Pre-configuration of Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) for positioning

Abstract

In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) receives a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells, transmits a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration, receives a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration, and transmits one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first positioning SRS configuration.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] (CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS)

[0001] This patent application claims priority to Greek Patent Application No. 20220100619, entitled "PRECONFIGURATION OF SOUNDING REFERENCE SIGNALS (SRS) FOR POSITIONING," filed July 29, 2022, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety into this specification. [Background technology]

[0002] Field of Disclosure Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-enabled wireless service, and fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS) and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), etc.

[0004]

[0004] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, called New Radio (NR), enables higher data rates, more connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, as well as the use of higher frequency bands, advances in PRS processes and technologies, and dense deployments for 5G, enable highly accurate 5G-based positioning. Summary of the Invention

[0005]

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects disclosed herein. As such, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor should it be considered as identifying key or critical elements of all contemplated aspects or as delimiting the scope relating to any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present certain concepts of one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0006]

[0006] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) includes receiving a pre-configuration of a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; transmitting a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; receiving a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and transmitting one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0007]

[0007] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication implemented by a base station includes pre-configuring a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters of a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least a first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; receiving from the UE a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; transmitting to the UE a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and transmitting to the location server a positioning information update message indicating that the first positioning SRS configuration has been activated in the UE.

[0008] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes one or more memories, one or more transceivers, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, receive via the one or more transceivers a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells, and a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request being valid for a first plurality of cells. transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a first positioning SRS activation request, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with a first positioning SRS configuration; receive, via the one or more transceivers, a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, the one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0009]

[0009] In one aspect, a base station includes one or more memories, one or more transceivers, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, pre-configure a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least a first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells, and activate a positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, wherein the UE activates positioning SRS resources for the first positioning session. receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the UE a positioning SRS activation request requesting permission to transmit according to the first positioning SRS configuration; transmit, via the one or more transceivers, to the UE a first positioning SRS activation message for a first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources according to the first positioning SRS configuration; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, to the location server a positioning information update message indicating that the first positioning SRS configuration has been activated in the UE.

[0010]

[0010] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes means for receiving a pre-configuration of a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; means for transmitting a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; means for receiving a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and means for transmitting one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0011]

[0011] In one aspect, a base station includes means for pre-configuring a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters of a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; means for receiving from the UE a positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the positioning SRS activation request request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; means for transmitting to the UE a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and means for transmitting to the location server a positioning information update message indicating that the first positioning SRS configuration has been activated in the UE.

[0012]

[0012] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to receive a pre-configuration of a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; send a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; receive a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and send one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0013]

[0013] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by a base station, causes the base station to pre-configure a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters of a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least a first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; cause the base station to receive a positioning SRS activation request from the UE for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the positioning SRS activation request request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; cause the base station to transmit a first positioning SRS activation message to the UE for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and cause the base station to transmit a positioning information update message to the location server indicating that the first positioning SRS configuration has been activated in the UE.

[0014]

[0014] Other objects and advantages associated with the embodiments disclosed herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015]

[0015] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the explanation of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided only to illustrate the aspects, not to limit the aspects. [Figure 1]

[0016] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A]

[0017] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2C] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A]

[0018] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE) and configured to support communication as taught herein; [Figure 3B] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a base station and configured to support communication as taught herein; [Figure 3C] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a network entity and configured to support communications as taught herein; [Figure 4]

[0019] 1 illustrates examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR), according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 5]

[0020] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 6]

[0021] 1 illustrates various radio resource control (RRC) states available in New Radio (NR), according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 7A]

[0022] 1 illustrates an example mobile-terminated location request (MT LR) procedure for a downlink and uplink-based positioning method, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 7B] 1 illustrates an example mobile-terminated location request (MT LR) procedure for a downlink and uplink-based positioning method, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 8]

[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a preconfigured positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 9A]

[0024] 1 illustrates an example delayed MT LR procedure for a downlink and uplink based positioning method with positioning SRS preconfiguration, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 9B] 1 illustrates an example delayed MT LR procedure for a downlink and uplink based positioning method with positioning SRS preconfiguration, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 10A]

[0025] 1 illustrates an example delayed MT LR procedure for a downlink and uplink based positioning method when SRS information is missing at a receiving base station, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 10B] 1 illustrates an example delayed MT LR procedure for a downlink and uplink based positioning method when SRS information is missing at a receiving base station, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 11]

[0026] 1 illustrates an example delayed MT LR procedure for a downlink and uplink based positioning method with a location server triggered positioning SRS deactivation request, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 12]

[0027] 1 illustrates an example delayed MT LR procedure for a downlink and uplink based positioning method with a UE triggered positioning SRS deactivation request, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 13]

[0028] 1 illustrates an exemplary method of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] 1 illustrates an exemplary method of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016]

[0029] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings, which are directed to various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0017]

[0030] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0018]

[0031] Those skilled in the art will understand that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, desired design, corresponding technology, etc.

[0019]

[0032] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. In addition, a sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be embodied entirely in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause or instruct associated processors of a device to perform the functions described herein. Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in several different forms, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described actions.

[0020]

[0033] The terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station,” as used herein, are not intended to be specific to or limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise specified. Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer location device, a wearable (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or stationary (e.g., at a given time) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred to interchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a “wireless device,” a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,” a “user terminal” or “UT,” a “mobile device,” a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN, through which the UE can be connected to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.), etc.

[0021]

[0034] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs with which it communicates with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNode B), etc. A base station may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide only edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control and / or network management functionality. The communication link over which a UE can send signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a base station can transmit signals to a UE is called a downlink (DL) channel or a forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0022]

[0035] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmission / reception point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs, which may or may not be collocated. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to the base station's cell (or several cell sectors). When the term "base station" refers to multiple collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or when the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, non-co-located physical TRPs may be the serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and neighboring base stations whose reference radio frequency (RF) signals the UE is measuring. Because a TRP is a point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood as referring to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0023]

[0036] In some implementations that support UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead may transmit reference signals to the UE to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., if it transmits signals to the UE) and / or a location measurement unit (e.g., if it receives and measures signals from the UE).

[0024]

[0037] An "RF signal" includes electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that propagate information through space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, the receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same RF signal transmitted over different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" when it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0025]

[0038] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system 100 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 (sometimes referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled “BS”) and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0026]

[0039] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and may interface with a core network 170 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5G core, 5GC)) through backhaul links 122 and to one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) through the core network 170. The location servers 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The location servers 172 may be integrated with the base stations 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 through the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 through another path, such as through an application server (not shown), through another network, such as through a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communication between the UE 104 and the location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network 170), or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with intervening nodes (if any) omitted from the signaling diagrams for clarity.

[0027]

[0040] In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: forwarding user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, 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, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracing, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and alert message delivery. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) via backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0028]

[0041] The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells may be supported by the base stations 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., over some frequency resources referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, etc.) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) to distinguish between cells operating over the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a particular base station, the term "cell" can refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and its supporting base station, depending on the context. In addition, because a TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0029]

[0042] The geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover regions), and some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be significantly overlapped by larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that significantly overlaps with the geographic coverage area 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network including both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs), which may serve closed groups known as closed subscriber groups (CSGs).

[0030]

[0043] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also called reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102, and / or downlink (DL) (also called forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the downlink than for the uplink).

[0031]

[0044] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (WLAN) 150 communicating with wireless local area network (WLAN) stations (STAs) 152 over a communication link 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure before communicating to determine whether a channel is available.

[0032]

[0045] The small cell base station 102' may operate in a licensed and / or unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. A small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum may enhance coverage to and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MultiFire.

[0033]

[0046] The wireless communication system 100 may further include an mmW base station 180 that may operate at millimeter wave (mmW) and / or sub-mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF ranges from 30 GHz to 300 GHz and has wavelengths from 1 millimeter to 10 millimeters. Radio waves within this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Sub-mmW may fall down to frequencies of 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band ranges from 3 GHz to 30 GHz and is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using the mmW / sub-mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short distances. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or quasi-mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting various aspects disclosed herein.

[0034]

[0047] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and emits a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster and more powerful RF signal (in terms of data rate) to the receiving device. To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (also called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates beams of RF waves that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are supplied to the individual antennas with the appropriate phase relationship so that radio waves from the separate antennas are combined to cancel and suppress radiation in undesired directions while increasing radiation in desired directions.

[0035]

[0048] A transmit beam may be quasi-colocated, meaning that the transmit beam appears to a receiver (e.g., a UE) to have the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's transmit antennas themselves are physically colocated. In NR, there are four types of quasi-colocation (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters for a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0036]

[0049] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of an antenna array in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase the gain level of) an RF signal received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a particular direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gains along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0037]

[0050] The transmit beam and the receive beam may be spatially related. A spatial relationship means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) for a second reference signal may be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0038]

[0051] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, if a base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE forms a downlink beam, it is a receive beam to receive a downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, if a base station forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0039]

[0052] 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 to 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that, although a portion of FR1 is above 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as the “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and papers. Similar nomenclature issues 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 to 300 GHz) identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as the “millimeter wave” band.

[0040]

[0053] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified the operating band 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, thus effectively extending the characteristics of FR1 and / or FR2 to the mid-band frequencies. 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 FR4a or FR4-1 (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.

[0041]

[0054] With the above aspects in mind, it should be understood that unless specifically stated otherwise, terms such as "sub-6 GHz," as used herein, can broadly refer to frequencies that may be below 6 GHz, frequencies that may be within FR1, or frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies. Furthermore, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that terms such as "mmWave," as used herein, can broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, frequencies that may be within the ranges of FR2, FR4, FR4-a, or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or frequencies that may be within the EHF band.

[0042]

[0055] In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on a primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell on which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common control channels and UE-specific control channels and may (but is not always) be a carrier within licensed frequencies. The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier within unlicensed frequencies. Since both the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are typically UE-specific, the secondary carrier shall contain only the necessary signaling information and signals; e.g., there shall be no UE-specific signaling information and signals in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network may change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This may be done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier through which several base stations communicate, terms such as "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" may be used interchangeably.

[0043]

[0056] For example, with continued reference to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or data reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz carriers combined in a multi-carrier system would theoretically provide a two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0044]

[0057] Wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 164 that may communicate with macrocell base station 102 via communications link 120 and / or with mmW base station 180 via mmW communications link 184. For example, macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for UE 164, and mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for UE 164.

[0045]

[0058] In some cases, the UE 164 and the UE 182 may be capable of sidelink communication. Sidelink-capable UEs (SL-UEs) can communicate with the base station 102 via a communication link 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). SL-UEs (e.g., the UE 164, the UE 182) may also communicate directly with each other via a wireless sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). Wireless sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of the core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that enables direct communication between two or more UEs without the communication having to go through a base station. Sidelink communications may be unicast or multicast and may be used for device-to-device (D2D) medium sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communications, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communications, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102 or may in some cases be unable to receive transmissions from the base station 102. In some cases, a group of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each SL-UE transmits to all other SL-UEs in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between SL-UEs without the involvement of the base station 102.

[0046]

[0059] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate over a target wireless communications medium, which may be shared with other vehicular and / or infrastructure access points, as well as other wireless communications between other RATs. The “medium” may consist of one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communications resources (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs. In one aspect, the target medium may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared among various RATs. While different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communications systems (e.g., by government agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems, particularly those employing small cell access points, have recently extended operation to unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) bands used by Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technologies, most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as “Wi-Fi.” Exemplary systems of this type include CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and various variations thereof.

[0047]

[0060] 1 illustrates only two of the UEs as SL-UEs (i.e., UEs 164 and 182), it should be noted that any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs. Additionally, while only UE 182 has been described as being beamforming-capable, any of the illustrated UEs, including UE 164, may be beamforming-capable. If SL-UEs are beamforming-capable, they may beamform toward each other (i.e., toward other SL-UEs), toward other UEs (e.g., UEs 104), toward a base station (e.g., base station 102, 180, small cell 102′, access point 150), etc. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming over sidelink 160.

[0048]

[0061] In the example of FIG. 1, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG. 1 as a single UE 104 for simplicity) may receive signals 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that the UE 104 can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable a receiver (e.g., UE 104) to determine the receiver's location on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code with a set number of chips. The transmitters are typically located within the SVs 112, but may in some cases be located on a terrestrial control station, a base station 102, and / or another UE 104. The UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive the signals 124 from the SV 112 to obtain geolocation information.

[0049]

[0062] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals 124 may be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, error correction, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided Geo-Augmentation System, or the GPS and Geo-Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN). Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0050]

[0063] In one aspect, the SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, the SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also called a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in a 5G network. This element then provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. In this way, the UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from the SV 112 instead of, or in addition to, communication signals from the terrestrial base station 102.

[0051]

[0064] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "sidelinks"). In the example of Figure 1, the UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., the UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through the D2D P2P link 192) and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (e.g., the UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through the D2D P2P link 194). In one example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported using any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, etc.

