Positioning measurement report

Abstract

A method for providing positioning state information among channels available for conveying the positioning state information includes the steps of obtaining a positioning state information resource allocation parameter; determining a positioning resource amount based on the positioning state information resource allocation parameter, where the positioning resource amount is an amount of resources of the channel available for conveying the positioning state information; and transmitting the positioning state information over the channel while occupying less than or equal to the positioning resource amount of the resources of the channel.

Description

Background Art

[0001] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including the first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including provisional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-capable wireless services, fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long-Term Evolution (LTE), or WiMax), and fifth-generation (5G). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and Personal Communication Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the Cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), and GSM variants of TDMA for mobile access.

[0002] The fifth-generation (5G) mobile standard requires, among other improvements, higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, and one gigabit per second per office floor where dozens of people work. To support large-scale sensor deployment, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communication should be significantly increased compared to current 4G standards. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be increased and latency should be significantly reduced compared to current standards.

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0003] An exemplary wireless communication device includes a transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit an outgoing signal, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the transmitter, wherein the processor is configured to acquire positioning status information resource allocation parameters, determine the amount of positioning resources based on the positioning status information resource allocation parameters, the amount of positioning resources being the amount of channel resources available for transmitting positioning status information, and transmit positioning status information via the channel by the transmitter, the amount of positioning resources being less than or equal to the amount of positioning resources of the channel resources.

[0004] Such device implementations may include one or more of the following features: The positioning state information resource allocation parameter is a selection parameter, and the processor is configured to retrieve the selection parameter from a plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters stored in memory. The processor is configured to retrieve the selection parameter based on a positioning method associated with the positioning state information. The device includes a receiver that is communicatively coupled to the processor and configured to receive incoming signals, and the processor is configured to retrieve the selection parameter based on control information received by the processor via the receiver. The device includes a receiver that is communicatively coupled to the processor and configured to receive incoming signals, and the processor is configured to add a new positioning state information resource allocation parameter from a control signal received by the processor via the receiver to a plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters stored in memory.

[0005] Similarly or alternatively, an implementation of such a device may include one or more of the following features: To obtain positioning state information resource allocation parameters, the processor is configured to obtain a first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter and a second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter; to determine the amount of positioning resources, the processor is configured to determine a first positioning resource sub-amount of the channel's resources based on the first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter and a second positioning resource sub-amount of the channel's resources based on the second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter; and to transmit positioning state information, the processor is configured to transmit a first portion of positioning state information that is less than or equal to the first positioning resource sub-amount of the channel's resources and a second portion of positioning state information that is less than or equal to the second positioning resource sub-amount of the channel's resources. The processor is configured to use a first channel state information resource allocation subparameter as a first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, and a second channel state information resource allocation subparameter as a second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, wherein the first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the first part of the channel state information, and the second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the second part of the channel state information. The processor is configured to use a first channel state information resource allocation subparameter as a first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, and a second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, wherein the first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the first part of the channel state information, and the second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the second part of the channel state information.

[0006] Similarly or alternatively, implementations of such devices may include one or more of the following features: To transmit positioning status information, the processor is configured to concatenate the positioning status information with channel status information. To concatenate the positioning status information with channel status information, the processor is configured to concatenate a first portion of the positioning status information with a first portion of the channel status information, and a second portion of the positioning status information with a second portion of the channel status information.

[0007] Similarly or alternatively, implementations of such devices may include one or more of the following characteristics: The processor is configured to transmit positioning status information in a channel, along with proximity to a reference signal, based on at least one of the following: control information associated with positioning status information, quality of service associated with positioning status information, or positioning method associated with positioning status information. The processor is configured to transmit positioning status information without mapping at least a portion of the positioning status information to any resource element designated to convey a hybrid auto-retransmission request. At least a portion of the positioning status information includes a fixed payload portion of the positioning status information, a positioning fix estimate, a reference transmit / receive point identifier, or a positioning measurement. The channels available for transmitting positioning status information are physical uplink shared channels (PUSCH), physical downlink shared channels (PDSCH), or physical sidelink shared channels (PSSCH).

[0008] Another exemplary device capable of wireless communication includes an acquisition means for obtaining positioning status information resource allocation parameters, a determination means for determining the amount of positioning resources based on the positioning status information resource allocation parameters, wherein the amount of positioning resources is the amount of channel resources available for transmitting positioning status information, and a transmission means for transmitting positioning status information over the channel while the channel resources are occupying less than or equal to the amount of positioning resources.

[0009] Such a device implementation may include one or more of the following features: The device includes storage means for storing a plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters, the positioning state information resource allocation parameters being selection parameters, and acquisition means for retrieving the selection parameters from the plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters in the storage means. The acquisition means includes means for retrieving the selection parameters based on a positioning method for deriving positioning state information. The acquisition means includes means for receiving control information and for retrieving the selection parameters based on the control information. The acquisition means includes means for receiving new positioning state information resource allocation parameters from control signals and for adding the new positioning state information resource allocation parameters to the plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters in the storage means.

[0010] Similarly or alternatively, an implementation of such a device may include one or more of the following features: an acquisition means including means for acquiring a first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter and means for acquiring a second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter; a determination means including means for determining a first positioning resource sub-amount of a channel's resources based on the first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter and means for determining a second positioning resource sub-amount of a channel's resources based on the second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter; and a transmission means including means for transmitting a first portion of positioning state information that occupies less than or equal to the first positioning resource sub-amount of a channel's resources and means for transmitting a second portion of positioning state information that occupies less than or equal to the second positioning resource sub-amount of a channel's resources. The acquisition means includes means for using a first channel state information resource allocation subparameter as a first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, and for using a second channel state information resource allocation subparameter as a second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, wherein the first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit a first portion of channel state information, and the second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit a second portion of channel state information. The acquisition means includes means for using a first channel state information resource allocation subparameter as a first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, and as a second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, wherein the first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit a first portion of channel state information, and the second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit a second portion of channel state information.

[0011] Similarly or alternatively, an implementation of such a device may include one or more of the following features: The transmitting means includes means for concatenating positioning status information with channel status information. The transmitting means includes means for concatenating a first portion of the positioning status information with a first portion of the channel status information, and for concatenating a second portion of the positioning status information with a second portion of the channel status information.

[0012] Similarly or alternatively, implementations of such devices may include one or more of the following features: The transmitting means includes means for transmitting positioning status information in a channel, along with proximity to a reference signal, based on at least one of control information associated with the positioning status information, or quality of service associated with the positioning status information, or positioning method associated with the positioning status information. The transmitting means includes means for transmitting positioning status information without mapping at least a portion of the positioning status information to any resource element designated to convey a hybrid auto-retransmission request. At least a portion of the positioning status information includes a fixed payload portion of the positioning status information, a positioning fix estimate, a reference transmit / receive point identifier, or a positioning measurement.

[0013] An exemplary method for providing positioning status information on a channel available for transmitting positioning status information includes the steps of: obtaining a positioning status information resource allocation parameter; determining the amount of positioning resources based on the positioning status information resource allocation parameter, wherein the amount of positioning resources is the amount of channel resources available for transmitting positioning status information; and transmitting the positioning status information through the channel while the channel resources are occupying less than or equal to the amount of positioning resources.

[0014] An implementation of such a method may include one or more of the following features: The positioning state information resource allocation parameter is a selection parameter, and the step of obtaining the positioning state information resource allocation parameter includes the step of retrieving the selection parameter from a plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters stored in memory. The step of retrieving the selection parameter is based on a positioning method for deriving positioning state information. The method includes the step of receiving control information, and the step of retrieving the selection parameter is based on the control information. The method includes the steps of receiving a new positioning state information resource allocation parameter from a control signal and adding the new positioning state information resource allocation parameter to a plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters in memory.

[0015] Similarly or alternatively, implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features: the step of obtaining a positioning state information resource allocation parameter includes the step of obtaining a first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter and the step of obtaining a second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter; the step of determining the amount of positioning resources includes the step of determining a first sub-amount of positioning resources of the channel's resources based on the first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter and the step of determining a second sub-amount of positioning resources of the channel's resources based on the second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter; and the step of transmitting positioning state information includes the step of transmitting a first portion of positioning state information that is less than or equal to the first sub-amount of positioning resources of the channel's resources and the step of transmitting a second portion of positioning state information that is less than or equal to the second sub-amount of positioning resources of the channel's resources. The step of obtaining positioning state information resource allocation parameters includes using a first channel state information resource allocation subparameter as the first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter and using a second channel state information resource allocation subparameter as the second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, wherein the first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the first part of the channel state information, and the second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the second part of the channel state information. The step of obtaining positioning state information resource allocation parameters includes using a first channel state information resource allocation subparameter as the first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter and as the second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, wherein the first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the first part of the channel state information, and the second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the second part of the channel state information.

[0016] Similarly or alternatively, implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features: The step of transmitting positioning status information includes the step of concatenating the positioning status information with channel status information. The step of concatenating the positioning status information with channel status information includes the step of concatenating a first portion of the positioning status information with a first portion of the channel status information and concatenating a second portion of the positioning status information with a second portion of the channel status information.

[0017] Similarly or alternatively, implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features: The step of transmitting positioning status information includes transmitting the positioning status information in a channel, along with proximity to a reference signal, based on at least one of the following: control information associated with the positioning status information, quality of service associated with the positioning status information, or positioning method associated with the positioning status information. The step of transmitting positioning status information includes transmitting the positioning status information without mapping at least a portion of the positioning status information to any resource element designated to convey a hybrid auto-retransmission request. At least a portion of the positioning status information includes a fixed payload portion of the positioning status information, a positioning fix estimate, a reference transmit / receive point identifier, or a positioning measurement.

[0018] An exemplary non-temporary processor-readable storage medium includes a processor-readable instruction configured to cause the device's processor to: obtain a positioning status information resource allocation parameter; determine a positioning resource amount based on the positioning status information resource allocation parameter, where the positioning resource amount is the amount of channel resources available for transmitting positioning status information; and transmit the positioning status information over the channel while the channel resources are occupying less than or equal to the positioning resource amount.

[0019] Such a storage medium implementation may include one or more of the following features: The positioning state information resource allocation parameter is a selection parameter, and the storage medium includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to retrieve a selection parameter from a plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters stored in the device's memory. The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to retrieve a selection parameter based on a positioning method associated with the positioning state information. The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to retrieve a selection parameter based on control information received by the device. The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to add a new positioning state information resource allocation parameter from a control signal received by the device to a plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters stored in the device's memory.

[0020] Similarly or alternatively, such a storage medium implementation may include one or more of the following characteristics: A processor-readable instruction configured to cause a processor to acquire positioning state information resource allocation parameters includes a processor-readable instruction configured to cause the processor to acquire a first positioning state information resource allocation sub-parameter and a second positioning state information resource allocation sub-parameter; a processor-readable instruction configured to cause a processor to determine the amount of positioning resources includes a processor-readable instruction configured to cause the processor to determine a first sub-amount of positioning resources of the channel's resources based on the first sub-parameter of positioning state information resource allocation and to determine a second sub-amount of positioning resources of the channel's resources based on the second sub-parameter of positioning state information resource allocation; a processor-readable instruction configured to cause a processor to transmit positioning state information includes a processor-readable instruction configured to cause the processor to transmit a first portion of positioning state information that is less than or equal to the first sub-amount of positioning resources of the channel's resources and to transmit a second portion of positioning state information that is less than or equal to the second sub-amount of positioning resources of the channel's resources. The storage medium includes a processor-readable instruction configured to cause the processor to use a first channel state information resource allocation subparameter as a first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, and a second channel state information resource allocation subparameter as a second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, wherein the first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the first part of the channel state information, and the second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the second part of the channel state information.The storage medium includes a processor-readable instruction configured to cause the processor to use a first channel state information resource allocation subparameter as a first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter and a second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, wherein the first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to convey a first portion of channel state information, and the second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to convey a second portion of channel state information.

[0021] Similarly or alternatively, such a storage medium implementation may include one or more of the following features: A processor-readable instruction configured to cause a processor to transmit positioning status information includes a processor-readable instruction configured to cause a processor to concatenate the positioning status information to channel status information. A processor-readable instruction configured to cause a processor to concatenate the positioning status information to channel status information includes a processor-readable instruction configured to cause a processor to concatenate a first portion of the positioning status information to a first portion of the channel status information and to concatenate a second portion of the positioning status information to a second portion of the channel status information.

