Method and apparatus for prioritizing positioning assistance by method - Patents.com

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) configured for position determination receives positioning assistance data from a location server, which is positioning method-specific and provides information related to prioritization of one or more of frequency layers, transmission points (TRPs), positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets, and PRS resources, or a combination thereof. The positioning assistance data may be generated by the location server in response to UE measurement capabilities. The UE determines a prioritization for PRS measurements based at least on the ordering of one or more of the information for frequency layers, TRPs, PRS resource sets, and PRS resources, or a combination thereof, in the positioning assistance data and the positioning method. Downlink PRSs are measured by the UE based on the prioritization.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Claiming priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119

[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 024,433, entitled "METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PER-METHOD POSITIONING ASSISTANCE PRIORITIZATION," filed May 13, 2020, and U.S. Nonprovisional Application No. 17 / 184,393, entitled "METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PER-METHOD POSITIONING ASSISTANCE PRIORITIZATION," filed February 24, 2021, both of which are assigned to the assignee of this application and are incorporated by reference in their entireties herein.

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to positioning for user equipment (UE), and in particular to positioning assistance data used for positioning for a UE. [Background technology]

[0003]

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including intermediate 2.5G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-enabled wireless services, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiMax). Currently, there are many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communication 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 Access (GSM) variants of TDMA, and the like.

[0004]

[0004] The fifth generation (5G) mobile standard calls for higher data rates, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance's 5G standard (also called "New Radio" or "NR") is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users.

[0005]

[0005] A UE may use signals received from base stations to determine a location estimate or to assist in determining a location estimate. To assist the UE in determining which signals to search for positioning, the network may provide the UE with positioning assistance data that includes information that would help it detect and measure positioning reference signals from one or more base stations. Summary of the Invention

[0006]

[0006] A user equipment (UE) configured for position determination receives positioning assistance data from a location server, which is positioning method specific, and provides information related to prioritization of one or more of a frequency layer, a transmission point (TRP), a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set, and a PRS resource, or a combination thereof. The positioning assistance data may be generated by the location server in response to a UE measurement capability. The UE determines a prioritization for PRS measurements based at least on the information for the frequency layer, the TRP, the PRS resource set, or the PRS resource, or a combination thereof in the positioning assistance data, and the positioning method. Downlink PRS is measured by the UE based on the prioritization.

[0007]

[0007] In one implementation, a method for determining a position of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network includes receiving positioning assistance data for a positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and information for one or more PRS resources, determining a priority for the PRS signals to be measured based at least on one or more priority orderings of the PRS resource sets or information for the PRS resources, or combinations thereof, in the positioning assistance data, or giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, and determining PRS measurements of the PRS signals based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signals, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements.

[0008]

[0008] In one implementation, a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network configured to support position determination includes a wireless transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly in the wireless network, at least one memory, and at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, where the at least one processor is configured to receive positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and information for one or more PRS resources, determine a prioritization for the PRS signals to be measured based at least on a priority ordering of the PRS resource sets or information for the PRS resources, or a combination thereof, in the positioning assistance data, or give equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, and determine PRS measurements of the PRS signals based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signals, where a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements.

[0009]

[0009] In one implementation, a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network configured to support position determination includes means for receiving positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and information for one or more PRS resources, means for determining a prioritization for the PRS signals to be measured or giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, based at least on a priority ordering of the PRS resource sets or information for the PRS resources, or combinations thereof, in the positioning assistance data, and means for determining PRS measurements of the PRS signals based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signals, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements.

[0010]

[0010] In one implementation, a non-transitory storage medium has program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network configured to support position determination of the UE, the program code including: receiving positioning assistance data for each positioning method; the positioning assistance data comprising one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and information for one or more PRS resources; determining a prioritization for the PRS signals to be measured based at least on a priority ordering of the PRS resource sets or information for the PRS resources, or a combination thereof, in the positioning assistance data, or giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof; and determining PRS measurements of the PRS signals based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signals, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements.

[0011]

[0011] In one implementation, a method for determining a position of a user equipment (UE) performed by a location server in a wireless network includes receiving per-positioning-method measurement capabilities from the UE, generating per-positioning-method positioning assistance data, and transmitting per-positioning-method positioning assistance data to the UE, the positioning assistance data comprising information for positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and PRS resources configured based on the per-positioning-method measurement capabilities to provide a priority order of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, to be measured by the UE or to indicate equal priority of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, to be measured by the UE, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements.

[0012]

[0012] In one implementation, a location server configured to support position determination of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network includes an external interface configured to communicate with entities in the wireless network, at least one memory, and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive measurement capabilities per positioning method from the UE; generate positioning assistance data per positioning method; and transmit the positioning assistance data per positioning method to the UE, the positioning assistance data comprising information for positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and PRS resources configured based on the measurement capabilities per positioning method to provide a priority order of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, to be measured by the UE or to indicate equal priority of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, to be measured by the UE, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements.

[0013]

[0013] In one implementation, a location server configured to support position determination of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network includes means for receiving per positioning method measurement capabilities from the UE, means for generating per positioning method positioning assistance data, and means for transmitting per positioning method positioning assistance data to the UE, the positioning assistance data comprising information for positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and PRS resources configured based on the measurement capabilities for the positioning method to provide a priority order of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, to be measured by the UE or to indicate equal priority of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, to be measured by the UE, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements.

[0014]

[0014] In one implementation, a non-transitory storage medium includes program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in a location server configured to support position determination of a user equipment (UE), the program code including: program code for receiving per positioning method measurement capabilities from the UE; program code for generating per positioning method positioning assistance data; and program code for transmitting per positioning method positioning assistance data to the UE, the positioning assistance data comprising information for positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and PRS resources configured based on the measurement capabilities for the positioning method to provide a priority order of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, to be measured by the UE or to indicate equal priority of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, to be measured by the UE, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements.

[0015]

[0015] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the explanation of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided merely to illustrate the aspects thereof, not to limit the same. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1]

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A]

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3]

[0018] 2 is a block diagram of a design of a base station and a user equipment (UE), which may be one of the base stations and one of the UEs in FIG. 1. [Figure 4]

[0019] 1 is a diagram of an example subframe sequence structure having positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning opportunities; [Figure 5A]

[0020] 1 illustrates a hierarchy of frequency layers, TRPs, PRS resource sets, and PRS resources, along with examples of their prioritization. [Figure 5B] 1 illustrates a hierarchy of frequency layers, TRPs, PRS resource sets, and PRS resources, along with examples of their prioritization. [Figure 5C] 1 illustrates a hierarchy of frequency layers, TRPs, PRS resource sets, and PRS resources, along with examples of their prioritization. [Figure 5D] 1 illustrates a hierarchy of frequency layers, TRPs, PRS resource sets, and PRS resources, along with examples of their prioritization. [Figure 6]

[0021] 1 is a signaling flow illustrating various messages that may be transmitted between components of a wireless network during a positioning session, including positioning assistance data prioritization per positioning method. [Figure 7]

[0022] 4 is a flowchart of an example method for determining a position of a UE performed by a UE in a wireless network. [Figure 8]

[0023] 4 is a flowchart of an example method for determining a position of a UE performed by a location server in a wireless network. [Figure 9]

[0024] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating some example functionality of a UE enabled to support positioning using prioritized positioning assistance data per positioning method; [Figure 10]

[0025] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating some example functionality of a location server enabled to support positioning of a UE using prioritized positioning assistance data per positioning method; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017]

[0026] Aspects of the present disclosure are given in the following description and associated drawings directed to various examples given for illustration 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.

[0018]

[0027] 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. Similarly, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the described feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0019]

[0028] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to 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, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0020]

[0029] Further, many aspects are described in terms of a sequence of actions to be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Furthermore, a sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be embodied as a whole in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functions described herein. Thus, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which are contemplated to fall within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein, for example, as "logic configured to" perform the described actions.

[0021]

[0030] The terms "User Equipment" (UE), "base station" and "Transmission Point (TRP)" as used herein are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. Generally, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a tracking device, a wearable (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an 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 (e.g., at some times) stationary and may communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). The term "UE" as used herein may be referred to interchangeably as "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal", "mobile station", or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via the RAN, through which the UE may be connected to external networks, such as the Internet, and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0022]

[0031] A base station or transmission point (TRP) may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with a UE depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNode B), etc. Furthermore, in some systems, the base station may provide purely edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems, it may provide additional control and / or network management functionality. A communication link through which a UE may send signals to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a base station may send signals to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to either a UL / reverse traffic channel or a DL / forward traffic channel.

[0023]

[0032] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmission point or multiple physical transmission points that may or may not be collocated. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical transmission point, the physical transmission point may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to the cell of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple collocated physical transmission points, the physical transmission point may be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or in cases where the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-collocated physical transmission points, the physical transmission point 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, the non-collocated physical transmission points may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE and a neighbor base station whose reference RF signal the UE is measuring.

[0024]

[0033] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 (sometimes referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 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 an aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to a 5G network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0025]

[0034] The base stations 102 or TRPs collectively form a RAN and may interface with a core network 170 (e.g., Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or Next Generation Core (NGC)) through backhaul links 122, through which they may interface to one or more location servers 172. 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, distribution for non-access layer (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast services (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracing, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / NGC) via backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0026]

[0035] The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage to a respective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cells may be supported by the base station 102 in each coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used for communication with the base station (e.g., over some frequency resource, called a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, etc.) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)) to distinguish 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 give access to different types of UEs. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to a geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within some portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0027]

[0036] The geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may overlap partially (e.g., in handover regions), but 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' may have a coverage area 110' that significantly overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes 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) that may serve restricted groups known as Closed Subscriber Groups (CSGs).

[0028]

[0037] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include UL (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 through one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​than for UL).

[0029]

[0038] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 communicating with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating to determine if a channel is available.

[0030]

[0039] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or 5G 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 the unlicensed frequency spectrum may boost coverage to and / or increase capacity of the access network. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U), licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0031]

[0040] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a mmW base station 180 that may operate in millimeter wave (mmW) and / or near-mmW frequencies in communication with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be called millimeter waves. Near-mmW may extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz, with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The very high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also called centimeter waves. Communications using the mmW / near-mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short range. 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 range. Moreover, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Thus, it will be appreciated that the above description is by way of example only and should not be construed as limiting various aspects disclosed herein.

[0032]

[0041] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a particular direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). In transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that particular direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device(s). 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 the one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (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. In particular, RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas with the proper phase relationship so that the waves from the separate antennas add together to increase radiation in the desired direction while canceling and suppressing radiation in undesired directions.

[0033]

[0042] 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 array of antennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase its gain level) an RF signal received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gains along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is 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.

[0034]

[0043] In 5G, the frequency spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base station 102 / 180, UE 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are called the "secondary carrier" or "secondary serving cell" or "SCell." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 either 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. 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. The secondary carrier may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals, e.g., signaling information and signals that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier, since both the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network is capable of changing the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to distribute the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier over which some base station is communicating, terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0035]

[0044] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or “PCell”), and the 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 reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to that achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0036]

[0045] 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. In the example of FIG. 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., through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In one example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported with any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct® (WiFi®-D), Bluetooth®, etc.

[0037]

[0046] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a UE 104, which may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 via communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 104, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 104. In an aspect, the UE 104 may include a prioritization manager 166 that may enable the UE 104 to perform the UE operations described herein. It should be noted that although only one UE is shown in FIG. 1 as having a prioritization manager 166, any of the UEs in FIG. 1 may be configured to perform the UE operations described herein.

[0038]

[0047] 2A illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure 200. For example, the NGC 210 (also referred to as "5GC") may be considered functionally as a control plane function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data network, 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 the gNB 222 to the NGC 210, specifically to the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212. In an additional configuration, the eNB 224 may also be connected to the NGC 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 eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the eNBs 224 and the gNBs 222. Either the gNBs 222 or the eNBs 224 may communicate with the UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1). Another optional aspect may include one or more location servers 230a, 230b (which may correspond to the LMF 196) (sometimes collectively referred to as location servers 230), which may communicate with the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212, respectively, in the NGC 210 to provide location assistance to the UEs 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 spread across multiple physical servers, etc.) or, alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may connect to the location server 230 via a core network, an NGC 210, and / or via 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, for example in the new RAN 220.

[0039]

[0048] 2B illustrates another exemplary wireless network structure 250. For example, the NGC 260 (also referred to as "5GC") may be considered functionally as a control plane function provided by an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264, a User Plane Function (UPF) 262, a Session Management Function (SMF) 266, an SLP 268, and an LMF 270, which operate cooperatively to form a core network (i.e., the NGC 260). A user plane interface 263 and a control plane interface 265 connect the ng-eNB 224 to the NGC 260, specifically to the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively. In an additional configuration, the gNB 222 may also be connected to the NGC 260 via a control plane interface 265 to the AMF 264 and a user plane interface 263 to the UPF 262. Additionally, eNB 224 may communicate directly with gNB 222 via backhaul connection 223, with or without gNB direct connectivity to NGC 260. In some configurations, new-RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNB 224 and gNB 222. Either gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1). Base stations of new-RAN 220 communicate with AMF 264 via an N2 interface and with UPF 262 via an N3 interface.

[0040]

[0049] The functions of the AMF include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport of session management (SM) messages between the UE 204 and the SMF 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transport of short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and a security anchor function (SEAF). The AMF also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) based authentication, the AMF retrieves security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF that it uses to derive access network specific keys. The AMF functions also include location service management for barred services, transport of location service messages between the UE 204 and a Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which may correspond to the LMF 196) and between the new RAN 220 and the LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Additionally, the AMF also supports functions for non-3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) access networks.