[0052]

[0065] 2A illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure 200. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) may be functionally considered to have control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, data network access, IP routing, etc.) that operate cooperatively to form a core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect a gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to the user plane function 212 and the control plane function 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, an ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0053]

[0066] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that may communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location servers 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location servers 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or the Internet (not shown). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, may be outside the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0054]

[0067] 2B illustrates another exemplary wireless network structure 240. A 5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in FIG. 2A) may be considered functionally as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form a core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful intercept, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and a security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204 to receive intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM)-based authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. AMF264 functionality also includes security context management (SCM).The SCM receives keys from the SEAF that it uses to derive access network specific keys. The AMF 264 functions also include location service management for regulated services, transport for location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (acting as the location server 230), transport for location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, EPS bearer identifier allocation for interworking with an evolved packet system (EPS), and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0055]

[0068] The functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic validation (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support the transfer of location service messages over the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server such as the SLP 272.

[0056]

[0069] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF 262 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, policy enforcement and control of part of QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0057]

[0070] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that may communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that may connect to the LMF 270 via a core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support similar functions as the LMF 270, while the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 via the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signaling messages rather than voice or data), and the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) via the user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as transmission control protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0058]

[0071] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that may be in communication with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and / or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) for the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party servers 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules across multiple physical servers, etc.) or, alternatively, each may correspond to a single server.

[0059]

[0072] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, specifically the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224, respectively, in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, and the interface between the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a wireless interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0060]

[0073] The functionality of the gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RUs) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions such as forwarding user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, and session management, except for those functions exclusively assigned to the gNB-DU 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is generally a logical node that hosts the radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or multiple cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functions of the gNB 222 are generally hosted by one or more standalone gNB-RUs 229, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0061]

[0074] The deployment of a communication system, such as a 5G NR system, may be configured in multiple ways using various components or components. In a 5G NR system or network, network equipment, such as a network node, network entity, network mobility element, RAN node, core network node, network element, or base station, or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality, may be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a base station (Node B, NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, access point (AP), transmit / receive point (TRP), or cell, etc., may be implemented as an aggregated base station (also known as a standalone base station or monolithic base station) or a disaggregated base station.

[0062]

[0075] An aggregated base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A disaggregated base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (e.g., one or more centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU or alternatively distributed geographically or virtually across one or more other RAN nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0063]

[0076] The operation of a base station type or network design may take into account the aggregation characteristics of base station functions. For example, a disaggregated base station may be utilized in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN, such as the network configuration supported by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Disaggregation may include distributing functions across two or more units in different physical locations as well as virtually distributing functions in at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. Various units of a disaggregated base station, or a disaggregated RAN architecture, may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0064]

[0077] 2C illustrates an exemplary disaggregated base station architecture 250 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226) that can communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units (e.g., a near-real time (RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link, or a non-real time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both). The CU 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DU 228) via corresponding midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DU 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RU 229) via corresponding fronthaul links. The RU 287 may communicate with corresponding UEs 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 204 may be served by multiple RUs 287 simultaneously.

[0065]

[0078] Each of the units, i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and quasi-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO framework 255, may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the unit's communication interface, may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. For example, a unit may include a wired interface configured to receive signals from or transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium. Additionally, the units may include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver), configured to receive signals from, transmit signals to, or receive signals from one or more of the other units via a wireless transmission medium.

[0066]

[0079] In some aspects, the CU 280 can host one or more upper layer control functions. Such control functions may include Radio Resource Control (RRC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 may be configured to handle user plane functions (i.e., Central Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functions (i.e., Central Unit-Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. The CU-UP units may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface, such as an E1 interface, when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU 280 may be implemented to communicate with the DU 285, as needed, for network control and signaling.

[0067]

[0080] The DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit including one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, the DU 285 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more upper physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.), at least in part according to a functional division such as that defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, the DU 285 may further host one or more lower PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 285 or with control functions hosted by the CU 280.

[0068]

[0081] The lower layer functions may be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, the RUs 287 controlled by the DUs 285 may correspond to logical nodes hosting RF processing functions, lower PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transforms (FFTs), inverse FFTs (iFFTs), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on a functional division, such as a lower layer functional division. In such an architecture, the RUs 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 204. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RUs 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DUs 285. In some scenarios, this configuration enables the DUs 285 and CUs 280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

[0069]

[0082] The SMO framework 255 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to support deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface (e.g., an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (e.g., an open cloud (O-cloud) 269) via a cloud computing platform interface (e.g., an O2 interface) to perform network element lifecycle management (e.g., instantiate virtualized network elements). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, the CU 280, the DU 285, the RU 287, and the quasi-RT RIC 259. In some implementations, the SMO framework 255 may communicate with hardware aspects of a 4G RAN, such as the open eNB (O-eNB) 261, via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via an O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255.

[0070]

[0083] The non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the quasi-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 may be coupled to the quasi-RT RIC 259 or may communicate with the quasi-RT RIC 259 (e.g., via an A1 interface). The quasi-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources by data collection and action via interfaces (e.g., via an E2 interface) that connect one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, and the O-eNB to the quasi-RT RIC 259.

[0071]

[0084] In some implementations, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server to generate the AI / ML models deployed to the quasi-RT RIC 259. Such information may be utilized by the quasi-RT RIC 259 or may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function in the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the quasi-RT RIC 259 may be configured to adjust RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may employ AI / ML models to monitor long-term trends and patterns in performance and implement corrective actions through the SMO framework 255 (e.g., reconfiguration via O1) or through the creation of RAN management policies (e.g., A1 policies).

[0072]

[0085] 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated within a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including a location server 230 and an LMF 270, or alternatively, may be independent of the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as a private network) to support the operations described herein. It will be understood that these components may be implemented in different types of devices (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.) in different implementations. The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other devices within a communication system. For example, other devices within the system may include components similar to the illustrated components to provide similar functionality. Also, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0073]

[0086] The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) over one or more wireless communications networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, etc. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., over a wireless communications medium of interest (e.g., some set of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), respectively, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.), respectively, in accordance with a designated RAT. Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358, respectively, and include one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0074]

[0087] The UE 302 and base station 304 also each, at least in some cases, include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and may provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.) over a target wireless communication medium. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), respectively, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.), respectively, in accordance with a designated RAT. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368, respectively, and include one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth® transceivers, Zigbee® and / or Z-Wave® transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0075]

[0088] UE 302 and base station 304 also, in at least some cases, include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide a means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. If satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Navigation Satellite System of India (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. If satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may comprise any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request information and action from other systems as appropriate and, in at least some cases, perform calculations to determine the locations of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively, using the obtained measurements according to any suitable satellite positioning system algorithms.

[0076]

[0089] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, that provide a means for communicating (e.g., a means for transmitting, a means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, the network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links or with other network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0077]

[0090] A transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired link or a wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodying the transmitter and receiver circuitry within a single device), in some implementations, may comprise separate transmitter and receiver circuitry, or in other implementations may be embodied in other ways. The transmitter and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array that enables a corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit "beamforming," as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array that enables a corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the corresponding device can only receive or transmit at a given time, but not both at the same time. The wireless transceivers (eg, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0078]

[0091] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390, in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390, in some implementations) may be generally characterized as a “transceiver,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers.” Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver can be inferred from the type of communication being implemented. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers generally involve signaling via wired transceivers, while wireless communications between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) generally involve signaling via wireless transceivers.

[0079]

[0092] The UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with operations as disclosed herein. The UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, e.g., to provide functionality related to wireless communications and to provide other processing functions. Accordingly, the processors 332, 384, and 394 may comprise processing means, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, and means for directing. In one aspect, the processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, e.g., one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry, or various combinations thereof.

[0080]

[0093] The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Accordingly, the memories 340, 386, and 396 may comprise storage means, retrieval means, maintenance means, etc. In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may include positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, which, when executed, cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or modem processing system, another processing system, etc.) cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3A illustrates a possible arrangement of the positioning component 342, which may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3B shows a possible placement of a positioning component 388, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.FIG. 3C shows possible locations of a positioning component 398, which may be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.

[0081]

[0094] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide a means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information that is independent of movement data derived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receiver 330. By way of example, the sensors 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Furthermore, the sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide movement information. For example, the sensors 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0082]

[0095] Additionally, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides a means for providing instructions (e.g., audio and / or visual instructions) to a user and / or receiving user input (e.g., upon user activation of a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0083]

[0096] Referring more particularly to the one or more processors 384, on the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 384 may provide RRC layer functions associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks (SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, 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 upper layer PDUs, error correction via automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0084]

[0097] The transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer-1 (L1) functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer-1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles 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), and 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 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol streams are spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0085]

[0098] In the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives signals through its corresponding antenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carriers and provides the information to one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 312. The receiver 312 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 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted on the physical channel by the base station 304. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332 that implement Layer-3 (L3) and Layer-2 (L2) functions.

[0086]

[0099] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The one or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0087]

[0100] Similar to the functionality described in connection with downlink transmission by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provide 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 upper 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 between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0088]

[0101] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0089]

[0102] Uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described with respect to the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives the signal via its corresponding antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0090]

[0103] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header recovery, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0091]

[0104] For convenience, the UE 302, base station 304, and / or network entity 306 are illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C as including various components that may be configured in accordance with various examples described herein. However, it will be understood that the illustrated components may have different functions in different designs. In particular, various components in FIGS. 3A-3C are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, cost, device use, or other considerations. For example, in FIG. 3A, a particular implementation of the UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or PC or laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities without cellular capabilities), omit the short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., cellular only), omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or omit the sensor 344, and so forth. 3B, a particular implementation of base station 304 may omit WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capability), may omit short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only), or may omit satellite signal receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, examples of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0092]

[0105] The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to one another via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one aspect, the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may form or be part of communication interfaces of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306, respectively. For example, when different logical entities are embodied within the same device (e.g., when gNB and location server functionality are incorporated within the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may provide communication therebetween.

[0093]

[0106] The components of Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors), where each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide its functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310-346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350-388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Additionally, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390-398 may be implemented by processor and memory components of the network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, it should be understood that such operations, actions, and / or functions may actually be performed by particular components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memories 340, 386, and 396, positioning components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0094]

[0107] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be separate from the operation of a network operator or cellular network infrastructure (e.g., the NG RAN 220 and / or the 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently from the base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0095]

[0108] NR supports several cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. FIG. 4 illustrates examples of various positioning methods according to aspects of the present disclosure. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure illustrated by scenario 410, a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from pairs of base stations, called reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in the assistance data. The UE then measures RSTD between the reference base station and each of the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the participating base stations and the RSTD measurements, a positioning entity (e.g., the UE in the case of UE-based positioning or a location server in the case of UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the location of the UE.

[0096]

[0109] For DL-AoD positioning, as illustrated by scenario 420, the positioning entity uses measurement reports from the UE of received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station.

[0097]

[0110] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) transmitted by the UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, the UE transmits one or more uplink reference signals that are measured by a reference base station and multiple non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports the time of reception of the reference signal (called the relative time of arrival (RTOA)) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server), which knows the locations and relative timing of the participating base stations. Based on the reception-to-reception (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and that of each non-reference base station, the known locations of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can estimate the UE's location using TDOA.

[0098]

[0111] For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angles of the receive beams to determine the angle between the UE and the base station. Based on the determined angle and the known locations of the base stations, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0099]

[0112] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include enhanced cell-ID (E-CID) positioning and multiple round-trip-time (RTT) positioning (also referred to as "multi-cell RTT" and "multi-RTT"). In an RTT procedure, a first entity (e.g., a base station or a UE) transmits a first RTT-related signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or a base station), and the second entity transmits a second RTT-related signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the time of arrival (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is called the reception-to-transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement may be performed or adjusted to include only the time difference between the nearest slot boundaries for the received and transmitted signals. Both entities can then send their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 270), which calculates the round-trip propagation time (i.e., RTT) between the two entities from the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity may send its Rx-Tx time difference measurements to the other entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities can be determined from the RTT and a known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). In the case of multi-RTT positioning illustrated by scenario 430, a first entity (e.g., a UE or base station) conducts RTT positioning procedures with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) to allow the location of the first entity to be determined based on the distance to the second entities and the known locations of the second entities (e.g., using multilateration).As illustrated by scenario 440, RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD to improve location accuracy.

[0100]

[0113] The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identities, estimated timing, and signal strength of detected neighboring base stations. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0101]

[0114] To assist positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include identifiers of base stations (or base station cells / TRPs) from which to measure reference signals, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive slots containing a PRS, the period of consecutive slots containing a PRS, 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 stations themselves (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes itself without using assistance data.

[0102]

[0115] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and an associated uncertainty, or search window, around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the value range for the expected RSTD may be + / - 500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for positioning measurements are within FR1, the value range for the expected RSTD uncertainty may be + / - 32 μs. In other cases, when all of the resources used for positioning measurements are within FR2, the value range for the expected RSTD uncertainty may be + / - 8 μs.

[0103]

[0116] A location estimate may be referred to by other names, such as a position estimate, location, position, position fix, or fix. A location estimate may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or urban and include an address, zip code, or some other linguistic description of the location. A location estimate may also be defined relative to some other known location or may be 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 lie with some specified or default level of confidence).

