AMF may perform a network triggered service request to establish a signaling connection with the UE and allocate a specific serving base station. Thus, the UE may be assumed to be in a connected mode prior to the start of the flow shown in communication flow 800, where signaling that may be specified to put the UE in a connected mode may not be shown on communication flow 800.

[0086]

[0108] At 812, one or more location service entities 810 (e.g., a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) in 5GC) may send a location service request (e.g., a UE positioning request) for the UE 802 to the serving AMF 806, or at 814, the serving AMF 806 for the UE 802 may determine that some location services may be specified for the UE 802 (e.g., to locate the UE 802 for an emergency call), or at 816, the UE 802 may send a location service request (e.g., for delivery of positioning or assistance data) to the serving AMF 806, such as at a non-access stratum (NAS) level.

[0087]

[0109] At 818, the AMF 806 may forward the location service request to the LMF 808.

[0088]

[0110] At 820, the LMF 808 may trigger a location procedure with the serving base station 804 (e.g., a serving RAN node, ng-eNB or gNB in ​​the NG-RAN) and possibly one or more neighboring RAN nodes, as described in connection with FIG. 7, e.g., to obtain positioning measurements or assistance data.

[0089]

[0111] At 822, in addition to or instead of 820, the LMF 808 may trigger a location procedure with the UE 802, for example, to obtain a location estimate or positioning measurements or to transfer location assistance data to the UE 802. The steps described in connection with 820 and 822 may involve the use of different positioning methods to obtain location related measurements for the UE 802 and to compute therefrom a location estimate and possibly additional information such as velocity.

[0090]

[0112] At 824, the LMF 808 can provide a location service response to the AMF 806, including any specified results, e.g., an indication of success or failure, and, if specified and obtained, a location estimate of the UE 802.

[0091]

[0113] At 826, if 812 was executed, the AMF 806 returns a location service response to one or more location service entities 810 (e.g., 5GC entities) and may include any specified results, such as a location estimate for the UE 802.

[0092]

[0114] At 828, if 814 occurs, the AMF 806 may use the location service response received at 824 to assist the service that triggered it at 814 (e.g., provide a location estimate associated with the emergency call to the GMLC).

[0093]

[0115] At 830, if 816 was executed, the AMF 806 may return a location service response to the UE 802, including any specified results, for example, a location estimate of the UE 802.

[0094]

[0116] As illustrated by communication flow 800, the latency of a UE positioning operation may be associated with two delay components (or factors), such as a first delay component 832 (e.g., component A) and a second delay component 834 (e.g., component B). The first delay component 832 may include a time delay prior to completion of a location measurement, and may include sending a location request to a location server (LS) (e.g., one or more location service entities 810), providing DL-PRS information and UL-PRS information to a target for a UL, DL, or UL+DL positioning method, scheduling measurements from the UE 802 and / or base station 804, and / or waiting for a DL-PRS or UL-PRS transmission to be sent, as described in connection with 812, 814, 816, 818, 820, and / or 822. The second delay component 834 may include delays associated with converting location measurements into location estimates and delivering them to the client, which may include obtaining measurements of the DL-PRS (at the UE) or UL-PRS (at the BS / TRP), transmitting the measurements to the LS (e.g., for UE-assisted positioning) or the UE 802 (e.g., for UE-based positioning), calculating the location, and / or transmitting the location to the client, as described in connection with 820, 822, 824, 826, 828, and / or 830. In some examples, a very small latency for the second delay component 834 may allow the client to treat the location estimate as current, since there may be little time for location degradation due to movement of the target UE.

[0095]

[0117] In some examples, to improve UE positioning latency, the AMF may be configured to store the UE positioning capabilities of the UE such that a location server (e.g., LMF) may save time for requesting and receiving UE positioning capabilities from the UE. FIG. 9 is a communication flow 900 illustrating an example of an AMF storing UE positioning capabilities, according to various aspects of the disclosure. In one example, as shown at 910, the LMF 908 may determine a location of the UE 902 in a UE positioning session (e.g., for UE-assisted positioning), as described in connection with 822 of FIG. 8. During the UE positioning session, the UE 902 may provide one or more UE positioning capabilities to the LMF 908 based on a request of the LMF 908, as described in connection with 710 of FIG. 7. At 912, after determining the location of the UE 902, the LMF 908 may also report the location of the UE 902 and the UE positioning capabilities received from the UE 902 to the serving AMF 906. At 914, the AMF 906 may store the received UE positioning capabilities. In other words, the LMF 908 may return the UE positioning capabilities to the AMF 906 along with the UE location when the UE positioning is completed. The AMF may then store the UE positioning capabilities and provide them to the LMF 908 for a new location request for the UE 902, such as at 916 of FIG. 9. In the initial location request, the AMF 906 may not be able to include the UE positioning capabilities of the UE 902 at 916, but the AMF 906 may be able to receive the UE positioning capabilities from the LMF 908 at 912. Thus, the AMF 906 may then include the UE positioning capabilities for one or more subsequent UE location requests at 916.

[0096]

[0118] FIG. 10 is a communication flow 1000 illustrating an example capability transfer procedure (e.g., LPP capability transfer procedure) according to various aspects of the disclosure. The target may send its positioning-related capabilities to the server based on a server request. For example, at 1006, the server 1004 (e.g., an LMF or LCS entity) may send a capability request message (e.g., a RequestCapabilities message) to the target 1002 (e.g., a UE). The server 1004 may indicate the type of capability reporting specified by the target 1002 in the capability request message. At 1008, in response to the capability request message, the target 1002 may respond with a capability response message (e.g., a ProvideCapabilities message) to the server 1004. The positioning-related capabilities included in the capability response message may correspond to any capability type specified in 1006. In some examples, the capability response message may also include a notification that the capability provision transaction has ended, such as by setting endTransactionIE to TRUE.

[0097]

[0119] As shown at 1006, after the target 1002 receives the capability request message from the server 1004 as shown at 1006, the target 1002 can generate a response (e.g., a ProvideCapabilities message) to the server. In some examples, for each positioning method for which a request for capabilities is included in the message, if the target device supports this positioning method, the response may include the target's capabilities for that supported positioning method in the response message. The target 1002 can set the IELPP-TransactionID in the response message to the same value as the IELPP-TransactionID in the received message, and the target 1002 can deliver the response message to lower layers for transmission.

[0098]

[0120] 11 is a communication flow 1100 illustrating an example capabilities indication procedure (e.g., LPP capabilities indication procedure) in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure. In some examples, a target may provide unsolicited positioning related capabilities to a server. For example, at 1106, a target 1102 (e.g., a UE) may send a capabilities message (e.g., a ProvideCapabilities message) to a server 1104 (e.g., an LMF or LCS entity). In some examples, the capabilities message may also include a notification that the capabilities provision transaction has ended, such as by setting an endTransaction IE to TRUE.

[0099]

[0121] FIG. 12 is a communication flow 1200 illustrating an example of storing UE positioning capabilities in an AMF according to various aspects of the disclosure. As shown at 1212, the UE 1202 may provide its UE positioning capabilities to the AMF 1206 as part of a first attach procedure or in a tracking area update message after expiration of a certain timer. The AMF 1206 may then store the received UE positioning capabilities at 1214. At 1216, the AMF 1206 may receive a location request for the UE 1202 from a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 1210 (e.g., an entity that may include functionality designated to support location-based services (LBS)). At 1218, in response to the location request, the AMF 1206 may provide the location request received at 1216 and the UE positioning capabilities stored at 1214 to the selected LMF 1208, as described in connection with FIG. 9.

[0100]

[0122] In some scenarios, the UE positioning capabilities reported by the UE may not always be static, but may instead vary depending on the UE state, LMF capabilities, and / or user configuration. For example, the UE positioning capabilities reported by the UE may depend on the LMF, where the UE may not report capabilities that are not required by the LMF. Thus, if a public land mobile network (PLMN) uses LMFs from different vendors or dedicated to different user cases (e.g., regulated vs. commercial), different UE positioning capabilities may be reported by the UE.

[0101]

[0123] In another example, the UE positioning capability reported by the UE may depend on the radio configuration, where the UE positioning capability based on the current / active radio configuration may not be static (e.g., srs-PosResourceConfigCA-BandList may be provided for the current configured carrier aggregation (CA) band combinations).

[0102]

[0124] In another example, the UE positioning capabilities reported by the UE may depend on power conservation. For example, a UE (e.g., an IoT device) with a low battery level may switch off positioning support to conserve battery power for more important tasks, such as communicating with an external server, or may report lower capabilities (e.g., lower DL-PRS processing capability, or single-frequency GNSS capability instead of dual-frequency, or single-GNSS capability instead of multi-GNSS capability, etc.).