[0041]

[0050] The functions of the UPF include acting as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing 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) handling for the user plane (e.g., UL / DL rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in DL), UL traffic validation (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in UL and DL, DL packet buffering and DL data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node.

[0042]

[0051] 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 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, control of policy enforcement and parts of QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0043]

[0052] Another optional aspect may include the LMF 270, which may be in communication with the NGC 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 spread 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 the UE 204, which may connect to the LMF 270 via the core network NGC 260 and / or via the Internet (not shown).

[0044]

[0053] 3 shows a block diagram of a design 300 of a base station 102 and a UE 104, which may be one of the base stations and one of the UEs in FIG. 1. The base station 102 may be equipped with T antennas 334a through 334t, and the UE 104 may be equipped with R antennas 352a through 352r, where in general T≧1 and R≧1.

[0045]

[0054] At the base station 102, the transmit processor 320 may receive data from a data source 312 for one or more UEs, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on a channel quality indicator (CQI) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS selected for that UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. The transmit processor 320 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI), etc.) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, higher layer signaling, etc.) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 320 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSS) and secondary synchronization signals (SSS)). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 330 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on ​​the data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 332a through 332t. Each modulator 332 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 332 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The T downlink signals from the modulators 332a through 332t may be transmitted via T antennas 334a through 334t, respectively. According to various aspects described in more detail below, synchronization signals may be generated using location coding to convey additional information.

[0046]

[0055] At the UE 104, the antennas 352a-352r may receive downlink signals from the base station 102 and / or other base stations and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 354a-354r, respectively. Each demodulator 354 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 354 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 356 may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators 354a-354r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 358 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols and provide decoded data for the UE 104 to a data sink 360 and provide decoded control signal and system information to the controller / processor 380. The channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP), a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a channel quality indicator (CQI), etc. In some aspects, one or more components of the UE 104 may be included in a housing.

[0047]

[0056] On the uplink, at the UE 104, a transmit processor 364 may receive and process data from a data source 362 and control information (e.g., for reports comprising RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.) from the controller / processor 380. The transmit processor 364 may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 364 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 366 if applicable, further processed by modulators 354a-354r (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 102. At the base station 102, uplink signals from the UE 104 and other UEs may be received by the antennas 334, processed by a demodulator 332, detected by a MIMO detector 336 if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor 338 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by the UE 104. The receive processor 338 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 339 and may provide the decoded control information to the controller / processor 340. The base station 102 may include a communication unit 344 and communicate to the location server 172 via the communication unit 344. The location server 172 may include a communication unit 394, a controller / processor 390, and a memory 392.

[0048]

[0057] The controller / processor 340 of the base station 102, the controller / processor 380 of the UE 104, the controller / processor 390 of the location server 172, and / or any other components of FIG. 3 may perform one or more techniques related to prioritizing positioning assistance data per positioning method, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 340 of the base station 102, the controller / processor 380 of the UE 104, the controller / processor 380 of the location server 172, and / or any other components of FIG. 3 may perform or direct the operation of, for example, process 700 of FIG. 7, process 800 of FIG. 8, and / or other processes described herein. The memories 342, 382, ​​392 may store data and program codes for the base station 102, the UE 104, and the location server 172, respectively. In some aspects, the memory 342, the memory 382, ​​and / or the memory 392 may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores one or more instructions for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the base station 102, the UE 104, and / or the location server 172, may perform or direct operation of, for example, process 700 of FIG. 7, process 800 of FIG. 8, and / or other processes described herein. The scheduler 346 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0049]

[0058] As noted above, Figure 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 3.

[0050]

[0059] FIG. 4 illustrates a structure of an example subframe sequence 400 having a positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning opportunity according to an aspect of the disclosure. The subframe sequence 400 may be applicable to broadcasting of a PRS signal from a base station (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) or other network node. The subframe sequence 400 may be used in an LTE system, and the same or similar subframe sequence may be used in other communication technologies / protocols, such as 5G and NR. In FIG. 4, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis), with time increasing from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the downlink and uplink radio frames 410 may each have a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms). For a downlink frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, in the illustrated example, the radio frame 410 is organized into 10 subframes 412, each of 1 ms duration. Each subframe 412 comprises two slots 414, each of duration, for example, 0.5 ms.

[0051]

[0060] In the frequency domain, the available bandwidth may be divided into uniformly spaced orthogonal subcarriers 416 (also called "tones" or "bins"). For example, in a normal length cyclic prefix (CP) using, for example, 15 kHz spacing, the subcarriers 416 may be grouped into groups of 12 subcarriers. A resource (represented as a block of subframes 412) one OFDM symbol long in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain is called a resource element (RE). Each grouping of 12 subcarriers 416 and 14 OFDM symbols is called a resource block (RB), and in the above example, the number of subcarriers in a resource block is

[0052]

number

[0053] For a given channel bandwidth, the number of available resource blocks on each channel 422, also referred to as the transmission bandwidth configuration 422, can be written as:

[0054]

number

[0055] For example, for the 3 MHz channel bandwidth in the example above, the number of available resource blocks on each channel 422 is

[0056]

number

[0057] It should be noted that the frequency components of a resource block (e.g., 12 subcarriers) are called a physical resource block (PRB).

[0058]

[0061] A base station may transmit radio frames (e.g., radio frame 410) supporting PRS signals (i.e., downlink (DL) PRS), or other physical layer signaling sequences, according to either a similar or the same frame configuration as that shown in Figure 4, which may be measured and used for position estimation of a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein). Other types of wireless nodes in a wireless communications network (e.g., distributed antenna systems (DAS), remote radio heads (RRHs), UEs, APs, etc.) may also be configured to transmit PRS signals configured similarly (or the same) as that shown in Figure 4.

[0059]

[0062] A set of resource elements used for transmission of a PRS signal is called a "PRS resource." A set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols in a slot 414 in the time domain. For example, the shaded resource elements in the slot 414 may be examples of two PRS resources. A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used for transmission of a PRS signal, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource identifier (ID). Furthermore, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same transmission / reception point (TRP). A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). Note that this does not have any implication as to whether the TRP and the beam on which the signal is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0060]

[0063] The PRS may be transmitted in special positioning subframes that are grouped into positioning occasions. A PRS occasion is one instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., consecutive slots) in which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. Each periodically repeating time window may contain a group of one or more consecutive PRS opportunities. Each PRS opportunity may be N PRS A PRS positioning occasion for a cell supported by a base station may comprise a number of milliseconds or subframes T PRS As an example, FIG. 4 shows a PRS 418 is equal to 4, T PRS 420 indicates a periodicity of the positioning occasions that is 20 or more. PRS may be measured by the number of subframes between the start of successive positioning occasions. Multiple PRS opportunities may be associated with the same PRS resource configuration, in which case each such opportunity may be referred to as a "PRS resource opportunity," etc.

[0061]

[0064] The PRS may be transmitted at a constant power. The PRS may also be transmitted at zero power (i.e., muted). Muting, which turns off PRS transmissions that are regularly scheduled, but occur at the same or nearly the same time, may be useful when PRS signals between different cells overlap. In this case, PRS signals from some cells may be muted while PRS signals from other cells are transmitted (e.g., at a constant power). Muting may aid in signal acquisition and time of arrival (TOA) and reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements by the UE of unmuted PRS signals (by avoiding interference from muted PRS signals). Muting may be considered as non-transmission of the PRS during a given positioning occasion for a particular cell. The muting pattern (also called a muting sequence) may be signaled to the UE using a bit string (e.g., using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP)). For example, if a bit in position j is set to '0' in a bit string signaled to indicate a muting pattern, the UE may infer that the PRS is muted during the jth positioning occasion.

[0062]

[0065] To further improve the audibility of the PRS, the positioning subframe may be a low-interference subframe transmitted without a user data channel. As a result, in an ideally synchronized network, the PRS may experience interference from PRSs of other cells that have the same PRS pattern index (i.e., have the same frequency shift) and not from data transmissions. The frequency shift may be determined by the PRS ID (

[0063]

number

[0064] ) or according to the Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) (

[0065]

number

[0066] ) which results in an effective frequency reuse factor of 6.

[0067]

[0066] To also improve PRS audibility (e.g., when the PRS bandwidth is limited, such as only six resource blocks corresponding to a 1.4 MHz bandwidth), the frequency band for successive PRS positioning occasions (or successive PRS subframes) is changed in a known and predictable manner by frequency hopping. Furthermore, a cell supported by a base station may support two or more PRS configurations, where each PRS configuration is configured for a certain number of subframes (N PRS ) and a specific period (T PRS ) with a unique frequency offset (vshift), a unique carrier frequency, a unique bandwidth, a unique code sequence, and / or a unique sequence of PRS positioning occasions. In some implementations, one or more of the PRS configurations supported in a cell may be for directional PRS and thus may have additional unique characteristics such as a unique transmission direction, a unique horizontal angle range, and / or a unique vertical angle range.

[0068] As mentioned above, the PRS configuration, including the PRS transmission / muting schedule, is signaled to the UE so that the UE can perform PRS positioning measurements. The UE is not expected to perform PRS configuration detection blindly.

[0069]

[0068] It should be noted that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may sometimes refer to a specific reference signal used for positioning in an LTE / NR system. However, unless otherwise specified, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" as used herein refer to any type of reference signal that may be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, a PRS signal in LTE / NR, a navigation reference signal (NRS), a transmitter reference signal (TRS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a primary synchronization signal (PSS), or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS).

[0070]

[0069] Similar to the DL PRS transmitted by the base station described above, the UE may transmit the UL PRS for positioning. The UL PRS may be, for example, a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) for positioning. Using the DL PRS received from the base station and / or the UL PRS transmitted to the base station, the UE may perform various RAT-dependent positioning measurements. The LTE system uses the DL PRS, for example, for Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) positioning measurements. The NR system, on the other hand, may use the DL PRS for several different types of RAT-dependent positioning measurements, such as Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), Angle of Departure (AoD), and may jointly use the DL PRS and the UL PRS to perform multi-cell positioning measurements, such as Multi-Cell Round Trip Time (M-RTT). Other types of RAT-dependent positioning measurements that may be used for position estimation for a UE include, for example, Time of Arrival (TOA), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), the time difference between reception and transmission of a signal (Rx-Tx), or Angle of Arrival (AOA). Other positioning methods exist, including methods that do not rely on PRS. For example, Extended Cell ID (E-CID) is based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements.

[0071]

[0070] With a UE-assisted positioning method, the UE 104 may obtain location measurements and transmit the measurements to a location server, e.g., location servers 230a, 230b, or the LMF 270, for computation of a location estimate for the UE 104. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of TDOA, AOD, M-RTT, etc. With a UE-based positioning method, the UE 104 may obtain location measurements (e.g., may be the same as or similar to location measurements for a UE-assisted positioning method) and compute a location of the UE 104 (e.g., with the aid of assistance data received from a location server, such as location servers 230a, 230b, or the LMF 270). With a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations 102 or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of UL-TDOA, Rx-Tx, for signals transmitted by the UE 104) and / or receive measurements obtained by the UE 104 and transmit the measurements to a location server for computation of a location estimate for the UE 104. The base station 102 may provide information to a location server, which may include timing and configuration information for PRS transmissions as well as location coordinates. The location server may provide some or all of this information to the UE 104 as positioning assistance data to aid in the detection and measurement of PRS signals from one or more base stations. The assistance data may further include the locations of the base stations, which may be used by the UE 104 to calculate a position estimate in a UE-based positioning process.

[0072]

[0071] Assistance data is provided for the OTDOA positioning method in LTE systems and can provide prioritization for measurements to be performed, for example, when the UE is not able to support all available neighbor cells included in the assistance data. For example, positioning assistance data for LTE OTDOA can include an information element (IE) OTDOA-NeighbourCellInfoList. The IE OTDOA-NeighbourCellInfoList can be used by the location server to provide neighbor cell information for the OTDOA assistance data. If the target device, i.e., the UE receiving the assistance data, is not capable of supporting additional neighboring cells (e.g., as indicated by the absence of the IE additionalNeighbourCellInfoList in the OTDOA-ProvideCapabilities), the set of cells in the OTDOA-NeighbourCellInfoList may be grouped by frequency layer and in descending order of priority for measurements to be performed by the target device, with the first cell in the list being the highest priority for measurements, and the same E-UTRA absolute radio frequency channel number earfcn not appearing in more than one instance of the OTDOA-NeighbourFreqInfo.

[0073]

[0072] If the target device is capable of supporting additional neighboring cells (e.g., as indicated by the presence of the IE additionalNeighbourCellInfoList in OTDOA-ProvideCapabilities), the list may include all cells belonging to the same frequency layer (up to a maximum of 3×24 cells) or cells from different frequency layers with the first cell in the list still being the highest priority for measurement.

[0074]

[0073] The prioritization of cells in the list for LTE OTDOA is left to the location server implementation. In addition, the target device should provide the available measurements in the same order as provided by the server.

[0075]

[0074] As mentioned above, the NR system allows more types of positioning methods than LTE. Therefore, for positioning in the NR system, the positioning assistance data provided to the target UE may include positioning method specific PRS assistance data together with common PRS assistance data for RAT-dependent positioning, where the positioning method specific PRS assistance data indexes the common PRS assistance data. For example, the common PRS assistance data for RAT-dependent positioning may be provided in an IE NR-DL-PRS-AssistanceData, which may be used by the location server to provide DL-PRS assistance data common to all positioning methods to the target UE. Table 1 illustrates an Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) fragment showing the NR-DL-PRS-AssistanceData information element (IE).