[0022] Similarly or alternatively, an implementation form of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features. Processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor to transmit positioning state information include processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to transmit the positioning state information in a channel together with proximity to a reference signal based on at least one of control information associated with the positioning state information, or quality of service associated with the positioning state information, or a positioning method associated with the positioning state information. Processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor to transmit positioning state information include processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to transmit the positioning state information without mapping at least a part of the positioning state information to any resource element designated to convey a hybrid automatic repeat request. At least a part of the positioning state information includes a fixed payload part of the positioning state information, a positioning fix estimate, a reference transmit / receive point identification, or a positioning measurement value.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] [Figure 1] A simplified diagram of an example of a wireless communication system. [Figure 2] A block diagram of the components of an exemplary user equipment shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] A block diagram of the components of an exemplary transmit / receive point shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] A block diagram of the components of an exemplary server shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 5] A block diagram of an exemplary user equipment. [Figure 6] A diagram showing the allocation, sending, signaling, and process flow of positioning state information. [Figure 7] A simplified block diagram of the retrieval of allocation parameters from the memory shown in FIG. 5 and / or the storage of received allocation parameters in the memory. [Figure 8] A simplified diagram of a slot of control information including a reference signal. [Figure 9]This is a block flow diagram of a method for providing positioning status information. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0024] This specification discusses techniques for reporting positioning status information. For example, channel resources may be allocated for reporting positioning status information. The channel may be a channel transmitted by user equipment (UE transmission channel) or a channel transmitted by a network node (e.g., a base station or location server). A parameter from which the amount of channel resources to be allocated for positioning status information can be calculated may be provided as part of the control information. Multiple such parameters may be stored, and one of the parameters may be selected, for example, based on the received control information, or based on the positioning method to be used, or based on the positioning session, or a combination of two or more of these. Positioning status information may be concatenated with channel status information. For example, a fixed payload portion of positioning status information may be concatenated with a fixed payload portion of channel status information, and a variable payload portion of positioning status information may be concatenated with a variable payload portion of channel status information. As another example, positioning status information may be concatenated with multibeam channel status information. Positioning status information may be provided via a channel with priority associated with a reference signal, such as a demodulated reference signal (DMRS). For example, positioning status information may be provided via a channel along with proximity (e.g., in time and / or frequency) related to a reference signal corresponding to the priority. Positioning status information may have a higher priority than at least some channel status information. At least a portion of the positioning status information may be prevented from being mapped to one or more resource elements designated for Hybrid Automatic Retransmission Requests (HARQs). For example, the fixed payload portion of the positioning status information, positioning fix estimates, transmit / receive point IDs, and / or positioning measures may be prevented from being mapped to HARQs. These are examples, and other examples may be implemented.

[0025] The items and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned herein: Resources may be allocated to help ensure that one or more quality of service metrics are satisfied; Positioning status information may be mapped to channels to help prevent overwriting; Positioning status information may be mapped to channels with desired priority, for example, to help ensure that quality of service metrics are satisfied; Other capabilities may be provided, and not all implementations provided herein must provide any, much less, of the capabilities discussed.

[0026] Obtaining the location of mobile devices accessing a wireless network can be useful for many applications, including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, and locating friends or family. Existing positioning methods include those based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices or entities in a wireless network, including satellite vehicles (SVs) and terrestrial radio sources, such as base stations and access points. Standardization for 5G wireless networks is expected to include support for various positioning methods, which may use reference signals transmitted by base stations, similar to how LTE wireless networks currently use positioning reference signals (PRS) and / or cell-specific reference signals (CRS) for location determination.

[0027] The description refers, for example, to a series of actions to be performed by elements of a computing device. Various actions described herein may be performed by a particular circuit (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) by the execution of program instructions by one or more processors, or a combination of both. A sequence of actions described herein may be embodied at runtime in a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that cause the relevant processors to perform the functions described herein. Thus, various embodiments described herein can be embodied in several different forms, all of which are within the scope of this disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0028] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not specific to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT), and are not otherwise limited to such RAT, unless otherwise noted. Generally, such UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or (e.g., stationary for some time) and may communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be interchangeable with “Access Terminal” or “AT,” “Client Device,” “Wireless Device,” “Subscriber Device,” “Subscriber Terminal,” “Subscriber Station,” “User Terminal” or “UT,” “Mobile Terminal,” “Mobile Station,” or variations thereof. Generally, a UE may communicate with the core network over the RAN, and through the core network, a UE may be connected to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Naturally, the UE could also have other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the internet, such as via a wired access network or a Wi-Fi network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11).

[0029] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs that communicate with the UE depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively called an access point (AP), network node, node B, advanced node B (eNB), or general node B (g-node B, gNB). Furthermore, in some systems, the base station may provide purely edge node signaling functionality, while in others it may provide additional control and / or network management functionality.

[0030] A UE can be embodied by any of several types of devices, including, but not limited to, printed circuit (PC) cards, CompactFlash® devices, external or internal modems, wireless or wired telephones, smartphones, tablets, consumer asset tracking devices, and asset tags. The communication links on which a UE can send signals to the RAN are called uplink channels (e.g., reverse traffic channels, reverse control channels, access channels, etc.). The communication links on which the RAN can send signals to the UE are called downlink channels or forward link channels (e.g., paging channels, control channels, broadcast channels, forward traffic channels, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0031] As used herein, the terms “cell” or “sector” may, depending on the context, refer to one of several cells of a base station or the base station itself. The term “cell” may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (for example, over a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) to distinguish 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), or others) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some examples, the term “cell” may refer to a portion of the geographical coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which a logical entity operates.

[0032] Referring to Figure 1, an example of communication system 100 includes UE105, UE106, Radio Access Network (RAN) 135, here 5th Generation (5G) Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN), and 5G Core Network (5GC) 140. UE105 and / or UE106 may be, for example, IoT devices, location tracking devices, cellular phones, vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, buses, boats, etc.), or other devices. 5G networks are sometimes called New Radio (NR) networks, NG-RAN 135 may be called 5G RAN or NR RAN, and 5GC 140 may be called NG Core Network (NGC). Standardization of NG-RAN and 5GC is underway in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). Therefore, NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 may comply with current or future standards for 5G support from 3GPP®. RAN135 may be another type of RAN, such as a 3G RAN or a 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) RAN. UE106 may be configured to send and / or receive signals to and from other similar entities in System 100 and may be coupled to UE105, although such signaling is not shown in Figure 1 for the sake of simplicity. Similarly, this discussion focuses on UE105 for the sake of brevity. The communication system 100 can use information from the constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SV) 190, 191, 192, 193 for any other local or regional satellite positioning system (SPS) such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, Beidou, or the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) (for example, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0033] As shown in Figure 1, NG-RAN135 includes NR node B (gNB) 110a, 110b, and next-generation e node B (ng-eNB) 114, and 5GC140 includes access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, session management function (SMF) 117, location management function (LMF) 120, and gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125. gNB110a, 110b, and ng-eNB114 are communicatively coupled to each other and configured to communicate wirelessly bidirectionally with UE105, and each is communicatively coupled to AMF115 and configured to communicate bidirectionally with it. gNB110a, 110b, and ng-eNB114 may be referred to as base stations (BS). AMF115, SMF117, LMF120, and GMLC125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client 130. SMF117 may act as the initial contact point for a Service Control Function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and erase media sessions. BS110a, 110b, and 114 may be macrocells (e.g., high-power cellular base stations), small cells (e.g., low-power cellular base stations), or access points (e.g., short-range base stations) configured to communicate with short-range technologies such as WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), and Zigbee. One or more of BS110a, 110b, and 114 may be configured to communicate with UE105 via multiple carriers. Each of BS110a, 110b, and 114 may provide communication coverage to its respective geographical area, e.g., a cell. Each cell may be divided into multiple sectors depending on the base station antenna.

[0034] Figure 1 provides a generalized diagram of various components, any or all of which may be used as needed, each of which may be duplicated or omitted as needed. Specifically, although only one UE 105 is illustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be used in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a larger (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190-193 illustrated), gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external client 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections that connect the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediary) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0035] Figure 1 shows a 5G-based network, but similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies such as 3G and Long-Term Evolution (LTE). The implementations described herein (whether for 5G technology and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to transmit (or broadcast) a directional synchronization signal, receive and measure the directional signal at a UE (e.g., UE105), and / or provide location assistance to UE105 (via GMLC125 or other location servers), and / or calculate the location of UE105 at a locatable device such as UE105, gNB110a, 110b, or LMF120 based on the measurements received at UE105 for such directionally transmitted signals. The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (e-node B) 114, and gNB (g-node B) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by or include, in various embodiments, other various location server and / or base station functionalities, respectively.

[0036] System 100 is wirelessly communicative in that its components can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (at least sometimes using wireless connections), for example, via BS110a, 110b, 114 and / or network 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other transmitting and receiving base stations). For indirect communication, the communication may be modified during transmission from one entity to another, for example, by changing the format, such as by changing the header information of a data packet. UE105 may include multiple UEs and may be a mobile wireless communication device, which can communicate wirelessly and via wired connections. UE105 may be any of various devices, such as a smartphone, tablet computer, or vehicle-based device, but these are merely examples, and UE105 is not required to be one of these configurations, and other configurations of UEs may be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or headsets). Other UEs may be used, whether they currently exist or will be developed in the future. Furthermore, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) may be implemented within System 100 and may communicate with each other, as well as with UE 105, BS 110a, 110b, 114, the core network 140, and / or external clients 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices. The core network 140 may communicate with external clients 130 (e.g., computer systems) so that, for example, external clients 130 can request and / or receive location information about UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 125).

[0037] UE105 or other devices may be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, multiple frequencies of Wi-Fi communication, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Mobile Global System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), V2X (vehicle-to-vehicle, e.g., V2P (vehicle-to-pedestrian), V2I (vehicle-to-vehicle), V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle)), IEEE802.11p, etc.). V2X communication may be cellular (cellular V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Connection)). System 100 supports operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can transmit a modulated signal simultaneously on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal may be a code division multiple access (CDMA) signal, a time division multiple access (TDMA) signal, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) signal, a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal may be transmitted on a different carrier and may carry pilot signals, overhead information, data, etc. UEs 105 and 106 can communicate with each other through inter-UE sidelink (SL) communication by transmitting over one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink synchronization channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), or a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH).

[0038] UE105 may include and / or be referred to as a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) enabled terminal (SET), or any other name. Furthermore, UE105 may correspond to cell phones, smartphones, laptops, tablets, PDAs, consumer asset tracking devices, navigation devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, asset trackers, health monitors, security systems, smart city sensors, smart meters, wearable trackers, or any other portable or mobile devices. Typically, but not always, the UE105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA®), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Global Interoperability Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN135 and 5GC140). The UE105 may also support wireless communications using, for example, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) that can connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable. The use of one or more of these RATs allows UE105 to communicate with an external client 130 (for example, via an element of 5GC140, not shown in Figure 1, or possibly via GMLC125), and / or the external client 130 may be able to receive location information about UE105 (for example, via GMLC125).

[0039] UE105 may include a single entity or multiple entities in a personal area network where, for example, a user may have access to audio, video and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or body sensors, and a separate wireline or wireless modem. The estimated location of UE105 may be called location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, location estimate, or location fix, and may be geographical, and therefore may or may not include an elevation component (e.g., elevation, ground, floor, or height or depth from underground), and provide location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for UE105. Alternatively, the location of UE105 may be represented as an urban location (e.g., as the address or designation of a point or narrow area somewhere in a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of UE105 may be represented as an area or volume (defined either geographically or in the shape of a city) in which UE105 is expected to be located with some degree of probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of UE105 may be represented, for example, as a relative location including distance and direction from a known location. A relative location may be represented as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin in a known location, which may be defined, for example, geographically, in urban terms, or by reference to a point, area, or volume shown in a map, blueprint, or architectural plan. In the descriptions contained herein, the use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of a UE, it is common to obtain values ​​for local x, y, and possibly z coordinates, and then, if desired, convert the local coordinates to absolute coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0040] UE105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of various technologies. UE105 may be configured to indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. D2D P2P links may support any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), or Bluetooth®. One or more of a group of UEs using D2D communication may be within the geographical coverage area of ​​a transmit / receive point (TRP), such as one or more of gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114. Other UEs within such a group may be outside such geographical coverage area or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may use a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can transmit to other UEs within the group. A TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be practiced between UEs without the involvement of a TRP. One or more of the groups of UEs using D2D communication may be within the geographical coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs within such a group may be outside such geographical coverage area or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may use a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE can transmit to other UEs within the group. A TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be practiced between UEs without the involvement of a TRP.