[0103]

[0125] In another example, the UE positioning capabilities reported by the UE may depend on processing resource constraints. For example, available processing resources (e.g., processor, memory, etc.) may be shared between "communication operations" and "positioning operations." If the communication operations specify increased processing resources (e.g., more carriers to aggregate), the resources allocated to the positioning operations may be temporarily reduced (e.g., lower DL-PRS processing capability, or single-frequency GNSS capability instead of dual-frequency, or single-GNSS instead of multi-GNSS capability, etc.).

[0104]

[0126] In another example, the UE positioning capabilities reported by the UE may depend on privacy and / or user interaction. For example, a user may be allowed to disable location support for unrestricted services (e.g., for location requests from external unrestricted LCS clients). In such a case, when the LMF requests the UE's positioning capabilities, the UE may respond without positioning capabilities or with some limited minimum set of capabilities. An exception may apply if the UE is aware of an emergency service call for which the UE may provide its full set of capabilities to the LMF. In another example, a user may establish a particular location area and / or time of day during which the UE may support location requests from unrestricted LCS clients by sending a minimum or zero set of positioning capabilities to the LMF. An example of this case may be an employee of a hospital that allows accurate location during working hours but not outside of hours.

[0105]

[0127] In some scenarios, the UE may be made aware or informed whether the UE positioning capabilities are stored in the AMF, and the UE may also transmit different UE positioning capabilities to the network (e.g., to other entities of the network). In one example, all UE positioning capabilities reported from the UE may be stored, but if a request is for capabilities to be stored in the network, the UE may be allowed to transmit a different set of values ​​(or conservative) values. In some examples, long-term UE positioning capabilities may be different from short-term UE positioning capabilities. For example, the UE may report that it is capable of performing less PRS processing when a request for UE positioning capabilities to be stored is received, compared to a regular request for UE positioning capabilities. In another example, the UE may report two sets of capabilities, where one may be associated with a flag that allows them to be stored, and another one may be a default set of capabilities (e.g., regular set, legacy set). Such options of reporting different values ​​for capabilities to be stored and default capabilities may be available for feature groups or subsets of capabilities. For example, it may be available in a non-binary capability, but if binary (not a support or feature), the UE may be specified to use the reported capability for both types of capabilities.

[0106]

[0128] In another example, a time tag or expiration timer may be associated with the stored value (e.g., stored UE positioning capability), where the stored value may be deleted / removed from the server after the timer expires. In one example, the timer may be for the entire capability structure, or there may be different expiration timers for different components / feature groups. In another example, the time tag may be a system frame number (SFN) or an index (which keeps incrementing and eventually wraps around). The index configuration may be more appropriate than the SFN configuration in some cases, since the index may be specified to increment once per capability update, which may be similar to the packet sequence number used in higher layers to address out-of-order delivery with HARQ. In addition, there may be separate indexing for different subsets of capabilities.

[0107]

[0129] In another example, the behavior of inter-LMF exchange of UE positioning capabilities may be standardized. For example, if all storage is in the LMF, the procedure may be transparent to AMF changes. All UE positioning capabilities may be transferred from the old LMF to the new LMF. In some examples, a capability transfer message may be defined for this purpose. For example, one or more general messages may be defined for this purpose, and these messages may be included in all relevant protocols between the relevant network nodes whenever the UE positioning capabilities are designated to be reported / moved. In some examples, this may be achieved in a containerized manner and / or by a decode and forward approach. Which approach may be more appropriate may depend on the network node that is receiving / sending the UE positioning capabilities, which may be a base station, an AMF, an LMF, an intra-RAN LMF, etc.

[0108]

[0130] In another example, the UE may transmit a default set of UE positioning capabilities that are allowed to be stored (e.g., a legacy set of UE positioning capabilities) and then transmit differences in UE positioning capabilities, which may be called delta capabilities, on a feature group basis whenever a value in the stored UE positioning capabilities changes.

[0109]

[0131] In some examples, since the UE positioning capability may include static UE positioning capability and dynamic UE positioning capability, the network may be configured to store the static part of the UE positioning capability in the AMF. Then, for the dynamic part of the UE positioning capability, the LMF may be designated to make a capability request to the UE (e.g., to request the UE at a specified time). The CommonIEsProvideCapabilities message may be used to carry common information elements (IEs) for the capability providing LPP message type (e.g., as described in connection with 710 of FIG. 7 and / or 910 of FIG. 9). For example, the CommonIEsProvideCapabilities message may include a segmentationInfo field indicating whether the ProvideCapabilities message is one of many segments. In another example, the CommonIEsProvideCapabilities message may include lpp-message-segmentation, which indicates the LPP message segmentation capability of the target device. For example, if bit 0 is set to a value of 1, it may indicate that the target device supports receiving segmented LPP messages, while if bit 0 is set to a value of 0, it may indicate that the target device does not support receiving segmented LPP messages. Additionally, if bit 1 is set to a value of 1, it may indicate that the target device supports sending segmented LPP messages, while if bit 1 is set to a value of 0, it may indicate that the target device does not support sending segmented LPP messages, etc.

[0110]

[0132] In some scenarios, after the UE's positioning capabilities are stored in a network entity such as the AMF, the UE may not have the capability and ability to support the full positioning process stored at all times. For example, the UE may be specified to share common processing power (e.g., processor, memory, etc.) between radio mobility management (RMM) resources and positioning resources. Thus, the UE may not be able to support the full positioning process and capabilities when the common processing power is shared with other entities. In another example, in the case of multi-SIM, the UE may be specified to support one or more subscriber identification module (SIM) functions, where the UE may not be able to support the full positioning process and capabilities. In some cases, the support may be periodic, meaning that the UE may be specified to downgrade the positioning capabilities periodically. In another example, based on the battery status, the UE may decide to switch to a lower processing power, which will cause the UE to be unable to support the full positioning process and capabilities. In another example, based on the QoS, the UE may decide to upgrade and downgrade its positioning capabilities, etc. Therefore, the UE positioning capability of the UE may change frequently.

[0111]

[0133] Aspects presented herein may improve UE positioning performance and latency. Aspects presented herein may enable a UE to store multiple sets of UE processing capabilities in one or more network entities, such as an AMF, an LMF, and / or another UE. Each of the multiple sets of UE processing capabilities may include a different level of UE positioning processing. Thus, the UE may indicate to one or more network entities which set of UE processing capabilities should be activated based on the UE's current processing availability / capability to improve positioning efficiency and latency.

[0112]

[0134] 13 is a communication flow 1300 illustrating an example of a UE storing multiple sets of UE processing capabilities in a network entity in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure. The numbering associated with communication flow 1300 does not designate a particular temporal order, but is merely used as a reference to communication flow 1300.

[0113]

[0135] At 1312, the UE 1302 may transmit one or more positioning capability sets associated with the UE positioning process to the AMF 1306, where each positioning capability set may correspond to a different level of the UE positioning process from another positioning capability set. For example, as shown at 1314, the positioning capability sets may include a first positioning capability set (Capability Set 1), a second positioning capability set (Capability Set 2), and up to an Nth positioning capability set (Capability Set N). The first positioning capability set may be associated with a first level of processing capability (e.g., medium processing capability), the second positioning capability set may be associated with a second level of processing capability (e.g., low processing capability), the Nth positioning capability set may be associated with an Nth level of processing capability (e.g., high processing capability), etc.

[0114]

[0136] In one example, at 1312, the UE 1302 may transmit all of one or more positioning capability sets to the AMF 1306 simultaneously (e.g., if the UE 1302 has the capability to determine all positioning capability sets or if the UE 1302 has information of all positioning use cases). For example, the UE 1302 may transmit positioning capability sets 1-N to the AMF 1306 simultaneously. In another example, the UE 1302 may transmit one capability set at a time to the AMF 1306, such as a capability set used or configured for the UE 1302 at a time. For example, the UE 1302 may transmit a first positioning capability set to the AMF 1306 at a first time, a second positioning capability set to the AMF 1306 at a second time, an Nth positioning capability set to the AMF 1306 at the Nth time, etc.

[0115]

[0137] At 1316, after receiving the one or more positioning capability sets from the UE 1302, the AMF 1306 may store the received positioning capability sets in a database (e.g., a memory). In some examples, the UE 1302 may transmit the one or more positioning capability sets to a base station 1304 (e.g., a RAN node), and the AMF 1306 may receive the one or more positioning capability sets of the UE 1302 via the base station 1304.