[0076] [Table 1]

[0077]

[0075] In NR-DL-PRS-AssistanceData, the nr-DL-PRS-Config field specifies the PRS configuration of the TRP. The nr-DL-PRS-ReferenceInfo field specifies the ID of the reference TRP. The nr-DL-PRS-ResourceID-List field specifies the nr-DL PRS resource IDs, and only a single nr-DL-ResourceID is included if the field is used in measurement reports.

[0078]

[0076] In the NR system, in addition to the common PRS assistance data, for example, as described above, PRS assistance data is also provided, which is positioning method specific and indexes the common PRS assistance data. Thus, for example, PRS assistance data specific to DL TDOA can be provided by the location server to the UE 104. The IE NR-DL-TDOA-ProvideAssistanceData can be used by the location server to provide assistance data for enabling UE-assisted and UE-based NR DL TDOA. It can also be used to provide NR DL TDOA positioning specific error reasons. Table 2 illustrates an Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) fragment showing the NR-DL-TDOA-ProvideAssistanceData IE.

[0079] [Table 2]

[0080]

[0077] In Table 2, UEB is conditionally present for UE-based NR DL-TDOA, otherwise it is not present, i.e., for UE-assisted NR DL-TDOA.

[0081]

[0078] In another embodiment, PRS assistance data specific to DL AoD may be provided by a location server to the UE 104. The IE NR-DL-AoD-ProvideAssistanceData may be used by a location server to provide assistance data for enabling UE-assisted and UE-based NR-DL-AoD. It may also be used to provide NR DL AoD positioning specific error reasons. Table 3 illustrates an Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) fragment showing the NR-DL-AoD-ProvideAssistanceData IE.

[0082] [Table 3]

[0083]

[0079] In Table 3, UEB is conditionally present for UE-based NR DL-AoD, otherwise it is not present, i.e., for UE-assisted NR DL-AoD.

[0084]

[0080] In another embodiment, PRS assistance data specific to MRTT may be provided by a location server to the UE 104. The IE NR-Multi-RTT-ProvideAssistanceData may be used by a location server to provide assistance data for enabling UE-assisted NR Multi-RTT. It may also be used to provide NR Multi-RTT positioning specific error reasons. Table 4 illustrates an Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) fragment showing the NR-Multi-RTT-ProvideAssistanceData IE.

[0085] [Table 4]

[0086]

[0081] The IE NR-SelectedDL-PRS-IndexList in each of the positioning method specific PRS assistance data shown in Tables 2, 3, and 4 may be used by the location server to provide the target UE 104 with the selected frequency layer index, TRP index, PRS resource set index, and resource index of the nr-DL-PRS-AssistanceDataList from the common PRS assistance data, e.g., NR-DL-PRS-AssistanceData from Table 1. Conventionally, in cases where multiple positioning methods can be used, only NR-DL-PRS-ProvideAssistanceData may be present in the assistance data for one of the positioning methods. Table 5 illustrates an Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) fragment showing the NR-SelectedDL-PRS-IndexList IE.

[0087] [Table 5]

[0088]

[0082] Thus, the IE SelectedDL-PRS-IndexList may configure the UE 104 with a frequency layer, a TRP, a PRS resource set, and a PRS resource, as known in the art and described in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.214, for example. For example, a frequency layer may be composed of one or more PRS resource sets and may be defined by one or more of a subcarrier spacing for DL ​​PRS resources, a cyclic prefix for DL ​​PRS resources, and an absolute frequency of a reference resource block. A UE may be configured with an ID defined such that it is associated with multiple DL PRS resource sets from the same cell (TRP). A PRS resource set is composed of one or more DL PRS resources and may be defined by one or more of the following: a DL PRS resource set configuration identity; a DL PRS resource periodicity; how many times each DL-PRS resource is repeated for a single instance of a DL-PRS resource set; an offset in number of slots between two repeated instances of a DL PRS resource with the same DL-PRS-ResourceID within a single instance of a DL PRS resource set; a muting pattern defined by a bitmap of time locations where no DL PRS resources are expected to be transmitted for a DL PRS resource set; a time offset of SFN0 slot 0 for the transmitting cell; a slot offset relative to SFN0 slot 0; a comb size of the DL PRS resources; a resource bandwidth defined by the number of resource blocks configured for PRS transmission; and a starting PRB index of the DL PRS resources relative to reference point A.A PRS resource may be defined by one or more of the following: a resource list that determines which DL PRS resources are encompassed within one DL PRS resource set; a DL PRS resource configuration identity; a sequence ID used to initialize a pseudo-random generator for the generation of a DL PRS sequence for a given DL PRS resource; a starting resource element (RE) offset of the first symbol in the DL PRS resource in frequency; a starting slot of the DL PRS resource; a starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting slot; the number of symbols of the DL PRS resource within the slot; and pseudo-co-location information of any of the DL PRS resources with other reference signals.

[0089]

[0083] During a positioning session, the UE 104 may provide its positioning capabilities to the location server. The UE 104 may provide, for example, common DL PRS processing capabilities. For example, the UE 104 may indicate the duration of DL PRS symbols in milliseconds that the UE can process every T milliseconds, assuming a maximum DL PRS bandwidth in megahertz supported and reported by the UE. For example, for frequency range 1 (FR1) (410 megahertz to 7125 megahertz), the UE may support durations of {5, 10, 20, 40, 50, 80, 100} symbols, and for frequency range 2 (FR2) (24250 megahertz to 52600 megahertz), the UE may support durations of {50, 100, 200, 400} symbols. The UE 104 may indicate the duration of DL PRS symbols in milliseconds that the UE can process every T milliseconds, assuming a maximum DL PRS bandwidth in megahertz supported and reported by the UE, in units of T, which may be {8, 16, 20, 30, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280} milliseconds, or N, which may be {0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50} milliseconds. It should be noted that the UE 104 is not expected to support DL PRS bandwidths that exceed the reported DL PRS bandwidth value. The UE DL PRS processing capability may be defined for a single positioning frequency layer. The UE DL PRS processing capability may be agnostic to the DL PRS comb factor configuration. The UE may indicate the maximum number of positioning frequency layers supported by the UE across all FR1 and FR2 bands, e.g., as Values={1, 2, 3, 4}. The above may be repeated assuming configured measurement gaps and a maximum ratio of measurement gap length (MGL) / measurement gap repetition period (MGRP) of less than or equal to X%.

[0090]

[0084] The UE 104 may further provide its PRS resource capabilities per method to the location server. For example, the UE 104 may provide its capabilities for DL ​​PRS resources for DL-TDOA to the location server. The UE 104 may indicate, for example, the maximum number of DL PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer with Values={1, 2}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources per DL PRS resource set with Values={1, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and DL PRS resource sets with Values={64, 128, 192, 256, 512, 1024, 2048}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of TRPs across all positioning frequency layers per UE with Values=[{16, 32, 64, 96, 128, 256} or {3, 12, 64, 256}]. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources per positioning frequency layer with Values={32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of TRPs per frequency layer with Values={8, 16, 32, 64}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources per TRP across all frequency layers with Valueset:{4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.

[0091]

[0085] The UE 104 may provide the location server with its capabilities for DL ​​PRS resources for DL-AoD. The UE 104 may indicate, for example, the maximum number of DL PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer supported by the UE with Values={1, 2}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources per DL PRS resource set with Values={4, 8, 16, 32, 64}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources supported by the UE across all frequency layers, TRPs, and DL PRS resource sets with Values={64, 128, 192, 256, 512, 1024, 2048}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of TRPs across all positioning frequency layers per UE with Values=[{16, 32, 64, 128, 256} or {3, 12, 64, 256}]. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources per positioning frequency layer with Values={32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources per TRP across all frequency layers with Valueset:{4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.

[0092]

[0086] The UE 104 may provide the location server with its capabilities for DL ​​PRS resources for Multi-RTT. The UE 104 may indicate, for example, the maximum number of DL PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer with Values={1, 2}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources per DL PRS resource set with Values={1, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and DL PRS resource sets with Values={64, 128, 192, 256, 512, 1024, 2048}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of TRPs across all positioning frequency layers per UE with Values=[{16, 32, 64, 96, 128, 256} or {3, 12, 64, 256}]. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources per positioning frequency layer with Values={32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of DL PRS resources per TRP across all frequency layers with Valueset:{4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}. The UE 104 may indicate the maximum number of TRPs per frequency layer with Values={8, 16, 32, 64}. The UE 104 may indicate the number of positioning layers the UE supports with Values={1, 2, 3, 4}.

[0093]

[0087] In an implementation, PRS assistance data may be defined to provide prioritization of PRS signals to be measured for each RAT dependent positioning method. For example, for each positioning method, TDOA, AoD, and M-RTT, in the corresponding positioning assistance data for each positioning method, e.g., NR-DL-TDOA-ProvideAssistanceData in Table 2, NR DL AoD ProvideAssistanceData in Table 3, and NR Multi RTT ProvideAssistanceData in Table 4, the selected PRSs may be grouped into nr-SelectedDL-PRS-IndexList-r16 based on priority.

[0094]

[0088] In one implementation, within each NR-SelectedDL-PRS-PerFreq-r16 of the NR-SelectedDL-PRS-IndexList-r16 shown in Table 5, the frequency layers may be prioritized. The frequency layers may be prioritized, for example, by prioritizing one frequency layer over the other or by giving each frequency layer equal priority. For example, in one option, the frequency layers may be grouped in descending order with respect to measurements to be performed by the target UE 104 for each corresponding positioning method (otherwise, this may span all positioning methods, if the UE 104 reports a frequency layer for each positioning method). The first frequency layer in the list may have the highest priority for measurements. In another option, all frequency layers may have equal priority. If the frequency layers have equal priority, the assistance data may indicate that equal priority is to be given, or equal priority for the frequency layers may be a fixed rule that is coded in the UE 104. If the frequency layers have equal priority, the UE 104 may select one or more TRPs for performing PRS measurements from each frequency layer, e.g., in a round robin algorithm, from each selected TRP in each frequency layer before returning to the frequency layer for additional PRS measurements from a different TRP. When the frequency layers have equal priority, the UE 104 may select a first frequency layer for PRS measurements based on the order provided in the assistance data or based on the frequency layer identifier, e.g., lowest identifier first. Thus, the UE 104 is performing PRS measurements from approximately an equal number of TRPs from each frequency layer.

[0095]

[0089] In one implementation, within each NR-ProvideAssistanceData-r16 in Table 5, the TRPs may be prioritized. The TRPs may be prioritized, for example, by prioritizing one TRP over another or by giving each TRP equal priority. For example, in one option, the TRPs may be grouped in descending order with respect to measurements to be performed by the target UE 104 for the corresponding positioning method, with the first TRP in the list having the highest priority for the measurements. In another option, all TRPs may have equal priority. If the TRPs have equal priority, the assistance data may indicate that they are to be given equal priority, or equal priority for the TRPs may be a fixed rule encoded in the UE 104. If the TRPs have equal priority, the UE 104 may select one or more PRS resource sets for performing PRS measurements from each TRP, e.g., in a round robin algorithm, from each selected TRP in each TRP before returning to the TRP for additional PRS measurements from a different PRS resource set. When the TRPs have equal priority, the UE 104 may select a TRP for PRS measurements based on the order provided in the assistance data or based on a TRP identifier, e.g., lowest identifier first. Thus, the UE 104 is performing PRS measurements from approximately an equal number of PRS resource sets from each TRP.

[0096]

[0090] In one implementation aspect, within each DL-SelectedPRS-ResourceSetIndex-r16 of the NR-SelectedDL-PRS-PerFreq-r16 shown in Table 5, the PRS resource sets in the TRP may be prioritized. The PRS resource sets may be prioritized, for example, by prioritizing one PRS resource set over another or by giving each PRS resource set equal priority. For example, in one option, the PRS resource sets may be grouped in descending order with respect to the measurements to be performed by the target UE 104 for the corresponding TRP of the corresponding positioning method, with the first PRS resource set in the list having the highest priority for the measurements. In another option, all PRS resource sets may have equal priority. If the PRS resource sets have equal priority, the assistance data may indicate that equal priority is to be given, or equal priority for the PRS resource sets may be a fixed rule encoded in the UE 104. If the PRS resource sets have equal priority, the UE 104 may select one or more PRS resource sets from each PRS resource set for performing PRS measurements, e.g., in a round robin algorithm, and perform the PRS measurements from each selected PRS resource in each PRS resource set before returning to a PRS resource set for additional PRS measurements from a different PRS resource set. When the PRS resource sets have equal priority, the UE 104 may select a first PRS resource set for the PRS measurement based on the order provided in the assistance data or based on a PRS resource set identifier, e.g., lowest identifier first. Thus, the UE 104 is performing PRS measurements from approximately an equal number of PRS resources from each PRS resource set.

[0097]

[0091] In one implementation aspect, within each DL-SelectedPRS-ResourceSetIndex-r16 of the DL-SelectedPRS-ResourceSetIndex-r16 shown in Table 5, the PRS resources in the PRS resource set may be prioritized. The PRS resources may be prioritized, for example, by prioritizing one PRS resource over another or by giving each PRS resource equal priority. For example, in one option, the PRS resources may be grouped in descending order with respect to the measurements to be performed by the target UE 104 for the corresponding PRS resource set of the corresponding TRP of the corresponding positioning method, with the first PRS resource in the list having the highest priority for the measurements. In another option, all PRS resources in the PRS set may have equal priority. If the PRS resources have equal priority, the assistance data may indicate that equal priority is to be given, or equal priority for the PRS resources may be a fixed rule encoded in the UE 104. When the PRS resources have equal priority, the UE 104 may select a first PRS resource for PRS measurement based on the frequency layer identifier, e.g., lowest identifier first.