[0104]

[0117] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example frame structure according to an aspect of the disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0105]

[0118] LTE, and possibly NR, utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. Generally, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, or the total number of subcarriers (K) may depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing may be 15 kilohertz (kHz), and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (i.e., 180 kHz). Thus, the nominal fast Fourier transform (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0106]

[0119] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), e.g., subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz (μ=0), 30 kHz (μ=1), 60 kHz (μ=2), 120 kHz (μ=3), and 240 kHz (μ=4) or greater may be available. At each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For a 15 kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, i.e., 10 slots per frame, with a slot duration of 1 millisecond (ms), a symbol duration of 66.7 microseconds (μs), and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 50 with an FFT size of 4K. For a 30 kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, i.e., 20 slots per frame, with a slot duration of 0.5 ms, a symbol period of 33.3 μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 100 for a 4K FFT size. For a 60 kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, i.e., 40 slots per frame, with a slot duration of 0.25 ms, a symbol period of 16.7 μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 200 for a 4K FFT size. For a 120 kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight slots per subframe, i.e., 80 slots per frame, with a slot duration of 0.125 ms, a symbol period of 8.33 μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 400 for a 4K FFT size. For a 240 kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, i.e., 160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625 ms, the symbol duration is 4.17 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with an FFT size of 4K is 800.

[0107]

[0120] In the example of Figure 5, a 15 kHz numerology is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of 1 ms each, with each subframe containing one time slot. In Figure 5, time is represented horizontally (X-axis), with time increasing from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (Y-axis), with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0108]

[0121] A resource grid may be used to represent a time slot, and each time slot includes one or more time-parallel resource blocks (RBs) (also called physical RBs, PRBs) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIG. 5, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0109]

[0122] Some of the REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). The reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communications. Figure 5 shows an example arrangement of REs carrying reference signals (labeled "R").

[0110]

[0123] A set of resource elements (REs) used for transmitting a PRS is called a "PRS resource." A set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N consecutive symbols (e.g., one or more) within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0111]

[0124] The transmission of PRS resources within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also called "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for comb size "N," a PRS is transmitted on every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of the PRB. For example, for comb 4, in each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (subcarriers 0, 4, 8, etc.) are used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes of comb 2, comb 4, comb 6, and comb 12 are supported for DL-PRS. Figure 5 shows an example PRS resource configuration for comb 4 (spanning four symbols). That is, the placement of shaded REs (labeled "R") indicates a comb 4 PRS resource configuration.

[0112]

[0125] Currently, DL-PRS resources can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot in a staggered pattern across the frequency domain. DL-PRS resources can be configured within any higher layer configured downlink or flexible (FL) symbols of a slot. There can be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. Below are the symbol-to-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 across 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols: 2-symbol comb2: {0,1}, 4-symbol comb2: {0,1,0,1}, 6-symbol comb2: {0,1,0,1,0,1}, 12-symbol comb2: {0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1}, 4-symbol comb4: {0,2,1,3} (for the example in Figure 5), 12-symbol comb4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}, 6-symbol comb6: {0,3,1,4,2,5}, 12-symbol comb6: {0,3,1,4,2,5,0,3,1,4,2,5}, and 12-symbol comb12: {0,6,3,9,1,7,4,10,2,8,5,11}.

[0113]

[0126] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used for transmitting PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and associated with a specific TRP (identified by a TRP ID). In addition, PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity across slots, a common muting pattern setting, and the same repetition factor (e.g., "PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor"). The periodicity is 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. The periodicity is 2^μ * The repetition factor may have a length selected from {4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots, and μ=0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0114]

[0127] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (a 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 may therefore also be referred to as a "PRS resource" or simply a "resource" or a "beam." Note that this does not have any implications regarding whether the TRP and beam on which a PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0115]

[0128] A "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" is one instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a group of one or more contiguous slots) during 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," or "repetition."

[0116]

[0129] A "positioning frequency layer" (also simply referred to as "frequency layer") is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values ​​for certain parameters. In particular, a collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all numerologies supported for the physical downlink shared channel (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 the same comb size. The Point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" ("ARFCN" stands for "absolute radio-frequency channel number"), which is an identifier / code that specifies a pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of 4 PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers are defined, and up to two PRS resource sets can be configured per TRP per frequency layer.

[0117]

[0130] The concept of a frequency layer is similar to the concepts of component carriers and bandwidth parts (BWPs), but differs in that a component carrier and a BWP are used by one base station (or a macrocell base station and a small cell base station) to transmit a data channel, while a frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRSs. A UE may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when it transmits its positioning capabilities to the network, such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session. For example, the UE may indicate whether it can support one positioning frequency layer or four positioning frequency layers.

[0118]

[0131] In one aspect, the reference signal carried on the RE, labeled "R" in FIG. 5, may be an SRS. The SRS transmitted by the UE may be used by the base station to obtain channel state information (CSI) for the transmitting UE. The CSI describes how the RF signal propagates from the UE to the base station and accounts for the combined effects of scattering, fading, and power attenuation over distance. The system uses the SRS for resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management, etc.

[0119]

[0132] A set of REs used for transmitting an SRS is called an "SRS resource" and may be identified by a parameter "SRS-ResourceId." A set of resource elements may span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and "N" (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, an SRS resource occupies one or more consecutive PRBs. An "SRS resource set" is a set of SRS resources used for transmitting an SRS signal and is identified by an SRS resource set ID ("SRS-ResourceSetId").

[0120]

[0133] The transmission of SRS resources within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also referred to as "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the SRS resource configuration. Specifically, for comb size "N," the SRS is transmitted on every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of the PRB. For example, for comb 4, in each symbol of the SRS resource configuration, the RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (subcarriers 0, 4, 8, etc.) is used to transmit the SRS of the SRS resource. In the example of FIG. 5, the illustrated SRS is comb 4 across four symbols. That is, the placement of the shaded SRS REs indicates a comb 4 SRS resource configuration.

[0121]

[0134] Currently, an SRS resource can span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot with comb sizes Comb 2, Comb 4, or Comb 8. Below are the symbol-to-symbol frequency offsets for the currently supported SRS comb patterns: 1 symbol comb2: {0}, 2 symbol comb2: {0,1}, 2 symbol comb4: {0,2}, 4 symbol comb2: {0,1,0,1}, 4 symbol comb4: {0,2,1,3} (for the example in Figure 5), 8 symbol comb4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}, 12 symbol comb4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}, 4 symbol comb8: {0,4,2,6}, 8 symbol comb8: {0,4,2,6,1,5,3,7}, and 12 symbol comb8: {0,4,2,6,1,5,3,7,0,4,2,6}.

[0122]

[0135] Generally, as mentioned above, a UE transmits an SRS to enable a receiving base station (either a serving base station or a neighboring base station) to measure the channel quality (i.e., CSI) between the UE and the base station. However, the SRS may also be specifically configured as an uplink positioning reference signal for uplink-based positioning procedures, such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), round trip time (RTT), and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). As used herein, the term "SRS" may refer to an SRS configured for channel quality measurement or an SRS configured for positioning purposes. When it is necessary to distinguish between the two types of SRS, the former may be referred to herein as a "communication SRS" and / or the latter may be referred to as a "positioning SRS" or a "positioning SRS."

[0123]

[0136] Several extensions beyond the previous definition of SRS may be available for positioning SRS (also called "UL-PRS"), such as new staggered patterns in SRS resources (except single symbol / comb 2), new comb types for SRS, new sequences for SRS, a larger number of SRS resource sets per component carrier, and a larger number of SRS resources per component carrier. In addition, the parameters "SpatialRelationInfo" and "PathLossReference" will be configured based on downlink reference signals or SSBs from neighboring TRPs. Furthermore, one SRS resource may be transmitted outside the active BWP, and one SRS resource may span multiple component carriers. Also, SRS may be configured in the RRC connected state and may only be transmitted within the active BWP. Furthermore, there may be no frequency hopping or repetition factor, there may be a single antenna port, and there may be new lengths for SRS (e.g., 8 and 12 symbols). Also, there may be open-loop power control rather than closed-loop power control, and Com8 (i.e., SRS is transmitted on every 8th subcarrier in the same symbol) may be used. Finally, the UE may transmit from multiple SRS resources for UL-AoA over the same transmit beam. These features may be configured through RRC higher layer signaling (and potentially triggered or activated through the MAC control element (MAC-CE) or downlink control information (DCI)).

[0124]

[0137] 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, as used herein, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" can also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, and UL-PRS, as defined in LTE and NR. Furthermore, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" can refer to downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals, unless the context dictates otherwise. When further distinction between PRS types is necessary, downlink positioning reference signals may be referred to as "DL-PRS," uplink positioning reference signals (e.g., SRS for positioning, PTRS) may be referred to as "UL-PRS," and sidelink positioning reference signals may be referred to as "SL-PRS." Additionally, for signals that may be transmitted in the downlink, uplink, and / or sidelink (e.g., DMRS), "DL," "UL," or "SL" may be prepended to the signal to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" is different from "DL-DMRS."

[0125]

[0138] After the random access procedure, the UE is in the RRC CONNECTED state. The RRC protocol is used on the air interface between the UE and the base station. The main functions of the RRC protocol include connection establishment and release functions, system information broadcast, radio bearer establishment, reconfiguration, and release, RRC connection mobility procedures, paging notification and release, and outer loop power control. In LTE, a UE can be in one of two RRC states (CONNECTED or IDLE), while in NR, a UE can be in one of three RRC states (CONNECTED, IDLE, or INACTIVE). Different RRC states have different associated radio resources that the UE can use when the UE is in a given state. Note that while the different RRC states are often capitalized as above, this is not required and these states can also be written in lowercase.

[0126]

[0139] FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 of various RRC states (also referred to as RRC modes) available in NR, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. When a UE powers on, it is initially in an RRC DISCONNECTED / IDLE state 610. After a random access procedure, the UE transitions to an RRC CONNECTED state 620. If there is no activity at the UE for a short period of time, the UE can suspend its session by transitioning to an RRC INACTIVE state 630. The UE can resume its session by performing a random access procedure and transitioning back to the RRC CONNECTED state 620. Therefore, the UE needs to perform a random access procedure to transition to the RRC CONNECTED state 620, regardless of whether the UE is in the RRC IDLE state 610 or the RRC INACTIVE state 630.

[0127]

[0140] Operations performed in the RRC IDLE state 610 include public land mobile network (PLMN) selection, system information broadcast, cell reselection mobility, paging (initiated and managed by the 5GC) for mobile terminated data, discontinuous reception (DRX) for core network paging (configured by the Non-Access Stratum (NAS)). Operations performed in the RRC CONNECTED state 620 include 5GC (e.g., 5GC 260) and NG-RAN (e.g., NG-RAN 220) connection establishment (both control plane and user plane), UE context storage in the NG-RAN and UE, NG-RAN knowledge of the cell to which the UE belongs, forwarding of unicast data to / from the UE, and network controlled mobility. Operations performed during the RRC INACTIVE state 630 include broadcasting of system information, cell reselection for mobility, paging (initiated by the NG-RAN), RAN-based notification area (RNA) management (by the NG-RAN), DRX for RAN paging (configured by the NG-RAN), 5GC and NG-RAN connection establishment for the UE (both control plane and user plane), storing UE context in the NG-RAN and the UE, and NG-RAN knowledge of the RNA to which the UE belongs.

[0128]

[0141] Positioning in the RRC INACTIVE state was introduced in 3GPP Release 17. In the RRC INACTIVE state, the UE remains in the CM CONNECTED state while the access stratum context is stored in both the UE and the RAN. During the RRC INACTIVE state, the UE only needs to perform inactive mobility procedures (e.g., PLMN selection, cell reselection, and RAN notification area updates), receive broadcast system information, and receive RAN paging, thereby reducing the network signaling load. The UE is in semi-sleep mode and periodically wakes up (according to the configured discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle) to monitor for paging messages from the network. For example, the UE does not constantly monitor the PDCCH for unicast data transmission and / or reception, which allows for power savings on the UE side compared to the RRC CONNECTED state.

[0129]

[0142] With the recently introduced small data transmission (SDT) feature, the UE can also transmit data and / or NAS signaling while remaining in the RRC INACTIVE state.

[0130]

[0143] The delayed mobile-terminated location request (MT-LR) procedure provides an efficient means for location tracking of a mobile device or possession. During the initialization phase, the target device may be provided with positioning instructions (e.g., positioning method to use, Quality of Service (QoS), etc.) and possibly assistance data. The target device then monitors for event occurrences, performs location measurements when an event is detected, and provides the location results to the network. Multiple event types may be supported, such as entering, leaving, or remaining in a predefined geographic area, moving beyond a predefined distance from a previous location, or periodic locations. The procedure is defined to allow the UE to remain in the RRC INACTIVE state during the positioning measurement and event reporting phase.

[0131]

[0144] 7A and 7B illustrate an example delayed MT LR procedure for a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method (e.g., multi-RTT) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This procedure consists of two event reports: Event Report #1 (Stages 3-10) for requesting / configuring a positioning SRS, as shown in FIG. 7A, and Event Report #2 (Stages 12-16) for reporting location measurements, as shown in FIG. 7B.