[0116]

[0138] At 1318, the UE 1302 may be configured to update one or more of the positioning capability sets stored in the AMF 1306. For example, the UE 1302 may be configured to update the positioning capability sets stored in the AMF 1306 periodically (e.g., at a specified time interval). In addition, the UE 1302 may update all of the stored positioning capability sets (e.g., update or replace positioning capability sets 1-N with other positioning capability sets), or the UE 1302 may update a portion of the stored positioning capability sets (e.g., update the positioning capability sets one by one). In another example, the UE 1302 may be configured to update one or more of the positioning capability sets stored in the AMF 1306 based on a situation, such as when the UE 1302 is designated to update, upon a request of another positioning entity, and / or based on a use case, etc. Similarly, after receiving an updated positioning capability set from the UE 1302, the AMF 1306 may store the updated positioning capability set and delete the old positioning capability set being updated / replaced.

[0117]

[0139] In another aspect of the disclosure, each or one or more of the positioning capability sets stored in the AMF 1306 may be associated with an expiration timer or time tag, such that the AMF 1306 may delete a positioning capability set or a set of positioning capability sets when their associated timers or time tags expire. For example, a first positioning capability set may be associated with an expiration timer indicating that the first positioning capability set should be stored in the AMF 1306 for 10 minutes. Then, after 10 minutes, the AMF 1306 may delete / remove the first positioning capability set from its database. In another example, the positioning capability sets 1-N may be associated with a time tag, which may be an SFN or index configured to increment or decrement once per capability update or per trigger event (e.g., positioning session). When the SFN or index reaches a threshold (eg, is decremented to 0 or incremented to a specified number), the AMF 1306 may delete / remove the positioning capability set 1-N from its database.

[0118]

[0140] In some examples, the UE 1302 may be configured with a maximum number of positioning capability sets that the UE 1302 may store in the AMF 1306 to conserve network resources and storage. For example, the UE 1302 may be configured to store a maximum of N positioning capability sets in the AMF 1306. In one example, the maximum number of positioning capability sets that the UE 1302 may store may be hard-coded (e.g., predefined) in a specification. In another example, the maximum number of positioning capability sets that the UE 1302 may store may depend on the category, classification, and / or processing capabilities of the UE. For example, a UE with higher capabilities (e.g., a premier UE) may be given a higher maximum number of positioning capability sets that the UE 1302 may store, and a UE with lower capabilities (e.g., a reduced capability UE, a low-cost UE, etc.) may be given a lower maximum number of positioning capability sets that the UE 1302 may store. In another example, the maximum number of positioning capability sets that the UE 1302 may store may depend on the positioning method or technology supported by the UE 1302. For example, if the UE 1302 supports OTDOA, TDOA, and / or multi-cell RTT positioning methods, the UE 1302 may be provided with a higher maximum number of positioning capability sets that the UE 1302 can store, as compared to a UE that does not support such positioning methods. In another example, if the UE 1302 supports communication technologies such as Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIOT), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), sidelink (SL), UE-UTRAN (Uu), etc., the UE 1302 may be provided with a higher maximum number of positioning capability sets that the UE 1302 can store, as compared to a UE that does not support such communication technologies.

[0119]

[0141] At 1320, after the UE 1302 stores one or more positioning capability sets in the AMF 1306, the UE 1302 may transmit an instruction to the AMF 1306 regarding which of the one or more positioning capability sets to activate. In some examples, the UE 1302 may be configured to activate only one of the multiple positioning capability sets at a time (e.g., at any given time, only one capability set is activated). For example, after the UE 1302 stores positioning capability sets 1-N, the UE 1302 may transmit an instruction to activate a second positioning capability set (capability set 2) at 1320. Thus, the UE 1302 may have the ability to control which positioning capability sets to activate in the AMF 1306.

[0120]

[0142] In some examples, the UE 1302 may be configured to periodically send an indication indicating which of the stored positioning capability sets should be activated. In other words, which capability sets to activate are periodically updated. In other examples, the UE 1302 may be configured to send the indication in response to a trigger event, such as when there is a UE positioning session for the UE 1302. Similarly, the UE 1302 may send the indication to the AMF 1306 via the base station 1304. For example, the UE 1302 may send the indication to the base station 1304 via lower layer signaling, such as uplink control information (UCI) and / or uplink medium access control-control element (UL MAC-CE). In another example, the UE 1302 may send the indication to the AMF 1306 via higher layer signaling, such as in a transparent or non-transparent manner, and pass it on to the AMF 1306 together with the UE identity. In addition, the UE 1302 may send the indication prior to (or independent of) the UE positioning session.

[0121]

[0143] At 1322, the AMF 1306 may receive a location request for the UE 1302 from the GMLC 1310, or from another positioning entity, or from the LMF 1308 itself.

[0122]

[0144] At 1324, in response to the location request, the AMF 1306 may provide the location request (if the receiving entity is different from the requesting entity) and the positioning capabilities stored in the AMF 1306 and activated by the UE 1302 to the GMLC 1310 or the LMF 1308. For example, if the UE 1302 sent an instruction to activate a second positioning capability set (capability set 2) at 1320, the AMF 1306 may send the second positioning capability set of the UE 1302 to the LMF 1308 at 1324. Thus, the LMF 1308 may apply / configure the second positioning capability set for the location request (e.g., received at 1322).

[0123]

[0145] In another aspect of the disclosure, as shown at 1326, the UE 1302 may also be configured with the capability to deactivate or delete one or more of the positioning capability sets stored in the AMF 1306. For example, if the UE 1302 determines that it will not perform UE positioning for a certain period of time, the UE 1302 may send an instruction to the AMF 1306 (or via the base station 1304) to deactivate all positioning capability sets stored in the AMF 1306.

[0124]

[0146] In some examples, the activation (e.g., at 1320) and deactivation (e.g., at 1326) of the positioning capability sets may be configured as being independent of the positioning session. For example, at any given time, the UE 1302 may be able to change any of the positioning capability sets based on its local metrics. In addition, activation of one of the positioning capability sets may occur well before the start of the UE positioning session, such that the activation may not impact positioning latency.

[0125]

[0147] In another aspect of the disclosure, when a UE positioning session configured for a UE is based on sidelink (SL) transmissions (e.g., the UE's positioning is determined based at least in part on reference signals transmitted over SL between the UE and at least one SL device), the UE may be configured to store one or more positioning capability sets in another UE (e.g., a sidelink device), in a serving base station, and / or in an LMF, etc. (which may be collectively referred to as a "positioning entity" or "SL positioning entity"). Thus, the UE may activate one positioning capability set stored in one or more of these positioning entities, which may then determine, based on the SL, which positioning capability set should be applied / configured for the UE in the UE positioning session.

[0126]

[0148] 14 is a communication flow 1400 illustrating an example of a UE storing multiple sets of UE SL processing capabilities in an SL positioning entity in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure. The numbering associated with communication flow 1400 does not designate a particular temporal order, but is merely used as a reference to communication flow 1400.

[0127]

[0149] At 1412, the UE 1402 may transmit one or more SL positioning capability sets associated with UE positioning processing for SL to the SL positioning entity 1410, where each SL positioning capability set may correspond to a level of UE positioning processing based on SL that is different from another SL positioning capability set. For example, as shown at 1414, the SL positioning capability sets may include a first SL positioning capability set (Capability Set 1), a second SL positioning capability set (Capability Set 2), and up to an Nth SL positioning capability set (Capability Set N). The first SL positioning capability set may be associated with a first level of processing capability (e.g., medium processing capability), the second SL positioning capability set may be associated with a second level of processing capability (e.g., low processing capability), the Nth SL positioning capability set may be associated with an Nth level of processing capability (e.g., high processing capability), etc. The SL positioning entity 1410 may be a serving base station 1404, another UR 1406 (eg, a sidelink UE), or an LMF 1408 associated with SL-based UE positioning.

[0128]

[0150] In one example, at 1412, the UE 1402 may transmit all of one or more SL positioning capability sets simultaneously to the SL positioning entity 1410 (e.g., if the UE 1402 has the capability to determine all SL positioning capability sets or if the UE 1402 has information for all positioning use cases). For example, the UE 1402 may transmit SL positioning capability sets 1-N simultaneously to the SL positioning entity 1410. In another example, the UE 1402 may transmit one SL positioning capability set at a time to the SL positioning entity 1410, such as a capability set used or configured for the UE 1402 at a time. For example, the UE 1402 may transmit a first SL positioning capability set to the SL positioning entity 1410 at a first time, a second SL positioning capability set to the SL positioning entity 1410 at a second time, an Nth SL positioning capability set to the SL positioning entity 1410 at the Nth time, etc. In some examples, the UE 1402 may broadcast or groupcast one or more SL positioning capability sets to multiple sidelink devices, which may include other UEs (e.g., the UE 1406).

