Method and apparatus for establishing a measurement period for positioning

Abstract

Techniques for wireless positioning are disclosed. In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) receives a location information request message from a network entity, the location information request message including one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform the one or more positioning measurements, and performs one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during a measurement period, where a start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, the reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This patent application claims priority to Greek Patent Application No. 20210100190, entitled "FACTORS AFFECTING MEASUREMENT PERIOD FORMULATION FOR POSITIONING," filed on March 26, 2021, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety into this specification.

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless positioning. [Background technology]

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

[0004]

[0004] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), requires, among other improvements, higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage. The 5G standard from the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users and 1 gigabit per second to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support large sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly enhanced compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be enhanced and latency should be significantly reduced compared to current standards. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary related to one or more aspects disclosed herein. As such, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview related to all contemplated aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or critical elements related to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope related to particular aspects. As such, the following summary has the sole purpose of presenting some concepts related to one or more aspects related to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to the detailed description presented below.

[0006]

[0006] In one aspect, a method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE) includes receiving a request location information message from a network entity, the request location information message including one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform the one or more positioning measurements, and performing one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period, wherein the start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, a reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters.

[0007]

[0007] In one aspect, a method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE) includes receiving a location assistance data message from a network entity; receiving a location information request message from the network entity, the location information request message including a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, wherein the length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include velocity-based measurements, time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements only, or both; and performing one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period.

[0008]

[0008] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes a memory, a communication interface, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive a location information request message from a network entity via the communication interface; the location information request message includes one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements; and perform one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period, wherein the start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, the reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters.

[0009]

[0009] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes a memory, a communication interface, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive a location assistance data message from a network entity via the communication interface; receive a location information request message from the network entity via the communication interface; the location information request message includes a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, wherein the length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include velocity-based measurements, time-based measurements only, signal strength-based measurements, or both; and perform one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period.

[0010]

[0010] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes means for receiving a location information request message from a network entity, the location information request message including one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer, wherein the start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, the reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters.

[0011]

[0011] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes means for receiving a location assistance data message from a network entity, means for receiving a location information request message from the network entity, the location information request message including a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, wherein the length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include speed-based measurements, time-based measurements only, signal strength-based measurements, or both, and means for performing one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period.

[0012]

[0012] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to receive a location information request message from a network entity, the location information request message including one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, and perform one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period, wherein the start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, the reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters.

[0013]

[0013] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to receive a location assistance data message from a network entity, receive a location information request message from the network entity, the location information request message including a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, wherein the length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include velocity-based measurements, time-based measurements only, signal strength-based measurements, or both, and perform one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period.

[0014]

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

[0015]

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

[0016] [Figure 1]

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

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A]

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

[0019] 1 illustrates an exemplary frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] FIG. 1 illustrates channels within an exemplary frame structure, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 5]

[0020] 1A and 1B are diagrams of example positioning reference signal (PRS) configurations for a given base station's PRS transmissions, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 6]

[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates an example Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) call flow between a UE and a location server for performing a positioning operation. [Figure 7]

[0022] 1 illustrates an example downlink PRS measurement scenario, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 8]

[0023] 10A-10C illustrate example determinations of downlink PRS measurement windows according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 9]

[0024] 10A-10C illustrate example determinations of downlink PRS measurement windows according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 10]

[0025] FIG. 10 illustrates the difference in processing power required for different types of positioning measurements, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 11]

[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates an example method for wireless positioning, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 illustrates an example method for wireless positioning, according to aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017]

[0027] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings, directed to various examples provided for purposes of illustration. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0018]

[0028] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the described feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0019]

[0029] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0020]

[0030] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by particular circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. Furthermore, the sequence(s) of actions described herein may be considered to be embodied as a whole in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause or instruct associated processors of a device to perform the functions described herein. Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein, for example, as “logic configured to” perform the described actions.

[0021]

[0031] The terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station,” as used herein, are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise specified. Generally, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset location device, a wearable (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., an automobile, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or (e.g., at some times) stationary and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). The term “UE” as used herein may be referred to interchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” “client device,” “wireless device,” “subscriber device,” “subscriber terminal,” “subscriber station,” “user terminal” or “UT,” “mobile device,” “mobile terminal,” “mobile station,” or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN, through which the UE can be connected to external networks such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.), etc.

[0022]

[0032] Depending on the network in which it is deployed, a base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with UEs and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNode B), etc. Base stations may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. A communication link through which a UE can send signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a base station can send signals to a UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term Traffic Channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0023]

[0033] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit receiving point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs, which may or may not be collocated. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to the base station's cell (or several cell sectors). When the term "base station" refers to multiple collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or when the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-collocated physical TRPs may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE and a neighbor base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. A TRP is a point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, and therefore, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood as referring to the particular TRP of the base station.

[0024]

[0034] In some implementations that support UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead may transmit reference signals to the UE to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting signals to the UE) and / or a location measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0025]

[0035] An "RF signal" comprises electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transport information through space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, a 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 on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver is sometimes referred to as a "multipath" RF signal.

[0026]

[0036] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system 100 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 (sometimes referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled “BS”) and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0027]

[0037] The base stations 102 collectively form the RAN and may interface with a core network 170 (e.g., Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or 5G Core (5GC)) through backhaul links 122 and to one or more location servers 172 (e.g., Location Management Function (LMF) or Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP)) through the core network 170. The location server(s) 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: forwarding user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracing, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) via backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0028]

[0038] The base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells may be supported by the base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., over some frequency resource, referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, etc.) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI)) to distinguish cells operating over the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a particular base station, the term “cell” may refer to either or both the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, so long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within some portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0029]

[0039] The geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover regions), but some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be significantly overlapped by larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell (SC) base station 102' may have a geographic coverage area 110' that significantly overlaps with the geographic coverage area 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network including both small cell and macrocell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include Home eNBs (HeNBs) that may serve restricted groups known as Closed Subscriber Groups (CSGs).

[0030]

[0040] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 (also called a reverse link) and / or downlink transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104 (also called a forward link). The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the downlink than for the uplink).

[0031]

[0041] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 communicating with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure or a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communicating to determine whether a channel is available.

[0032]

[0042] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed frequency spectrums. When operating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. A small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in the unlicensed frequency spectrum may boost coverage to and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MultiFire.

[0033]

[0043] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate in mmW and / or near-mmW frequencies in communication with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is the RF portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band are sometimes referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW may extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 millimeters. The very high frequency (SHF) band, also referred to as centimeter wave, extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz. Communications using the mmW / near-mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above description is by way of example only and should not be construed as limiting various aspects disclosed herein.

[0034]

[0044] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a particular direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that particular direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device(s). To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (called a “phased array” or “antenna array”) that creates beams of RF waves that can be “steered” to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. In particular, RF current from the transmitter is supplied to individual antennas with the proper phase relationship so that the waves from the separate antennas add together to increase radiation in desired directions while canceling and suppressing radiation in undesired directions.

[0035]

[0045] A transmit beam may be quasi-colocated, meaning that the transmit beam appears to a receiver (e.g., a UE) to have the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's transmit antennas themselves are physically colocated. In NR, there are four types of quasi-colocation (QCL) relationships. In particular, a given type of QCL relationship means that some parameters related to a target reference RF signal on a target beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, and delay spread of a target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0036]

[0046] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of an antenna array in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase its gain level) an RF signal received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher relative to the beam gains along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is highest compared to the beam gains in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0037]

[0047] The receive beams may be spatially related. Spatial relationship means that parameters for a transmit beam for a second reference signal may be derived from information about the receive beam for the first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive one or more reference downlink reference signals (e.g., a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a PTRS, etc.) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0038]

[0048] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE forms a downlink beam, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if the base station forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0039]

[0049] In 5G, the frequency spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primary serving cell” or “PCell,” and the remaining carrier frequencies are called “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or “SCells.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on a primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 is either performing an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiating an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and may be a carrier in licensed frequencies (although this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier in unlicensed frequencies. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals; for example, since both the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are typically UE-specific, signaling information and signals that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for uplink primary carriers. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to distribute the load on different carriers.Since a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier over which some base station is communicating, terms such as "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" may be used interchangeably.

[0040]

[0050] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or “PCell”), and other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers (“SCells”). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to that achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0041]

[0051] Wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 164, which may communicate with macrocell base station 102 via communications link 120 and / or with mmW base station 180 via mmW communications link 184. For example, macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for UE 164, and mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for UE 164.

[0042]

[0052] In the example of FIG. 1, one or more Earth-orbiting Satellite Positioning System (SPS) space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites) may be used as independent sources of location information for any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG. 1 as a single UE 104 for simplicity). The UE 104 may include one or more dedicated SPS receivers specially designed to receive SPS signals 124 to derive geolocation information from the SVs 112. An SPS generally includes a system of transmitters positioned to enable a receiver (e.g., a UE 104) to determine its location on or above the Earth based at least in part on signals (e.g., SPS signals 124) received from a transmitter (e.g., the SV 112). Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a repetitive pseudorandom noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. While typically located in the SVs 112, transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104.