[0098]

[0092] Thus, one or more of the frequency layer, the TRP, the PRS resource set, and the PRS resource may be prioritized in the assistance data for each positioning method. For example, the PRS resource set may be prioritized for positioning measurements, and the frequency layer, the TRP, and the PRS resource may not. In another embodiment, the PRS resource and the PRS resource set may be prioritized for positioning measurements, and the frequency layer and the TRP may not.

[0099]

[0093] There may be different priority rules for different positioning methods. In other words, different positioning methods may have different sets of "frequency layer prioritization" or "TRP prioritization" or "PRS resource set prioritization" or "PRS resource prioritization" or any different combinations thereof. For example, if there are more configured PRS resources than the UE 104 reports its capabilities as a maximum number, the UE 104 may receive all PRS resources and prioritize measurements of at least one PRS resource set from each TRP before returning to the TRP for measurement, so that the UE 104 can perform PRS measurements from approximately equal numbers of TRPs from each frequency layer.

[0100]

[0094] As an example, if the UE measurement capability has a maximum number of PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer and the configured PRS resource sets per TRP are more than the reported capability, the UE 104 may prioritize the first PRS resource set listed in the information about PRS resource sets. In other words, the assistance data from the location server may list the PRS resource sets to be measured, and the UE 104 may give a higher priority for measurement to the first listed PRS resource set.

[0101]

[0095] In another embodiment, if the UE measurement capability has a maximum number of PRS resources per PRS resource set and the configured PRS resources per PRS resource set are more than the reported capability, the UE 104 may prioritize the first PRS resource in the PRS resource set. In other words, the assistance data from the location server may list the PRS resources per PRS resource set to be measured, and the UE 104 may give a higher priority for measurement to the first listed PRS resource.

[0102]

[0096] In another example, if the UE measurement capability has a maximum number of PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and PRS resource sets, the UE 104 may prioritize based on the frequency layer, then based on the TRP, then based on the PRS resource set, and then based on the PRS resources, or the UE 104 may prioritize the PRS resource sets equally, for example, by prioritizing at least one PRS resource set from each TRP before selecting a second set of the same TRP.

[0103]

[0097] In another example, if the UE measurement capability has a maximum number of TRPs across all positioning frequency layers per UE, the UE 104 may prioritize based on frequency layer and then based on TRPs such that the UE first measures PRSs from all TRPs of the most important frequency layer before measuring PRSs from the second frequency layer. In other words, the UE 104 may prioritize the first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before the second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer. In another option, the TRPs may have equal priority and the UE 104 may measure PRSs from at least one TRP from each frequency layer, then measure PRSs from a second TRP from each frequency layer, and so on. In this case, the UE is handling an approximately equal number of TRPs per frequency layer.

[0104]

[0098] In another example, if the UE measurement capability has a maximum number of PRS resources per positioning frequency layer, the UE 104 may prioritize based on the TRP, then based on the PRS resource set, then based on the PRS resources. In another option, the UE 104 may prioritize at least one PRS resource set from each TRP before selecting a second PRS resource set of the same TRP.

[0105]

[0099] 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D, for example, illustrate a hierarchy of frequency layers, TRPs, PRS resource sets, and PRS resources. For simplicity, only a single frequency layer (Layer1) is illustrated, but it should be understood that there may be multiple frequency layers. Under the single frequency layer (Layer1), two separate TRPs (TRP1, TRP2) are illustrated, but there may be additional (or fewer) TRPs. Under the first TRP (TRP1), four PRS resources are illustrated, with two PRS resources (Res1 and Res2) under a PRS resource set (Set1) and two PRS resources (Res3 and Res4) under a separate PRS resource set (Set2). Similarly, under a second TRP (TRP2), four PRS resources are illustrated, with two PRS resources (Res5 and Res6) under a PRS resource set (Set3) and two PRS resources (Res7 and Res8) under another PRS resource set (Set4). It should be understood that there may be additional (or fewer) PRS resource sets within each TRP, and additional (or fewer) PRS resources within each PRS resource set. Each of Figures 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D illustrates a different prioritization of positioning measurements.

[0106]

[0100] FIG. 5A illustrates, as an example, a prioritization 500 of PRS resource sets in a TRP according to a first option, in which each PRS resource set may be grouped in descending order for measurements to be performed by a target UE 104 for a corresponding TRP of a particular positioning method. For example, in the positioning assistance data for a particular positioning method, a PRS resource set (Set2) for TRP1 may be listed before a PRS resource set (Set1) for the same TRP1. Thus, the UE 104 measures PRS signals from all PRS resources under a higher priority PRS resource set (Set2) before measuring PRS from PRS resources under a lower priority PRS resource set (Set1). FIG. 5A illustrates the order of PRS measurements from PRS resources with circles and numbers indicating the order of measurements. Therefore, based on the prioritization of the PRS resource sets, UE 104 may first perform PRS measurements from (1) PRS resources RES3 and (2) RES4 under Set2 before performing PRS measurements from (3) PRS resources RES1 and (4) RES2.

[0107]

[0101] 5B is similar to FIG. 5A, but illustrates prioritization 520 of PRS resource sets in a TRP according to a second option, e.g., where each PRS resource set is given equal priority. For example, for a particular positioning method, the positioning assistance data may indicate that equal priority is to be given to the PRS resource sets. Thus, the UE 104 may select one or more PRS resources from each PRS resource set for performing PRS measurements, and perform PRS measurements from each selected PRS resource in each PRS resource set before returning to the PRS resource set for additional PRS measurements from different PRS resources. The UE 104 may select which PRS resource set to process first, e.g., based on the order provided in the assistance data. Using circles and numbers to indicate the order of measurements, FIG. 5B illustrates, for example, based on equal priority, UE 104 first (1) performs a PRS measurement from a PRS resource (RES1) under a first PRS resource set (Set1), before performing a second PRS measurement (2) from a second PRS resource (RES3) under a different PRS resource set (Set2), before returning to the first PRS resource set (Set1) to perform a PRS measurement (3) from a third PRS resource (RES2), and before returning to the second PRS resource set (Set2) to perform a PRS measurement (4) from a fourth PRS resource (RES4).

[0108]

[0102] 5C illustrates, as an example, the prioritization 550 of the TRPs in the frequency layer according to the second option, where, for example, each TRP is given equal priority, and the prioritization of the PRS resource sets within the TRP according to the first option, where, for example, each PRS resource set may be grouped in descending order with respect to measurements to be performed by the target UE 104 for the corresponding TRP of a particular positioning method. Thus, with equal priority of the TRPs, the UE 104 selects a PRS resource set from each TRP for performing PRS measurements, and performs PRS measurements from each PRS resource set within each TRP before returning to the TRP for additional PRS measurements from a different PRS resource set. In addition, each PRS resource set may be grouped in descending order with respect to measurements to be performed by the target UE 104 for the corresponding TRP of a particular positioning method. Using circles and numbers to indicate the order of measurements, FIG. 5C illustrates that, for example, based on equal prioritization of TRPs and higher priority given to PRS resource sets, positioning measurements may be performed under a first TRP (TRP1) using PRS resources (RES1) under a first PRS resource set (Set1), followed by (2) positioning measurements under a different TRP (TRP2) using PRS resources (RES5) under a second PRS resource set (Set3) before revisiting the first TRP (TRP1) for additional PRS measurements. Due to the prioritization for the PRS resource sets, the PRS measurements may then be performed using (3) PRS resources (RES2) under the first PRS resource set (Set1), followed by (4) measurements using PRS resources (RES6) under the second PRS resource set (Set3). The pattern repeats of using a different PRS resource set (Set2) under a first TRP (TRP1) and a PRS resource set (Set4) under a second TRP (TRP2) to perform positioning measurements (5), (6), (7), and (8) using respective PRS resources (RES3), (RES7), (RES4), and (RES8).

[0109]

[0103] FIG. 5D illustrates, as an example, another prioritization 570 of TRPs in a frequency layer according to a second option, e.g., where each TRP is given equal priority, and a prioritization of PRS resource sets within a TRP according to a second option, e.g., where each PRS resource set is given equal priority. As discussed above, with equal priority of TRPs, UE 104 selects a PRS resource set from each TRP for performing PRS measurements, and performs PRS measurements from each PRS resource set in each TRP before returning to the TRP for additional PRS measurements from a different PRS resource set. In addition, with equal priority of PRS resource sets, UE 104 may select a PRS resource from each PRS resource set under each TRP for performing PRS measurements, and performs PRS measurements from each selected PRS resource in each PRS resource set before returning to the PRS resource set for additional PRS measurements from a different PRS resource. Using circles and numbers to indicate the order of measurements, FIG. 5D illustrates that, for example, based on equal prioritization of the TRP and PRS resource sets, PRS measurements are performed using (1) a first PRS resource set (Set1) and PRS resources (RES1) under a TRP (TRP1), followed by PRS measurements using (2) PRS resources (RES5) under a second PRS resource set (Set3) and a different TRP (TRP2) before revisiting the first TRP (TRP1). UE 104 performs (3) positioning measurements from PRS resources (RES3) from the first TRP (TRP1) but under a different PRS resource set (Set2), followed by PRS measurements (4) using PRS resources (RES7) under a fourth PRS resource set (Set4) under the second TRP (TRP2). The pattern of changing the TRP and PRS resource set using different PRS resources to perform positioning measurements (5), (6), (7), and (8) using respective PRS resources (RES2), (RES6), (RES4), and (RES8) repeats.

[0110]

[0104] FIG. 6 shows a signaling flow 600 illustrating various messages that may be transmitted between components of the wireless communication system 100 depicted in FIG. 1 within a positioning session including the per-positioning-method positioning assistance data prioritization discussed herein. The flow chart 600 illustrates a UE 104, two TRPs 102-1 and 102-2, which may be collectively referred to as TRP 102 and may be a gNB, and a location server 602, which may be, for example, a location server 172, 230a, 230b, or an LMF 270. It should be understood that while a single location server 60 is illustrated in FIG. 6, multiple location servers or other entities may be used for different stages of FIG. 6. For example, a first server may receive positioning capabilities and generate and provide assistance data in stages 1, 2, 3, and 4, and a different server or other entity may receive location information and determine UE location in stages 11, 13, and . While the flowchart 600 is discussed in the context of 5G NR radio access for ease of illustration, signaling flows similar to FIG. 6 with other types of high frequency networks and base stations will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, the UE 104 may be configured for UE-based or UE-assisted positioning. FIG. 6 illustrates implementations for several different positioning methods that may be used separately or combined. For example, one or more of the DL positioning methods TDOA and AoD may be performed, or a combined UL and DL positioning method such as M-RTT may be performed. In the signaling flow 600, it is assumed that the UE 104 and the location server 602 communicate using the LPP positioning protocol, although the use of NPP or a combination of LPP and NPP or other future protocols such as NRPPa is also possible. Furthermore, it should be understood that not all messages illustrated in FIG. 6 may be transmitted, and further, FIG. 6 may not show all messages transmitted between the entities in a positioning session.

[0111]

[0105] In stage 1, the location server 602 sends a Request positioning capability message to the UE 104 to request positioning capability from the UE 104.

[0112]

[0106] In stage 2, the UE 104 returns a Provide Positioning Capabilities message to the location server 602 to provide the positioning capabilities of the UE 104. The UE 104 may indicate its capabilities, for example, regarding the maximum number of frequency layers, the maximum number of TRPs, the maximum number of PRS resource sets, the maximum number of PRS resources, along with its capabilities for performing different positioning measurements.

[0113]

[0107] In stage 3, the location server 602 may generate positioning assistance data for the UE 104, for example, based at least in part on the positioning capabilities of the UE 104. For example, as discussed above, the positioning assistance data may prioritize one or more of a PRS resource set and PRS resources, which may differ based on the positioning method. In some implementations, the positioning assistance data may further prioritize one or more of a frequency layer and a TRP, which may differ based on the positioning method. For example, the positioning assistance data may provide information about the frequency layer, the TRP, the PRS resource set, and the PRS resources, such as an order of measurements, or whether equal priority exists. The positioning assistance data is prioritized and is per RAT dependent positioning method, such as TDOA, AoD, or -RTT.

[0114]

[0108] In stage 4, the location server 602 may acquire and measure PRS signals and, optionally, transmit a Provide Assistance Data message to the UE 104 to provide positioning assistance data to assist the UE 104 in determining a location from the PRS measurements. The assistance data may include, for example, a set of common PRS assistance data and a separate set of PRS assistance data for each positioning method, where the separate sets of PRS assistance data may be indexed to the common PRS assistance data.

[0115]

[0109] In stage 5, the location server 602 may send a Request Location Information message to the UE 104 to request the UE 104 to measure DL PRS transmissions by the TRP 102 for DL ​​positioning methods such as TDOA or AoD, and in some cases transmit a UL PRS, e.g., SRS, for measurements by the TRP in a combined DL and UL positioning method such as M-RTT. The location server 602 may also indicate whether UE-based positioning is requested, whereby the UE 104 determines its location, or UE-assisted positioning.

[0116]

[0110] In stage 6, the UE 104 may determine a prioritization for the PRS signals to be measured based at least on one or more orderings of information about PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, in the positioning assistance data. In some implementations, the UE 104 may determine a prioritization for the PRS signals to be measured based at least on one or more orderings of information about frequency layers, TRPs, PRS resource sets, or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, in the positioning assistance data.

[0117]

[0111] In stage 7, the TRP 102 transmits the PRS signal.

[0118]

[0112] In stage 8, the UE 104 determines PRS measurements for the PRS received from the TRP 102 in stage 7 according to the prioritization for the PRS signals. The UE 104 may measure, for example, TDOA and AoD.