[0132]

[0145] In stage 1, stages 1-21 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events as specified in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.273, Section 6.3.1 (which has been published and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) are performed. The LMF 270 may perform one or more positioning procedures in stage 15 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events (as specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, Section 6.3.1) to request and acquire UE 204 positioning capability or to provide any necessary assistance data to the target device. The Location Service (LCS) Periodic Triggered Location Call in stage 16 of the Delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events (of the Delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, Section 6.3.1) includes an embedded LPP Location Information Request message indicating the allowed or requested multi-RTT location measurements for each reported location event.

[0133]

[0146] At some point, the UE 204 is released from RRC CONECTED to RRC INACTIVE by the last serving gNB via an "RRCRelease" with "SuspendConfig".

[0134]

[0147] In stage 2, the UE 204 monitors for the occurrence of the trigger or periodic event requested during stage 1.

[0135]

[0148] In stage 3, when (or shortly before) an event is detected, UE204 sends an RRC UL Information Transfer message containing a UL NAS Transport message with an RRC Resume Request via the SDT. UE204 includes the LCS Event Report in the payload container of the UL NAS Transport message and the deferred routing identifier received in the additional information of the UL NAS Transport message during stage 1. The LCS Event Report includes an embedded LPP Request Assistance Data message with the IEs "NR-Multi-RTT-RequestAssistanceData" and "nr-AdType" set to "ul-srs" to request UL-SRS for multi-RTT positioning. The receiving gNB of UE204 when UE204 performs stage 3 may be the same as or different from the last serving gNB that UE204 released into RRC INACTIVE state.

[0136]

[0149] In stage 4, the receiving gNB sends the LCS event report with the LPP Request Assistance Data message to the serving AMF 264 in a Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) uplink NAS transport message. The AMF 264 determines the LMF 270 from the deferred routing identifier received in the Additional Information IE of the UL NAS TRANSPORT message and forwards the LCS event report with the embedded LPP message to the LMF 270 via triggering a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation. The AMF 264 also includes the payload container type and the correlation identifier set to the deferred routing identifier. Note that if the anchor gNB does not change from the last serving gNB to the receiving gNB, the LCS event report can be forwarded from the receiving gNB to the last serving gNB via an Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) message RRC TRANSFER. Subsequent downlink / uplink messages may also be transferred between the last serving gNB and the receiving gNB via the XnAP message RRC TRANSFER.

[0137]

[0150] In stage 5, the LMF 270 sends a New Radio Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) Positioning Information Request message to the receiving gNB to request the UL-SRS of the target device (i.e., UE 204).

[0138]

[0151] In stage 6, the receiving gNB determines the available resources for UL-SRS.

[0139]

[0152] In stage 7, the receiving gNB provides UL-SRS configuration information to the LMF270 in an NRPPa positioning information response message.

[0140]

[0153] In stage 8, the LMF270 sends an NRPPa measurement request containing the UL-SRS measurement configuration to the group of gNBs.

[0141]

[0154] At stage 9, the LMF 270 sends a Supplementary Services (SS) LCS Event Report Acknowledgement to the receiving gNB, which then provides the SS Event Report Acknowledgement to the UE 204 via a subsequent DL SDT at stage 9b.

[0142]

[0155] At stage 10, the receiving gNB sends an "RRCRelease" message with "suspendConfig" to keep the UE 204 in an RRC INACTIVE state. The "RRCRelease" message includes the UL-SRS configuration. The UE 204 then transmits the UL-SRS resources according to the received UL-SRS configuration.

[0143]

[0156] In stage 11, the UE 204 performs DL-PRS measurements and each configured TRP performs UL-SRS measurements.

[0144]

[0157] In stage 12, the UE 204 sends an RRC UL Information Transfer message containing a UL NAS Transport message with an RRC Resume Request over the SDT. The UE 204 includes the LCS Event Report and the LPP Location Provision Information message in the payload container of the UL NAS Transport message, and the deferred routing identifier received in the additional information of the UL NAS Transport message during stage 1. The LPP Location Provision Information message includes the location measurements (e.g., UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements) obtained by the UE 204 in stage 11a.

[0145]

[0158] At stage 13, the receiving gNB sends the LCS event report with the LPP location provision information message in an NGAP uplink NAS transport message to the serving AMF 264. The AMF 264 determines the LMF 270 from the deferred routing identifier received in the additional information IE of the UL NAS TRANSPORT message and forwards the LCS event report with the embedded LPP message to the LMF 270 via triggering a Namf_Communication_N1MessageNotify service operation. The AMF 264 also includes the payload container type and the correlation identifier set to the deferred routing identifier.

[0146]

[0159] In stage 14, after performing the UL-SRS measurements, the gNBs provide the UL measurements to the LMF 270 in an NRPPa measurement response message. The NRPPa measurement response message includes the location measurements (e.g., gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurements) obtained by each gNB in ​​stage 11b.

[0147]

[0160] When all LPP Location Provision Information messages have been received, the LMF 270 sends an SS LCS Event Report Acknowledge to the receiving gNB at stage 15. The receiving gNB then provides the SS Event Report Acknowledge to the UE 204 via a subsequent DL SDT at stage 15b.

[0148]

[0161] At stage 16, the receiving gNB sends an “RRCRelease” message with “suspendConfig” to keep the UE 204 in RRC INACTIVE state.

[0149]

[0162] In stage 17, stages 28 to 31 for the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events as specified in TS 23.273, section 6.3.1 are performed.

[0150]

[0163] 7A and 7B illustrate a delayed MT-LR procedure for a UE 204 in an RRC INACTIVE state in a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method (e.g., multi-RTT). A subset of the stages in FIGS. 7A and 7B may be used for downlink-only positioning (e.g., DL-TDOA) and uplink-only positioning (e.g., UL-TDOA). For downlink-only positioning, only stages 1, 2, 11a, 12, 13, 15a, 15b, 16, and 17 are applicable. For uplink-only positioning, only stages 1, 2, 3-10, 11b, 14, and 17 are applicable.

[0151]

[0164] In the above procedure, each time an event report is triggered (e.g., when a periodic timer expires), a new positioning SRS may be "negotiated" between the LMF and the serving / receiving gNB (as in stages 3-10 of FIG. 7A). This may result in significant signaling activity and therefore additional latency and processing for periodic events with a relatively small period (e.g., 15-30 seconds), which may further adversely affect power consumption at the target device.

[0152]

[0165] To reduce the amount of SRS configuration signaling, a preconfigured positioning SRS may be used. This assumes that the positioning SRS can be provided once, for example, in the initialization phase of the delayed MT-LR procedure (stage 1 in FIG. 7A ), and then activated when needed. Instead of sending an event report to the LMF 270 in stages 3 and 4 of FIG. 7A to request the positioning SRS from the LMF 270, the UE 204 can send a request to activate the preconfigured positioning SRS directly to the NG-RAN 220 (receiving gNB), possibly using lower layer signaling (e.g., MAC control element (CE) (MAC-CE)). In that case, stages 5-7 and 9a of FIG. 7A may not be needed or may be simplified.

[0153]

[0166] However, due to mobility, a UE may request "SRS activation" in a cell different from the cell where it received the preconfigured positioning SRS. Positioning SRS is generally specific to the UE and its location. Currently, the positioning SRS configuration is valid only in the cell where the UE received the SRS configuration. This is due to the fact that the SRS configuration includes parameters that depend (at least approximately) on the UE location, such as spatial relationship information and path loss reference information (both of which are provided for neighboring cells, which typically differ for different serving cells), as well as information determined by the receiving / serving gNB, such as timing advance information. Currently, the UE will release the positioning SRS configuration when cell reselection occurs. However, because the positioning SRS configuration also includes parameters that may be valid for a wider part of the network (multiple cells), at least a portion of the SRS configuration may be preconfigured.

[0154]

[0167] Therefore, to enable pre-configuration of the positioning SRS, the present disclosure provides techniques for splitting the positioning SRS parameters into two parts. The first part, called "part (a)," is a set of parameters valid for multiple cells. The area for which this set of parameters is valid may be indicated by a list of cell IDs. This list of cell IDs may be considered "area IDs" where the set of positioning SRS parameters is applicable or valid. The second part, called "part (b)," is a set of location / cell-specific parameters. Part (a) of the positioning configuration SRS may be pre-configured, while part (b) may be provided in an SRS activation message.

[0155]

[0168] 8 is a diagram 800 illustrating pre-configured positioning SRS configurations according to an aspect of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, each pre-configured positioning SRS includes an identifier.

[0156]

[0169] The positioning SRS configuration for the RRC INACTIVE state currently includes the following parameters as specified in 3GPP TS 38.331 (which has been published and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety): 'SRS-PosResourceSet' includes the 'srs-PosResourceSetId', 'srs-PosResourceIdList', 'resourceType', 'alpha', 'p0', and 'pathlossReferenceRS-Pos' parameters. The 'srs-PosResourceSetId' parameter indicates the ID of this resource set. It is unique in the context of the BWP in which the positioning SRS is defined. The 'srs-PosResourceIdList' parameter indicates the IDs of the positioning SRS resources used in this 'SRS-PosResourceSet'. The 'resourceType' parameter defines the time domain behavior of the SRS resource configuration (e.g., periodic, semi-persistent, aperiodic). The 'alpha' parameter indicates the value of positioning SRS power control, which defines fractional pathloss compensation. The alpha value is multiplied by the path loss estimate by the UE. For perfect path loss compensation, alpha is equal to 1. The 'p0' parameter indicates a value for positioning SRS power control, which can be described as the "desired received power" in the TRP. That is, the SRS for positioning transmit power determination is based on p0 + alpha × PL, where PL is the path loss estimate. The 'pathlossReferenceRS-Pos' parameter defines the reference DL signal used for path loss estimation. The DL reference signal can be SSB or DL-PRS from the serving TRP or a neighboring TRP.

[0157]

[0170] "SRS-PosResource" includes "srs-PosResourceId", "transmissionComb", "resourceMapping", "freqDomainShift", "freqHopping", "groupOrSequenceHopping", "resourceType", "sequenceId", and "spatialRelationInfoPos" parameters. The "srs-PosResourceId" parameter indicates the positioning SRS resource ID that defines a specific positioning SRS resource. The "transmissionComb" parameter defines the comb size N (e.g., N=2, 4, or 8) of the positioning SRS, the comb offset (0...N-1) of the first symbol of the positioning SRS resource, and the cyclic shift for generating the reference sequence. The "resourceMapping" (including "startPosition" and "nrofSymbols") defines the first OFDM symbol placement of the positioning SRS resource within a slot (e.g., 0, 1, 2, ..., 13) and the number of symbols of the positioning SRS resource (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12). The "freqDomainShift" parameter defines the frequency domain location of the positioning SRS resource. The "freqHopping" parameter (or "c-SRS") defines the bandwidth of the positioning SRS resource. The "groupOrSequenceHopping" parameter defines whether group hopping or sequence hopping is used. The hopping mode is used to randomize sequence reuse in the system. The "resourceType" parameter defines the positioning SRS resource type (periodic, semi-persistent, aperiodic) and the periodicity for semi-persistent and periodic positioning SRS. The "sequenceId" parameter defines the sequence ID used to initialize pseudo-random group hopping and sequence hopping. The 'spatialRelationInfoPos' parameter defines the spatial relationship between the reference signal and the target SRS. The reference signal can be SSB, CSI-RS, DL-PRS, or SRS.

[0158]

[0171] Additional parameters include BWP information that defines the BWP configuration for the positioning SRS, including the frequency domain location and bandwidth of this bandwidth portion, subcarrier spacing, and cyclic prefix. The "inactivePosSRS-TimeAlignmentTimer" parameter indicates the timer value for the positioning SRS. The "inactivePosSRS-RSRP-changeThreshold" parameter indicates the RSRP threshold for increasing / decreasing the RSRP for time alignment verification.

[0159]

[0172] A possible set of part (a) parameters that may be valid for multiple cells may include "SRS-PosResourceSet", "srs-PosResourceSetId", "srs-PosResourceIdList", "resourceType", "SRS-PosResource", "srs-PosResourceId", "transmissionComb", "resourceMapping" ("startPosition", "nrofSymbols"), "freqDomainShift", "freqHopping" ("c-SRS"), "groupOrSequenceHopping", "resourceType", and "sequenceId". A possible set of part (b) parameters that may be valid for a single (serving / receiving) cell may include "alpha", "p0", "pathlossReferenceRS-Pos", "spatialRelationInfoPos", BWP information, time alignment timer (e.g., timing advance timer), and RSRP change threshold. However, implementations / deployments are free to split the SRS for positioning parameters into two sets (part (a) and part (b)) as needed. In special cases, for example, when no path loss criteria or spatial relationships are required, all parameters may qualify for "part (a)" SRS.

[0160]

[0173] The pre-configuration will include only part (a) parameter set. The remaining parameters (part (b)) will be provided during the SRS activation procedure. The procedure shown in Figures 7A and 7B can then be modified as shown in Figures 9A and 9B.

[0161]

[0174] The "Cell Identifier List (Area ID)" in FIG. 8 may include cell IDs for which a set of parameters for the positioning SRS is applicable or valid. When the UE reselects a cell included in the "Cell Identifier List (Area ID)," the associated SRS configuration is also applicable or valid in the new camped-on cell. This also means that if cell reselection occurs during SRS transmission (e.g., during stage 11 in FIG. 7B), the UE can continue to transmit the associated SRS in the new cell, and thus positioning will not be interrupted when cell reselection occurs. Therefore, a preconfigured SRS with area validity can also efficiently support mobility during positioning operations.

