Securing the positioning reference signal (PRS) in user device (UE) positioning.

Abstract

Reference signals used in estimating the location of user equipment (UE) in a wireless data network can be secured against man-in-the-middle attacks by withholding transmission parameters for decoding each portion of the reference signal from the transmitting device until those portions have been transmitted. Thus, the receiving device can buffer the received signal and process the buffered signal after receiving the transmission parameters. To further prevent an attacker device from attacking future reference signals, the transmission parameters can be made non-deterministic such that an attacker device that obtains the parameters over a period of time cannot use the decoded parameters to predict or determine subsequent transmission parameters.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001]

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to determining the location of a user device (UE) using radio frequency (RF) signals. [Background technology]

[0002]

[0002] In wireless communication networks such as fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) or other cellular networks, the location estimation of user equipment (UE) (mobile devices in the network) may be determined by the UE transmitting and / or measuring a reference signal. These reference signals are encoded, but they may be vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle attacker who decodes the first part of the reference signal and mimics the subsequent part or repetition of the reference signal. Such an attack may degrade the accuracy of the location estimation, which may reduce the value of providing location estimation itself. [Overview of the project]

[0003]

[0003] Embodiments herein address these and other problems by preventing such attacks by withholding the transmission parameters for decoding each portion of the reference signal until those portions have been transmitted. Thus, the receiving device can buffer the received signal and process the buffered signal after receiving the transmission parameters. To further prevent an attacker device from attacking future reference signals, the transmission parameters can be made non-deterministic such that an attacker device that obtains parameters over a period of time cannot use the decoded parameters to predict or determine subsequent transmission parameters.

[0004]

[0004] An exemplary method of securing a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, as described in this disclosure, includes sending a first configuration data to the UE indicating the period over which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. The first configuration data is sent before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network, and the first configuration data excludes at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. The method further comprises sending a second configuration data to the UE indicating at least one transmit parameter value, the second configuration data being sent after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource.

[0005]

[0005] An exemplary method for processing a secure positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, according to the present disclosure, includes receiving first configuration data from a network entity indicating a period during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. The first configuration data is received before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network, and the first configuration data excludes at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. The method further comprises buffering data from the signal received by the TRP during the period. The method further comprises receiving second configuration data from the network entity indicating at least one transmit parameter value, the second configuration data is received after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource. The method further comprises processing the portion of the PRS resource using at least one transmit parameter value on at least a portion of the buffered data to generate a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols.

[0006]

[0006] An exemplary network entity for securing a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network includes, according to this disclosure, a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processing units communicably coupled to the transceiver and the memory. One or more processing units are configured to send first configuration data to the UE via the transceiver, indicating the period for which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; one or more processing units are configured to send the first configuration data before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network; one or more processing units are configured to exclude from the first configuration data at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. One or more processing units are also configured to send second configuration data to the UE via the transceiver, indicating at least one transmit parameter value, the sending of the second configuration data occurring after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource.

[0007]

[0007] An exemplary UE for processing a secure positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, as described herein, includes a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processing units communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. One or more processing units are configured to receive first configuration data from a network entity via the transceiver, indicating a period of time during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, the first configuration data being received before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network, and the first configuration data excluding at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. One or more processing units are also configured to buffer data from the signal received by the TRP during the period. One or more processing units are also configured to receive second configuration data from a network entity via the transceiver, indicating at least one transmit parameter value, the second configuration data being received after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource. Furthermore, one or more processing units are configured to process the above portion of the PRS resource using at least one transmit parameter value on at least a portion of the buffered data in order to generate a waveform for each of one or more OFDM symbols. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1]

[0008] A diagram of a positioning system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2]

[0009] A diagram of a 5G NR positioning system, showing one embodiment of a positioning system implemented within a fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) communication system (for example, the positioning system in Figure 1). [Figure 3]

[0010] A diagram showing the frame structure and related terminology examples for NR. [Figure 4]

[0011] A figure showing an example of a wireless frame sequence having a positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning occasion according to one embodiment. [Figure 5]

[0012] A diagram of several exemplary comb structures that can be used to communicate a reference signal for positioning, according to one embodiment. [Figure 6]

[0013] A diagram illustrating an exemplary hierarchical structure of reference signal resources that can be used for positioning, according to one embodiment. [Figure 7]

[0014] A time diagram illustrating two different options for the use of resource set slots according to one embodiment. [Figure 8A]

[0015] A diagram illustrating an example of how a man-in-the-middle attack against a reference signal can be carried out. [Figure 8B] A diagram illustrating an example of how a man-in-the-middle attack against a reference signal can be carried out. [Figure 9A]

[0016] A diagram illustrating, in one embodiment, how an attack may be perceived by a receiving device from a timing perspective. [Figure 9B] A diagram illustrating, in one embodiment, how an attack may be perceived by a receiving device from a timing perspective. [Figure 10]

[0017] A time diagram reproducing examples of continuous and interleaved beam sweeping shown in Figure 7, which includes indications of when one or more transmission parameters for use when decoding resource 1 may be sent to the user equipment (UE) according to several embodiments. [Figure 11]

[0018] A time diagram illustrating how a UE can buffer and process PRS resources, as an example. [Figure 12A]

[0019] A timing diagram illustrating different options for transmitting one or more transmission parameter values ​​in various embodiments. [Figure 12B] A timing diagram showing different options for conveying one or more transmission parameter values according to various embodiments. [Figure 12C] A timing diagram showing different options for conveying one or more transmission parameter values according to various embodiments. [Figure 13]

[0020] A flowchart of a method for securing PRS resources for UE positioning in a wireless communication network according to one embodiment. [Figure 14]

[0021] A flowchart of a method for processing secured PRS resources for UE positioning in a wireless communication network according to one embodiment. [Figure 15]

[0022] A block diagram of one embodiment of a UE that can be utilized in the embodiments described herein. [Figure 16]

[0023] A block diagram of one embodiment of a transmit-receive point (TRP) that can be utilized in the embodiments described herein. [Figure 17]

[0024] A block diagram of one embodiment of a computer system that can be utilized in the embodiments described herein.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009]

[0025] Like reference numerals in the various drawings indicate like elements in some exemplary implementations. Additionally, multiple instances of an element may be indicated by following the first number of the element with a letter or a hyphen and a second number. For example, multiple instances of element 110 may be indicated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc., or as 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When referring to such an element using only the first number, it is to be understood as referring to any instance of the element (e.g., element 110 in the previous example would refer to elements 110-1, 110-2, and 110-3, or elements 110a, 110b, and 110c).

[0010]

[0026] The following description covers several implementations for the purpose of illustrating the inventive aspects of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in numerous different ways. The implementations described include systems utilizing 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, or further implementation technologies thereof, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) IEEE 802.11 standard (including those identified as Wi-Fi® technology), Bluetooth® standard, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM®), GSM / General-Purpose Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Terrestrial Infrastructure Radio (TETRA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA®), Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, EV-DO Rev A B. It can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals, or other known signals used for communication within wireless, cellular, or Internet of Things (IoT) networks, in accordance with any communication standard, such as High Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Advanced High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA+), Long-Term Evolution (LTE®), or Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS).

[0011]

[0027] As used herein, “RF signal” comprises electromagnetic waves that transport information through the space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). A transmitter as used herein may transmit a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may also be called a “multipath” RF signal.

[0012]

[0028] Furthermore, as used herein, the term “transmit parameters” may refer to parameters used to decode an encoded RF signal by recreating the waveform of the RF signal. As described herein, transmit parameters can vary and may include scrambling IDs, frequency domain parameters, comb patterns, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol offsets, and the like. Transmit parameters may refer to values ​​for these particular types of transmit parameters.

[0013]

[0029] As previously shown, in wireless communication networks such as fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) or other cellular networks, the location estimation of a user device (UE) (a mobile device in the network) may be determined by the UE measuring reference signals transmitted by one or more transmit / receive points (TRPs). These reference signals, in particular positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, are encoded. However, as stated, they can be vulnerable to an attacker who decodes the first part of the reference signal and mimics subsequent parts or repetitions of the reference signal. Embodiments described herein result in securing such PRS resources from such attacks by withholding the transmission parameters for decoding each part of the PRS resource until those parts of the PRS resource have finished being transmitted, thereby preventing the attack. Thus, a receiving device can buffer the received signal and process the buffered signal after receiving the transmission parameters. To further prevent an attacker device from attacking future reference signals, the transmission parameters can be made non-deterministic such that an attacker device obtaining parameters over a period of time cannot use the decoded parameters to predict or determine subsequent transmission parameters. A detailed description of these embodiments will be provided after the description of the systems and technologies related to these embodiments.

[0014]

[0030] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of a positioning system 100 according to one embodiment, in which the UE 120, location server 160, and / or other components of the positioning system 100 can use the techniques provided herein to secure PRS resources for positioning the UE in a wireless communication network. The techniques described herein may be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 may include the UE 120, one or more satellites 110 (also called space vehicles (SV)) for a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou, a base station 120, an access point (AP) 130, a location server 160, a network 170, and an external client 180. In general, the positioning system 100 can estimate the location of UE120 based on the RF signals received by and / or transmitted from UE120 and the known locations of other components transmitting and / or receiving RF signals (e.g., GNSS satellite 110, base station 120, AP130). Further details regarding specific location estimation techniques will be discussed in more detail with respect to Figure 2.

[0015]

[0031] It should be noted that Figure 1 provides only a generalized diagram of various components, any or all of which may be used as appropriate, and each of them may be duplicated as needed. In particular, although only one UE 120 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the positioning system 100. Similarly, the positioning system 100 may include a larger or smaller number of base stations 120 and / or APs 130 than those shown in Figure 1. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the positioning system 100 may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks, and data and signaling connections. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired function. In some embodiments, for example, an external client 180 may be directly connected to the location server 160. Those skilled in the art will recognize many modifications to the illustrated components.

[0016]

[0032] Depending on the desired functionality, network 170 may comprise any of various wireless and / or wireline networks. Network 170 may comprise any combination of, for example, public and / or private networks, local and / or wide area networks. Furthermore, network 170 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, network 170 may comprise, for example, cellular or other mobile networks, wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless wide area networks (WWANs), and / or the internet. Examples of network 170 include Long-Term Evolution (LTE) wireless networks, fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks (also known as New Radio (NR) wireless networks or 5G NR wireless networks), Wi-Fi WLANs, and the internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). Network 170 may also comprise two or more networks and / or two or more types of networks.

[0017]

[0033] The base station 120 and the access point (AP) 130 are communicably coupled to the network 170. In some embodiments, the base stations 120s may be owned, maintained, and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may employ any of the various wireless technologies described herein. Depending on the technology of the network 170, the base station 120 may comprise a Node B, an Advanced Node B (eNode B or eNB), a Base Station Transceiver Station (BTS), a Radio Base Station (RBS), an NR Node B (gNB), a Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), and the like. A base station 120 that is a gNB or an ng-eNB may be part of a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) that can connect to the 5G Core Network (5GC) if the network 170 is a 5G network. The AP 130 may comprise, for example, a Wi-Fi AP or a Bluetooth AP. Thus, the UE 120 can send and receive information with network-connected devices such as a location server 160 by accessing the network 170 via the base station 120 using a first communication link 133. As an addition or alternative, AP130 may also be coupled to network 170 so that UE120 can communicate with network-connected and Internet-connected devices, including location server 160, using a second communication link 135.

[0018]

[0034] As used herein, the term “base station” may generally refer to a single physical transmit point or multiple co-located physical transmit points that may be located in base station 120. Transmit / receive points (TRPs) (also known as transmit / receive points) correspond to this type of transmit point, and the term “TRP” may be used herein interchangeably with the terms “gNB,” “ng-eNB,” and “base station.” In some cases, base station 120 may comprise multiple TRPs, for example, each TRP being associated with a different antenna or different antenna array for base station 120. A physical transmit point may comprise an array of antennas of base station 120 (for example, in a multi-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and / or when the base station employs beamforming). The term “base station” may further refer to multiple unco-located physical transmit points, which may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radiohead (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station).

[0019]

[0035] As used herein, the term “cell” may generally refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with base station 120 and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) for distinguishing neighboring cells operating over the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communications (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), etc.) that may provide access to different types of devices. In some cases, the term “cell” may refer to a portion of a geographical coverage area (e.g., a sector) over which a logical entity operates.

[0020]

[0036] The location server 160 may include a server and / or other computing device configured to provide the UE 120 with data (e.g., “support data”) to determine the estimated location of the UE 120 and / or to facilitate location measurement and / or location determination by the UE 120. According to some embodiments, the location server 160 may include a Home SUPL Location Platform (H-SLP) that supports Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) User Plane (UP) location solutions as defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and can support location services for the UE 120 based on subscription information for the UE 120 stored in the location server 160. In some embodiments, the location server 160 may include a Discovery SLP (D-SLP) or an Emergency SLP (E-SLP). The location server 160 may also include an Extended Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) that supports the location of the UE 120 using a Control Plane (CP) location solution for LTE radio access by the UE 120. The location server 160 may further include location management functions (LMF) to support the location of the UE120 using a control plane (CP) location solution for NR or LTE radio access by the UE120.

[0021]

[0037] In the CP location solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of UE120 can be exchanged between elements of network 170 and with UE120, using existing network interfaces and protocols, as well as as signaling from the perspective of network 170. In the UP location solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of UE120 can be exchanged between location server 160 and UE120 as data from the perspective of network 170 (e.g., data transported using Internet Protocol (IP) and / or Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)).

[0022]

[0038] As previously stated (and discussed in more detail below), the estimated location of UE120 may be based on measurements of RF signals transmitted from and / or received by UE120. In particular, these measurements can provide information about the relative distance and / or angle of UE120 from one or more components in the positioning system 100 (e.g., GNSS satellite 110, AP130, base station 120). The estimated location of UE120 may be estimated geometrically (e.g., using multi-angulation and / or multi-laterization) based on the distance and / or angle measurements, along with the known positions of one or more components.