[0129]

[0151] At 1416, after receiving the one or more SL positioning capability sets from the UE 1402, the SL positioning entity 1410 may store the received SL positioning capability sets in a database (e.g., a memory). In some examples, the UE 1402 may transmit the one or more SL positioning capability sets to the SL positioning entity 1410 via another entity. For example, the UE 1402 may transmit the one or more SL positioning capability sets to the base station 1404 via the UE 1406, to the LMF 1408 via the base station 1404, to a third UE via the UE 1406, etc.

[0130]

[0152] At 1418, the UE 1402 may be configured to update one or more of the SL positioning capability sets stored in the SL positioning entity 1410. For example, the UE 1402 may be configured to update the SL positioning capability sets stored in the SL positioning entity 1410 periodically (e.g., at a specified time interval). In addition, the UE 1402 may update all of the stored SL positioning capability sets (e.g., update or replace SL positioning capability sets 1-N with other SL positioning capability sets), or the UE 1402 may update a portion of the stored SL positioning capability sets (e.g., update the SL positioning capability sets one by one). In another example, the UE 1402 may be configured to update one or more of the SL positioning capability sets stored in the SL positioning entity 1410 based on a situation, such as when the UE 1402 is designated to update, upon request of another positioning entity, and / or based on a use case, etc. Similarly, after receiving an updated SL positioning capability set from the UE 1402, the SL positioning entity 1410 may store the updated SL positioning capability set and delete the old SL positioning capability set being updated / replaced.

[0131]

[0153] In another aspect of the disclosure, each or one or more of the SL positioning capability sets stored in the SL positioning entity 1410 may be associated with an expiration timer or time tag, such that the SL positioning entity 1410 may delete the SL positioning capability set or a set of SL positioning capability sets when their associated timers or time tags expire. For example, a first SL positioning capability set may be associated with an expiration timer indicating that the first SL positioning capability set should be stored in the SL positioning entity 1410 for 10 minutes. Then, after 10 minutes, the SL positioning entity 1410 may delete / remove the first SL positioning capability set from its database. In another example, the SL positioning capability sets 1-N may be associated with a time tag, which may be an SFN or index configured to increment or decrement once per capability update or per trigger event (e.g., positioning session). When the SFN or index reaches a threshold (eg, is decremented to 0 or incremented to a specified number), the SL positioning entity 1410 may delete / remove the SL positioning capability set 1-N from its database.

[0132]

[0154] In some examples, the UE 1402 may be configured with a maximum number of SL positioning capability sets that the UE 1402 may store in the SL positioning entity 1410 to conserve network resources and storage. For example, the UE 1402 may be configured to store a maximum of N SL positioning capability sets in the SL positioning entity 1410. In one example, the maximum number of SL positioning capability sets that the UE 1402 may store may be hard-coded (e.g., predefined) in a specification. In another example, the maximum number of SL positioning capability sets that the UE 1402 may store may depend on the category, classification, and / or processing capabilities of the UE. For example, a UE with higher capabilities (e.g., a premier UE) may be given a higher maximum number of SL positioning capability sets that the UE 1402 may store, and a UE with lower capabilities (e.g., a reduced capability UE, a low-cost UE, etc.) may be given a lower maximum number of SL positioning capability sets that the UE 1402 may store. In another example, the maximum number of SL positioning capability sets that the UE 1402 may store may depend on the positioning methods or technologies supported by the UE 1402. For example, if the UE 1402 supports OTDOA, TDOA, and / or multi-cell RTT positioning methods, the UE 1402 may be given a higher maximum number of SL positioning capability sets that the UE 1402 may store compared to a UE that does not support such positioning methods. In another example, if the UE 1402 supports communication technologies such as IIOT, V2X, SL, Uu, etc., the UE 1402 may be given a higher maximum number of SL positioning capability sets that the UE 1402 may store compared to a UE that does not support such communication technologies.

[0133]

[0155] At 1420, after the UE 1402 stores one or more SL positioning capability sets in the SL positioning entity 1410, the UE 1402 may transmit an indication to the SL positioning entity 1410 regarding which of the one or more SL positioning capability sets to activate. In some examples, the UE 1402 may be configured to activate only one of the multiple SL positioning capability sets at a time (e.g., only one capability set is activated at any given time). For example, after the UE 1402 stores SL positioning capability sets 1-N, the UE 1402 may transmit an indication to activate a second SL positioning capability set (capability set 2) at 1420. Thus, the UE 1402 may have the ability to control which SL positioning capability sets to activate in the SL positioning entity 1410.

[0134]

[0156] In some examples, the UE 1402 may be configured to periodically transmit an indication indicating which of the stored SL positioning capability sets should be activated. In other words, which capability sets to activate may be periodically updated. In other examples, the UE 1402 may be configured to transmit the indication in response to a triggering event, such as when there is a UE positioning session for the UE 1402. Similarly, the UE 1402 may transmit the indication to the SL positioning entity 1410 via another entity. For example, the UE 1402 may transmit the indication to the SL positioning entity 1410 via higher layer signaling, such as sidelink control information (SCI) and / or SL MAC-CE. In other examples, the indication may be broadcast / groupcast by the UE 1402.

[0135]

[0157] At 1422, the SL positioning entity 1410 may receive a location request (e.g., based on SL UE positioning) for the UE 1402 from another positioning entity, and in response to the location request, the SL positioning entity 1410 may provide the location request (if the receiving entity is different from the requesting entity) and / or the SL positioning capability set stored in the SL positioning entity 1410 and activated by the UE 1402 to the other positioning entity (which may be the positioning entity sending the location request, for example). For example, if the UE 1402 sent an indication to activate a second SL positioning capability set (capability set 2) at 1420, the SL positioning entity 1410 may send the second SL positioning capability set of the UE 1402 to the other positioning entity at 1422. Thus, the other positioning entity may apply / configure the second SL positioning capability set for the location request.

[0136]

[0158] In another aspect of the disclosure, as shown at 1426, the UE 1402 may also be configured with the capability to deactivate or delete one or more of the SL positioning capability sets stored in the SL positioning entity 1410. For example, if the UE 1402 determines that it will not perform UE positioning for a certain period of time, the UE 1402 may send an instruction to the SL positioning entity 1410 (or via another entity) to deactivate all SL positioning capability sets stored in the SL positioning entity 1410.

[0137]

[0159] In some examples, activation (e.g., at 1420) and deactivation (e.g., at 1426) of the SL positioning capability set may be configured as being independent of the positioning session. For example, at any given time, the UE 1402 may be able to change any of the SL positioning capability sets based on its local metrics. In addition, activation of one of the SL positioning capability sets may occur well before the start of the UE positioning session, such that the activation may not impact positioning latency.

[0138]

[0160] 15 is a flowchart 1500 of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE or a component of a UE (e.g., a processing system, such as, for example, a TX processor 316, a RX processor 370, and / or a controller / processor 375, which may include a UE 104, 350, 404, 602, 702, 802, 902, 1202, 1302, 1402, a device 1702, a memory 376, or may be the entire base station 310 or a component of the base station 310). The method may enable the UE to store multiple sets of UE processing capabilities in one or more network entities and activate one set of the stored UE processing capability sets based on the UE's current processing availability / capability to improve positioning efficiency and latency.

[0139]

[0161] At 1502, as described in connection with FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the UE may transmit a plurality of capability sets associated with the UE positioning process to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level. For example, at 1312, the UE 1302 may transmit a plurality of positioning capability sets associated with the UE positioning process to the AMF 1306. As shown at 1314, the plurality of capability sets may include at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level. The transmission of the plurality of capability sets associated with the UE positioning process may be performed, for example, by the capability indication component 1740 and / or the transmission component 1734 of the apparatus 1702 of FIG. 17.

[0140]

[0162] At 1504, the UE may transmit an indication to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, at 1320, the UE 1302 may transmit an indication to the AMF 1306 to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning. The transmission of the indication to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning may be performed, for example, by the capability activation component 1742 and / or the transmission component 1734 of Figure 17.

[0141]

[0163] In one example, the capability sets may be transmitted to a network entity, and the network entity is an AMF. In such an example, one or more of the capability sets may be transmitted to the AMF via a base station, or the indication may be transmitted to the AMF via a base station. In such an example, the indication may be transmitted via lower layer signaling, UCI, or UL MAC-CE.

[0142]

[0164] In another example, the capability sets may be transmitted to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or a network entity, where the network entity is an LMF, and the capability sets are associated with SL UE positioning processing. In such an example, the indication may be transmitted via higher layer signaling, SCI, or SL MAC-CE. In such an example, the capability sets may be broadcast or groupcast to multiple sidelink devices including the second UE.