[0162]

[0175] 9A and 9B illustrate an example delayed MT-LR procedure for a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method (e.g., multi-RTT) using positioning SRS pre-configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Stage 1, Stages 1 through 21 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, Section 6.3.1 are performed. Stages 1a, 1b, and 1c may be performed during the delayed MT-LR configuration phase of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events (e.g., during Stage 15 of the delayed 5GC-MT-LR procedure for periodic or triggered location events specified in 3GPP TS 23.273, Section 6.3.1).

[0163]

[0176] In stage 1a, the LMF 270 sends an NRPPa Positioning Information Request message to the serving gNB 222 containing a request for a preconfigured positioning SRS. The request may include one or more "Requested SRS Transmission Characteristics" IEs, each of which defines a desired positioning SRS configuration (e.g., number of periodic transmissions, resource type, bandwidth, resource set list, SRS frequency, etc.). The LMF 270 may include path loss criteria, spatial relationships, and SSB information for each gNB in ​​the area. This "aiding information" can later be used by the serving / receiving gNB 222 to compile part (b) parameters valid for the current UE location. For example, for each considered cell ID, the aiding information may include a neighbor cell list with SSB or DL-PRS information that can be used as path loss criteria or spatial relationships for the positioning SRS.

[0164]

[0177] In stage 1b, the serving gNB 222 determines one or more positioning SRS configurations and provides these configurations to the target device (UE 204) for later transmission of the positioning SRS by the target device (i.e., the target device does not transmit any positioning SRS when pre-configured). The SRS configurations may be provided to the target device (e.g., UE 204) via, for example, RRC reconfiguration, system information broadcast, or RRC release. Each positioning SRS configuration has an associated identifier, as shown in FIG. 8. Each positioning SRS may have a validity time and / or validity area. The "validity area" may be defined by a list of cell IDs that define where this SRS configuration is applicable / valid. The validity time may be defined as the duration (e.g., seconds, minutes, hours) for how long the positioning SRS configuration is valid. The UE 204 will release (delete) the pre-configured positioning SRS when the validity time expires.

[0165]

[0178] In stage 1c, the serving gNB222 provides a set of pre-configured positioning SRSs (e.g., one or more "SRS Configuration" IEs, each positioning SRS having an associated ID, as shown in FIG. 8) to the LMF270.

[0166]

[0179] In stage 3, after (or slightly before) the event is detected, the UE 204 sends an SRS activation request message to the receiving gNB 222 along with an RRC resumption request, for example, using message 3 or message A of the random access procedure. The SRS activation request message may be an RRC message or a MAC-CE. The SRS activation request message may include identifiers (e.g., in priority order) of the desired pre-configured SRS configurations to be activated. The SRS activation request message effectively requests permission from the receiving gNB 222 to transmit the desired pre-configured positioning SRS for performing positioning measurements (e.g., Rx-Tx time difference measurements). When the SRS activation request message is being sent, the UE 204 does not autonomously transmit the positioning SRS.

[0167]

[0180] In stage 4, the receiving gNB 222 identifies the last serving gNB 222 using the inactive radio network temporary identifier (I-RNTI) and retrieves the UE context (including pre-configured positioning SRS information) using the Xn-AP Retrieve UE Context procedure. The receiving gNB 222 determines the positioning SRS configuration based on the pre-configuration in stage 1. The receiving gNB 222 may determine part (b) parameters, such as pathloss reference information (e.g., “alpha”, “p0”, “pathlossReferenceRS-Pos”) or spatial relationship information (e.g., “spatialRelationInfoPos”) for the positioning SRS valid for the receiving gNB 222. The receiving gNB 222 may also determine a time alignment timer and RSRP change threshold (e.g., “inactivePosSRS-TimeAlignmentTimer”, “inactivePosSRS-RSRP-changeThreshold”). The receiving gNB 222 may use the assistance information received from the LMF 270 in stage 1a to determine the above SRS parameter set.

[0168]

[0181] In stage 5, the receiving gNB 222 may then send an SRS activation message to the UE 204, including the ID of the pre-configured SRS to be activated and part (b) SRS information (e.g., path loss criteria, spatial relationship, timing advance (TA) timer, and RSRP change threshold). The SRS activation message may also include one or more of the part (a) parameters (SRS for positioning parameters valid for multiple cells as indicated by area IDs in FIG. 8), which replace the corresponding pre-configured part (a) parameters. The SRS activation message may be an RRC message, a MAC-CE, or a DCI. The UE 204 then begins transmitting the positioning SRS according to the activated configuration.

[0169]

[0182] In stage 6, the receiving gNB 222 sends an NRPPa Positioning Information Update message containing the ID of the activated positioning SRS to the LMF 270. The NRPPa Positioning Information Update message also contains the cell ID and / or cell part ID of the UE 204's current serving cell (e.g., the receiving gNB 222), which enables the LMF 270 to request uplink measurements from gNBs in the UE 204's neighborhood in stage 7.

[0170]

[0183] In stage 7, the LMF 270 sends an NRPPa measurement request message containing the positioning SRS measurement configuration (i.e., based on the ID received in stage 6) to a group of gNBs / TRPs. The group of gNBs / TRPs for uplink measurements may be selected based on the current UE serving cell ID received in stage 6.

[0171]

[0184] In stage 8, the receiving gNB 222 sends an RRC release message to the UE 204 to release the UE 204 to the RRC inactive state. If stage 5 was not performed, the RRC release message includes an SRS activation message. Various network entities then perform stages 11 through 17 shown in FIG. 7B.

[0172]

[0185] Compared to the procedures shown in Figures 7A and 7B, no signaling is required for SRS configuration (stages 5, 6, 7, and 9), reducing the latency of SRS configuration and thereby reducing power consumption (i.e., reducing the UE "awake time" between stage 3 and stage 10 in Figure 7A).

[0173]

[0186] The receiving gNB may need additional "aiding information" from the LMF to determine path loss criteria, spatial relationships, etc. for activating SRS in stages 5 or 8 of Figures 9A and 9B, for example, if the UE resumes in an area where no aiding information was provided in stage 1a. In this case, the NRPPa positioning information update in stage 6 of Figure 9B can indicate to the LMF that new aiding information is needed, in which case stages 1a-c can be repeated as shown in Figures 10A and 10B. Alternatively, a new NRPPa procedure may be defined for this purpose.

[0174]

[0187] 10A and 10B illustrate an example delayed MT LR procedure for a downlink- and uplink-based positioning method (e.g., multi-RTT) when SRS information is missing at the receiving gNB, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. Stages 2-4 of FIG. 10A may be implemented as stages 2-4 described in connection with FIG. 9A.

[0175]

[0188] The NRPPa positioning information update in stage 5 of Figure 10A indicates to the LMF 270 that "assistance data" for the positioning SRS, such as path loss criteria or spatial relationships, is missing. More specifically, the receiving gNB 222 may determine that part (b) SRS information is not available for the cell served by the receiving gNB 222 and send an NRPP positioning information update message to the LMF 270 in stage 5, requesting valid part (b) SRS information (e.g., path loss criteria, spatial relationships, etc.) from the receiving gNB 222.

[0176]

[0189] The LMF 270 may then repeat the NRPPa information request from stage 1a of Figure 9A, which may also include an updated or additional SRS pre-configuration request. More specifically, in stage 6, the LMF 270 may provide part (b) SRS configuration information to the receiving gNB 222 in an NRPPa positioning information request message. This message may also include a new SRS pre-configuration request (e.g., for a new area).

[0177]

[0190] In stage 7, the receiving gNB 222 acknowledges the received part (b) SRS configuration information in an NRPPa Positioning Information Response message. If stage 6 includes a new pre-configuration request, the message also includes the new pre-configured SRS information. The receiving gNB 222 then provides the set of pre-configured positioning SRS to the LMF 270. In stage 9 of FIG. 10B, the receiving gNB 222 may provide the new pre-configured positioning SRS to the UE 204 along with SRS activation.

[0178]

[0191] Stages 8-17 of FIG. 10B may be performed as stages 6-17 of FIG. 9B.

[0179]

[0192] The "SRS deactivation request" may be UE-triggered (e.g., when measurements are completed, included in stage 12 of FIG. 7B) or LMF-triggered (e.g., when TRP measurements are received, triggered after stage 14 of FIG. 7B). FIG. 11 illustrates an example delayed MT LR procedure for a downlink and uplink-based positioning method (e.g., multi-RTT) with an LMF-triggered positioning SRS deactivation request, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In the case of LMF-triggered deactivation, the NRPPa positioning deactivation procedure (stage 15) may be used, as shown in FIG. 11.

[0180]

[0193] More specifically, stages 11-14 of Figure 11 may be implemented as stages 11-14 of Figure 7B. At stage 15a, after all gNB measurements have been received at stage 14, the LMF 270 may send an NRPPa Positioning Deactivation Request message to the receiving gNB 222 to request the receiving gNB 222 to deactivate SRS transmission at the UE 204.

[0181]

[0194] At stage 15b, the receiving gNB 222 can send an SRS deactivation message to the UE 204. The SRS deactivation message can be sent via a subsequent downlink SDT. The SRS deactivation message can be an RRC message or a MAC-CE. The UE 204 stops SRS transmission when the SRS deactivation message is received.

[0182]

[0195] Stages 16-17 may be performed as stages 15-16 in FIG. 7B.

[0183]

[0196] In the case of uplink-only positioning, stages 12, 13, 16, and 17 are not performed as described above. This means that there is no second SDT procedure initiated after stage 11, and the SRS deactivation message cannot be sent via a subsequent downlink SDT. In this case, the SRS deactivation message in stage 15b can be sent to the UE 204 via the Mobile Terminated SDT (MT-SDT).

[0184]

[0197] 12 illustrates an example delayed MT LR procedure for a downlink and uplink-based positioning method (e.g., multi-RTT) with a UE-triggered positioning SRS deactivation request according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The UE-triggered deactivation request may be included in stage 12 when the UE 204 completes all measurements and provides the measurement results to the LMF 270. This may be an RRC message or a MAC-CE. The receiving gNB 222 may then notify the LMF 270 using an NRPPa Positioning Information Update message at stage 15a of FIG. 12.

[0185]

[0198] 12, the UE 204 may include an SRS deactivation request with the event report and LPP location provision information message, informing the receiving gNB 222 that measurements are complete and that the SRS may be deactivated. At stage 13, the receiving gNB 222 forwards the event report and LPP location provision information message to the LMF 270. At stage 14, the gNB provides the uplink measurements to the LMF 270 in an NRPPa measurement response message.

[0186]

[0199] In stage 15b, the receiving gNB 222 transmits an SRS deactivation message to the UE 204 (e.g., using a subsequent DL SDT). The UE 204 stops SRS transmission after the SRS deactivation message is received. The receiving gNB 222 notifies the LMF 270 that SRS has been deactivated in the UE 204 by transmitting an NRPPa Positioning Information Update message to the LMF 270 in stage 15a. Stages 16-17 may be implemented as stages 15-16 of FIG. 7B.

[0187]

[0200] 13 illustrates an example method 1300 of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, the method 1300 may be performed by a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0188]

[0201] At 1310, the UE receives pre-configuration of a first set of parameters (part (a) parameters) for a first positioning SRS configuration valid for a first plurality of cells, as in stage 1b of FIG. 9A. In one aspect, operation 1310 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memories 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0189]

[0202] 9A , the UE transmits a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and the location server, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources according to the first positioning SRS configuration. In one aspect, operation 1320 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memories 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0190]

[0203] At 1330, the UE receives a first positioning SRS activation message for a first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources according to the first positioning SRS configuration, as in stage 5 or 8 of FIG. 9B. In one aspect, operation 1330 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memories 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0191]

[0204] At 1340, the UE transmits one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first positioning SRS configuration. In one aspect, operation 1340 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0192]

[0205] 14 illustrates an example method 1400 of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, the method 1400 may be performed by a base station (e.g., a serving / receiving gNB 222).

[0193]

[0206] At 1410, the base station pre-configures a UE (e.g., UE 204) with at least a first set of parameters of a first positioning SRS configuration valid for a first plurality of cells, as in stage 1b of FIG. 9A. In one aspect, operation 1410 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memories 386, and / or positioning components 388, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0194]

[0207] 9A , the base station receives a positioning SRS activation request from the UE for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server (e.g., LMF 270), where the UE requests permission to transmit positioning SRS resources according to the first positioning SRS configuration. In one aspect, operation 1420 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memories 386, and / or positioning components 388, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0195]

[0208] 9B , the base station transmits a first positioning SRS activation message to the UE for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources according to the first positioning SRS configuration. In an aspect, operation 1430 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memories 386, and / or positioning components 388, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0196]

[0209] At 1440, the base station sends a positioning information update message to the location server indicating that the first positioning SRS configuration has been activated in the UE, as in stage 6 of Figure 9B. In one aspect, operation 1440 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memories 386, and / or positioning components 388, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0197]

[0210] As can be appreciated, the technical advantages of methods 1300 and 1400 are reduced signaling overhead and reduced latency, and thus reduced UE power consumption.

