Adaptation of reference signals for positioning based on user equipment (UE) mobility

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for using reference signals that enable accurate measurements of a moving UE. To this end, the techniques may include a location server obtaining an indication that the velocity of the UE exceeds a threshold and, in response, configuring the UE to measure the reference signal using a selected tracking reference signal (TRS) as a quasi-co-location (QCL) reference. In particular, a periodic TRS (P-TRS) or an aperiodic TRS (AP-TRS) may be used as the QCL reference. The reference signal may be configured based on an existing TRS configuration, or the TRS may be configured based on a reference signal configuration. According to some embodiments, the UE may provide velocity information to the location server. Additionally or alternatively, the measurement period for the reference signal may be based on the velocity of the UE.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of wireless communications in general, and more specifically to determining the location of user equipment (UE) using radio frequency (RF) signals. [Background technology]

[0002] In wireless communication networks such as mobile / cellular broadband networks, various positioning techniques may be used to determine the location of a mobile electronic device (referred to herein as an UE). These positioning techniques often involve the UE transmitting and / or receiving a reference RF signal, or simply a "reference signal," to and from one or more transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the wireless communication network. These reference signals typically have a certain quality to address the precise measurements that should be made for positioning purposes. These measurements, along with information about the locations of one or more TRPs, can be used to determine the location of the UE. However, often these reference signals cannot address the precise measurements of a moving UE. [Overview of the Initiative] [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] This disclosure describes embodiments employing a technique for using a reference signal to enable accurate measurement of a moving UE. For this purpose, the technique may include a location server receiving an instruction that the UE's speed exceeds a threshold and, in response, configuring the UE to measure the reference signal using a selected tracking reference signal (TRS) as a pseudo-collocation (QCL) reference. In detail, a periodic TRS (P-TRS) or aperiodic TRS (AP-TRS) may be used as the QCL reference. The reference signal may be configured based on an existing TRS configuration, or the TRS may be configured based on the reference signal configuration. According to some embodiments, the UE may provide speed information to the location server. Additionally or alternatively, the measurement period for the reference signal may be based on the UE's speed.

[0004] An exemplary method for coordinating the transmission of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, as disclosed herein, includes the step of a location server obtaining an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold. The method also includes, in response to obtaining the instruction, the step of the location server determining a PRS configuration in which a tracking reference signal (TRS) will be used as a quasi-collocation (QCL) reference for the DL-PRS resource, wherein a transmit-receive point (TRP) is configured to transmit the TRS and the DL-PRS resource, and the step of determining includes (i) selecting a TRS from an existing TRS configuration obtained from the TRP, or (ii) sending configuration information relating to the DL-PRS resource to the TRP and receiving information relating to the TRS in response. The method also includes the step of sending the PRS configuration from the location server to the UE.

[0005] An exemplary location server for coordinating the transmission of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, as disclosed herein, comprises a transceiver, memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and memory, the one or more processors being configured to receive an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold. One or more processing units are configured, in response to receiving the instruction, to determine a PRS configuration in which a tracking reference signal (TRS) will be used as a quasi-collocation (QCL) reference for the DL-PRS resource, wherein a transmit-receive point (TRP) is configured to transmit the TRS and the DL-PRS resource, and the determination is further configured to include (i) selecting a TRS from existing TRS configurations received from the TRP, or (ii) sending configuration information relating to the DL-PRS resource to the TRP and receiving information relating to the TRS in response. One or more processing units are further configured to send the PRS configuration to the UE via the transceiver.

[0006] An exemplary apparatus for coordinating the transmission of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, as disclosed herein, comprises means for obtaining an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold. The apparatus further comprises means for determining a PRS configuration in which a tracking reference signal (TRS) will be used as a quasi-collocation (QCL) reference for the DL-PRS resource, in response to obtaining the instruction, wherein a transmit / receive point (TRP) is configured to transmit the TRS and the DL-PRS resource, and determining includes (i) selecting a TRS from an existing TRS configuration obtained from the TRP, or (ii) sending configuration information relating to the DL-PRS resource to the TRP and receiving information relating to the TRS in response. The apparatus further comprises means for sending the PRS configuration from a location server to the UE.

[0007] According to this disclosure, an exemplary non-temporary computer-readable medium stores instructions for coordinating the transmission of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, the instructions including code for obtaining an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold. The instructions include, in response to obtaining the instruction, a determination of a PRS configuration in which a tracking reference signal (TRS) will be used as a quasi-collocation (QCL) reference for the DL-PRS resource, wherein a transmit-receive point (TRP) is configured to transmit the TRS and the DL-PRS resource, and the determination further includes code for making a determination which includes (i) selecting a TRS from an existing TRS configuration obtained from the TRP, or (ii) sending configuration information about the DL-PRS resource to the TRP and receiving information about the TRS in response. The instructions further include code for sending the PRS configuration from a location server to the UE.

[0008] This summary is not intended to identify the main or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used alone to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by referring to the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all of the drawings, and the appropriate parts of each claim. The above, along with other features and examples, will be described in more detail below in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a diagram of a positioning system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a diagram of a 5G NR positioning system, illustrating one embodiment of a positioning system implemented within a fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) communication system (for example, the positioning system shown in Figure 1). [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of beamforming that can be used by a differential device according to several embodiments. [Figure 4]This figure shows an example of a frame structure and related terminology for NR. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of a wireless frame sequence involving a positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning opportunity. [Figure 6] This figure shows an exemplary comb structure illustrating how an RF signal may utilize different sets of resource elements in several embodiments. [Figure 7] This diagram illustrates how pseudo-collocation (QCL) references can be used for downlink (DL) PRS (DL-PRS) resources. [Figure 8] This figure shows a method for coordinating the transmission of DL-PRS resources according to several embodiments. [Figure 9] This figure shows a method for coordinating the transmission of DL-PRS resources according to several embodiments. [Figure 10] This figure shows a method for coordinating the transmission of DL-PRS resources according to several embodiments. [Figure 11] This is a flowchart illustrating a method for coordinating the transmission of DL-PRS resources for positioning a UE, according to one embodiment. [Figure 12] This is a block diagram of one embodiment of a UE that may be used in the embodiments described herein. [Figure 13] This is a block diagram of one embodiment of the TRP that may be used in the embodiments described herein. [Figure 14] This is a block diagram of one embodiment of a computer system that may be used in embodiments as described herein. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] According to several exemplary implementations, similar reference symbols in various drawings refer to the same element. In addition, multiple instances of an element can be indicated by following the first digit of the element with a letter or hyphen and a second digit. For example, multiple instances of element 110 may be indicated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc., or as 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When referring to such an element using only the first digit, any instance of that element should be understood (for example, element 110 in the previous example would refer to elements 110-1, 110-2, and 110-3, or elements 110a, 110b, and 110c).

[0011] The following description is directed to several implementations for the purpose of describing inventive aspects of various embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings of this specification can be applied in many different ways. The described implementations are applicable to any communication standard such as any of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (including the standards identified as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) technology), Bluetooth (registered trademark) standards, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), GSM / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, EV-DO Rev B, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), or any other known signals used for communicating within a wireless, cellular, or Internet of Things (IoT) network, such as a system that utilizes 3G technology, 4G technology, 5G technology, 6G technology, or further implementations thereof. It can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving RF signals or other known signals for communicating within a wireless, cellular, or IoT network.

[0012] As used herein, "RF signal" includes electromagnetic waves that carry information through the space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). A transmitter as used herein can transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel, a receiver can receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and the receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal.

[0013] Additionally, references to "reference signal", "positioning reference signal", "reference signal for positioning", etc. can be used to refer to signals used for positioning of a user equipment (UE). As will be described in more detail herein, such signals can include any of a variety of signal types, but are not necessarily limited to positioning reference signals (PRSs) or sounding reference signals (SRSs) defined in the relevant wireless standard.

[0014] As previously described, RF reference signals can be used to determine the position or location of a mobile device (e.g., a UE) within a wireless communication network. However, as will be described in more detail below, RF reference signals such as SRSs and PRSs are often not suitable for high-speed UE positioning. (As used herein, "high-speed" UE positioning can include positioning of a UE moving at approximately highway speed (e.g., 65 mph) or higher.) For example, a single PRS or SRS resource may not be able to provide a Doppler estimate for a UE. Additionally, simple synthesis across multiple PRS or SRS instances may result in limited gains due to channel aging.

[0015] To address these and other issues, the embodiments described herein employ techniques for using reference signals that enable accurate measurements of a moving UE by leveraging a tracking reference signal (TRS) as a quasi-collocation (QCL) reference for the reference signal.