[0023]

[0039] While ground components such as AP130 and base station 120 may be fixed, embodiments are not limited in this way. Mobile components may be used. For example, in some embodiments, the location of UE120 may be estimated at least in part on measurements of RF signals 140 communicated between UE120 and one or more other UE145, which may be mobile or fixed. When one or more other UE145 are used in locating a particular UE120, the UE120 whose location is to be determined may be called the “target UE,” and each of the one or more other UE145 used may be called an “anchor UE.” For the location of the target UE, the location of each of the one or more anchor UEs may be known and / or determined together with the target UE. Direct communication between one or more other UE145 and UE120 may involve sidelink and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication techniques. Sidelink, as defined by 3GPP, is a form of D2D communication under cellular-based LTE and NR standards.

[0024]

[0040] The estimated location of UE120 can be used in a variety of applications, such as to assist a user of UE120 in finding direction or navigating, or to assist another user (e.g., associated with an external client 180) in locating UE120. “Location” is also referred to herein as “location estimate,” “estimated location,” “location,” “position,” “position estimate,” “position fix,” “estimated position,” “location fix,” or “fix.” The process of determining location may be referred to as “positioning,” “location determination,” or “location determination.” The location of UE120 may consist of the absolute location of UE120 (e.g., latitude and longitude and possibly altitude), or the relative location of UE120 (e.g., a location expressed as a distance north or south, east or west, and possibly up or down from some other known fixed location, or some other location such as the location of UE120 at some known previous time). A location may be specified as a geodetic location with coordinates that are absolute (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), relative (e.g., relative to some known absolute location), or local (e.g., X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates in a coordinate system defined for a local area such as a factory, warehouse, university campus, shopping mall, sports stadium, or convention center). A location may instead be a city location, in which case it may have a street address (e.g., including country, state, county, city, road and / or street name or label, and / or road or street number), and / or one or more labels or names such as place, building, part of building, floor of building, and / or room within building.Location may further include uncertainties or error indicators, such as horizontal and possibly vertical distances where the location is expected to be incorrect, or indications of areas or volumes (e.g., circles or ellipses) within which the UE120 is expected to be located with some level of confidence (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0025]

[0041] External client 180 may be a web server or remote application that has some association with UE120 (for example, that can be accessed by a user of UE120), or it may be a server, application, or computer system that provides location services to some other user, which may include obtaining and providing the location of UE120 (for example, to enable services such as a friends or relatives finder, asset tracking, or child or pet location). Additionally or alternatively, external client 180 may obtain and provide the location of UE120 to emergency service providers, government agencies, etc.

[0026]

[0042] As previously stated, the exemplary positioning system 100 may be implemented using a wireless communication network such as an LTE-based or 5G NR-based network. Figure 2 shows a diagram of a 5G NR positioning system 200, which illustrates one embodiment of a positioning system implementing 5G NR (for example, positioning system 100). The 5G NR positioning system 200 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 120 using access nodes 210, 214, 216 (which may correspond to base stations 120 and access points 130 in Figure 1), and (optionally) an LMF 220 (which may correspond to location server 160), in order to implement one or more positioning methods. Here, the 5G NR positioning system 200 comprises the UE 120 and components of a 5G NR network comprising a next-generation (NG) radio access network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 235 and a 5G core network (5G CN) 240. 5G networks are sometimes called NR networks, NG-RAN235 is sometimes called 5G RAN or NR RAN, and 5G CN240 is sometimes called NG core network. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may further utilize information from GNSS satellites 110 from GNSS systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar systems (e.g., GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)). Additional components of the 5G NR positioning system 200 are described below. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may include additional or alternative components.

[0027]

[0043] Figure 2 provides only a generalized diagram of the various components, and it should be noted that any or all of them may be used as appropriate, and each of them may be duplicated or omitted as needed. In particular, although only one UE120 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the 5G NR positioning system 200. Similarly, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include a larger (or smaller) number of GNSS satellites 110, gNB210, ng-eNB214, wireless local area network (WLAN) 216, access and mobility management functions (AMF) s215, external clients 230, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks, including data and signaling connections. Furthermore, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired function.

[0028]

[0044] The UE120 may be a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) enabled terminal (SET), or may be referred to as such or by any other name. In addition, the UE120 may be compatible with cell phones, smartphones, laptops, tablets, personal data assistants (PDAs), tracking devices, navigation devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, or any other portable or mobile devices. Typically, though not necessarily, the UE120 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, LTE, High Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX®), and 5G NR (e.g., using NG-RAN235 and 5G CN240). UE120 may also support wireless communication using a WLAN216 that can connect to other networks such as the Internet (as one or more RATs, and as previously mentioned with respect to Figure 1). The use of one or more of these RATs may enable UE120 to communicate with an external client 230 (for example, via an element of a 5G CN240 not shown in Figure 2, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC)225), and / or enable the external client 230 to receive location information about UE120 (for example, via the GMLC225). The external client 230 in Figure 2 may correspond to the external client 180 in Figure 1 that is implemented in or communicably coupled to a 5G NR network.

[0029]

[0045] UE120 may include a single entity or multiple entities, as in a personal area network, where the user may employ audio, video and / or data I / O devices, as well as / or body sensors and separate wireline or wireless modems. The location estimate of UE120 may be called location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, location estimate, or location fix, and may provide location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) of UE120 that may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above or below ground level, floor level or basement level). Alternatively, the location of UE120 may be represented as a city location (e.g., a postal address, or the designation of some point or sub-area within a building, such as a specific room or floor). The location of a UE120 can also be represented as an area or volume (defined geodetically or in urban terms) within which the UE120 is expected to be located with some probability or level of confidence (e.g., 67%, 95%). The location of a UE120 can further be a relative location with distance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates defined with respect to some origin in a known location, which may be defined, for example, geodetically, in urban terms, or by referring to a point, area, or volume shown on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the descriptions contained herein, the use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise specified. When calculating the location of a UE, it is customary to solve for local X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates, and then, if necessary, convert the local coordinates to absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude below or above mean sea level).

[0030]

[0046] The base stations in NG-RAN235 shown in Figure 2 may correspond to base station 120 in Figure 1 and may include NR NodeB (gNB) 210-1 and 210-2 (collectively and generically referred to herein as gNB210). Pairs of gNB210 in NG-RAN235 may be connected to each other (for example, directly as shown in Figure 2, or indirectly via other gNB210). The communication interface between base stations (gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214) may be referred to as the Xn interface 237. Access to the 5G network is provided to UE120 via wireless communication between UE120 and one or more gNB210s that can provide wireless communication access to the 5G CN240 for UE120 using 5G NR. The wireless interface between base stations (gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214) and UE120 may be referred to as the Uu interface 239. 5G NR radio access is sometimes referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access. In Figure 2, it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE120 is gNB210-1, but other gNBs (e.g., gNB210-2) could act as serving gNBs if UE120 moved to a different location, or as secondary gNBs to provide UE120 with additional throughput and bandwidth.

[0031]

[0047] The base stations in NG-RAN235 shown in Figure 2 may also include next-generation advanced node B214s, also known as ng-eNBs. An ng-eNB214 may be connected to one or more gNB210s in NG-RAN235, for example, directly or indirectly via other gNB210s and / or other ng-eNBs. An ng-eNB214 may provide LTE wireless access and / or advanced LTE (eLTE) wireless access to a UE120. Some gNB210s (e.g., gNB210-2) and / or ng-eNB214s in Figure 2 may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons, which may transmit signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) and / or broadcast support data to assist in positioning of a UE120, but may not receive signals from a UE120 or other UEs. Note that although only one ng-eNB214 is shown in Figure 2, some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNB214s. Base stations 210 and 214 may communicate directly with each other via the Xn communication interface. Additionally or alternatively, base stations 210 and 214 may communicate directly or indirectly with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200, such as LMF220 and AMF215.

[0032]

[0048] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also include one or more WLANs 216 that can connect to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 250 in the 5G CN 240 (for example, in the case of an untrusted WLAN 216). For example, WLAN 216 may support IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi access for UE 120 and may comprise one or more Wi-Fi APs (for example, AP 130 in Figure 1). Here, N3IWF 250 may connect to other elements in the 5G CN 240, such as AMF 215. In some embodiments, WLAN 216 may support another RAT, such as Bluetooth. N3IWF 250 may provide support for secure access by UE 120 to other elements in the 5G CN 240 and / or support interworking of one or more protocols used by WLAN 216 and UE 120 to one or more protocols used by other elements of the 5G CN 240, such as AMF 215. For example, the N3IWF250 may support establishing an IPSec tunnel with the UE120, terminating the IKEv2 / IPSec protocol with the UE120, terminating the N2 and N3 interfaces to the 5G CN240 for the control plane and user plane, respectively, and relaying uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) control plane non-access layer (NAS) signaling between the UE120 and the AMF215 via the N1 interface. In some other embodiments, the WLAN216 may connect directly to elements in the 5G CN240 (e.g., the AMF215 as shown by the dashed line in Figure 2) without going through the N3IWF250. For example, direct connection of the WLAN216 to the 5G CN240 may be done if the WLAN216 is a trusted WLAN for the 5G CN240 and may be enabled using a trusted WLAN interworking function (TWIF) which may be an element within the WLAN216 (not shown in Figure 2). Although only one WLAN216 is shown in Figure 2, please note that some embodiments may include multiple WLAN216s.

[0033]

[0049] An access node may comprise any of various network entities that enable communication between the UE120 and the AMF215. This may include a gNB210, ng-eNB214, WLAN216, and / or other types of cellular base stations. However, an access node providing the functionality described herein may, additionally or alternatively, include entities that enable communication to any of various RATs not shown in Figure 2, which may include non-cellular technologies. Therefore, the term “access node” as used in the embodiments described below herein may include, but is not necessarily limited to, a gNB210, ng-eNB214, or WLAN216.

[0034]

[0050] In some embodiments, access nodes such as gNB210, ng-eNB214, and / or WLAN216 (either alone or in combination with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200) may be configured to acquire location measurements of uplink (UL) signals (received from UE120) in response to receiving a request for location information from LMF220, and / or to acquire downlink (DL) location measurements acquired by UE120 for DL ​​signals received by UE120 from one or more access nodes. As stated, Figure 2 shows access nodes 210, 214, and 216 configured to communicate according to 5G NR, LTE, and Wi-Fi communication protocols, respectively. However, access nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols may be used, such as node B using the broadband code division multiple access (WCDMA®) protocol for the Universal Mobile Telecommunications Services (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), an eNB using the LTE protocol for the advanced UTRAN (E-UTRAN), or a Bluetooth beacon using the Bluetooth protocol for the WLAN. For example, in a 4G advanced packet system (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to UE120, the RAN may comprise an E-UTRAN, which may comprise a base station with an eNB supporting LTE wireless access. The core network of the EPS may comprise an advanced packet core (EPC). In that case, the EPS may comprise E-UTRAN+EPC, where E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN235 and EPC corresponds to 5GCN240 in Figure 2. The methods and techniques described herein for obtaining urban locations for UE120 may be applicable to other networks such as UE120.

[0035]

[0051] The gNB210 and ng-eNB214 can communicate with the AMF215, which communicates with the LMF220 for positioning functions. The AMF215 may support the mobility of the UE120, including cell changes and handovers of the UE120 from access nodes 210, 214, or 216 of the first RAT to access nodes 210, 214, or 216 of the second RAT. The AMF215 may also be involved in supporting signaling connections to the UE120 and, optionally, data and voice bearers for the UE120. The LMF220 can support the positioning of the UE120 using the CP location solution when the UE120 accesses NG-RAN235 or WLAN216, and can support positioning procedures and methods including UE-assisted / UE-based and / or network-based procedures / methods, such as A-GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time of Arrival Difference (OTDOA) (sometimes called Time of Arrival Difference (TDOA) in NR), Real-time Kinematic (RTK), Precision Single Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Extended Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), WLAN positioning, Round-trip Signal Propagation Delay (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, and / or other positioning procedures and methods. The LMF220 can also process location service requests for the UE120 received from, for example, the AMF215 or GMLC225. The LMF220 can be connected to the AMF215 and / or GMLC225. In some embodiments, the network, such as 5GCN240, may implement other types of location support modules, such as an Advanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or SUPL Location Platform (SLP), as an addition or alternative. It should be noted that in some embodiments, at least part of the positioning functionality (including determining the location of UE120) may be performed in UE120 by measuring downlink PRS (DL-PRS) signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as gNB210, ng-eNB214, and / or WLAN216, and / or using supporting data provided to UE120 by LMF220, for example.

[0036]

[0052] The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225 may support location requests for UE 120 received from an external client 230 and forward such location requests to the AMF 215 for forwarding to the LMF 220 by the AMF 215. The location response from the LMF 220 (including, for example, a location estimate for UE 120) may be returned to the GMLC 225 directly or via the AMF 215, and the GMLC 225 may then return the location response (including, for example, a location estimate) to the external client 230.

[0037]

[0053] The Network Exposure Function (NEF) 245 may be included in 5GCN240. NEF245 may support secure exposure of capabilities and events related to 5GCN240 and UE120 to an external client 230, which may be called an Access Function (AF) in that case, and may enable secure provisioning of information from the external client 230 to 5GCN240. NEF245 may be connected to AMF215 and / or GMLC225 for the purpose of obtaining the location of UE120 (e.g., city location) and providing the location to the external client 230.

[0038]

[0054] As further shown in Figure 2, the LMF220 may communicate with the gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214 using NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) as defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.445. NRPPa messages may be transmitted between the gNB210 and the LMF220, and / or between the ng-eNB214 and the LMF220, via the AMF215. As further shown in Figure 2, the LMF220 and the UE120 may communicate using LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) as defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be transmitted between the UE120 and the LMF220 via the AMF215 and serving gNB210-1 or serving ng-eNB214 for the UE120. For example, LPP messages may be transmitted between the LMF220 and AMF215 using service-based operation messages (e.g., based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)), and between the AMF215 and UE120 using the 5G NAS protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support the positioning of the UE120 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, multi-cell RTT, AoD, and / or ECID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support the positioning of the UE120 using network-based positioning methods such as ECID, AoA, and uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA), and may also be used by the LMF220 to obtain location-related information from the gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214, such as parameters defining DL-PRS transmissions from the gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214.