[0043]

[0053] Use of SPS signals 124 may be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation system(s) that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN), etc. Thus, as used herein, SPS may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems and / or augmentation systems, and SPS signals 124 may include SPS signals, SPS-like signals, and / or other signals related to such one or more SPSs.

[0044]

[0054] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as a UE 190, that indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “sidelinks”). In the example of FIG. 1, the UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In one example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported using any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct® (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, etc.

[0045]

[0055] 2A shows an example wireless network structure 200. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) may be functionally considered to have control plane functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.) that operate cooperatively to form a core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect a gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212. In an additional configuration, an ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1). Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location servers 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, may each correspond to a single server. The location servers 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network 5GC 210 and / or via the Internet (not shown). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network.

[0046]

[0056] 2B shows another exemplary wireless network structure 250. A 5GC 260 (which may correspond to the 5GC 210 in FIG. 2A) may be considered functionally as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form a core network (i.e., the 5GC 260). A user plane interface 263 and a control plane interface 265 connect the ng-eNB 224 to the 5GC 260, specifically to the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively. In an additional configuration, the gNB 222 may also be connected to the 5GC 260 via the control plane interface 265 to the AMF 264 and the user plane interface 263 to the UPF 262. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223, with or without gNB direct connectivity to the 5GC 260. In some configurations, the NG-RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1). The base stations of the NG-RAN 220 communicate with the AMF 264 via an N2 interface and with the UPF 262 via an N3 interface.

[0047]

[0057] The AMF 264 functions include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful intercept, transport for session management (SM) messages between the UE 204 and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and a security anchor function (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204 to receive intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) subscriber identity module (USIM)-based authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The AMF 264 functions also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF that it uses to derive access network-specific keys. The AMF 264 functions also include location service management for barred services, transport for location service messages between the UE 204 and the LMF 270 (acting as the location server 230), transport for location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Additionally, the AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0048]

[0058] The functions of the UPF 262 include serving as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), serving as an outer protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic validation (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "termination markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support the transfer of location service messages over the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server such as the SLP 272.

[0049]

[0059] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF 262 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, control of policy enforcement and parts of QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0050]

[0060] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the LMF 270 via a core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support similar functions as the LMF 270, but the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (not shown in FIG. 2B) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0051]

[0061] 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated in a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or perform any of the network functions described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270) to support file transmission operations as taught herein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of devices (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.) in different implementations. The illustrated components may also be incorporated in other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include similar components to those described to provide similar functionality. Also, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0052]

[0062] The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include a wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver 310 and 350, respectively, and provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for adjusting, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) over one or more wireless communications networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, etc. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., over at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communications medium of interest (e.g., some set of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), and conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.) in accordance with a designated RAT. In particular, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, and one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0053]

[0063] The UE 302 and base station 304 also, in at least some cases, include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and may provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for adjusting, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near field communications (NFC), etc.) over the wireless communications medium of interest. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), and conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.) in accordance with a designated RAT. In particular, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, and include one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368. As particular examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth transceivers, Zigbee and / or Z-Wave transceivers, NFC transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0054]

[0064] A transceiver circuit including at least one transmitter and at least one receiver may, in some implementations, comprise an integrated device (e.g., implemented as transmitter and receiver circuitry in a single communications device), in some implementations, comprise separate transmitter and receiver devices, or in other implementations, may be implemented in other manners. In one aspect, a transmitter may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that enable each device to perform transmit “beamforming” as described herein. Similarly, a receiver may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that enable each device to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, a transmitter and a receiver may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that each device can only receive or transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit simultaneously. The wireless communication device of the UE 302 and / or base station 304 (e.g., one or both of the transceivers 310 and 320 and / or 350 and 360) may also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0055]

[0065] The UE 302 and base station 304 also, in at least some cases, include satellite positioning system (SPS) receivers 330 and 370. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide a means for receiving and / or measuring SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 may comprise any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing the SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 request information and actions from other systems as appropriate and perform the calculations necessary to determine the position of the UE 302 and base station 304 using the measurements obtained via any suitable SPS algorithms.

[0056]

[0066] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include at least one network interface 380 and 390, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities. For example, the network interfaces 380 and 390 (e.g., one or more network access ports) may be configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wire-based or wireless backhaul connection. In some aspects, the network interfaces 380 and 390 may be implemented as transceivers configured to support wire-based or wireless signal communication. This communication may involve, for example, sending and receiving messages, parameters, and / or other types of information.

[0057]

[0067] The UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. The UE 302 includes processor circuitry implementing a processing system 332, e.g., for providing wireless positioning-related functionality and other processing functions. The base station 304 includes a processing system 384, e.g., for providing wireless positioning-related functionality and other processing functions disclosed herein. The network entity 306 includes a processing system 394, e.g., for providing wireless positioning-related functionality and other processing functions disclosed herein. The processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may therefore provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may include one or more processors, such as, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0058]

[0068] The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). The memory components 340, 386, and 396 may therefore provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may include positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processing systems 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that, when executed by processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (or modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3A shows possible locations of positioning component 342, which may be part of WWAN transceiver 310, memory component 340, processing system 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3B illustrates possible locations for a positioning component 388, which may be part of the WWAN transceiver 350, memory component 386, processing system 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.FIG. 3C illustrates possible locations for a positioning component 398, which may be part of the network interface(s) 390, memory component 396, processing system 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.

[0059]

[0069] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the processing system 332 to provide a means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information that is independent of movement data derived from signals received by the WWAN transceiver 310, the short-range wireless transceiver 320, and / or the SPS receiver 330. By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensor(s) 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide movement information. For example, the sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate position in a 2D and / or 3D coordinate system.

[0060]

[0070] Additionally, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides means for providing instructions (e.g., audible and / or visual instructions) to a user and / or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device such as a keypad, touchscreen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0061]

[0071] Referring more particularly to the processing system 384, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processing system 384. The processing system 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The processing system 384 may provide RRC layer functions related to broadcasting of system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions related to header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions related to transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions related to mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0062]

[0072] The transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer 1 (L1) functions related to various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), multi-level quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined with each other using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol streams are spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with each spatial stream for transmission.

[0063]

[0073] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives signals through its respective antenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 332. The transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functions related to various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover the spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 312. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency-domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted on the physical channel by the base station 304. The data and control signals are then provided to a processing system 332 that implements Layer 3 (L3) and Layer 2 (L2) functions.

[0064]

[0074] In the uplink, the processing system 332 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header recovery, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The processing system 332 is also responsible for error detection.

[0065]

[0075] Similar to the functionality described with respect to downlink transmissions by the base station 304, the processing system 332 provides RRC layer functions related to system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions related to header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions related to transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions related to mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0066]

[0076] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to enable spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antenna(s) 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with each spatial stream for transmission.

[0067]

[0077] Uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described with respect to the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives signals through its respective antenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 384.

[0068]

[0078] In the uplink, the processing system 384 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header recovery, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the processing system 384 may be provided to the core network. The processing system 384 is also responsible for error detection.

[0069]

[0079] For convenience, the UE 302, the base station 304, and / or the network entity 306 are illustrated in Figures 3A-3C as including various components that may be configured in accordance with various examples described herein, although it will be appreciated that the illustrated blocks may have different functions in different designs.

[0070]

[0080] The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may communicate with each other over data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. The components of FIGS. 3A-3C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3A-3C may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors), where each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide its functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310-346 may be implemented by the processor and memory component(s) of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350-388 may be implemented by the processor and memory component(s) of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Additionally, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390-398 may be implemented by a processor and memory component(s) of the network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, acts, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, it will be appreciated that such operations, acts, and / or functions may actually be performed by particular components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processing systems 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memory components 340, 386, and 396, positioning components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0071]

[0081] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a downlink frame structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. Figure 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating an example of channels within a downlink frame structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0072]

[0082] LTE, and in some cases, NR, utilizes OFDM on the downlink and single-carrier frequency-division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR has the option to use OFDM on the uplink as well. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. Generally, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing may be 15 kilohertz (kHz), and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Thus, the nominal FFT size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0073]

[0083] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), e.g., subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz (μ=0), 30 kHz (μ=1), 60 kHz (μ=2), 120 kHz (μ=3), and 240 kHz (μ=4), or greater, may be available. At each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For a 15 kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, the slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (μs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 50. For a 30 kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, slot duration is 0.5 ms, symbol duration is 33.3 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 100. For a 60 kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, slot duration is 0.25 ms, symbol duration is 16.7 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200. For a 120 kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight slots per subframe, 80 slots per frame, slot duration is 0.125 ms, symbol duration is 8.33 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 400. For 240 kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, 160 slots per frame, slot duration is 0.0625 ms, symbol duration is 4.17 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) is 800 with a 4K FFT size.