[0016] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of a positioning system 100 according to one embodiment, in which a UE 105, a location server 160, and / or other components of the positioning system 100 can use the techniques provided herein for adapting a reference signal for positioning based on UE mobility. The techniques described herein may be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 may include a UE 105, one or more satellites 110 (also called space vehicles (SV)) for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou, a base station 320, an access point (AP) 130, a location server 160, a network 170, and an external client 180. In general, the positioning system 100 can estimate the location of UE105 based on the RF signals received by and / or transmitted from UE105, as well as the known locations of other components that transmit and / or receive RF signals (e.g., GNSS satellite 110, base station 320, AP130). Additional details regarding specific location estimation techniques will be described in more detail with reference to Figure 2.

[0017] Figure 1 provides only a generalized diagram of various components, and it should be noted that any or all of the components may be used as appropriate, and each component may be duplicated as needed. Specifically, although only one UE 105 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the positioning system 100. Similarly, the positioning system 100 may include more or fewer base stations 320 and / or AP 130 than those shown in Figure 1. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the positioning system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired function. In some embodiments, for example, an external client 180 may be directly connected to the location server 160. Those skilled in the art will recognize many variations of the illustrated components.

[0018] Depending on the desired functionality, network 170 may include any of various wireless networks and / or wireline networks. Network 170 may include any combination, for example, public networks and / or private networks, local area networks and / or wide area networks. Furthermore, network 170 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, network 170 may include, for example, cellular or other mobile networks, wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless wide area networks (WWANs), and / or the internet. Examples of network 170 include Long-Term Evolution (LTE) wireless networks, fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks (also called New Radio (NR) wireless networks or 5G NR wireless networks), Wi-Fi WLANs, and the internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Network 170 may also include two or more networks and / or two or more types of networks.

[0019] The base station 320 and access point (AP) 130 are communicably coupled to the network 170. In some embodiments, the base stations 320s may be owned, maintained, and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may employ any of the various wireless technologies described herein below. Depending on the technology of the network 170, the base station 320 may include Node B, Advanced Node B (eNode B or eNB), Base Station Transceiver Station (BTS), Radio Base Station (RBS), NR Node B (gNB), Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), etc. A base station 320 that is a gNB or ng-eNB may be part of a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) that can connect to the 5G Core Network (5GC) if the network 170 is a 5G network. The AP 130 may include, for example, a Wi-Fi AP or a Bluetooth® AP. Thus, the UE 105 can send and receive information to and from network-connected devices such as a location server 160 by accessing the network 170 via the base station 320 using 133. As an addition or alternative, AP130 can also be coupled to network 170 so that UE105 can communicate with network-connected devices and internet-connected devices, including location server 160, using a second communication link 135.

[0020] As used herein, the term “base station” may generally refer to a single physical transmit point or a group of co-located physical transmit points that may be located at base station 320. A Transmission Reception Point (TRP) (also known as a transmit / receive point) corresponds to this type of transmit point, and the term “TRP” may be used herein interchangeably with the terms “gNB,” “ng-eNB,” and “base station.” In some cases, base station 320 may include multiple TRPs, for example, each TRP being associated with a different antenna or different antenna array for base station 320. A physical transmit point may include an array of antennas at base station 320 (for example, in a multi-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and / or when the base station employs beamforming). The term “base station” may additionally refer to multiple uncollocated physical transmit points, which may be distributed antenna systems (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or remote radio heads (RRHs) (remote base stations connected to a serving base station).

[0021] As used herein, the term “cell” may generally refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with base station 320 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 to different types of devices. In some cases, the term “cell” may refer to a portion of a geographical coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which a logical entity operates.

[0022] The location server 160 may comprise a server and / or other computing device configured to determine the estimated location of the UE 105 and / or provide data (e.g., “support data”) to the UE 105 to facilitate location measurement and / or location determination by the UE 105. According to some embodiments, the location server 160 may comprise a Home Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (H-SLP), which can support the SUPL User Plane (UP) Location Solution defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and can support location services for the UE 105 based on subscription information about the UE 105 stored in the location server 160. In some embodiments, the location server 160 may comprise a Discovery SLP (D-SLP) or an Emergency SLP (E-SLP). The location server 160 may also comprise an Extended Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) that supports the location of the UE 105 using a Control Plane (CP) Location Solution for LTE radio access by the UE 105. The location server 160 may further include a location management function (LMF) that supports the location of the UE105 using a control plane (CP) location solution for NR or LTE radio access by the UE105.

[0023] In the CP location solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of UE105 may be exchanged between elements of network 170 and with UE105 as signaling from the perspective of network 170, using existing network interfaces and protocols. In the UP location solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of UE105 may be exchanged between location server 160 and UE105 as data from the perspective of network 170 (for example, data transported using Internet Protocol (IP) and / or Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)).

[0024] As previously stated (and as will be described in more detail below), the estimated location of UE105 may be based on measurements of RF signals sent from and / or received by UE105. More specifically, these measurements can provide information about the relative distance and / or angle of UE105 from one or more components in the positioning system 100 (e.g., GNSS satellite 110, AP130, base station 320). The estimated location of UE105 may be geometrically estimated (e.g., using multi-angulation and / or multi-lateration) based on the distance and / or angle measurements along with the known positions of one or more components.

[0025] Ground components such as AP130 and base station 320 may be fixed, but embodiments are not limited in this way. Mobile components may be used. For example, in some embodiments, the location of UE105 may be estimated at least in part on measurements of RF signals 140 communicated between UE105 and one or more other UE145, which may be mobile or fixed. Or, when more other UE145 are used in locating a particular UE105, the UE105 to be located may be called the “target UE,” and each of the one or more other UE145 used may be called an “anchor UE.” In the case of locating the target UE, the location of each of the one or more anchor UEs may be known and / or determined together with the target UE. Direct communication between one or more other UE145 and UE105 may include sidelink and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication techniques. Sidelink, as defined by 3GPP, is a form of D2D communication under cellular-based LTE and NR standards.

[0026] The estimated location of UE105 may be used in a variety of applications, for example, to assist in direction finding or navigation for the user of UE105, or to assist another user (e.g., associated with an external client 180) in locating UE105. “Location” is also referred to herein as “location estimate,” “estimated location,” “location,” “position,” “position estimate,” “position fix,” “estimated position,” “location fix,” or “fix.” The process of determining the location may be referred to as “positioning,” “location determination,” or “location determination.” The location of UE105 may include the absolute location of UE105 (e.g., latitude and longitude, and possibly altitude) or the relative location of UE105 (e.g., a location expressed as a north-south, east-west, and possibly up-down distance from some other known fixed location or some known previous location of UE105). A location may be specified as a geodetic location including coordinates that can be absolute (e.g., latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude), relative (e.g., relative to some known absolute location), or local (e.g., X, Y, and optionally Z coordinates in a coordinate system defined for a local area such as a factory, warehouse, university campus, shopping mall, sports stadium, or convention center). A location may instead be a civic location, in which case it may include a local address (e.g., including country, state, county, city, road and / or street name or sign, and / or road or street number), and / or place, building, part of building, floor of building, and / or sign or name of a room inside building.The location may further include indications of uncertainty or error, such as horizontal and possibly vertical distances in which the location is expected to be inaccurate, or indications of an area or volume (e.g., a circle or ellipse) in which UE105 is expected to be located with some level of confidence (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0027] External client 180 may be a web server or remote application that may have some association with UE105 (for example, one that can be accessed by a user of UE105), or it may be a server, application, or computer system that provides location services to some other user, which may include obtaining and providing the location of UE105 (for example, to enable services such as searching for a friend or relative, or the location of a child or pet). Additionally or alternatively, external client 180 may obtain the location of UE105 and provide it to an emergency service provider, government agency, etc.

[0028] As previously mentioned, the exemplary positioning system 100 may be implemented using a wireless communication network such as an LTE-based or 5G NR-based network. Figure 2 shows a diagram of a 5G NR positioning system 200, which illustrates one embodiment of a positioning system implementing 5G NR (for example, positioning system 100). The 5G NR positioning system 200 may be configured to determine the location of UE 105 by using access nodes 210, 214, 216 (which may correspond to base stations 320 and access point 130 in Figure 1) and (optionally) an LMF 220 (which may correspond to location server 160) to implement one or more positioning methods. Here, the 5G NR positioning system 200 includes UE 105 and components of a 5G NR network, including a next-generation (NG) radio access network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 235 and a 5G core network (5G CN) 240. 5G networks are sometimes called NR networks, NG-RAN235 is sometimes called 5G RAN or NR RAN, and 5G CN240 is sometimes called the NG core network. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may further utilize information from GNSS satellites 110 of GNSS systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar systems (e.g., GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)). Additional components of the 5G NR positioning system 200 are described below. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may include additional or alternative components.