[0041] The base station (BS) in NG-RAN135 shown in Figure 1 includes NR node B, called gNB110a and 110b. The pair of gNB110a and 110b in NG-RAN135 may be interconnected via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is given to UE105 via wireless communication between UE105 and one or more of the gNB110a and 110b, and these gNBs may provide wireless communication with access to 5GC140 on behalf of UE105 using 5G. In Figure 1, it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE105 is gNB110a, but another gNB (e.g., gNB110b) may act as a serving gNB if UE105 moves to a different location, or as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE105.

[0042] The base station (BS) in NG-RAN135 shown in Figure 1 may include ng-eNB114, also known as next-generation advanced node B. ng-eNB114 may connect to one or more of the gNB110a, 110b in NG-RAN135, possibly via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. ng-eNB114 may provide LTE wireless access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to UE105. One or more of the gNB110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB114 may transmit signals to help determine the location of UE105, but may be configured to function as a positioning-only beacon that does not need to receive signals from UE105 or other UEs.

[0043] BS110a, 110b, and 114 may each have one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a BS cell may have a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., sharing a processor but having separate antennas). System 100 may include only macro TRPs, or system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro, pico, and / or femto TRPs. Macro TRPs may cover relatively large geographical areas (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may enable unrestricted access by terminals subscribing to the service. Pico TRPs may cover relatively small geographical areas (e.g., picocells) and may enable unrestricted access by terminals subscribing to the service. Femto or home TRPs may cover relatively small geographical areas (e.g., femtocells) and may enable limited access by terminals associated with femtocells (e.g., terminals for users in their homes).

[0044] As mentioned above, Figure 1 shows a node configured to communicate according to the 5G communication protocol, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as the LTE protocol or the IEEE 802.11x protocol, may be used. For example, in an Advanced Packet System (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to UE105, the RAN may include an Advanced Universal Mobile Communications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) which may include base stations including Advanced Node B (eNB). The core network for the EPS may include an Advanced Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may include E-UTRAN plus EPC, where in Figure 1, E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN135 and EPC corresponds to 5GC140.

[0045] The gNB110a, 110b, and ng-eNB114 can communicate with the AMF115, which in turn communicates with the LMF120 for positioning functionality. The AMF115 can support the mobility of the UE105, including cell changes and handovers, and may be involved in supporting signaling connections to the UE105 and, potentially, data and voice bearers for the UE105. The LMF120 can communicate directly with the UE105, for example, via wireless communication, or directly with the BS110a, 110b, and 114. The LMF120 can support the positioning of UE105 when UE105 accesses NG-RAN135, and can support positioning procedures / methods such as assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., downlink (DL)OTDOA or uplink (UL)OTDOA), round-trip time (RTT), multi-cell RTT, real-time kinematics (RTK), precise single positioning (PPP), differential GNSS (DGNSS), extended cell ID (E-CID), angle of arrival (AoA), angle of departure (AoD), and / or other positioning methods. The LMF120 can process location service requests for UE105 received, for example, from AMF115 or GMLC125. The LMF120 may be connected to AMF115 and / or GMLC125. The LMF120 may be referred to by other names, such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value-Added LMF (VLMF). Nodes / systems implementing the LMF120 may implement other types of location support modules as additions or replacements, such as Extended Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP).At least part of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the UE105's location) may be performed in the UE105 (for example, using signal measurements acquired by the UE105 for signals transmitted by wireless nodes via gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114, and / or supporting data provided to the UE105 by, for example, LMF120). The AMF115 can act as a control node handling signaling between the UE105 and the core network 140, and may provide QoS (Quality of Service) flow and session management. The AMF115 can support the mobility of the UE105, including cell changes and handovers, and may be involved in supporting signaling connectivity to the UE105.

[0046] The GMLC125 can support location requests for UE105 received from an external client 130, and such location requests can be forwarded to the AMF115 for forwarding to the LMF120 via the AMF115, or the location requests can be forwarded directly to the LMF120. The location response from the LMF120 (including, for example, a location estimate for UE105) may be returned to the GMLC125 either directly or via the AMF115, and the GMLC125 may then return the location response (including, for example, a location estimate) to the external client 130. Although the GMLC125 is shown connected to both the AMF115 and the LMF120, only one of these connections may be supported by the 5GC140 in some implementations.

[0047] As further shown in Figure 1, the LMF120 can communicate with gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 using a new radio positioning protocol A (which may be called NPPa or NRPPa) as defined in 3GPP® Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension thereof of LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) as defined in 3GPP® TS36.455, and NRPPa messages are transmitted via the AMF115 between gNB110a (or gNB110b) and the LMF120, and / or between ng-eNB114 and the LMF120. As further shown in Figure 1, the LMF120 and UE105 can communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) as defined in 3GPP® TS36.355. The LMF120 and UE105 can further, or instead, communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (which may be called NPP or NRPP) which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages may be forwarded to the UE105, between the UE105 and the LMF120 via the AMF115 and serving gNB110a, 110b, or serving ng-eNB114. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages may be forwarded between the LMF120 and the AMF115 using the 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP), and between the AMF115 and the UE105 using the 5G Non-Access Layer (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocols may be used to support positioning of the UE105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID.The NRPPa protocol may be used to support the positioning of the UE105 using network-based positioning methods such as E-CID (for example, when used with measurements obtained by gNB110a, 110b, or ng-eNB114), and / or the LMF120 may be used to obtain location-related information from gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114, such as parameters defining directional SS transmissions from gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114. The LMF120 may be collateralized with or integrated with the gNB or TRP, or may be located separately from the gNB and / or TRP, and may be configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or TRP.

[0048] Using a UE-assisted positioning method, UE105 can acquire location measurements and send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF120) for the calculation of a location estimate for UE105. For example, location measurements may include one or more of the following for gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, and / or WLAN APs: Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Round-Trip Signal Propagation Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and / or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ). Location measurements may also include, or instead, GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase measurements for SV190-193.

[0049] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE105 can acquire location measurements (which may be the same as or similar to location measurements for a UE-assisted positioning method, for example) and calculate its location (for example, with the help of support data received from a location server such as LMF120, or broadcast by gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, or other base stations or APs).

[0050] Using a network-based location method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114) or APs can acquire and / or receive location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or time-of-arrival (ToA) measurements for signals transmitted by UE105). One or more base stations or APs can then send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF120) for the calculation of a location estimate for UE105.

[0051] Using NRPPa, the information provided to the LMF120 by gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 may include timing and configuration information for directional SS transmissions, as well as location coordinates. The LMF120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE105 as supporting data in LPP and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN135 and 5GC140.

[0052] An LPP or NPP message sent from the LMF120 to the UE105 can instruct the UE105 to do one of a variety of things, depending on the desired functionality. For example, an LPP or NPP message may include an instruction for the UE105 to acquire measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, an LPP or NPP message may instruct the UE105 to acquire one or more measurements (e.g., beam ID, beamwidth, mean angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of a directional signal transmitted within a particular cell supported by one or more of the gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 (or supported by some other type of base station, such as an eNB or WiFi AP). UE105 may send the measured quantity back to LMF120 via serving gNB110a (or serving ng-eNB114) and AMF115 in an LPP or NPP message (for example, in a 5G NAS message).

[0053] As stated, although the communication system 100 is described in relation to 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies such as GSM, WCDMA®, LTE, etc., used to support and interact with mobile devices such as UE105 (for example, to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionalities). In some such embodiments, 5GC140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, 5GC140 may be connected to a WLAN using a non-3GPP® inter-network connectivity function in 5GC140 (N3IWF, not shown in Figure 1). For example, the WLAN may support IEEE802.11 WiFi access for UE105 and may have one or more WiFi APs. Here, N3IWF may connect to the WLAN and other elements in 5GC140, such as AMF115. In some embodiments, both NG-RAN135 and 5GC140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in an EPS, NG-RAN135 may be replaced with an E-UTRAN including an eNB, and 5GC140 may be replaced with an EPC including a Mobility Management Entity (MME) instead of AMF115, an E-SMLC instead of LMF120, and a GMLC which may be similar to GMLC125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa instead of NRPPa to send and receive location information to and from the eNB in ​​the E-UTRAN, and LPP may be used to support the positioning of UE105. In these other embodiments, the positioning of UE105 using a directional PRS may be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, the difference being that the functions and procedures described herein for gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, AMF115, and LMF120 may, in some cases, apply instead to other network elements such as eNBs, WiFi APs, MMEs, and E-SMLCs.

[0054] As described above, in some embodiments, positioning functionality can be implemented, at least in part, using directional SS beams transmitted by base stations (such as gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114) within range of the UE whose location is to be determined (e.g., UE105 in Figure 1). In some cases, the UE can use directional SS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, etc.) to calculate its position.

[0055] See also Figure 2, UE200 is an example of one of UE105, 106, and comprises a computing platform including a processor 210, memory 211 containing software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for transceivers 215 (including a wireless transceiver 240 and / or a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a position device (PD) 219. The processor 210, memory 211, sensors 213, transceiver interface 214, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, and position device 219 may be communicatively coupled to one another by a bus 220 (which may be configured for optical and / or telecommunications, for example). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., one or more of the camera 218, positioning device 219, and / or sensors 213, etc.) may be omitted from the UE200. The processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 210 may include multiple processors, including a general-purpose / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of the processors 230-234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, the sensor processor 234 may include a processor for, for example, RF (radio frequency) sensing (one or more (cellular) wireless signals are transmitted and reflected, used to identify, map, and / or track objects), and / or ultrasound, etc. The modem processor 232 can support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs).For example, a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module or Subscriber Identification Module) may be used by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by the end user of the UE200 for connectivity. Memory 211 is a non-temporary storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM). Memory 211 may store software 212, which may be processor-readable processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause the processor 210 to perform various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 212 may not be directly executable by the processor 210, but may be configured to cause the processor 210 to perform functions when compiled and executed, for example. This description may refer only to the processor 210 performing functions, but also includes other implementations, such as the processor 210 executing software and / or firmware. This description may refer to processor 210 performing a function as a simplification to the fact that one or more of processors 230-234 perform the function. This description may refer to UE200 performing a function as a simplification to the fact that one or more of the appropriate components of UE200 perform the function. Processor 210 may include, and / or alternatively, memory with stored instructions in addition to memory 211. The functionality of processor 210 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0056] The configuration of the UE200 shown in Figure 2 is an example of the present disclosure as defined in the claims, and is not limiting; other configurations may be used. For example, an exemplary configuration of the UE includes one or more processors 230-234 of the processor 210, memory 211, and a wireless transceiver 240. Other exemplary configurations include one or more processors 230-234 of the processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver 240, one or more sensors 213, a user interface 216, an SPS receiver 217, a camera 218, a PD 219, and / or a wired transceiver 250.

[0057] The UE200 may include a modem processor 232 capable of performing baseband processing on signals received and downconverted by the transceiver 215 and / or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 can perform baseband processing on signals so that they are upconverted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by a processor 230 and / or a DSP 231, although other configurations may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0058] The UE200 may include sensor 213, which may include one or more of various types of sensors, such as one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors. The inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g., collectively responding to the acceleration of the UE200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., 3D gyroscopes). Sensor 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., 3D magnetometers) for determining orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which can be used for any of a variety of purposes, such as supporting one or more compass applications. Environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imaging devices, and / or one or more microphones. Sensor 213 can generate analog and / or digital signal indications that are stored in memory 211 and can be processed by DSP 231 and / or processor 230, for example, to support one or more applications, such as applications targeting positioning and / or navigation operations.

[0059] Sensor 213 can be used for relative location measurement, relative location determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by sensor 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based location determination, and / or sensor-assisted location determination. Sensor 213 may be useful in determining whether UE200 is stationary or mobile, and / or whether specific useful information regarding UE200's mobility should be reported to LMF120. For example, based on information acquired / measured by sensor 213, UE200 may notify / report to LMF120 that UE200 has detected movement or has moved, and report relative displacement / distance (e.g., by dead reckoning, sensor-based location determination, or sensor-assisted location determination enabled by sensor 213). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensor / IMU may be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of other devices relative to UE200, etc.

[0060] The IMU may be configured to provide measurements of the direction and / or speed of motion of the UE200, which may be used in relative location determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU may detect the linear acceleration and speed of rotation of the UE200, respectively. The linear acceleration and rotational speed measurements of the UE200 may be combined over time to determine the instantaneous direction and displacement of motion of the UE200. The instantaneous direction and displacement of motion may be combined to track the location of the UE200. For example, the reference location of the UE200 may be determined for a given moment, for example, using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means), and measurements from the accelerometers and gyroscopes taken after this moment may be used in dead reckoning to determine the current location of the UE200 based on the motion (direction and distance) of the UE200 relative to the reference location.