[0143]

[0165] In another example, the instructions may be sent or updated periodically.

[0144]

[0166] In another example, multiple capability sets may be transmitted simultaneously.

[0145]

[0167] In another example, the first and second capability sets may be transmitted at different times, In such an example, the UE may transmit a third capability set corresponding to a third level of the UE positioning process to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, where the third level may be different from the first and second levels.

[0146]

[0168] In another example, multiple capability sets may be stored in at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, and each of the multiple capability sets may be associated with a timer indicating a time for which the capability set should be stored, whereby in response to the timer expiring, the capability set is removed from at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity.

[0147]

[0169] In another example, no more than one capability set of the multiple capability sets is activated at a time.

[0148]

[0170] In another example, the indication may be sent prior to the UE positioning session.

[0149]

[0171] At 1506, the UE may transmit a notification to deactivate the plurality of capability sets to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, at 1326, the UE 1302 may transmit a notification to deactivate the plurality of capability sets to the AMF 1306. The transmission of the notification to deactivate the plurality of capability sets may be performed, for example, by the capability deactivation component 1744 and / or the transmission component 1734 of Figure 17.

[0150]

[0172] 16 is a flowchart 1600 of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE or a component of a UE (e.g., a processing system, such as, for example, a TX processor 316, a RX processor 370, and / or a controller / processor 375, which may include a UE 104, 350, 404, 602, 702, 802, 902, 1202, 1302, 1402, an apparatus 1702, a memory 376, or may be the entire base station 310 or a component of the base station 310). The method may enable the UE to store multiple sets of UE processing capabilities in one or more network entities and activate one set of the stored UE processing capability sets based on the UE's current processing availability / capability to improve positioning efficiency and latency.

[0151]

[0173] At 1602, as described in connection with FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the UE may transmit a plurality of capability sets associated with the UE positioning process to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level. For example, at 1312, the UE 1302 may transmit a plurality of positioning capability sets associated with the UE positioning process to the AMF 1306. As shown at 1314, the plurality of capability sets may include at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level. The transmission of the plurality of capability sets associated with the UE positioning process may be performed, for example, by the capability indication component 1740 and / or the transmission component 1734 of the apparatus 1702 of FIG. 17.

[0152]

[0174] At 1604, the UE may transmit an indication to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, at 1320, the UE 1302 may transmit an indication to the AMF 1306 to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning. The transmission of the indication to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning may be performed, for example, by the capability activation component 1742 and / or the transmission component 1734 of Figure 17.

[0153]

[0175] In one example, the capability sets may be transmitted to a network entity, and the network entity is an AMF. In such an example, one or more of the capability sets may be transmitted to the AMF via a base station, or the indication may be transmitted to the AMF via a base station. In such an example, the indication may be transmitted via lower layer signaling, UCI, or UL MAC-CE.

[0154]

[0176] In another example, the capability sets may be transmitted to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or a network entity, where the network entity is an LMF, and the capability sets are associated with SL UE positioning processing. In such an example, the indication may be transmitted via higher layer signaling, SCI, or SL MAC-CE. In such an example, the capability sets may be broadcast or groupcast to multiple sidelink devices including the second UE.

[0155]

[0177] In another example, the instructions may be sent or updated periodically.

[0156]

[0178] In another example, multiple capability sets may be transmitted simultaneously.

[0157]

[0179] In another example, the first and second capability sets may be transmitted at different times, In such an example, the UE may transmit a third capability set corresponding to a third level of the UE positioning process to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, where the third level may be different from the first and second levels.

[0158]

[0180] In another example, multiple capability sets may be stored in at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, and each of the multiple capability sets may be associated with a timer indicating a time for which the capability set should be stored, whereby in response to the timer expiring, the capability set is removed from at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity.

[0159]

[0181] In another example, no more than one capability set of the multiple capability sets is activated at a time.

[0160]

[0182] In another example, the indication may be sent prior to the UE positioning session.

[0161]

[0183] In another example, the UE may transmit a notification to deactivate the plurality of capability sets to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, at 1326, the UE 1302 may transmit a notification to deactivate the plurality of capability sets to the AMF 1306. The transmission of the notification to deactivate the plurality of capability sets may be performed, for example, by the capability deactivation component 1744 and / or the transmission component 1734 of Figure 17.

[0162]

[0184] 17 is a diagram 1700 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 1702. The apparatus 1702 may be a UE, may be a component of a UE, or may implement UE functionality. In some aspects, the apparatus 1702 may include a baseband processor 1704 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to at least one transceiver 1722 (e.g., one or more RF transceivers and / or antennas). The at least one transceiver 1722 may be associated with or include a receiving component 1730 and / or a transmitting component 1734. In some aspects, the device 1702 may further include one or more subscriber identity module (SIM) cards 1720, an application processor 1706 coupled to a secure digital (SD) card 1708 and a screen 1710, a Bluetooth module 1712, a wireless local area network (WLAN) module 1714, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module 1716, or a power source 1718. The baseband processor 1704 communicates with the UE 104, the BS 102 / 180, the AMF, and / or the LMF via at least one transceiver 1722. The baseband processor 1704 may include a computer-readable medium / memory (e.g., memory 1726). The computer-readable medium / memory may be non-transitory. The baseband processor 1704 and at least one processor 1728 are responsible for overall processing, including the execution of software stored in the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the baseband processor 1704 and / or at least one processor 1728, causes the baseband processor 1704 and / or at least one processor 1728 to perform various functions as discussed above. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data that is manipulated by the baseband processor 1704 when executing the software.The baseband processor 1704 further includes a receiving component 1730, a communications manager 1732, and a transmitting component 1734. The receiving component 1730 and the transmitting component 1734 may include at least one transceiver and / or at least one antenna subsystem, in non-limiting examples. The communications manager 1732 includes one or more of the illustrated components. The components in the communications manager 1732 may be stored in a computer readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware in the baseband processor 1704. The baseband processor 1704 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include the memory 360 and / or at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359. In one configuration, the device 1702 may be a modem chip and may include only the baseband processor 1704, and in another configuration, the device 1702 may be an entire UE (e.g., see 350 in FIG. 3) and may include additional modules of the device 1702.

[0163]

[0185] The communications manager 1732 includes a capabilities indication component 1740 configured to transmit, to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, a plurality of capability sets associated with UE positioning processing, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning processing and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning processing, the first level being different from the second level, as described, for example, in connection with 1502 of FIG. 15 and / or 1602 of FIG. 16. The communications manager 1732 further includes a capabilities activation component 1742 configured to transmit, to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, an indication to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning, as described, for example, in connection with 1504 of FIG. 15 and / or 1604 of FIG. 16. The communications manager 1732 further includes a capability deactivation component 1744 configured to send a notification to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity to deactivate the plurality of capability sets, e.g., as described in connection with 1506 of FIG. 15 .

[0164]

[0186] The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithms in the flowcharts of Figures 15 and 16. Thus, each block in the flowcharts of Figures 15 and 16 may be performed by a component, and the apparatus may include one or more of those components. Those components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the described process / algorithm, executed by a processor configured to perform the described process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by the processor, or some combination thereof.

[0165]

[0187] As shown, the apparatus 1702 may include various components configured for various functions. In one configuration, the apparatus 1702, and in particular the baseband processor 1704, includes means for transmitting a plurality of capability sets associated with UE positioning processing, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning processing and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning processing, the first level being different from the second level, to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity (e.g., the capability indication component 1740 and / or the transmission component 1734). The apparatus 1702 includes means for transmitting an indication to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity for activating one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning (e.g., the capability activation component 1742 and / or the transmission component 1734). The apparatus 1702 includes means for transmitting a notification to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity to deactivate the plurality of capability sets (e.g., the capability deactivation component 1744 and / or the transmitting component 1734).

[0166]

[0188] In one configuration, the capability sets may be transmitted to a network entity, where the network entity is an AMF. In such a configuration, one or more of the capability sets may be transmitted to the AMF via a base station, or the indication may be transmitted to the AMF via a base station. In such a configuration, the indication may be transmitted via lower layer signaling, UCI, or UL MAC-CE.

[0167]

[0189] In another configuration, the capability sets may be transmitted to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or a network entity, where the network entity is an LMF, and the capability sets are associated with SL UE positioning processing. In such a configuration, the indication may be transmitted via higher layer signaling, SCI, or SL MAC-CE. In such a configuration, the capability sets may be broadcast or groupcast to multiple sidelink devices including the second UE.

[0168]

[0190] In another arrangement, the instructions may be sent or updated periodically.

[0169]

[0191] In another configuration, multiple capability sets may be transmitted simultaneously.