[0029] Figure 2 provides only a generalized diagram of the various components, and it should be noted that any or all of the components may be used as appropriate, and each component may be duplicated or omitted as needed. Specifically, although only one UE 105 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the 5G NR positioning system 200. Similarly, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include more (or fewer) GNSS satellites 110, gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, wireless local area network (WLAN) 216, access and mobility management function (AMF) 215, external clients 230, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the 5G NR positioning system 200 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired function.

[0030] The 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, the UE105 may be compatible with cell phones, smartphones, laptops, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), navigation devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, or any other portable or mobile devices. Typically, but not necessarily, the UE105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, LTE, High-Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX®), 5G NR (e.g., using NG-RAN235 and 5G CN240). UE105 can also support wireless communication using WLAN216 (such as one or more RATs, as previously mentioned with respect to Figure 1) which can connect to other networks such as the Internet. The use of one or more of these RATs may enable UE105 to communicate with an external client 230 (for example, via an element of 5G CN240 not shown in Figure 2, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225) and / or enable the external client 230 to receive location information about UE105 (for example, via GMLC225). The external client 230 in Figure 2 may correspond to the external client 180 in Figure 1, which is implemented in a 5G NR network or coupled to communicate with a 5G NR network.

[0031] UE105 may include a single entity or multiple entities, such as in a personal area network where the user may employ audio, video and / or data I / O devices, and / or body sensors and separate wireline or wireless modems. The estimated location of UE105 may be called location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, location estimate, or location fix, and may be geodetic, and therefore provide location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for UE105, which may or may not include an elevation component (e.g., elevation, ground, floor, or height or depth from underground). Alternatively, the location of UE105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or designation for some point or small area within a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of UE105 may also be expressed as an area or volume (defined either geodetic or in civic form) in which UE105 is expected to be located with some probability or level of confidence (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of UE105 may also be a relative location, including distance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates, defined with respect to some origin in a known location that may be defined, for example, geodesically, in civic terms, or by referring to a point, area, or volume shown on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the descriptions contained herein, the use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of a UE, it is common to determine the local X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates, and then, if necessary, convert the local coordinates to absolute coordinates (for example, latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0032] The base stations in NG-RAN235 shown in Figure 2 may correspond to base station 320 in Figure 1 and may include NR nodes B (gNB) 210-1 and 210-2 (collectively referred to as gNB210 in this specification). Pairs of gNB210 in NG-RAN235 may be connected to each other (for example, directly as shown in Figure 2, or indirectly via other gNB210s). The communication interface between base stations (gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214) may be called the Xn interface 237. Access to the 5G network is provided to UE105 via wireless communication between UE105 and one or more of the gNB210s, which may provide wireless communication access to 5G CN240 instead of UE105 using 5G NR. The wireless interface between base stations (gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214) and UE105 may be called the Uu interface 239. 5G NR radio access is sometimes referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access. In Figure 2, it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE105 is gNB210-1, but other gNBs (e.g., gNB210-2) can act as serving gNBs if UE105 moves to a different location, or as secondary gNBs to provide UE105 with additional throughput and bandwidth.

[0033] The base stations in NG-RAN235 shown in Figure 2 may also include, or may instead include, a next-generation advanced node B, also known as ng-eNB214. ng-eNB214 may be connected to one or more gNB210s in NG-RAN235, for example, directly or indirectly via other gNB210s and / or other ng-eNBs. ng-eNB214 may provide LTE wireless access and / or advanced LTE (eLTE) wireless access to UE105. Some of the gNB210s in Figure 2 (e.g., gNB210-2) and / or ng-eNB214 may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons, which can transmit signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) and / or broadcast support data to assist in positioning UE105, but cannot receive signals from UE105 or other UEs. Although only one ng-eNB214 is shown in Figure 2, it should be noted that some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNB214s. Base stations 210 and 214 may communicate directly with each other via the Xn communication interface. Additionally or alternatively, base stations 210 and 214 may communicate directly or indirectly with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200, such as the LMF220 and AMF215.

[0034] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also include one or more WLANs 216 that can connect to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 250 in the 5G CN 240 (for example, in the case of an unreliable WLAN 216). For example, a WLAN 216 may support IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi access for the UE 105 and may include one or more Wi-Fi APs (for example, AP 130 in Figure 1). Here, the N3IWF 250 may connect to other elements in the 5G CN 240, such as an AMF 215. In some embodiments, the WLAN 216 may support another RAT, such as Bluetooth. The N3IWF 250 can provide support for secure access by the UE 105 to other elements in the 5G CN 240 and / or can support interworking of one or more protocols used by the WLANs 216 and the UE 105 to one or more protocols used by other elements in the 5G CN 240, such as an AMF 215. For example, the N3IWF250 can support establishing an IPSec tunnel with the UE105, terminating the IKEv2 / IPSec protocol with the UE105, terminating the N2 and N3 interfaces to the 5G CN240 for the control plane and user plane, respectively, and relaying uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) control plane non-access layer (NAS) signaling between the UE105 and AMF215 across the N1 interface. In some other embodiments, the WLAN216 may connect directly to an element within the 5G CN240 (e.g., the AMF215, shown by a dashed line in Figure 2) without going through the N3IWF250. For example, the direct connection of the WLAN216 to the 5GCN240 may be done if the WLAN216 is a trusted WLAN for the 5GCN240 and may be enabled using a Trusted WLAN Interworking Function (TWIF) (not shown in Figure 2), which may be an element within the WLAN216. Although only one WLAN216 is shown in Figure 2, please note that some embodiments may include multiple WLAN216s.

[0035] An access node may comprise any of various network entities that enable communication between the UE105 and the AMF215. This could include a gNB210, ng-eNB214, WLAN216, and / or other types of cellular base stations. However, an access node providing the functionality described herein may, in addition or alternatively, include entities that enable communication to any of various RATs not shown in Figure 2, which may include non-cellular technologies. Thus, the term “access node” as used in the embodiments described herein below may include, but is not limited to, a gNB210, ng-eNB214, or WLAN216.

[0036] In some embodiments, an access node such as gNB210, ng-eNB214, or WLAN216 (either alone or in combination with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200) may be configured to acquire location measurements of uplink (UL) signals received from UE105) and / or downlink (DL) location measurements from UE105 acquired by UE105 for DL ​​signals received by UE105 from one or more access nodes, in response to receiving a request from LMF220 for location information. As mentioned above, Figure 2 shows access nodes 210, 214, and 216 configured to communicate according to 5G NR, LTE, and Wi-Fi communication protocols, respectively. However, access nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols may be used, such as node B using the broadband code division multiple access (WCDMA®) protocol for the Universal Mobile Telecommunications Services (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), an eNB using the LTE protocol for the advanced UTRAN (E-UTRAN), or a Bluetooth® beacon using the Bluetooth protocol for the WLAN. For example, in a 4G advanced packet system (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to UE105, the RAN may include E-UTRAN, and E-UTRAN may include base stations including eNBs that support LTE wireless access. The core network for the EPS may include an advanced packet core (EPC). In that case, the EPS may include E-UTRAN with the EPC added, and in Figure 2, E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN235 and EPC corresponds to 5GCN240. The methods and techniques described herein for obtaining civic location for UE105 may be applicable to other such networks.

[0037] The gNB210 and ng-eNB214 can communicate with the AMF215, which in turn communicates with the LMF220 for positioning functions. The AMF215 can support the mobility of the UE105, including cell changes and handovers of the UE105 from access nodes 210, 214, or 216 of a first RAT to access nodes 210, 214, or 216 of a second RAT. The AMF215 may also be involved in supporting signaling connections to the UE105, as well as potentially data bearers and voice bearers for the UE105. The LMF220 can support the positioning of UE105 using the CP location solution when UE105 accesses NG-RAN235 or WLAN216, and can support positioning procedures and methods including UE-assisted / UE-based and / or network-based procedures / methods such as A-GNSS, Observed Time of Arrival (OTDOA) (sometimes called Time of Arrival (TDOA) in NR), Real-time Kinematic (RTK), Precision Single Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Extended Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), WLAN positioning, Round-trip Signal Propagation Delay (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, and / or other positioning procedures and methods. The LMF220 may also process location service requests for UE105 received, for example, from AMF215 or GMLC225. The LMF220 may be connected to AMF215 and / or GMLC225. In some embodiments, a network such as 5GCN240 may implement other types of location support modules, such as an Advanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a SUPL Location Platform (SLP), as an addition or alternative.It should be noted that in some embodiments, at least part of the positioning function (including determining the location of UE105) may be performed in UE105 (for example, by measuring downlink PRS (DL-PRS) signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as gNB210, ng-eNB214 and / or WLAN216, and / or by using support data provided to UE105 by LMF220, for example).

[0038] The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225 can support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 230 and may forward such location requests to the AMF 215 for forwarding to the LMF 220 via the AMF 215. The location response from the LMF 220 (including, for example, a location estimate for the UE 105) may similarly be returned to the GMLC 225 either directly or via the AMF 215, and the GMLC 225 may then return the location response (including, for example, a location estimate) to the external client 230.