[0039]

[0055] For UE120 access to WLAN216, LMF220 may use NRPPa and / or LPP to obtain the location of UE120 in a similar manner to that just described for UE120 access to gNB210 or ng-eNB214. Thus, NRPPa messages may be forwarded between WLAN216 and LMF220 via AMF215 and N3IWF250 to support network-based positioning of UE120 and / or forwarding of other location information from WLAN216 to LMF220. Alternatively, NRPPa messages may be forwarded between N3IWF250 and LMF220 via AMF215 to support network-based positioning of UE120 based on location relation information and / or location measurements that are known to or accessible to N3IWF250 and forwarded from N3IWF250 to LMF220 using NRPPa. Similarly, LPP and / or LPP messages may be forwarded between the UE120 and the LMF220 via the AMF215, N3IWF250, and serving WLAN216 for the UE120 to support UE-assisted or UE-based positioning of the UE120 by the LMF220.

[0040]

[0056] In the 5G NR positioning system 200, the positioning method can be categorized as either "UE-assisted" or "UE-based." This may depend on where the request to determine the location of the UE 120 originates. For example, if the request originates within the UE (e.g., from an application or "app" run by the UE), the positioning method can be categorized as UE-based. On the other hand, if the request originates from an external client or from the AF230, LMF220, or other device or service within the 5G network, the positioning method can be categorized as UE-assisted (or "network-based").

[0041]

[0057] Using a UE-assisted positioning method, UE120 may acquire location measurements and send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF220) for the calculation of UE120's location estimate. In a RAT-dependent positioning method, location measurements may include one or more of the following for one or more access points for gNB210, ng-eNB214, and / or WLAN216: Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Round-Trip Signal Propagation Time (RTT), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Time of Arrival (ToA), AoA, Received Time-Transmitted Time Difference (Rx-Tx), Differential AoA (DAoA), AoD, or Timing Advance (TA). Additionally or alternatively, if the locations of other UEs are known, similar measurements of sidelink signals transmitted by these other UEs may be taken, which can act as anchor points for UE120's positioning. Location measurements may also include measurements from RAT-independent positioning methods such as GNSS (e.g., GNSS pseudo-distance, GNSS code phase, and / or GNSS carrier phase of GNSS satellite 110), WLAN, or similarly, or instead.

[0042]

[0058] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE120 may obtain location measurements (which may be the same as or similar to the location measurements of a UE-assisted positioning method, for example), and further calculate the location of UE120 (with the help of assisting data received from a location server such as LMF220, SLP, or broadcast by gNB210, ng-eNB214, or WLAN216, for example).

[0043]

[0059] Using a network-based location method, one or more base station TRPs (e.g., base station gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214), one or more APs (e.g., in WLAN216), or N3IWF250 may obtain location measurements of signals transmitted by UE120 (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AoA, or ToA), and / or receive measurements obtained by UE120, or in the case of N3IWF250, by APs in WLAN216, and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF220) for the calculation of a location estimate for UE120.

[0044]

[0060] Positioning of UE120 can also be categorized as UL, DL, or DL-UL based, depending on the type of signal used for positioning. For example, if positioning is based solely on signals received by UE120 (e.g., from TRP or other UEs), positioning can be categorized as DL-based. On the other hand, if positioning is based solely on signals transmitted by UE120 (e.g., which may be received by TRP or other UEs), positioning can be categorized as UL-based. DL-UL-based positioning includes positioning such as RTT-based positioning, which is based on signals that are both transmitted and received by UE120. Sidelink (SL)-assisted positioning involves signals communicated between UE120 and one or more other UEs. According to some embodiments, UL, DL, or DL-UL positioning described herein may be able to use SL signaling as a supplement or replacement for SL, DL, or DL-UL signaling.

[0045]

[0061] Depending on the type of positioning (e.g., UL, DL, or DL-UL based), the type of reference signal used can vary. For example, in DL-based positioning, these signals may include PRS (e.g., DL-PRS transmitted by the TRP or SL-PRS transmitted by another UE) which can be used for TDOA, AoD, and RTT measurements. Other reference signals that can be used for positioning (UL, DL, or DL-UL) may include sounding reference signals (SRS), channel status information reference signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signals (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) synchronization signals (SS)), physical uplink control channels (PUCCH), physical uplink shared channels (PUSCH), physical sidelink shared channels (PSSCH), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), etc. Furthermore, the reference signals may be transmitted in the Tx beam and / or received in the Rx beam (e.g., using beamforming techniques), thereby affecting angular measurements such as AoD and / or AoA.

[0046]

[0062] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the frame structure and related terminology in the case of NR, which can serve as the basis for physical layer communication between the UE120 and a base station such as the serving gNB210-1. Each of the downlink and uplink transmit timelines can be divided into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and can be divided into 10 subframes, each 1 ms long and numbered 0 through 9. Each subframe may contain a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier interval. Each slot may contain a variable number of symbol periods depending on the subcarrier interval (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols). An index may be assigned to the symbol periods in each slot. Minislots may have a subslot structure (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols). Figure 4 also shows a complete OFDM of a subframe, which illustrates how a subframe can be divided into multiple resource blocks (RBs) over both time and frequency. A single RB can have a grid of resource elements (REs) spanning 14 symbols and 12 subcarriers.

[0047]

[0063] Each symbol in a slot may indicate the link direction (e.g., downlink (DL), uplink (UL), or flexible), or the data transmission and link direction per subframe may be dynamically switched. The link direction may be based on the slot format. Each slot may contain DL / UL data and DL / UL control information. In NR, a synchronization signal (SS) block is transmitted. The SS block includes a primary SS (PSS), a secondary SS (SSS), and a two-symbol physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The SS block can be transmitted at fixed slot locations, such as symbols 0-3 as shown in Figure 3. PSS and SSS may be used by the UE for cell discovery and acquisition. PSS may provide half-frame timing, and SS may provide cyclic prefix (CP) length and frame timing. PSS and SSS may provide cell identification. The PBCH carries some basic system information, such as downlink system bandwidth, timing information within the radio frame, SS burst set periodicity, and system frame number.

[0048]

[0064] Figure 4 shows an example of a radio frame sequence 400 including a PRS positioning occasion. A “PRS instance” or “PRS occasion” is one instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a group of one or more consecutive slots) in which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion may also be called a “PRS positioning occasion,” “PRS positioning instance,” “positioning occasion,” “positioning instance,” “positioning repeat,” or simply “occasion,” “instance,” or “repeat.” The subframe sequence 400 may be applicable to broadcasting a PRS signal (DL-PRS signal) from a base station 120 in a positioning system 100. The radio frame sequence 400 may be used in 5G NR (e.g., in a 5G NR positioning system 200) and / or in LTE. Similar to Figure 4, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis) in Figure 4, and time increases from left to right. Frequency is represented vertically (for example, on the Y-axis), and frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0049]

[0065] Figure 4 shows how PRS positioning occasions 410-1, 410-2, and 410-3 (collectively and generically referred to as positioning occasion 410 in this specification) are determined by the system frame number (SFN), cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS )415, L PRS Subframe length or span, and PRS periodicity (T PRS ) Indicates whether it is determined by 420. The cell-specific PRS subframe configuration is included in the supporting data (e.g., TDOA supporting data) which may be defined by the dominant 3GPP standard, the "PRS configuration index" I PRS It can be defined by: Cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS )415 may be defined as the number of subframes transmitted from system frame number (SFN) 0 to the start of the first (subsequent) PRS positioning occasion.

[0050]

[0066] The PRS can be transmitted by a wireless node (e.g., a TRP) after appropriate configuration (e.g., by an operation and maintenance (O&M) server). The PRS can be transmitted in a special positioning subframe or slot grouped into positioning occasion 410. For example, PRS positioning occasion 410-1 can comprise N PRS consecutive positioning subframes, and the number N PRS can be between 1 and 160 (e.g., can include values 1, 2, 4, and 6, and other values). The PRS occasion 410 can be grouped into one or more PRS occasion groups. As described, the PRS positioning occasion 410 can occur periodically at intervals of milliseconds (or subframes) indicated by the number T PRS , and T PRS can be equal to 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, or 1280 (or any other suitable value). In some aspects, T PRS can be measured by the number of subframes between the starts of consecutive positioning occasions.

[0051]

[0067] In some aspects, when the UE 120 receives a PRS configuration index I PRS in the assistance data for a particular cell (e.g., a TRP), the UE 120 can use the stored indexed data to determine the PRS periodicity T PRS 420 and the cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS ) 415. The UE 120 can then determine the radio frames, subframes, and slots in which the PRS is scheduled in the cell. The assistance data can be determined, for example, by a location server (e.g., location server 160 of FIG. 1 and / or LMF 220 of FIG. 2) and can include assistance data for a reference cell and several neighboring cells supported by various wireless nodes.

[0052]

[0068] Typically, PRS occasions from all cells using the same frequency in the network are aligned in time and have a fixed, known time offset relative to other cells using different frequencies in the network (e.g., cell-specific subframe offset (Δ)). PRS )415) may have. In an SFN synchronous network, all wireless nodes (e.g., TRP / base station 120) can be aligned in both frame boundaries and system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN synchronous network, all cells supported by various wireless nodes can use the same PRS configuration index for any particular frequency of PRS transmission. On the other hand, in an SFN asynchronous network, various wireless nodes may be aligned in frame boundaries but not in system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN asynchronous network, per-cell PRS configuration indices may be configured separately by the network so that PRS occasions are aligned in time. If UE 120 can obtain the cell timing (e.g., SFN or frame number) of at least one of the cells, for example, a reference cell or a serving cell, UE 120 can determine the timing of the PRS occasions 410 for the reference and neighboring cells for TDOA positioning. The timing of other cells can then be derived by UE 120, for example, based on the assumption that PRS occasions from several different cells overlap.

[0053]

[0069] Regarding the frame structure in Figure 4, the set of REs used for PRS transmission is called a "PRS resource." The set of resource elements may span multiple RBs in the frequency domain and one or more consecutive symbols in a slot in the time domain, within which a pseudo-random quadrature-shift keying (QPSK) sequence is transmitted from the TRP's antenna port. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, the PRS resource occupies consecutive RBs in the frequency domain. The transmission of the PRS resource within a given RB has a specific comb size (also called "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier interval (or frequency / tone interval) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, and this configuration uses every N subcarriers of several symbols in the RB. For example, in comb 4, for each of the four symbols of the PRS resource configuration, REs corresponding to every four subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers 0, 4, and 8) are used for PRS transmission of the PRS resource. In PRS, for example, comb sizes such as comb 2, comb 4, comb 6, and comb 12 may be used. Examples of different comb sizes with different numbers of symbols are provided in Figure 5.

[0054]

[0070] A "PRS resource set" is a group of PRS resources used to transmit PRS signals, and each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and associated with a specific TRP (identified by a cell ID). In addition, PRS resources in a PRS resource set may have the same periodicity, common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor across slots. The periodicity is 2 m The repeating factor may have a length selected from {4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots, with μ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The repeating factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0055]

[0071] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set may be associated with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore a PRS resource (or simply a “resource”) may also be referred to as a “beam.” Note that this has no implication as to whether the TRP and the beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0056]

[0072] In the 5G NR positioning system 200 shown in Figure 2, the TRP (e.g., 210, 214, 216) may transmit frames or other physical layer signaling sequences that support the PRS signal (i.e., DL-PRS) according to the frame configuration described earlier, which may be measured and used for locating the UE 120. As stated, other types of wireless network nodes, including other UEs, may also be configured to transmit PRS signals configured in a similar (or the same) manner as described above. Since the transmission of PRS by a wireless network node may be directed to all UEs within radio range, a wireless network node can be considered to transmit (or broadcast) a PRS.

[0057]

[0073] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the hierarchical structure of how PRS resources and PRS resource sets can be used by different TRPs of a given position frequency layer (PFL) as defined in 5G NR. With respect to the network (Uu) interface, UE120 can consist of one or more DL-PRS resource sets from each of one or more TRPs. Each DL-PRS resource set contains K ≥ 1 DL-PRS resources, and these DL-PRS resources may correspond to the Tx beam of the TRP as described above. A DL-PRS PFL is defined as a collection of DL-PRS resource sets having the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP) type, the same DL-PRS bandwidth, the same center frequency, and the same comb size. In the current version of the NR standard, UE120 can consist of up to four DL-PRS PFLs.

[0058]

[0074] The NR has multiple frequency bands spanning multiple different frequency ranges (e.g., frequency band 1 (FR1) and frequency band 2 (FR2)). The PFL can be on the same band or different bands. In some embodiments, they may even be in different frequency ranges. In addition, as shown in Figure 7, multiple TRPs (e.g., TRP1 and TR2) may reside on the same PFL. Currently, under the NR, each TRP can have up to two PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set contains one or more PRS resources as previously described.

[0059]

[0075] Different PRS resource sets may have different periodicities. For example, one PRS resource set may be used for tracking, while another may be used for acquisition. As an addition or substitution, one PRS resource set may have more beams, while another may have fewer beams. Therefore, different resource sets may be used by wireless networks for different purposes.

[0060]

[0076] Figure 7 is a time diagram showing two different options for the use of resource set slots according to one embodiment. Since each example repeats each resource four times, the resource set can be said to be a quadruple repetition. Continuous sweeping 710 comprises repeating a single resource (resource 1, resource 2, etc.) four times before moving on to subsequent resources. In this example, if each resource corresponds to a different beam of the TRP, the TRP repeats the beam for four consecutive slots before moving on to the next beam. Since each resource is repeated in consecutive slots (for example, resource 1 is repeated in slots n, n+1, n+2, etc.), the time gap can be said to be one slot. On the other hand, in the case of interleaved sweeping 720, the TRP can move from one beam to the next for each subsequent slot, going around four beams over four cycles. Since each resource is repeated every four slots (for example, resource 1 is repeated in slots n, n+4, n+8, etc.), the time gap can be said to be one slot. Naturally, the embodiments are not limited in this way. Resource sets may comprise different amounts of resources and / or repetitions. Furthermore, as stated above, each TRP may have multiple resource sets, multiple TRPs may utilize a single FL, and a UE may be able to measure the PRS resources transmitted through multiple FLs.