[0061] The magnetometer can determine the magnetic field strength in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of the UE200. For example, the orientation can be used to provide the UE200 with a digital compass. The magnetometer may include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and indicate the magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer may include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and indicate the magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer may provide means for detecting the magnetic field and providing an indication of the magnetic field to, for example, a processor 210.

[0062] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250, respectively, configured to communicate with other devices through wireless and wired connections. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to one or more antennas 246 to transmit (e.g., over one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receive (e.g., over one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) a wireless signal 248, and to convert the signal from the wireless signal 248 to a wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal, and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal to the wireless signal 248. Thus, the wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components. The Wireless Transceiver 240 can be configured to communicate signals (for example, with the TRP and / or one or more other devices) in accordance with various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Mobile Global System), UMTS (Universal Mobile Communication System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA® (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP® LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. New radios may use mm wave frequencies and / or sub-6GHz frequencies.The wired transceiver 250 may include a network interface that can be used to communicate with a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, for example, to send communications to and receive communications from a network 135. The wired transmitter 252 may include a plurality of transmitters, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 254 may include a plurality of receivers, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured, for example, for optical and / or telecommunications. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, for example, by optical and / or electrical connections. The transceiver interface 214 may be integrated with the transceiver 215, at least in part.

[0063] The user interface 216 may include one or more of several devices, such as speakers, microphones, display devices, vibration devices, keyboards, and touchscreens. The user interface 216 may include several of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to allow the user to interact with one or more applications housed by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may store analog and / or digital signal instructions in memory 211 so that they are processed by the DSP 231 and / or general-purpose processor 230 in response to user actions. Similarly, an application housed on the UE 200 may store analog and / or digital signal instructions in memory 211 to present output signals to the user. The user interface 216 may include audio input / output (I / O) devices, such as speakers, microphones, digital-analog circuit configurations, analog-digital circuit configurations, amplifiers, and / or gain control circuit configurations (including several of these devices). Other configurations of audio I / O devices may be used. Alternatively, the user interface 216 may include, for example, one or more touch sensors that respond to touch and / or pressure on the keyboard and / or touchscreen of the user interface 216.

[0064] An SPS receiver 217 (for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring an SPS signal 260 via an SPS antenna 262. Antenna 262 may be configured to convert the wireless SPS signal 260 into a wired signal, such as an electrical or optical signal, and may be integrated with antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process the acquired SPS signal 260 whole or partially in order to estimate the location of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to use the SPS signal 260 to determine the location of the UE 200 by trilateration. A general-purpose processor 230, memory 211, DSP 231, and / or one or more specialized processors (not shown) may be used together with the SPS receiver 217 to process the acquired SPS signal whole or partially and / or to calculate the estimated location of the UE 200. Memory 211 can store indications (e.g., measurements) of the SPS signal 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals obtained from the wire transceiver 240) for use when performing positioning operations. The general-purpose processor 230, DSP 231, and / or one or more specialized processors, and / or memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for use when processing measurements to estimate the location of the UE200.

[0065] The UE200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still images or video. The camera 218 may include, for example, an image sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled element or a CMOS imager), a lens, an analog-digital circuit configuration, a frame buffer, and the like. Additional processing, adjustment, encoding, and / or compression of the signal representing the captured image may be performed by a general-purpose processor 230 and / or DSP 231. Similarly or alternatively, a video processor 233 may perform adjustment, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of the signal representing the captured image. The video processor 233 can decode / decompress the stored image data for display, for example, on a display device (not shown) of the user interface 216.

[0066] The position device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the position of the UE 200, the movement of the UE 200, and / or the relative position of the UE 200, and / or the time. For example, the PD 219 may communicate with and / or include part or all of the SPS receiver 217. The PD 219 may, as necessary, work with the processor 210 and memory 211 to implement at least part of one or more positioning methods, but the description herein may refer only to the PD 219 being configured to implement, or to implement, a positioning method. The PD 219 may also, or alternatively, be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 using terrestrial-based signals (e.g., at least some of signals 248) to help acquire and use the SPS signal 260 for trilateration, or both. PD219 may be configured to use one or more other techniques for determining the location of UE200 (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reporting location (e.g., part of the UE's location beacon)), or a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS and ground positioning signals) for determining the location of UE200. PD219 may include one or more sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, etc.) that can detect the orientation and / or motion of UE200 and provide indications thereof, which can be configured for use by the processor 210 (e.g., processor 230 and / or DSP231) to determine the motion of UE200 (e.g., velocity vector and / or acceleration vector). PD219 may be configured to provide indications of uncertainty and / or error in the determined position and / or motion. The functionality of the PD219 may be provided in various ways and / or configurations, for example, by other components of the general-purpose / application processor 230, transceiver 215, SPS receiver 217, and / or UE200, and may be provided by hardware, software, firmware, or various combinations thereof.

[0067] See also Figure 3, the TRP300 examples of BS110a, 110b, and 114 include a computing platform comprising a processor 310, memory 311 containing software (SW) 312, and transceiver 315. The processor 310, memory 311, and transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to one another by a bus 320 (which may be configured, for example, for optical and / or telecommunications). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., a wireless interface) may be omitted from the TRP300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor 310 may include multiple processors (for example, a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, as shown in Figure 2). Memory 311 is a non-temporary storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM). Memory 311 can store software 312, which may be processor-readable processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause the processor 310 to perform various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 312 may not be directly executable by the processor 310, but may be configured, for example, to cause the processor 310 to perform functions when compiled and executed. This description may refer only to the processor 310 performing functions, but also to other implementations, such as the processor 310 executing software and / or firmware. This description may refer to the processor 310 performing functions as a simplification to one or more processors contained within the processor 310 performing functions. This description may refer to TRP300 performing a function as a simplification to the fact that one or more suitable components of TRP300 (and therefore one of BS110a, 110b, or 114) perform the function.The processor 310 may include, in addition to and / or instead of, memory 311, memory containing stored instructions. The processor 310 may include (possibly together with memory 311 and, if necessary, transceiver 315 (or one or more parts thereof)) a positioning status information (PSI) allocation unit 360. The PSI allocation unit 360 may be configured similarly to the PSI allocation unit discussed with respect to Figure 5 for transmitting positioning status information over one or more suitable physical channels. The functionality of the processor 310 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0068] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350, respectively, configured to communicate with other devices through wireless and wired connections. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 to transmit (e.g., over one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and / or receive (e.g., over one or more downlink channels and / or one or more uplink channels) a wireless signal 348, and to convert the signal from the wireless signal 348 to a wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal, and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal to the wireless signal 348. Thus, the wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components. The Wireless Transceiver 340 can be configured to communicate signals (for example, with UE200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) in accordance with various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Mobile Global System), UMTS (Universal Mobile Communication System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA® (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP® LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc.The wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface and / or one or more other network entities that can be used to communicate with the network 135 to send communications to and receive communications from the LMF 120. The wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured for optical and / or telecommunications, for example.

[0069] The configuration of the TRP300 shown in Figure 3 is an example of the present disclosure, including the claims, and is not limiting; other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein states that the TRP300 is configured to perform, or will perform, several functions, one or more of which may be performed by the LMF120 and / or UE200 (i.e., the LMF120 and / or UE200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0070] See also Figure 4, a server 400, an example of the LMF120, comprises a computing platform including a processor 410, memory 411 containing software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. The processor 410, memory 411, and transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to one another by a bus 420 (which may be configured, for example, for optical and / or telecommunications). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., a wireless interface) may be omitted from the server 400. The processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 410 may include multiple processors (for example, including a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, as shown in Figure 2). The memory 411 is a non-temporary storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 411 may store software 412, which may be processor-readable processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause the processor 410 to perform various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410, but may be configured, for example, to cause the processor 410 to perform functions when compiled and executed. This description may refer only to the processor 410 performing functions, but also to other implementations, such as the processor 410 executing software and / or firmware. This description may refer to the processor 410 performing functions as a simplification of one or more processors contained within the processor 410 performing functions. This description may refer to the server 400 performing functions as a simplification of one or more appropriate components of the server 400 performing functions.The processor 410 may include, in addition to and / or instead of, memory 411, memory containing stored instructions. The processor 410 may include (possibly together with memory 411 and, if necessary, transceiver 415 (or one or more parts thereof)) a positioning status information (PSI) allocation unit 460. The PSI allocation unit 460 may be configured similarly to the PSI allocation unit discussed with respect to Figure 5 for transmitting positioning status information over one or more suitable physical channels. The functionality of the processor 410 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0071] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450, respectively, configured to communicate with other devices through wireless and wired connections. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 to transmit (e.g., over one or more downlink channels) and / or receive (e.g., over one or more uplink channels) a wireless signal 448, and to convert the signal from the wireless signal 448 to a wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal, and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal to the wireless signal 448. Thus, the wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components. The Wireless Transceiver 440 can be configured to communicate signals (for example, with UE200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) in accordance with various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Mobile Global System), UMTS (Universal Mobile Communication System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA® (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP® LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. The wired transceiver 450 can be used to communicate with network 135, for example, to send communications to a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, such as a TRP300, and to receive communications from there, and may include, for example, a network interface and / or one or more other networks.The wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured, for example, for optical communications and / or telecommunications.

[0072] The configuration of the server 400 shown in Figure 4 is an example of the present invention as defined in the claims, but is not limiting, and other configurations may be used. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Similarly or alternatively, the description herein states that the server 400 is configured to perform or performs several functions, one or more of which may be performed by the TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., the TRP 300 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of which functions).

[0073] Positioning techniques For ground positioning of UEs in cellular networks, techniques such as Altitude Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) and Observation Time of Arrival Difference (OTDOA) often operate in "UE-assisted" mode, in which the UE takes measurements of a reference signal (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) transmitted by a base station and then provides them to a location server. The location server then calculates the UE's position based on the measurements and the known location of the base station. Because these techniques use the location server rather than the UE itself to calculate the UE's position, these positioning techniques are not frequently used in applications such as car or cell phone navigation, which instead typically rely on satellite-based positioning.

[0074] UEs can use satellite positioning systems (SPS) (Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)) for high-precision positioning using Precision Single-Person Positioning (PPP) or Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) techniques. These techniques use supporting data such as measurements from ground stations. With LTE Release 15, data is encrypted so that only UEs subscribed to the service can read the information. Such supporting data changes over time. Therefore, a UE subscribed to the service cannot easily "break the encryption" for other UEs by passing the data to them who have not paid for the subscription. This transfer must be repeated each time the supporting data changes.

[0075] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measured values ​​(e.g., TDOA, angle of arrival (AoA), etc.) to a positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has a base station almanac (BSA) containing multiple “entries” or “records,” i.e., one record per cell, each record containing geographic cell location, but may also contain other data. Identifiers of “records” within the multiple “records” in the BSA may be referenced. The measured values ​​from the BSA and the UE may be used to calculate the UE’s position.

[0076] In conventional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own position and thus avoids sending measurements to a network (e.g., a location server), thereby improving latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of gNBs (or more broadly, base stations)). The BSA information may be encrypted. However, since the BSA information does not change as frequently as, for example, the previously described PPP or RTK-assisted data, it may be easier (compared to PPP or RTK information) to make the BSA information available to UEs that have joined and not paid for the decryption key. The transmission of reference signals by gNBs makes the BSA information potentially accessible to crowdsourcing or ward driving, essentially allowing the BSA information to be generated based on on-site and / or beyond-limit observations.

[0077] Positioning techniques may be characterized and / or evaluated based on one or more criteria, such as position determination accuracy and / or latency. Latency is the time elapsed between an event that triggers the determination of location-related data and the state in which that data becomes available at the positioning system interface, e.g., the LMF120 interface. In the initialization of the positioning system, the latency for location-related data to become available is called the time to first position (TTFF), and is greater than the latency after the TTFF. The inverse of the time elapsed between two consecutive states of location-related data availability is called the update rate, i.e., the rate at which location-related data is generated after the first position. Latency may depend, for example, on the processing capacity of the UE. For example, the UE may report its processing capacity as the duration of DL PRS symbols in units of time (e.g., milliseconds) that the UE can process for every amount of time T (e.g., T ms) assuming a 272 PRB (Physical Resource Block) allocation. Other examples of factors that can affect latency include the number of TRPs that the UE can process from, the number of PRSs that the UE can process, and the UE's bandwidth.