[0074]

[0084] In the example of Figures 4A and 4B, a 15 kHz numerology is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of 1 ms each, with each subframe containing one time slot. In Figures 4A and 4B, time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), increasing from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0075]

[0085] A resource grid may be used to represent a time slot, with each time slot including one or more time-parallel resource blocks (RBs) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIGS. 4A and 4B, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0076]

[0086] Some of the REs carry downlink reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS), which may include PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, etc. Figure 4A shows example locations of REs carrying PRS (labeled "R").

[0077]

[0087] A set of resource elements (REs) used for transmitting a PRS is called a "PRS resource." A set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and can span "N" consecutive symbols (e.g., one or more) within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0078]

[0088] The transmission of PRS resources within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also called "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for comb size "N," a PRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of the PRB. For example, for Com 4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, an RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes of Com 2, Com 4, Com 6, and Com 12 are supported for DL-PRS. Figure 4A shows an example PRS resource configuration for Com 6 (spanning six symbols). That is, the location of the shaded RE (labeled "R") indicates the Com 6 PRS resource configuration.

[0079]

[0089] Currently, DL-PRS resources can span two, four, six, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot with a fully frequency-domain staggered pattern. DL-PRS resources can be configured in any upper-layer configured downlink or flexible (FL) symbol of a slot. There can be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. Below are the frequency offsets between symbols for comb sizes of 2, 4, 6, and 12 across 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol Com2:{0,1}, 4-symbol Com2:{0,1,0,1}, 6-symbol Com2:{0,1,0,1,0,1}, 12-symbol Com2:{0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1}, 4-symbol Com4:{0,2,1,3}, 12-symbol Com4:{0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}, 6-symbol Com6:{0,3,1,4,2,5}, 12-symbol Com6:{0,3,1,4,2,5,0,3,1,4,2,5}, and 12-symbol Com12:{0,6,3,9,1,7,4,10,2,8,5,11}.

[0080]

[0090] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used for transmitting PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. Furthermore, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a TRP ID). Furthermore, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (e.g., "PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor") across slots. The periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of a first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity may have a length selected from 2^μ*{4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,160,320,640,1280,2560,5120,10240} slots, where μ=0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1,2,4,6,8,16,32} slots.

[0081]

[0091] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or multiple beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus a "PRS resource" or simply a "resource" may also be referred to as a "beam." Note that this does not have any implications regarding whether the TRP and the beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0082]

[0092] A "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" is one instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a group of one or more contiguous slots) during which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning occasion," "PRS positioning instance," "positioning occasion," "positioning instance," "positioning repetition," or simply an "occasion," "instance," or "repetition."

[0083]

[0093] A "positioning frequency layer" (also simply referred to as a "frequency layer") is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs with the same values ​​for several parameters. Specifically, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all numerologies supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported for the PRS), the same Point A, the same value of downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The Point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" stands for "absolute radio frequency channel number"), which is an identifier / code that specifies the pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of four PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers are defined, and up to two PRS resource sets can be configured per TRP per frequency layer.

[0084]

[0094] The concept of frequency layers is somewhat similar to that of component carriers and bandwidth portions (BWPs), except that component carriers and BWPs are used by one base station (or macrocell base station and small cell base station) to transmit data channels, and frequency layers are used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRSs. A UE may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when sending its positioning capabilities to the network, such as during an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) session. For example, a UE may indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0085]

[0095] Figure 4B shows an example of various channels within a downlink slot of a radio frame. In NR, the channel bandwidth or system bandwidth is divided into multiple BWPs. A BWP is a contiguous set of PRBs selected from a contiguous subset of common RBs for a given numerology on a given carrier. Generally, up to four BWPs can be specified on the downlink and uplink. That is, a UE can be configured with up to four BWPs on the downlink and up to four BWPs on the uplink. At a given time, only one BWP (uplink or downlink) can be active, meaning that a UE can receive or transmit on only one BWP at a time. On the downlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be equal to or greater than the bandwidth of an SSB, but it may or may not include the SSB.

[0086]

[0096] Referring to FIG. 4B, a primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by a UE to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the DL-RS mentioned above. A physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying an MIB can be logically grouped using the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also referred to as an SS / PBCH). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the downlink system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The PDSCH carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted over the PBCH, such as system information blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.

[0087]

[0097] The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries downlink control information (DCI) in one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each of which contains one or more RE group (REG) bundles (which may span multiple symbols in the time domain). Each REG bundle contains one or more REGs, and each REG corresponds to 12 resource elements (one resource block) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain. The set of physical resources used to carry the PDCCH / DCI is called a control resource set (CORESET) in NR. In NR, the PDCCH is limited to a single CORESET and transmitted with its own DMRS. This enables UE-specific beamforming for the PDCCH.

[0088]

[0098] In the example of Figure 4B, there is one CORESET per BWP, and the CORESET spans three symbols in the time domain (although it could be only one or two symbols). Unlike the LTE control channel, which occupies the entire system bandwidth, in NR, the PDCCH channel is localized to a unique region (i.e., the CORESET) in the frequency domain. Therefore, the frequency components of the PDCCH shown in Figure 4B are shown as being smaller than a single BWP in the frequency domain. Note that although the illustrated CORESET is contiguous in the frequency domain, it does not have to be contiguous. Furthermore, the CORESET can span fewer than three symbols in the time domain.

[0089]

[0099] The DCI in the PDCCH carries information about uplink resource allocations (persistent and non-persistent), called uplink grants and downlink grants, respectively, and a description of the downlink data to be transmitted to the UE. More specifically, the DCI indicates the resources scheduled for the downlink data channel (e.g., PDSCH) and the uplink data channel (e.g., Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)). Multiple (e.g., up to eight) DCIs may be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIs may have one of multiple formats. For example, there are different DCI formats for uplink scheduling, for downlink scheduling, for uplink transmit power control (TPC), etc. The PDCCH may be transported by one, two, four, eight, or 16 CCEs to accommodate different DCI payload sizes or coding rates.

[0090]

[0100] FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example PRS configuration 500 for PRS transmission of a given base station according to an aspect of the disclosure. In FIG. 5, time is represented horizontally and increases from left to right. Each long rectangle represents a slot, and each short (shaded) rectangle represents an OFDM symbol. In the example of FIG. 5, a PRS resource set 510 (labeled "PRS resource set 1") includes two PRS resources: a first PRS resource 512 (labeled "PRS resource 1") and a second PRS resource 514 (labeled "PRS resource 2"). The base station transmits a PRS on PRS resources 512 and 514 of PRS resource set 510.

[0091]

[0101] PRS resource set 510 has an occasion length (N_PRS) of two slots and a periodicity (T_PRS), e.g., 160 slots or 160 milliseconds (ms) (for 15 kHz subcarrier spacing). Thus, both PRS resource 512 and PRS resource 514 are two consecutive slots in length and repeat every T_PRS slots, starting from the slot in which the first symbol of the respective PRS resource occurs. In the example of FIG. 5, PRS resource 512 has a symbol length (N_symb) of two symbols, and PRS resource 514 has a symbol length (N_symb) of four symbols. PRS resource 512 and PRS resource 514 may be transmitted on separate beams of the same base station.

[0092]

[0102] Each instance of PRS resource set 510, shown as instances 520a, 520b, and 520c, includes occasions of length "2" (i.e., N_PRS=2) for each PRS resource 512, 514 of the PRS resource set. PRS resources 512 and 514 are repeated every T_PRS slots up to the muting sequence periodicity T_REP. Thus, a bitmap of length T_REP would be required to indicate which occasions of instances 520a, 520b, and 520c of PRS resource set 510 are muted (i.e., not transmitted).

[0093]

[0103] In one aspect, there may be additional constraints on the PRS configuration 500. For example, for all PRS resources (e.g., PRS resources 512, 514) of a PRS resource set (e.g., PRS resource set 510), the base station may configure the following parameters to be the same: (a) occasion length (T_PRS), (b) number of symbols (N_symb), (c) comb type, and / or (d) bandwidth. Additionally, for all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets, the subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix may be configured to be the same for one base station or for all base stations. Whether this is for one base station or all base stations may depend on the UE's capability to support the first and / or second options.

[0094]

[0104] NR supports several cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, a UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from a pair of base stations, called reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity (UE for UE-based positioning, or a location server or other network entity for UE-assisted positioning). More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in the assistance data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each of the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity can estimate the location of the UE.

[0095]

[0105] For DL-AoD positioning, the positioning entity uses beam reports from the UE of received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the transmitting base station(s). The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the transmitting base station(s).

[0096]

[0106] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on an uplink reference signal (e.g., SRS) transmitted by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angle(s) of the receive beam(s) to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the base station(s). Based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the base station(s), the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0097]

[0107] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include extended cell ID (E-CID) positioning and multi-round trip time (RTT) positioning (also called "multi-cell RTT"). In the RTT procedure, an initiator (base station or UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to a responder (UE or base station), and the responder transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the initiator. The RTT response signal includes the difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal, called the receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference. The initiator calculates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response signal, called the transmit-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference. The propagation time (also called "time of flight") between the initiator and the responder can be calculated from the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx time differences. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and responder can be determined. For multi-RTT positioning, the UE performs RTT procedures with multiple base stations to allow its location to be triangulated based on the known locations of the base stations. RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques, such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD, to improve location accuracy.