[0061]

[0077] Therefore, in order to obtain PRS measurements from PRS signals sent by TRPs and / or UEs in the network, a UE may be configured to observe a PRS resource for a period of time called a measurement period. That is, in order to determine the location of the UE using the PRS signal, the UE and a location server (e.g., LMF220 in Figure 2) may initiate a location session, during which the UE is given a period to observe a PRS resource and report the obtained PRS measurements to the location server. As will be described in more detail below, this measurement period may be determined based on the capabilities of the UE.

[0062]

[0078] During the measurement period, the UE may be configured to perform a measurement gap (MG) pattern in order to measure and process PRS resources. The UE may request a measurement gap from the serving TRP, for example, and the serving TRP may then provide the configuration to the UE (for example, via the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol).

[0063]

[0079] As previously mentioned, the reference signals, such as the PRS resources described and shown above with respect to Figures 4-7, may be vulnerable to attacks that can interfere with the location determination of the UE measuring these PRS resources. These attacks include “man-in-the-middle” attacks in which a device transmits an unconventional reference signal (referred to herein as the “attacker signal”) that mimics a legitimate reference signal (also referred to herein simply as the “reference signal”) received by that device. Additional details regarding these types of attacks are provided below with reference to Figures 8A-8B.

[0064]

[0080] Figures 8A and 8B illustrate, from a physical layer perspective, examples of how a man-in-the-middle attack (or "spoofing") of a reference signal can be carried out by an attacking device against a reference signal used for positioning UEs in a wireless network. As with Figures 3-5 and 7, time is represented from left to right on the horizontal axis.

[0065]

[0081] As shown in the diagram, the functionality of an attack device carrying out a man-in-the-middle attack can cycle from "listen" mode to "calculate" mode, and then to "attack" mode. In listen mode, the attack device listens to a first portion of the reference signal and tunes one or more transceivers to capture each portion of the reference signal transmitted on the relevant frequency. In calculate mode, if the decoding information is not already known to the attack device, the attack device can use brute force or other algorithms to decode the above portion of the transmitted reference signal. In attack mode, the attack device can make one or more transmissions to mimic the reference signal and / or a second portion of the subsequent reference signal.

[0066]

[0082] Figure 8A illustrates an “across-symbol” attack, which is an attack at the symbol level of a reference signal. Here, an attacking device can attack by listening to one or more initial symbols of a legitimate reference signal (e.g., symbol n) and mimicking one or more subsequent parts of the reference signal in one or more subsequent symbols (e.g., symbol n+k). The listening, calculation, and attack modes of the attacking device can vary based on factors such as the algorithm used to decode the listened symbols and the processing power of the attacking device. In some attacks, there may be several symbols between symbol n and symbol n+k. In other attacks, the attack may be performed on the symbol immediately following the listened symbol (i.e., k=1). In an across-symbol attack, the attack may be performed within the same slot in which the reference signal is transmitted (i.e., symbols n and n+k are in the same slot).

[0067]

[0083] Figure 8B illustrates an "across-slot" attack, which is an attack at the slot level of a reference signal. Here, the attacking device can perform the attack by listening to the first portion of a regular reference signal in a first slot (slot n) and mimicking one or more subsequent portions of the reference signal in one or more subsequent slots (e.g., slot n+k). Similar to intersymbol attacks, the listening, operation, and attack modes of the attacking device can vary. Depending on the attack, there may be several slots between slot n and slot n+k. In other attacks, the attack may be performed on the slot immediately following the listened slot (i.e., k=1). In a slot attack, the attack may be performed between the first repetition of the reference signal and subsequent repetitions of the reference signal.

[0068]

[0084] The method by which resource signals, such as DL-PRS, are encoded is often deterministic. That is, one or more transmission parameters used for encoding, such as scrambling IDs, are often generated using (known) sequence generators. Therefore, if an attacking device can determine the encoding parameters for a first symbol or slot, it may be able to use those encoding parameters in a sequence generator to generate encoding parameters for subsequent symbols or slots across an entire set of resource signal criteria. For example, a PRS resource is encoded with a scrambling ID generated using a pseudo-random sequence generator. After successfully decoding at least a portion of the PRS resource, the attacking device can determine the scrambling ID for that resource and use the pseudo-random sequence generator to generate scrambling IDs for subsequent PRS resources in the sequence of PRS resources.

[0069]

[0085] Figures 9A and 9B illustrate how an attack may be perceived by the UE in terms of timing. An attack on a reference signal measured by the UE can cause errors in the measurement made by the UE, which can lead to errors in the UE's estimated location.

[0070]

[0086] Figure 9A shows a reference signal 910-A received by a receiving device. More specifically, the reference signal 910-A may represent the correlated peaks of the RF signals of a PRS resource transmitted during a symbol or slot, having a specific amplitude, and received at a specific time. In practice, there may be multiple additional peaks, including noise, multipath, etc., and these additional peaks may be filtered out using time and / or amplitude filtering techniques.

[0071]

[0087] Figure 9B is a diagram of reference signal 910-B, similar to reference signal 910-A in Figure 9A. However, here there is an additional attacker signal 920 that precedes reference signal 910-B in terms of time. Also, attacker signal 920 may not have the same amplitude as reference signal 910-B, but a receiving device may interpret attacker signal 920 as reference signal 910-B if it exceeds a peak threshold 930 used to filter out noise / multipath, etc.

[0072]

[0088] If misinterpreted by a receiving device as reference signal 910-B, attacker signal 920 can cause errors in measurements made by the receiving device for UE positioning. For example, a time difference 940 between attacker signal 920 and the legitimate reference signal 910-B can cause errors in timing measurements of reference signal 910-B, for example, by setting the ToA measurement based on the time attacker signal 920 is received rather than the time reference signal 910-B is received (e.g., by setting the ToA index). Although sampling rates can vary, attacker signal 920 preceding reference signal 910-B by only a few samples can result in positioning errors of several meters. This can be a significant problem in applications such as autonomous driving, where such errors in the estimated position of a vehicle could compromise the safety of occupants, pedestrians, etc.

[0073]

[0089] Embodiments herein help prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, including inter-symbol and inter-slot attacks, by withholding the provision of one or more transmit parameters to the UE for decrypting at least a portion of the PRS resource until at least a portion of the PRS has been transmitted. The UE can buffer the signal and process the buffered signal after one or more transmit parameters have been provided. Furthermore, the transmit parameters can be non-deterministic so that an attacker device obtaining parameters over a period (e.g., over a symbol, slot, or repetition) cannot use the decrypted parameters to predict or determine subsequent transmit parameters.

[0074]

[0090] Traditionally, in the case of PRS resources, each resource has its own set of transmit parameters. Referring again to Figure 7, for example, each resource or beam (e.g., resource 1 to resource 4) would therefore have its own unique set of transmit parameters. These transmit parameters may include, for example, a resource ID, sequence ID, comb type, slot offset, symbol offset, and (optionally) pseudo-collocation (QCL). This information is contained within supporting data provided to one or more UEs (e.g., unicast, groupcast, or broadcast) to enable one or more UEs to decode the PRS resource. As stated, an attacker device—for example, a bad actor UE—attacks a PRS resource by transmitting a signal that mimics the signal characteristics of the PRS resource conveyed in the transmit parameters. Furthermore, since PRS resources transmitted by TRPs are often used for positioning by multiple UEs, a UE receiving unicast information about a PRS resource may perform an attack by mimicking a PRS resource that is likely to be used by other nearby UEs.

[0075]

[0091] As described, embodiments can help prevent inter-symbol attacks and / or inter-slot attacks by withholding one or more of these transmission parameters used to decrypt at least a portion of a PRS resource until the PRS resource (or at least a portion thereof) has been transmitted. More specifically, the location server may withhold providing these one or more transmission parameters in the support data to the UE until the portion of the PRS resource using these one or more parameters has been transmitted. Depending on the desired functionality, the one or more parameters that the location server refrains from providing may include a subset of transmission parameters required to decrypt the PRS resource. This may include a single transmission parameter (e.g., a scrambling ID), multiple transmission parameters, or all transmission parameters. Figure 10 shows an example of when one or more transmission parameters may be sent.

[0076]

[0092] Figure 10 is a time diagram reproducing the continuous sweeping 1010 and interleaved sweeping 1020 examples of beam sweeping shown in Figure 7. However, different time points (represented by arrows 1030, 1040, 1050, and 1060) are provided here to show the exemplary time at which the location server can subsequently provide one or more transmit parameters for resource 1 to one or more receiving UEs.

[0077]

[0093] For example, in the case of a continuous sweep 1010, the location server may refrain from providing one or more transmission parameters for decoding resource 1 until time 1030 after the last repetition of resource 1 has been transmitted in slot n+3. Alternatively, the location server may refrain from providing one or more transmission parameters until time 1040, after the entire sweep has finished.

[0078]

[0094] In the case of interleaved sweeping example 1020, the last iteration of resource 1 occurs in slot n+12, and as a result, the location server may provide one or more transmission parameters for decoding resource 1 after time 1050. In this case as well, according to some embodiments, the location server may refrain from providing one or more transmission parameters until after the entire sweep at time 1060.

[0079]

[0095] As stated, each UE that will process the PRS resource can buffer the RF signal transmitted within the symbol / slot used to communicate the PRS resource, and then, after receiving one or more pending transmit parameters, process the PRS resource from the buffered RF signal. Figure 11 provides an illustrative timeline of how this can be done.

[0080]

[0096] Figure 11 is a time diagram illustrating, in one example, how the UE can buffer and process PRS resources. Here, the repetition of PRS positioning occasion 1110 is shown similarly to Figure 3. Thus, each PRS positioning occasion 1110 can represent a full beam sweep of multiple PRS beams / resources (as shown, for example, in Figures 7 and 10). As stated, L PRS The length of the subframe span (length of PRS positioning occasion 1110) and / or the PRS periodicity (T PRS )1120 can vary. For example, each positioning occasion 1110 may be 6 ms, and the PRS periodicity may be 160 ms. However, as mentioned above, the length of either or both of these periods can vary.

[0081]

[0097] To buffer and process the PRS resource, the UE waits until it provides one or more transmission parameters required for the location server to decrypt the PRS resource. PRSSubframes may be buffered. As described with respect to Figure 10, this may occur during or after positioning occasion 1010-1. However, as further shown in Figure 11, there may be a delay 1130 after positioning occasion 1110-1 before one or more transmit parameters are provided (at time 1140). This delay 1130 may allow for some additional timing flexibility for the network when providing one or more transmit parameters (e.g., to handle dropped packets). That said, implementations may set the delay 1130 to 0ms if one or more transmit parameters can be provided immediately after positioning occasion 1110.

[0082]

[0098] The relevant specification may specify a maximum delay 1130 for providing one or more transmission parameters. Conventional specification requirements allow the UE to buffer up to 50 ms, so positioning occasions 1010-1 ranging from a few milliseconds to 10 ms or more, followed by a delay of a few milliseconds (e.g., 3 ms), should be easily handled by, for example, existing UEs. According to some embodiments, the delay 1130 may be up to 10 ms, 20 ms, or more, if required. Supporting data provided by the location server prior to positioning occasion 1010 may include frequency, bandwidth, periodicity, and / or other basic information to enable the UE to buffer the relevant symbols / subcarriers.

[0083]

[0099] Processing period 1160 is the period during which the UE processes buffered information using one or more transmission parameters provided at time 1140 to determine measurements of one or more PRS resources transmitted within a previous PRS occasion 1110-1 (e.g., ToA measurement). According to embodiments, processing period 1160 may not necessarily extend the entire period between time 1140, when one or more parameters are provided, and the start of the next PRS occasion 1110-2. However, the relevant specification may reflect a delay 1130, for example, by extending the period during which the UE can process the PRS information and / or by delaying the start of processing period 1160 until time 1140. Additionally or alternatively, if one or more transmission parameters are communicated to the UE via a media access control-control element (MAC-CE) message, the starting point for processing may correspond to a delay period after the slot that transmits the ACK / NAK reply.

[0084]

[0100] In addition to holding off on at least one transmission parameter until the aforementioned portion of the PRS resource has finished being transmitted in order to decode at least a portion of the PRS resource (for example, to generate its waveform), embodiments may use one or more additional features to help ensure the PRS resource is secure.

[0085]

[0101] Firstly, as previously shown, the value of at least one transmit parameter may vary per resource or per symbol. That is, even if an attacker device can determine the value for at least one transmit parameter using brute-force techniques or other algorithms, the value may not be the same for the next symbol / resource. Nevertheless, as previously stated, some transmit parameters may be deterministic, allowing an attacker device to generate consecutive transmit parameter values ​​once it has determined a first transmit parameter value. This leads to a second method by which embodiments can secure PRS resources.

[0086]

[0102] Secondly, the value of at least one transmit parameter may be independent or non-deterministic of consecutive transmit parameter values. That is, a transmit parameter value for any given symbol / resource does not have to indicate a transmit parameter value for consecutive parameter values ​​during a positioning session. For example, as previously stated, scrambling ID values ​​for PRS resources used within a positioning session may be generated using a known pseudo-random scrambling ID generator. Thus, if the value for the scrambling ID of a first PRS resource is determined by the attacker device, the attacker device may use the scrambling ID generator to generate scrambling IDs for at least some consecutive PRS resources in a sequence of PRS resources. However, according to the embodiment, PRS symbols or resources may be given different, unrelated scrambling IDs (and / or other parameter values), which can help ensure that even if the first part of a PRS resource is brute-force decrypted, the attacker cannot decrypt any subsequent parts.

[0087]

[0103] It should be noted that the granularity of the transmission parameter value changes may differ from the granularity of the independence / non-deterministic nature of the transmission parameter values. That is, in the first embodiment, each symbol may have a different transmission parameter value, and each value is independent / non-deterministic from the value for the transmission parameter of a subsequent symbol. In the second embodiment, different transmission parameter values ​​also vary from symbol to symbol, and may have some determinism, and symbols in the same slot, the same repetition, or the same resource may be related (for example, values ​​are determined using the same value generator). However, in the second embodiment, a transmission parameter value in one PRS resource may be independent / non-deterministic from the transmission parameter value of another PRS resource in a set of PRS resources used in a positioning session for the UE.