[0078] One or more of many different positioning techniques (also called positioning methods) may be used to determine the location of an entity, such as one of UE105 or UE106. For example, known positioning techniques include RTT, multi-RTT, OTDOA (also known as TDOA, including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), Extended Cell Identification (E-CID), DL-AoD, and UL-AoA. RTT uses the time it takes for a signal to travel from one entity to another and vice versa to determine the range between two entities. The range, as well as the known location of the first entity and the angle between the two entities (e.g., azimuth), may be used to determine the location of the second entity. In multi-RTT (also known as multi-cell RTT), multiple ranges from one entity (e.g., UE) to another entity (e.g., TRP) and the known locations of the other entities may be used to determine the location of a given entity. In the TDOA technique, the difference in travel time between one entity and another may be used to determine the relative range from the other entity, and this, combined with the known location of the other entity, may be used to determine the location of the entity. The angles of arrival and / or transmission may be used to help determine the location of an entity. For example, the angle of arrival or transmission of a signal (determined using the signal, e.g., the signal's travel time, the signal's received power, etc.) combined with the range between devices, and the known location of one of the devices, may be used to determine the location of the other device. The angle of arrival or transmission may be an azimuth angle relative to a reference direction such as true north. The angle of arrival or transmission may be a zenith angle relative to the direction directly upward from the entity (i.e., relative to the direction radiating outward from the center of the Earth). E-CID uses the serving cell's identity, timing advance (i.e., the difference between the received time and the transmitted time at the UE), the estimated timing and power of the detected neighbor cell signal, and possibly the angle of arrival (e.g., from the base station, the signal at the UE, or vice versa) to determine the UE's location. It is used to determine the location. In TDOA, the difference in arrival times at the receiving device of signals from different sources, along with the known location of the source and the known offset of the transmission time from the source, is used to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0079] In network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on the serving cells of two or more neighboring base stations (and typically the serving base station, as at least three base stations are required). One or more base stations transmit RTT measurement signals on low-reuse resources (e.g., resources used by base stations to transmit system information) allocated by the network (e.g., a location server such as LMF120). The UE records the arrival time (also called receive time, reception time, or arrival time (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE's current downlink timing (e.g., derived by the UE from the DL signal received from its serving base station), and transmits a common or individual RTT response message (e.g., an SRS (sounding reference signal) for positioning, i.e., UL-PRS) to one or more base stations (e.g., when commanded by its serving base station), with a time difference T between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message. Rx→Tx (That is, UET) Rx-Tx or UE Rx-Tx The following should be included in the payload of each RTT response message. The RTT response message will contain a reference signal from which the base station can infer the ToA of the RTT response. The difference T between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT response at the base station. Tx→Rx The time difference T reported by UE Rx→TxBy comparing this, the base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE, and from there, the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station by assuming the speed of light during this propagation time.

[0080] UE-centered RTT estimation is similar to network-based methods, except that the UE transmits an uplink RTT measurement signal (for example, when commanded by a serving base station), which is received by multiple base stations in the UE's vicinity. Each participating base station responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include in its RTT response message payload the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal at the base station and the transmission time of the RTT response message from the base station.

[0081] For both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the party performing the RTT calculation (network or UE) typically (but not always) sends a first message or signal (e.g., an RTT measurement signal), and the other party responds with one or more RTT response messages or signals, which may include the difference between the ToA of the first message or signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message or signal.

[0082] A multi-RTT technique can be used to determine location. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) may send one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and several second entities (e.g., other TSPs such as base stations and / or UEs) may receive signals from the first entity and respond to these received signals. The first entity receives responses from several second entities. The first entity (or another entity such as an LMF) may use the responses from the second entities to determine the range to the second entities, and use several ranges and known locations of the second entities to determine the location of the first entity by trilateration.

[0083] In some cases, additional information may be obtained in the form of an angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD) that defines a directional range (e.g., in a linear direction, or in three dimensions) or, in some cases, a range of directions (e.g., from the base station location to the UE). The intersection of the two directions can give another estimate of the UE's location.

[0084] For positioning techniques that use a PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) signal (e.g., TDOA and RTT), PRS signals sent by multiple TRPs are measured, and the signal arrival time, known transmission time, and known location of the TRP are used to determine the range from the UE to the TRP. For example, the RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) may be determined for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs and used in the TDOA technique to determine the UE's location. This positioning reference signal is sometimes called a PRS or PRS signal. PRS signals are usually transmitted using the same power and have the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency deviation), which can cause interference between them. This can result in PRS signals from more distant TRPs being overwhelmed by PRS signals from closer TRPs, making it impossible to detect signals from more distant TRPs. PRS muting may be used to help reduce interference by muting some PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signals, for example, to zero, and therefore not transmitting the PRS signals). In this way, weaker PRS signals can be more easily detected by the UE (in the UE) without stronger PRS signals interfering with weaker PRS signals. The term RS, and its variations (e.g., PRS, SRS), can refer to one or more reference signals.

[0085] The positioning reference signal (PRS) includes a downlink PRS (DL PRS, often simply called PRS) and an uplink PRS (UL PRS) (which may be called an SRS (sounding reference signal) for positioning purposes). The PRS may include a PN code (pseudorandom code) or may be generated using a PN code (for example, by scrambling the PN code with another signal) so that the PRS source can act as a pseudo-satellite. The PN code may be unique to the PRS source (at least within a specified area so that identical PRSs from different PRS sources do not overlap). The PRS may include frequency layer PRS resources or sets of PRS resources. A DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply frequency layer) is a collection of DL PRS resource sets from one or more TRPs that have PRS resources with common parameters composed of higher-layer parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer, DL-PRS-ResourceSet, and DL-PRS-Resource. Each frequency layer has DL PRS resource sets and DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for DL ​​PRS resources within the frequency layer. Each frequency layer also has DL PRS resource sets and DL PRS cyclic prefixes (CP) for DL ​​PRS resources within the frequency layer. In 5G, a resource block occupies 12 consecutive subcarriers and a specified number of symbols. The DL PRS point A parameter defines the frequency of a reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of the resource block), DL PRS resources belong to the same DL PRS resource set having the same point A, and all DL PRS resource sets belong to the same frequency layer having the same point A. Frequency layers also have the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same start PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size (i.e., the frequency of PRS resource elements per symbol such that every N resource elements in a comb N are PRS resource elements).A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and may be associated with a specific TRP transmitted by the base station's antenna panel (identified by a cell ID). A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set may be associated with an omnidirectional signal and / or a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (a base station may transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore a “PRS resource” (or simply “resource”) may also be referred to as a “beam.” This does not imply whether the base station and PRS know the beam transmitted on it to the UE.

[0086] A TRP may be configured to send DL PRSs on a schedule, for example, by instructions received from a server and / or by software within the TRP. According to the schedule, the TRP may send DL PRSs intermittently, for example, periodically at regular intervals from the initial transmission. A TRP may be configured to send one or more PRS resource sets. A resource set is a collection of PRS resources across a single TRP, where resources have the same periodicity, common muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor across slots. Each PRS resource set contains multiple PRS resources, each PRS resource containing multiple resource elements (REs) which may be in multiple resource blocks (RBs) within N (one or more) consecutive symbols in a slot. An RB is a collection of REs across a quantity of one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain and a quantity of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain (12 for 5G RBs). Each PRS resource is configured to have an RE offset, a slot offset, a symbol offset in the slot, and several consecutive symbols that the PRS resource may occupy in the slot. The RE offset defines the starting RE offset of the first symbol in the DL PRS resource at a given frequency. The relative RE offsets of the remaining symbols in the DL PRS resource are defined based on the initial offset. The slot offset is the starting slot of the DL PRS resource relative to the corresponding resource set slot offset. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting slot. Transmitted REs may be repeated across slots, and each transmission is called a repeat, as there may be multiple repeats within the PRS resource. DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP, and each DL PRS resource has a DL PRS resource ID. A DL PRS resource ID in a DL PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (although a TRP may transmit one or more beams).

[0087] PRS resources can also be defined by pseudo-collocation and start PRB parameters. Pseudo-collocation (QCL) parameters can define any pseudo-collocation information for DL ​​PRS resources with other reference signals. DL PRS may be configured to be QCL type D with DL PRS or SS / PBCH (Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel) blocks from a serving cell or non-serving cell. DL PRS may be configured to be QCL type C with SS / PBCH blocks from a serving cell or non-serving cell. The start PRB parameter defines the start PRB index of the DL PRS resource relative to reference point A. The start PRB index has a granularity of one PRB and can have a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 2176 PRBs.

[0088] A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources that span slots and have the same periodicity, the same muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor. Any time when all repetitions of all PRS resources in a PRS resource set are configured to be sent is called an "instance." Therefore, an "instance" of a PRS resource set is a specified number of repetitions for each PRS resource and a specified number of PRS resources in the PRS resource set, and by this means that an instance is complete when a specified number of repetitions have been sent for each of the specified number of PRS resources. An instance may also be called an "opportunity." A DL PRS configuration, including a DL PRS transmission schedule, may be provided to the UE to facilitate (or even enable) the UE to instrument DL PRS.

[0089] RTT positioning is an active positioning technique in which the RTT uses positioning signals sent by the TRP to the UE and by the UE (involved in RTT positioning) to the TRP. The TRP can send a DL-PRS signal that is received by the UE, and the UE can send an SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) signal that is received by multiple TRPs. The Sounding Reference Signal is sometimes called an SRS or SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, cooperative positioning may be used in conjunction with the UE sending a single UL-SRS for positioning that is received by multiple TRPs, rather than sending separate UL-SRS for positioning to each TRP. TRPs involved in multi-RTT typically look up UEs currently camped on that TRP (serviced UEs, where the TRP is the serving TRP) and UEs camped on neighboring TRPs (neighbor UEs). A neighbor TRP may be a TRP of a single BTS (e.g., gNB), or a TRP of one BTS and a TRP of another BTS. For RTT positioning, including multi-RTT positioning, the DL-PRS signal and the UL-SRS signal in the positioning PRS / SRS signal pair used to determine RTT (and therefore the range between the UE and the TRP) may occur close together in time so that errors due to the movement of the UE and / or the clock drift of the UE and / or the clock drift of the TRP are within acceptable limits. For example, the signals in the positioning PRS / SRS signal pair may be transmitted from the TRP and the UE, respectively, within approximately 10 ms of each other. Because the positioning SRS signal is transmitted by the UE, and because the positioning PRS and SRS signals are transmitted close together in time, it is known that radio frequency (RF) signal congestion (which can cause excessive noise, etc.) may occur, especially when many UEs attempt positioning simultaneously, and / or computational congestion may occur at the TRP attempting to measure many UEs simultaneously.

[0090] RTT positioning may be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, UE200 determines the RTT and corresponding range to each TRP300, and the position of UE200 based on the range to TRP300 and the known location of TRP300. In UE-assisted RTT, UE200 measures a positioning signal and provides the measurement information to TRP300, which determines the RTT and range. TRP300 provides a range to a location server, for example, server 400, and the server determines the location of UE200, for example, based on the range to a different TRP300. The RTT and / or range may be determined by a TRP300 that receives a signal from UE200, by this TRP300 and one or more other devices, for example, one or more other TRP300s and / or server 400, or by one or more devices other than TRP300 that receive a signal from UE200.

[0091] Various positioning techniques are supported in 5G NR. NR-specific positioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL-only positioning, UL-only positioning, and DL+UL positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. Combined DL+UL-based positioning methods include RTT with a single base station and RTT with multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

[0092] Location estimation (for example, for a UE) may be referred to by other names such as location estimate, location, position, position fix, or fix. Location estimation is geodetic and may include coordinates (latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude) or may relate to a city and include a place address, mailing address, or any other wording of the location. Location estimation may further be defined against some other known location or defined in absolute terms (for example, using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). Location estimation may include expected error or uncertainty (for example, by including an area or volume that is expected to contain that location with some specified or default confidence).