[0198]

[0211] In the above detailed description, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the exemplary clauses have more features than are expressly stated in each clause. Rather, various aspects of the present disclosure may include fewer than all features of each disclosed exemplary clause. Accordingly, the following clauses should be considered incorporated into the description, and each clause may stand alone as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer to a specific combination with one of the other clauses within that clause, the aspects of that dependent clause are not limited to that specific combination. It will be understood that other exemplary clauses may also include combinations of aspects of the dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause, or any combination of features with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include specific combinations (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor) unless these combinations are expressly expressed or can be readily inferred to be unintended. It is further contemplated that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0199]

[0212] The following numbered clauses describe example implementations.

[0200]

[0213] Clause 1. A method of wireless communications implemented by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a pre-configured first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; receiving a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation request including a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, and the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration not included in the first set of parameters; and transmitting one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

[0201]

[0214] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the pre-setting further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0202]

[0215] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the first positioning SRS activation request includes an identifier of a first set of parameters.

[0203]

[0216] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the preconfiguration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0204]

[0217] Clause 5. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the preconfiguration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0205]

[0218] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, further comprising receiving a second positioning SRS activation request for a second positioning session, wherein the second positioning SRS activation request includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0206]

[0219] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, further comprising: sending a deactivation request for transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and receiving a small data transmission (SDT) that authorizes deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0207]

[0220] Clause 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0208]

[0221] Clause 9. The method of clause 7 or 8, wherein the deactivation request is sent in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Medium Access Control (MAC-CE) message.

[0209]

[0222] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1-9, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0210]

[0223] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the first set of parameters indicates time and frequency resources of a first positioning SRS configuration.

[0211]

[0224] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 1-11, wherein the values ​​of the second set of parameters are unique to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0212]

[0225] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the second set of parameters indicates spatial relationships, path loss criteria, and time alignment information of the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0213]

[0226] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 1 to 13, wherein only one cell of the first plurality of cells is a serving cell for the UE.

[0214]

[0227] Clause 15. A method of wireless communications implemented by a base station, comprising: pre-configuring a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least a first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; and sending a first positioning SRS activation request to the UE for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request comprising a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, the second set of parameters comprising parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters.

[0215]

[0228] Clause 16. The method of clause 15, further comprising receiving a request from a location server for pre-configured positioning SRS configurations indicating desired parameters of one or more positioning SRS configurations.

[0216]

[0229] Clause 17. The method of clause 16, further comprising sending a response to the location server that includes at least the first set of parameters.

[0217]

[0230] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 15 to 17, further comprising receiving, from a location server, assistance information for determining the second set of parameters.

[0218]

[0231] Clause 19. The method of clause 18, wherein the assistance information includes a path loss metric for the base station, a spatial relationship, synchronization signal block (SSB) information, or any combination thereof.

[0219]

[0232] Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 15 to 19, further comprising: receiving an SRS activation request from the UE; and, based on a determination that assistance information for determining a second set of parameters has not been received from the location server, sending a request to the location server for additional SRS configuration information; and receiving the additional SRS configuration information from the location server, wherein the second set of parameters is determined based on the additional SRS configuration information, and the first positioning SRS activation request is sent after receiving the additional SRS configuration information.

[0220]

[0233] Clause 21. The method of any of clauses 15 to 20, further comprising receiving from the location server a deactivation request sent by the UE based on a first set of parameters and a second set of parameters, the deactivation request being for deactivating transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and sending to the UE a small data transmission (SDT) authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0221]

[0234] Clause 22. The method of any of clauses 15 to 21, wherein the presetting further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0222]

[0235] Clause 23. The method of clause 22, wherein the first positioning SRS activation request includes an identifier of a first set of parameters.

[0223]

[0236] Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 15 to 23, wherein the preconfiguration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0224]

[0237] Clause 25. The method of any of clauses 15 to 24, wherein the preconfiguration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0225]

[0238] Clause 26. The method of clause 25, further comprising sending to the UE a second positioning SRS activation request for a second positioning session between the UE and the location server, wherein the second positioning SRS activation request includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0226]

[0239] Clause 27. The method of any of clauses 15 to 26, further comprising: receiving a deactivation request from the UE to deactivate transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and transmitting a small data transmission (SDT) to the UE, authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0227]

[0240] Clause 28. The method of clause 27, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0228]

[0241] Clause 29. The method of any of clauses 15 to 28, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0229]

[0242] Clause 30. The method of any of clauses 15-29, wherein the values ​​of the second set of parameters are unique to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0230]

[0243] Clause 31. The method of any of clauses 15 to 30, wherein only one cell of the first plurality of cells is a serving cell for the UE.

[0231]

[0244] Clause 32. A user equipment (UE) including a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor receives, via the at least one transceiver, a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells, and a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells. a first positioning SRS activation request, via at least one transceiver, including a second set of parameters, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of a first plurality of cells, the second set of parameters including parameters for a first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters; and transmitting, via the at least one transceiver, one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

[0232]

[0245] Clause 33. The UE of clause 32, wherein the preconfiguration further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0233]

[0246] Clause 34. The UE of clause 33, wherein the first positioning SRS activation request includes an identifier of a first set of parameters.

[0234]

[0247] Clause 35. A UE as described in any of clauses 32 to 34, wherein the preconfiguration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0235]

[0248] Clause 36. A UE as described in any one of clauses 32 to 35, wherein the pre-configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0236]

[0249] Clause 37. The UE of Clause 36, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, a second positioning SRS activation request for a second positioning session, the second positioning SRS activation request including a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0237]

[0250] Clause 38. A UE according to any of clauses 32 to 37, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a deactivation request for transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and receive, via the at least one transceiver, a small data transmission (SDT) that authorizes deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0238]

[0251] Clause 39. The UE of clause 38, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0239]

[0252] Clause 40. The UE of clause 38 or 39, wherein the deactivation request is sent in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Medium Access Control (MAC-CE) message.

[0240]

[0253] Clause 41. The UE of any of clauses 32 to 40, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0241]

[0254] Clause 42. The UE of any of clauses 32 to 41, wherein the first set of parameters indicates time and frequency resources of a first positioning SRS configuration.

[0242]

[0255] Clause 43. The UE of any of clauses 32 to 42, wherein the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0243]

[0256] Clause 44. The UE of any of clauses 32 to 43, wherein the second set of parameters indicates spatial relationship, path loss criterion, and time alignment information of the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0244]

[0257] Clause 45. The UE of any of clauses 32 to 44, wherein only one cell of the first plurality of cells is a serving cell for the UE.

[0245]

[0258] Clause 46. A base station comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the one or more transceivers, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: pre-configure a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; and send to the UE via the at least one transceiver a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, wherein the first positioning SRS activation request includes a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, and the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters.

[0246]

[0259] Clause 47. The base station of clause 46, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, from the location server, a request for pre-configured positioning SRS configurations indicating desired parameters of one or more positioning SRS configurations.

[0247]

[0260] Clause 48. The base station of clause 47, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a response to the location server, the response including at least the first set of parameters.

[0248]

[0261] Clause 49. A base station according to any of clauses 46 to 48, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, assistance information for determining the second set of parameters from the location server.

[0249]

[0262] Clause 50. The base station of clause 49, wherein the assistance information includes a path loss metric, a spatial relationship, synchronization signal block (SSB) information for the base station, or any combination thereof.

[0250]

[0263] Clause 51. A base station as described in any of clauses 46 to 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive an SRS activation request from the UE via the at least one transceiver, and based on a determination that assistance information for determining the second set of parameters has not been received from the location server, send a request for additional SRS configuration information to the location server via the at least one transceiver, and receive the additional SRS configuration information from the location server via the at least one transceiver, wherein the second set of parameters is determined based on the additional SRS configuration information, and the first positioning SRS activation request is sent after receiving the additional SRS configuration information.

[0251]

[0264] Clause 52. A base station as described in any of clauses 46 to 51, wherein at least one processor is further configured to receive from the location server, via the at least one transceiver, a deactivation request sent by the UE based on a first set of parameters and a second set of parameters, the deactivation request being for deactivating transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources, and to send to the UE, via the at least one transceiver, a small data transmission (SDT) authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0252]

[0265] Clause 53. A base station according to any one of clauses 46 to 52, wherein the pre-setting further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0253]

[0266] Clause 54. The base station of clause 53, wherein the first positioning SRS activation request includes an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0254]

[0267] Clause 55. A base station according to any of clauses 46 to 54, wherein the preconfiguration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0255]

[0268] Clause 56. A base station according to any one of clauses 46 to 55, wherein the pre-configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0256]

[0269] Clause 57. The base station of Clause 56, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send, via the at least one transceiver, to the UE, a second positioning SRS activation request for a second positioning session between the UE and the location server, wherein the second positioning SRS activation request includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0257]

[0270] Clause 58. A base station according to any of clauses 46 to 57, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a deactivation request from the UE via the at least one transceiver to deactivate transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and transmit a small data transmission (SDT) to the UE via the at least one transceiver, the small data transmission (SDT) authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0258]

[0271] Clause 59. The base station according to clause 58, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0259]

[0272] Clause 60. The base station of any of clauses 46 to 59, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0260]

[0273] Clause 61. A base station according to any of clauses 46 to 60, wherein the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0261]

[0274] Clause 62. The base station according to any of clauses 46 to 61, wherein only one cell of the first plurality of cells is a serving cell for the UE.

[0262]

[0275] Clause 63. A user equipment (UE) comprising: means for receiving a pre-configured first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; means for receiving a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation request including a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, and the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration not included in the first set of parameters; and means for transmitting one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

[0263]

[0276] Clause 64. The UE of clause 63, wherein the preconfiguration further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0264]

[0277] Clause 65. The UE of clause 64, wherein the first positioning SRS activation request includes an identifier of a first set of parameters.

[0265]

[0278] Clause 66. A UE as described in any of clauses 63 to 65, wherein the preconfiguration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0266]

[0279] Clause 67. A UE as described in any of clauses 63 to 66, wherein the pre-configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0267]

[0280] Clause 68. The UE of Clause 67, further comprising means for receiving a second positioning SRS activation request for a second positioning session, wherein the second positioning SRS activation request includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0268]

[0281] 69. The UE of any of clauses 63 to 68, further comprising: means for transmitting a deactivation request for transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and means for receiving a small data transmission (SDT) that authorizes deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0269]

[0282] Clause 70. The UE of clause 69, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0270]

[0283] Clause 71. The UE of clause 69 or 70, wherein the deactivation request is sent in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Medium Access Control (MAC-CE) message.

[0271]

[0284] Clause 72. The UE of any of clauses 63 to 71, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0272]

[0285] Clause 73. The UE of any of clauses 63 to 72, wherein the first set of parameters indicates time and frequency resources of a first positioning SRS configuration.

[0273]

[0286] Clause 74. The UE of any of clauses 63 to 73, wherein the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0274]

[0287] Clause 75. The UE of any of clauses 63-74, wherein the second set of parameters indicates spatial relationship, path loss criterion, and time alignment information of the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0275]

[0288] Clause 76. The UE of any of clauses 63 to 75, wherein only one cell of the first plurality of cells is a serving cell for the UE.

[0276]

[0289] Clause 77. A base station comprising: means for pre-configuring a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; and means for sending a first positioning SRS activation request to the UE for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, wherein the first positioning SRS activation request includes a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, and the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters.

[0277]

[0290] Clause 78. The base station of clause 77, further comprising means for receiving a request from the location server for pre-configured positioning SRS configurations indicating desired parameters of one or more positioning SRS configurations.

[0278]

[0291] Clause 79. The base station of clause 78, further comprising means for transmitting a response to the location server comprising at least the first set of parameters.

[0279]

[0292] Clause 80. The base station of any of clauses 77 to 79, further comprising means for receiving, from a location server, assistance information for determining the second set of parameters.

[0280]

[0293] Clause 81. The base station of clause 80, wherein the assistance information includes a path loss metric, a spatial relationship, synchronization signal block (SSB) information for the base station, or any combination thereof.

[0281]

[0294] Clause 82. A base station as described in any of Clauses 77 to 81, further comprising: means for receiving an SRS activation request from the UE; means for sending a request to the location server for additional SRS configuration information based on a determination that assistance information for determining the second set of parameters has not been received from the location server; and means for receiving the additional SRS configuration information from the location server, wherein the second set of parameters is determined based on the additional SRS configuration information, and the first positioning SRS activation request is sent after receiving the additional SRS configuration information.

[0282]

[0295] Clause 83. A base station as described in any of clauses 77 to 82, further comprising: means for receiving from a location server a deactivation request sent by the UE based on a first set of parameters and a second set of parameters, the deactivation request for deactivating transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and means for sending to the UE a small data transmission (SDT) authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0283]

[0296] Clause 84. A base station according to any of clauses 77 to 83, wherein the pre-setting further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0284]

[0297] Clause 85. The base station of clause 84, wherein the first positioning SRS activation request includes an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0285]

[0298] Clause 86. A base station according to any of clauses 77 to 85, wherein the preconfiguration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0286]

[0299] Clause 87. A base station according to any one of clauses 77 to 86, wherein the pre-configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0287]

[0300] Clause 88. The base station according to clause 87, further comprising means for sending to the UE a second positioning SRS activation request for a second positioning session between the UE and the location server, wherein the second positioning SRS activation request includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0288]

[0301] Clause 89. A base station according to any of clauses 77 to 88, further comprising means for receiving a deactivation request from the UE to deactivate transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources, and means for transmitting a small data transmission (SDT) to the UE authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0289]

[0302] Clause 90. The base station according to clause 89, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0290]

[0303] Clause 91. The base station according to any of clauses 77 to 90, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0291]

[0304] Clause 92. A base station according to any of clauses 77 to 91, wherein the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0292]

[0305] Clause 93. The base station according to any of clauses 77 to 92, wherein only one cell of the first plurality of cells is a serving cell for the UE.