[0039] The Network Exposure Function (NEF) 245 may be included in the 5GCN240. The NEF245 can support secure exposure of capabilities and events related to the 5GCN240 and UE105 to an external client 230, in which case this may be called an Access Function (AF), which can enable the secure provision of information from the external client 230 to the 5GCN240. The NEF245 may be connected to the AMF215 and / or GMLC225 for the purpose of obtaining the location of the UE105 (e.g., civic location) and providing that location to the external client 230.

[0040] As further shown in Figure 2, the LMF220 may communicate with the gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214 using the NR Positioning Protocol Annex (NRPPa) as defined in 3GPP® Technical Specification (TS) 38.445. NRPPa messages may be forwarded between the gNB210 and the LMF220 and / or between the ng-eNB214 and the LMF220 via the AMF215. As further shown in Figure 2, the LMF220 and UE105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) as defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be forwarded between the UE105 and the LMF220 via serving gNB210-1 or serving ng-eNB214 for the AMF215 and UE105. For example, LPP messages may be transmitted between LMF220 and AMF215 using messages about service-based operations (for example, based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)), and between AMF215 and UE105 using the 5G NAS protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support the positioning of UE105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, multi-cell RTT, AoD, and / or ECID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support the positioning of UE105 using network-based positioning methods such as ECID, AoA, and uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA), and / or may be used by LMF220 to obtain location-related information from gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214, such as parameters defining DL-PRS transmissions from gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214.

[0041] For UE105 access to WLAN216, LMF220 may use NRPPa and / or LPP to obtain the location of UE105 in a similar manner to that just described for UE105 access to gNB210 or ng-eNB214. Thus, NRPPa messages may be forwarded between WLAN216 and LMF220 via AMF215 and N3IWF250 to support network-based positioning of UE105 and / or forwarding of other location information from WLAN216 to LMF220. Alternatively, NRPPa messages may be forwarded between N3IWF250 and LMF220 via AMF215 to support network-based positioning of UE105 based on location-related information and / or location measurements that are known to or accessible to N3IWF250 and forwarded from N3IWF250 to LMF220 using NRPPa. Similarly, LPP and / or LPP messages may be forwarded between UE105 and LMF220 via AMF215, N3IWF250, and serving WLAN216 so that UE105 can support UE-assisted or UE-based positioning of UE105 by LMF220.

[0042] In the 5G NR positioning system 200, the positioning method may be classified as either "UE-assisted" or "UE-based." This may depend on where the request to determine the location of the UE 105 originates. For example, if the request originates within the UE (e.g., from an application or "app" run by the UE), the positioning method may be classified as UE-based. On the other hand, if the request originates from an external client or from the AF230, LMF220, or other device or service within the 5G network, the positioning method may be classified as UE-assisted (or "network-based").

[0043] In a UE-assisted positioning method, UE105 can acquire location measurements and send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF220) for the calculation of a location estimate for UE105. In a RAT-dependent positioning method, location measurements may include one or more of the following for one or more access points for gNB210, ng-eNB214, and / or WLAN216: Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Round-Trip Signal Propagation Time (RTT), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Time to Arrive (TOA), AoA, Receive Time-Transmit Time Difference (Rx-Tx), Differential AoA (DAoA), AoD, or Timing Advance (TA). Additionally or alternatively, similar measurements may be created from sidelink signals transmitted by other UEs, and the other UEs can act as anchor points for positioning UE105 if their locations are known. Location measurements may also include, or may instead include, measurements from RAT-independent positioning methods such as GNSS (e.g., GNSS pseudodistance, GNSS code phase, and / or GNSS carrier phase for GNSS satellite 110) and WLAN.

[0044] In a UE-based positioning method, UE105 may acquire a location measurement (which may be the same as or similar to the location measurement for a UE-assisted positioning method, for example), and may further calculate the location of UE105 (with the help of support data received from a location server such as LMF220 or SLP, or broadcast by gNB210, ng-eNB214, or WLAN216, for example).

[0045] In a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214), one or more APs (e.g., in WLAN216), or N3IWF250 may acquire location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AoA, or TOA measurements) for signals transmitted by UE105, and / or receive measurements acquired by UE105 or, in the case of N3IWF250, by APs in WLAN216, and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF220) for the calculation of a location estimate for UE105.

[0046] Positioning of UE105 may also be classified as UL-based, DL-based, or DL-UL-based, depending on the type of signal used for positioning. For example, if positioning is based solely on signals received by UE105 (e.g., from a base station or other UE), the positioning may be classified as DL-based. On the other hand, if positioning is based solely on signals transmitted by UE105 (e.g., which may be received by a base station or other UE), the positioning may be classified as UL-based. DL-UL-based positioning includes positioning such as RTT-based positioning, which is based on signals that are both transmitted and received by UE105. Sidelink (SL)-assisted positioning includes signals communicated between UE105 and one or more other UEs. According to some embodiments, UL, DL, or DL-UL positioning as described herein may be able to use SL signaling as a supplement or replacement for SL, DL, or DL-UL signaling.

[0047] Depending on the type of positioning (e.g., UL, DL, or DL-UL based), the type of reference signal used may differ. For example, in DL-based positioning, these signals may include PRS (e.g., DL-PRS transmitted by a base station or SL-PRS transmitted by another UE) which can be used for TDOA, AoD, and RTT measurements. Other reference signals that can be used for positioning (UL, DL, or DL-UL) may include sounding reference signals (SRS), channel status information reference signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signals (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) synchronization signals (SS)), physical uplink control channels (PUCCH), physical uplink shared channels (PUSCH), physical sidelink shared channels (PSSCH), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), etc. Furthermore, reference signals may be transmitted in the Tx beam and / or received in the Rx beam (e.g., using beamforming techniques), which may affect angle measurements such as AoD and / or AoA.

[0048] Figure 3 shows a simplified environment 300, including two TRP320-1 and 320-2 (which may correspond to base station 120 in Figure 1 and / or gNB210 and / or ng-eNB214 in Figure 2) having antenna arrays capable of performing beamforming to generate directional beams for transmitting and / or receiving RF signals. Figure 3 also shows UE105, which may also use beamforming to transmit and / or receive RF signals. Such directional beams are used in 5G NR wireless communication networks. Each of the directional beams may have beamwidths centered in different directions, allowing different beams of the TRP320 to correspond to different areas within the coverage area for the TRP320.

[0049] Different operating modes may allow TRP320-1 and 320-2 to use more or fewer beams. For example, in the first operating mode, the TRP320 can use 16 beams, in which case each beam may have a relatively wide beamwidth. In the second operating mode, the TRP320 can use 64 beams, in which case each beam may have a relatively narrow beamwidth. Depending on the capabilities of the TRP320, the TRP can use any number of beams that the TRP320 may be able to form. Operating modes and / or beam counts may be defined in the relevant wireless standards and may correspond to different directions in either or both azimuth and elevation angles (e.g., horizontal and vertical). Different operating modes may be used to transmit and / or receive different signal types. As an addition or alternative, the UE105 may be capable of using different beam counts, and different beam counts may also correspond to different operating modes, signal types, etc.

[0050] In some situations, the TRP320 may use beam sweeping. Beam sweeping is a process that allows the TRP320 to use different beams to effectively "sweep" across the coverage area, often consecutively, to send RF signals in different directions. For example, the TRP320 may sweep over 120 degrees or 360 degrees in the azimuthal direction with each periodically repeated beam sweep. Each directional beam may contain an RF reference signal (e.g., a PRS resource), and base station 320-1 generates a set of RF reference signals including Tx beams 305-a, 305-b, 305-c, 305-d, 305-e, 305-f, 305-g, and 305-h, while base station 320-2 generates a set of RF reference signals including Tx beams 309-a, 309-b, 309-c, 309-d, 309-e, 309-f, 309-g, and 309-h. As stated, since UE320 may also include an antenna array, UE320 can receive RF reference signals transmitted by base stations 320-1 and 320-2 by using beamforming to form their respective receiving beams (Rx beams) 311-a and 311-b. Beamforming in this manner (by base station 320 and optionally by UE105) may be used to make communications more efficient. Beamforming may also be used for other purposes, including taking measurements (e.g., AoD measurements and AoA measurements) for positioning.

[0051] Figure 4 shows an example of a frame structure and related terminology for NR that can serve as the basis for physical layer communication between UE105 and base station / TRP. The transmit timeline for downlink and uplink, respectively, can be divided into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be divided into 10 subframes, each 1 ms long and having indices from 0 to 9. Each subframe may contain a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier interval. Each slot may contain a variable number of symbol periods depending on the subcarrier interval (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols). The symbol periods within each slot may be assigned indices. Minislots may contain a subslot structure (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols). In addition, Figure 4 shows a complete orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) of a subframe, illustrating how a subframe can be divided into multiple resource blocks (RBs) over both time and frequency. A single RB can contain a grid of resource elements (REs) spanning 14 symbols and 12 subcarriers.

