UE UL Tx Timing Quality Reporting for UL or DL-UL Based Positioning Methods in Case of NR Positioning

Abstract

Techniques described herein provide for mobile devices to communicate timing quality metrics related to uplink (UL) and / or downlink-uplink (DL-UL) signals for positioning techniques. The timing quality metrics may indicate the accuracy of the transmission timing of one or more reference signals (e.g., with respect to downlink (DL) signals or other UL reference signals) and may be communicated using indexed and / or enumerated values. This information may be included as information elements (IEs) in reports provided by mobile devices to a receiving network entity or location server.

Description

Priority claims

[0001] Related Applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Greek Application No. 20210100008, entitled "Reporting UE UL Tx Timing Quality for UL or DL-UL Based Position Methods for NR Positioning," filed on January 7, 2021, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. [Technical Field]

[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to determining the location of mobile devices using radio frequency (RF) signals. [Background technology]

[0003]

[0003] In a data communication network, various positioning techniques may be used to determine the position of a mobile device (referred to herein as user equipment (UE)). These techniques include uplink (UL) techniques and downlink-uplink (DL-UL) techniques, in which a mobile device transmits one or more UL reference signals that are received by a network entity (e.g., a base station of a data communication network). To ensure the accuracy of a mobile device's position determination based on one or more reference signals, factors that may affect the timing of the transmission of the one or more reference signals, such as clock drift and timing advance (TA) adjustments at the mobile device, may be taken into account. Summary of the Invention

[0004]

[0004] Embodiments described herein enable a mobile device to communicate timing quality metrics related to uplink signals for UL and / or DL-UL positioning techniques. The timing quality metrics may indicate the accuracy of the transmission timing of one or more reference signals (e.g., with respect to downlink (DL) signals or other UL reference signals) and may be communicated using indexed and / or enumerated values. This information may be included as an information element (IE) in a message provided by the mobile device to a receiving network entity or location server.

[0005] An exemplary method for communicating a timing quality metric for a wireless reference signal transmitted by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communications network and used for positioning the UE according to the present disclosure comprises receiving, at the UE, a configuration for transmitting the wireless reference signal, the configuration indicating a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. The method also comprises determining, by the UE, a timing quality metric based on the time period in response to receiving the configuration at the UE, the timing quality metric indicating accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. The method also comprises sending, from the UE to a network entity, a message that may include the timing quality metric, and transmitting, by the UE, the wireless reference signal.

[0006] An exemplary UE according to the present disclosure includes a wireless communication interface, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the wireless communication interface and the memory. The one or more processors are configured to receive, via the wireless communication interface, a configuration for transmitting a wireless reference signal, the configuration indicating a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. The one or more processors are also configured, in response to receiving the configuration at the UE, to determine a timing quality metric based on the time period, the timing quality metric indicating accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. The one or more processors are also configured to send, via the wireless communication interface, a message to a network entity that may include the timing quality metric, and to transmit the wireless reference signal via the wireless communication interface.

[0007] An exemplary device according to the present disclosure includes means for receiving at the device a configuration for transmitting a wireless reference signal, the configuration indicating a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. The device also includes means for determining a timing quality metric based on the time period in response to receiving the configuration at the device, the timing quality metric indicating accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. The device also includes means for sending a message from the device to a network entity, the message may include the timing quality metric, and means for transmitting the wireless reference signal by the device.

[0008] An exemplary non-transitory computer-readable medium according to the present disclosure stores instructions for communicating a timing quality metric for a wireless reference signal transmitted by a UE in a wireless communications network and used for positioning the UE. The instructions include code for receiving, at the UE, a configuration for transmitting the wireless reference signal, the configuration indicating a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. The instructions also include code for determining, by the UE, a timing quality metric based on the time period in response to receiving the configuration at the UE, the timing quality metric indicating accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. The instructions also include code for sending, from the UE to a network entity, a message that may include the timing quality metric, and code for transmitting, by the UE, the wireless reference signal.

[0009] This Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification, any or all drawings, and each claim of this disclosure. The above, along with other features and examples, are described in more detail below in the following specification, claims, and accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram of a positioning system, according to one embodiment. [Figure 2]

[0011] 5G New Radio (NR) positioning system diagram illustrating one embodiment of a positioning system implemented within a 5G NR communication system (e.g., the positioning system of FIG. 1). [Figure 3]

[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates round-trip signal propagation delay (RTT)-based positioning as an example of DL-UL positioning in which the techniques described herein may be used. [Figure 4A]

[0013] 4 is a graph illustrating an example of subframe timing between a UE and a base station. [Figure 4B] 4 is a graph illustrating an example of subframe timing between a UE and a base station. [Figure 5]

[0014] 1 is a flow diagram of communicating timing quality metrics for wireless reference signals transmitted by a UE and used for positioning the UE in a wireless communications network, according to one embodiment. [Figure 6]

[0015] 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a UE that can be utilized in the embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011]

[0016] The same reference numerals in various figures indicate the same elements, according to some exemplary implementations. Additionally, multiple instances of an element may be indicated by the element's first number followed by a letter or hyphen and a second number. For example, multiple instances of element 110 may be indicated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc., or as 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When referring to such an element using only the first number, it should be understood as any instance of the element (e.g., element 110 in the previous example would refer to elements 110-1, 110-2, and 110-3, or elements 110a, 110b, and 110c).

[0012]

[0017] The following description is directed to several implementations to describe innovative aspects of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in many different ways. The described implementations include systems utilizing 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, or further implementations thereof, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) IEEE 802.11 standard (including those identified as Wi-Fi technology), Bluetooth standard, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), GSM / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Terrestrial Based Radio (TETRA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, EV-DO Rev B, EV-DO Rev C, EV-DO Rev D, EV-DO Rev E, EV-DO Rev F, EV-DO Rev H, EV-DO Rev I ... B, may be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to any communications standard, such as High Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolved High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA+), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), or other known signals used to communicate within wireless, cellular, or Internet of Things (IoT) networks.

[0013]

[0018] As used herein, an "RF signal" comprises an electromagnetic wave that transports information through space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, the receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel. The same transmitted RF signal over multiple different paths between the transmitter and receiver is sometimes referred to as a "multipath" RF signal.

[0014]

[0019] 1 is a simplified diagram of a positioning system 100 according to one embodiment, in which a UE 105, a location server 160, and / or other components of the positioning system 100 can use techniques provided herein for communicating timing quality metrics in determining an estimated location of the UE 105. The techniques described herein can be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 can include a UE 105, one or more satellites 110 (also referred to as space vehicles (SVs)) for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), such as Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou, a base station 120, an access point (AP) 130, a location server 160, a network 170, and an external client 180. Generally speaking, the positioning system 100 can estimate the location of the UE 105 based on RF signals received by and / or transmitted from the UE 105 and the known locations of other components (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, base stations 120, APs 130) transmitting and / or receiving the RF signals. Further details regarding specific location estimation techniques are discussed in more detail with respect to FIG. 2.

[0015]

[0020] It should be noted that FIG. 1 provides only a generalized illustration of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be replicated as needed. In particular, while only one UE 105 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the positioning system 100. Similarly, the positioning system 100 may include a greater or lesser number of base stations 120 and / or APs 130 than those shown in FIG. 1. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the positioning system 100 comprise data and signaling connections that may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality. In some embodiments, for example, the external client 180 may be directly connected to the location server 160. Those skilled in the art will recognize many modifications to the illustrated components.

[0016]

[0021] Depending on the desired functionality, network 170 may comprise any of a variety of wireless and / or wireline networks. Network 170 may comprise, for example, any combination of public and / or private networks, local and / or wide area networks, etc. Furthermore, network 170 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, network 170 may comprise, for example, a cellular or other mobile network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), and / or the Internet. Examples of network 170 include a long-term evolution (LTE) wireless network, a fifth-generation (5G) wireless network (also referred to as a new radio (NR) wireless network or a 5G NR wireless network), a Wi-Fi WLAN, and the Internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or being defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Network 170 may also include two or more networks and / or two or more types of networks.

[0017]

[0022] The base stations 120 and access points (APs) 130 may be communicatively coupled to the network 170. In some embodiments, the base stations 120s may be owned, maintained, and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may employ any of a variety of wireless technologies, as described herein below. Depending on the technology of the network 170, the base stations 120 may comprise a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNode B or eNB), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station (RBS), an NR Node B (gNB), a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), etc. A base station 120 that is a gNB or ng-eNB may be part of a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN) that may connect to a 5G core network (5GC) if the network 170 is a 5G network. The APs 130 may comprise, for example, a Wi-Fi AP or a Bluetooth AP or an AP with cellular capabilities (e.g., 4G LTE and / or 5G NR). Thus, the UE 105 can send and receive information to and from network-connected devices, such as the location server 160, by accessing the network 170 via the base station 120 using the first communication link 133. Additionally or alternatively, the AP 130 may also be communicatively coupled to the network 170, so that the UE 105 may communicate with network- and internet-connected devices, including the location server 160, using the second communication link 135 or via one or more other UEs 145.

[0018]

[0023] The term “base station” as used herein may generally refer to a single physical transmission point or multiple co-located physical transmission points, which may be located at a base station 120. A transmit / receive point (TRP) (also known as a transmit / receive point) corresponds to this type of transmission point, and the term “TRP” may be used interchangeably with the terms “gNB,” “ng-eNB,” and “base station” herein. In some cases, a base station 120 may comprise multiple TRPs, e.g., each TRP associated with a different antenna or a different antenna array for the base station 120. A physical transmission point may comprise an array of antennas at the base station 120 (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and / or when the base station employs beamforming). The term “base station” may further refer to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, which 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).