[0088]

[0104] Depending on the desired functionality, the transmission parameters that are held by the location server until after the transmission of at least a portion of the PRS resource can vary. Depending on the desired functionality, these may include scrambling ID, frequency domain parameters, comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, slot offset, or a combination thereof.

[0089]

[0105] According to some embodiments, value generators for different transmission parameters may be provided. For example, in embodiments where multiple transmission parameter values ​​that vary per symbol are held, providing this information can result in significant overhead. To reduce overhead, the location server may simply provide a generator (e.g., a formula or algorithm) that the receiving UE can use to generate unique values ​​for the parameters for all symbols. However, unlike a scrambling ID generator, this generator provided by the location server in this case may not be already known; that is, this generator may be specific to a set of symbols used in a particular case. Nevertheless, the generator may be selected from several predetermined generators that can be predetermined and indexed, thereby saving even more overhead by allowing the location server to simply identify the generator (e.g., by index number) for use in generating values ​​for various transmission parameters.

[0090]

[0106] The method by which one or more transmit parameter values ​​are communicated to the UE can vary depending on the desired functionality. The information may be communicated, for example, using encrypted Downlink Control Information (DCI) messages or MAC-CE messages. According to some embodiments, the information may be provided using broadcast messages such as a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) (e.g., a Group Common PDCCH) or a Positioning System Information Block (posSIB). Additionally or alternatively, the information may be provided using LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages or Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages. The information may originate from a location server and be relayed to the UE via the UE's Serving TRP. According to some embodiments, to enable easier scheduling, the location server may provide the transmit parameter information to the TRP, which can then determine when to relay the transmit parameter information to the UE.

[0091]

[0107] Parameter transmission information can be transmitted as periodic data transmissions, which may have configured or scheduled grants. Periodic data transmissions may be separate from the PRS resource itself, but can be sent periodically, which may correspond to the periodicity of PRS occasions (e.g., every 160ms).

[0092]

[0108] Alternatively, parameter information can be provided via PRS resources (for example, via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)). An example of this type of parameter information transmission is described below with reference to Figures 12A to 12C.

[0093]

[0109] Figures 12A to 12C are timing diagrams illustrating different options for transmitting one or more transmission parameter values ​​according to various embodiments.

[0094]

[0110] Figure 12A shows a first embodiment in which PRS information (PRS occasions) is transmitted over a first frequency band and transmission parameter information is transmitted within a PDSCH on a second frequency band. Here, the PDSCH partially overlaps with the PRS so that a portion of the PRS (for example, the last symbol of the PRS occasion) is transmitted simultaneously with the PDSCH.

[0095]

[0111] Figure 12B shows a second embodiment that provides an alternative to the simultaneous transmission method of Figure 12A. In particular, since it may be undesirable in some circumstances to transmit the PDSCH on a separate frequency band, some embodiments may allow the transmission of a PDSCH containing transmit parameter information after the PRS. As shown in the figure, the information may be attached to the PRS (for example, within the symbol immediately following the PRS). As an addition or alternative, as previously stated, there may be some delay between the end of the PRS and the transmission of the PDSCH. When the information is attached to the PRS, the PDSCH may not be technically part of the PRS channel and may be part of a configured grant PDSCH attached to the PRS.

[0096]

[0112] Figure 12C shows a third embodiment. This embodiment is somewhat similar to the embodiment shown in Figure 12B, in which the transmission parameter information is attached to the PRS. However, unlike the embodiment in Figure 12B, the information is provided as part of the PRS itself, rather than as a separate PDSCH. Therefore, the information can be considered as part of the data channel of the PRS, which may be separate from the signal channel of the PRS used for positioning.

[0097]

[0113] Figure 13 is a flowchart of a method 1300 for securing PRS resources for positioning a UE in a wireless communication network, according to one embodiment. Means for performing the functions shown in one or more of the blocks shown in Figure 13 may be performed by hardware and / or software components of a network entity, such as a location server or a serving TRP of a UE. Exemplary components of a computer system that may include a location server are shown in Figure 17, and exemplary components of a TRP are shown in Figure 16, both of which are described in more detail below.

[0098]

[0114] In block 1310, the function comprises sending first configuration data to the UE indicating the period during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more OFDM symbols, the sending of the first configuration data is performed before the TRP of the wireless communication network transmits the above portion of the PRS resource, and the first configuration data omits at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. In some embodiments, at least one OFDM symbol includes a plurality of OFDM symbols, and at least one transmit parameter value comprises a unique transmit parameter value for each of the plurality of OFDM symbols. As stated, assistance data can be provided to the UE omitting at least one transmit parameter value for decoding at least a portion of the PRS resource. More specifically, assistance data can be provided to the UE before the transmission of at least a portion of the PRS resource to allow the UE to buffer the relevant signal information for later processing after at least one transmit parameter value has been included. In this case as well, embodiments may vary in terms of when the omitted at least one transmit parameter value is provided. According to some embodiments, for example, one or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of a PRS resource. The omitted at least one parameter value can also vary. Depending on the desired functionality, the at least one transmit parameter value may include a scrambling ID, a frequency domain parameter, a comb pattern, an OFDM symbol offset, a slot offset, or a combination thereof.

[0099]

[0115] Additionally or alternatively, the first configuration data may include information regarding the timing of when at least one omitted transmission parameter will be provided. For example, according to some embodiments, the first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of at least the above portion of the PRS resource and the time when the second configuration data is received by the UE.

[0100]

[0116] Means for performing the functions in block 1310 may include, for example, a bus 1705, a processing unit 1710, a communication subsystem 1730, a working memory 1735, and / or other components of the computer system 1700, as shown in Figure 17. Alternatively, means for performing the functions in block 1310 may include, for example, a bus 1605, a processing unit 1610, a digital signal processor (DSP) 1620, a wireless communication interface 1630, a memory 1660, and / or other components of the TRP 1600, as shown in Figure 16.

[0101]

[0117] In block 1320, the function comprises sending second configuration data to the UE, which indicates at least one transmit parameter value. Here, sending the second configuration data is performed after the transmission of the above portion of the PRS resource, and the second configuration data does not contain OFDM symbols for subsequent portions of the PRS resource, or information for generating waveforms for subsequent PRS resources in the PRS resource set of the PRS resource. As stated, in the embodiments described above, the second configuration data may be provided within a DCI message, MAC-CE message, LPP message, RRC message, group common PDCCH message, posSIB, or a combination thereof. Additionally or alternatively, the second configuration data comprises a secure sequence generator which may be used to generate at least one transmit parameter value. Sending the second configuration data may comprise sending the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource, as described in Figure 12A. As an addition or alternative, sending second configuration data may involve sending the second configuration data within the PDSCH at the end of the PRS resource, or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource, as shown in Figures 12B and 12C.

[0102]

[0118] Means for performing the functions in block 1320 may include, for example, a bus 1705, a processing unit 1710, a communication subsystem 1730, a working memory 1735, and / or other components of the computer system 1700, as shown in Figure 17. Alternatively, means for performing the functions in block 1320 may include, for example, a bus 1605, a processing unit 1610, a DSP 1620, a wireless communication interface 1630, a memory 1660, and / or other components of the TRP 1600, as shown in Figure 16.

[0103]

[0119] Figure 14 is a flowchart of a method 1400 for handling secure PRS resources for positioning a UE in a wireless communication network, according to one embodiment. Means for performing the functions shown in one or more of the blocks shown in Figure 14 may be performed by hardware and / or software components of the UE. Exemplary components of the UE are shown in Figure 15, which are described in more detail below.

[0104]

[0120] In block 1410, the function comprises receiving first configuration data from a network entity indicating a period during which at least a portion of a PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more OFDM symbols, the first configuration data being received before the TRP of the wireless communication network transmits the portion of the PRS resource, and the first configuration data excluding at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. Again, in some embodiments, the at least one OFDM symbol comprises a plurality of OFDM symbols, and the at least one transmit parameter value comprises a unique transmit parameter value for each of the plurality of OFDM symbols. Again, the one or more OFDM symbols may be in the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of the PRS resource. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one transmit parameter value may comprise a value scrambling ID, a frequency domain parameter, a comb pattern, an OFDM symbol offset, a slot offset, or a combination thereof. The network entity may comprise a location server or a serving TRP of a UE. According to some embodiments, the first configuration data may include an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of at least the above portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE.

[0105]

[0121] Means for performing the functions in block 1410 may include, for example, a bus 1505, a processing unit 1510, a DSP 1520, a wireless communication interface 1530, a memory 1560, and / or other components of the UE 1500, as shown in Figure 15.

[0106]

[0122] The function in block 1420 comprises buffering data from signals received by the TRP during the above period. As stated, buffering can be obtained based on support data received by the location server serving TRP, which indicates various parameters applicable to buffering. These parameters may include, for example, the periodicity and / or length of PRS occurrences, applicable frequency bandwidths, frequency and / or timing offsets, and symbols used for PRS resources.

[0107]

[0123] Means for performing the functions in block 1420 may include, for example, a bus 1505, a processing unit 1510, a DSP 1520, a memory 1560, and / or other components of the UE 1500, as shown in Figure 15.

[0108]

[0124] In block 1430, the function comprises receiving second configuration data from a network entity, which indicates at least one transmit parameter value, and the second configuration data is received after the transmission of at least a portion of the PRS resource. According to some embodiments, the second configuration data does not include OFDM symbols for subsequent portions of the PRS resource, or information for generating waveforms for subsequent PRS resources in the PRS resource set of the PRS resource. In this case as well, the second configuration data may be provided within a DCI message, MAC-CE message, LPP message, RCC message, group- and PDCCH message, posSIB, or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the second configuration data may comprise a secure sequence generator, in which case processing the above portion of the PRS resource may further comprise using the secure sequence generator to generate at least one transmit parameter value for each of one or more OFDM symbols. In this case as well, the second configuration data may be received in any of the manners shown, for example, in Figures 12A to 12C. Accordingly, according to some embodiments, receiving the second configuration data may involve receiving the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource. Additionally or alternatively, receiving the second configuration data may involve receiving the second configuration data in the PDSCH at the end of the PRS resource, or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource.

[0109]

[0125] Means for performing the functions in block 1430 may include, for example, a bus 1505, a processing unit 1510, a DSP 1520, a wireless communication interface 1530, a memory 1560, and / or other components of the UE 1500, as shown in Figure 15.

[0110]

[0126] In block 1440, the function comprises processing the above portion of the PRS resource using at least one transmit parameter value on at least a portion of the buffered data in order to generate a waveform for each of one or more OFDM symbols. Means for implementing the function in block 1440 may include, for example, a bus 1505, a processing unit 1510, a DSP 1520, a memory 1560, and / or other components of the UE 1500, as shown in Figure 15.

[0111]

[0127] Figure 15 shows an embodiment of UE1500 that may be used in this specification as described above. For example, UE1500 may correspond to the UE and / or mobile devices described in Figures 1 to 14 and may perform one or more of the functions of the method shown in Figure 14. It should be noted that Figure 15 is intended only to provide a generalized diagram of various components, and any or all of them may be used as appropriate. It should be noted that in some cases the components shown in Figure 15 may be localized to a single physical device and / or distributed among various networked devices. Furthermore, as previously stated, the functions of the UE discussed in the embodiments described above may be performed by one or more of the hardware and / or software components shown in Figure 15.

[0112]

[0128] The UE1500 is shown comprising hardware elements that may be electrically coupled (or, as appropriate, may be communicating in other ways) via bus 1505. The hardware elements may include, but are not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more dedicated processors (such as DSP chips, graphics acceleration processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), and / or other processing structures or means, and may include a processing unit 1510. As shown in Figure 15, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 1520 depending on the desired functionality. Location determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may be provided in the processing unit 1510 and / or the wireless communication interface 1530 (discussed below). The UE1500 may also include, but are not limited to, one or more input devices 1570, which may include one or more keyboards, touchscreens, touchpads, microphones, buttons, dials, switches, etc., and one or more output devices 1515, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more displays (e.g., touchscreens), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0113]

[0129] The UE1500 may also include a wireless communication interface 1530, which may enable the UE1500 to communicate with other devices as described in the embodiments above, and may include, but is not limited to, modems, network cards, infrared communication devices, wireless communication devices, and / or chipsets (such as Bluetooth devices, IEEE 802.11 devices, IEEE 802.15.4 devices, Wi-Fi devices, WiMAX devices, WAN devices, and / or various cellular devices). The wireless communication interface 1530 may enable data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) using the TRP of the network, as described herein, for example, via eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, access points, various base stations and / or other access node types, and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices communicably coupled to the TRP. Communication may occur via one or more wireless communication antennas 1532 that send and / or receive wireless signals 1534. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antenna 1532 may comprise a plurality of individual antennas, an antenna array, or any combination thereof. The antenna 1532 may be capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals using beams (e.g., a Tx beam and an Rx beam). Beamforming may be carried out using digital and / or analog beamforming techniques having respective digital and / or analog circuits. The wireless communication interface 1530 may include such circuits.

[0114]

[0130] Depending on the desired functionality, the wireless communication interface 1530 may include separate receivers and transmitters, or any combination of transceivers, transmitters, and / or receivers, for communication with TRPs / base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs), as well as other ground transceivers such as wireless devices and access points. The UE1500 can communicate with various data networks, which may comprise various network types. For example, a wireless wide area network (WWAN) may include CDMA networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) networks, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) networks, and WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) networks. A CDMA network may implement one or more RATs, such as CDMA2000® and WCDMA. CDMA2000 includes the IS-95, IS-2000, and / or IS-856 standards. TDMA networks may implement GSM, Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (D-AMPS), or any other RAT. OFDMA networks may employ LTE, LTE Advanced, 5G NR, etc. 5G NR, LTE, LTE Advanced, GSM, and WCDMA are documented from 3GPP. CDMA2000 is documented from an organization called "Third Generation Partnership Project IV" (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) may also be IEEE 802.11x networks, and Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) may be Bluetooth networks, IEEE 802.15x, or any other type of network. The techniques described herein may also be used for any combination of WWANs, WLANs, and / or WPANs.