[0119]

[0113] In stage 9, the UE 104 may transmit a UL PRS signal, eg, SRS, if a multi-RTT positioning method is used.

[0120]

[0114] In stage 10, the TRP 102 may acquire the PRS transmitted by the UE 104 in stage 9 and perform the desired position measurements. The base station 102 may measure, for example, Rx-Tx, TOA, etc., which may be used in the M-RTT positioning method.

[0121]

[0115] In stage 11, the TRP 102 may send a Provide Location Information message to the location server 602, including the PRS measurements (and any other measurements) obtained in stage 9, if performed. In some implementations, for example, when a DL and UL based positioning method is used, the base station may send a Provide Location Information message to the UE 104, as illustrated by the dotted line.

[0122]

[0116] In stage 12, if UE104-based positioning is requested in stage 5, the UE104 may determine its location based on the PRS measurements (and any other measurements) obtained in stage 8 and the assistance data received in stage 4, and, if used, based on the Provide Location Information message from the base station in stage 11.

[0123]

[0117] In stage 13, the UE 104 may send to the location server 602 a Provide Location Information message which may include the PRS measurements (and any other measurements) obtained in stage 8 and / or the UE location obtained in stage 12.

[0124]

[0118] In stage 14, the location server 602 may determine the UE location based on any PRS measurements (and any other measurements) received in one or more of stage 13, stage 11, or a combination of stage 13 and stage 11, or verify the UE location received in stage 13. Alternatively, other entities in the wireless network, e.g., another server, may also be used to determine the UE location based on any PRS measurements.

[0125]

[0119] FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart for an example method 700 performed by a UE in a wireless network over the air for UE location determination, such as the UE 104 in the wireless communication system 100 .

[0126]

[0120] In block 702, the UE may receive positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data including information on one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and one or more PRS resources, e.g., as illustrated in stages 3 and 4 of FIG. 6. In block 704, the UE may determine a prioritization for the PRS signals to be measured based at least in part on one or more priority orderings of the information on the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, in the positioning assistance data, e.g., as illustrated in stage 6 of FIG. 6, or may give equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof. In block 706, the UE may determine PRS measurements for the PRS signals based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signals, e.g., as illustrated in stages 7 and 8 of FIG. 6. In block 708, a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements, e.g., as discussed in stage 12 or 14 of FIG. 6.

[0127]

[0121] For example, in some implementations, the UE may report measurement information based on the PRS measurements to an entity in the wireless network, and a position fix for the UE may be determined by the entity in the wireless network, e.g., as illustrated in stages 13 and 14 of Figure 6. In some implementations, a position fix for the UE may be determined by the UE, e.g., as illustrated in stage 12 of Figure 6.

[0128]

[0122] In one implementation, the positioning assistance data is per Radio Access Technology (RAT) dependent positioning method. For example, the per-positioning method positioning assistance data includes separate positioning assistance data for Angle of Departure (AOD), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), and Multi-cell Round Trip Time (M-RTT), for example, as illustrated in stage 3 of FIG. 6.

[0129]

[0123] In one implementation, the positioning assistance data for each positioning method may include an index to a set of common PRS assistance data, for example as illustrated in Tables 1-5.

[0130]

[0124] In one implementation, for each positioning method, the information about one or more PRS resource sets of a transmission point (TRP) in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 6 and stage 6 of FIG. 5A and 5B. In addition, in some implementations, the positioning assistance data may further include information about one or more frequency layers and one or more TRPs, and for each positioning method, the information may further list the frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or may list the TRPs in each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0131]

[0125] In one implementation, for each positioning method, the information about one or more PRS resources of a PRS resource set in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0132]

[0126] In one implementation, the positioning assistance data may further include information on one or more frequency layers and one or more transmission points (TRPs), and the UE may further report one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method to an entity in the wireless network, for example, as discussed in stage 2 of FIG. 6. The information on the frequency layers, TRPs, PRS resource sets, and PRS resources in the positioning assistance data may be based on one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method, for example, as discussed in stage 3 of FIG. 6. In one embodiment, the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer, and determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements includes prioritizing a first PRS resource set listed in the information on the PRS resource sets. In one embodiment, the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per PRS resource set, and determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements includes prioritizing a first PRS resource set listed in the information on the PRS resources. In one embodiment, the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and PRS resource sets, and determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements includes one of prioritizing based on frequency layers, then based on TRPs, then based on PRS resource sets, then based on PRS resources, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP and then a second PRS resource set from each TRP. In one embodiment, the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of TRPs across all frequency layers, and determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements includes prioritizing a first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before a second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer, or prioritizing a first TRP from each frequency layer and then a second TRP from each frequency layer.In one embodiment, the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per frequency layer, and determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements includes one of prioritizing based on the TRP, then based on the PRS resource set, then based on the PRS resources, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

[0133]

[0127] FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart for an example method 800 performed by a UE 104 and a location server in a wireless network over the air, such as location server 172 in wireless communication system 100, for determining a position of a UE over the air in a wireless network.

[0134]

[0128] In block 802, the location server may receive per-positioning-method measurement capabilities from the UE, e.g., as discussed in stage 2 of FIG. 6. In block 804, per-positioning-method positioning assistance data is generated, the positioning assistance data including information about positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and PRS resources, e.g., as discussed in stage 3 of FIG. 6, configured based on per-positioning-method measurement capabilities to provide a priority order of PRS resource sets or PRS resources or combinations thereof to be measured by the UE, or to indicate equal priority of PRS resource sets or PRS resources or combinations thereof to be measured by the UE. In block 806, the per-positioning-method positioning assistance data is transmitted to the UE, e.g., as discussed in stage 4 of FIG. 6. In block 808, a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements performed by the UE, e.g., using a priority order, as discussed in stage 12 or 14 of FIG. 6.

[0135]

[0129] In some implementations, the location server may receive measurement information from the UE based on the PRS measurements, and a position fix for the UE may be determined by the location server, e.g., as discussed in stages 13 and 14 of Figure 6. In some implementations, a position fix for the UE may be determined by the UE, e.g., as discussed in stage 12 of Figure 6.

[0136]

[0130] In one implementation, the positioning assistance data is per radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method, e.g., as discussed in stage 3 of Figure 6. For example, the per positioning method positioning assistance data may be separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT), e.g., as discussed in stage 3 of Figure 6.

[0137]

[0131] In one implementation, a set of common PRS assistance data is transmitted to the UE, and the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data includes an index to the set of common PRS assistance data, for example, as discussed in stages 3 and 4 of FIG.

[0138]

[0132] In one implementation, for each positioning method, the information about the PRS resource sets in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in the order of measurements to be performed by the UE, e.g., as discussed in FIG. 6 and stage 6 of FIG. 5A and 5B. In some implementations, the positioning assistance data may further include information about frequency layers and transmission points (TRPs), and for each positioning method, the information may further list the frequency layers in the priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or may list the TRPs in each frequency layer in the priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0139]

[0133] In one implementation aspect, for each positioning method, the information about the PRS resources in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in the order of the measurements to be performed by the UE, or the PRS resources have equal priority.

[0140]

[0134] FIG. 9 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain example features of a UE 900, which may be, for example, the UE 104 shown in FIG. 1, enabled to support positioning using prioritized positioning assistance data per positioning method as discussed herein. The UE 900 may include, for example, one or more processors 902, a memory 904, and an external interface, such as a wireless transceiver 910 (e.g., a wireless network interface), which may be operatively coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 920 and one or more connections 906 (e.g., a bus, line, fiber, link, etc.) to the memory 904. The UE 900 may further include additional items not shown, such as, for example, a user interface, which may include a display, a keypad such as a virtual keypad on the display, or other input device through which a user may interface with the UE or a satellite positioning system receiver. In some example implementations, all or a portion of the UE 900 may take the form of a chipset or the like. The wireless transceiver 910 may include, for example, a transmitter 912 enabled to transmit one or more signals over one or more types of wireless communication networks, and a receiver 914 for receiving one or more signals transmitted over the one or more types of wireless communication networks.

[0141] In some embodiments, the UE 900 may include an antenna 911, which may be internal or external. The UE antenna 911 may be used to transmit and / or receive signals processed by the wireless transceiver 910. In some embodiments, the UE antenna 911 may be coupled to the wireless transceiver 910. In some embodiments, measurements of signals received (transmitted) by the UE 900 may be performed at the point of connection between the UE antenna 911 and the wireless transceiver 910. For example, the reference measurement points for the received (transmitted) RF signal measurements may be the input (output) terminal of the receiver 914 (transmitter 912) and the output (input) terminal of the UE antenna 911. In a UE 900 with multiple UE antennas 911 or antenna arrays, the antenna connectors may be considered as virtual points representing the aggregate output (input) of the multiple UE antennas. The UE 900 may receive signals, e.g., DL PRS and / or transmit UL PRS or SRS, for positioning purposes. Signal measurements, including one or more of timing measurements such as RSTD, UE Rx-Tx, TOA, TDOA, AoD, M-RTT, energy measurements such as RSRP, quality metrics, speed and / or trajectory measurements, reference TRP, multipath information, line-of-sight (LOS) or non-line-of-sight (NLOS) factors, signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR), and timestamps, may be processed by one or more processors 902.

[0142] The one or more processors 902 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 902 may be configured to perform functions described herein by implementing one or more instructions or program codes 908 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 920 and / or the memory 904. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 902 may represent one or more circuits configurable to perform at least a portion of a data signal computing procedure or process associated with the operation of the UE 900.

[0143]

[0137] The medium 920 and / or memory 904 may store instructions or program code 908, which includes executable code or software instructions that, when executed by one or more processors 902, cause the one or more processors 902 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in the UE 900, the medium 920 and / or memory 904 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by the one or more processors 902 to perform the methods described herein. Although the components or modules are shown as software in the medium 920 that is executable by the one or more processors 902, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in the memory 904 or may be dedicated hardware either in the one or more processors 902 or external to the processor.

[0144] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 920 and / or memory 904 and be utilized by the one or more processors 902 to manage both the communications and the functionality described herein. It should be appreciated that the organization of the contents of the medium 920 and / or memory 904 shown in the UE 900 is only an example, and thus the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or structured in different ways depending on the implementation of the UE 900.

[0145]

[0139] The medium 920 and / or memory 904 may include a capabilities module 922 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 902, configures the one or more processors 902 to transmit, via the wireless transceiver 910, measurement capabilities for each positioning method to a location server or other entity.

[0146]

[0140] The medium 920 and / or memory 904 may include an assistance data module 924 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 902, configures the one or more processors 902 to receive positioning assistance data from, for example, a location server via the wireless transceiver 910. The positioning assistance data may include information about one or more frequency layers, one or more TRPs, one or more PRS resource sets, and one or more PRS resources, such as an indication of priority order or equal priority for measurements. The assistance data may include common PRS assistance data and positioning method specific assistance data for all positioning methods, where the positioning method specific assistance data may be indexed to the common PRS assistance data.

[0147]

[0141] The medium 920 and / or memory 904 may include a prioritization module 926 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 902, configures the one or more processors 902 to prioritize, for example, PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, for PRS measurements, based on, for example, information included in a positioning assistance and positioning method to be performed, or based on, for example, information encoded in the medium 902 or memory 904 indicating that one or more of the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, are to be given equal priority. The one or more processors 902 may further be configured to prioritize frequency layers or TRPs, or combinations thereof. The prioritization may be indicated, for example, by listing the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or in some implementations frequency layers or TRPs, or combinations thereof, in a priority order for measurements.

[0148]

[0142] The medium 920 and / or memory 904 may include a PRS measurement module 928 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 902, configures the one or more processors 902 to receive DL PRS signals from one or more TRPs via the wireless transceiver 910 and determine PRS measurements based at least on a prioritization of the PRS signals. For example, the one or more processors 902 may be configured to perform DL positioning measurements for one or more positioning methods based on the received DL PRS, UL positioning measurements for one or more positioning methods based on the received DL PRS, or DL ​​and UL positioning measurements for one or more positioning methods based on the received DL PRS and the transmitted UL PRS. Multiple positioning measurements may be performed, e.g., positioning measurements of the same type may be performed at different times, and / or different types of positioning measurements may be performed simultaneously or at different times. The positioning measurements may be for one or more positioning methods, such as TDOA, AoD, multi-RTT, hybrid positioning methods, etc. By way of example, the one or more processors 902 may be configured for positioning measurements including one or more of: timing measurements such as RSTD, UE Rx-Tx, TOA, energy measurements such as RSRP, quality metrics, speed and / or orbit measurements, reference TRP, multipath information, LOS / NLOS factors, SINR, and timestamps. In some implementations, the one or more processors 902 may be further configured to estimate a position of the UE 900 in a UE-based positioning process, e.g., using position measurements received in the assistance data and the location of the base station.

[0149]

[0143] The medium 920 and / or the memory 904 may include a UL PRS transmission module 930 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 902, configures the one or more processors 902 to transmit, via the wireless transceiver 910, a UL PRS or SRS for positioning.

[0150]

[0144] The medium 920 and / or the memory 904 may include a location information receiving module 932 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 902, configures the one or more processors 902 to receive, via the wireless transceiver 910, location information from a TRP related to measurement of a transmitted UL PRS or SRS for positioning.

[0151]

[0145] The medium 920 and / or the memory 904 may include a position determination module 934 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 902, configures the one or more processors 902 to determine a position estimate based on information provided in the assistance data, such as the position of the TRP, along with position measurements and received location information from the TRP (if present).

[0152]

[0146] The medium 920 and / or the memory 904 may include a transmission reporting element module 936 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 902, configures the one or more processors 902 to transmit, via the wireless transceiver 910, the PRS measurements and / or the determined position estimate to a location server.