[0170]

[0192] In another configuration, the first and second capability sets may be transmitted at different times. In such a configuration, the apparatus 1702 includes means for transmitting a third capability set corresponding to a third level of the UE positioning process to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, where the third level may be different from the first and second levels.

[0171]

[0193] In another configuration, a plurality of capability sets may be stored in at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, and each of the plurality of capability sets may be associated with a timer indicating a time for which the capability set should be stored, whereby in response to the timer expiring, the capability set is removed from at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity.

[0172]

[0194] In another configuration, no more than one capability set of the multiple capability sets is active at a time.

[0173]

[0195] In another configuration, the indication may be sent prior to the UE positioning session.

[0174]

[0196] The means may be one or more of the components of the apparatus 1702 configured to perform the recited functions by the means. As explained above, the apparatus 1702 may include the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359. Thus, in one configuration, the means may be the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 configured to perform the recited functions by the means. Alternatively, the means may be the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 configured to perform the recited functions by the means.

[0175]

[0197] 18 is a flowchart 1800 of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a communication entity or a component of a communication entity (e.g., a processing system, such as, for example, a TX processor 316, a RX processor 370, and / or a controller / processor 375, which may include a base station 102, 180, 310, 1304, 1404, a UE 1406, an AMF 1306, an LMF 1308, 1408, a GMLC 1310, an apparatus 2002, a memory 376, or may be the entire base station 310 or a component of the base station 310). The method may enable the communication entity to store multiple sets of UE processing capabilities for a UE and to activate one set of the stored UE processing capabilities for the UE based on an instruction of the UE.

[0176]

[0198] At 1802, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14, the communication entity may receive from the UE a plurality of capability sets associated with a UE positioning process, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level. For example, at 1312, the AMF 1306 may receive from the UE 1302 a plurality of capability sets associated with a UE positioning process, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level, as shown at 1314. The reception of the plurality of capability sets associated with the UE positioning process may be performed, for example, by the capability storage component 2040 and / or the receiving component 2030 of the apparatus 2002 of Figure 20.

[0177]

[0199] At 1804, the communication entity may receive an indication from the UE to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, at 1320, the AMF 1306 may receive an indication from the UE 1302 to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning. The reception of the indication to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning may be performed, for example, by the capability activation process component 2042 and / or the receiving component 2030 of the apparatus 2002 of Figure 20.

[0178]

[0200] In one example, one or more of the plurality of capability sets may be received from the UE via a base station, or the indication may be received from the UE via a base station.

[0179]

[0201] In another example, the communication entity may be an AMF, a sidelink UE, a base station, or an LMF. In such an example, if the communication entity is an AMF, the indication may be received via lower layer signaling, a UCI, a UL MAC-CE. In such an example, if the communication entity is a sidelink UE, a base station, or an LMF, the indication may be received via higher layer signaling, a SCI, or a SL MAC-CE.

[0180]

[0202] In another example, the indication may be received periodically.

[0181]

[0203] In another example, multiple capability sets may be received simultaneously.

[0182]

[0204] In another example, the first and second capability sets may be received at different times, In such an example, the communication entity may receive from the UE a third capability set corresponding to a third level of the UE positioning process, the third level being different from the first and second levels.

[0183]

[0205] In another example, no more than one capability set of the multiple capability sets may be activated at a time.

[0184]

[0206] In another example, the indication may be received prior to the UE positioning session.

[0185]

[0207] In another example, multiple capability sets may be stored in the communication entity, each of the multiple capability sets associated with a timer indicating a time for which the capability set should be stored. In such an example, at 1806, the communication entity may transmit one of the multiple capability sets activated by the UE for a UE positioning session associated with the UE to the LMF, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, at 1324, the AMF may transmit one of the multiple capability sets activated by the UE 1302 for a UE positioning session associated with the UE 1302 to the LMF 1308. The transmission of the one of the multiple capability sets activated by the UE may be performed, for example, by the stored capability transfer component 2044 and / or the transmission component 2034 of the apparatus 2002 of Figure 20.

[0186]

[0208] At 1808, the communications entity may transmit a plurality of capability sets for a UE positioning session associated with the UE to the LMF, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. At 1324, the AMF may transmit a plurality of capability sets for a UE positioning session associated with the UE 1302 to the LMF 1308. The transmission of the plurality of capability sets may be performed, for example, by the stored capability transfer component 2044 and / or the transmission component 2034 of the apparatus 2002 of Figure 20.

[0187]

[0209] At 1810, the communicating entity may remove the capability set from the communicating entity in response to the timer expiring, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, the AMF 1306 may remove the capability set from the AMF 1306 in response to the timer associated with the capability set expiring. The removal of the capability set may be performed, for example, by the stored capability removal component 2046 of the apparatus 2002 of Figure 20.

[0188]

[0210] At 1812, the communications entity may receive a notification from the UE to deactivate the multiple capability sets, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, at 1326, the AMF 1306 may receive a notification from the UE 1302 to deactivate the multiple capability sets. Receiving the notification to deactivate the multiple capability sets may be performed, for example, by the capability deactivation process component 2048 and / or the receiving component 2030 of the apparatus 2002 of Figure 20.

[0189]

[0211] 19 is a flowchart 1900 of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a communication entity or a component of a communication entity (e.g., a processing system, such as, for example, a TX processor 316, a RX processor 370, and / or a controller / processor 375, which may include a base station 102, 180, 310, 1304, 1404, a UE 1406, an AMF 1306, an LMF 1308, 1408, a GMLC 1310, an apparatus 2002, a memory 376, or may be the entire base station 310 or a component of the base station 310). The method may enable the communication entity to store multiple sets of UE processing capabilities for a UE and to activate one set of the stored UE processing capabilities for the UE based on an instruction of the UE.

[0190]

[0212] At 1902, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14, the communication entity may receive from the UE a plurality of capability sets associated with a UE positioning process, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level. For example, at 1312, the AMF 1306 may receive from the UE 1302 a plurality of capability sets associated with a UE positioning process, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level, as shown at 1314. The reception of the plurality of capability sets associated with the UE positioning process may be performed, for example, by the capability storage component 2040 and / or the receiving component 2030 of the apparatus 2002 of Figure 20.

[0191]

[0213] At 1904, the communication entity may receive an indication from the UE to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, at 1320, the AMF 1306 may receive an indication from the UE 1302 to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning. The reception of the indication to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning may be performed, for example, by the capability activation process component 2042 and / or the receiving component 2030 of the apparatus 2002 of Figure 20.

[0192]

[0214] In one example, one or more of the plurality of capability sets may be received from the UE via a base station, or the indication may be received from the UE via a base station.

[0193]

[0215] In another example, the communication entity may be an AMF, a sidelink UE, a base station, or an LMF. In such an example, if the communication entity is an AMF, the indication may be received via lower layer signaling, a UCI, a UL MAC-CE. In such an example, if the communication entity is a sidelink UE, a base station, or an LMF, the indication may be received via higher layer signaling, a SCI, or a SL MAC-CE.

[0194]

[0216] In another example, the indication may be received periodically.

[0195]

[0217] In another example, multiple capability sets may be received simultaneously.

[0196]

[0218] In another example, the first and second capability sets may be received at different times, In such an example, the communication entity may receive from the UE a third capability set corresponding to a third level of the UE positioning process, the third level being different from the first and second levels.

[0197]

[0219] In another example, no more than one capability set of the multiple capability sets may be activated at a time.

[0198]

[0220] In another example, the indication may be received prior to the UE positioning session.

[0199]

[0221] In another example, multiple capability sets may be stored in the communication entity, each of the multiple capability sets associated with a timer indicating a time for which the capability set should be stored. In such an example, the communication entity may transmit one of the multiple capability sets activated by the UE for a UE positioning session associated with the UE to the LMF, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, at 1324, the AMF may transmit one of the multiple capability sets activated by the UE 1302 for a UE positioning session associated with the UE 1302 to the LMF 1308. The transmission of the one of the multiple capability sets activated by the UE may be performed, for example, by the stored capability transfer component 2044 and / or the transmission component 2034 of the apparatus 2002 of Figure 20.

[0200]

[0222] 13 and 14, the communication entity may transmit multiple capability sets for a UE positioning session associated with the UE to the LMF. At 1324, the AMF may transmit multiple capability sets for a UE positioning session associated with the UE 1302 to the LMF 1308. The transmission of the multiple capability sets may be performed, for example, by the stored capability transfer component 2044 and / or the transmission component 2034 of the apparatus 2002 of FIG. 20.