[0093] Positioning status information resource allocation A channel that a device can transmit may be used to transmit information such as control information. Depending on the device transmitting the information (e.g., UE, TRP, server), the channel may be an uplink channel, a downlink channel, or a sidelink channel. Examples of channels may be channels that can be transmitted by a UE (UE transmit channel), such as a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), or channels that can be transmitted by a network entity (e.g., TRP300 or server400), such as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The information transmitted may be control information, such as uplink control information (UCI) from the UE to a network entity (e.g., a base station, server, etc.), or downlink control information (DCI) from the TRP or server to the UE. A portion of the channel may be repurposed to transmit control information such as UCI or DCI. While the descriptions herein often refer to UCI and PUSCH for illustrative purposes, the descriptions also apply to other information and one or more other channels, whether the channel is a UE transmission channel such as a sidelink channel (e.g., PSSCH) or transmitted by one or more other entities. Thus, the descriptions are not limited to UE transmission channels such as PUSCH and / or PSSCH, but may also apply, likewise or alternatively, to one or more other channels (e.g., PDSCH, PDCCH) transmitted by other entities such as a base station or server. UCI may be classified into different types, each coded, modulated, and mapped to channel resources to manage each type of information according to its respective performance objective (e.g., to satisfy its respective performance metric). Classes of UCI include HARQ (Hybrid Auto-Retransmission Request), CSI (Channel State Information) type 1, and CSI type 2. UCI may be mapped to PUSCH, for example, with HARQ given the highest priority, followed by CSI type 1, and then CSI type 2.CSI provides information about the operation of a channel (logical connections between entities for communication via a multiplexing medium). For example, CSI may include CQI (Channel Quality Indicator), PMI (Precoding Matrix Indicator), RI (Rank Indicator), CRI (CSI-RS (CSI Reference Signal) Indicator), LI (Layer Indicator), and / or Layer 1 RSRP (Physical Layer Reference Signal Received Power). CSI Type 1 and CSI Type 2 use different precodings, with CSI Type 1 using a single beam codebook for precoding and CSI Type 2 using a multi-beam codebook for precoding. CSI Type 1 may be less detailed than CSI Type 2 and may use fewer bits. CSI Type 1 has lower precoding overhead than CSI Type 2, while CSI Type 2 may offer better performance, such as higher resolution. The CSI payload size depends on the CSI type, RI, CQI, PMI, CRI, LI, Layer 1 RSRP, the number of carriers for CSI-RS reporting, and the semi-static configuration (e.g., the number of CSI-RS ports, CSI codebook type, CSI reporting subband size, etc.), and can range from a single bit to several hundred bits or more. A CSI (either Type 1 or Type 2) may be reported in multiple parts, i.e., labeled Part 1 and Part 2. CSI Part 1 has a fixed payload size and provides information about the payload size of CSI Part 2, which has a variable payload size. The payload size of Part 1 is based on configuration parameters, and the payload size of Part 2 depends on the configuration parameters and the content of Part 1. Each Part 1 of multiple reports may be collected together, each Part 2 of multiple reports may be collected together, and each of the aggregates may be encoded separately.

[0094] For each class of UCI, a higher-level parameter called a beta parameter may be used by the UE to determine the amount of resources within PUSCH that should be dedicated to that particular UCI class. Different values ​​of the beta parameter may correspond to a wide range of resource amounts (e.g., the amount of RE), allowing for the diversion of a wide range of resources within PUSCH for use in UCI transmissions. The amount of RE to be used for UCI depends on the beta parameter, as well as the UCI payload size (potentially including CRC (cyclic redundancy check) overhead) and the spectral efficiency of PUSCH. To prevent excessive resource use for UCI and to help ensure that sufficient RE is available for UL data, an upper limit may be placed on the total amount of resources that may be allocated to UCI.

[0095] Referring to Figure 5, and further to Figures 1-4, the UE500 includes a processor 510, an interface 520, and a memory 530, which are communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 540. The UE500 may include the components shown in Figure 5, and may include one or more other components, such as any of those shown in Figure 2, for example, the UE200 may be an example of the UE500. The interface 520 may include one or more components of the transceiver 215, for example, a wireless transmitter 242 and an antenna 246, or a wireless receiver 244 and an antenna 246, or a wireless transmitter 242, a wireless receiver 244, and an antenna 246. Similarly or alternatively, the interface 520 may include a wired transmitter 252 and / or a wired receiver 254. The memory 530 may be configured similarly to the memory 211 and include, for example, software with processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor 510 to perform functions. While the descriptions herein may refer only to the processor 510 that performs the function, other implementations are also included, such as the processor 510 running software (stored in memory 530) and / or firmware. The descriptions herein may refer to the UE 500 performing the function as a simplification to the fact that one or more of the appropriate components of the UE 500 (e.g., the processor 510 and memory 530) perform the function. The processor 510 (possibly together with memory 530 and, if necessary, interface 520) includes a positioning status information allocation unit 550 configured to acquire positioning status information resource allocation parameters, determine the amount of resources on a channel for transmitting positioning status information (e.g., a UE transmit channel such as PUSCH or PSSCH), and send the positioning status information through the UE transmit channel, as discussed herein. While PUSCH is used as an example, the considerations also apply to other UE transmit channels, including sidelink channels.The positioning status information includes information related to the location of the UE500, such as one or more signal measurements (e.g., RSTD, RSRP, UE Rx-Tx), and / or a position fix estimate indicating the location of the UE500, and other information used to determine the location of the UE. The PSI allocation unit 550 is discussed further below, and the description may refer to the processor 510 in general, or the UE500 in general, as performing one of the functions of the PSI allocation unit 550.

[0096] Referring also to Figure 6, the functionality of the positioning status information allocation unit 550 is discussed here with respect to the signaling and process flow 600 for allocating UE transmission channel resources to positioning status information and sending the positioning status information on the UE transmission channel for location determination. Flow 600 includes the steps shown, but is only an example, and steps may be added, rearranged, and / or deleted.

[0097] Various formats may be used for positioning status information resource allocation parameters, referred to herein as PSI (Positioning Status Information) allocation parameters. For example, a PSI allocation parameter may represent a percentage of UE transmit channel resource blocks (or resource elements) that may be used to transmit positioning status information. Alternatively, a PSI allocation parameter may represent a percentage of UE transmit channel resource blocks (or resource elements) allocated to transmit UCI that may be used to transmit positioning status information. Alternatively, a PSI allocation parameter may be a number indicating the amount of UE transmit channel resource blocks (or resource elements) that may be used to transmit positioning status information. Alternatively, a PSI allocation parameter may be a formula variable for determining the amount of UE transmit channel resource blocks (or resource elements) that may be used to transmit positioning status information. Further examples of the form of PSI allocation parameters are possible.

[0098] The positioning status information allocation unit 550 is configured to acquire PSI allocation parameters. For example, in step 610, the PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to receive PSI allocation parameters via an interface from a network entity such as TRP300 or server 400. Server 400 may provide PSI allocation parameter values ​​to UE500, for example, as part of positioning session configuration information 612 provided to UE500 to configure UE500 to report positioning status information on PUSCH, and / or as part of other configuration information, such as DCI616 which may be dynamically sent to UE500 in step 614 and is separate from the configuration parameters that constitute a particular positioning session. Dynamic PSI allocation parameters can help adapt to dynamic conditions such as urgently needed or changing quality of service (QoS) metrics. The configuration information may specify one or more restrictions on the use of the indicated PSI allocation parameter, such as that the indicated PSI allocation parameter is for a particular positioning session or a particular location report, or for a specified amount of time, or should be used until further control information is received. The value of the PSI allocation parameter may depend on the configuration of the UE500 for determining positioning status information, for example, on the positioning technique associated with the positioning status information (in this example, the positioning technique that the configuration information configures the UE500 to perform in order to determine the positioning status information). Similarly or alternatively, the PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to retrieve PSI allocation parameters from memory 530, which may store a single PSI allocation parameter or multiple PSI allocation parameters.

[0099] See also Figure 7, the PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to select and retrieve a specific PSI allocation parameter from a plurality of PSI allocation parameters stored in the memory 530. The PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to use one or more of the positioning technique input 710, positioning session input 720, positioning report request 730, and parameter indicator 740 to generate the allocation parameter request 750. For example, the PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to send the allocation parameter request 750 to the memory 530 to retrieve a specific PSI allocation parameter based on a positioning technique indicated by the positioning technique input 710 and associated with positioning status information, for example, a positioning technique to be used by the processor 510 to determine the positioning status information. The positioning technique to be used may be determined, for example, by control information received by UE500, or by a scenario such as the type of positioning session (for example, a positioning session for an emergency call, initiated in stage 618 in request 620 to TRP300). The positioning technique input 710 may be indicated by the control information or determined by the processor 510 from the control information. Different types of positioning sessions (and corresponding positioning methods) may be more important than other types of sessions, and therefore the PSI allocation parameters may allocate more resources to the more important positioning sessions. As another example, the PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to retrieve specific PSI allocation parameters based on a positioning report request 730, the positioning report may be requested or commanded by control information received by UE500. Similarly or alternatively, the PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to retrieve a specific PSI allocation parameter based on a parameter indicator 740, which may be received by the UE 500 as part of control information, such as in dynamically sent DCI (Downlink Control Information). The parameter indicator 740 may be, for example, the ID or index value of the PSI allocation parameter.For example, memory 530 may store a quantity N of PSI allocation parameters, and a parameter indicator may instruct to use the Mth PSI allocation parameter out of the N available PSI allocation parameters. Memory 530 is configured to return a PSI allocation parameter 760 to the PSI allocation unit 550 (corresponding to and / or indicated thereby) in response to an allocation parameter request 750. The PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to add the received PSI allocation parameter 770 to the stored PSI allocation parameters in memory 530, for example, if the received PSI allocation parameter is a new PSI allocation parameter (i.e., not yet one of the PSI allocation parameters stored in memory 530).

[0100] The PSI allocation unit 550 may obtain separate PSI allocation parameters for distinct parts of positioning status information. Thus, the PSI allocation parameters for positioning status information may include combinations of PSI allocation sub-parameters corresponding to parts of positioning status information. Using separate PSI allocation parameters for different parts of positioning status information can help accommodate differences in the importance of positioning status information reports. More important positioning reports may be allocated more resources to provide more information, such as better resolution. For example, the PSI allocation unit 550 may obtain each of the separate PSI allocation parameters using one of the techniques discussed above. As another example, the PSI allocation unit 550 may use one or more CSI beta values ​​as one or more PSI allocation parameters. Different CSI types and / or parts may have separate (potentially different) associated beta values. The PSI allocation unit 550 may, for example, obtain a beta value for CSI Part 1 and use it as a PSI allocation parameter for PSI Part 1, and obtain a beta value for CSI Part 2 and use it as a PSI allocation parameter for PSI Part 2. Alternatively, the PSI allocation unit 550 may obtain a beta value for CSI Part 1 (or CSI Part 2) and use it as a PSI allocation parameter for both PSI Part 1 and PSI Part 2. The PSI allocation unit 550 may always be configured to use a CSI beta value as a PSI allocation parameter. Alternatively, the PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to use a CSI beta value as a PSI allocation parameter by default if no PSI allocation parameter is provided.

[0101] The PSI allocation unit 550 is further configured in step 624 and, based on the PSI allocation parameter 760 (which may be a combination of subparameters), to determine the amount of resources on the UE transmission channel that can be used to transmit positioning status information. For example, the PSI allocation unit 550 may use the PSI allocation parameter 760 as input to a formula and calculate the formula with the PSI allocation parameter 760 to determine the amount of resources on which positioning status information can be mapped via the UE transmission channel, e.g., PUSCH. Similarly or alternatively, the PSI allocation unit 550 may read the PSI allocation parameter 760 as the amount of resources that can be used (e.g., resource blocks), or determine the amount of resources as a percentage of the PUSCH resources indicated by the PSI allocation parameter 760 (or as a percentage of UCI resources out of the PUSCH resources). Different amounts of resources for transmitting positioning status information may be allocated by the PSI allocation unit 550 based on different scenarios (e.g., different positioning sessions, different positioning reports, etc.). Different resource amounts may be determined by the PSI allocation unit 550 based on different PSI allocation parameters 760 (i.e., different parameter values), the PSI allocation parameters 760 being defined by (or dependent on) different scenarios. Alternatively, the PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to apply the same PSI allocation parameters 760 (or different PSI allocation parameters 760) to different formulas corresponding to different scenarios in order to determine which resources should be allocated to different scenarios, resulting in different amounts of resources being allocated to positioning status information for different scenarios. The PSI allocation unit 550 may determine the amount of resources corresponding to different parts of positioning status information using separate PSI allocation parameters 760 and / or separate formulas to calculate the amount of resources as needed (e.g., as is).

[0102] In step 626, the PSI allocation unit 550 is further configured to send positioning status information 628 to a network entity, in this case a server 400, and in step 630, the server 400 uses the positioning status information to determine the location of the UE 500. The processor 510 may determine the positioning status information (for example, by measuring the PRS 622 sent from the TRP 300 to the UE 500, or by generating an SRS). The PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to send the positioning status information via the UE transmission channel, the positioning status information occupies a determined amount of positioning resources, i.e., a determined amount of positioning resources (based on the PSI allocation parameter 760) for transmitting the positioning status information. The PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to map the positioning status information to resource elements of the UE transmission channel, with the determined amount of positioning resources being a constraint on the number of resource elements to which the positioning status information can be mapped.