[0052] Each symbol within a slot may indicate a link direction (e.g., downlink (DL), uplink (UL), or flexible) or data transmission, and the link direction may be dynamically switched per subframe. The link direction may be based on the slot format. Each slot may contain DL / UL data and DL / UL control information. In NR, a synchronization signal (SS) block is transmitted. The SS block includes a primary SS (PSS), a secondary SS (SSS), and a two-symbol physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The SS block may be transmitted in fixed slot locations, such as symbols 0-3 as shown in Figure 4. PSS and SSS may be used by the UE for cell discovery and acquisition. PSS may provide half-frame timing, and SS may provide cyclic prefix (CP) length and frame timing. PSS and SSS may provide cell identification information. The PBCH carries some basic system information, such as downlink system bandwidth, timing information within the radio frame, SS burst set period, and system frame number.

[0053] Figure 5 shows an example of a radio frame sequence 500 with a PRS positioning opportunity. A “PRS instance” or “PRS opportunity” is one instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a group of one or more consecutive slots) in which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS opportunity may also be called a “PRS positioning opportunity,” “PRS positioning instance,” “positioning opportunity,” “positioning instance,” or simply “opportunity” or “instance.” The subframe sequence 500 may be applicable to the broadcast of a PRS signal (DL-PRS signal) from a base station 320 in a positioning system 100. The radio frame sequence 500 may be used in 5G NR (e.g., in a 5G NR positioning system 200) and / or LTE. Similar to Figure 4, in Figure 5 time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis), and time increases from left to right. Frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), and frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0054] Figure 5 shows how positioning opportunities 510-1, 510-2, and 510-3 (collectively referred to herein as positioning opportunity 510) are determined by system frame number (SFN), cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS ) 515, L PRS the length or span of the subframes of the individual subframes, and the PRS period (T PRS ) 520. The cell-specific PRS subframe configuration can be defined by the "PRS configuration index", I PRS contained in the assistance data (e.g., TDOA assistance data), which can be defined by the managing 3GPP standard. The cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS ) 515 can be defined with respect to the number of subframes transmitted from system frame number (SFN) 0 to the start of the first (subsequent) PRS positioning opportunity.

[0055] PRS can be transmitted by a wireless node (e.g., base station 320) after appropriate configuration (e.g., by an operation and maintenance (O&M) server). PRS can be transmitted in special positioning subframes or slots grouped into positioning opportunities 510. For example, PRS positioning opportunity 510-1 can include a number N PRS of consecutive positioning subframes, and the number N PRS can be between 1 and 160 (e.g., including values 1, 2, 4, and 6, as well as other values). The PRS opportunities 510 can be grouped into one or more PRS opportunity groups. As described, the PRS positioning opportunities 510 may occur periodically at intervals of milliseconds (or subframes) indicated by a number T PRS , and T PRS can be equal to 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, or 1280 (or any other appropriate value). In some embodiments, T PRS may be measured with respect to the number of subframes between the starts of consecutive positioning opportunities.

[0056] In some embodiments, UE105 provides support data for a specific cell (e.g., a base station) with PRS configuration index I PRS When it receives the signal, UE105 uses the stored indexed data to determine the PRS period T PRS 520 and cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS )515 can be determined. Then, UE105 can determine the wireless frame, subframe, and slot when the PRS is scheduled in the cell. Supporting data may be determined, for example, by a location server (e.g., location server 160 in Figure 1 and / or LMF220 in Figure 2) and includes supporting data for the reference cell and several neighbor cells supported by various wireless nodes.

[0057] Typically, PRS opportunities from all cells in a network using the same frequency are time-aligned, and for other cells in a network using different frequencies, a fixed, known time offset (e.g., cell-specific subframe offset (Δ)) is applied. PRS)515) may have. In an SFN synchronous network, all wireless nodes (e.g., base station 320) may be aligned with both frame boundaries and system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN synchronous network, all cells supported by various wireless nodes may use the same PRS configuration index for any particular frequency of PRS transmission. On the other hand, in an SFN asynchronous network, various wireless nodes may be aligned with frame boundaries but not with system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN asynchronous network, the PRS configuration index for each cell may be configured separately by the network so that PRS opportunities are temporally aligned. If UE 105 can obtain the cell timing (e.g., SFN or frame number) of at least one of the cells, e.g., a reference cell or a serving cell, then UE 105 may determine the timing of the PRS opportunities 510 for the reference cell and neighbor cell for TDOA positioning. The timing of other cells may then be derived by UE 105, for example, based on the assumption that PRS opportunities from different cells overlap.

[0058] In relation to the frame structure in Figure 4, the collection of REs used for transmitting PRS is called a "PRS resource." The collection of resource elements can span multiple RBs in the frequency domain and one or more consecutive symbols in a slot in the time domain, within which a pseudo-random 4-phase-shift keying (QPSK) sequence is transmitted from the TRP's antenna port. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, the PRS resource occupies consecutive RBs in the frequency domain. The transmission of the PRS resource within a given RB has a specific comb size (also called "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier interval (or frequency / tone interval) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, and this configuration uses every N subcarriers of a given symbol of the RB. For example, in the case of comb 4, for each of the four symbols of the PRS resource configuration, REs corresponding to every four subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers 0, 4, and 8) are used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. For example, comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 can be used in the PRS. Examples of different comb sizes used with different numbers of symbols are provided in Figure 6.

[0059] A "PRS resource set" contains a group of PRS resources used to transmit PRS signals, and each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, PRS resources within a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and associated with a specific TRP (identified by a cell ID). A "PRS resource iteration" is an iteration of a PRS resource between PRS opportunities / instances. The number of iterations of a PRS resource can be defined by the "iteration coefficient" of the PRS resource. In addition, PRS resources within a PRS resource set may have the same period, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same iteration coefficient across slots. The period is 2 mThe length may be selected from {4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots, and μ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The iteration coefficient may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0060] A PRS resource ID within a PRS resource set may be associated with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (if the TRP can transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore a PRS resource (or simply a "resource") may also be referred to as a "beam." Note that this does not imply whether the TRP and the beam transmitted on it are known to the UE.

[0061] In the 5G NR positioning system 200 shown in Figure 2, the TRPs (e.g., 210, 214, 216) may also transmit frames or other physical layer signaling sequences that support the PRS signal (i.e., DL-PRS) according to the frame configuration described earlier, which may be measured and used for positioning the UE 105. As stated, other types of wireless network nodes, including other UEs, may also be configured to transmit PRS signals configured in a manner similar to (or the same as) that described above. Since the transmission of PRS by a wireless network node may be directed to all UEs within radio range, a wireless network node may be considered to transmit (or broadcast) a PRS.

[0062] As previously mentioned, reference signals such as DL-PRS and SRS often do not adequately address accurate high-speed UE positioning. Often, for example, DL-PRS may only use a comb-2 signal structure with a length of 2 symbols, and SRS may even have a comb-1 signal structure with a length of 1 symbol. These signal lengths are often insufficient to capture Doppler, and as previously mentioned, combining multiple PRS / SRS resources over time can be limited due to channel aging. Without Doppler estimation for moving UEs, the accuracy of UE position estimation may be poor, but with Doppler estimation, UE position estimation can be more accurate. For example, ToA estimation using search in both the delayed and Doppler regions may be superior to ToA estimation in the delayed region only.

[0063] Embodiments of this specification enable the use of reference signals (e.g., DL-PRS and / or SRS) to address Doppler estimation, potentially improving the accuracy of UE position estimation in high-speed UE positioning. As stated, such functionality is enabled by using TRS as a QCL reference. Additional details are provided below with respect to Figure 7.

[0064] Figure 7 illustrates how QCL references can be used for DL-PRS resources. In NR, a QCL relationship between two signals (sometimes called "QCLed") is a relationship that defines a set of radio channel properties shared between the two signals. Different types of QCLs are denoted as A, B, C, and D (sometimes called "Type A," "Type B," etc.), and each type transmits a different set of properties. QCL-Type D defines, for example, spatial receiver parameters. QCL-Type C defines parameters related to Doppler shift and mean delay. By designating the first signal as a QCL reference (or QCL "source"), the network can efficiently transmit properties about the second signal (which is QCLed with the first signal) to the UE. This allows the UE to ensure proper configuration for receiving the second signal.