[0201]

[0223] In another example, a communicating entity may remove a capability set from a communicating entity in response to a timer expiring, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, the AMF 1306 may remove a capability set from the AMF 1306 in response to a timer associated with the capability set expiring. The removal of the capability set may be performed, for example, by the stored capability removal component 2046 of the apparatus 2002 of Figure 20.

[0202]

[0224] In another example, the communications entity may receive a notification to deactivate the plurality of capability sets from the UE, as described in connection with Figures 13 and 14. For example, at 1326, the AMF 1306 may receive a notification to deactivate the plurality of capability sets from the UE 1302. Receiving the notification to deactivate the plurality of capability sets may be performed, for example, by the capability deactivation process component 2048 and / or the receiving component 2030 of the apparatus 2002 of Figure 20.

[0203]

[0225] FIG. 20 is a diagram 2000 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 2002. The apparatus 2002 may be a communication entity, a component of a communication entity, or may implement a communication function. In some aspects, the apparatus 2002 may include a baseband unit 2004. The baseband unit 2004 may communicate with the UE 104, the base station 102 / 180, the LMF, the AMF 192, and / or the GMLC through at least one transceiver 2022 (e.g., one or more RF transceivers and / or antennas). The at least one transceiver 2022 may be associated with or include a receiving component 2030 and / or a transmitting component 2034. The baseband unit 2004 may include a computer-readable medium / memory (e.g., memory 2026). The baseband unit 2004 and at least one processor 2028 may be responsible for overall processing, including the execution of software stored in the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the baseband unit 2004 and / or at least one processor 2028, causes the baseband unit 2004 and / or at least one processor 2028 to perform various functions as described above. The computer readable medium / memory may also be used to store data that is manipulated by the baseband unit 2004 when executing the software. The baseband unit 2004 further includes a receiving component 2030, a communications manager 2032, and a transmitting component 2034. The receiving component 2030 and the transmitting component 2034 may include, in non-limiting examples, at least one transceiver and / or at least one antenna subsystem. The communications manager 2032 includes one or more of the illustrated components. The components in the communications manager 2032 may be stored in the computer readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware in the baseband unit 2004. The baseband unit 2004 may be a component of an RF sensing node and may include a memory 376 and / or at least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375.

[0204]

[0226] The communications manager 2032 includes a capability storage component 2040 that receives from the UE a plurality of capability sets associated with UE positioning processing, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning processing and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning processing, the first level being different from the second level, as described, for example, in connection with 1802 of Figure 18 and / or 1902 of Figure 19. The communications manager 2032 further includes a capability activation process component 2042 that receives an instruction from the UE to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning, as described, for example, in connection with 1804 of Figure 18 and / or 1904 of Figure 19. The communications manager 2032 further includes a stored capability transfer component 2044 that transmits one of a plurality of capability sets activated by the UE for a UE positioning session associated with the UE to the LMF, for example, as described in connection with 1806 of FIG. 18. The stored capability transfer component 2044 may also transmit a plurality of capability sets for a UE positioning session associated with the UE to the LMF, for example, as described in connection with 1808 of FIG. 18. The communications manager 2032 further includes a stored capability removal component 2046 that removes a capability set from the communications entity in response to a timer expiring, for example, as described in connection with 1810 of FIG. 18. The communications manager 2032 further includes a capability deactivation process component 2048 that receives a notification from the UE to deactivate a plurality of capability sets, for example, as described in connection with 1812 of FIG. 18.

[0205]

[0227] The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithms in the flowcharts of Figures 18 and 19. Thus, each block in the flowcharts of Figures 18 and 19 may be performed by a component, and the apparatus may include one or more of those components. Those components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the described process / algorithm, executed by a processor configured to perform the described process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by the processor, or some combination thereof.

[0206]

[0228] As shown, the apparatus 2002 may include various components configured for various functions. In one configuration, the apparatus 2002, and in particular the baseband unit 2004, includes means (e.g., the capability storage component 2040 and / or the receiving component 2030) for receiving a plurality of capability sets associated with a UE positioning process, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level. The apparatus 2002 includes means (e.g., the capability activation process component 2042 and / or the receiving component 2030) for receiving an instruction from the UE to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning. The apparatus 2002 includes means (e.g., the stored capability transfer component 2044 and / or the transmitting component 2034) for transmitting one of the plurality of capability sets activated by the UE for a UE positioning session associated with the UE to the LMF. The apparatus 2002 includes means for transmitting a plurality of capability sets for a UE positioning session associated with the UE to the LMF (e.g., the stored capability transfer component 2044 and / or the sending component 2034). The apparatus 2002 includes means for removing a capability set from the communication entity in response to a timer expiring (e.g., the stored capability removal component 2046). The apparatus 2002 includes means for receiving a notification from the UE to deactivate the plurality of capability sets (e.g., the capability deactivation process component 2048 and / or the receiving component 2030).

[0207]

[0229] In one configuration, one or more of the plurality of capability sets may be received from the UE via a base station, or the indication may be received from the UE via a base station.

[0208]

[0230] In another configuration, the communication entity may be an AMF, a sidelink UE, a base station, or an LMF. In such a configuration, if the communication entity is an AMF, the indication may be received via lower layer signaling, a UCI, a UL MAC-CE. In such a configuration, if the communication entity is a sidelink UE, a base station, or an LMF, the indication may be received via higher layer signaling, a SCI, or a SL MAC-CE.

[0209]

[0231] In another arrangement, the indication may be received periodically.

[0210]

[0232] In another configuration, multiple capability sets may be received simultaneously.

[0211]

[0233] In another configuration, the first and second capability sets may be received at different times, In such a configuration, the apparatus 2002 includes means for receiving from the UE a third capability set corresponding to a third level of the UE positioning process, the third level being different from the first and second levels.

[0212]

[0234] In another configuration, no more than one capability set of the multiple capability sets may be active at a time.

[0213]

[0235] In another configuration, the indication may be received prior to the UE positioning session.

[0214]

[0236] In another configuration, multiple capability sets may be stored in the communications entity, with each of the multiple capability sets associated with a timer indicating the time for which the capability set should be stored.

[0215]

[0237] The means may be one or more of the components of the apparatus 2002 configured to perform the recited functions by the means. As described above, the apparatus 2002 may include the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375. Thus, in one configuration, the means may be the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 configured to perform the recited functions by the means.

[0216]

[0238] It should be understood that the particular order or hierarchy of the blocks in the disclosed processes / flow charts is an example of an example approach. It should be understood that the particular order or hierarchy of the blocks in those processes / flow charts can be rearranged based on design preferences. Further, some blocks can be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in an example order, and are not meant to be limited to the particular order or hierarchy presented.

[0217]

[0239] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects set forth herein, but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the language of the claims, and references to elements in the singular shall mean "one or more" and not "one and only", unless otherwise expressly stated. Terms such as "if", "when", and "while" should be construed to mean "under the condition that", rather than implying an immediate temporal relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases, such as "when", do not imply immediate action in response to or during the occurrence of an action, but simply mean that an action will occur if a condition is met, but do not require a specific or immediate temporal constraint for the action to occur. The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiple As, multiple Bs, or multiple Cs.Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, and any such combination may include one or more elements of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or that later become known to those of skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be made public, regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. Words such as "module," "mechanism," "element," "device," and the like may not be substitutes for the word "means." Therefore, no element of the claims should be construed as a means-plus-function unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase "means for."

[0218]

[0240] The following aspects are exemplary only and can be combined with other aspects or teachings described herein without limitation.

[0219]

[0241] Aspect 1 is an apparatus for wireless communications, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively connected to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: transmit the plurality of capability sets associated with UE positioning processing, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning processing and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning processing, the first level being different from the second level, to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity; and transmit an instruction to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning.

[0220]

[0242] Example 2 is the apparatus of example 1, wherein the multiple capability sets are transmitted to a network entity, and the network entity is an AMF.

[0221]

[0243] Example 3 is the apparatus of example 1 or 2, wherein one or more of the plurality of capability sets are transmitted to the AMF via the base station, or an instruction is transmitted to the AMF via the base station.

[0222]

[0244] Example 4 is the apparatus according to any one of Examples 1 to 3, wherein the indication is sent via lower layer signaling, UCI, or UL MAC-CE.

[0223]

[0245] Aspect 5 is an apparatus according to any one of aspects 1 to 4, wherein the multiple capability sets are transmitted to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, the network entity being an LMF, and the multiple capability sets are associated with the SL UE positioning process.

[0224]

[0246] A sixth aspect is the apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the indication is transmitted via higher layer signaling, an SCI, or an SL MAC-CE.

[0225]

[0247] Example 7 is the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 6, wherein the multiple capability sets are broadcast or groupcast to multiple sidelink devices including the second UE.