[0103] The PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to send PSIs that are linked to a CSI. In this way, the CSI report will be longer than without the PSI, but there will be no separate report for the PSI. For example, the PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to link a PSI to CSI type 1 and / or CSI type 2. The PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to link a PSI to only one part of a CSI that has multiple parts (e.g., part 2), or to split the PSI and link each part of the PSI to each part of the CSI (e.g., a fixed payload part and a variable payload part). For example, a part of the PSI linked to part 1 of the CSI may indicate that part 2 of the CSI contains more (has more bits) than the CSI alone, and may indicate the amount of PSI linked to part 2 of the CSI. The PSI may be part of the CSI Type 1 payload (for example, if there are a number of PSI bits below a threshold, or if the PSI is a location fix, or if the PSI is a single location report), or it may be part of the CSI Type 2 payload (for example, for multiple location reporting).

[0104] The PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to send positioning status information according to the priority given to the PSI for CSI and HARQ. Conventionally, priority for UCI is given first to HARQ, then CSI type 1, and then CSI type 2. The priority of positioning status information may be higher than CSI type 1, or between CSI type 1 and CSI type 2, or lower than CSI type 2. The PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured so that the priority of positioning status information is always lower than that of HARQ, because ACK / NACK (acknowledgment / negation acknowledgment) is always more important than positioning status information, and consists of only one bit (compared to the many bits for positioning status information). The PSI allocation unit 550 may accept positioning status information with different priorities, for example, giving higher priority to positioning status information for emergency calls than for non-emergency calls. The PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to determine priority based on one or more criteria, such as the positioning method and / or the content of the positioning method (e.g., the type of measurement), and / or one or more other criteria, used to determine the positioning status information.

[0105] Prioritization may be reflected in the proximity (in time and / or frequency) to the DMRS symbol when placing a UCI above a PUSCH symbol, as well as the possibility of it being overridden by other UCI types. Closer proximity to the DMRS symbol usually results in better performance (higher quality and accuracy transmission), while decreasing proximity reduces the expected accuracy of channel estimation, because DMRS is used for channel estimation, and the channel does not correlate with decreasing proximity. The highest proximity RE is the one in the same symbol as the DMRS. Therefore, for example, also referring to Figure 8 showing the resource elements in slot 800, if the DMRS is transmitted in symbol 810 (the DMRS RE is shown as a black box), then the high-priority PSI may be transmitted in symbol 810 and / or in symbol 820, which is adjacent to symbol 810 (closest in time). However, transmission in one or both of these symbols is an example and not required. The priority of the PSI may be defined by the protocol, for example by the positioning session (e.g., the QoS metric of the positioning session), or depend on it. The priority may be configurable, for example, through configuration parameters sent by server 400.

[0106] The PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured to prevent positioning status information, or at least a subset of positioning status information, from being mapped to specific resource elements of a UE transmission channel, e.g., PUSCH or PSSCH. For example, the PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured not to map positioning status information to any resource elements designated for HARQ and / or CSI type 1 and / or CSI type 2. This prevents, for example, positioning status information from being punctured (e.g., overwritten) by HARQ. The PSI allocation unit 550 may be configured not to map a subset of positioning status information to one or more of specific resource elements. A subset of positioning status information may be, for example, part 1 of the positioning status information, the position fix estimate, the reference TRP indication (e.g., the TRP ID of the reference TRP), and / or one or more specific measurements (e.g., RSTD). Specific resource elements that are not mapped may be, for example, all resource elements in the same symbol as DMRS. A specific resource element may generally be any selected resource element, or it may be a resource element designated for a specific purpose (e.g., HARQ, CSI type 1, CSI type 2, etc.).

[0107] UE500 may repeatedly acquire PSI allocation parameters, determine PSI allocation, and send PSI to network entities. For example, flow 600 may return to steps 610, 614, or 618 in response to a new positioning session being established, a dynamic DCI being received, or an emergency call being initiated. Similarly or alternatively, flow 600 (or a portion thereof) may repeat in response to any other event not illustrated that triggers reacquiring PSI allocation parameters, redetermining PSI allocation, and / or resending PSI (including remapping as necessary).

[0108] TRP300 and / or Server 400 may each send PSI to one or more other entities. For example, TRP300 may send PSI632 to UE500 via a physical downlink channel and / or PSI634 to Server 400 via a physical uplink channel, as controlled by PSI allocation unit 360. Server 400 may send PSI636 to UE500 via a physical downlink channel, as controlled by PSI allocation unit 460.

[0109] operation

[0110] Referring to Figure 9, and further to Figures 1-8, Method 900 for providing positioning status information in a channel available for transmitting positioning status information includes the illustrated steps. However, Method 900 is merely an example and not limiting. Method 900 may be modified, for example, by adding, deleting, rearranging, combining, and performing steps simultaneously, and / or splitting a single step into multiple steps. While the example of Method 900 is discussed as occurring in a UE, Method 900 may be implemented in other entities, for example, in network entities such as a TRP or server.

[0111] In step 910, method 900 includes the step of obtaining positioning status information resource allocation parameters. For example, PSI resource allocation parameters may be obtained by the UE. Processor 510 may receive PSI resource allocation parameters (i.e., PSI allocation parameters for short) from a network entity (e.g., TRP300 or server 400), or may retrieve PSI allocation parameters (e.g., programmed during manufacturing and stored based on information received from a network entity) from memory 530. Processor 510 may retrieve PSI allocation parameters from among a plurality of PSI allocation parameters stored in memory 530. For example, processor 510 may select the PSI allocation parameters to retrieve based on a positioning method for generating PSI (e.g., a positioning method to be implemented by user equipment to generate PSI). The positioning method may be defined, for example, by control information (e.g., DCI) received by UE 500 or selected by processor 510 based on a positioning scenario (e.g., emergency call). PSI resource allocation parameters may be retrieved based on received control information. Positioning status information resource allocation parameters may correspond to all or part of the positioning status information to be transmitted (e.g., part 1 or part 2 of the positioning status information). PSI allocation parameters may be single or multiple parameters (e.g., multiple parameters each correspond to a part of the PSI, and another parameter corresponds to all of the PSI (e.g., the total amount of UE transmit channel resources for positioning status information) or none of them). For example, obtaining PSI allocation parameters may include obtaining a first PSI allocation subparameter and a second PSI allocation subparameter. A first CSI resource allocation subparameter (e.g., corresponding to part 1 of the CSI) may be used as the first PSI allocation subparameter, and a second CSI resource allocation subparameter (e.g., corresponding to part 2 of the CSI) may be used as the second PSI allocation subparameter.The first and second CSI resource allocation subparameters correspond to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the first and second portions of the CSI. As an alternative example, the first CSI resource allocation subparameter (or the second CSI resource allocation subparameter) may be used for both the first and second PSI allocation subparameters. The processor 510 may include means for obtaining the positioning status information resource allocation parameters, along with the memory 530 and possibly the interface 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246 and / or wired receiver 254). Similarly or alternatively, the processor 310 may include means for obtaining the positioning status information resource allocation parameters, along with the memory 311 and possibly the transceiver 315 (e.g., wireless receiver 344 and antenna 346 and / or wired receiver 354). Similarly or alternatively, the processor 410 may include means for obtaining positioning status information resource allocation parameters, such as the memory 411 and possibly the transceiver 415 (e.g., wireless receiver 444 and antenna 446 and / or wired receiver 454).

[0112] In step 920, method 900 includes the step of determining a positioning resource amount based on positioning state information resource allocation parameters, the positioning resource amount being the amount of channel resources available for transmitting positioning state information. The channel may be an uplink channel, a sidelink channel, or a downlink channel. For example, a UE may determine the positioning resource amount for a UE transmission channel. The processor 510 may use a percentage or amount indicated by a PSI allocation parameter to determine the positioning resource amount. As another example, the processor 510 may use a PSI allocation parameter in a formula to determine the positioning resource amount. If multiple PSI allocation subparameters are obtained, the processor may determine that multiple resource allocation sub-amounts may be determined accordingly, for example, as a percentage, as an amount, as input to one or more formulas, etc. The determined resource allocation amount may relate to UE transmission channel resources, or to UE transmission channel resources determined for control information, etc. The processor 510 may provide means for determining the positioning resource amount together with memory 530. Similarly or alternatively, the processor 310 may be provided with means for determining the amount of positioning resources, together with the memory 311. Similarly or alternatively, the processor 410 may be provided with means for determining the amount of positioning resources, together with the memory 411.

[0113] In step 930, method 900 includes the step of transmitting positioning status information over a channel while the channel's resources are not exceeding the positioning resource amount. For example, a UE may send a PSI to a network entity (e.g., a TRP or a server) over a UE transmission channel, or a network entity may send a PSI to another network entity or to a UE. The processor 510 may send a PSI over a PUSCH, and the PSI will not be mapped to more than allowed by the determined positioning resource amount of the RE of the PUSCH. If multiple PSI allocation subparameters are obtained and multiple positioning resource sub-amounts are determined, each part of the positioning status information may be sent over a UE transmission channel, and will not be mapped to more than allowed by the respective positioning resource sub-amount of the RE of the UE transmission channel. The processor 510 may send a PSI by concatenating the PSI with channel status information (CSI), for example, CSI type 1 or CSI type 2. The processor 510 may send separate parts of the PSI coupled to each part of the CSI (e.g., the fixed and variable payload parts of the CSI). The processor 510 may send the PSI to the network entity according to the priority of the PSI relative to other information. The processor 510 may send the PSI to the network entity along with proximity in the channel to a reference signal (e.g., a DMRS signal) based on control information associated with the PSI and / or quality of service associated with the PSI and / or positioning method associated with the PSI. The quality of service may include metrics that the transmission of the PSI must satisfy. The positioning method may be a positioning method used by the processor 510 to generate the PSI, or a positioning method in which the PSI may be used (e.g., a positioning method associated with the measurement type of the PSI). The processor 510 may include means for transmitting positioning status information, along with the memory 530 and possibly the interface 520.Similarly or alternatively, the processor 310 may include means for transmitting positioning status information, together with the memory 311 and possibly a transceiver 315 (e.g., a wireless transmitter 342 and an antenna 346). Similarly or alternatively, the processor 410 may include means for transmitting positioning status information, together with the memory 411 and possibly a transceiver 415 (e.g., a wireless transmitter 442 and an antenna 446).

[0114] Implementations of Method 900 may include one or more of the following features: In one exemplary implementation, the step of transmitting the PSI may include the step of transmitting the PSI without mapping at least a portion of the PSI to any resource element designated to convey the HARQ. At least a portion of the PSI may include a fixed payload portion of positioning status information, a positioning fix estimate (e.g., for user equipment), a reference transmit / receive point identifier, or a positioning metric (e.g., RSRP, RSTD, UE). Rx-Tx) may include. In another exemplary implementation, method 900 may include the steps of receiving a new positioning state information resource allocation parameter from a control signal and adding the new positioning state information resource allocation parameter to a plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters in memory. The control signal may be a wireless control signal (e.g., received by a UE) or a wired control signal (e.g., received by a TRP). The processor 510 may, possibly in combination with memory 530, have means for receiving the new PSI resource allocation parameter in combination with interface 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246, and / or wired receiver 254). The processor 510 may, in combination with memory 530, have means for adding the new PSI resource allocation parameter to memory. The processor 310 may, possibly in combination with memory 311, be provided with means for receiving new PSI resource allocation parameters in combination with transceiver 315 (e.g., wireless receiver 344 and antenna 346, and / or wired receiver 354). The processor 310 may, in combination with memory 311, be provided with means for adding new PSI resource allocation parameters to memory.

[0115] Other considerations Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, depending on the nature of the software and the computer, the functions described above may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof, executed by a processor. The features implementing the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including the distribution of the functional parts so that they are implemented in various physical locations.

[0116] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” also include the plural forms unless the context otherwise explicitly indicates. The terms “equip,” “equip,” “include,” and / or “contain,” as used herein, express the presence of the features, completes, steps, operations, elements, and / or components being referred to, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, completes, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0117] As used herein, the term RS (reference signal) may refer to one or more reference signals and may, as necessary, be any form of the term RS, such as PRS, SRS, CSI-RS, etc.

[0118] Furthermore, as used herein, in lists of items (which may begin with "at least one of" or "one or more of"), "or" indicates a disjunctive list such as, for example, the list "at least one of A, B, or C", or the list "one or more of A, B, or C", or the list "A or B or C", meaning A, or B, or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination of two or more elements (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a statement that an item, for example, a processor is configured to perform a function relating to at least one of A or B, or a statement that an item is configured to perform function A or function B, means that the item may be configured to perform a function relating to A, or may be configured to perform a function relating to B, or may be configured to perform functions relating to both A and B. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B" or "a processor configured to measure A or B" means that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and B (and may be configured to select to measure either A or B, or both). Similarly, a description of means for measuring at least one of A or B includes means for measuring A (and may or may not be able to measure B), or means for measuring B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or means for measuring A and B (and may be able to select to measure either A or B, or both). As another example, a description of an item, for example, that a processor is configured to perform at least one of the following: performing function X or performing function Y, means that the item is configured to perform function X It means that a processor may be configured to perform, or to carry out function Y, or to carry out function X and to carry out function Y. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to do at least one of measuring X or measuring Y" means that a processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or to do both X and Y (and may be configured to choose to measure either X or Y or both).