[0065] For example, in Figure 7, different DL-PRS resources are QCL'd with their respective SSB resources. Specifically, DL-PRS resource #1 is QCL'd with SSB #4, DL-PRS resource #2 with SSB #5, and DL-PRS resource #3 with SSB #6. To help ensure the proper configuration of UE105 for receiving network DL-PRS resources #1-3, the network (e.g., a location server (not shown) or TRP320) can identify the corresponding SSB for each DL-PRS resource with which each DL-PRS resource is QCL'd. This information may be provided to UE105 by the network in a PRS configuration that can provide additional information about each DL-PRS (e.g., PRS parameters described earlier, such as period and frequency).

[0066] Depending on the desired functionality, different QCL types may be used to support DL-PRS resources. For example, an SSB from a serving TRP or neighboring TRP may be used as a QCL-Type C reference for a DL-PRS resource. As an addition or alternative, a DL-PRS resource or SSB from a serving TRP or neighboring TRP may be used as a QCL-Type D reference for a DL-PRS resource. However, it should be noted that a QCL relationship between two DL-PRS resources can only be provided for DL-PRS resources on the same TRP.

[0067] However, conventionally, no QCL relationship has been defined for DL-PRS that would ensure proper configuration of the UE for accurate ToA measurement / Doppler estimation in high-speed scenarios. As stated herein, embodiments can address these shortcomings by using TRS as a QCL reference for DL-PRS.

[0068] TRS is a DL transmission via TRP that allows the UE to track time and frequency variations with higher resolution than the synchronization signal, which can ensure excellent data transfer performance in both the UL and DL directions. Therefore, TRS can be used to accurately estimate Doppler.

[0069] TRS can be periodic (called P-TRS) or aperiodic (A-TRS). P-TRS may include a Channel Status Information Reference Signal (CSIRS) resource set for tracking, which may be configured in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message to the UE with semi-statically configured transmit configuration indicator (TCI) states. SSB may, in some cases, be used as QCL-TypeC and QCL-TypeD references for P-TRS. Alternatively, SSB may be used as a QCL-TypeC reference, and CSIRS beam management (CSIRS-BM) resources may be used as a QCL-TypeD reference for P-TRS.

[0070] AP-TRS may include a set of resources triggered by Downlink Control Information (DCI), which may also be configured in the RRC message with the configured TCI state. AP-TRS may be associated with P-TRS and may experience the exact same channel. Therefore, P-TRS may be used as QCL-TypeA and / or QCL-TypeD references for AP-TRS.

[0071] Embodiments can leverage the effects of TRS in Doppler estimation by using TRS as a QCL reference for DL-PRS. For example, according to some embodiments, a P-TRS from a serving TRP or neighboring TRP can be used as a QCL-TypeC reference for DL-PRS transmitted by the TRP. This means that in some cases, a P-TRS can be used indirectly as a QCL reference, and an SSB from a serving TRP or neighboring TRP can be used as a QCL-TypeC reference for DL-PRS if the SSB is also used as a QCL-TypeC reference for P-TRS. Since the P-TRS beam may be a wider beam (spatial, Doppler, delay profile mismatch) compared to the beam used for DL-PRS, there may be limitations to using P-TRS as a QCL reference in high-mobility situations. Furthermore, P-TRS can be costly in terms of overhead in FR2. Even so, according to some embodiments, P-TRS can still be used as a QCL reference.

[0072] According to some embodiments, AP-TRS from a serving TRP or neighboring TRP can be used as a QCL-TypeC reference for DL-PRS transmitted by the TRP. Compared to P-TRS, AP-TRS can provide a better matched QCL reference for DL-PRS, particularly in high-speed beam switching or high-mobility scenarios.

[0073] When using a TRS (P-TRS or AP-TRS) as a QCL reference, embodiments may take various considerations into account. For example, the RB allocation of a TRS over a frequency (controlled by the TRP) may need to overlap with at least some of the frequencies used for DL-PRS to help ensure that the signals experience approximately the same channel. Furthermore, the measurement gap (MG) used to process DL-PRS may, in some cases, interfere with the measurement and processing of the TRS. In such cases, PRS processing without an MG may be specified to allow the UE to measure the intersection of the configured DL-PRS and the active BWP (in which the TRS may be received). Furthermore, according to some embodiments, a location server may provide the UE with a time-frequency location for TRS transmission over a neighboring TRP (e.g., via an LPP). In other words, since a neighboring TRP cannot directly configure the UE with this information in the way that a serving TRP can, a location server may be used to relay this information about neighboring TRPs to the UE, thereby making it easier for TRS transmissions by neighboring TRPs to be used as QCL references for DL-PRS on each neighboring TRP.

[0074] According to some embodiments, velocity information from the UE may be used to trigger the functions described above. For example, the UE may provide information about its velocity to a location server and / or TRP, and if the UE's velocity exceeds a certain threshold, it may trigger the use of the TRS as a QCL reference for the DL-PRS used to position the UE. Additionally or alternatively, velocity information may be used to help ensure that the TRP is properly configured to receive UL signals transmitted by the UE for positioning. More specifically, to enable joint delay / Doppler lookup in the TRP's reception and processing of UL signals (e.g., SRS), according to some embodiments, the UE may provide velocity information to a location server (e.g., via a serving TRP), which can then distribute this information in the velocity report to all TRPs used to position the UE. Therefore, the velocity information provided by the UE may be used, as described herein, to help optimize the reception and processing of either or both of the (i) DL reference signals (e.g., DL-PRS) received by the UE and (ii) UL reference signals (e.g., SRS) received by one or more TRPs.

[0075] The content of the velocity report sent from the location server to the TRP may vary depending on the desired functionality. In addition to the UE's velocity, the report may include, for example, the UE's identifier (e.g., UE ID), the direction of the velocity (in addition to the velocity), and / or a timestamp indicating when the UE's velocity was measured or estimated. According to some embodiments, the UE indicates one or more sources (e.g., NR, GNSS, and / or sensors) for the velocity measurement or estimation. Additionally or alternatively, the reported velocity and its uncertainty may also be included. For example, the absolute velocity may be used to find the initial Doppler search point, and the velocity uncertainty can help the TRP find a suitable Doppler shift search window.

[0076] With regard to estimating the speed of a UE, embodiments may perform the estimation in one of several ways, depending on the desired functionality, available data, and / or other factors. For example, according to some embodiments, Doppler estimation may be performed based on the TRS. Additionally or alternatively, the speed may be based on one or more additional components of the UE, such as GNSS and / or more sensors. The capabilities of the UE may vary depending on the type of UE. For example, in the case of a UE including a vehicle, the vehicle's wheel speed sensors and IMU may provide accurate speed and direction estimations.

[0077] As mentioned, the speed of the UE can affect the reception and processing of both the UL signal transmitted by the UE and the DL signal received at the UE. With respect to the DL-PRS processing capability at the UE, the search space used by the UE to receive DL-PRS may include a search window of P milliseconds (ms) that includes a duration of K ms during which DL-PRS symbols are transmitted. Conventionally, the UE may buffer the symbols in the search window based on the symbols that are expected to be received at the UE during which DL-PRS resources are transmitted by one or more TRPs or from one or more TRPs. However, according to some embodiments, this window (PRS measurement period) and / or the period of the DL-PRS resources may be based on UE mobility.

[0078] For example, according to some embodiments, the TRP is based on the mobility of the UE during the PRS period (T in Figure 5). PRS It may be possible to dynamically configure the PRS period. For example, TRP can be configured to have a relatively short PRS period based on high mobility to help reduce the effects of channel aging. A longer PRS period may be used for slower UEs.

[0079] As an addition or alternative, the PRS measurement window (e.g., a search window P as previously described) can be dynamically configured based on the UE's speed. Depending on the desired functionality, this can be done by the UE or the network. For example, according to some embodiments, the UE may be able to dynamically determine a preferred PRS measurement period P based on its PRS measurement quality as part of its PRS processing capability. The UE can then report this to the network (e.g., a TRP or location server), which can then adapt its PRS configuration (at least the PRS period) based on the reported suggested P. Again, the higher the mobility, the smaller the measurement period P may be. As an addition or alternative, the network (e.g., a location server or TRP) can dynamically instruct the UE on a suggested P for PRS processing based on the UE's speed indication. In such embodiments, the UE can determine the measurement period P that the UE can provide to the network and the UE capability report. This, too, can be based on the UE's hardware capabilities. The network can use the suggested measurement period when determining the maximum value of P to adopt.

[0080] Figures 8 to 10 are provided to help illustrate the interaction between the UE105, the location server 160, and the TRP 320 for implementing some of the functions of the embodiment described above.