[0019]

[0024] The term "cell," as used herein, may refer generally to a logical communication entity used for communication with base station 120 and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)) to distinguish between neighboring cells operating over the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), etc.) that may provide access to different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., a sector) of a geographic coverage area over which the logical entity operates.

[0020]

[0025] The location server 160 may comprise a server and / or other computing device configured to determine an estimated location of the UE 105 and / or provide data (e.g., “assistance data”) to the UE 105 to facilitate location measurements and / or location determination by the UE 105. According to some embodiments, the location server 160 may comprise a Home SUPL Location Platform (H-SLP), which may support the Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) user plane (UP) location solution defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and may support location services for the UE 105 based on subscription information of the UE 105 stored in the location server 160. In some embodiments, the location server 160 may comprise a Discovery SLP (D-SLP) or an Emergency SLP (E-SLP). The location server 160 may also comprise an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC), which supports the location of the UE 105 using a Control Plane (CP) location solution for LTE radio access by the UE 105. The location server 160 may further comprise a location management function (LMF) that supports the location of the UE 105 using a control plane (CP) location solution for NR or LTE radio access by the UE 105.

[0021]

[0026] In a CP location solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of the UE 105 may be exchanged between elements of the network 170 and with the UE 105 using existing network interfaces and protocols, and as signaling from the perspective of the network 170. In a UP location solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of the UE 105 may be exchanged between the location server 160 and the UE 105 as data from the perspective of the network 170 (e.g., data transported using Internet Protocol (IP) and / or Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)).

[0022]

[0027] As mentioned above (and discussed in more detail below), the estimated location of the UE 105 may be based on measurements of RF signals sent from and / or received by the UE 105. In particular, these measurements may provide information regarding the relative distance and / or angle of the UE 105 from one or more components (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, AP 130, base station 120) in the positioning system 100. The estimated location of the UE 105 may be estimated geometrically (e.g., using multi-angulation and / or multilateration) based on the distance and / or angle measurements along with the known positions of the one or more components.

[0023]

[0028] Terrestrial components such as the AP 130 and base station 120 may be fixed, although embodiments are not so limited. Mobile components may be used. For example, in some embodiments, the location of the UE 105 may be estimated based at least in part on measurements of RF signals 140 communicated between the UE 105 and one or more other UEs 145, which may be mobile or fixed. When one or more other UEs 145 are used in determining the position of a particular UE 105, the UE 105 whose position is to be determined may be referred to as a “target UE,” and each of the one or more other UEs 145 used may be referred to as an “anchor UE.” For purposes of determining the position of the target UE, the respective positions of the one or more anchor UEs may be known and / or may be determined together with the target UE. Direct communication between the one or more other UEs 145 and the UE 105 may comprise sidelink and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication technologies. Sidelink, as defined by 3GPP, is a form of D2D communication under the cellular-based LTE and NR standards.

[0024]

[0029] The estimated location of the UE 105 may be used in various applications, such as, for example, to assist a user of the UE 105 in direction-finding or navigation or to assist another user (e.g., associated with the external client 180) in locating the UE 105. “Location” may also be referred to herein as a “location estimate,” “estimated location,” “location,” “position,” “position estimate,” “position fix,” “estimated position,” “location fix,” or “fix.” The process of determining a location may be referred to as a “positioning,” “position determination,” “location determination,” or the like. The location of the UE 105 may comprise the absolute location of the UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude and possibly altitude) or the relative location of the UE 105 (e.g., a location expressed as a distance north or south, east or west, and possibly above or below from some other known fixed location (e.g., including the location of a base station 120 or AP 130) or some other location, such as the location of the UE 105 at some known prior time or the location of another UE 145 at some known prior time). A location may be specified as a geodetic location comprising coordinates that may be absolute (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), relative (e.g., relative to some known absolute location), or local (e.g., X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates according to a coordinate system defined for a local area such as a factory, warehouse, university campus, shopping mall, sports stadium, or convention center). A location may alternatively be a civic location, in which case it may comprise one or more of a street address (e.g., including a country, state, county, city, road and / or street name or label, and / or road or street number), and / or a label or name of a place, building, part of a building, floor of a building, and / or room within a building, etc.The location may further include an uncertainty or error indication, such as the horizontal and possibly vertical distance by which the location is expected to be incorrect, or an indication of an area or volume (e.g., a circle or ellipse) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with some confidence level (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0025]

[0030] The external client 180 may be a web server or remote application that may have some association with the UE 105 (e.g., that may be accessed by a user of the UE 105), or may be a server, application, or computer system that provides location services to some other user or users that may include obtaining and providing the location of the UE 105 (e.g., to enable services such as a friend or relative finder, asset tracking, or child or pet location). Additionally or alternatively, the external client 180 may obtain and provide the location of the UE 105 to an emergency service provider, a government agency, or the like.

[0026]

[0031] As previously mentioned, the exemplary positioning system 100 may be implemented using a wireless communication network, such as an LTE-based or 5G NR-based network. FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a 5G NR positioning system 200 illustrating one embodiment of a positioning system (e.g., positioning system 100) implementing 5G NR. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 105 using access nodes, which may include NR NodeBs (gNBs) 210-1 and 210-2 (collectively and generically referred to herein as gNBs 210), an ng-eNB 214, and / or a WLAN 216, to implement one or more positioning methods. The gNBs 210 and / or ng-eNB 214 may correspond to the base stations 120 of FIG. 1, and the WLANs 216 may correspond to one or more access points 130 of FIG. 1. Optionally, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may be additionally configured to determine the location of the UE 105 using an LMF 220 (which may correspond to the location server 160) to implement one or more positioning methods. Here, the 5G NR positioning system 200 comprises the UE 105 and components of a 5G NR network, including a Next Generation (NG) Radio Access Network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 235 and a 5G Core Network (5G CN) 240. The 5G network may also be referred to as an NR network, the NG-RAN 235 may also be referred to as a 5G RAN or NR RAN, and the 5G CN 240 may also be referred to as an NG Core Network. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may further utilize information from GNSS satellites 110 from a GNSS system, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar systems (e.g., GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)). Additional components of the 5G NR positioning system 200 are described below. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may include additional or alternative components.

[0027]

[0032] 2 provides only a generalized illustration of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be duplicated or omitted as necessary. In particular, while only one UE 105 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the 5G NR positioning system 200. Similarly, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include a greater (or lesser) number of GNSS satellites 110, gNBs 210, ng-eNBs 214, wireless local area networks (WLANs) 216, access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 215, external clients 230, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the 5G NR positioning system 200 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Additionally, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0028]

[0033] The UE 105 may comprise and / or be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a secure user plane location (SUPL)-enabled terminal (SET), or by some other name. Moreover, the UE 105 may correspond to a cell phone, a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tracking device, a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or movable device. Typically, but not necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as using GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G NR (e.g., using NG-RAN 235 and 5G CN 240), etc. The UE 105 may also support wireless communications using a WLAN 216, which may connect to other networks, such as the Internet (such as one or more RATs and as described above with respect to FIG. 1). Use of one or more of these RATs may enable the UE 105 to communicate with and / or receive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via elements of the 5G CN 240 not shown in FIG. 2 or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225) external clients 230. The external clients 230 of FIG. 2 may correspond to the external clients 180 of FIG. 1 implemented in or communicatively coupled to a 5G NR network.

[0029]

[0034] The UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network, where a user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O devices and / or body sensors and a separate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of the location of the UE 105 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geodetic and thus provide location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the UE 105 that may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above or below ground level, floor level or basement level). Alternatively, the location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or as a designation of some point or small area in a building such as a particular room or floor). The location of the UE 105 may also be expressed as an area or volume (defined geodesically or in urban terms) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may further be a relative location comprising distance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates defined relative to some origin in a known location, which may be defined, for example, geodesically, in urban terms, or by reference to a point, area, or volume shown on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, use of the term location may comprise any of these variations unless otherwise specified. When calculating the location of a UE, it is customary to solve for local X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates and then convert the local coordinates to absolute coordinates if necessary (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude below or above mean sea level).

[0030]

[0035] The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown in FIG. 2 may correspond to the base stations 120 in FIG. 1 and may include gNBs 210. Pairs of gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235 may be connected to each other (e.g., directly as shown in FIG. 2 or indirectly via other gNBs 210). The communication interface between the base stations (gNBs 210 and / or ng-eNBs 214) may be referred to as the Xn interface 237. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 210, which may provide wireless communication access to the 5G CN 240 for the UE 105 using 5G NR. The wireless interface between the base stations (gNBs 210 and / or ng-eNBs 214) and the UE 105 may be referred to as the Uu interface 239. 5G NR radio access may also be referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access. In Figure 2, it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE 105 is gNB 210-1, but other gNBs (e.g., gNB 210-2) may act as serving gNBs if UE 105 moves to another location, or may act as secondary gNBs to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105.

[0031]

[0036] The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown in FIG. 2 may also or instead include next-generation evolved node Bs 214, also referred to as ng-eNBs. The ng-eNBs 214 may be connected to one or more gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235, e.g., directly or indirectly via other gNBs 210 and / or other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNBs 214 may provide LTE wireless access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. Some gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2) and / or ng-eNBs 214 in FIG. 2 may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons, which may transmit signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) and / or broadcast assistance data to assist in positioning the UE 105, but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or other UEs. Some gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2 and / or another gNB not shown) and / or ng-eNB 214 may be configured to function as detection-only nodes, which may scan for signals containing, for example, PRS data, assistance data, or other location data. Such detection-only nodes may not transmit signals or data to UEs, but may transmit signals or data (e.g., related to PRS, assistance data, or other location data) to other network entities (e.g., one or more components of 5G CN 240, external client 230, or a controller), which may receive, store, or use the data for positioning of at least UE 105. Note that while only one ng-eNB 214 is shown in FIG. 2, some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNBs 214. Base stations (e.g., gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) may communicate directly with each other via the Xn communication interface. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may communicate directly or indirectly with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200, such as the LMF 220 and the AMF 215.