[0098]

[0108] The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identities, estimated timing, and signal strength of detected neighbor base stations. The location of the UE is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base station(s).

[0099]

[0109] To assist positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include identifiers of base stations (or base station cells / TRPs) from which to measure reference signals, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., number of consecutive positioning subframes, periodicity of the positioning subframes, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighbor network nodes on its own without using assistance data.

[0100]

[0110] For OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and associated uncertainty, or a search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the expected RSTD value range may be + / - 500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for the positioning measurements are in FR1, the expected RSTD uncertainty value range may be + / - 32 μs. In other cases, when all of the resources used for the positioning measurement(s) are in FR2, the expected RSTD uncertainty value range may be + / - 8 μs.

[0101]

[0111] A location estimate may be called a position estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, or other names. A location estimate may be geodetic and comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude) or may be civic and comprise a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. A location estimate may also be defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume that the location is expected to cover with some specified or default confidence level).

[0102]

[0112] 6 illustrates an example LTE positioning protocol (LPP) procedure 600 between a UE 604 and a location server (depicted as a location management function (LMF) 670) for performing a positioning operation. As shown in FIG. 6, positioning of the UE 604 is supported via an exchange of LPP messages between the UE 604 and the LMF 670. The LPP messages may be exchanged between the UE 604 and the LMF 670 via a serving base station of the UE 604 (depicted as a serving gNB 602) and a core network (not shown). The LPP procedure 600 may be used to position the UE 604 to support various location-related services, such as navigation for the UE 604 (or for a user of the UE 604), for routing, for providing an accurate location to a public safety answering point (PSAP) in connection with an emergency call from the UE 604 to the PSAP, or for some other reason. The LPP procedure 600 may also be referred to as a positioning session, and there may be multiple positioning sessions for different types of positioning methods (e.g., Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Extended Cell Identity (E-CID), etc.).

[0103]

[0113] Initially, the UE 604 may receive a request for its positioning capabilities (e.g., an LPP Capability Request message) from the LMF 670 at stage 610. At stage 620, the UE 604 provides the LMF 670 with its positioning capabilities for the LPP protocol by sending an LPP Capability Provision message to the LMF 670 indicating the positioning methods and characteristics of these positioning methods supported by the UE 604 using LPP. The capabilities indicated in the LPP Capability Provision message may, in some aspects, indicate the types of positioning that the UE 604 supports (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) and may indicate the UE 604's ability to support those types of positioning.

[0104]

[0114] Upon receiving the LPP capability provision message in stage 620, the LMF 670 determines to use a particular type of positioning method (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) based on the indicated type(s) of positioning supported by the UE 604 and determines a set of one or more transmit reception points (TRPs) from which the UE 604 should measure downlink positioning reference signals or to which the UE 604 should transmit uplink positioning reference signals. In stage 630, the LMF 670 sends an LPP assistance data provision message to the UE 604 identifying the set of TRPs.

[0105]

[0115] In some implementations, the Provide LPP Assistance Data message in stage 630 may be sent by the LMF 670 to the UE 604 in response to an LPP Request Assistance Data message (not shown in FIG. 6) sent by the UE 604 to the LMF 670. The Request LPP Assistance Data message may include an identifier of the serving TRP of the UE 604 and a request for positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration of neighboring TRPs.

[0106]

[0116] At stage 640, the LMF 670 sends a request for location information to the UE 604. The request may be an LPP Location Information Request message. This message typically includes information elements that define the location information type, the desired accuracy of the location estimate, and the response time (i.e., the desired latency). Note that a low latency requirement allows for a longer response time, while a high latency requirement requires a shorter response time. However, a long response time is referred to as a high latency, and a short response time is referred to as a low latency.

[0107]

[0117] It should be noted that in some implementations, for example, if the UE 604 sends a request for assistance data to the LMF 670 (e.g., in an LPP Assistance Data Request message, not shown in FIG. 6) after receiving a request for location information in stage 640, the LPP Provide Assistance Data message sent in stage 630 may be sent after the LPP Request Location Information message in 640.

[0108]

[0118] In step 650, the UE 604 utilizes the assistance information received in step 630 and any additional data received in step 640 (e.g., desired location accuracy or maximum response time) to perform positioning operations (e.g., measuring DL-PRS, transmitting UL-PRS, etc.) for the selected positioning method.

[0109]

[0119] In stage 660, the UE 604 may send an LPP Provide Location Information message to the LMF 670 conveying the results of the measurements (e.g., Time of Arrival (ToA), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Receive-Transmit (Rx-Tx), etc.) obtained in stage 650 and before or when any maximum response time (e.g., the maximum response time provided by the LMF 670 in stage 640) expires. The LPP Provide Location Information message in stage 660 may also include the time(s) at which the positioning measurements were obtained and the identity of the TRP(s) from which the positioning measurements were obtained. Note that the time between the request for location information in 640 and the response in 660 is the “response time” and indicates the latency of the positioning session.

[0110]

[0120] The LMF 670 calculates an estimated location of the UE 604 using an appropriate positioning technique (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) based at least in part on the measurements received in the LPP location information provision message in stage 660.

[0111]

[0121] Further referring to DL-PRS, DL-PRS is defined for NR positioning to enable UEs to detect and measure more neighboring TRPs. Several configurations are supported to enable various deployments (e.g., indoor, outdoor, sub-6 GHz, mmW). Furthermore, beam sweeping is supported for PRS to support PRS beam operation. The following table shows various types of reference signals that can be used for various positioning methods supported in NR.

[0112] [Table 1]

[0113]

[0122] Regardless of whether the UE is involved in UE-based or UE-assisted positioning, the UE reports its capability to process PRS to the network (e.g., LMF 670) in a capability exchange (e.g., in the LPP Provide Capability message in step 620). Based on the UE's capability, the UE receives the assistance data needed to perform positioning measurements on PRS resources (e.g., in the LPP Provide Assistance Data message in step 630). However, the number of PRS resources provided in the assistance data may be significantly higher than the number of PRS resources the UE is actually capable of processing. For example, the UE may only be capable of processing up to five PRS resources, but the assistance data may include configuration for 20 PRS resources. In such a case, the UE is expected to select the first five PRS resources to process.

[0114]

[0123] Currently, a location server (e.g., LMF 670) can define and request different measurements for different positioning methods in a location information request message (e.g., in the LPP location information request message in stage 640). These measurements can include RSRP measurements, RSRQ measurements, RSTD measurements, ToA measurements, and / or Rx-Tx time difference measurements. For example, the "NR-ECID-RequestLocationInformation" LPP information element (IE), used to request NR E-CID location measurements from a target UE, includes a "requestedMeasurements" field that may request, for example, up to eight CSI RSRQ measurements. As another example, the "NR-DL-TDOA-RequestLocationInformation" LPP IE, used to request DL-TDOA location measurements from a target UE, includes a "nr-RequestedMeasurements" field that may request, for example, up to eight PRS RSRP measurements. As yet another example, the "NR-Multi-RTT-RequestLocationInformation" LPP IE, which is used to request multi-RTT location measurements from a target UE, includes an "nr-RequestedMeasurements" field that may, for example, request up to eight PRS RSRP measurements.

[0115]

[0124] Currently, in the case of UE-assisted positioning, the UE is expected to report one or more measurement instances (RSTD measurement, downlink RSRP measurement, and / or UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement) to the location server in a single measurement report (e.g., in the LPP Provide Location Information message in step 660) (there is no such report in the case of UE-based positioning). The TRP is expected to report one or more measurement instances (relative ToA (RTOA) measurement, uplink RSRP measurement, and / or base station Tx-Rx time difference measurement) to the location server (e.g., via the NR Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa)) in a single measurement report. Each measurement instance is reported with its own timestamp, and the measurement instance may be within a (configured) measurement window. It should be noted that a measurement instance refers to one or more measurements that may be of the same or different types and that are obtained from the same DL-PRS resource(s) or the same SRS resource(s).

[0116]

[0125] The UE is configured with a measurement period (also called a "measurement window") during which it is expected to measure the PRS. For example, T PRS-RSTD,i The measurement period for PRS RSTD measurements on positioning frequency layer i, denoted as i, is specified below.