[0081] Figure 8 shows a method for coordinating the transmission of DL-PRS resources according to one embodiment. Arrows between devices indicate communication between devices. However, it should be noted that communication may be indirect and therefore may pass through and / or be relayed by one or more additional devices. Communication between the location server 160 and UE 105 may be carried out using LPP and / or similar means, which may be relayed via the UE 105's serving TRP. The TRP 320 shown in Figure 8 may include the UE's serving TRP or neighbor TRP. Communication between the location server 160 and TRP 320 may be carried out via NRPPa and / or similar means. Communication between TRP 320 and UE 105 may be carried out via wireless RF signals and may include RRC and / or similar means. According to some embodiments, additional TRPs may be used in the positioning of UE 105.

[0082] The method may begin with the operation in block 805 in which UE105 and location server 160 initiate a positioning session. As previously mentioned, the positioning session may include an LPP positioning session. Furthermore, location server 160 or UE105 may initiate a positioning session depending, for example, whether the positioning session is UE-based or UE-assisted. Initiating a positioning session may involve coordinating DL-PRS resources transmitted by TRP320 and exchanging capabilities and / or other information that can be used by location server 160 and / or UE105 when taking measurements.

[0083] In block 810, the location server 160 may obtain a speed indication from UE 105. As stated, this indication may be received in a message from UE 105, as indicated by arrow 812. As previously stated, this speed information may include estimates or measurements based on information from GNSS, sensors, and / or other sources. Additionally or alternatively, the location server 160 may obtain speed indications from UEs, other sources (e.g., other location systems, historical data about UEs, data about the current or historical speeds of other UEs (e.g., crowdsourced data)).

[0084] In block 815, the location server may determine, based on the velocity indication received in block 810, that the velocity of UE 105 exceeds a threshold. This threshold may vary depending on the frequency used by DL-PRS (for example, based on Doppler spread). Additionally or alternatively, this threshold may be based on accuracy requirements for UE positioning, which may be communicated by the UE, the entity requesting the positioning of UE 105 (for example, at the start of a positioning session). If the velocity exceeds the threshold, the location server 160 may then decide to use TRS as the QCL reference.

[0085] In block 820, the location server can then determine which PRS should be used as the QCL reference. That is, the location server 160 may identify a specific TRS (e.g., a P-TRS or an AP-TRS) to be used as the QCL reference and configure a DL-PRS accordingly (e.g., with time / frequency constraints as previously described). Since the TRS can be configured by the TRP 320, the location server may optionally request a TRS configuration, as indicated by arrow 825. In response, the TRP 320 may provide a TRS configuration, as indicated by arrow 830.

[0086] The location server 160 can then include a TRS to be used as a QCL reference for DL-PRS in the PRS configuration, and the location server 160 can send the PRS configuration to the UE 105 as shown by arrow 835. The PRS configuration may further indicate the QCL type (e.g., QCL-Type C) along with other information about the DL-PRS resource to be transmitted by the TRP 320 (e.g., PRS frequency, comb type, period, etc.).

[0087] In block 840, the function includes performing position measurements between TRP320 and UE105. This may involve the transmission of DL-PRS by TRP320 and the corresponding measurement by UE105, which may be performed according to conventional positioning techniques. However, according to some embodiments, the PRS measurement window and / or period may be dynamically adjusted based on UE mobility, as previously described. Furthermore, if UE105 transmits one or more UL reference signals (e.g., SRS) for measurement by TRP320, the embodiment may enable location server 160 to provide UE speed reports to one or more TRPs in the manner previously described. This function is shown in Figure 10, which is described in more detail below.

[0088] Figure 9 shows a variation of the method for coordinating the transmission of DL-PRS resources shown in Figure 8, according to one embodiment. Here, functions 905-940 performed by the location server 160, TRP 320, and UE 105 can be the same as the corresponding functions 805-840 in Figure 8 as described above. However, here, instead of the location server 160 determining the DL-PRS configuration based on the TRS configuration provided by the TRP 320, the location server 160 can provide DL-PRS information to the TRP, as indicated by arrow 920, allowing the TRP 320 to determine which TRS to use as a QCL reference. The TRP 320 can then send information indicating the TRS to the location server 160, as indicated by arrow 925. According to some embodiments, the decision of whether to perform the functions of Figure 8 or Figure 9 may be made by the location server and may be based at least in part on the capabilities of the TRP 320.

[0089] Figure 10 shows how the location server may be used to provide a speed report to one or more TRPs 320 as previously described, according to several embodiments. In this case as well, operations 1005-1040 may be similar to the corresponding operations 805-840 in Figure 8. Other operations are omitted in Figure 10, but it should be noted that they may be included depending on the desired functionality. However, here, in response to receiving a speed instruction in block 1010, the location server may then provide a speed report for SRS processing to one or more TRPs before performing the positioning measurement in block 1040, as indicated by arrow 1020. The speed report may include speed-related information that allows one or more TRPs to adjust their respective search windows for SRS reception and processing accordingly, as previously described. Thus, the additional functionality indicated by arrow 1020 may be included in embodiments (e.g., as shown in Figures 8 and / or 9) in a positioning session where the UE 105 is configured to transmit SRS resources to be measured by one or more TRPs.

[0090] Figure 11 is a flowchart of a method 1100 for coordinating the transmission of DL-PRS resources for positioning a UE, according to one embodiment. Means for performing one or more of the functions shown in the blocks of Figure 11 may be performed, for example, by hardware and / or software components of a location server. Exemplary components of a location server are shown in Figure 14, which is described in more detail below.

[0091] In block 1110, the function includes obtaining an instruction at the location server that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold. As previously stated with respect to Figures 8-10, this can be done at least in part by the location server by receiving speed information from the UE and comparing the speed information with the threshold. Thus, according to some alternative embodiments of method 1100, obtaining an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold may include receiving speed-indicating information from the UE. Furthermore, as previously stated, method 1100 may be performed during a positioning session between the UE and the location server, in which case the method may further include sending a speed report from the location server to a TRP and one or more additional TRPs configured to transmit reference signals during the positioning session, wherein the speed report includes speed information of the UE. In some embodiments, this speed report may further include the ID of the UE, a timestamp, the source of the speed information, or uncertainty regarding the speed of the UE, or a combination thereof. Alternative embodiments may use additional or alternative means for obtaining the UE speed. Furthermore, as previously shown, the threshold may vary depending on the frequency used (or expected to be used) for DL-PRS, the accuracy requirements for UE positioning, etc. The means for performing the functions in block 1110 may include the processing unit 1410, the storage device 1425, the working memory 1435, the communication subsystem 1430, and / or other components of the location server, as shown in Figure 14.

[0092] In block 1120, the function includes, in response to receiving instructions, determining in the location server that the TRS will be used as a QCL reference for the DL-PRS resource. The TRP is configured to transmit the TRS and DL-PRS resource, and the determination includes (i) selecting a TRS from existing TRS configurations obtained from the TRP, or (ii) sending configuration information about the DL-PRS resource to the TRP and receiving information about the TRS in response. According to some embodiments, the TRS may include a QCL-TypeC reference. Additionally or alternatively, the TRS may include a periodic TRS (P-TRS) or a periodic TRS (AP-TRS). Means for performing the function in block 1120 may include a processing unit 1410, a storage device 1425, a working memory 1435, a communication subsystem 1430, and / or other components of the location server, as shown in Figure 14.

[0093] In block 1130, the function includes sending a PRS configuration from the location server to the UE. As stated, the PRS configuration may indicate that the TRS should be used as a QCL reference for the DL-PRS resource. The PRS configuration may also include configurations for additional DL-PRS resources sent by the TRP and / or one or more additional TRPs. The PRS configuration may further include information to enable the UE to measure and process the DL-PRS, such as timing, frequency, and / or other relevant information. Means for performing the function in block 1130 may include a processing unit 1410, a storage device 1425, a working memory 1435, a communication subsystem 1430, and / or other components of the location server, as shown in Figure 14.

[0094] As described in the previously described embodiments, alternative embodiments may include additional functionality. For example, according to some embodiments, the TRP may include a serving TRP of the UE. Alternatively, the TRP may include a neighboring TRP of the UE, and the method may further include sending information about the transmission of a TRS from the location server to the UE (for example, in the manner previously described with respect to Figure 10). Additionally or alternatively, the TRS may be used as an indirect QCL reference for a DL-PRS resource, where the TRS includes a QCL reference for a synchronization signal block (SSB) transmitted by the TRP, and the SSB includes a QCL reference DL-PRS resource.

[0095] As stated above, the PRS configuration and / or the PRS measurement period may be configured dynamically. According to some embodiments, the PRS configuration may include a PRS measurement period dynamically configured by the TRP. As an addition or alternative, an alternative embodiment may further include determining the PRS measurement period to be included in the PRS configuration, wherein the determination of the PRS measurement period is based at least in part on a preferred PRS measurement period received from the UE. According to some embodiments, method 1100 may further include determining a suggested PRS measurement period based on an estimate of the UE's velocity, sending the suggested PRS measurement period to the UE, and receiving the PRS measurement period from the UE in response to sending the suggested PRS measurement period to the UE.