[0032]

[0037] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also include one or more WLANs 216 that may connect to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 250 in the 5G CN 240 (e.g., in the case of an untrusted WLAN 216). For example, the WLAN 216 may support IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi access for the UE 105 and may comprise one or more Wi-Fi APs (e.g., the AP 130 of FIG. 1 ). Here, the N3IWF 250 may connect to other elements in the 5G CN 240, such as the AMF 215. In some embodiments, the WLAN 216 may support another RAT, such as Bluetooth. The N3IWF 250 may provide support for secure access by the UE 105 to other elements in the 5G CN 240 and / or support interworking of one or more protocols used by the WLAN 216 and the UE 105 to one or more protocols used by other elements of the 5G CN 240, such as the AMF 215. For example, the N3IWF 250 may support IPSec tunnel establishment with the UE 105, termination of the IKEv2 / IPSec protocol with the UE 105, termination of the N2 and N3 interfaces to the 5G CN 240 for the control plane and user plane, respectively, and relaying uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) control plane Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling between the UE 105 and the AMF 215 via the N1 interface. In some other embodiments, the WLAN 216 may connect directly to an element in the 5G CN 240 (e.g., the AMF 215 as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2 ) without going through the N3IWF 250. For example, direct connection of the WLAN 216 to the 5G CN 240 may occur when the WLAN 216 is a trusted WLAN for the 5G CN 240 and may be enabled using a Trusted WLAN Interworking Function (TWIF) (not shown in FIG. 2 ), which may be an element within the WLAN 216. It should be noted that although only one WLAN 216 is shown in FIG. 2, some embodiments may include multiple WLANs 216.

[0033]

[0038] An access node may comprise any of a variety of network entities that enable communication between the UE 105 and the AMF 215. This may include a gNB 210, an ng-eNB 214, a WLAN 216, and / or other types of cellular base stations. However, an access node providing the functionality described herein may additionally or alternatively include entities that enable communication to any of a variety of RATs not shown in FIG. 2, which may include non-cellular technologies. Thus, the term “access node,” as used in the embodiments described herein below, may include, but is not necessarily limited to, a gNB 210, an ng-eNB 214, or a WLAN 216.

[0034]

[0039] In some embodiments, an access node such as the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214, and / or the WLAN 216 (alone or in combination with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200) may be configured to obtain location measurements of uplink (UL) signals (received from the UE 105) and / or downlink (DL) location measurements from the UE 105 obtained by the UE 105 for DL ​​signals received by the UE 105 from one or more access nodes in response to receiving a request for location information from the LMF 220. As mentioned, FIG. 2 illustrates access nodes (gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and WLAN 216) configured to communicate according to 5G NR, LTE, and Wi-Fi communication protocols, respectively, although access nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols may be used, such as, for example, a Node B using a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) protocol for a Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), an eNB using an LTE protocol for an Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), or Bluetooth Beacon using a Bluetooth protocol for a WLAN. For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to the UE 105, the RAN may comprise an E-UTRAN, which may comprise a base station with an eNB supporting LTE wireless access. The core network of the EPS may comprise an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may then comprise an E-UTRAN+EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to the NG-RAN 235 and the EPC corresponds to the 5GCN 240 of FIG. 2. The methods and techniques described herein for obtaining the urban location of a UE 105 may be applicable to such other networks.

[0035]

[0040] The gNB 210 and ng-eNB 214 may communicate with the AMF 215, which communicates with the LMF 220 for positioning functions. The AMF 215 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers of the UE 105 from an access node of a first RAT (e.g., the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214, or the WLAN 216) to an access node of a second RAT. The AMF 215 may also be responsible for supporting signaling connections to the UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 220 may support positioning of the UE 105 using a CP location solution when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 235 or the WLAN 216, and may support location procedures and methods, including UE-assisted / UE-based and / or network-based procedures / methods, such as Aided GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (sometimes called Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) in NR), Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), WLAN positioning, Round Trip Signal Propagation Delay (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, and / or other positioning procedures and methods. The LMF 220 may also process location service requests for the UE 105, for example, received from the AMF 215 or the GMLC 225. The LMF 220 may be connected to the AMF 215 and / or the GMLC 225. In some embodiments, a network such as 5GCN240 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a SUPL Location Platform (SLP).It should be noted that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the positioning functionality (including determining the location of the UE 105) may be performed at the UE 105 (e.g., by measuring downlink PRS (DL-PRS) signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214 and / or the WLAN 216, and / or using assistance data provided to the UE 105 by, for example, the LMF 220).

[0036]

[0041] The gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 225 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 230 and may forward such location requests to the AMF 215 for forwarding by the AMF 215 to the LMF 220. A location response from the LMF 220 (e.g., including a location estimate for the UE 105) may similarly be returned to the GMLC 225 directly or via the AMF 215, which may then return the location response (e.g., including the location estimate) to the external client 230.

[0037]

[0042] A network exposure function (NEF) 245 may be included in the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may support secure exposure of capabilities and events related to the 5GCN 240 and the UE 105 to the external client 230, which may then be referred to as an access function (AF), and may enable secure provision of information from the external client 230 to the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may be connected to the AMF 215 and / or the GMLC 225 for the purposes of obtaining the location (e.g., civic location) of the UE 105 and providing the location to the external client 230.

[0038]

[0043] As further shown in Figure 2, the LMF 220 may communicate with the gNB 210 and / or the ng-eNB 214 using the NR Positioning Protocol Annex (NRPPa) defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa messages may be transferred between the gNB 210 and the LMF 220 and / or between the ng-eNB 214 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215. As further shown in Figure 2, the LMF 220 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 and the serving gNB 210-1 or serving ng-eNB 214 for the UE 105. For example, LPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 220 and the AMF 215 using service-based operation messages (e.g., based on Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)) and between the AMF 215 and the UE 105 using a 5G NAS protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based location methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, multi-cell RTT, AoD, and / or ECID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using network-based location methods such as ECID, AoA, uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA), and / or may be used by the LMF 220 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214, such as parameters defining DL-PRS transmissions from the gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214.

[0039]

[0044] In the case of UE 105 access to WLAN 216, LMF 220 may use NRPPa and / or LPP to obtain the location of UE 105 in a manner similar to that just described for UE 105 access to gNB 210 or ng-eNB 214. Accordingly, NRPPa messages may be forwarded between WLAN 216 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 and N3IWF 250 to support network-based positioning of UE 105 and / or forwarding of other location information from WLAN 216 to LMF 220. Alternatively, NRPPa messages may be forwarded between N3IWF 250 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 to support network-based positioning of UE 105 based on location-related information and / or location measurements known to or accessible to N3IWF 250 and forwarded from N3IWF 250 to LMF 220 using NRPPa. Similarly, LPP and / or LPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215, the N3IWF 250, and the serving WLAN 216 for the UE 105 to support UE-assisted or UE-based positioning of the UE 105 by the LMF 220.

[0040]

[0045] In a 5G NR positioning system 200, positioning methods may be categorized as being “UE-assisted” or “UE-based.” This may depend on where the request to determine the position of the UE 105 originates. For example, if the request originates in the UE (e.g., from an application, or “app,” executed by the UE), the positioning method may be categorized as being UE-based. On the other hand, if the request originates from an external client or AF 230, LMF 220, or other device or service within the 5G network, the positioning method may be categorized as being UE-assisted (or “network-based”).

[0041]

[0046] Using a UE-assisted location method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 220) for calculation of a location estimate of the UE 105. In a RAT-dependent location method, the location measurements may include one or more of the following: received signal strength indicator (RSSI), round-trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reference signal time difference (RSTD), time of arrival (TOA), AoA, received time-to-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx), differential AoA (DAoA), AoD, or timing advance (TA) of one or more access points for the gNB 210, the ng-eNB 214, and / or the WLAN 216. Additionally or alternatively, if the locations of other UEs are known, similar measurements of sidelink signals transmitted by these other UEs may be made, which may serve as anchor points for positioning the UE 105. The location measurements may also or alternatively include measurements of RAT-independent positioning methods such as GNSS (e.g., GNSS pseudorange, GNSS code phase, and / or GNSS carrier phase of GNSS satellites 110), WLAN, etc.

[0042]

[0047] Using the UE-based location method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements (which may, for example, be the same as or similar to the location measurements of the UE-assisted location method) and may further calculate the location of the UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as the LMF 220, SLP, or broadcast by the gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216).

[0043]

[0048] Using network-based location methods, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214), one or more APs (e.g., in WLAN216), or N3IWF250 may obtain location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AoA, or TOA measurements) of signals transmitted by UE105 and / or may receive measurements obtained by UE105 or, in the case of N3IWF250, by APs in WLAN216, and may send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF220) for calculation of a location estimate of UE105.