[0119] Significant modifications may be made to meet specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may be used, and / or certain elements may be implemented in hardware, software executed by the processor (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connectivity to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be utilized.

[0120] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, any statement that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the item or condition described, and may be based on one or more additional items and / or conditions.

[0121] Functional or other components shown in the figures and / or discussed herein, connected to or communicating with one another, are connected in a communicative manner unless otherwise stated. That is, components may be connected directly or indirectly to enable communication between them.

[0122] As used herein when referring to measurable values ​​such as quantity, duration, or attributes (such as frequency or size), “about” and / or “approximately” and / or “nearly” may include variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from a specified value (in addition to any specified variation), as required in the context of the system, device, circuit, method, or other implementation described herein.

[0123] The systems and devices described above are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, features described for some configurations can be combined with various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of configurations can be combined in the same way. Furthermore, technology is evolving, and therefore many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of this disclosure or claims.

[0124] A wireless communication system is one in which communication is transmitted wirelessly, that is, by electromagnetic and / or acoustic waves that propagate through the atmosphere rather than through wires or other physical connections. A wireless communication network may not have all communications transmitted wirelessly, but it may be configured to have at least some communications transmitted wirelessly. Furthermore, the term “wireless communication device,” or similar terms, does not require that the functionality of the device is exclusively, or equally, primarily for communication, or that the device is a mobile device, but indicates that the device includes, for example, at least one radio for wireless communication (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver), which includes wireless communication capabilities (unidirectional or bidirectional).

[0125] The description provides specific details to give a complete understanding of exemplary configurations (including implementation forms). However, the configurations can be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques are shown without unnecessary details to avoid obscuring the configurations. This description merely provides exemplary configurations and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of the configurations provides instructions for implementing the described techniques. Various modifications can be made to the function and configuration of the elements without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0126] As used herein, the terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any medium involved in providing data that enables a machine to operate in a particular manner. In computing platforms, various processor-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code to a processor for execution and / or used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., signals). In many implementations, processor-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take numerous forms, including, but are not limited to, non-volatile and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical disks and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0127] While several exemplary configurations 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 components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the present invention. Also, several actions may be performed before, during, or after the consideration of the elements described above. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0128] The statement that a value exceeds (or is greater than or above) a first threshold is equivalent to the statement that a value satisfies or exceeds a second threshold that is slightly greater than the first threshold, for example, the second threshold being a single value higher than the first threshold in the computing system's resolution. The statement that a value is less than (or is within or below) a first threshold is equivalent to the statement that a value is less than or equal to a second threshold that is slightly lower than the first threshold, for example, the second threshold being a single value lower than the first threshold in the computing system's resolution. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0129] 100 Communication systems, systems 105 UE 106 UE 110a NR node B (gNB), BS, g node B 110b NR node B (gNB), BS, g node B 114 Next-generation e-node B (ng-eNB), BS, e-node B 115 Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 117 Session Management Function (SMF) 120 Location Management Function (LMF) 125 Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 130 External Clients 135 Wireless Access Network (RAN), Next Generation (NG)RAN (NG-RAN), Network 140 5G Core Network (5GC), Network, Core Network 185 Constellations 190 Satellite Vehicles (SV) 191 Satellite Vehicle (SV) 192 Satellite Vehicle (SV) 193 Satellite Vehicle (SV) 200 UE 210 processors 211 memory 212 Software (SW) 213 Sensors 214 Transceiver Interface 215 Transceiver 216 User Interface 217 Satellite Positioning System (SPS) receiver 218 Cameras 219 Location Devices (PD) 220 bus 230 General-Purpose / Application Processors, Processors 231 Digital signal processor (DSP), processor 232 Modem Processors 233 Video Processors 234 sensor processor, processor 240 Wire Restaurant Seaba 242 Wireless Transmitter 244 Wireless Receiver 246 Antenna 250 Wired Transceiver 252 Wired Transmitter 254 Wired Receiver 262 SPS antenna, antenna 300 TRP 310 Processor 311 memory 312 Software (SW) 315 Transceiver 320 bus 340 Wire Restaurant Seaba 342 Wireless Transmitter 344 Wireless Receiver 346 Antenna 350 Wired Transceiver 352 Wired Transmitter 354 Wired Receiver 360 Positioning Status Information (PSI) Allocation Unit 400 servers 410 Processor 411 memory 412 Software (SW) 415 Transceiver 420 bus 440 Wire Restaurant Seaba 442 Wireless Transmitter 444 Wireless Receiver 446 Antenna 450 Wired Transceiver 452 Wired Transmitter 454 Wired Receiver 460 Positioning Status Information (PSI) Allocation Unit 500 UE 510 Processor 520 Interface 530 memory 540 bus 550 Positioning status information allocation unit, PSI allocation unit

Claims

1. A device capable of wireless communication, A transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit a transmission signal, Memory and A processor that is communicatively coupled to the memory and the transmitter. The processor is equipped with, This involves obtaining the positioning status information resource allocation parameters, The aforementioned positioning status information resource allocation parameters correspond to all or part of the positioning status information to be transmitted. The positioning status information includes channel status information (CSI) resource allocation parameters corresponding to the amount of channel resources available to transmit channel status information (CSI), and is acquired. Determining the amount of positioning resources based on the positioning status information resource allocation parameters, wherein the amount of positioning resources is the amount of channel resources available for transmitting the positioning status information, The transmitter transmits the positioning status information via the channel, with the amount of positioning resources in the channel being less than or equal to the amount of positioning resources in the channel. A device configured to perform the following actions.

2. The aforementioned positioning status information resource allocation parameter is a selection parameter, The device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to retrieve the selection parameter from a plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters stored in the memory.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to retrieve the selection parameter based on a positioning method associated with the positioning state information.

4. The system further comprises a receiver configured to be communicatively coupled to the processor and to receive incoming signals. The processor is configured to retrieve the selection parameter based on the control information received by the processor via the receiver, and / or The system further comprises a receiver configured to be communicatively coupled to the processor and to receive incoming signals. The device according to claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to add new positioning state information resource allocation parameters from control signals received by the processor via the receiver to the plurality of positioning state information resource allocation parameters stored in the memory.

5. In order to obtain the positioning status information resource allocation parameters, the processor: Obtain the first positioning status information resource allocation sub-parameter, To obtain the second sub-parameter for the allocation of positioning status information resources. It is configured to do the following: In order to determine the amount of positioning resources, the processor Based on the first positioning status information resource allocation subparameter, the first positioning resource sub-amount of the channel's resources is determined, Based on the second positioning status information resource allocation subparameter, the second positioning resource sub-amount of the channel's resources is determined. It is configured to do the following: In order to transmit the positioning status information, the processor Transmitting the first portion of the positioning status information that occupies less than or equal to the first positioning resource sub-amount of the channel's resources, Transmitting the second portion of the positioning status information that occupies less than or equal to the second positioning resource sub-amount of the channel's resources. It is configured to do the following: The aforementioned processor, Using the first channel state information resource allocation subparameter as the first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, Using the second channel state information resource allocation subparameter as the second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter It is configured to do the following: The first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the first portion of the channel state information, The second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of the channel resources available to convey the second portion of the channel state information, and / or The aforementioned processor, The system is configured to use the first channel state information resource allocation subparameter as the first positioning state information resource allocation subparameter and the second positioning state information resource allocation subparameter, The first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the first portion of the channel state information, The device according to claim 1, wherein the second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of the channel resources available to convey the second portion of the channel state information.

6. In order to transmit the positioning status information, the processor The positioning status information is configured to be linked to the channel status information. In order to link the positioning status information to the channel status information, the processor: The device according to claim 1, configured such that a first portion of the positioning state information is linked to a first portion of the channel state information, and a second portion of the positioning state information is linked to a second portion of the channel state information.

7. The processor is configured to transmit the positioning status information in the channel, along with the proximity in time and / or frequency to a reference signal, based on at least one of the following: control information associated with the positioning status information, or quality of service associated with the positioning status information, or positioning method associated with the positioning status information, and / or The processor is configured to transmit the positioning status information without mapping at least a portion of the positioning status information to any resource element designated to convey a hybrid automatic retransmission request. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the positioning status information includes a fixed payload portion of the positioning status information, a positioning fix estimate, a reference transmit / receive point identifier, or a positioning measurement.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the channel available for transmitting the positioning status information is a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

9. A method for providing positioning status information in a channel available for transmitting positioning status information, performed by a wireless communication-capable device, A step of obtaining positioning status information resource allocation parameters, The aforementioned positioning status information resource allocation parameters correspond to all or part of the positioning status information to be transmitted. The positioning status information includes a channel status information (CSI) resource allocation parameter corresponding to the amount of channel resources available to transmit channel status information (CSI), and the steps are as follows: A step of determining the amount of positioning resources based on the positioning status information resource allocation parameter, wherein the amount of positioning resources is the amount of the channel resources available for transmitting the positioning status information; The steps of transmitting the positioning status information via the channel while the positioning status information occupies the channel's resources in a manner that is less than or equal to the amount of positioning resources, and A method that includes this.

10. The aforementioned positioning status information resource allocation parameter is a selection parameter, The step of obtaining the positioning status information resource allocation parameter includes the step of retrieving the selected parameter from a plurality of positioning status information resource allocation parameters stored in memory. The step of extracting the selection parameters is based on a positioning method for deriving the positioning state information, and / or The process further includes the step of receiving control information, The step of retrieving the selection parameter is based on the control information and / or A step of receiving new positioning status information resource allocation parameters from a control signal, The steps include adding the new positioning status information resource allocation parameter to the plurality of positioning status information resource allocation parameters in the memory. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

11. The step of obtaining the positioning status information resource allocation parameters is: The steps include obtaining a first positioning status information resource allocation sub-parameter, The steps include obtaining a second sub-parameter for the allocation of positioning status information resources, and Includes, The step of determining the amount of positioning resources is: The steps include determining the first positioning resource sub-quantity of the channel's resources based on the first positioning status information resource allocation sub-parameter, The steps include determining the second positioning resource sub-parameter of the channel's resources based on the second positioning status information resource allocation sub-parameter, and Includes, The step of transmitting the positioning status information is: The steps include transmitting a first portion of the positioning status information that occupies less than or equal to the first positioning resource sub-amount of the channel's resources, The steps include: transmitting the second portion of the positioning status information that occupies less than or equal to the second positioning resource sub-amount of the channel's resources; The method according to claim 9, including the method described in claim 9.

12. The step of obtaining the positioning status information resource allocation parameter includes using a first channel status information resource allocation subparameter as the first positioning status information resource allocation subparameter, and using a second channel status information resource allocation subparameter as the second positioning status information resource allocation subparameter, The first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the first portion of the channel state information, The second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of the channel resources available to convey the second portion of the channel state information, and / or The step of obtaining the positioning status information resource allocation parameters includes the step of using the first channel status information resource allocation subparameter as the first positioning status information resource allocation subparameter and the second positioning status information resource allocation subparameter, The first channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of channel resources available to transmit the first portion of the channel state information, The method according to claim 11, wherein the second channel state information resource allocation subparameter corresponds to the amount of the channel resources available to convey the second portion of the channel state information.

13. The step of transmitting the positioning status information includes the step of linking the positioning status information to channel status information, The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of linking the positioning state information to the channel state information includes the step of linking a first portion of the positioning state information to a first portion of the channel state information and linking a second portion of the positioning state information to a second portion of the channel state information.

14. The step of transmitting the positioning status information includes transmitting the positioning status information in the channel, along with the proximity to a reference signal, based on at least one of the following: control information associated with the positioning status information, or quality of service associated with the positioning status information, or positioning method associated with the positioning status information, and / or The step of transmitting the positioning status information includes transmitting the positioning status information without mapping at least a portion of the positioning status information to any resource element designated to convey a hybrid automatic retransmission request, The method according to claim 9, wherein the at least portion of the positioning status information includes a fixed payload portion of the positioning status information, a positioning fix estimate, a reference transmission / reception point identification, or a positioning measurement.

15. A non-temporary processor-readable storage medium storing processor-readable instructions, wherein the processor-readable instructions cause the processor of the device to perform the method described in any one of claims 9 to 14.

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