[0115]

[0131] The UE1500 may further include a sensor 1540. The sensor 1540 may comprise, but is not limited to, one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., accelerometer, gyroscope, camera, magnetometer, altimeter, microphone, proximity sensor, light sensor, barometer, etc.), some of which may be used to obtain positional measurements and / or other information.

[0116]

[0132] Embodiments of the UE1500 may also include a GNSS receiver 1580 capable of receiving signals 1584 from one or more Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites using an antenna 1582 (which may be similar to antenna 1532). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements may be used to supplement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. The GNSS receiver 1580 can extract the position of the UE1500 from GNSS satellites 110 of GNSS systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), India's IRNSS, and China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), using conventional techniques. Furthermore, the GNSS receiver 1580 can be used with a variety of augmentation systems (e.g., satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS)) that can be associated with or otherwise used with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multifunction Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and the Geoaugmented Navigation System (GAGAN).

[0117]

[0133] Although the GNSS receiver 1580 is shown as a separate component in Figure 15, it should be noted that embodiments are not so limited. As used herein, the term “GNSS receiver” may comprise hardware and / or software components configured to acquire GNSS measurements (measurements from GNSS satellites). In some embodiments, the GNSS receiver may thus comprise a measurement engine that is run (as software) by one or more processing units, such as a processing unit 1510, a DSP 1520, and / or a processing unit within a wireless communication interface 1530 (e.g., in a modem). The GNSS receiver may also optionally include a positioning engine that can use GNSS measurements from the measurement engine to determine the position of the GNSS receiver using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), weighted least squares (WLS), a hatch filter, a particle filter, etc. The positioning engine may also be run by one or more processing units, such as a processing unit 1510 or a DSP 1520.

[0118]

[0134] The UE1500 may also include and / or communicate with memory 1560. Memory 1560 may include, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), local and / or network-accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, and solid-state storage devices, including, but is not limited to, programmable, flash-updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but is not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0119]

[0135] The memory 1560 of the UE1500 may also include software elements (not shown in Figure 15), including other code such as an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs, which may be designed to implement and / or configure a system, as provided by various embodiments, as described herein. For example, one or more procedures described with respect to the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in the memory 1560, executable by the UE1500 (and / or a processing unit 1510 or DSP 1520 within the UE1500). In one embodiment, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0120]

[0136] Figure 16 shows an embodiment of the TRP1600 that can be used as described above in this specification. For example, the TRP1600 may correspond to the TRP and / or base stations (e.g., gNB, eNB, ng-eNB, etc.) described above with reference to Figures 1 to 14, and may perform one or more functions of the method shown in Figure 13. Note that Figure 16 is merely to provide a generalized illustration of various components, and any or all of these may be used as appropriate.

[0121]

[0137] The TRP1600 is shown to include hardware elements that can be electrically coupled (or, as appropriate, otherwise be in a state of communication) via bus 1605. The hardware elements may include a processing unit 1610, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more dedicated processors (such as DSP chips, graphics acceleration processors, ASICs, and / or others), and / or other processing structures or means. As shown in Figure 16, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 1620, depending on the desired functionality. Location determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may, according to some embodiments, be provided in the processing unit 1610 and / or the wireless communication interface 1630 (discussed below). The TRP1600 may also include, but is not limited to, one or more input devices which may include a keyboard, display, mouse, microphone, buttons, dials, switches, and / or others, and one or more output devices which may include, but is not limited to, a display, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, and / or others.

[0122]

[0138] The TRP1600 may also include a wireless communication interface 1630, which may comprise, but is not limited to, modems, network cards, infrared communication devices, wireless communication devices, and / or chipsets (such as Bluetooth devices, IEEE 802.11 devices, IEEE 802.15.4 devices, Wi-Fi devices, WiMAX devices, cellular communication equipment, etc.), and / or others, which may enable the TRP1600 to communicate as described herein. The wireless communication interface 1630 may enable data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) to UEs, other base stations / TRPs (e.g., eNBs, gNBs, and ng-eNBs), and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices described herein. Communication may be carried out via one or more wireless communication antennas 1632 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 1634.

[0123]

[0139] The TRP1600 may also include a network interface 1680, which may include support for wireline communication technology. The network interface 1680 may include a modem, network card, chipset, and / or other. The network interface 1680 may include one or more input and / or output communication interfaces to enable data exchange with networks, communication network servers, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices described herein.

[0124]

[0140] In many embodiments, the TRP1600 may further comprise memory 1660. Memory 1660 may include, but is not limited to, locally and / or network-accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, programmable and flash-updatable solid-state storage devices such as RAM and / or ROM, and / or others. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable datastore, including, but is not limited to, various file systems, database structures, and / or others.

[0125]

[0141] The memory 1660 of the TRP1600 may also include software elements (not shown in Figure 16), including other code such as an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs, which may be designed to implement and / or configure a system, as provided by various embodiments, as described herein. For example, one or more procedures described with respect to the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in the memory 1660 executable by the TRP1600 (and / or processing units 1610 or DSP1620 within the TRP1600). In one embodiment, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0126]

[0142] Figure 17 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a computer system 1700, which may be used in whole or in part to provide functionality for one or more network components described in the embodiments herein, such as a location server. Thus, the computer system may perform one or more functions of the methods shown in Figure 13. It should be noted that Figure 17 is intended only to provide a generalized diagram of various components, and any or all of them may be used as appropriate. Figure 17 therefore broadly illustrates how individual system elements may be implemented in a relatively isolated or more relatively integrated manner. In addition, it should be noted that the components shown by Figure 17 may be localized to a single device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located in different geographical locations.

[0127]

[0143] A computer system 1700 is shown, comprising hardware elements that can be electrically coupled (or, as appropriate, communicate in other ways) via a bus 1705. The hardware elements may include, but are not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more dedicated processors (such as digital signal processing chips, graphics acceleration processors), and / or other processing structures, which may be configured to perform one or more of the methods described herein, as well as a processing unit 1710. The computer system 1700 may also include, but are not limited to, one or more input devices 1715, which may include a mouse, keyboard, camera, microphone, etc., and one or more output devices 1720, which may include a display device, printer, etc.

[0128]

[0144] The computer system 1700 may further include (and / or be communicating with) one or more non-temporary storage devices 1725, which may include, but not limited to, local and / or network-accessible storage, and / or solid-state storage devices such as disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, RAM and / or ROM, which may be programmable, flash-updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc. Such data stores may include databases and / or other data structures used to store and manage messages and / or other information to be sent to one or more devices via a hub, as described herein.

[0129]

[0145] The computer system 1700 may also include a communications subsystem 1730 which may include wireless communications technology managed and controlled by a wireless communications interface 1733, as well as wired communications technology (such as Ethernet®, coaxial communications, and Universal Serial Bus (USB)). The wireless communications interface 1733 may include one or more wireless transceivers capable of sending and receiving wireless signals 1755 (for example, signals via 5GNR or LTE) via a wireless antenna 1750. Thus, the communications subsystem 1730 may include modems, network cards (wireless or wired), infrared communications devices, wireless communications devices, and / or chipsets, etc., which may enable the computer system 1700 to communicate with any device on each network, including user equipment (UEs), base stations and / or other TRPs, and / or any other electronic devices described herein, on any or all of the communications networks described herein. Thus, the communications subsystem 1730 may be used to receive and transmit data as described in the embodiments described herein.

[0130]

[0146] In many embodiments, the computer system 1700 further comprises a working memory 1735, which may include a RAM or ROM device, as described above. Software elements shown as being located within the working memory 1735 may comprise computer programs provided by various embodiments, as described herein, and / or other code such as an operating system 1740, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more applications 1745, which may be designed to implement and / or configure the system in accordance with the methods provided by other embodiments. Just as an example, one or more procedures described with respect to the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions executable by a computer (and / or processing units within the computer), in one embodiment such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the methods described.

[0131]

[0147] These instructions and / or sets of code may be stored on a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium, such as the storage device 1725 described above. In some cases, the storage medium may be incorporated into a computer system, such as computer system 1700. In other embodiments, the storage medium may be separate from the computer system (e.g., a removable medium such as an optical disc), and / or may be provided in an installation package so that the storage medium can be used to program, configure, and / or adapt a general-purpose computer with the instructions / code stored thereon. These instructions may take the form of executable code that can be executed by computer system 1700, and / or take the form of source code and / or installable code that takes the form of executable code when compiled and / or installed on computer system 1700 (e.g., using any of the various commonly available compilers, installers, compression / decompression utilities, etc.).

[0132]

[0148] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial variations may be made according to specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may be used, and / or certain elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be employed.

[0133]

[0149] With respect to the attached diagram, components that may include memory may include non-temporary machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable media” and “computer-readable media” refer to any storage medium involved in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a particular manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code to processing units and / or other devices for execution. As an addition or alternative, machine-readable media may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code. In many implementations, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take many forms, but are not limited to non-volatile media and volatile media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, magnetic and / or optical media, any other physical media having a pattern of holes, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), flash EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or code.

[0134]

[0150] The methods, systems, and devices discussed herein are examples. Various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, features described in relation to some embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Various aspects and elements of embodiments may be combined in similar ways. Various components in the figures provided herein may be present in hardware and / or software. Furthermore, as technology evolves, many elements are examples that do not limit the scope of this disclosure to those specific examples.

[0135]

[0151] For reasons of common usage, it is sometimes convenient to refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, digits, etc. However, it should be understood that all of these or similar terms should be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise specified, as is evident from the above discussion, discussions throughout this specification using terms such as “processing,” “calculating,” “calculating,” “determining,” “confirming,” “identifying,” “associating,” “measuring,” and “performing” should be understood to refer to the actions or processes of specific devices such as dedicated computers or similar dedicated electronic computing devices. In the context of this specification, a dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device is therefore capable of manipulating or converting signals that are commonly represented as physical electronic, electrical, or magnetic quantities within the memory, registers, or other information storage devices, transmitting devices, or display devices of the dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device.

[0136]

[0152] The terms “and” and “or” as used herein may have a variety of meanings, which may also depend, at least in part, on the context in which such terms are used. Generally, when “or” is used to relate a list such as A, B, or C, it is intended to mean A, B, and C as used herein in an inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C as used herein in an exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” as used herein may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or to describe any combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and the claimed subject matter is not limited to this example. Furthermore, when the term “at least one of” is used to relate a list such as A, B, or C, it may be interpreted to mean any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0137]

[0153] While several embodiments have been described, various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. For example, the elements described above may be merely components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the applications of the various embodiments. Also, some steps may be taken before, during, or after the consideration of the elements described above. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0138]

[0154] In view of this specification, embodiments may include various combinations of features. Examples of implementations are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0139] Clause 1. A method for securing a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, comprising: sending first configuration data to the UE indicating a period during which the method is performed by a network entity and at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, wherein the sending of the first configuration data is performed before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network; and sending second configuration data to the UE indicating at least one transmit parameter value, wherein the first configuration data excludes at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols, wherein the sending of the second configuration data is performed after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource.

[0140] Clause 2. The method of Clause 1, wherein the second configuration data does not include OFDM symbols for subsequent parts of the PRS resource, or information for generating waveforms for subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the PRS resource.

[0141] Clause 3. One or more OFDM symbols include multiple OFDM symbols, and at least one transmit parameter value has a unique transmit parameter value for each of the multiple OFDM symbols, in any way of Clauses 1 to 2.

[0142] Clause 4. One or more OFDM symbols are located within the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of a PRS resource, in any of the manner described in Clauses 1-3.

[0143] Clause 5. At least one transmit parameter value comprises a scrambling ID, frequency domain parameter, comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, slot offset, or a combination thereof, in any way according to Clauses 1 to 4.

[0144] Clause 6. Sending the second configuration data is any of the methods in Clauses 1 to 5, comprising sending the second configuration data via a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) message, an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) message, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, a Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message, a Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or a combination thereof.

[0145] Clause 7. The network entity comprises a location server or a UE serving TRP, in any manner described in Clauses 1-6.

[0146] Clause 8. The second configuration data shall be provided by any of the methods described in Clauses 1 to 7, comprising a secure sequence generator.

[0147] Clause 9. The first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of the above portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE, in any manner of Clauses 1 to 8.

[0148] Clause 10. Sending the second configuration data is any method of Clauses 1-9, comprising sending the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource.

[0149] Clause 11. Sending the second configuration data is any of the methods in Clauses 1 to 9, comprising sending the second configuration data either within a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of the PRS resource or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource.

[0150] Clause 12. A method for processing a secure positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: being performed by the UE and receiving first configuration data from a network entity indicating a period of time during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, wherein the first configuration data is received before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network, and the first configuration data buffers data from signals received by the TRP during the period, excluding at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols; and receiving second configuration data from the network entity indicating at least one transmit parameter value, wherein the second configuration data processes the portion of the PRS resource using at least one transmit parameter value on at least a portion of the buffered data to generate a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols received after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource.

[0151] Clause 13. The method of Clause 12, wherein the second configuration data does not include OFDM symbols for subsequent parts of the PRS resource, or information for generating waveforms for subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the PRS resource.

[0152] Clause 14. One or more OFDM symbols include multiple OFDM symbols, and at least one transmit parameter value has a unique transmit parameter value for each of the multiple OFDM symbols, in any way of Clauses 12 to 13.

[0153] Clause 15. One or more OFDM symbols are located within the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of a PRS resource, in any way as described in Clauses 12-14.

[0154] Clause 16. At least one transmit parameter value comprises a scrambling ID, frequency domain parameter, comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, slot offset, or a combination thereof, in any way according to Clauses 12-15.

[0155] Clause 17. The second configuration data is provided in any way of Clauses 12 to 16, within a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) message, an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) message, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, a Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message, a Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or a combination thereof.

[0156] Clause 18. The network entity has a location server or a serving TRP of the UE, in any manner described in Clauses 12-17.

[0157] Clause 19. The second configuration data comprises a secure sequence generator, and processing the PRS resource further comprises using the secure sequence generator to generate at least one transmit parameter value for each of the one or more OFDM symbols, in any of the methods of Clauses 12 to 18.

[0158] Clause 20. The first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of at least the above portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE, in any manner described in Clauses 12 to 19.

[0159] Clause 21. Receiving the second configuration data comprises receiving the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource, in any manner of Clauses 12-20.