[0044]

[0049] Positioning of the UE 105 may also be categorized as UL, DL, or DL-UL based depending on the type of signal used for positioning. For example, if the positioning is based solely on signals received at the UE 105 (e.g., from a base station or other UE), the positioning may be categorized as DL-based. On the other hand, if the positioning is based solely on signals transmitted by the UE 105 (e.g., which may be received by a base station or other UE), the positioning may be categorized as UL-based. Positioning that is DL-UL based includes positioning that is based on signals both transmitted and received by the UE 105, such as RTT-based positioning. Sidelink (SL)-assisted positioning comprises signals communicated between the UE 105 and one or more other UEs. According to some embodiments, the UL, DL, or DL-UL positioning described herein may be capable of using SL signaling as a supplement or replacement for SL, DL, or DL-UL signaling.

[0045]

[0050] Depending on the type of positioning (e.g., UL, DL, or DL-UL based), the type of reference signal used may vary. For example, in DL-based positioning, these signals may comprise PRS (e.g., DL-PRS transmitted by a base station or SL-PRS transmitted by another UE) that may be used for TDOA, AoD, and RTT measurements. Other reference signals that may be used for positioning (UL, DL, or DL-UL) may include sounding reference signals (SRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signals (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) synchronization signals (SS)), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), etc. Moreover, reference signals may be transmitted in the Tx beam and / or received in the Rx beam (e.g., using beamforming techniques), which may affect angle measurements such as AoD and / or AoA.

[0046]

[0051] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating how RTT-based positioning (or multi-RTT) can be implemented, provided here as an example of DL-UL positioning. Briefly, RTT-based positioning includes a positioning method in which the position of the UE 105 is determined based on a known location of a base station (e.g., base station 120) and a determined distance between the UE 105 and the base station and / or other devices. RTT measurements between the UE 105 and each base station are used to determine the distance between the UE 105 and each base station, and multilateration can be used to determine the location of the UE 105. It can be noted that in alternative embodiments, other devices (e.g., other UEs, other types of TRPs, etc.) with known locations can also be used in addition to or as an alternative to the base station 120 shown in FIG. 3.

[0047]

[0052] In RTT-based positioning, a location server may coordinate RTT measurements between the UE 105 and each base station. Information provided to the UE 105 may be included in RTT assistance data. This may include, for example, reference signal (e.g., PRS) timing and other signal characteristics, base station (cell) ID, and / or other base station-related parameters applicable to multi-RTT or some other location method. Depending on the desired functionality, the RTT measurements may be performed (and initiated) by the UE 105 or the base station 120.

[0048]

[0053] RTT measurements use over-the-air (OTA) delay to measure distance. An initiating device (e.g., UE 105 or base station 120) transmits a first reference signal at a first time T1, which propagates to the responding device. At a second time T2, the first reference signal arrives at the responding device. The OTA delay (i.e., the propagation time it takes for the first reference signal to travel from the initiating device to the responding device) is the difference between T1 and T2. The responding device then transmits a second reference signal at a third time T3, which is received and measured by the initiating device at a fourth time T4. RSRP measurements can be used to determine the TOAs of times T2 and T4. The distance d between the initiating device and the responding device can therefore be determined using the following equation:

[0049]

number

[0050] (As will be appreciated, the distance d divided by the RF propagation velocity c equals the OTA delay.) Thus, an accurate determination of the distance between the initiating device and the responding device can be performed.

[0051]

[0054] The RTT measurements between the UE 105 and the base stations 120 may therefore enable the location of the UE 105 to be determined using multilateration. That is, the RTT measurements between the UE 105 and the first base station 120-1, the second base station 120-2, and the third base station 120-3 (RTT measurements RTT1, RTT2, and RTT3, respectively) result in a determination of the distance of the UE 105 from each of the base stations 120. These distances may be used to trace circles around the known locations of the base stations 120 (where circle 1 corresponds to base station 120-1, circle 2 corresponds to base station 120-2, and circle 3 corresponds to base station 120-3). The location of the UE 105 may be determined as the intersection between the circles.

[0052]

[0055] As one skilled in the art will appreciate, the timing of the transmission of reference signals used for RTT and / or other measurements can be important in accurately determining the location of the UE 105. For example, timing differences between the initiating device and the responding device can result in inaccuracies in the RTT measurements. This is true for DL-UL positioning techniques, such as RTT-based positioning, as well as UL positioning techniques. Figures 4A and 4B further illustrate this issue with respect to positioning in 5G NR.

[0053]

[0056] 4A is a graph illustrating the timing at the base station 120 of various UL subframes transmitted by the UE 105 and received at the base station 120. In 5G NR, data and signaling communicated between the UE 105 and the base station 120 is conveyed using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme in which communications are divided into frames (not shown) and subframes. Each subframe may be 1 millisecond long. The timing difference between the start 410 of the DL subframe transmitted by the base station 120 (the first detected path in time for the DL subframe) and the start 420 of the UL subframe received by the base station 120 may be due to a propagation delay 430, which can be used as a timing reference in determining the location of the UE 105.

[0054]

[0057] The difference between the time a DL subframe is received at the UE 105 and the time the UE 105 transmits a UL subframe can be measured by the UE 105 and reported to the base station 120. This provides the base station 120 with a timing reference for subsequent UL reference signals transmitted by the mobile device. For example, in the 5G NR specification, the UE 105 can provide a UE Rx-Tx time difference indicating the difference between the time the UE 105 receives DL subframe #i from the base station 120 and the time the UE 105 transmits the UL subframe #j that is closest in time to subframe #i. This can be used as a timing reference when later determining the propagation delay 430 based on the SRS 440 (or other reference signal) transmitted by the UE 105 and received by the base station 120. That is, using the UE Rx-Tx time difference reported for UL subframe j, the time that the SRS 440 was received by the base station 120 in a later UL subframe j+N, and the time (e.g., one or more OFDM symbols) within UL subframe j+N that the SRS 440 was transmitted, the propagation delay 430 can be determined, and then the distance between the UE 105 and the base station 120. This determination can be made by the base station 120 or by a location server (e.g., the LMF 220) that receives the UE Rx-Tx time difference from the UE 105 and the SRS time measurements from the base station 120.

[0055]

[0058] However, it may be noted that the reliability of the UE Rx-Tx time difference as a time reference may degrade over time. That is, if a UE provides a UE Rx-Tx time difference in UL subframe j and transmits an SRS 440 in subframe j+N, the reliability of the UE Rx-Tx time difference may degrade as the integer N increases due to one or more factors discussed below. Figure 4B illustrates this concept in more detail.

[0056]

[0059] 4B is a graph showing the timing of the UL subframe relative to the start of the DL subframe 410, similar to FIG. 4A. However, here, a delay 450 (in addition to the propagation delay 430) accumulates over time due to clock drift at the UE. The delay (not shown) in subframe j may be minimal, and therefore, if the SRS 440 were transmitted in subframe j (the frame for which the UE 105 provides the UE Rx-Tx time difference), this delay due to clock drift may be negligible. However, because clock drift accumulates over time, and because the SRS 440 is transmitted in subframe j+N, there is a significant delay 450-N that is not reflected in the UE Rx-Tx time difference calculated with respect to the timing in subframe j. Therefore, any range determination based on measurements at base station 120 of SRS 440 transmitted in subframe j+N (e.g., by base station 120 or a location server) may erroneously attribute this delay 450-N to propagation delay 430, which may ultimately cause errors in the position determination of UE 105.

[0057]

[0060] It may be noted that other effects may also contribute to delay 450-N. For example, adjustments to the timing advance (TA) of UE 105, which may be made autonomously by UE 105 or as a result of a command from another device, may affect the relative timing of UL and DL subframes. Furthermore, the effects of TA adjustments and / or time drift do not necessarily result in delays. For example, time drift in UE 105 may result in UL subframes being transmitted progressively earlier rather than later. In either case, these effects may affect the accuracy of position determination based on the transmission of one or more UL reference signals (e.g., SRS 440).

[0058]

[0061] According to embodiments herein, the UE 105 may determine a timing quality metric that indicates the timing accuracy of the transmission timing of an UL reference signal used in UL-based or DL-UL-based positioning. The timing quality metric can then be provided to a network entity for use in estimating the position of the UE 105. For example, the network entity can determine whether to use the UL reference signal (e.g., if the timing quality metric indicates that the UL reference signal meets a minimum threshold timing accuracy) and / or how the transmission timing accuracy of the UL reference signal timing may ultimately affect the accuracy of the position estimation.

[0059]

[0062] Depending on the desired functionality, the network entity to which the timing quality metrics are provided may comprise a base station 120 or a location server. According to some embodiments, this may depend on the type of positioning used (e.g., UE-based, UE-assisted, UL-based, DL-UL-based, etc.). Furthermore, according to some embodiments, the timing quality metrics may be provided in a report communicated by the UE 105 as part of a positioning session (e.g., with a location server).

[0060]

[0063] The determination of a timing quality metric corresponding to a UL reference signal can be made by the UE 105 based on known conditions that may affect the timing quality for the reference signal. For example, based on the time difference between a timing reference (e.g., the UE Rx-Tx time difference reported for UL subframe j in FIG. 4B) and the corresponding UL reference signal (e.g., SRS 440 in FIG. 4B), the UE 105 can determine a maximum / worst-case time drift of a clock used by the UE to transmit the UL reference signal and, based on this calculation, indicate the accuracy of the transmission timing of the UL reference signal (e.g., an accuracy indicating that the UL reference signal would be susceptible to the calculated maximum type of drift). The time drift for a given UE 105 is known by the UE 105 and may further be based on current operating conditions (e.g., current temperature). Other conditions (e.g., TA adjustment) may also be taken into account in determining the accuracy of the transmission timing of the UL reference signal. As an example, if the UE 105 determines that it will experience a TA adjustment (e.g., changing the UL timing by 1 nanosecond earlier or later, or more generally, by a function of 2^N*Tc, where N is an integer and Tc=0.5 nanoseconds) between a timing reference (e.g., the UE Rx-Tx time difference reported for UL subframe j in FIG. 4B) and the corresponding UL reference signal (e.g., SRS 440 in FIG. 4B), the UE 105 can use this information to reduce the quality of the UL timing measurement by an amount that reflects the adjustment.