[0293]

[0306] Clause 94. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to receive a pre-configuration of a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; receive a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation request including a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, and the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration not included in the first set of parameters; and transmit one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

[0294]

[0307] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 94, wherein the pre-setting further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0295]

[0308] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 95, wherein the first positioning SRS activation request includes an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0296]

[0309] Clause 97. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 94-96, wherein the presetting further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0297]

[0310] Clause 98. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 94 to 97, wherein the pre-configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0298]

[0311] Clause 99. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 98, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to receive a second positioning SRS activation request for a second positioning session, wherein the second positioning SRS activation request includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0299]

[0312] Clause 100. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 94-99, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a UE, cause the UE to transmit a deactivation request for transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources and receive a small data transmission (SDT) that grants deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0300]

[0313] Clause 101. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 100, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0301]

[0314] Clause 102. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 100 or 101, wherein the deactivation request is sent in a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

[0302]

[0315] Clause 103. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 94-102, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0303]

[0316] Clause 104. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 94-103, wherein the first set of parameters indicates time and frequency resources for a first positioning SRS configuration.

[0304]

[0317] Clause 105. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 94-104, wherein the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0305]

[0318] Clause 106. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 94-105, wherein the second set of parameters indicates spatial relationships, path loss criteria, and time alignment information of the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0306]

[0319] Clause 107. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 94-106, wherein only one cell of the first plurality of cells is a serving cell for the UE.

[0307]

[0320] Clause 108. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to pre-configure a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least a first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; and cause the base station to send a first positioning SRS activation request to the UE for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request including a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters.

[0308]

[0321] Clause 109. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 108, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to receive a request from a location server for a pre-configured positioning SRS configuration indicating desired parameters of one or more positioning SRS configurations.

[0309]

[0322] Clause 110. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 109, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to send a response to the location server that includes at least a first set of parameters.

[0310]

[0323] Clause 111. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 108 to 110, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to receive, from a location server, assistance information for determining a second set of parameters.

[0311]

[0324] Clause 112. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 111, wherein the assistance information includes path loss criteria, spatial relationships, synchronization signal block (SSB) information for the base station, or any combination thereof.

[0312]

[0325] Clause 113. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 108 to 112, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to receive an SRS activation request from the UE, and, based on a determination that assistance information for determining a second set of parameters has not been received from the location server, send a request to the location server for additional SRS configuration information, and receive the additional SRS configuration information from the location server, wherein the second set of parameters is determined based on the additional SRS configuration information, and the first positioning SRS activation request is sent after receiving the additional SRS configuration information.

[0313]

[0326] Clause 114. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 108 to 113, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to receive from a location server a deactivation request sent by the UE based on a first set of parameters and a second set of parameters, the deactivation request being for deactivating transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources, and to send to the UE a small data transmission (SDT) authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0314]

[0327] Clause 115. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 108 to 114, wherein the presetting further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0315]

[0328] Clause 116. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 115, wherein the first positioning SRS activation request includes an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0316]

[0329] Clause 117. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 108-116, wherein the presetting further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0317]

[0330] Clause 118. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 108 to 117, wherein the pre-configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0318]

[0331] Clause 119. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 118, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to send a second positioning SRS activation request to the UE for a second positioning session between the UE and the location server, wherein the second positioning SRS activation request includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0319]

[0332] Clause 120. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 108 to 119, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to receive a deactivation request from a UE to deactivate transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources, and to send a small data transmission (SDT) to the UE, authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0320]

[0333] Clause 121. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 120, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0321]

[0334] Clause 122. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 108-121, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0322]

[0335] Clause 123. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 108-122, wherein the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0323]

[0336] Clause 124. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 108-123, wherein only one cell of the first plurality of cells is a serving cell for the UE.

[0324]

[0337] Additional implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0325]

[0338] Clause 1. A method of wireless communications implemented by a user equipment (UE), the method including: receiving a pre-configuration of a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; transmitting a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; receiving a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and transmitting one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0326]

[0339] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters, and one or more positioning SRS resources are transmitted based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

[0327]

[0340] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the first set of parameters indicates time and frequency resources of a first positioning SRS configuration, and the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0328]

[0341] Clause 4. The method of clause 2 or 3, wherein the second set of parameters indicates spatial relationships, path loss criteria, and time alignment information of the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0329]

[0342] Clause 5. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates an identifier of a first set of parameters.

[0330]

[0343] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes an identifier of a first set of parameters.

[0331]

[0344] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time period for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0332]

[0345] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further includes a third set of parameters of a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0333]

[0346] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, further comprising receiving a second positioning SRS activation message for a second positioning session, wherein the second positioning SRS activation message includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0334]

[0347] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 9, further comprising: sending a deactivation request for the transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and receiving a deactivation message authorizing the deactivation of the transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0335]

[0348] Clause 11. The method of clause 10, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0336]

[0349] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 1-11, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0337]

[0350] Clause 13. A method of wireless communications implemented by a base station, comprising: pre-configuring a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters of a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; receiving from the UE a positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the positioning SRS activation request request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; transmitting to the UE a first positioning SRS activation message S for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message S indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and transmitting a positioning information update message to the location server indicating that the first positioning SRS configuration has been activated in the UE.

[0338]

[0351] Clause 14. The method of clause 13, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, and the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters.

[0339]

[0352] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, further comprising receiving, from a location server, assistance information for determining a second set of parameters.

[0340]

[0353] Clause 16. The method of clause 15, wherein the assistance information includes a path loss metric for the base station, a spatial relationship, synchronization signal block (SSB) information, or any combination thereof.

[0341]

[0354] Clause 17. The method of any of clauses 14 to 16, further comprising: sending a request to the location server for additional SRS configuration information based on a determination that assistance information for determining a second set of parameters has not been received from the location server; and receiving the additional SRS configuration information from the location server, wherein the second set of parameters is determined based on the additional SRS configuration information, and wherein the first positioning SRS activation message is sent after receiving the additional SRS configuration information.

[0342]

[0355] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 14 to 17, further comprising receiving from the location server a deactivation request sent by the UE based on a first set of parameters and a second set of parameters, the deactivation request being for deactivating transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and sending to the UE a deactivation message authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0343]

[0356] Clause 19. A method according to any of clauses 14 to 18, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells, and the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0344]

[0357] Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 13 to 19, further comprising receiving a request from the location server for pre-configured positioning SRS configurations, the pre-configured SRS configurations indicating desired parameters of one or more positioning SRS configurations.

[0345]

[0358] Clause 21. The method of clause 20, further comprising sending a response to the location server that includes at least the first set of parameters.

[0346]

[0359] Clause 22. The method of any of clauses 13 to 21, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates an identifier of a first set of parameters.

[0347]

[0360] Clause 23. The method of clause 22, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes an identifier of a first set of parameters.

[0348]

[0361] Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 13 to 23, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time period for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0349]

[0362] Clause 25. The method of any of clauses 13 to 24, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further includes a third set of parameters of a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0350]

[0363] Clause 26. The method of clause 25, further comprising sending to the UE a second positioning SRS activation message for a second positioning session between the UE and the location server, wherein the second positioning SRS activation message includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0351]

[0364] Clause 27. The method of any of clauses 13 to 26, further comprising: receiving a deactivation request from the UE to deactivate transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and transmitting a deactivation message to the UE authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0352]

[0365] Clause 28. The method of clause 27, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0353]

[0366] Clause 29. A user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, receive via the one or more transceivers a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; and a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, wherein the UE activates a first positioning SRS configuration for a first positioning session. 1. A user equipment (UE) configured to: transmit, via one or more transceivers, a first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission to transmit SRS resources in accordance with a first positioning SRS configuration; receive, via the one or more transceivers, a first positioning SRS activation message for a first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, the one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0354]

[0367] Clause 30. The UE of Clause 29, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters, and one or more positioning SRS resources are transmitted based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

[0355]

[0368] Clause 31. The UE of clause 30, wherein the first set of parameters indicates time and frequency resources of a first positioning SRS configuration, and the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0356]

[0369] Clause 32. The UE of clause 30 or 31, wherein the second set of parameters indicates spatial relationship, path loss criterion, and time alignment information of the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0357]

[0370] Clause 33. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 32, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0358]

[0371] Clause 34. The UE of clause 33, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0359]

[0372] Clause 35. A UE as described in any of clauses 29 to 34, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time period for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0360]

[0373] Clause 36. A UE according to any one of clauses 29 to 35, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0361]

[0374] Clause 37. The UE of clause 36, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive, either alone or in combination, a second positioning SRS activation message for a second positioning session via the one or more transceivers, wherein the second positioning SRS activation message includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters includes parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0362]

[0375] Clause 38. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 37, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: send, either alone or in combination, a deactivation request for transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources via one or more transceivers; and receive, via one or more transceivers, a deactivation message authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0363]

[0376] Clause 39. The UE of clause 38, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0364]

[0377] Clause 40. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 39, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0365]

[0378] Clause 41. A base station, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, preconfigure a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least a first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; and activate a positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the UE activating positioning SRS resources for the first positioning session. 1. A base station configured to: receive, via one or more transceivers, from a UE, a positioning SRS activation request requesting permission to transmit in accordance with an SRS configuration; send, via the one or more transceivers, a first positioning SRS activation message to the UE for a first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and send, via the one or more transceivers, a positioning information update message to a location server, indicating that the first positioning SRS configuration has been activated in the UE.

[0366]

[0379] Clause 42. The base station of clause 41, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, and the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters.

[0367]

[0380] Clause 43. The base station of clause 42, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive, either alone or in combination, assistance information for determining the second set of parameters from the location server via the one or more transceivers.

[0368]

[0381] Clause 44. The base station of clause 43, wherein the assistance information includes a path loss metric, a spatial relationship, synchronization signal block (SSB) information for the base station, or any combination thereof.

[0369]

[0382] Clause 45. The base station of any of Clauses 42 to 44, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, either alone or in combination, send a request for additional SRS configuration information to the location server via the one or more transceivers based on a determination that assistance information for determining the second set of parameters has not been received from the location server, and receive the additional SRS configuration information from the location server via the one or more transceivers, wherein the second set of parameters is determined based on the additional SRS configuration information, and wherein the first positioning SRS activation message is transmitted after receiving the additional SRS configuration information.

[0370]

[0383] Clause 46. A base station according to any of clauses 42 to 45, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive from the location server, via the one or more transceivers, a deactivation request sent by the UE based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters, either alone or in combination, to deactivate transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources, and to transmit to the UE, via the one or more transceivers, a deactivation message authorizing the deactivation of transmission of the one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0371]

[0384] Clause 47. A base station according to any of clauses 42 to 46, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells and the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0372]

[0385] Clause 48. A base station according to any of clauses 41 to 47, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the location server, a request for pre-configured positioning SRS configurations indicating desired parameters of the one or more positioning SRS configurations, either alone or in combination.

[0373]

[0386] Clause 49. The base station of clause 48, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a response including at least the first set of parameters, either alone or in combination, to the location server.

[0374]

[0387] Clause 50. A base station according to any one of clauses 41 to 49, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0375]

[0388] Clause 51. The base station of clause 50, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0376]

[0389] Clause 52. A base station according to any of clauses 41 to 51, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0377]

[0390] Clause 53. A base station according to any one of clauses 41 to 52, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further includes a third set of parameters of a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0378]

[0391] Clause 54. The base station of clause 53, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, either alone or in combination, send to the UE via the one or more transceivers a second positioning SRS activation message for a second positioning session between the UE and the location server, wherein the second positioning SRS activation message includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters includes parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0379]

[0392] Clause 55. A base station according to any of clauses 41 to 54, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive, either alone or in combination, a deactivation request from the UE via the one or more transceivers to deactivate transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a deactivation message to the UE authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0380]

[0393] Clause 56. The base station according to clause 55, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0381]

[0394] Clause 57. A user equipment (UE) including: means for receiving a pre-configured first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; means for transmitting a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; means for receiving a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and means for transmitting one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0382]

[0395] Clause 58. The UE of Clause 57, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters, and one or more positioning SRS resources are transmitted based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

[0383]

[0396] Clause 59. The UE of clause 58, wherein the first set of parameters indicates time and frequency resources of a first positioning SRS configuration, and the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0384]

[0397] Clause 60. The UE of clause 58 or 59, wherein the second set of parameters indicates spatial relationship, path loss criterion, and time alignment information of the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0385]

[0398] Clause 61. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 60, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0386]

[0399] Clause 62. The UE of clause 61, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0387]

[0400] Clause 63. A UE as described in any of clauses 57 to 62, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time period for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0388]

[0401] Clause 64. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 63, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0389]

[0402] Clause 65. The UE of Clause 64, further comprising means for receiving a second positioning SRS activation message for a second positioning session, wherein the second positioning SRS activation message includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0390]

[0403] Clause 66. The UE according to any of clauses 57 to 65, further comprising means for transmitting a deactivation request for transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources, and means for receiving a deactivation message authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0391]

[0404] Clause 67. The UE of clause 66, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0392]

[0405] Clause 68. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 67, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0393]

[0406] Clause 69. A base station comprising: means for pre-configuring a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters of a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; means for receiving from the UE a positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the positioning SRS activation request request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; means for transmitting to the UE a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and means for transmitting to the location server a positioning information update message indicating that the first positioning SRS configuration has been activated in the UE.