[0160] Clause 22. Receiving the second configuration data comprises receiving the second configuration data in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of the PRS resource, or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource, in any of the methods of Clauses 12 to 20.

[0161] Clause 23. A network entity for securing positioning reference signal (PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, comprising a transceiver, memory, and one or more processing units communicatively coupled to the transceiver and memory, wherein one or more processing units are configured to send to the UE via the transceiver first configuration data indicating a period of time during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, wherein one or more processing units are configured to send the first configuration data before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network, and one or more processing units are configured to send second configuration data indicating at least one transmit parameter value, wherein the sending of the second configuration data is performed after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource.

[0162] Clause 24. One or more processing units are configured to send the second configuration data such that the second configuration data does not contain OFDM symbols for subsequent parts of the PRS resource, or information for generating waveforms for subsequent PRS resources in the PRS resource set of the PRS resource, according to Clause 23.

[0163] Clause 25. One or more OFDM symbols include multiple OFDM symbols, and at least one transmit parameter value has a unique transmit parameter value for each of the multiple OFDM symbols, according to any network entity of Clauses 23 to 24.

[0164] Clause 26. One or more OFDM symbols are within the same OFDM slot or same iteration of a PRS resource, representing any network entity from Clauses 23-25.

[0165] Clause 27. A network entity of any of Clauses 23-26 whose at least one transmit parameter value comprises a scrambling ID, frequency domain parameter, comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, slot offset, or a combination thereof.

[0166] Clause 28. One or more processing units are configured to send second configuration data via Downlink Control Information (DCI) messages, Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) messages, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) messages, Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or a combination thereof, as a network entity under any of Clauses 23 to 27.

[0167] Clause 29. A network entity under any of Clauses 23-28 that has a location server or a serving TRP for a UE.

[0168] Clause 30.1 or more processing units are configured to include a secure sequence generator within the second configuration data, as a network entity of any of Clauses 23 to 29.

[0169] Clause 31. One or more processing units are configured to include, within the first configuration data, an indication of the maximum time delay between the time the above portion of the PRS resource is transmitted and the second configuration data is received by the UE, as a network entity under any of Clauses 23 to 30.

[0170] Clause 32. One or more processing units are configured to send second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource, as a network entity of any of Clauses 23 to 31.

[0171] Clause 33. One or more processing units are configured to send second configuration data to the end of a PRS resource within a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or as embedded data to the end of a PRS resource, as a network entity under any of Clauses 23 to 31.

[0172] Clause 34. A UE for processing a secure positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, comprising a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processing units communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processing units receive first configuration data from a network entity via the transceiver, indicating a period of time during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, wherein the first configuration data is received before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network. The UE is configured to: first configuration data buffer data from signals received by the TRP during the above period, excluding at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of one or more OFDM symbols; and second configuration data indicating at least one transmit parameter value from a network entity via a transceiver, wherein the second configuration data processes the above portion of the PRS resource using at least one transmit parameter value on at least a portion of the buffered data to generate a waveform for each of one or more OFDM symbols received after the transmission of the above portion of the PRS resource.

[0173] Clause 35. The second configuration data does not include OFDM symbols for subsequent parts of a PRS resource, or information for generating waveforms for subsequent PRS resources within a PRS resource set of the PRS resource, as per Clause 34.

[0174] Clause 36. One or more OFDM symbols include multiple OFDM symbols, and at least one transmit parameter value has a unique transmit parameter value for each of the multiple OFDM symbols, UE of any of Clauses 34 to 35.

[0175] Clause 37. One or more OFDM symbols are located within the same OFDM slot or the same iteration of a PRS resource, as specified in any of Clauses 34-36.

[0176] Clause 38. At least one transmit parameter value is a value of scrambling ID, frequency domain parameter, comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, slot offset, or a combination thereof, for any UE in any of Clauses 34-37.

[0177] Clause 39. The second configuration data is provided within any of the UEs in Clauses 34-38, such as Downlink Control Information (DCI) messages, Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) messages, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) messages, Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or a combination thereof.

[0178] Clause 40. A network entity is a UE in any of Clauses 34-39 that has a location server or a serving TRP for the UE.

[0179] Clause 41. The second configuration data includes a secure sequence generator, and to process PRS resources, one or more processing units are configured to use the secure sequence generator to generate at least one transmit parameter value for each of the one or more OFDM symbols, according to any UE of Clauses 34 to 40.

[0180] Clause 42. The first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the time the first configuration data is transmitted and the second configuration data is received by the UE, as specified in any of Clauses 34 to 41.

[0181] UE of any of Clauses 43.1 or more processing units are configured to receive second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource, as per any of Clauses 34 to 42.

[0182] Clause 44. One or more processing units are configured to receive second configuration data in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of a PRS resource, or as embedded data at the end of a PRS resource, as per any of Clauses 34 to 42.

[0183] Clause 45. An apparatus for securing a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, comprising: means for sending to the UE first configuration data indicating a period of time during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, wherein sending the first configuration data is performed before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network; and means for sending to the UE second configuration data indicating at least one transmit parameter value, wherein the configuration first data excludes at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols, wherein sending the second configuration data is performed after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource.

[0184] Clause 46. The second configuration data does not include OFDM symbols for subsequent parts of the PRS resource, or information for generating waveforms for subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the PRS resource, as per the apparatus of Clause 45.

[0185] Clause 47. One or more OFDM symbols include multiple OFDM symbols, and at least one transmit parameter value has a unique transmit parameter value for each of the multiple OFDM symbols, according to any device of Clauses 45 to 46.

[0186] Clause 48. One or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of any device in Clauses 45-47 of the PRS resource.

[0187] Clause 49. Any device according to Clauses 45-48, wherein at least one transmit parameter value comprises a scrambling ID, frequency domain parameter, comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, slot offset, or a combination thereof.

[0188] Clause 50. The second configuration data is provided within any of the devices specified in Clauses 45-49, in the form of Downlink Control Information (DCI) messages, Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) messages, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) messages, Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or a combination thereof.

[0189] Clause 51. A network entity is any device under Clauses 45-50 that includes a location server or a serving TRP of the UE.

[0190] Clause 52. The second configuration data is provided by any device specified in Clauses 45-51, which includes a secure sequence generator.

[0191] Clause 53. The first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of the above portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE, as per any of the devices in Clauses 45 to 52.

[0192] Clause 54. The means for transmitting the second configuration data is any apparatus of Clauses 45-53, comprising means for transmitting the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource.

[0193] Clause 55. The means for sending the second configuration data is provided for any device of Clauses 45 to 53, which includes means for sending the second configuration data either within a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of the PRS resource or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource.

[0194] Clause 56. Apparatus for processing a secure positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, comprising: means for receiving first configuration data from a network entity indicating a period of time during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, wherein the first configuration data is received before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network, and the first configuration data excludes at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols; and means for receiving second configuration data from a network entity indicating at least one transmit parameter value, wherein the second configuration data is received after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource, and means for processing the portion of the PRS resource, wherein processing comprises using at least one transmit parameter value on at least a portion of the buffered data to generate a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols.

[0195] Clause 57. The second configuration data does not include OFDM symbols for subsequent parts of the PRS resource, or information for generating waveforms for subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the PRS resource, as per the apparatus of Clause 56.

[0196] Clause 58. One or more OFDM symbols include multiple OFDM symbols, and at least one transmit parameter value has a unique transmit parameter value for each of the multiple OFDM symbols, as per any of the devices in Clauses 56 to 57.

[0197] Clause 59. One or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of any device in Clauses 56-58 of the PRS resource.

[0198] Clause 60. Any device according to any of Clauses 56-59, wherein at least one transmit parameter value comprises a scrambling ID, frequency domain parameter, comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, slot offset, or a combination thereof.

[0199] Clause 61. The second configuration data is provided within any of the devices in Clauses 56-60, such as Downlink Control Information (DCI) messages, Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) messages, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) messages, Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or a combination thereof.

[0200] Clause 62. A network entity is any device under Clauses 56-61 that includes a location server or a serving TRP of the UE.

[0201] Clause 63. The apparatus of any of Clauses 56 to 62, wherein the second configuration data comprises a secure sequence generator, and the means for processing PRS resources further comprises means for using the secure sequence generator to generate at least one transmit parameter value for each of one or more OFDM symbols.

[0202] Clause 64. The first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of the above portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE, as per any of the devices in Clauses 56-63.

[0203] Clause 65. The means for receiving the second configuration data is any apparatus of Clauses 56-64, comprising means for receiving the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource.

[0204] Clause 66. The means for receiving the second configuration data is any device according to Clauses 56 to 64, comprising means for receiving the second configuration data in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of the PRS resource, or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource.

[0205] Clause 67. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium for storing a set of instructions for securing a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, the set of instructions comprising a code for sending first configuration data to the UE indicating a period of time during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, wherein sending the first configuration data takes place before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network, and sending second configuration data to the UE indicating at least one transmit parameter value, wherein the first configuration data excludes at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols, wherein sending the second configuration data takes place after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource.

[0206] Clause 68. The second configuration data is a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of Clause 67 that does not contain OFDM symbols for subsequent parts of a PRS resource, or information for generating waveforms for subsequent PRS resources within a PRS resource set of the PRS resource.

[0207] Clause 69. One or more OFDM symbols include multiple OFDM symbols, and at least one transmit parameter value has a unique transmit parameter value for each of the multiple OFDM symbols, in any non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of Clauses 67 to 68.

[0208] Clause 70.1 or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of a PRS resource on a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium as defined in any of Clauses 67-69.

[0209] Clause 71. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of any of Clauses 67-70, having at least one transmit parameter value comprising a scrambling ID, frequency domain parameter, comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, slot offset, or a combination thereof.

[0210] Clause 72. The second configuration data is provided within any non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of Clauses 67-71, in the form of Downlink Control Information (DCI) messages, Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) messages, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) messages, Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or a combination thereof.

[0211] Clause 73. The network entity has a location server or a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium in any of Clauses 67-72 that includes a serving TRP of the UE.

[0212] Clause 74. The second configuration data is a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of any of Clauses 67-73, equipped with a secure sequence generator.

[0213] Clause 75. The first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of the above portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE, on a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium as specified in any of Clauses 67 to 74.

[0214] Clause 76. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium under any of Clauses 67-75, which contains the code for the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource.

[0215] Clause 77. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium under any of Clauses 67-75, comprising a code for transmitting the second configuration data, either within a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of a PRS resource or as embedded data at the end of a PRS resource.

[0216] Clause 78. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium storing a set of instructions for processing a secure positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, wherein the set of instructions receives first configuration data from a network entity indicating a period during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, wherein the first configuration data is received before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network, and the first configuration data is for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium comprising a code for buffering data from signals received by the TRP during the above period, excluding at least one transmit parameter value for generating a shape, receiving second configuration data from a network entity indicating at least one transmit parameter value, wherein the second configuration data is received after the transmission of the above portion of the PRS resource, wherein processing comprises using at least one transmit parameter value on at least a portion of the buffered data to generate a waveform for each of one or more OFDM symbols.

[0217] Clause 79. The second configuration data is a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of Clause 78 that does not contain OFDM symbols for subsequent parts of a PRS resource, or information for generating waveforms for subsequent PRS resources within a PRS resource set of the PRS resource.

[0218] A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of any of the clauses 78 to 79, wherein one or more OFDM symbols include multiple OFDM symbols, and at least one transmit parameter value has a unique transmit parameter value for each of the multiple OFDM symbols.

[0219] Clause 81.1 or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of a PRS resource on a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium as defined in any of Clauses 78-80.

[0220] Clause 82. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of any of Clauses 78 to 81, having at least one transmit parameter value comprising a scrambling ID, frequency domain parameter, comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, slot offset, or a combination thereof.

[0221] Clause 83. The second configuration data is provided within any non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of Clauses 78-82, in the form of Downlink Control Information (DCI) messages, Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) messages, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) messages, Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or a combination thereof.

[0222] Clause 84. The network entity has a location server or a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium in any of Clauses 78-83 that includes a serving TRP of the UE.

[0223] Clause 85. The second configuration data is a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of any of Clauses 78 to 84, further comprising a secure sequence generator and processing of PRS resources, which further comprises using the secure sequence generator to generate at least one transmit parameter value for each of one or more OFDM symbols.

[0224] Clause 86. The first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the time of transmission of at least the above portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE, on a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium as specified in any of Clauses 78 to 85.

[0225] Clause 87. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of any of Clauses 78-86, comprising a code for receiving the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource.