[0061]

[0064] According to some embodiments, the timing quality metric may be conveyed in an information element (IE) included in a report or other message to a receiving network entity. Table 1 below includes example field descriptions for values ​​that may be conveyed in an example NR-TimingQuality IE that may be used in 5G NR applications.

[0062] [Table 1]

[0063]

[0065] According to Table 1, the NR-TimingQuality IE may indicate the accuracy of the transmission timing of the UL reference signal in meters or another distance metric, although alternative embodiments may indicate the accuracy in time. Furthermore, the accuracy may be indicated as one of several enumerated values. Of course, this is provided as a non-limiting example, and alternative embodiments may vary in which values ​​are conveyed and how.

[0064]

[0066] The listed values ​​in Table 1 are example values, and newer implementations may reflect higher timing resolution in 5G NR implementations. Table 2 below includes values ​​that include higher timing resolution, according to one embodiment.

[0065] [Table 2]

[0066]

[0067] Additionally, these higher resolution values ​​may be smaller than the values ​​used to report the DL timing quality of a DL reference signal (e.g., in a DL-UL positioning method). That is, according to existing techniques, a UE may measure the DL timing quality of a DL reference signal and report the DL timing quality to a location server or base station using enumerated values ​​whose smallest value (highest resolution) is 0.1 m. However, the UE may also determine (according to embodiments herein) timing quality metrics for the UL reference signal and report the timing quality metrics to a location server or base station (possibly in the same report as the DL timing quality) using a set of higher resolution values ​​shown in Table 2. In other words, according to some embodiments, a first set of enumerated values ​​for indicating timing quality metrics for a wireless reference signal comprises values ​​that indicate a smaller error than a second set of enumerated values ​​for indicating the quality of the DL signal.

[0067]

[0068] As noted in previously described embodiments, the accuracy of the timing quality metric can vary depending on the length of the time period between the timing reference and the transmission of the UL reference signal. Furthermore, while the timing reference provided by the UE may indicate a timing reference relative to base station timing (e.g., the UE Rx-Tx time difference, which indicates the timing between the UL subframe and the DL subframe), embodiments are not so limited. For example, in embodiments in which the UL reference signal is transmitted periodically, the timing quality metric may indicate the timing accuracy of the UL reference signal relative to an earlier UL reference signal. Additionally or alternatively, embodiments may indicate the accuracy of the transmission timing of the UL reference signal relative to a universal clock / time.

[0068]

[0069] The type of UL reference signal used by the UE may vary and may depend, for example, on the type of positioning used and / or measurements to be taken by base station 120. According to some embodiments, the UL reference signal may comprise an SRS, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or a sidelink reference signal (SL RS) (e.g., SL CSI-RS). Additional or alternative reference signals may be used depending on the desired functionality.

[0069]

[0070] According to some embodiments, the timing quality metric provided by the UE may indicate the accuracy of the transmission timing of each wireless reference signal among the plurality of wireless reference signals. For example, the scenario shown in FIG. 4B may be repeated when the UE transmits a series of SRS signals 440. If the timing quality metric for all SRS signals is the same (e.g., the value of N is the same for all signals), the UE may report a single timing quality metric for all SRS signals. In such a case, the UE may provide the timing quality metric along with an indication of the signal to which the timing quality metric applies.

[0070]

[0071] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method 500 for communicating timing quality metrics for wireless reference signals transmitted by a UE and used for positioning (e.g., of the UE and / or another wireless device) in a wireless communications network, according to one embodiment. As shown in previously described embodiments, positioning may include determining an absolute or relative location of the UE. Thus, positioning may comprise ranging or range determination between the UE and another wireless device. Means for performing the functions shown in one or more of the blocks shown in FIG. 5 may be implemented by hardware and / or software components of the UE. Exemplary components of a UE are shown in FIG. 6 and are described in more detail below.

[0071]

[0072] At block 510, the function comprises receiving, at the UE, a configuration for transmitting a wireless reference signal, the configuration indicating a time period between a timing reference and the wireless reference signal. As mentioned, the timing reference may comprise the timing of a UE's UL subframe, slot, or frame boundary (e.g., relative to a DL subframe, as indicated by the UE Rx-Tx time difference), or the transmission timing of another wireless reference signal, such as a previously transmitted wireless reference signal in a series of wireless reference signals.

[0072]

[0073] As previously mentioned, the UE may be configured by a base station and / or a location server to transmit a wireless reference signal. From this configuration, the UE can determine the interval between the timing reference and the wireless reference signal, which can be used to determine a timing quality metric. As previously discussed with respect to the example shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B , for example, the timing quality metric may depend on the value of N, where N is the number of subframes between the timing reference provided for UL subframe j (UE Rx-Tx time difference) and the wireless reference transmitted in UL subframe j+N. For embodiments in which the timing reference comprises a previously transmitted wireless reference signal, the interval between the timing reference and the wireless reference signal may comprise the periodicity between wireless reference signal transmissions.

[0073]

[0074] The means for performing the functions in block 510 may comprise a bus 605, a wireless communication interface 630, a digital signal processor (DSP) 620, a processor 610, and / or other components of the UE 105, as shown in FIG. 6.

[0074]

[0075] At block 520, the function comprises determining, by the UE, a timing quality metric based on the time period in response to receiving the configuration at the UE, the timing quality metric indicating an accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. As discussed in embodiments provided herein, determining the timing quality metric may be based on a TA adjustment for the UE and / or a clock drift of the UE's clock, which may be known at the time the timing quality metric is determined. (The clock drift may depend, for example, on the particular UE or the particular UE type.) As mentioned, the timing quality metric may be determined based on a maximum timing change that may occur at the UE during the time period. As further discussed in examples provided herein, the accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal may be provided in terms of a time or distance metric (e.g., meters, centimeters, feet, etc.). Additionally, depending on the desired functionality, the timing quality metric may indicate the accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal using an enumerated value.

[0075]

[0076] The means for performing the functions in block 520 may comprise the bus 605, the wireless communication interface 630, the DSP 620, the processor 610, and / or other components of the UE 105, as shown in FIG.

[0076]

[0077] At block 530, the function comprises sending a message from the UE to a network entity comprising the timing quality metrics. As mentioned, the timing quality metrics may be included in a report provided by the UE as part of a positioning session with a base station or location server. Depending on, for example, the type of positioning, the report may include various types of information. In the case of a measurement report provided by the UE in position determination using multi-RTT, the measurement report may not only include timing quality metrics of wireless reference signals transmitted by the UE, but may also include quality metrics of reference signals received by the UE (e.g., from a base station or another UE). Thus, according to some embodiments, the message may comprise a report further including an indication of the quality of DL signals received by the UE.

[0077]

[0078] The means for performing the functions in block 530 may comprise the bus 605, the DSP 620, the processor 610, and / or other components of the UE 105, as shown in FIG.

[0078]

[0079] At block 540, the function comprises transmitting, by the UE, a wireless reference signal. Again, the wireless reference signal provided by the UE may comprise any of various reference signals that may be used for positioning the UE in UL-based and / or DL-UL-based positioning. Thus, according to some embodiments of method 500, the wireless reference signal may comprise an SRS, a PUCCH, a PUSCH, a PSSCH, a DMRS, or a SL RS.

[0079]

[0080] The network entity to which the message is sent and the entity that receives the wireless reference signal may comprise any combination of devices, which may depend on the type of positioning used and / or other factors. For example, the network entity in block 530 may comprise a location server, a serving TRP (e.g., a serving base station) for the UE, a neighboring TRP (e.g., a neighboring TRP) for the UE, or another UE. The wireless reference signal transmitted by the UE may be received by the serving TRP for the UE, a neighboring TRP for the UE, or another UE. In some cases, the network entity that receives the message in block 530 may be the same as the entity that receives the wireless reference signal in block 540. In other cases, the network entity and the receiving entity may be different. The configuration received by the UE in block 510 may also be from the same device or a different device. Thus, according to some embodiments of method 500, the UE may receive the configuration from a location server or from a serving TRP for the UE.

[0080]

[0081] The means for performing the functions in block 540 may comprise the bus 605, the wireless communication interface 630, the DSP 620, the processor 610, and / or other components of the UE 105, as shown in FIG.

[0081]

[0082] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a UE 105 that may be utilized as described herein above (e.g., in connection with FIGS. 1-5). For example, the UE 105 may perform one or more of the functions of the method illustrated in FIG. 5. It should be noted that FIG. 6 is intended only to provide a generalized view of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. It should be noted that in some instances, the components illustrated by FIG. 6 may be localized in a single physical device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located in different physical locations. Additionally, as previously mentioned, the UE functions discussed in the previously described embodiments may be performed by one or more of the hardware and / or software components illustrated in FIG. 6.