[0117]

number

[0118]

[0126] In the above formula, - N RxBeam,i is the UE receive beam sweep factor. For example, in FR1, N RxBeam,i = 1, and in FR2, N RxBeam,i = 8. Note that the more receive beams, the more PRS resources the UE will need. - CSSF PRS,iis the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) for NR PRS-based positioning measurements in frequency layer i; - N sample is the number of PRS RSTD measurement samples. sample = 4, -T last is the measurement duration for the last PRS RSTD sample, including sampling and processing times, and T last =T i +L PRS,i That is, -

[0119]

number

[0120] -T i corresponds to the "durationOfPRS-ProcessingSymbolsInEveryTms" LPP IE, -T available_PRS,i =LCM(T PRS,i ,MGRP i ) and T PRS,i and MGRP i is the least common multiple between -T PRS,i is the periodicity of the DL-PRS resources on frequency layer i, -L PRS,i is the duration, -

[0121]

number

[0122] is the maximum number of DL-PRS resources in positioning frequency layer i configured in a slot; - {N,T} is the UE capability combination per band, where N is the duration of a DL-PRS symbol in ms, corresponding to the 'durationOfPRS-ProcessingSymbolsInEveryTms' LPP IE, processed every T milliseconds (ms), corresponding to the 'durationOfPRS-ProcessingSymbolsInEveryTms' LPP IE, for a given maximum bandwidth supported by the UE, corresponding to the 'supportedBandwidthPRS' LPP IE; and - N' is the UE capability for the number of DL-PRS resources that the UE can process in a slot, as indicated by the 'maxNumOfDL-PRS-ResProcessedPerSlot' LPP IE.

[0123]

[0127] It should be noted that although the above is for PRS RSTD measurements, the same or similar equations and parameters are used for other types of measurements (eg, Rx-Tx time difference measurements, RSRP measurements, etc.).

[0124]

[0128] The following table provides the current physical layer DL-PRS processing capabilities that the UE can report. These values ​​indicate the amount of time the UE may need to buffer and process a DL-PRS at the physical layer.

[0125] [Table 2]

[0126]

[0129] The measurement period (or measurement window) for each positioning frequency layer depends on (1) the UE's reported capabilities (e.g., from Table 2), (2) the PRS periodicity (T PRS or T_PRS), (3) measurement gap periodicity (the UE is not expected to measure the PRS without a measurement gap in which to measure the PRS), and (4) (when operating in FR2) the number of receive beams of the UE.

[0127]

[0130] 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating an example DL-PRS measurement scenario according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In FIG. 7, time is represented horizontally. The arrows represent a PRS periodicity 710 of 20 ms, and the blocks represent PRS resources 720 within the PRS periodicity 710, each having a PRS symbol duration in milliseconds of 0.5 ms.

[0128]

[0131] Based on the above considerations related to the length of the measurement window, the minimum DL-PRS measurement window in the example of Figure 7 is 88 ms, assuming the following assumptions: (1) one DL-PRS frequency layer in FR1, (2) DL-PRS RSTD measurements are performed over four DL-PRS instances (i.e., four repetitions of the PRS periodicity 710), (3) both the PRS periodicity 710 and the measurement gap periodicity (denoted "measurement gap repetition period" or "MGRP") are equal to 20 ms, and (4) the configured PRS resources are within the PRS processing capability of the UE. For the fourth assumption, the parameters (N, T) = (0.5 ms, 8 ms) (from Table 2), where N is the duration of the PRS resources 720 in milliseconds that the UE can process every T = 8 ms. Thus, after the last PRS periodicity 710, there is an 8 ms period (i.e., T) during which the UE processes the PRS resources 720 received during the four PRS periodicities 710, resulting in a total latency of 88 ms.

[0129]

[0132] 8 is a diagram 800 illustrating an example determination of a DL-PRS measurement window according to an aspect of the disclosure. In FIG. 8, time is represented horizontally, with each block representing a PRS resource 810 having a certain duration of PRS symbols in milliseconds (i.e., N from Table 2). The PRS periodicity may be the time from the start of one PRS resource 810 to the start of the next PRS resource 810.

[0130]

[0133] As shown in FIG. 8 , the UE's physical layer receives the last portion of an Assistance Data message (e.g., an LPP Provide Assistance Data message in step 630) and a Location Information Request message (e.g., an LPP Request Location Information message in step 640) at the time indicated by arrow 820. The UE may receive these messages from a location server via LPP. In response, the UE is expected to perform multiple positioning measurements (up to UE capabilities) (e.g., Rx-Tx time difference, ToA, RSTD, etc.) on the configured positioning frequency layer(s) within the configured measurement window. The measurement window starts at the first measurement gap instance aligned with the PRS resources of positioning frequency layer i that is closest in time after both the Assistance Data message and the Location Information Request message are received at the UE's physical layer, as indicated by arrow 830. The end of the measurement window is indicated by arrow 840.

[0131]

[0134] For positioning procedures requiring low latency (e.g., less than 10 ms at the physical layer), an 88 ms measurement window at the physical layer (as in the example of FIG. 7) will not be sufficient. Furthermore, it is expected that there will be new measurement and reporting quantities for NR positioning sessions in the future, such as Doppler spread / shift, speed, and / or velocity vector (i.e., direction of movement). It is also expected that there will be low-latency reporting requirements and batch reporting requirements. These expectations raise the question of how the measurement window will change to accommodate these expectations.

[0132]

[0135] The present disclosure provides techniques for constructing a measurement window. The start of the measurement period may depend on whether the location information request message includes a request to measure within a specific measurement window. For example, a “startMeasurementTime” parameter may be added to the location information request message and used to determine the measurement period in addition to the time of the first measurement gap instance aligned with the PRS resources of positioning frequency layer i that is closest in time after both the assistance data message and the location information request message are received at the UE's physical layer. That is, the start of the measurement window will depend on four factors instead of three as currently. In particular, the start of the measurement window will start at (1) the first measurement gap instance aligned with the DL-PRS resources of positioning frequency layer i that is closest in time after (2) the provide assistance data message and (3) the request location information message are received at the UE's physical layer, and (4) after the “startMeasurementTime” indicated in the location information request message. "startMeasurementTime" may be aligned with the first measurement gap instance aligned with the DL-PRS resources of positioning frequency layer i that is closest in time after the Provide Assistance Data message and Request Location Information message are received, but it may also be later in time.

[0133]

[0136] For example, for a multi-RTT positioning procedure, time T UERxTx,iThe measurement window for UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement may start from the first measurement gap instance aligned to the DL-PRS resource of positioning frequency layer i that is closest in time after the "NR-Multi-RTT-RequestLocationInformation" message and the "NR-Multi-RTT-ProvideAssistanceData" message are received at the UE physical layer from the LMF via LPP and after the "startMeasurementTime" indicated in the "NR-Multi-RTT-RequestLocationInformation" message.

[0134]

[0137] When a request to measure within a particular measurement window or within a particular PRS instance is received, the number of measurement samples (N) that need to be available within the measurement window to derive positioning measurements that meet the first accuracy level is determined. sample )teeth,

[0135]

number

[0136] where N sample may be configured for the UE and may be related to a selected "level of accuracy." sample is defined as "4". sample <N threshold Note that, may accommodate cases where the accuracy requirement (which is the level of accuracy possible) is not expected to be met. sample = 1, N sample This may correspond to a different precision level than the current precision level for =4.

[0137]

[0138] If there are fewer measurement samples in the measurement window than are required to meet the accuracy requirement, there are different options the UE can follow. As a first option, the accuracy requirement may not be expected to be met. As another option, the UE may be expected to meet a second, more relaxed, accuracy requirement. This may include a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) subcondition for meeting the more relaxed accuracy requirement. For example, if the UE samples only one sample, the UE will meet the more relaxed accuracy requirement if the SNR of that sample is greater than "X1" decibels (dB), whereas in legacy scenarios, the SNR threshold is at "Y1" dB, where "Y1" is less than "X1." An example of "Y1" is -6 or -3 dB for the serving cell and -10 or -13 dB for the neighboring cell, and "X1" may be 0 dB for the serving cell and -6 dB for the neighboring cell.

[0138]

[0139] As another option, if the UE samples only one sample (or some other number of samples that is too small to meet the accuracy requirement), the accuracy requirement is in 'X' nanoseconds (ns), and if the UE samples the legacy number of samples, the accuracy requirement is in 'Y' ns, where 'Y' is less than 'X'. As yet another option, the previous two options can be combined. In this case, the UE would be expected to meet the 'X' ns accuracy requirement only if the SNR is higher than 0 dB when there is a single sample to measure (compared to the legacy scenario where the 'Y' ns accuracy requirement would be met when the SNR is higher than -6 dB).

[0139]

[0140] As yet another option, the measurement window may be extended and the UE may report measurements outside the configured measurement window, as shown in Figure 9. Figure 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating an example determination of a DL-PRS measurement window according to an aspect of the disclosure. In Figure 9, time is represented horizontally, with each block representing a PRS resource 910 having a certain duration of PRS symbols in milliseconds (i.e., N from Table 2). The PRS periodicity may be the time from the start of one PRS resource 910 to the start of the next PRS resource 910.