[0153]

[0147] The methods described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, these methods may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. In the case of hardware implementation, the one or more processors 902 may be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0154]

[0148] In the case of a firmware and / or software implementation, the method may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium 920 or memory 904 coupled to and executed by the one or more processors 902. The memory may be implemented within the one or more processors or external to the one or more processors. The term "memory" as used herein may refer to any type of long-term memory, short-term memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or other memory, and should not be limited to a particular type or number of memories, or the type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0155]

[0149] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 908 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 920 and / or memory 904. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with data structures and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program 908. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium with program code 908 stored thereon may include program code 908 for supporting positioning using per-method assistance data prioritization in a manner consistent with disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer-readable medium 920 includes a physical computer storage medium. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable media may 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 store desired program code 908 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, where disk and disc as used herein 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 with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0156]

[0150] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 920, the instructions and / or data may be provided as signals on a transmission medium contained in a communication device. For example, the communication device may include a wireless transceiver 910 having signals indicative of instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium with signals indicative of information to perform the disclosed functions.

[0157]

[0151] The memory 904 may represent any data storage mechanism. The memory 904 may include, for example, a primary memory and / or a secondary memory. The primary memory may include, for example, a random access memory, a read-only memory, etc. Although shown in this example as being separate from the one or more processors 902, it should be understood that all or a portion of the primary memory may be provided within the one or more processors 902 or may possibly be co-located / coupled with the one or more processors 902. The secondary memory may include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as the primary memory, and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as, for example, a disk drive, an optical disk drive, a tape drive, a solid-state memory drive, etc.

[0158] In some implementations, the secondary memory may be operatively receptive to, or in some cases configurable to couple to, a non-transitory computer-readable medium 920. Thus, in some example implementations, the methods and / or apparatuses presented herein may take the form, in whole or in part, of a computer-readable medium 920, which may include computer-implementable code 908 stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors 902, may be operatively enabled to perform all or a portion of the example operations described herein. The computer-readable medium 920 may be part of the memory 904.

[0159]

[0153] In one implementation, a UE such as UE 900 may be configured to support position determination and may include means for receiving positioning assistance data per positioning method, the positioning assistance data including information about one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and one or more PRS resources, the means for receiving the positioning assistance data may be, for example, a wireless transceiver 910 and one or more processors 902 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 904 and / or medium 920, such as an assistance data module 924. Means for determining a prioritization for a PRS signal to be measured based at least on one or more priority orderings of information about the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, in the positioning assistance data, or for giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, may be, for example, one or more processors 902 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code software instructions in memory 904 and / or medium 920, such as a prioritization module 926. The means for determining PRS measurements for PRS signals based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signals may be, for example, the wireless transceiver 910 and one or more processors 902 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 904 and / or medium 920, such as a PRS measurement module 928. The means for reporting measurement information or position fix information based on the PRS measurements to an entity in the wireless network may be, for example, the wireless transceiver 910 and one or more processors 902 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 904 and / or medium 920, such as a transmission reporting module 936.

[0160]

[0154] In one implementation aspect, the positioning assistance data further includes information about one or more frequency layers and one or more transmission points (TRPs), and the UE may further include means for reporting one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method to an entity in the wireless network, where the information about the frequency layers, TRPs, PRS resource sets, and PRS resources in the positioning assistance data is configured based on the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method, and the means for reporting the one or more measurement capabilities may be, for example, the wireless transceiver 910 and one or more processors 902 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 904 and / or medium 920, such as a capabilities module 922.

[0161]

[0155] 10 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain example features of a location server 1000 in a wireless network enabled to support positioning using prioritized positioning assistance data per positioning method as discussed herein. The location server 1000 may be the location server 172, which may be, for example, the location servers 230a, 230b, or the LMF 270 in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B. The location server 1000 may include, for example, one or more processors 1002, a memory 1004, and an external interface, which may include an external interface 1010 for communication (e.g., a wireline or wireless network interface to other network entities and / or a core network) that may be operatively coupled with a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1020 and one or more connections 1006 (e.g., a bus, line, fiber, link, etc.) to the memory 1004. In some implementations, the location server 1000 may further include additional items not shown, such as a user interface, which may include, for example, a display, a keypad, or other input devices such as a virtual keypad on a display, through which a user may interface with a network entity. In some example implementations, all or a portion of the location server 1000 may take the form of a chipset or the like. The external interface 1010 may be a wired or wireless interface capable of connecting to other base stations in the RAN or network entity, such as, for example, the location server 172 shown in FIG. 1.

[0162]

[0156] The one or more processors 1002 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1002 may be configured to perform the functions described herein by implementing one or more instructions or program codes 1008 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 1020 and / or the memory 1004. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 1002 may represent one or more circuits that can be configured to perform at least a portion of a data signal computing procedure or process associated with the operation of the location server 1000.

[0163]

[0157] The medium 1020 and / or memory 1004 may store instructions or program code 1008, which includes executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 1002, cause the one or more processors 1002 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As shown in the location server 1000, the medium 1020 and / or memory 1004 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by the one or more processors 1002 to perform the methods described herein. Although the components or modules are shown as software in the medium 1020 that is executable by the one or more processors 1002, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in the memory 1004 or may be dedicated hardware either in the one or more processors 1002 or external to the processor.

[0164]

[0158] A number of software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 1020 and / or memory 1004 and be utilized by the one or more processors 1002 to manage both the communications and the functionality described herein. It should be appreciated that the organization of the contents of the medium 1020 and / or memory 1004 shown in the location server 1000 is only an example, and thus the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or structured in different ways depending on the implementation of the location server 1000.

[0165]

[0159] The medium 1020 and / or the memory 1004 may include a capabilities module 1022 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1002, configures the one or more processors 1002 to receive, via the external interface 1010, measurement capabilities for each positioning method for a UE.

[0166]

[0160] The medium 1020 and / or the memory 1004 may include an assistance data module 1024 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1002, configures the one or more processors 1002 to generate positioning assistance data based at least in part on the capabilities of the UE. The positioning assistance data may include information about one or more frequency layers, one or more TRPs, one or more PRS resource sets, and one or more PRS resources. The positioning assistance data may be based on measurement capabilities per positioning method and may provide a priority order of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, to be measured by the UE, or may indicate equal priority of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, to be measured by the UE. In some implementations, in addition, a priority of frequency layers or TRPs, or combinations thereof, may be provided. The prioritization may be indicated by, for example, listing PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or in some implementations, frequency layers or TRPs, or combinations thereof, in a priority order of measurements. The assistance data may include common PRS assistance data for all positioning methods and positioning method specific assistance data, where the positioning method specific assistance data may be indexed to the common PRS assistance data.

[0167]

[0161] The medium 1020 and / or the memory 1004 may include a transmit AD module 1026 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1002, configures the one or more processors 1002 to transmit positioning assistance data to the UE 104 via the external interface 1010.

[0168]

[0162] The medium 1020 and / or the memory 1004 may include a location information receiving module 1028 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1002, configures the one or more processors 1002 to receive, via the external interface 1010, location information from the UE 104 and / or TRPs associated with PRS measurements for DL ​​PRS and UL PRS measured using an order of priority, or SRS for positioning, if used, and / or a position estimate determined by the UE.

[0169]

[0163] The medium 1020 and / or the memory 1004 may include a position determination module 1030 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 1002, configures the one or more processors 1002 to determine a position estimate based on position measurements and received location information from the UE and TRP (if present).

[0170]

[0164] The methods described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, these methods may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. In the case of hardware implementation, the one or more processors 1002 may be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or combinations thereof.

[0171]

[0165] In the case of a firmware and / or software implementation, the method may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing the methods described herein. For example, software code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1020 or memory 1004 coupled to and executed by the one or more processors 1002. The memory may be implemented within the one or more processors or external to the one or more processors. The term "memory" as used herein may refer to any type of long-term memory, short-term memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or other memory, and should not be limited to any particular type or number of memories, or the type of medium on which the memory is stored.

[0172]

[0166] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 1008 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the medium 1020 and / or the memory 1004. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with data structures and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program 1008. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium including stored program code 1008 may include program code 1008 for supporting positioning using per-method assistance data prioritization in a manner according to the disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer-readable medium 1020 includes physical computer storage media. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer readable media may 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 store desired program code 1008 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, where disk and disc as used herein 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 with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

[0173]

[0167] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 1020, the instructions and / or data may be provided as signals on a transmission medium contained in a communication device. For example, the communication device may include an external interface 1010 having signals indicative of instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium with signals indicative of information to perform the disclosed functions.

[0174]

[0168] The memory 1004 may represent any data storage mechanism. The memory 1004 may include, for example, a primary memory and / or a secondary memory. The primary memory may include, for example, a random access memory, a read-only memory, etc. Although shown in this example as being separate from the one or more processors 1002, it should be understood that all or a portion of the primary memory may be provided within the one or more processors 1002 or may possibly be co-located / coupled with the one or more processors 1002. The secondary memory may include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as the primary memory, and / or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as, for example, a disk drive, an optical disk drive, a tape drive, a solid-state memory drive, etc.

[0175]

[0169] In some implementations, the secondary memory may be operatively receptive to, or in some cases configurable to couple to, a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1020. Thus, in some exemplary implementations, the methods and / or apparatuses presented herein may take the form, in whole or in part, of a computer-readable medium 1020, which may include computer-implementable code 1008 stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors 1002, may be operatively enabled to perform all or a portion of the exemplary operations described herein. The computer-readable medium 1020 may be part of the memory 1004.

[0176]

[0170] In one implementation, a location server such as location server 1000 may be configured to support position determination of a user equipment (UE) and may include means for receiving measurement capabilities per positioning method from the UE, the means for receiving measurement capabilities may be, for example, an external interface 1010 and one or more processors 1002 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1004 and / or medium 1020, such as a capabilities module 1022. Means for generating positioning assistance data per positioning method including information about positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and PRS resources configured based on the measurement capabilities per positioning method to provide a priority order of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, to be measured by the UE, or to indicate equal priority of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, to be measured by the UE, may be, for example, one or more processors 1002 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 1004 and / or medium 1020, such as an assistance data module 1024. The means for transmitting positioning assistance data per positioning method to the UE may be, for example, the external interface 1010 and one or more processors 1002 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1004 and / or the medium 1020, such as a transmit AD module 1026. The means for receiving measurement information from the UE based on PRS measurements, from which a position fix for the UE is determined by the location server, may be, for example, the external interface 1010 and one or more processors 1002 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in the memory 1004 and / or the medium 1020, such as a location information receiving module 1028 and a position determining module 1030.

[0177]

[0171] Throughout this specification, references to "one example," "an example," "some examples," or "exemplary implementations" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with a feature and / or example may be included in at least one feature and / or example of the claimed subject matter. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one example," "in an example," "some examples," or "in an implementation" or other similar phrases in various places throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same features, examples, and / or limitations. Moreover, those particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in one or more examples and / or characteristics.

[0178]

[0172] Some parts of the detailed description contained herein are presented in terms of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on binary digital signals stored in a memory of a specific apparatus or a dedicated computing device or platform. In the context of this particular specification, the term specific apparatus or the like includes a general-purpose computer after being programmed to perform a particular operation according to instructions from a program software. Descriptions or symbolic representations of algorithms are examples of techniques used by those skilled in the art of signal processing or related art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is considered herein, and generally, to be a self-consistent sequence of operations or similar signal processing that produces a desired result. In this context, operations or processing involve physical manipulations of physical quantities. Generally, although not necessarily, such quantities can take the form of electrical or magnetic signals that can be stored, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, primarily for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, data, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, numerals, or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise expressly indicated, and as will be apparent from the description herein, it should be appreciated that throughout this specification, descriptions utilizing terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," and the like refer to operations or processes of a particular apparatus, such as a special purpose computer, a special purpose computing apparatus, or a similar special purpose electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a special purpose computer or a similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, typically represented as electronic or magnetic physical quantities, in memories, registers, or other information storage, transmission, or display devices of the special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device.

[0179]

[0173] In the above detailed description, numerous specific details have been described to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the claimed subject matter can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods and apparatuses that would be known to those skilled in the art have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the claimed subject matter.

[0180]

[0174] The terms "and", "or" and "and / or" as used herein may include various meanings that are also expected to depend at least in part on the context in which such terms are used. In general, when "or" is used to relate a list such as A, B or C, it is intended to mean A, B and C, which is used herein in an inclusive sense, as well as A, B or C, which is used herein in an exclusive sense. Furthermore, the term "one or more" as used herein may be used to describe any feature, structure or characteristic in the singular, or may be used to describe a plurality of features, structures or characteristics, or some other combination of features, structures or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and that the claimed subject matter is not limited to this example.

[0181]

[0175] While what are presently believed to be exemplary features have been illustrated and described, those skilled in the art will recognize that various other modifications may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the claimed subject matter. Additionally, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation to the teachings of the claimed subject matter without departing from the central concept described herein.

[0182]

[0176] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0183] 1. A method for determining a location of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and one or more PRS resources; determining a priority ordering for the PRS signals to be measured based at least on a priority ordering of one or more of the information for the PRS resource set or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, in the positioning assistance data, or giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource set or PRS resources, or combinations thereof; determining a PRS measurement for the PRS signal based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signal; Equipped with

[0181] A method wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on PRS measurements.

[0184]

[0182] 2. The method of clause 1, further comprising reporting measurement information based on the PRS measurements to an entity within the wireless network, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the entity within the wireless network.

[0185]

[0183] 3. The method of clause 1, wherein the position fix for the UE is determined by the UE.

[0186]

[0184] 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the positioning assistance data is radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method specific.