[0082]

[0083] The UE 105 is shown comprising hardware elements that may be electrically coupled (or otherwise in communication, as appropriate) via a bus 605. The hardware elements may include a processor 610, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., application processors), one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processor (DSP) chips, graphics acceleration processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or the like), and / or other processing structures or means. The processor 610 may comprise one or more processing units, which may be housed in a single integrated circuit (IC) or multiple ICs. As shown in FIG. 6, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 620 depending on desired functionality. Location determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may be provided in the processor 610 and / or the wireless communication interface 630 (discussed below). The UE 105 may also include one or more input devices 670, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more keyboards, touchscreens, touchpads, microphones, buttons, dials, switches, etc., and one or more output devices 615, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more displays (e.g., touchscreens), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0083]

[0084] The UE 105 may also include a wireless communication interface 630, which may comprise, without limitation, a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth device, an IEEE 802.11 device, an IEEE 802.15.4 device, a Wi-Fi device, a WiMAX device, a WAN device, and / or various cellular devices), which may enable the UE 105 to communicate with other devices as described in the above embodiments. The wireless communication interface 630 may enable data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) with the TRP of the network, as described herein, for example, via an eNB, a gNB, an ng-eNB, an access point, various base stations and / or other access node types, and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices communicatively coupled to the TRP. Communication may occur via one or more wireless communication antennas 632 that send and / or receive wireless signals 634. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antenna 632 may comprise multiple individual antennas, an antenna array, or any combination thereof. The antenna 632 may be capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals using beams (e.g., Tx beams and Rx beams). Beamforming may be performed by respective digital and / or analog circuitry using digital and / or analog beamforming techniques. The wireless communication interface 630 may include such circuitry.

[0084]

[0085] Depending on the desired functionality, the wireless communication interface 630 may comprise separate receivers and transmitters, or a combination of transceivers, transmitters, and / or receivers, for communicating with base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs) and other terrestrial transceivers, such as wireless devices and access points. The UE 105 may communicate with various data networks, which may comprise various network types. For example, a wireless wide area network (WWAN) may be a CDMA network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) network, etc. A CDMA network may implement one or more RATs, such as CDMA2000®, WCDMA, etc. CDMA2000® includes IS-95, IS-2000, and / or IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement GSM, Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS), or some other RAT. An OFDMA network may employ LTE, LTE Advanced, 5G NR, etc. 5G NR, LTE, LTE Advanced, GSM, and WCDMA are described in documents from 3GPP. CDMA2000® is described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. A wireless local area network (WLAN) may also be an IEEE 802.11x network, and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) may be a Bluetooth network, an IEEE 802.15x, or some other type of network. The techniques described herein may also be used for any combination of WWAN, WLAN, and / or WPAN.

[0085]

[0086] The UE 105 may further include sensors 640. The sensors 640 may comprise, without limitation, one or more inertial and / or other sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, magnetometers, altimeters, microphones, proximity sensors, light sensors, barometers, etc.), some of which may be used to obtain location-related measurements and / or other information.

[0086]

[0087] An embodiment of the UE 105 may also include a GNSS receiver 680 capable of receiving signals 684 from one or more Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites using an antenna 682 (which may be similar to the antenna 632). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements may be utilized to supplement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. The GNSS receiver 680 may extract the position of the UE 105 using conventional techniques from GNSS satellites of a GNSS system, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), India's IRNSS, or China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS). Moreover, the GNSS receiver 680 may be used with various augmentation systems (e.g., satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS)) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as, for example, Wide Area Augmentation Systems (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Multi-Function Satellite Augmentation Systems (MSAS), and Geo-Augmented Navigation Systems (GAGAN).

[0087]

[0088] It may be noted that while the GNSS receiver 680 is shown as a separate component in FIG. 6 , embodiments are not so limited. The term “GNSS receiver,” as used herein, may comprise hardware and / or software components configured to acquire GNSS measurements (measurements from GNSS satellites). In some embodiments, the GNSS receiver may therefore comprise a measurement engine executed (as software) by one or more processors, such as the processor 610, the DSP 620, and / or a processor within the wireless communication interface 630 (e.g., in a modem). The GNSS receiver may also, in some cases, include a positioning engine that can use the GNSS measurements from the measurement engine to determine the position of the GNSS receiver using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), weighted least squares (WLS), a Hatch filter, a particle filter, or the like. The positioning engine may also be executed by one or more processors, such as the processor 610 or the DSP 620.

[0088]

[0089] The UE 105 may further include and / or be in communication with memory 660. The memory 660 may include local and / or network-accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), which may be programmable, flash-updateable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0089]

[0090] The memory 660 of the UE 105 may also comprise software elements (not shown in FIG. 6 ) including other code, such as an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs, that may comprise computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or that may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more procedures described with respect to the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in the memory 660 executable by the UE 105 (and / or the processor 610 or DSP 620 within the UE 105). In some embodiments, such code and / or instructions can then be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0090]

[0091] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial variations can be made according to particular requirements. For example, customized hardware may be used and / or particular elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connection to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be employed.

[0091]

[0092] With respect to the accompanying figures, components that may include memory may include non-transitory machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may participate in providing instructions / code to a processor and / or other devices for execution. Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable media may be used to store and / or transport such instructions / code. In many implementations, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, magnetic and / or optical media, any other physical media with patterns of holes, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), flash EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or code.

[0092]

[0093] The methods, systems, and devices discussed herein are examples. Various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, features described with respect to some embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Various aspects and elements of the embodiments may be similarly combined. Various components of the diagrams provided herein may be implemented in hardware and / or software. Also, because technology evolves, many of the elements are examples that do not limit the scope of the disclosure to those specific examples.

[0093]

[0094] It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, numerals, or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these or similar terms are to be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise expressly indicated, and as is clear from the above discussion, it should be appreciated that throughout this specification, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “ascertaining,” “identifying,” “associating,” “measuring,” “performing,” and the like refer to acts or processes of a specific apparatus, such as a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device. In the context of this specification, therefore, a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals that are commonly represented as physical electronic, electrical, or magnetic quantities within the memories, registers, or other information storage, transmission, or display devices of the special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device.

[0094]

[0095] As used herein, the terms "and" and "or" can have a variety of meanings that are expected to depend, at least in part, on the context in which such terms are used. Generally, when "or" is used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, it is intended to mean A, B, and C, used herein in an inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, used herein in an exclusive sense. Additionally, as used herein, the term "one or more" can be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or it can be used to describe any combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and claimed subject matter is not limited to this example. Furthermore, the term "at least one of," when used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, can be interpreted to mean any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0095]

[0096] Although several embodiments have been described, various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the above elements may be merely components of a larger system, in which other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the various embodiments. Also, some steps may occur before, during, or after the above elements are considered. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0096]

[0097] In view of this specification, embodiments may include various combinations of features. Example implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0097] Clause 1: A method for communicating timing quality metrics for wireless reference signals transmitted by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communications network and used for positioning, comprising: receiving, at the UE, a configuration for transmitting a wireless reference signal, wherein the configuration indicates a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal; and determining, by the UE, in response to receiving the configuration, a timing quality metric based on the time period, wherein the timing quality metric indicates an accuracy of transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. sending a message from the UE to a network entity comprising a timing quality metric; transmitting a wireless reference signal by the UE; A method for providing the above.

[0098] Clause 2: The method of clause 1, wherein the timing quality metric indicates the accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal in terms of a distance metric.

[0099] Clause 3: The method of clause 1 or 2, wherein the timing quality metric uses an enumerated value to indicate the accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal.

[0100] Clause 4: The method of any of clauses 1-3, wherein the message comprises a report further including an indication of a quality of a downlink (DL) signal received by the UE.

[0101] Clause 5: The method of clause 4, wherein a first set of enumerated values ​​for indicating a timing quality metric for the wireless reference signal comprises values ​​that indicate a smaller error than a second set of enumerated values ​​for indicating a quality of the DL signal.

[0102] Clause 6: Timing criteria are: the timing of the UE's uplink (UL) subframe, slot, or frame boundaries, or the transmission timing of another wireless reference signal, or both Any of the methods of clauses 1 to 5.

[0103] Clause 7: The timing reference comprises a UE Rx-Tx time difference indicating a measurement by the UE of the time difference between the first detected path in time of a DL subframe received at the UE and the start of the UL subframe closest in time to the DL subframe; 7. The method of any of clauses 1-6, wherein the timing quality metric indicates a time difference between a first timing used in determining the UE Rx-Tx time difference and a second timing used to transmit the wireless reference signal.

[0104] Clause 8: The wireless reference signal is one of a plurality of wireless reference signals transmitted by the UE; 8. The method of any of clauses 1-7, wherein the timing quality metric indicates accuracy of transmission timing of two or more wireless reference signals of the plurality of wireless reference signals.

[0105] Clause 9: Timing quality metrics are Timing Advance (TA) adjustment for the UE; Clock drift of the UE's clock, or both Any of the methods set out in clauses 1 to 8, further based on the above.

[0106] Clause 10: The wireless reference signal Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), or Sidelink Reference Signal (SL RS) Any of the methods of clauses 1 to 9, comprising:

[0107] Clause 11: A network entity: Location server, UE's serving transmission / reception point (TRP); The UE's neighboring TRPs, or Another UE Any of the methods of clauses 1 to 10.

[0108] Clause 12: The wireless reference signal UE's serving TRP, The UE's neighboring TRPs, or Another UE received by any of the methods set out in clauses 1 to 11.

[0109] Article 13: The UE: Location Server, or UE's serving TRP receive configuration from any of the methods set out in clauses 1 to 12.