[0140]

[0141] As in FIG. 8 , in FIG. 9 , the UE physical layer receives the last portion of the Assistance Data message (e.g., the LPP Provide Assistance Data message in step 630) and the Location Information Request message (e.g., the LPP Request Location Information message in step 640) at the time indicated by arrow 920. The UE may receive these messages from a location server via LPP. In response, the UE is expected to perform multiple positioning measurements (up to UE capabilities) (e.g., Rx-Tx time difference, ToA, RSTD, etc.) on the configured positioning frequency layer within the configured measurement window. The measurement window starts from the first measurement gap instance aligned with the PRS resources of positioning frequency layer i that is closest in time after both the Assistance Data message and the Request Location Information message are received at the UE physical layer, which is indicated by arrow 930. The end of the measurement window is indicated by arrow 940.

[0141]

[0142] As shown in Figure 9, the measurement window includes four PRS resources 910. However, in the example of Figure 9, six measurement samples are needed to derive measurements that meet the accuracy requirements of the positioning session. That is, the UE needs to measure six PRS resources 910 within the measurement window to derive measurements that meet the accuracy requirements. Therefore, according to the second option above, the UE can extend the measurement window to measure two additional PRS resources 910 (i.e., collect two additional measurement samples). The UE can then report all measurements that fall within the extended measurement window, rather than only those within the configured measurement window.

[0142]

[0143] Referring to the CSSF in more detail, when one or more measurement objects are monitored within a measurement gap, the CSSF for a target measurement object with index i is given by CSSF within_gap,i The measurement object i is specified as: (1) a periodicity T PRS (T_PRS from Figure 5) or with a periodicity T equal to 160 ms PRS (1) Evolved UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) RSTD measurements with parameter "prs-MutingInfo-r9" configured, or (2) NR measurements for positioning, if they refer to long periodic measurements. within_gap,i = 1. Otherwise, the CSSF for other measurements (including E-UTRA RSTD measurements with periodicity Tprs = 160 ms) within_gap,iparticipate in gap contention. For each measurement gap j not used for long periodic measurements, the total number of intra-frequency measurement objects and inter-frequency / inter-RAT measurement objects that are candidates to be measured in gap j is counted. Generally, when CSSF is set to '1', it indicates that the UE is expected to prioritize PRS in the measurement gap. When set to a value greater than '1' (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 10), it indicates that the UE is expected to prioritize mobility measurements (e.g., RRM measurements for handover) over positioning measurements. When set to a value less than '1' (e.g., 0.5), it indicates that the UE is expected to split processing between PRS and RRM according to the ratio indicated by the value of CSSF.

[0143]

[0144] Thus, in one aspect, N sample <N threshold When N, the UE should prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements. sample = 1, it shall be considered to be "1" (if CSSF is not 1). Similarly, when a location information request includes a specific measurement window, the UE shall prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements (i.e., CSSF shall be considered to be "1"). Alternatively, the location information request may include an information field indicating whether the UE shall prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements. That is, CSSF set to a value of "1" shall be explicitly signaled.

[0144]

[0145] In one embodiment, for FR2, N RxBeam,i <N threshold (N sample are compared, the same threshold), the UE should prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements. RxBeam,i= 1, it should be considered as "1" (when CSSF is not 1). Similarly, in FR2, when a location information request includes a specific measurement window, the UE should prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements. Alternatively, the location information request should be used by the UE. RxBeam,i For example, when there is a particular measurement window, N RxBeam,i =1). This is because the number of different receive beams to be measured is small (e.g., N RxBeam,i =1), these measurements should be prioritized over mobility measurements, as otherwise there is a risk of not measuring any of the beams.

[0145]

[0146] In one aspect, the measurement period may depend on whether the measurement report includes Doppler measurements and / or velocity measurements, or only time-based (e.g., ToA, RSTD, Rx-Tx time difference, etc.) and / or signal strength-based (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, etc.) measurements. In the case of Doppler and velocity measurements, the UE may require multiple instances (more than in the case of only time-based and / or signal strength-based measurements) to determine the final measurement quantity (i.e., result). For example, a minimum number of measurement samples (currently N sample = 4) may depend on whether the measurement and reported measurement quantity is for Doppler / velocity. Therefore, there may need to be different UE capabilities for Doppler / velocity reporting as opposed to timing / signal strength only reporting.

[0146]

[0147] FIG. 10 is a diagram 1000 illustrating the difference in processing power required for different types of positioning measurements, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 10, time is represented horizontally and relative processing power is represented vertically. Each block represents a measurement sample for a particular type of measurement. In particular, the UE is configured to perform both Rx-Tx time difference measurements, as indicated by block 1010, and Doppler measurements, as indicated by block 1020, on at least six instances. That is, the UE is configured to measure (sample) the PRS resource at least six times: at least three times to perform Rx-Tx time difference measurements and at least three times to perform Doppler measurements.

[0147]

[0148] As shown in FIG. 10, the amount of processing power required to perform Rx-Tx time difference measurements is less than the processing power required to perform Doppler measurements. For example, a UE may be capable of processing "X" PRS resources within Tms for UE Rx-Tx time difference measurements (and other time / signal strength-based measurements) and "Y" PRS resources within Tms for Doppler measurements (and other velocity-based measurements). The "Y" PRS resources for Doppler measurements may also include the number of PRS resources required for time / signal strength-based measurements. That is, the UE may be capable of processing PRS resources for both time / signal strength-based measurements and velocity-based measurements in "Y" PRS resources within Tms.

[0148]

[0149] The different processing capabilities may be due to different processing implementations. For example, a time-domain implementation for Doppler measurements will likely require more processing power compared to a frequency-domain implementation for such measurements. This may be a differentiating factor for premium versus low-cost devices.

[0149]

[0150] In the example of Figure 10, it requires several instances for measuring and reporting Rx-Tx time difference measurements and several instances for measuring and reporting Doppler measurements. As shown, Doppler measurements require more processing power than Rx-Tx time difference measurements. For example, assume X = 10 and Y = 5. That is, the UE may be able to process 10 PRS resources within Tms for Rx-Tx time difference measurements and 5 PRS resources within Tms for Doppler measurements or for both Rx-Tx time difference measurements and Doppler measurements.

[0150]

[0151] 10 shows Rx-Tx time difference measurements and Doppler measurements, it should be appreciated that these could be any type of time / signal strength based measurement and velocity measurement, respectively. Additionally, while only six instances are shown, there could be more or fewer instances.

[0151]

[0152] In one aspect, the PRS resources aligned to the measurement gap may be periodic or on-demand. One or more of the start measurement time parameters may indicate the periodicity of the PRS resources with respect to the start time of the measurement period. In this manner, a UE may receive a location information request associated with a periodic PRS resource, and the UE may then perform measurements periodically using the periodicity from the start measurement time parameter without receiving another location information request message.

[0152]

[0153] 11 illustrates an example method 1100 of wireless positioning according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, the method 1100 may be performed by a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0153]

[0154] At 1110, the UE receives a location information request message (e.g., the LPP location information request message in stage 640) from a network entity, the location information request message including one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of a measurement period (or measurement window) during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements (e.g., Rx-Tx time difference, RSTD, RSRP, etc.). In one aspect, operation 1110 may be performed by WWAN transceiver 310, processing system 332, memory component 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0154]

[0155] At 1120, the UE performs one or more positioning measurements of one or more PRS resources on the first positioning frequency layer during a measurement period, where a start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, the reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters. In one aspect, operation 1120 may be performed by WWAN transceiver 310, processing system 332, memory component 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0155]

[0156] 12 illustrates an example method 1200 of wireless positioning according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, the method 1200 may be performed by a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0156]

[0157] At 1210, the UE receives a location assistance data message (e.g., the Provide LPP Assistance Data message in stage 630) from a network entity (e.g., a location server, a serving base station for the UE). In one aspect, operation 1210 may be performed by WWAN transceiver 310, processing system 332, memory component 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0157]

[0158] At 1220, the UE receives a location information request message (e.g., the LPP location information request message in stage 640) from a network entity, the location information request message including a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, where the length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include velocity-based measurements (e.g., Doppler, velocity), time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements only, or both. In one aspect, operation 1220 may be performed by WWAN transceiver 310, processing system 332, memory component 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0158]

[0159] At 1230, the UE performs one or more positioning measurements of one or more PRS resources on the first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period. In one aspect, operation 1230 may be performed by the WWAN transceiver 310, the processing system 332, the memory component 340, and / or the positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0159]

[0160] As can be appreciated, a technical advantage of methods 1100 and 1200 is increased flexibility for measurement periods, which results in improved positioning performance, and a technical advantage of method 1200 is increased accuracy for velocity-based measurements.

[0160]

[0161] Note that the term "aligned" as used herein (e.g., in the context of a measurement gap aligned to one or more PRS resources) means that one or more PRS resources occur within the measurement gap, but the first of the one or more PRS resources may not coincide with (e.g., not occur on the same symbol as) the start of the measurement gap. For example, the measurement gap may start at time T1 and one or more PRS resources may start at time T2, where time T2 is after time T1. In this case, the one or more p's are simply triggers.