[0394]

[0407] Clause 70. The base station of clause 69, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, and the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters.

[0395]

[0408] Clause 71. The base station of clause 70, further comprising means for receiving, from a location server, assistance information for determining the second set of parameters.

[0396]

[0409] Clause 72. The base station of clause 71, wherein the assistance information includes a path loss metric, a spatial relationship, synchronization signal block (SSB) information for the base station, or any combination thereof.

[0397]

[0410] Clause 73. A base station as described in any of clauses 70 to 72, further comprising: means for sending a request to the location server for additional SRS configuration information based on a determination that assistance information for determining the second set of parameters has not been received from the location server; and means for receiving the additional SRS configuration information from the location server, wherein the second set of parameters is determined based on the additional SRS configuration information, and the first positioning SRS activation message is sent after receiving the additional SRS configuration information.

[0398]

[0411] Clause 74. A base station according to any of clauses 70 to 73, further comprising: means for receiving from a location server a deactivation request, sent by the UE based on a first set of parameters and a second set of parameters, for deactivating transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and means for sending to the UE a deactivation message authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0399]

[0412] Clause 75. A base station as described in any of clauses 70 to 74, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells and the values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0400]

[0413] Clause 76. A base station according to any of clauses 69 to 75, further comprising means for receiving from a location server a request for pre-configured positioning SRS configurations indicating desired parameters of one or more positioning SRS configurations.

[0401]

[0414] Clause 77. The base station of clause 76, further comprising means for transmitting a response to the location server comprising at least the first set of parameters.

[0402]

[0415] Clause 78. A base station according to any one of clauses 69 to 77, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0403]

[0416] Clause 79. The base station of clause 78, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0404]

[0417] Clause 80. A base station according to any of clauses 69 to 79, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time period for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0405]

[0418] Clause 81. A base station according to any one of clauses 69 to 80, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further includes a third set of parameters of a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0406]

[0419] Clause 82. The base station according to clause 81, further comprising means for transmitting to the UE a second positioning SRS activation message for a second positioning session between the UE and the location server, wherein the second positioning SRS activation message includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0407]

[0420] Clause 83. A base station according to any of clauses 69 to 82, further comprising: means for receiving a deactivation request from the UE to deactivate transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; and means for sending a deactivation message to the UE authorizing deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0408]

[0421] Clause 84. The base station according to clause 83, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0409]

[0422] Clause 85. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to receive a pre-configuration of a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; send a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; receive a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and send one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0410]

[0423] Clause 86. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 85, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters, and one or more positioning SRS resources are transmitted based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

[0411]

[0424] Clause 87. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 86, wherein the first set of parameters indicates time and frequency resources of a first positioning SRS configuration, and values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0412]

[0425] Clause 88. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 86-87, wherein the second set of parameters indicates spatial relationships, path loss criteria, and time alignment information of the first positioning SRS configuration.

[0413]

[0426] Clause 89. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85-88, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0414]

[0427] Clause 90. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 89, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0415]

[0428] Clause 91. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85-90, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time period for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0416]

[0429] Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85-91, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0417]

[0430] Clause 93. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 92, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to receive a second positioning SRS activation message for a second positioning session, wherein the second positioning SRS activation message includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0418]

[0431] Clause 94. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85 to 93, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to send a deactivation request for transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources and receive a deactivation message that authorizes deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0419]

[0432] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 94, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0420]

[0433] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85-95, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

[0421]

[0434] Clause 97. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to pre-configure a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters of a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; receive from the UE a positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the UE requesting permission to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; transmit to the UE a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; and transmit to the location server a positioning information update message indicating that the first positioning SRS configuration has been activated in the UE.

[0422]

[0435] Clause 98. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 97, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes a second set of parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration, the second set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells, and the second set of parameters including parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters.

[0423]

[0436] Clause 99. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 98, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to receive, from a location server, assistance information for determining a second set of parameters.

[0424]

[0437] Clause 100. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 99, wherein the assistance information includes path loss criteria, spatial relationships, synchronization signal block (SSB) information for the base station, or any combination thereof.

[0425]

[0438] Clause 101. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 98 to 100, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to send a request to the location server for additional SRS configuration information based on a determination that assistance information for determining a second set of parameters has not been received from the location server, cause the base station to receive the additional SRS configuration information from the location server, the second set of parameters being determined based on the additional SRS configuration information, and transmit a first positioning SRS activation message after receiving the additional SRS configuration information.

[0426]

[0439] Clause 102. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 98 to 101, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to receive from a location server a deactivation request sent by the UE based on a first set of parameters and a second set of parameters, the deactivation request being for deactivating transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources, and to send to the UE a deactivation message authorizing the deactivation of transmission of the one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0427]

[0440] Clause 103. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 98-102, wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells, and the values ​​of the second set of parameters are unique to only one cell of the first plurality of cells.

[0428]

[0441] Clause 104. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 97-103, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to receive a request from a location server for pre-configured positioning SRS configurations, the pre-configured SRS configurations indicating desired parameters of one or more positioning SRS configurations.

[0429]

[0442] Clause 105. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 104, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to send a response to the location server that includes at least a first set of parameters.

[0430]

[0443] Clause 106. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 97-105, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0431]

[0444] Clause 107. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 106, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes an identifier of the first set of parameters.

[0432]

[0445] Clause 108. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 97-107, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates a list of identifiers of a first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid, a time period for which the first set of parameters is valid, or any combination thereof.

[0433]

[0446] Clause 109. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 97-108, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

[0434]

[0447] Clause 110. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 109, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the base station, cause the base station to send a second positioning SRS activation message to the UE for a second positioning session between the UE and the location server, wherein the second positioning SRS activation message includes a fourth set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

[0435]

[0448] Clause 111. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 97 to 110, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to receive a deactivation request from a UE to deactivate transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources, and to send a deactivation message to the UE that authorizes deactivation of transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources.

[0436]

[0449] Clause 112. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 111, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

[0437]

[0450] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0438]

[0451] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0439]

[0452] The various example logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0440]

[0453] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0441]

[0454] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable recording media.

[0442]

[0455] While the above disclosure illustrates exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, as defined by the appended claims. For example, the functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Moreover, no element, function, action, or instruction described herein or claimed should be construed as critical or essential unless expressly described as such. Furthermore, as used herein, terms such as "set," "group," and the like are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with "at least one," "one or more," and the like. Also, as used herein, terms such as "has," "have," and "having" are intended to be open-ended terms that do not limit the elements they modify (e.g., an element that "has" A can also have B). Furthermore, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based at least in part on," unless expressly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term "or" when used in a series is intended to be inclusive and may be used interchangeably with "and / or" unless otherwise specified (e.g., when used in combination with "either" or "only one of") or the alternatives are not mutually exclusive (e.g., "one or more" should not be interpreted as "one and more"). Furthermore, although elements, features, actions, and instructions may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Also, as used herein, the articles "a," "an," "the," and "said" are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with "at least one," "one or more," etc.Additionally, as used herein, the terms "at least one" and "one or more" encompass performing or being able to perform "one" component, function, action, or instruction that is described or claimed, and also encompass performing or being able to perform "two or more" components, functions, actions, or instructions that are described or claimed.

Claims

1. 1. A method of wireless communication implemented by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a pre-configuration of a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; transmitting a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; receiving a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources according to the first positioning SRS configuration; transmitting one or more positioning SRS resources based on the first positioning SRS configuration; A method comprising:

2. the first positioning SRS activation message includes a second set of parameters of the first positioning SRS configuration; the second set of parameters is valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells; the second set of parameters includes parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters; The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more positioning SRS resources are transmitted based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters.

3. the first set of parameters indicating time and frequency resources of the first positioning SRS configuration; The method of claim 2 , wherein values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only the one cell of the first plurality of cells.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second set of parameters indicates spatial relationships, path loss criteria, and time alignment information of the first positioning SRS configuration.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes the identifier of the first set of parameters.

7. The first positioning SRS configuration includes: a list of identifiers of the first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid; the time during which the first set of parameters is valid, or The method of claim 1 further comprising any combination thereof.

8. the first positioning SRS configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration; The method of claim 1 , wherein the third set of parameters is valid for a second plurality of cells.

9. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising receiving a second positioning SRS activation message for a second positioning session, wherein the second positioning SRS activation message includes a fourth set of parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

10. transmitting a deactivation request for transmission of the one or more positioning SRS resources; receiving a deactivation message authorizing deactivation of the transmission of the one or more positioning SRS resources; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells.

13. 1. A method of wireless communication implemented by a base station, comprising: pre-configuring a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; receiving from the UE a positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; transmitting, to the UE, a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources according to the first positioning SRS configuration; sending a positioning information update message to the location server, indicating that the first positioning SRS configuration has been activated in the UE; A method comprising:

14. the first positioning SRS activation message includes a second set of parameters of the first positioning SRS configuration; the second set of parameters is valid for only one cell of the first plurality of cells; The method of claim 13 , wherein the second set of parameters includes parameters for the first positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the first set of parameters.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising receiving, from the location server, assistance information for determining the second set of parameters.

16. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the assistance information comprises a path loss metric, a spatial relationship, synchronization signal block (SSB) information for the base station, or any combination thereof.

17. sending a request to the location server for additional SRS configuration information based on a determination that assistance information for determining the second set of parameters has not been received from the location server; and receiving the additional SRS configuration information from the location server; 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: the second set of parameters is determined based on the additional SRS configuration information; The method of claim 14 , wherein the first positioning SRS activation message is transmitted after receiving the additional SRS configuration information.

18. receiving from the location server a deactivation request sent by the UE based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters, the deactivation request for deactivating transmission of one or more positioning SRS resources; sending a deactivation message to the UE authorizing deactivation of the transmission of the one or more positioning SRS resources; The method of claim 14 further comprising:

19. the values ​​of the first set of parameters are the same for all cells of the first plurality of cells; The method of claim 14 , wherein values ​​of the second set of parameters are specific to only the one cell of the first plurality of cells.

20. 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising receiving a request from the location server for pre-configured positioning SRS configurations indicating desired parameters of one or more positioning SRS configurations.

21. 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising sending a response to the location server that includes at least the first set of parameters.

22. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further indicates an identifier of the first set of parameters.

23. 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first positioning SRS activation message includes the identifier of the first set of parameters.

24. The first positioning SRS configuration includes: a list of identifiers of the first plurality of cells for which the first set of parameters is valid; the time during which the first set of parameters is valid, or The method of claim 13 further comprising any combination thereof.

25. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first positioning SRS configuration further includes a third set of parameters for a second positioning SRS configuration, the third set of parameters being valid for a second plurality of cells.

26. 26. The method of claim 25, further comprising: transmitting to the UE a second positioning SRS activation message for a second positioning session between the UE and the location server, wherein the second positioning SRS activation message includes a fourth set of parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration, the fourth set of parameters being valid for only one cell of the second plurality of cells, and the fourth set of parameters including parameters for the second positioning SRS configuration that are not included in the third set of parameters.

27. receiving a deactivation request from the UE to deactivate transmission of the one or more positioning SRS resources; sending a deactivation message to the UE authorizing deactivation of the transmission of the one or more positioning SRS resources; The method of claim 13 further comprising:

28. 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the deactivation request is included in a measurement result message of the first positioning session.

29. one or more memories; one or more transceivers; one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers; wherein said one or more processors, either alone or in combination: receiving, via the one or more transceivers, a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; transmitting, via the one or more transceivers, a first positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the first positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; receiving, via the one or more transceivers, a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; A user equipment (UE) configured to transmit one or more positioning SRS resources via the one or more transceivers based on the first positioning SRS configuration.

30. one or more memories; one or more transceivers; one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers; wherein said one or more processors, either alone or in combination: pre-configuring a user equipment (UE) with at least a first set of parameters for a first positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the at least first set of parameters being valid for a first plurality of cells; receiving, via the one or more transceivers, from the UE, a positioning SRS activation request for a first positioning session between the UE and a location server, the positioning SRS activation request requesting permission for the UE to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; transmitting, via the one or more transceivers, to the UE, a first positioning SRS activation message for the first positioning session, the first positioning SRS activation message indicating that the UE is authorized to transmit positioning SRS resources in accordance with the first positioning SRS configuration; sending a positioning information update message to the location server via the one or more transceivers, the positioning information update message indicating that the first positioning SRS configuration has been activated in the UE; It is configured as follows: Base station.

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