[0110] Clause 14: A wireless communication interface; Memory and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the wireless communication interface and the memory; 1. A user equipment (UE) comprising: one or more processors: receiving, via the wireless communication interface, a configuration for transmitting a wireless reference signal, wherein the configuration indicates a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal; and determining, in response to receiving the configuration at the UE, a timing quality metric based on the time period, wherein the timing quality metric indicates an accuracy of transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. sending a message comprising a timing quality metric to a network entity over a wireless communication interface; transmitting a wireless reference signal via a wireless communication interface; A UE configured to:

[0111] Clause 15: The UE of clause 14, wherein the one or more processors are configured to indicate accuracy of transmission timing of the wireless reference signal in a timing quality metric by a distance metric.

[0112] Clause 16: The UE of clause 14 or 15, wherein the one or more processors are configured to indicate the accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal using an enumerated value.

[0113] Clause 17: The UE of any of clauses 14 to 16, wherein the one or more processors are configured to include in the message an indication of a quality of a downlink (DL) signal received by the UE.

[0114] Clause 18: The UE of Clause 17, wherein one or more processors are configured to use a first set of enumerated values ​​to indicate a timing quality metric for the wireless reference signal, the first set of enumerated values ​​comprising values ​​that indicate a smaller error than a second set of enumerated values ​​to indicate the quality of the DL signal.

[0115] Clause 19: One or more processors may use, as a timing reference, the timing of the UE's uplink (UL) subframe, slot, or frame boundaries, or the transmission timing of another wireless reference signal, or both UE of any of clauses 14 to 18 configured to use

[0116] Clause 20: The timing reference comprises a UE Rx-Tx time difference indicating a measurement by the UE of the time difference between the first detected path in time of a DL subframe received at the UE and the start of the UL subframe closest in time to the DL subframe; 19. The UE of any of clauses 14 to 19, wherein the timing quality metric indicates a time difference between a first timing used in determining the UE Rx-Tx time difference and a second timing used to transmit the wireless reference signal.

[0117] Clause 21: The wireless reference signal is one of a plurality of wireless reference signals transmitted by the UE; 21. The UE of any of clauses 14-20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to indicate accuracy of transmission timing of two or more wireless reference signals of the plurality of wireless reference signals using a timing quality metric.

[0118] Clause 22: One or more processors may calculate timing quality metrics based on: Timing Advance (TA) adjustment for the UE; Clock drift of the UE's clock, or both UE of any of clauses 14 to 20 configured to be based at least in part on

[0119] Clause 23: To transmit a wireless reference signal, one or more processors: Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), or Sidelink Reference Signal (SL RS) UE of any of clauses 14 to 21 configured to transmit

[0120] Clause 24: To send a message to a network entity, one or more processors may send the message to: Location server, UE's serving transmission / reception point (TRP); The UE's neighboring TRPs, or Another UE UE of any of clauses 14 to 23 configured to send to

[0121] Clause 25: One or more processors: UE's serving TRP, The UE's neighboring TRPs, or Another UE 25. The UE of any of clauses 14 to 24, configured to transmit a wireless reference signal to be received by the UE.

[0122] Clause 26: One or more processors: Location Server, or UE's serving TRP 26. The UE of any of clauses 14 to 25 configured to receive a configuration from

[0123] Clause 27: A device, means for receiving at the device a configuration for transmitting a wireless reference signal, wherein the configuration indicates a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal; means for determining, at the device, in response to receiving the configuration, a timing quality metric based on the time period, wherein the timing quality metric indicates accuracy of transmission timing of the wireless reference signal; means for sending a message comprising a timing quality metric from the device to a network entity; means for transmitting a wireless reference signal by the device; 1. A device comprising:

[0124] Clause 28: The device of clause 27, wherein the means for determining a timing quality metric includes means for indicating accuracy of transmission timing of the wireless reference signal in a distance metric.

[0125] Clause 29: The device of clause 27 or 28, wherein the means for determining a timing quality metric includes means for indicating accuracy of transmission timing of the wireless reference signal using an enumerated value.

[0126] Clause 30: The device of any of clauses 27 to 29, wherein the means for sending the message comprises means for including in the message an indication of a quality of a downlink (DL) signal received by the device.

[0127] Clause 31: The device of clause 30, wherein the means for determining a timing quality metric includes means for indicating accuracy of the wireless reference signal using a first set of enumerated values ​​that indicates a smaller error than a second set of enumerated values ​​used to indicate quality of the DL signal.

[0128] Clause 32: The means for receiving the configuration as a timing reference The timing of the device's uplink (UL) subframe, slot, or frame boundaries, or the transmission timing of another wireless reference signal, or both a device according to any of clauses 27 to 31, comprising means for using the

[0129] Clause 33: The timing reference comprises a device Rx-Tx time difference indicating a measurement by the device of the time difference between the first detected path in time of a DL subframe received at the device and the start of the UL subframe closest in time to the DL subframe; 33. The device of clauses 27-32, wherein the means for determining a timing quality metric comprises means for including in the timing quality metric an indication of a time difference between a first timing used in determining the device Rx-Tx time difference and a second timing used to transmit the wireless reference signal.

[0130] Clause 34: The wireless reference signal is one of a plurality of wireless reference signals transmitted by the device; 34. The device of any of clauses 27-33, wherein the means for determining a timing quality metric comprises means for indicating, via the timing quality metric, accuracy of transmission timing of two or more wireless reference signals of the plurality of wireless reference signals.

[0131] Clause 35: The means for determining a timing quality metric comprises: Timing Advance (TA) adjustment for the device, Clock drift of the device's clock, or both 35. A device according to any of clauses 27 to 34, comprising means for basing the determination at least in part on

[0132] Clause 36: The means for transmitting a wireless reference signal comprises: Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), or Sidelink Reference Signal (SL RS) A device according to any of clauses 27 to 35, comprising means for transmitting

[0133] Clause 37: A means for sending a message to a network entity may include: Location server, The device's serving transmission / reception point (TRP), The device's neighboring TRPs, or Another device 36. A device according to any of clauses 27 to 36, comprising means for transmitting

[0134] Clause 38: The means for transmitting a wireless reference signal comprises: Device serving TRP, The device's neighboring TRPs, or Another device 38. The device of any of clauses 27 to 37, comprising means for transmitting a wireless reference signal to be received by

[0135] Clause 39: The means for receiving the configuration Location Server, or Device Serving TRP 39. The device of any of clauses 27 to 38, comprising means for receiving a configuration from

[0136] Clause 40: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for communicating timing quality metrics for a wireless reference signal transmitted by a user equipment (UE), the instructions comprising: code for receiving, at a UE, a configuration for transmitting a wireless reference signal, wherein the configuration indicates a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal; code for determining, by the UE, a timing quality metric based on the time period in response to receiving the configuration at the UE, wherein the timing quality metric indicates accuracy of transmission timing of the wireless reference signal; code for sending a message from the UE to a network entity comprising a timing quality metric; Code for transmitting a wireless reference signal by a UE; 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

[0137] Clause 41: The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 40, wherein the code for determining a timing quality metric comprises code for indicating accuracy of transmission timing of the wireless reference signal in a distance metric.

[0138] Clause 42: The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 40 or 41, wherein the code for determining a timing quality metric comprises code for indicating accuracy of transmission timing of the wireless reference signal using an enumerated value.

[0139] Clause 43: The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 40-42, wherein the code for sending the message comprises code for including in the message an indication of a quality of a downlink (DL) signal received by the UE.

[0140] Clause 44: The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 43, wherein the code for determining the timing quality metric includes code for indicating accuracy using a first set of enumerated values ​​that indicates a smaller error than a second set of enumerated values ​​for indicating quality of the DL signal.

[0141] Clause 45: The code for receiving the configuration as a timing reference, the timing of the UE's uplink (UL) subframe, slot, or frame boundaries, or the transmission timing of another wireless reference signal, or both 45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 40 to 44, comprising code for using the

[0142] Clause 46: The timing reference comprises a UE Rx-Tx time difference indicating a measurement by the UE of the time difference between the first detected path in time of a DL subframe received at the UE and the start of the UL subframe closest in time to the DL subframe; 46. ​​The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 40-45, wherein the code for determining a timing quality metric comprises code for including in the timing quality metric a time difference between a first timing used in determining a UE Rx-Tx time difference and a second timing used to transmit a wireless reference signal.

[0143] Clause 47: The wireless reference signal is one of a plurality of wireless reference signals transmitted by the UE; 47. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 40-46, wherein the code for determining a timing quality metric comprises code for indicating, by the timing quality metric, accuracy of transmission timing of two or more wireless reference signals of the plurality of wireless reference signals.