[0161]

[0162] In the above detailed description, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in examples. This mode of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the exemplary clauses have more features than are expressly set forth in each clause. Rather, various embodiments of the present disclosure may include fewer than all features of each disclosed exemplary clause. Accordingly, the following clauses should be considered incorporated herein, with each clause standing as a separate example by itself. While each dependent clause may refer to a specific combination with one of the other clauses in the clause, the aspect(s) of that dependent clause are not limited to that specific combination. It will be appreciated that other exemplary clauses may also include combinations of the dependent clause(s) aspect(s) with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause, or any combination of features with other dependent and independent clauses. The various embodiments disclosed herein expressly include combinations of specific combinations (e.g., inconsistent aspects, such as defining an element as both an insulator and a conductor) unless these combinations are expressly expressed or can be readily inferred to be unintended. Furthermore, it is also contemplated that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause is not directly dependent on that independent clause.

[0162]

[0163] Example implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0163]

[0164] Clause 1. A method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a location information request message from a network entity, the location information request message including one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform the one or more positioning measurements; and performing one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period, wherein the start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, the time of reception, and the one or more start measurement time parameters.

[0164]

[0165] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the reception time comprises a physical layer reception time of a location information request message at the UE, and the start of the measurement period is based on a first measurement gap aligned to one or more PRS resources, the reception time, and one or more start measurement time parameters.

[0165]

[0166] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the first measurement gap aligned to one or more PRS resources is closest in time to after the reception of a location information request message at the physical layer of the UE and after the value of one or more start measurement time parameters.

[0166]

[0167] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, further comprising receiving a configured number of measurement samples required during a measurement period to meet a first accuracy requirement for one or more positioning measurements.

[0167]

[0168] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein the UE is not expected to meet the first accuracy requirement based on the configured number of measurement samples being less than a threshold.

[0168]

[0169] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the UE is expected to meet a second accuracy requirement that is lower than the first accuracy requirement based on the configured number of measurement samples being less than a threshold.

[0169]

[0170] Clause 7. The method of clause 6, wherein the UE is expected to meet the second accuracy requirement based on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a number of measurement samples taken within a measurement period being greater than a threshold.

[0170]

[0171] Clause 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the number of measurement samples taken within the measurement period is 1.

[0171]

[0172] Clause 9. The method according to any one of clauses 6 to 7, wherein the number of measurement samples taken within the measurement period is greater than one.

[0172]

[0173] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 4 to 9, wherein the UE is not expected to meet the first accuracy requirement based on the number of measurement samples in the measurement period being less than or equal to the configured number of measurement samples.

[0173]

[0174] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 4 to 9, wherein the measurement period is extended to include the configured number of measurement samples based on the number of measurement samples within the measurement period being less than the configured number of measurement samples.

[0174]

[0175] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 4 to 11, wherein the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements based on a configured number of measurement samples being less than a threshold.

[0175]

[0176] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements based on the location information request message including one or more start measurement time parameters.

[0176]

[0177] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the location information request message includes a parameter indicating that the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements.

[0177]

[0178] Clause 15. The method of any of clauses 1 to 14, wherein the UE performs one or more positioning measurements of one or more PRS resources using multiple receive beams.

[0178]

[0179] Clause 16. The method of clause 15, wherein the UE is operating in the millimeter wave (mmW) frequency range.

[0179]

[0180] Clause 17. The method of any of clauses 1 to 16, wherein the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements based on the number of received beams of the UE being less than a threshold.

[0180]

[0181] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 1 to 17, wherein the UE uses only one receiving beam based on the location information request message including one or more start measurement time parameters.

[0181]

[0182] Clause 19. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 18, wherein the location information request message includes a parameter indicating the number of reception beams of the UE.

[0182]

[0183] Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 1 to 19, further comprising reporting one or more positioning measurements to a network entity.

[0183]

[0184] Clause 21. The method of any of clauses 1 to 20, wherein the network entity is a location server and the location information request message is a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) message.

[0184]

[0185] Clause 22. The method of any of clauses 1 to 20, wherein the network entity is a serving base station and the location information request message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

[0185]

[0186] Clause 23. A method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a location assistance data message from a network entity; receiving a location information request message from the network entity; the location information request message including a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, wherein the length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include velocity-based measurements, time-based measurements only, signal strength-based measurements only, or both; and performing one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period.

[0186]

[0187] Clause 24. The method of clause 23, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include at least a velocity-based measurement.

[0187]

[0188] Clause 25. The method of any of clauses 23 to 24, wherein the velocity-based measurement comprises a Doppler measurement or a velocity measurement.

[0188]

[0189] Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 23 to 25, wherein the minimum number of samples for the one or more positioning measurements is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include a velocity-based measurement.

[0189]

[0190] Clause 27. The method of any of clauses 23 to 26, further comprising reporting a first PRS processing capability for time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements, or both, and reporting a second PRS processing capability for speed-based measurements.

[0190]

[0191] Clause 28. The method of clause 27, wherein the first PRS processing capability indicates the number of time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements, or both, that the UE can process in a given time period, and the second PRS processing capability indicates the number of speed-based measurements that the UE can process in a given time period.

[0191]

[0192] Clause 29. The method of clause 27, wherein the second PRS processing capability includes the ability of the UE to process time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements, or both.

[0192]

[0193] Clause 30. The method of any of clauses 23 to 29, further comprising reporting the one or more positioning measurements to a network entity.

[0193]

[0194] Clause 31. The method of any of clauses 23 to 30, wherein the network entity is a location server, and the location assistance data message and the location information request message are Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages.

[0194]

[0195] Clause 32. The method of any of clauses 23 to 30, wherein the network entity is a serving base station and the location assistance data message and the location information request message are radio resource control (RRC) messages.

[0195]

[0196] Clause 33. A user equipment (UE) comprising a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform a method according to any of clauses 1 to 32.

[0196]

[0197] Clause 34. A user equipment (UE) comprising means for implementing the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 32.

[0197]

[0198] Clause 35. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions comprising at least one instruction for causing a user equipment (UE) to perform a method according to any of clauses 1 to 32.

[0198]

[0199] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0199]

[0200] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0200]

[0201] The various example logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0201]

[0202] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software modules may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0202]

[0203] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy discs, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0203]