[0187]

[0185] 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT).

[0188]

[0186] 6. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises an index into a set of common PRS assistance data.

[0189]

[0187] 7. A method according to any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein for each positioning method, the information for one or more PRS resource sets of a transmission point (TRP) in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0190]

[0188] 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more TRPs, wherein for each positioning method, the information further lists the frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists the TRPs in each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0191]

[0189] 9. A method according to any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein for each positioning method, the information for one or more PRS resources of the PRS resource set in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in a priority order for measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0192]

[0190] 10. The positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more transmission points (TRPs), and the method further comprises:

[0191] Reporting to an entity in a wireless network one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method Further equipped with

[0192] A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 9, wherein the information for the frequency layer, TRP, PRS resource set, and PRS resource in the positioning assistance data is configured based on one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method.

[0193]

[0193] 11. The method of clause 10, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for PRS measurements comprises prioritizing the first PRS resource set listed in the information for the PRS resource set.

[0194]

[0194] 12. The method of clause 10, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per PRS resource set, and wherein determining a prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing the first PRS resource listed in the information for the PRS resources.

[0195]

[0195] 13. The method of clause 10, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and PRS resource sets, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on frequency layer, then TRP, then PRS resource set, then PRS resources, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

[0196]

[0196] 14. The method of clause 10, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of TRPs across all frequency layers, and wherein determining the prioritization for PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before a second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer, or prioritizing a first TRP from each frequency layer then a second TRP from each frequency layer.

[0197]

[0197] 15. The method of clause 10, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on the TRP, then the PRS resource set, then the PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

[0198]

[0198] 16. A user equipment (UE) in a wireless network configured to support position determination, comprising:

[0199] a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate within a wireless network;

[0200] At least one memory;

[0201] at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and to at least one memory; wherein at least one processor comprises:

[0202] receiving positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and one or more PRS resources;

[0203] determining a priority order for the PRS signals to be measured based at least on a priority ordering of one or more of the information for the PRS resource set or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, in the positioning assistance data, or giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource set or PRS resources, or combinations thereof;

[0204] determining a PRS measurement for the PRS signal based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signal;

[0023]

[0205] User Equipment (UE), where a position fix for the UE is determined based on PRS measurements.

[0199]

[0206] 17. The UE of clause 16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to report measurement information to an entity within the wireless network based on the PRS measurements, and wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the entity within the wireless network.

[0200]

[0207] 18. A UE as recited in clause 16, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the UE.

[0201]

[0208] 19. The UE of any of clauses 16 to 18, wherein the positioning assistance data is radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method specific.

[0202]

[0209] 20. The UE of any of clauses 16 to 19, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT).

[0203]

[0210] 21. The UE of any of clauses 16 to 20, wherein the positioning method specific positioning assistance data comprises an index into a set of common PRS assistance data.

[0204]

[0211] 22. A UE as described in any of clauses 16 to 21, wherein for each positioning method, the information for one or more PRS resource sets of a transmission point (TRP) in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0205]

[0212] 23. The UE of clause 22, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more TRPs, and wherein, for each positioning method, the information further lists frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists TRPs within each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0206]

[0213] 24. A UE as described in any of clauses 16 to 23, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for one or more PRS resources of the PRS resource set in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in a priority order for measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0207]

[0214] 25. The positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more transmission points (TRPs), wherein the at least one processor:

[0215] Reporting to an entity in a wireless network one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method

[0023] 20. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

[0216] 25. The UE of any of clauses 16 to 24, wherein the information for the frequency layer, the TRP, the PRS resource set, and the PRS resource in the positioning assistance data is configured based on one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method.

[0208]

[0217] 26. The UE of clause 25, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer, and wherein determining a prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource set listed in the information for the PRS resource set.

[0209]

[0218] 27. The UE of clause 25, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per PRS resource set, and wherein determining a prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource listed in the information for the PRS resources.

[0210]

[0219] 28. The UE of clause 25, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and PRS resource sets, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on frequency layer, then TRP, then PRS resource set, then PRS resources, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

[0211]

[0220] 29. The UE of clause 25, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of TRPs across all frequency layers, and wherein determining the prioritization for PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before a second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer, or prioritizing a first TRP from each frequency layer then a second TRP from each frequency layer.

[0212]

[0221] 30. The UE of clause 25, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on a TRP, then a PRS resource set, then a PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

[0213]

[0222] 31. A user equipment (UE) in a wireless network configured to support position determination, comprising:

[0223] means for receiving positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and one or more PRS resources;

[0224] means for determining a priority order for which PRS signals are measured based at least on a priority ordering of one or more of the information for the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, in the positioning assistance data, or for giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof;

[0225] means for determining a PRS measurement for the PRS signal based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signal; Equipped with

[0226] User Equipment (UE), where a position fix for the UE is determined based on PRS measurements.

[0214]

[0227] 32. The UE of clause 31, further comprising means for reporting measurement information based on the PRS measurements to an entity within the wireless network, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by an entity within the wireless network.

[0215]

[0228] 33. A UE as recited in clause 31, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the UE.

[0216]

[0229] 34. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 33, wherein the positioning assistance data is radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method specific.

[0217]

[0230] 35. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 34, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT).

[0218]

[0231] 36. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 35, wherein the positioning method specific positioning assistance data comprises an index into a set of common PRS assistance data.

[0219]

[0232] 37. A UE as described in any of clauses 31 to 36, wherein for each positioning method, the information for one or more PRS resource sets of a transmission point (TRP) in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0220]

[0233] 38. The UE of clause 37, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more TRPs, and wherein, for each positioning method, the information further lists the frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists the TRPs within each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0221]

[0234] 39. A UE as described in any of clauses 31 to 38, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for one or more PRS resources of the PRS resource set in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in a priority order for measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0222]

[0235] 40. The positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more transmission points (TRPs), and the UE:

[0236] Means for reporting to an entity in a wireless network one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method. Further equipped with

[0237] 40. The UE of any of clauses 31 to 39, wherein the information for the frequency layer, the TRP, the PRS resource set, and the PRS resource in the positioning assistance data is configured based on one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method.

[0223]

[0238] 41. The UE of clause 40, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer, and wherein determining a prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource set listed in the information for the PRS resource set.

[0224]

[0239] 42. The UE of clause 40, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per PRS resource set, and wherein determining a prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource listed in the information for the PRS resources.

[0225]

[0240] 43. The UE of clause 40, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and PRS resource sets, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on frequency layer, then TRP, then PRS resource set, then PRS resources, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

[0226]

[0241] 44. The UE of clause 40, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of TRPs across all frequency layers, and wherein determining the prioritization for PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before a second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer, or prioritizing a first TRP from each frequency layer then a second TRP from each frequency layer.

[0227]

[0242] 45. The UE of clause 40, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on a TRP, then a PRS resource set, then a PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

[0228]

[0243] 46. ​​A non-transitory storage medium having program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network configured to support position determination of the UE;

[0244] program code for receiving positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and information for one or more PRS resources;

[0245] and program code for determining a priority order for which PRS signals are measured based at least on a priority ordering of one or more of the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof, in the positioning assistance data, or for giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or combinations thereof;

[0246] program code for determining a PRS measurement of the PRS signal based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signal; Equipped with

[0247] A non-transitory storage medium, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on PRS measurements.

[0229]

[0248] 47. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 46, further comprising program code for reporting measurement information based on the PRS measurements to an entity within the wireless network, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by an entity within the wireless network.

[0230]

[0249] 48. A non-transitory storage medium as recited in clause 46, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the UE.

[0231]

[0250] 49. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 46 to 48, wherein the positioning assistance data is radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method specific.

[0232]

[0251] 50. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 46 to 49, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT).

[0233]

[0252] 51. A non-transitory storage medium according to any of clauses 46 to 50, wherein the positioning method specific positioning assistance data comprises an index into a set of common PRS assistance data.

[0234]

[0253] 52. A non-transitory storage medium according to any of clauses 46 to 51, wherein for each positioning method, the information for one or more PRS resource sets of a transmission point (TRP) in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in a priority order for measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0235]

[0254] 53. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 52, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more TRPs, and wherein, for each positioning method, the information further lists frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists TRPs within each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0236]

[0255] 54. A non-transitory storage medium according to any of clauses 46 to 53, wherein for each positioning method, the information for one or more PRS resources of the PRS resource set in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in a priority order for measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0237]

[0256] 55. The positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more transmission points (TRPs), and the non-transitory storage medium further comprises:

[0257] program code for reporting to an entity in a wireless network one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method; Further equipped with

[0258] 55. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 46 to 54, wherein the information for the frequency layer, the TRP, the PRS resource set, and the PRS resource in the positioning assistance data is configured based on one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method.

[0238]

[0259] 56. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 55, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer, and wherein determining a prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource set listed in the information for the PRS resource sets.

[0239]

[0260] 57. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 55, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per PRS resource set, and wherein determining a prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource listed in the information for the PRS resources.

[0240]

[0261] 58. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 55, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and PRS resource sets, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on frequency layer, then TRP, then PRS resource set, then PRS resources, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

[0241]

[0262] 59. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 55, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of TRPs across all frequency layers, and wherein determining the prioritization for PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before a second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer, or prioritizing a first TRP from each frequency layer then a second TRP from each frequency layer.

[0242]

[0263] 60. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 55, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on the TRP, then the PRS resource set, then the PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

[0243]

[0264] 61. A method for determining a position of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, the method being performed by a location server in the wireless network, comprising:

[0265] receiving, from the UE, measurement capabilities for each positioning method;

[0266] generating positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and PRS resources configured based on measurement capabilities for each positioning method to provide a priority order of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, to be measured by the UE, or to indicate equal priority of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, to be measured by the UE;

[0267] transmitting positioning assistance data for each positioning method to the UE; Equipped with

[0268] A method, wherein a position fix for a UE is determined based on PRS measurements performed by the UE using an order of priority.

[0244]

[0269] 62. The method of clause 61, further comprising receiving measurement information from the UE based on the PRS measurements, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the location server.

[0245]

[0270] 63. The method of clause 61, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the UE.

[0246]

[0271] 64. The method of any of clauses 61 to 63, wherein the positioning assistance data is radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method specific.

[0247]

[0272] 65. The method of any of clauses 61 to 64, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT).

[0248]

[0273] 66. The method of any of clauses 61-65, further comprising transmitting a set of common PRS assistance data, wherein the per-positioning method positioning assistance data comprises an index into the set of common PRS assistance data.

[0249]

[0274] 67. The method according to any of clauses 61 to 66, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for PRS resource sets in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in an order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0250]

[0275] 68. The method of clause 67, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for frequency layers and transmission points (TRPs), and wherein, for each positioning method, the information further lists frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists TRPs within each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0251]

[0276] 69. The method of any of clauses 61 to 68, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for PRS resources in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in an order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0252]

[0277] 70. A location server configured to support position determination of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, comprising:

[0278] an external interface configured to communicate with entities in a wireless network;

[0279] At least one memory;

[0280] at least one processor coupled to an external interface and to at least one memory; wherein at least one processor comprises:

[0281] receiving, from the UE, measurement capabilities for each positioning method;

[0282] generating positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and PRS resources configured based on measurement capabilities for each positioning method to provide a priority order of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, to be measured by the UE, or to indicate equal priority of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, to be measured by the UE;

[0283] transmitting positioning assistance data for each positioning method to the UE; configured to:

[0284] A location server, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on PRS measurements performed by the UE using an order of priority.

[0253]

[0285] 71. The location server of clause 70, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive measurement information from the UE based on the PRS measurements, and wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the location server.

[0254]

[0286] 72. The location server of clause 70, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the UE.

[0255]

[0287] 73. The location server of any of clauses 70 to 72, wherein the positioning assistance data is radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method specific.

[0256]

[0288] 74. The location server of any of clauses 70 to 73, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT).

[0257]

[0289] 75. The location server of any of clauses 70-74, further comprising transmitting a set of common PRS assistance data, wherein the per-positioning method positioning assistance data comprises an index into the set of common PRS assistance data.

[0258]

[0290] 76. A location server according to any of clauses 70 to 75, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for PRS resource sets in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in an order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0259]

[0291] 77. The location server of clause 76, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for frequency layers and transmission points (TRPs), and wherein, for each positioning method, the information further lists frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists TRPs within each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0260]

[0292] 78. A location server according to any of clauses 70 to 77, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for PRS resources in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in an order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0261]

[0293] 79. A location server configured to support position determination of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, comprising:

[0294] means for receiving, from the UE, measurement capabilities for each positioning method;

[0295] means for generating positioning assistance data per positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and PRS resources configured based on measurement capabilities per positioning method to provide a priority order of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, to be measured by the UE, or to indicate equal priority of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, to be measured by the UE;

[0296] a means for transmitting positioning assistance data for each positioning method to the UE; Equipped with

[0297] A location server, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on PRS measurements performed by the UE using an order of priority.

[0262]

[0298] 80. The location server of clause 79, further comprising means for receiving measurement information from the UE based on the PRS measurements, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the location server.

[0263]

[0299] 81. The location server of clause 79, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the UE.

[0264]

[0300] 82. The location server of any of clauses 79 to 81, wherein the positioning assistance data is radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method specific.

[0265]

[0301] 83. The location server of any of clauses 79 to 82, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT).

[0266]

[0302] 84. The location server of any of clauses 79-83, further comprising transmitting a set of common PRS assistance data, wherein the per-positioning method positioning assistance data comprises an index into the set of common PRS assistance data.