[0226]

[0248] Aspect 8 is the device according to any one of aspects 1 to 7, wherein the instruction is periodically transmitted or periodically updated.

[0227]

[0249] A ninth aspect is the device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, in which a plurality of capability sets are transmitted simultaneously.

[0228]

[0250] A tenth aspect is the apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, wherein the first capability set and the second capability set are transmitted at different times.

[0229]

[0251] Example 11 is an apparatus described in any of Examples 1 to 10, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send a third capability set corresponding to a third level of the UE positioning process to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity, the third level being different from the first level and the second level.

[0230]

[0252] Example 12 is an apparatus described in any of Examples 1 to 11, wherein a plurality of capability sets are stored in at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, and each of the plurality of capability sets is associated with a timer indicating a time for which the capability set should be stored, whereby in response to expiration of the timer, the capability set is removed from at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity.

[0231]

[0253] Example 13 is an apparatus described in any of Examples 1 to 12, wherein no more than one capability set of the multiple capability sets is activated at a time.

[0232]

[0254] Example 14 is the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 13, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send a notification to at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity to deactivate the plurality of capability sets.

[0233]

[0255] Example 15 is the apparatus of any of Examples 1-14, wherein the indication is sent prior to a UE positioning session.

[0234]

[0256] Example 16 is a method of wireless communication for implementing any of Examples 1-15.

[0235]

[0257] Example 17 is an apparatus for wireless communication including means for implementing any of Examples 1-15.

[0236]

[0258] Aspect 18 is a computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to implement any of aspects 1-15.

[0237]

[0259] Aspect 19 is an apparatus for wireless communications, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively connected to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive from the UE a plurality of capability sets associated with UE positioning processing, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning processing and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning processing, the first level being different from the second level; and receive from the UE an instruction to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning.

[0238]

[0260] Example 20 is the apparatus of example 19, wherein one or more of the plurality of capability sets is received from the UE via the base station, or the indication is received from the UE via the base station.

[0239]

[0261] Example 21 is the apparatus of example 19 or 20, wherein the communication entity is an AMF, a sidelink UE, a base station, or an LMF.

[0240]

[0262] Example 22 is the apparatus according to any one of Examples 19 to 21, in which, when the communication entity is an AMF, the indication is received via lower layer signaling, UCI, or UL MAC-CE.

[0241]

[0263] Example 23 is the apparatus according to any one of Examples 19 to 22, wherein if the communication entity is a sidelink UE, a base station, or an LMF, the indication is received via higher layer signaling, an SCI, or an SL MAC-CE.

[0242]

[0264] Example 24 is the apparatus of any of Examples 19 to 23, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send, to the LMF, one of a plurality of capability sets activated by the UE for a UE positioning session associated with the UE.

[0243]

[0265] Example 25 is the apparatus of any of Examples 19-24, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send, to the LMF, a plurality of capability sets for a UE positioning session associated with the UE.

[0244]

[0266] Aspect 26 is the device according to any one of aspects 19 to 25, wherein the instruction is received periodically.

[0245]

[0267] Example 27 is the device according to any one of Examples 19 to 26, in which multiple capability sets are received simultaneously.

[0246]

[0268] Example 28 is the apparatus of any of Examples 19 to 27, wherein the first capability set and the second capability set are received at different times.

[0247]

[0269] Example 29 is an apparatus described in any of Examples 19 to 28, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a third capability set from the UE corresponding to a third level of the UE positioning process, the third level being different from the first level and the second level.

[0248]

[0270] Example 30 is an apparatus described in any of Examples 19 to 29, wherein a plurality of capability sets are stored in the communication entity, and each of the plurality of capability sets is associated with a timer indicating a time for which the capability set should be stored.

[0249]

[0271] Example 31 is the apparatus of any of Examples 19 to 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to remove the capability set from the communication entity in response to the timer expiring.

[0250]

[0272] Example 32 is the device described in any of Examples 19 to 31, wherein no more than one capability set of the multiple capability sets is activated at a time.

[0251]

[0273] Example 33 is the apparatus of any of Examples 19 to 32, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a notification from the UE to deactivate the plurality of capability sets.

[0252]

[0274] Example 34 is the apparatus of any of Examples 19-33, wherein the indication is received prior to a UE positioning session.

[0253]

[0275] Example 35 is a method of wireless communication for implementing any of Examples 19-34.

[0254]

[0276] Example 36 is an apparatus for wireless communication including means for implementing any of Examples 19-34.

[0255]

[0277] Aspect 37 is a computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement any of aspects 19-34.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus for wireless communication in a first user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory and at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver; wherein the at least one processor: transmitting a plurality of capability sets associated with a UE positioning process, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level, to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity; sending an indication to the at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning; The apparatus is configured to:

2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of capability sets are transmitted to the network entity, the network entity being an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

3. One or more of the plurality of capability sets is sent to the AMF via the base station, or the instruction is sent to the AMF via the base station, or The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the indication is transmitted via lower layer signaling, uplink control information (UCI), or an uplink (UL) medium access control (MAC) control element (UL MAC-CE).

4. the plurality of capability sets are sent to the at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, the network entity being a Location Management Function (LMF), the plurality of capability sets being associated with a side link (SL) UE positioning process, and the indication being sent via higher layer signaling, side link control information (SCI), or an SL medium access control (MAC) control element (SL MAC-CE); Optionally, the plurality of capability sets are broadcast or groupcast to a plurality of sidelink devices including the second UE.

10. The apparatus of claim 1.

5. the instructions are periodically transmitted or periodically updated; or the plurality of capability sets are transmitted simultaneously; or the plurality of capability sets are stored in the at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, and each of the plurality of capability sets is associated with a timer indicating a time for which the capability set should be stored, whereby in response to expiration of the timer, the capability set is removed from the at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity.

10. The apparatus of claim 1.

6. The first capability set and the second capability set are transmitted at different times, and optionally, the at least one processor: and transmitting a third capability set corresponding to a third level of the UE positioning process to the at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity, the third level being different from the first level and the second level.

10. The apparatus of claim 1.

7. No more than one capability set of the plurality of capability sets is activated at a time; or the at least one processor is further configured to send a notification to the at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity to deactivate the plurality of capability sets; or the indication is sent before a UE positioning session.

10. The apparatus of claim 1.

8. 1. A method of wireless communication in a first user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting a plurality of capability sets associated with a UE positioning process, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level, to at least one of a second UE, a base station, or a network entity; sending an indication to the at least one of the second UE, the base station, or the network entity to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning; A method comprising:

9. 1. An apparatus for wireless communication in a communication entity, comprising: Memory and at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver; wherein the at least one processor: receiving from a user equipment (UE) a plurality of capability sets associated with a UE positioning process, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level; receiving an indication from the UE to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning; The apparatus is configured to:

10. the communication entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a sidelink UE, a base station, or a Location Management Function (LMF); Optionally, the indication is received via lower layer signaling, uplink control information (UCI), an uplink (UL) medium access control (MAC) control element (UL MAC-CE) if the communicating entity is the AMF, or via higher layer signaling, sidelink control information (SCI), or an SL medium access control (MAC) control element (SL MAC-CE) if the communicating entity is the sidelink UE, the base station, or the LMF.

10. The apparatus of claim 9.

11. One or more of the plurality of capability sets are received from the UE via a base station, or the instruction is received from the UE via the base station, or the at least one processor: or The indication is received periodically; or the plurality of capability sets are received simultaneously; 11. The apparatus of claim 10.

12. the first capability set and the second capability set are received at different times; Optionally, the at least one processor is further configured to receive from the UE a third capability set corresponding to a third level of the UE positioning process, the third level being different from the first level and the second level.

11. The apparatus of claim 10.

13. the plurality of capability sets are stored in the communications entity, each of the plurality of capability sets being associated with a timer indicating a time for which the capability set should be stored; Optionally, the at least one processor is further configured to, in response to the timer expiring, remove the capability set from the communication entity.

11. The apparatus of claim 10.

14. No more than one capability set of the plurality of capability sets is activated at a time; or the at least one processor is further configured to receive a notification from the UE to deactivate the plurality of capability sets; or the indication is received prior to a UE positioning session.

11. The apparatus of claim 10.

15. 1. A method of wireless communication in a communication entity, comprising: receiving from a user equipment (UE) a plurality of capability sets associated with a UE positioning process, the plurality of capability sets including at least a first capability set corresponding to a first level of the UE positioning process and a second capability set corresponding to a second level of the UE positioning process, the first level being different from the second level; receiving an indication from the UE to activate one of the plurality of capability sets for UE positioning; A method comprising:

Images