[0204] While the above disclosure sets forth exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. The inventions described in the claims of the present application as originally filed are set forth below. [C1] 1. A method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a location information request message from a network entity, the location information request message including one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements; performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period, wherein a start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, a reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters; A method comprising: [C2] the reception time comprises a physical layer reception time of the location information request message at the UE; the start of the measurement period is based on a first measurement gap aligned with the one or more PRS resources, the reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters. The method described in C1. [C3] The method of claim 2, wherein the first measurement gap aligned to the one or more PRS resources is closest in time to after reception of the location information request message and after the value of the one or more start measurement time parameters at the physical layer of the UE. [C4] receiving a configured number of measurement samples needed during the measurement period to meet a first accuracy requirement for the one or more positioning measurements; The method of C1, further comprising: [C5] The method of C4, wherein the UE is not expected to meet the first accuracy requirement based on the configured number of measurement samples being less than a threshold. [C6] The method of C5, wherein the UE is expected to meet a second accuracy requirement that is lower than the first accuracy requirement based on the configured number of measurement samples being less than the threshold. [C7] The method of C6, wherein the UE is expected to meet the second accuracy requirement based on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a number of measurement samples taken within the measurement period being greater than a threshold. [C8] The method of C7, wherein the number of measurement samples taken within the measurement period is one. [C9] The method of C6, wherein the number of measurement samples taken within the measurement period is greater than one. [C10] The method of C4, wherein the UE is not expected to meet the first accuracy requirement based on a number of measurement samples within the measurement period being less than or equal to the configured number of measurement samples. [C11] The method of C4, wherein the measurement period is extended to include the configured number of measurement samples based on the number of measurement samples within the measurement period being less than the configured number of measurement samples. [C12] The method of C4, wherein the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements based on the configured number of measurement samples being less than a threshold. [C13] The method of C1, wherein the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements based on the location information request message including the one or more start measurement time parameters. [C14] The method of claim C1, wherein the location information request message includes a parameter indicating that the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements. [C15] The method of C1, wherein the UE performs the one or more positioning measurements of the one or more PRS resources using multiple receive beams. [C16] The method of C15, wherein the UE is operating in the millimeter wave (mmW) frequency range. [C17] The method of claim 1, wherein the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements based on the number of received beams of the UE being less than a threshold. [C18] The method of C1, wherein the UE uses only one receiving beam based on the location information request message including the one or more start measurement time parameters. [C19] The method of claim 1, wherein the location information request message includes a parameter indicating the number of receiving beams of the UE. [C20] reporting the one or more positioning measurements to the network entity. The method of C1, further comprising: [C21] the network entity is a location server; the location information request message is a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message; The method described in C1. [C22] the network entity is a serving base station; the location information request message is a radio resource control (RRC) message; The method described in C1. [C23] 1. A method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a location assistance data message from a network entity; receiving a location information request message from the network entity, the location information request message including a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, wherein a length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include velocity-based measurements, time-based measurements, only signal strength-based measurements, or both; performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period; A method comprising: [C24] The method of C23, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include at least the velocity-based measurement. [C25] The method of C23, wherein the velocity-based measurement comprises a Doppler measurement or a velocity measurement. [C26] The method of C23, wherein the minimum number of samples for the one or more positioning measurements is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include the velocity-based measurement. [C27] reporting first PRS processing capabilities for time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements, or both; Reporting second PRS throughput for rate-based measurements The method of C23, further comprising: [C28] the first PRS processing capability indicates a number of time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements, or both, that the UE can process in a given time period; the second PRS processing capability indicating the number of rate-based measurements the UE can process in the given time period; The method described in C27. [C29] The method of C27, wherein the second PRS processing capability includes the ability of the UE to process time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements, or both. [C30] reporting the one or more positioning measurements to the network entity. The method of C23, further comprising: [C31] the network entity is a location server; the location assistance data message and the location information request message are Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages; The method described in C23. [C32] the network entity is a serving base station; the location assistance data message and the location information request message are radio resource control (RRC) messages; The method described in C23. [C33] Memory and a communication interface; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface; 1. A user equipment (UE) comprising: receiving a location information request message from a network entity via the communication interface, the location information request message including one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements; performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period, wherein a start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, a reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters; A user equipment (UE) configured to perform the following: [C34] the reception time comprises a physical layer reception time of the location information request message at the UE; the start of the measurement period is based on a first measurement gap aligned with the one or more PRS resources, the reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters. UE as described in C33. [C35] A UE as described in C34, wherein the first measurement gap aligned to the one or more PRS resources is closest in time to after reception of the location information request message and after the value of the one or more start measurement time parameters at the physical layer of the UE. [C36] the at least one processor: receiving, via the communication interface, a configured number of measurement samples required during the measurement period to meet a first accuracy requirement for the one or more positioning measurements; 34. The UE of claim 33, further configured to: [C37] The UE of C36, wherein the UE is not expected to meet the first accuracy requirement based on the configured number of measurement samples being less than a threshold. [C38] The UE of C37, wherein the UE is expected to meet a second accuracy requirement that is lower than the first accuracy requirement based on the configured number of measurement samples being less than the threshold. [C39] The UE of C38, wherein the UE is expected to meet the second accuracy requirement based on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a number of measurement samples taken within the measurement period being greater than a threshold. [C40] The UE of C39, wherein the number of measurement samples taken within the measurement period is one. [C41] The UE of C38, wherein a number of measurement samples taken within the measurement period is greater than one. [C42] The UE of C36, wherein the UE is not expected to meet the first accuracy requirement based on a number of measurement samples within the measurement period being less than or equal to the configured number of measurement samples. [C43] The UE of C36, wherein the measurement period is extended to include the configured number of measurement samples based on the number of measurement samples within the measurement period being less than the configured number of measurement samples. [C44] The UE of C36, wherein the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements based on the configured number of measurement samples being less than a threshold. [C45] The UE of C33, wherein the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements based on the location information request message including the one or more start measurement time parameters. [C46] The UE of C33, wherein the location information request message includes a parameter indicating that the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements. [C47] The UE of C33, wherein the UE performs the one or more positioning measurements of the one or more PRS resources using multiple receive beams. [C48] The UE of C47, wherein the UE operates in the millimeter wave (mmW) frequency range. [C49] The UE of C33, wherein the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements based on a number of reception beams of the UE being less than a threshold. [C50] The UE of C33, wherein the UE uses only one receiving beam based on the location information request message including the one or more start measurement time parameters. [C51] A UE as described in C33, wherein the location information request message includes a parameter indicating the number of receiving beams of the UE. [C52] the at least one processor: reporting the one or more positioning measurements to the network entity. 34. The UE of claim 33, further configured to: [C53] the network entity is a location server; the location information request message is a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message; UE as described in C33. [C54] the network entity is a serving base station; the location information request message is a radio resource control (RRC) message; UE as described in C33. [C55] Memory and a communication interface; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface; 1. A user equipment (UE) comprising: receiving a location assistance data message from a network entity via the communications interface; receiving a location information request message from the network entity via the communications interface, the location information request message including a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, wherein a length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include velocity-based measurements, time-based measurements, only signal strength-based measurements, or both; performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period; A user equipment (UE) configured to perform the following: [C56] The UE of C55, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include at least the velocity-based measurement. [C57] The UE of C55, wherein the velocity-based measurement comprises a Doppler measurement or a velocity measurement. [C58] The UE of C55, wherein a minimum number of samples for the one or more positioning measurements is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include the velocity-based measurement. [C59] the at least one processor: reporting first PRS processing capabilities for time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements, or both; Reporting second PRS throughput for rate-based measurements The UE of C55, further configured to: [C60] the first PRS processing capability indicates a number of time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements, or both, that the UE can process in a given time period; the second PRS processing capability indicating the number of rate-based measurements the UE can process in the given time period; UE described in C59. [C61] The UE of C59, wherein the second PRS processing capability includes the ability of the UE to process time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements, or both. [C62] the at least one processor: reporting the one or more positioning measurements to the network entity. The UE of C55, further configured to: [C63] the network entity is a location server; the location assistance data message and the location information request message are Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages; UE described in C55. [C64] the network entity is a serving base station; the location assistance data message and the location information request message are radio resource control (RRC) messages; UE described in C55. [C65] A user equipment (UE), means for receiving a location information request message from a network entity, the location information request message including one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements; means for performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period, wherein a start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, a reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters; A user equipment (UE) comprising: [C66] A user equipment (UE), means for receiving a location assistance data message from a network entity; means for receiving a location information request message from the network entity, the location information request message including a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, wherein a length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include velocity-based measurements, time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements only, or both; means for performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period; A user equipment (UE) comprising: [C67] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receiving a location information request message from a network entity, the location information request message including one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements; performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period, wherein a start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, a reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters; A non-transitory computer-readable medium for causing [C68] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receiving a location assistance data message from a network entity; receiving a location information request message from the network entity, the location information request message including a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, wherein a length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include velocity-based measurements, time-based measurements, only signal strength-based measurements, or both; performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period; A non-transitory computer-readable medium for causing

Claims

1. 1. A method of wireless positioning implemented by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a location information request message from a network entity, the location information request message including one or more parameters indicating a configured number of measurement samples required during a measurement period in which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements; performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period, wherein the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources and the configured number of measurement samples; Equipped with the location information request message further includes one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of the measurement period; 20. The method of claim 19, wherein a start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, a reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters.

2. the reception time comprises a physical layer reception time of the location information request message at the UE; the start of the measurement period is based on a first measurement gap aligned with the one or more PRS resources, the reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters. The method of claim 1.

3. The method described in claim 2, wherein the first measurement gap aligned with the one or more PRS resources that are closest in time after the location information request message is received is aligned with the one or more start measurement time parameters.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the UE is expected to prioritize PRS processing over mobility measurements based on the location information request message including the one or more start measurement time parameters.

5. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the UE uses only one receive beam based on the location information request message including the one or more start measurement time parameters.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configured number of measurement samples is needed during the measurement period to meet a first accuracy requirement for the one or more positioning measurements.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the UE is not expected to meet the first accuracy requirement based on the configured number of measurement samples being less than a threshold.

8. 1. A method of wireless positioning implemented by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a location assistance data message from a network entity; receiving a location information request message from the network entity, the location information request message including a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, wherein a length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include velocity-based measurements, time-based measurements, only signal strength-based measurements, or both; performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period; A method comprising:

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more positioning measurements include at least the velocity-based measurement.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the velocity-based measurement comprises a Doppler measurement or a velocity measurement.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the minimum number of samples for the one or more positioning measurements is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include the velocity-based measurement.

12. reporting a first PRS processing capability for time-based measurements, signal strength-based measurements, or both; reporting second PRS processing capabilities for rate-based measurements; The method of claim 8 further comprising:

13. Memory and a communication interface; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface; 1. A user equipment (UE) comprising: receiving a location information request message from a network entity via the communication interface, the location information request message including one or more parameters indicating a configured number of measurement samples required during a measurement period in which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements; performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period, wherein the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources and the configured number of measurement samples; configured to: the location information request message further includes one or more start measurement time parameters indicating a start time of the measurement period; A user equipment (UE) wherein a start of the measurement period is based on the one or more PRS resources, a reception time, and the one or more start measurement time parameters.

14. Memory and a communication interface; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface; 1. A user equipment (UE) comprising: receiving a location assistance data message from a network entity via the communications interface; receiving a location information request message from the network entity via the communications interface, the location information request message including a measurement period during which the UE is expected to perform one or more positioning measurements, wherein a length of the measurement period is based on whether the one or more positioning measurements include velocity-based measurements, time-based measurements, only signal strength-based measurements, or both; performing the one or more positioning measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources on a first positioning frequency layer during the measurement period; A user equipment (UE) configured to:

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