[0267]

[0303] 85. A location server according to any of clauses 79 to 84, wherein for each positioning method, the information for PRS resource sets in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in an order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0268]

[0304] 86. The location server of clause 85, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for frequency layers and transmission points (TRPs), and wherein, for each positioning method, the information further lists frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists TRPs within each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0269]

[0305] 87. A location server according to any of clauses 79 to 86, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for PRS resources in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in an order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0270]

[0306] 88. A non-transitory storage medium having program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in a location server configured to support position determination of a user equipment (UE);

[0307] program code for receiving, from the UE, measurement capabilities for each positioning method;

[0308] program code for generating positioning assistance data per positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and PRS resources configured based on measurement capabilities per positioning method to provide a priority order of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, to be measured by the UE, or to indicate equal priority of PRS resource sets or PRS resources, or a combination thereof, to be measured by the UE;

[0309] a program code for transmitting positioning assistance data for each positioning method to a UE; Equipped with

[0310] A non-transitory storage medium, wherein a position fix for a UE is determined based on PRS measurements performed by the UE using an order of priority.

[0271]

[0311] 89. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 88, further comprising program code for receiving measurement information from the UE based on the PRS measurements, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the location server.

[0272]

[0312] 90. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 88, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined by the UE.

[0273]

[0313] 91. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 88 to 90, wherein the positioning assistance data is radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method specific.

[0274]

[0314] 92. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 88 to 91, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT).

[0275]

[0315] 93. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 88-92, further comprising transmitting a set of common PRS assistance data, wherein the per-positioning-method positioning assistance data comprises an index into the set of common PRS assistance data.

[0276]

[0316] 94. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 88 to 93, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for PRS resource sets in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in an order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0277]

[0317] 95. The non-transitory storage medium of clause 94, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for frequency layers and transmission points (TRPs), and wherein, for each positioning method, the information further lists frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists TRPs within each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0278]

[0318] 96. The non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 88 to 95, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for PRS resources in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in an order of measurements to be performed by the UE.

[0279]

[0319] It is therefore intended that the claimed subject matter not be limited to the particular examples disclosed, but that such claimed subject matter also include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. The invention as described in the claims of the original application is set forth below. [C1] A method for determining a location of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, the method being performed by the UE, the method comprising: receiving positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and one or more PRS resources; determining a priority order for PRS signals to be measured based at least on a priority ordering of one or more of the information for the PRS resource set or the PRS resources, or a combination thereof in the positioning assistance data, or giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource set or the PRS resources, or a combination thereof; determining PRS measurements for the PRS signals based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signals; and Equipped with 4. The method of claim 3, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements. [C2] The method of C1, further comprising reporting measurement information based on the PRS measurements to an entity within the wireless network, wherein the position fix for the UE is determined by the entity within the wireless network. [C3] The method of C1, wherein the position fix for the UE is determined by the UE. [C4] The method of claim C1, wherein the positioning assistance data is radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method specific. [C5] The method of C1, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT). [C6] The method of claim C1, wherein the per-positioning-method positioning assistance data comprises an index into a set of common PRS assistance data. [C7] The method described in C1, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for the one or more PRS resource sets of transmission points (TRPs) in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE. [C8] The method of C7, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more TRPs, and wherein, for each positioning method, the information further lists the frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists the TRPs in each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof. [C9] The method of C1, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for the one or more PRS resources of a PRS resource set in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE. [C10] The positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more transmission points (TRPs), and the method further comprises: reporting to an entity in said wireless network one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method; Further equipped with 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information for the frequency layer, the TRP, the PRS resource set, and the PRS resource in the positioning assistance data is configured based on one or more measurement capabilities for each of the positioning methods. [C11] The method of C10, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource set listed in the information for the PRS resource set. [C12] The method of C10, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per PRS resource set, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource listed in the information for the PRS resources. [C13] The method of C10, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and PRS resource sets, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on a frequency layer, then a TRP, then a PRS resource set, then a PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP. [C14] The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of TRPs across all frequency layers, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before a second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer, or prioritizing a first TRP from each frequency layer then a second TRP from each frequency layer. [C15] The method of C10, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on a TRP, then a PRS resource set, then a PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP. [C16] A user equipment (UE) in a wireless network configured to support position determination, comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate within the wireless network; At least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory; wherein the at least one processor comprises: receiving positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and one or more PRS resources; determining a priority order for PRS signals to be measured based at least on a priority ordering of one or more of the information for the PRS resource set or the PRS resources, or a combination thereof in the positioning assistance data, or giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource set or the PRS resources, or a combination thereof; determining PRS measurements for the PRS signals based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signals; and configured to: A user equipment (UE), wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements. [C17] The UE described in C16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to report measurement information to an entity within the wireless network based on the PRS measurements, wherein the position fix for the UE is determined by the entity within the wireless network. [C18] The UE of C16, wherein the position fix for the UE is determined by the UE. [C19] The UE according to C16, wherein the positioning assistance data is per radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method. [C20] The UE of C16, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT). [C21] The UE of C16, wherein the per-positioning-method positioning assistance data comprises an index to a set of common PRS assistance data. [C22] A UE as described in C16, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for the one or more PRS resource sets of transmission points (TRPs) in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE. [C23] The UE of C22, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more TRPs, wherein for each positioning method, the information further lists the frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists the TRPs within each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof. [C24] A UE as described in C16, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for the one or more PRS resources of a PRS resource set in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE. [C25] The positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more transmission points (TRPs), wherein the at least one processor: reporting to an entity in said wireless network one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method;

[0023] 20. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: wherein the information for the frequency layer, the TRP, the PRS resource set, and the PRS resource in the positioning assistance data is configured based on one or more measurement capabilities for each of the positioning methods. [C26] The UE of C25, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource set listed in the information for the PRS resource set. [C27] The UE described in C25, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per PRS resource set, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource listed in the information for the PRS resources. [C28] The UE of C25, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and PRS resource sets, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on a frequency layer, then a TRP, then a PRS resource set, then a PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP. [C29] The UE of C25, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of TRPs across all frequency layers, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before a second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer, or prioritizing a first TRP from each frequency layer then a second TRP from each frequency layer. [C30] The UE of C25, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on a TRP, then a PRS resource set, then a PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP. [C31] A user equipment (UE) in a wireless network configured to support position determination, comprising: means for receiving positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and one or more PRS resources; means for determining a priority order for PRS signals to be measured based at least on a priority ordering of one or more of the information for the PRS resource set or the PRS resources, or a combination thereof, in the positioning assistance data, or for giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource set or the PRS resources, or a combination thereof; means for determining a PRS measurement for the PRS signal based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signal; Equipped with A user equipment (UE), wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements. [C32] The UE of C31, further comprising means for reporting measurement information based on the PRS measurements to an entity within the wireless network, wherein the position fix for the UE is determined by the entity within the wireless network. [C33] The UE of C31, wherein the position fix for the UE is determined by the UE. [C34] The UE described in C31, wherein the positioning assistance data is per radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method. [C35] The UE of C31, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT). [C36] The UE of C31, wherein the per-positioning-method positioning assistance data comprises an index to a set of common PRS assistance data. [C37] A UE as described in C31, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for the one or more PRS resource sets of transmission points (TRPs) in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE. [C38] The UE of C37, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more TRPs, and wherein, for each positioning method, the information further lists the frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists the TRPs in each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof. [C39] A UE as described in C31, wherein, for each positioning method, the information for the one or more PRS resources of a PRS resource set in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE. [C40] The positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more transmission points (TRPs), and the UE: means for reporting to an entity in the wireless network one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method; Further equipped with wherein the information for the frequency layer, the TRP, the PRS resource set, and the PRS resource in the positioning assistance data is configured based on one or more measurement capabilities for each of the positioning methods. [C41] The UE of C40, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource set listed in the information for the PRS resource set. [C42] The UE of C40, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per PRS resource set, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource listed in the information for the PRS resources. [C43] The UE of C40, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and PRS resource sets, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on a frequency layer, then a TRP, then a PRS resource set, then a PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP. [C44] The UE of C40, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of TRPs across all frequency layers, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before a second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer, or prioritizing a first TRP from each frequency layer then a second TRP from each frequency layer. [C45] The UE of C40, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on a TRP, then a PRS resource set, then a PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP. [C46] A non-transitory storage medium having program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network configured to support position determination of the UE; program code for receiving positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets and one or more PRS resources; and program code for determining a priority order for PRS signals to be measured based at least on a priority ordering of one or more of the PRS resource set or the information for the PRS resources, or a combination thereof, in the positioning assistance data, or for giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource set or the PRS resources, or a combination thereof; program code for determining PRS measurements for the PRS signals based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signals; Equipped with wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements. [C47] The non-transitory storage medium of C46, ​​further comprising program code for reporting measurement information based on the PRS measurements to an entity within the wireless network, wherein the position fix for the UE is determined by the entity within the wireless network. [C48] The non-transitory storage medium of C46, ​​wherein the position fix for the UE is determined by the UE. [C49] The non-transitory storage medium of C46, ​​wherein the positioning assistance data is per radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method. [C50] The non-transitory storage medium of C46, ​​wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for angle of departure (AOD), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT). [C51] The non-transitory storage medium of C46, ​​wherein the positioning method specific positioning assistance data comprises an index to a set of common PRS assistance data. [C52] A non-transitory storage medium as described in C46, ​​wherein, for each positioning method, the information for the one or more PRS resource sets of transmission points (TRPs) in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE. [C53] The non-transitory storage medium of C52, wherein the positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more TRPs, wherein for each positioning method, the information further lists the frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists the TRPs in each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof. [C54] A non-transitory storage medium as described in C46, ​​wherein, for each positioning method, the information for the one or more PRS resources of a PRS resource set in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE. [C55] The positioning assistance data further comprises information for one or more frequency layers and one or more transmission points (TRPs), and the non-transitory storage medium further comprises: program code for reporting to an entity in the wireless network one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method; Further equipped with wherein the information for the frequency layer, the TRP, the PRS resource set, and the PRS resource in the positioning assistance data is configured based on one or more measurement capabilities for each of the positioning methods. [C56] The non-transitory storage medium of C55, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource set listed in the information for the PRS resource set. [C57] The non-transitory storage medium of C55, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per PRS resource set, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource listed in the information for the PRS resources. [C58] The non-transitory storage medium of C55, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and PRS resource sets, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on frequency layer, then TRP, then PRS resource set, then PRS resources, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP. [C59] The non-transitory storage medium of C55, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of TRPs across all frequency layers, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before a second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer, or prioritizing a first TRP from each frequency layer then a second TRP from each frequency layer. [C60] The non-transitory storage medium of C55, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of prioritizing based on a TRP, then a PRS resource set, then a PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

Claims

1. 1. A method for determining a location of a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless network, performed by the UE, comprising: reporting one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method to an entity in the wireless network; receiving positioning assistance data for each positioning method, the positioning assistance data comprising information for one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets, one or more PRS resources, one or more frequency layers, and one or more transmission points (TRPs); determining a priority for PRS signals to be measured based at least on one or more priority orderings of the PRS resource set, the PRS resource, the one or more frequency layers, or the information for the one or more TRPs, or a combination thereof in the positioning assistance data, or giving equal priority to one or more of the PRS resource set or the PRS resource, or a combination thereof, wherein the information for the frequency layers, the TRPs, the PRS resource set, and the PRS resource in the positioning assistance data is configured based on one or more measurement capabilities for each of the reported positioning methods. determining PRS measurements for the PRS signals based at least on the prioritization for the PRS signals; and Equipped with 4. The method of claim 3, wherein a position fix for the UE is determined based on the PRS measurements.

2. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising reporting measurement information based on the PRS measurements to an entity within the wireless network, wherein the position fix for the UE is determined by the entity within the wireless network.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the position fix for the UE is determined by the UE.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the positioning assistance data is radio access technology (RAT) dependent positioning method specific.

5. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning method-specific positioning assistance data comprises separate positioning assistance data for Angle of Departure (AOD), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), and Multi-cell Round Trip Time (M-RTT).

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the per-positioning-method positioning assistance data comprises an index into a set of common PRS assistance data.

7. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein for each positioning method, the information for the one or more PRS resource sets of a transmission point (TRP) in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resource sets in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, and optionally the information further lists the frequency layers in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or lists the TRPs in each frequency layer in a priority order of measurements to be performed by the UE, or a combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein, for each positioning method, the information for the one or more PRS resources in the positioning assistance data lists the PRS resources in a priority order for measurements to be performed by the UE.

9. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resource sets per TRP per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource set listed in the information for the PRS resource set.

10. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per PRS resource set, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first PRS resource listed in the information for the PRS resource set.

11. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources across all frequency layers, TRPs, and PRS resource sets, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of: prioritizing based on a frequency layer, then a TRP, then a PRS resource set, then a PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

12. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities for each positioning method indicate a maximum number of TRPs across all frequency layers, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises prioritizing a first frequency layer and all TRPs in the first frequency layer before a second frequency layer and all TRPs in the second frequency layer, or prioritizing a first TRP from each frequency layer and then a second TRP from each frequency layer.

13. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more measurement capabilities per positioning method indicate a maximum number of PRS resources per frequency layer, and wherein determining the prioritization for the PRS measurements comprises one of: prioritizing based on TRP, then PRS resource set, then PRS resource, or prioritizing a first PRS resource set from each TRP, then a second PRS resource set from each TRP.

14. 1. A user equipment (UE) in a wireless network configured to support position determination, comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate within the wireless network; At least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory; 14. A User Equipment (UE) comprising:

15. 14. A non-transitory storage medium having program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network configured to support UE position determination, the non-transitory storage medium comprising program code to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 13.

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