[0144] Clause 48: The code for determining a timing quality metric may further comprise: Timing Advance (TA) adjustment for the UE; Clock drift of the UE's clock, or both 48. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 40-47, comprising code for basing at least in part on

[0145] Clause 49: The code for transmitting a wireless reference signal comprises: Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), or Sidelink Reference Signal (SL RS) 49. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 40-48, comprising code for transmitting

[0146] Clause 50: A code for sending a message to a network entity may send the message to: Location server, UE's serving transmission / reception point (TRP); The UE's neighboring TRPs, or Another UE 49. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 40 to 49, comprising code for sending to

[0147] Clause 51: A code for transmitting a wireless reference signal, UE's serving TRP, The UE's neighboring TRPs, or Another UE 51. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 40-50, comprising code for transmitting a wireless reference signal to be received by a

[0148] Clause 52: The code for receiving the configuration Location Server, or UE's serving TRP 52. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 40-51, comprising code for receiving a configuration from The inventions described in the claims of the present application as originally filed are set forth below. [C1] 1. A method for communicating a timing quality metric for a wireless reference signal transmitted by a user equipment (UE) and used for positioning in a wireless communications network, comprising: receiving at the UE a configuration for transmitting the wireless reference signal, wherein the configuration indicates a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal; determining, by the UE, the timing quality metric based on the time period in response to receiving the configuration at the UE, wherein the timing quality metric indicates an accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. sending a message from the UE to a network entity comprising the timing quality metric; transmitting, by the UE, the wireless reference signal; A method for providing the above. [C2] The method of C1, wherein the timing quality metric indicates the accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal by a distance metric. [C3] The method of C1, wherein the timing quality metric indicates the accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal using an enumerated value. [C4] The method of C1, wherein the message comprises a report further including an indication of a quality of a downlink (DL) signal received by the UE. [C5] The method of C4, wherein a first set of enumerated values ​​for indicating the timing quality metric for the wireless reference signal comprises values ​​that indicate a smaller error than a second set of enumerated values ​​for indicating the quality of the DL signal. [C6] The timing reference is the timing of the UE's uplink (UL) subframe, slot, or frame boundaries; or the transmission timing of another wireless reference signal, or both The method of claim C1, comprising: [C7] 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the timing reference comprises a UE Rx-Tx time difference indicating a measurement by the UE of a time difference between a first detected path at a time of a DL subframe received at the UE and a start of an UL subframe that is closest in time to the DL subframe, and the timing quality metric indicates a time difference between a first timing used in determining the UE Rx-Tx time difference and a second timing used to transmit the wireless reference signal. [C8] the wireless reference signal is one of a plurality of wireless reference signals transmitted by the UE; The method of C1, wherein the timing quality metric indicates accuracy of transmission timing of two or more wireless reference signals of the plurality of wireless reference signals. [C9] The timing quality metric is: a timing advance (TA) adjustment for the UE; a clock drift of the UE's clock; or both The method according to claim 1, further based on the above. [C10] The wireless reference signal is Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), or Sidelink Reference Signal (SL RS) The method of claim C1, comprising: [C11] The network entity: Location server, a serving transmission / reception point (TRP) of the UE; a neighboring TRP of the UE; or Another UE The method of claim C1, comprising: [C12] The wireless reference signal is a serving TRP of the UE; a neighboring TRP of the UE; or Another UE The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is received by [C13] The UE: Location Server, or The UE's serving TRP The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration is received from [C14] a wireless communication interface; Memory and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the wireless communication interface and the memory; 1. A user equipment (UE) comprising: receiving, via the wireless communication interface, a configuration for transmitting a wireless reference signal, wherein the configuration indicates a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal; and determining, in response to receiving the configuration at the UE, a timing quality metric based on the time period, wherein the timing quality metric is indicative of an accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. sending a message comprising the timing quality metric to a network entity via the wireless communication interface; transmitting the wireless reference signal over the wireless communication interface; A UE configured to: [C15] The UE of C14, wherein the one or more processors are configured to indicate the accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal in the timing quality metric with a distance metric. [C16] The UE of C14, wherein the one or more processors are configured to indicate the accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal using an enumerated value. [C17] The UE of C14, wherein the one or more processors are configured to include in the message an indication of a quality of a downlink (DL) signal received by the UE. [C18] The UE of C17, wherein the one or more processors are configured to use a first set of enumerated values ​​to indicate the timing quality metric for the wireless reference signal, the first set of enumerated values ​​comprising values ​​that indicate a smaller error than a second set of enumerated values ​​to indicate the quality of the DL signal. [C19] The one or more processors may use, as the timing reference: the timing of the UE's uplink (UL) subframe, slot, or frame boundaries; or the transmission timing of another wireless reference signal, or both 15. The UE of claim 14, configured to use the [C20] 15. The UE of claim 14, wherein the timing reference comprises a UE Rx-Tx time difference indicating a measurement by the UE of a time difference between a first detected path at a time of a DL subframe received at the UE and a start of an UL subframe closest in time to the DL subframe, and the timing quality metric indicates a time difference between a first timing used in determining the UE Rx-Tx time difference and a second timing used to transmit the wireless reference signal. [C21] the wireless reference signal is one of a plurality of wireless reference signals transmitted by the UE; The UE of C14, wherein the one or more processors are configured to indicate accuracy of transmission timing of two or more wireless reference signals of the plurality of wireless reference signals using the timing quality metric. [C22] The one or more processors may further calculate the timing quality metric by: a timing advance (TA) adjustment for the UE; a clock drift of the UE's clock; or both The UE of C14, configured to base at least in part on [C23] To transmit the wireless reference signal, the one or more processors: Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), or Sidelink Reference Signal (SL RS) The UE according to C14, configured to transmit [C24] To send the message to the network entity, the one or more processors may transmit the message by: Location server, a serving transmission / reception point (TRP) of the UE; a neighboring TRP of the UE; or Another UE The UE according to C14, configured to send to [C25] the one or more processors: a serving TRP of the UE; a neighboring TRP of the UE; or Another UE 15. The UE of claim 14, configured to transmit the wireless reference signal to be received by a [C26] the one or more processors: Location Server, or The UE's serving TRP 15. The UE of claim 14, configured to receive the configuration from [C27] A device, means for receiving at the device a configuration for transmitting a wireless reference signal, wherein the configuration indicates a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal; means for determining, at the device, in response to receiving the configuration, a timing quality metric based on the time period, wherein the timing quality metric is indicative of an accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. means for sending a message from the device to a network entity comprising the timing quality metric; means for transmitting the wireless reference signal by the device; 1. A device comprising: [C28] The means for receiving the configuration may include, as the timing reference: the timing of the uplink (UL) subframe of said device; or the transmission timing of another wireless reference signal, or both 20. The device of claim 19, further comprising means for using the device. [C29] the timing reference comprises a device Rx-Tx time difference indicating a measurement by the device of a time difference between a first detected path at the time of a DL subframe received at the device and a start of an UL subframe that is closest in time to the DL subframe; The device of C27, wherein the means for determining the timing quality metric comprises means for including in the timing quality metric an indication of a time difference between a first timing used in determining the device Rx-Tx time difference and a second timing used to transmit the wireless reference signal. [C30] 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions for communicating timing quality metrics for a wireless reference signal transmitted by a user equipment (UE), the instructions comprising: code for receiving, at the UE, a configuration for transmitting the wireless reference signal, wherein the configuration indicates a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal; code for determining, by the UE, the timing quality metric based on the time period in response to receiving the configuration at the UE, wherein the timing quality metric indicates accuracy of the transmission timing of the wireless reference signal. code for sending a message from the UE to a network entity comprising the timing quality metric; code for transmitting, by the UE, the wireless reference signal; 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

Claims

1. 1. A method for communicating timing quality metrics for wireless reference signals transmitted by a user equipment (UE) and used for positioning in a wireless communications network, comprising: receiving at the UE a configuration for transmitting the wireless reference signal; determining a timing reference, the timing reference comprising a UE Rx-Tx time difference indicating a measurement by the UE of a time difference between a first detected path at a time of a DL subframe received at the UE and a start of a UL subframe that is closest in time to the DL subframe; determining, by the UE, a time period between the timing reference and transmission of the wireless reference signal corresponding to the timing reference; determining, by the UE, the timing quality metric based on the time period in response to receiving the configuration at the UE, wherein the timing quality metric indicates accuracy of the transmission timing of the UL wireless reference signal. sending a message from the UE to a network entity comprising the timing quality metric; transmitting, by the UE, the wireless reference signal; A method for providing the above.

2. A device, means for receiving at the device a configuration for transmitting a wireless reference signal, wherein the configuration indicates a time period between a timing reference and a transmission timing of the wireless reference signal; means for determining a timing reference at the device, the timing reference comprising a UE Rx-Tx time difference indicating a measurement by the UE of a time difference between a first detected path at a time of a DL subframe received at the UE and a start of an UL subframe that is closest in time to the DL subframe; means for determining, by the device, a time period between the timing reference and transmission of the wireless reference signal corresponding to the timing reference; means for determining, at the device, in response to receiving the configuration, a timing quality metric based on the time period, wherein the timing quality metric is indicative of an accuracy of the transmission timing of the UL wireless reference signal. means for sending a message from the device to a network entity comprising the timing quality metric; means for transmitting the wireless reference signal by the device; 1. A device comprising:

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the timing quality metric indicates the accuracy of the transmission timing of the UL wireless reference signal in terms of a distance metric.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the timing quality metric indicates the accuracy of the UL transmission timing of the wireless reference signal using an enumerated value.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message comprises a report further including an indication of a quality of a DL signal received by the UE.

6. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein a first set of enumerated values ​​for indicating the timing quality metric for the wireless reference signal comprises values ​​that indicate a smaller error than a second set of enumerated values ​​for indicating the quality of the DL signal.

7. The timing quality metric is: a timing advance (TA) adjustment for the UE; clock drift of the UE's clock, or both The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

8. The wireless reference signal is Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH); Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH); Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH); Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), or Sidelink Reference Signal (SL RS) The method of claim 1 , comprising:

9. The network entity: Location server, a serving transmission / reception point (TRP) of the UE; a neighboring TRP of the UE, or Another UE The method of claim 1 , comprising:

10. The wireless reference signal is the serving TRP of the UE; a neighboring TRP of the UE, or Another UE The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal is received by:

11. The configuration is Location Server, or Serving TRP of the UE The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal is received from 12. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a wireless communication interface; Memory and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the wireless communication interface and the memory; wherein the one or more processors:

12. A UE configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 or 3 to 11.

13. 12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions for communicating timing quality metrics for a wireless reference signal transmitted by a user equipment (UE), the instructions comprising code that, when executed by a processor communicatively coupled to a wireless communication interface and a memory, causes the processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 or 3-11.

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