[0226] Clause 88. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium of any of Clauses 78-86, comprising a code for receiving the second configuration data, either within a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of a PRS resource or as embedded data at the end of a PRS resource. The invention described in the original claims of this application is listed below. [C1] A method for securing positioning reference signal (PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, wherein the method is implemented by a network entity. Sending first configuration data to the UE indicating the period during which at least a portion of the PRS resources will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, The transmission of the first configuration data is performed before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by the transmitting / receiving point (TRP) of the wireless communication network. The first configuration data excludes at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. Sending second configuration data indicating at least one transmission parameter value to the UE, wherein sending the second configuration data is performed after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource. A method for providing this. [C2] The second configuration data described above is The OFDM symbol for the subsequent portion of the aforementioned PRS resource, or Subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the aforementioned PRS resource A method of C1 that does not include information for generating a waveform for. [C3] The method according to C1, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols include a plurality of OFDM symbols, and the at least one transmit parameter value comprises a unique transmit parameter value for each of the plurality of OFDM symbols. [C4] The method according to C1, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of the PRS resource. [C5] The at least one transmission parameter value is, Scrambling ID, Frequency domain parameters, Comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, Slot offset, or These combinations A method for C1 that provides the value. [C6] Sending the second configuration data means Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, Media Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) Messages, LTE (registered trademark) positioning protocol (LPP) message, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message, Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or These combinations The method of C1, comprising sending the second configuration data via [a specific method]. [C7] The method according to C1, wherein the network entity comprises a location server or a serving TRP of the UE. [C8] The method described above for C1, wherein the second configuration data includes a secure sequence generator. [C9] The method of C1, wherein the first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE. [C10] The method of C1, wherein sending the second configuration data comprises sending the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource. [C11] The method of C1, wherein sending the second configuration data comprises sending the second configuration data in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of the PRS resource, or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource. [C12] A method for processing a secure positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, wherein the method is performed by the UE, Receiving first configuration data from a network entity indicating the period during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, wherein The first configuration data is received before the portion of the PRS resource is transmitted by the transmitting / receiving point (TRP) of the wireless communication network. The first configuration data excludes at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. During the aforementioned period, buffer data from signals received by the TRP, and receive second configuration data from the network entity indicating at least one transmission parameter value, wherein the second configuration data is received after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource. To generate a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols, the portion of the PRS resource is processed using the at least one transmit parameter value on at least a portion of the buffered data. A method for providing this. [C13] The second configuration data described above is The OFDM symbol for the subsequent portion of the aforementioned PRS resource, or Subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the aforementioned PRS resource A method of C12 that does not include information for generating waveforms for. [C14] The method according to C12, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols include a plurality of OFDM symbols, and the at least one transmit parameter value comprises a unique transmit parameter value for each of the plurality of OFDM symbols. [C15] The method according to C12, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of the PRS resource. [C16] The at least one transmission parameter value is, Scrambling ID, Frequency domain parameters, Comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, Slot offset, or These combinations A method for C12 that provides the value. [C17] The second configuration data described above is Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, Media Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) Messages, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message, Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or These combinations The method described in C12, provided within. [C18] The method according to C12, wherein the network entity comprises a location server or a serving TRP of the UE. [C19] The method according to C12, wherein the second configuration data comprises a secure sequence generator, and processing the PRS resource further comprises using the secure sequence generator to generate the at least one transmit parameter value for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. [C20] The method of C12, wherein the first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of at least the portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE. [C21] The method of C12, wherein receiving the second configuration data comprises receiving the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource. [C22] The method of C12, wherein receiving the second configuration data is performed either within a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of the PRS resource or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource. [C23] A network entity for securing positioning reference signal (PRS) resources for positioning user devices (UEs) in a wireless communication network, Transceiver and, Memory and The system comprises the transceiver and one or more processing units communicably coupled to the memory, wherein the one or more processing units are Sending first configuration data to the UE via the transceiver, indicating the period during which at least a portion of the PRS resources will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, The one or more processing units are configured to send the first configuration data before the portion of the PRS resource is transmitted by the transmitting / receiving points (TRPs) of the wireless communication network. The one or more processing units are configured to exclude at least one transmit parameter value from the first configuration data for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. Sending second configuration data indicating the at least one transmission parameter value to the UE via the transceiver, wherein sending the second configuration data is performed after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource. A network entity configured to perform the following actions. [C24] The one or more processing units process the second configuration data The OFDM symbol for the subsequent portion of the aforementioned PRS resource, or Subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the aforementioned PRS resource A network entity as described in C23, configured to send the second configuration data such that it does not contain information for generating a waveform for. [C25] The network entity according to C23, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols comprise a plurality of OFDM symbols, and the at least one transmit parameter value comprises a unique transmit parameter value for each of the plurality of OFDM symbols. [C26] The network entities described in C23, where the one or more OFDM symbols are located within the same OFDM slot or the same iteration of the PRS resource. [C27] The at least one transmission parameter value is, Scrambling ID, Frequency domain parameters, Comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, Slot offset, or These combinations A network entity described in C23 that has the value of [value]. [C28] The one or more processing units described above are: Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, Media Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) Messages, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message, Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or These combinations A network entity as described in C23, configured to send the second configuration data via [a specific method]. [C29] A network entity as described in C23, comprising a location server or a serving TRP of the aforementioned UE. [C30] The network entity according to C23, wherein one or more processing units are configured to include a secure sequence generator within the second configuration data. [C31] The network entity according to C23, wherein one or more processing units are configured to include in the first configuration data an indication of the maximum time delay between the time of transmission of the portion of the PRS resource and the time of reception of the second configuration data by the UE. [C32] The network entity according to C23, wherein one or more processing units are configured to send the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource. [C33] The network entity according to C23, wherein one or more processing units are configured to send the second configuration data either within a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of the PRS resource or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource. [C34] A UE for processing secure positioning reference signal (PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, Transceiver and, Memory and The system comprises the transceiver and one or more processing units communicably coupled to the memory, wherein the one or more processing units are Receiving first configuration data from a network entity via the transceiver, indicating the period during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, wherein The first configuration data is received before the portion of the PRS resource is transmitted by the transmitting / receiving point (TRP) of the wireless communication network. The first configuration data excludes at least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. During the aforementioned period, buffering data from signals received by the TRP, and receiving second configuration data from a network entity via the transceiver, wherein the second configuration data is received after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource. To generate a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols, the portion of the PRS resource is processed using the at least one transmit parameter value on at least a portion of the buffered data, A UE configured to perform the following actions. [C35] The second configuration data described above is The OFDM symbol for the subsequent portion of the aforementioned PRS resource, or Subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the aforementioned PRS resource UE as described in C34, which does not include information for generating waveforms for. [C36] The UE according to C34, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols include a plurality of OFDM symbols, and the at least one transmit parameter value comprises a unique transmit parameter value for each of the plurality of OFDM symbols. [C37] The UE described in C34, wherein one or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same iteration of the PRS resource. [C38] The at least one transmission parameter value is, Scrambling ID, Frequency domain parameters, Comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, Slot offset, or These combinations The UE described in C34 has the value. [C39] The second configuration data described above is Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, Media Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) Messages, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message, Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or These combinations The UE provided within, as described in C34. [C40] The network entity is the UE described in C34, comprising a location server or a serving TRP of the UE. [C41] The UE according to C34, wherein the second configuration data includes a secure sequence generator, and to process the PRS resources, one or more processing units are configured to use the secure sequence generator to generate the at least one transmit parameter value for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. [C42] The UE according to C34, wherein the first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of at least the portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE. [C43] The UE according to C34, wherein one or more processing units are configured to receive the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource. [C44] The UE according to C34, wherein one or more processing units are configured to receive the second configuration data in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of the PRS resource, or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource.

Claims

1. A method for securing positioning reference signal (PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, wherein the method is implemented by a network entity. Sending first configuration data to the UE indicating the period during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, The transmission of the first configuration data is performed before the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource by the transmitting / receiving point (TRP) of the wireless communication network. At least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols is excluded from the first configuration data. Sending second configuration data indicating at least one transmission parameter value to the UE, and sending the second configuration data, is performed after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource. A method for providing this.

2. The second configuration data described above is OFDM symbols in the subsequent portion of the aforementioned PRS resource, or Subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the aforementioned PRS resource The method according to claim 1, wherein it does not include information for generating a waveform for.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols comprise a plurality of OFDM symbols, and the at least one transmit parameter value comprises a unique transmit parameter value for each of the plurality of OFDM symbols.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of the PRS resource.

5. The at least one transmission parameter value is, Scrambling ID, Frequency domain parameters, Comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, Slot offset, or These combinations The method according to claim 1, wherein the value is...

6. Sending the second configuration data means Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, Media access control - Control element (MAC-CE) message, LTE® Positioning Protocol (LPP) message, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) Messages Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or These combinations The method according to claim 1, further comprising sending the second configuration data via

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network entity comprises a location server or a serving TRP of the UE.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second configuration data comprises a secure sequence generator.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the time of transmission of the portion of the PRS resource and the time of reception of the second configuration data by the UE.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the second configuration data comprises transmitting the second configuration data on a frequency separate from that of the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein sending the second configuration data comprises sending the second configuration data in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of the PRS resource, or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource.

12. A method for processing a secure positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for positioning a user device (UE) in a wireless communication network, wherein the method is performed by the UE, Receiving first configuration data from a network entity indicating the period during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, The first configuration data is received before the portion of the PRS resource is transmitted by the transmitting / receiving point (TRP) of the wireless communication network. At least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols is excluded from the first configuration data. During the aforementioned period, buffer data from the signals received by the TRP, receive second configuration data from the network entity indicating at least one transmission parameter value, and receive the second configuration data after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource. To generate a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols, the portion of the PRS resource is processed using the at least one transmit parameter value on at least a portion of the buffered data. A method for providing this.

13. The second configuration data described above is OFDM symbols in the subsequent portion of the aforementioned PRS resource, or Subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the aforementioned PRS resource The method according to claim 12, wherein it does not include information for generating a waveform for.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols include a plurality of OFDM symbols, and the at least one transmit parameter value comprises a unique transmit parameter value for each of the plurality of OFDM symbols.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of the PRS resource.

16. The at least one transmission parameter value is, Scrambling ID, Frequency domain parameters, Comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, Slot offset, or These combinations The method according to claim 12, wherein the value is...

17. The second configuration data described above is Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, Media access control - Control element (MAC-CE) message, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) message, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) Messages Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or These combinations The method according to claim 12, provided herein.

18. The method according to claim 12, wherein the network entity comprises a location server or a serving TRP of the UE.

19. The method according to claim 12, wherein the second configuration data comprises a secure sequence generator, and processing the PRS resource further comprises using the secure sequence generator to generate the at least one transmit parameter value for each of the one or more OFDM symbols.

20. The method according to claim 12, wherein the first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of at least the portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE.

21. The method according to claim 12, wherein receiving the second configuration data comprises receiving the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource.

22. The method according to claim 12, wherein receiving the second configuration data comprises receiving the second configuration data in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of the PRS resource, or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource.

23. A network entity for securing positioning reference signal (PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, Transceiver and, Memory and The system comprises the transceiver and one or more processing units communicably coupled to the memory, wherein the one or more processing units are Sending first configuration data to the UE via the transceiver, indicating the period during which at least a portion of the PRS resources will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, The one or more processing units are configured to send the first configuration data before the portion of the PRS resource is transmitted by the transmitting / receiving points (TRPs) of the wireless communication network. The one or more processing units are configured to exclude at least one transmit parameter value from the first configuration data for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols. Sending second configuration data indicating the at least one transmission parameter value to the UE via the transceiver, and sending the second configuration data, is performed after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource. A network entity configured to perform the following actions.

24. The one or more processing units process the second configuration data OFDM symbols in the subsequent portion of the aforementioned PRS resource, or Subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the aforementioned PRS resource The network entity according to claim 23, configured to send the second configuration data such that it does not contain information for generating a waveform for.

25. The network entity according to claim 23, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols comprise a plurality of OFDM symbols, and the at least one transmit parameter value comprises a unique transmit parameter value for each of the plurality of OFDM symbols.

26. The network entity according to claim 23, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same iteration of the PRS resource.

27. The at least one transmission parameter value is, Scrambling ID, Frequency domain parameters, Comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, Slot offset, or These combinations The network entity according to claim 23, having the value of .

28. The one or more processing units are: Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, Media access control - Control element (MAC-CE) message, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) message, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) Messages Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or These combinations The network entity according to claim 23, configured to send the second configuration data via the network entity.

29. The network entity according to claim 23, comprising a location server or a serving TRP of the UE.

30. The network entity according to claim 23, wherein one or more processing units are configured to include a secure sequence generator in the second configuration data.

31. The network entity according to claim 23, wherein the one or more processing units are configured to include in the first configuration data an indication of the maximum time delay between the time of transmission of the portion of the PRS resource and the time of reception of the second configuration data by the UE.

32. The network entity according to claim 23, wherein one or more processing units are configured to transmit the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource.

33. The network entity according to claim 23, wherein one or more processing units are configured to send the second configuration data at the end of the PRS resource in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource.

34. A UE for processing secure positioning reference signal (PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, Transceiver and, Memory and The system comprises the transceiver and one or more processing units communicably coupled to the memory, wherein the one or more processing units are Receiving first configuration data from a network entity via the transceiver, indicating the period during which at least a portion of the PRS resource will be transmitted using one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, The first configuration data is received before the portion of the PRS resource is transmitted by the transmitting / receiving point (TRP) of the wireless communication network. At least one transmit parameter value for generating a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols is excluded from the first configuration data. During the aforementioned period, buffer data from the signal received by the TRP, receive second configuration data from the network entity via the transceiver indicating the at least one transmission parameter value, and the second configuration data is received after the transmission of the portion of the PRS resource. To generate a waveform for each of the one or more OFDM symbols, the portion of the PRS resource is processed using the at least one transmit parameter value on at least a portion of the buffered data, A UE configured to perform the following actions.

35. The second configuration data described above is OFDM symbols in the subsequent portion of the aforementioned PRS resource, or Subsequent PRS resources within the PRS resource set of the aforementioned PRS resource The UE according to claim 34, which does not include information for generating a waveform for.

36. The UE according to claim 34, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols comprise a plurality of OFDM symbols, and the at least one transmit parameter value comprises a unique transmit parameter value for each of the plurality of OFDM symbols.

37. The UE according to claim 34, wherein the one or more OFDM symbols are located in the same OFDM slot or the same repetition of the PRS resource.

38. The at least one transmission parameter value is, Scrambling ID, Frequency domain parameters, Comb pattern, OFDM symbol offset, Slot offset, or These combinations The UE according to claim 34, having the value.

39. The second configuration data described above is Downlink Control Information (DCI) message, Media access control - Control element (MAC-CE) message, LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) message, Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Group Common Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) Messages Positioning System Information Block (posSIB), or These combinations The UE according to claim 34, provided within.

40. The UE according to claim 34, wherein the network entity comprises a location server or a serving TRP of the UE.

41. The UE according to claim 34, wherein the second configuration data comprises a secure sequence generator, and for processing the PRS resources, one or more processing units are configured to use the secure sequence generator to generate the at least one transmit parameter value for each of the one or more OFDM symbols.

42. The UE according to claim 34, wherein the first configuration data includes an indication of the maximum time delay between the transmission of at least the portion of the PRS resource and the time the second configuration data is received by the UE.

43. The UE according to claim 34, wherein one or more processing units are configured to receive the second configuration data on a frequency separate from the PRS resource during the duration of the last OFDM symbol of the PRS resource.

44. The UE according to claim 34, wherein one or more processing units are configured to receive the second configuration data in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) at the end of the PRS resource, or as embedded data at the end of the PRS resource.

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