[0096] Figure 12 shows one embodiment of UE105 that can be used as described herein (for example, in relation to Figures 1 to 11). For example, UE105 can perform one or more of the functions of the call flow diagrams shown in Figures 8 to 10. It should be noted that Figure 12 is intended only to provide a generalized diagram of various components, and any or all of the components may be used as appropriate. It should be noted that in some cases, the components shown by Figure 12 can be localized to a single physical device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located in different physical locations (for example, different locations on a vehicle). Furthermore, as previously stated, the functions of the UE described in the embodiments described above can be performed by one or more of the hardware and / or software components shown in Figure 12.

[0097] A UE105 is shown comprising hardware elements that can be electrically coupled (or may communicate as appropriate) via bus 1205. The hardware elements may include a processing unit 1210, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more dedicated processors (such as digital signal processor (DSP) chips, graphics acceleration processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), and / or other processing structures or means. As shown in Figure 12, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 1220 depending on the desired functionality. Location determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may be performed in the processing unit 1210 and / or the wireless communication interface 1230 (described below). The UE105 may also include, but is not limited to, one or more input devices 1270, which may include one or more keyboards, touchscreens, touchpads, microphones, buttons, dials, switches, etc., and one or more output devices 1215, which may include one or more displays (e.g., touchscreens), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0098] UE105 may also include, but is not limited to, a wireless communication interface 1230 which may include a modem, network card, infrared communication device, wireless communication device, and / or chipset (such as a Bluetooth® device, IEEE 802.11 device, IEEE 802.15.4 device, Wi-Fi device, WiMAX device, WAN device, and / or various cellular devices), which can enable UE105 to communicate with other devices as described in the embodiments above. The wireless communication interface 1230 can enable data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) with the TRP of the network via, for example, eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, access points, various base stations and / or other access node types, as well as other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices coupled to communicate with the TRP, as described herein. Communication may be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 1232 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 1234. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antenna 1232 may include a plurality of individual antennas, an antenna array, or any combination thereof. The antenna 1232 may be capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals using beams (e.g., a Tx beam and an Rx beam). Beamforming may be performed using digital and / or analog beamforming techniques with their respective digital and / or analog circuits. The wireless communication interface 1230 may include such circuits.

[0099] Depending on the desired functionality, the wireless communication interface 1230 may include separate receivers and transmitters, or any combination of transceivers, transmitters, and / or receivers, for communication with base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs) and other ground transceivers such as wireless devices and access points. The UE 105 may communicate with different data networks, which may include various network types. For example, a wireless wide area network (WWAN) may be a CDMA network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) network, etc. A CDMA network may implement one or more RATs such as CDMA2000®, WCDMA, etc. CDMA2000® includes the IS-95 standard, the IS-2000 standard, and / or the IS-856 standard. TDMA networks may implement GSM, Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (D-AMPS), or any other RAT. OFDMA networks may employ LTE, LTE Advanced, 5G NR, etc. 5G NR, LTE, LTE Advanced, GSM, and WCDMA are documented from 3GPP. CDMA2000® is documented from an organization called "Third Generation Partnership Project II" (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) may also be IEEE 802.11x networks, and Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) may be Bluetooth networks, IEEE 802.15x, or any other type of network. The techniques described herein may also be used for any combination of WWANs, WLANs, and / or WPANs.

[0100] The UE105 may further include a sensor 1240, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, magnetometers, altimeters, microphones, proximity sensors, light sensors, barometers, etc.), some of which may be used to obtain position-related measurements and / or other information.

[0101] Embodiments of UE105 may also include a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver 1280 capable of receiving signals 1284 from one or more GNSS satellites using antenna 1282 (which may be the same as antenna 1232). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements may be used to complement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. The GNSS receiver 1280 can use conventional techniques to extract the position of UE105 from GNSS satellites 110 of GNSS systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) over Japan, the IRNSS over India, and the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) over China. Furthermore, the GNSS receiver 1280 can be used with a variety of augmentation systems (e.g., satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS)) that may be associated with, or otherwise enabled for use with, one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multifunction Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and the Geoaugmented Navigation System (GAGAN).

[0102] Although the GNSS receiver 1280 is shown as a separate component in Figure 12, it should be noted that embodiments are not so limited. As used herein, the term “GNSS receiver” may include hardware and / or software components configured to acquire GNSS measurements (measurements from GNSS satellites). Thus, in some embodiments, the GNSS receiver may include a measurement engine that is run (as software) by one or more processing units, such as a processing unit 1210, a DSP 1220, and / or a processing unit within a wireless communication interface 1230 (for example, in a modem). The GNSS receiver may optionally also include a positioning engine, which can use GNSS measurements from the measurement engine to determine the position of the GNSS receiver using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), weighted least squares (WLS), a hatch filter, a particle filter, and the like. The positioning engine may also be run by one or more processing units, such as a processing unit 1210 or a DSP 1220.

[0103] UE105 may further include and / or communicate with memory 1260. Memory 1260 may include, but is not limited to, solid-state storage devices such as local and / or network-accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, programmable, flash-updatable, etc., random-access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM). Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but is not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0104] The memory 1260 of the UE105 may also include software elements (not shown in Figure 12) that include other code such as an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments as described herein and / or may be designed to implement methods provided by other embodiments and / or to constitute a system provided by other embodiments. Just as an example, one or more procedures described with respect to the methods described above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in the memory 1260 that can be executed by the UE105 (and / or processing unit 1210 or DSP 1220 within the UE105). In some embodiments, such code and / or instructions may then be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the methods described.

[0105] Figure 13 shows one embodiment of the TRP320 that can be used as described herein (for example, in relation to Figures 1 to 12). Note that Figure 13 is intended only to provide a generalized diagram of various components, and any or all of those components can be used as appropriate. In some embodiments, the TRP320 can correspond to gNB, ng-eNB, and / or (more generally) any type of base station.

[0106] A TRP320 is shown that includes hardware elements that can be electrically coupled (or may communicate as appropriate) via bus 1305. The hardware elements may include a processing unit 1310, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more dedicated processors (such as DSP chips, graphics acceleration processors, ASICs), and / or other processing structures or means. As shown in Figure 13, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 1320 depending on the desired functionality. Location determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may, according to some embodiments, be performed in the processing unit 1310 and / or the wireless communication interface 1330 (described below). The TRP320 may also include, but is not limited to, one or more input devices, which may include keyboards, displays, mice, microphones, buttons, dials, switches, etc., and one or more output devices, which may include displays, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0107] The TRP320 may also include, but is not limited to, a wireless communication interface 1330 which may include a modem, network card, infrared communication device, wireless communication device, and / or chipset (such as a Bluetooth® device, IEEE 802.11 device, IEEE 802.15.4 device, Wi-Fi device, WiMAX device, cellular communication equipment, etc.) that can enable the TRP320 to communicate as described herein. The wireless communication interface 1330 can enable data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) to UEs, other base stations / TRPs (e.g., eNBs, gNBs, and ng-eNBs), and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices described herein. Communication may be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 1332 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 1334.

[0108] The TRP320 may also include a network interface 1380 that may include support for wireline communication technology. The network interface 1380 may include a modem, network card, chipset, etc. The network interface 1380 may include one or more input and / or output communication interfaces to enable data to be exchanged with a network, a communication network server, a computer system, and / or any other electronic devices described herein.

[0109] In many embodiments, the TRP320 may further comprise memory 1360. Memory 1360 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network-accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, programmable, flash-updatable, and solid-state storage devices such as RAM and / or ROM. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but is not limited to, various file systems, database structures, and the like.

[0110] The memory 1360 of the TRP320 may also include software elements (not shown in Figure 13) that include other code such as an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments as described herein and / or may be designed to implement methods provided by other embodiments and / or to constitute a system provided by other embodiments. Just as an example, one or more procedures described with respect to the methods described above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in the memory 1360 that can be executed by the TRP320 (and / or processing unit 1310 or DSP1320 within the TRP320). In some embodiments, such code and / or instructions may then be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the methods described.

[0111] Figure 14 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a computer system 1400 that may be used, in whole or in part, to provide the functionality of one or more network components (for example, the location server 160 in Figures 1 and 8-10) as described in the embodiments herein. It should be noted that Figure 14 is intended only to provide a generalized diagram of various components, and any or all of these components may be used as appropriate. Thus, Figure 14 broadly illustrates how individual system elements may be implemented in a relatively isolated or relatively more integrated manner. In addition, it should be noted that the components shown in Figure 14 may be localized in a single device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located in different geographical locations.

[0112] A computer system 1400 is shown, comprising hardware elements that can be electrically coupled (or may communicate as appropriate) via a bus 1405. The hardware elements may include, but are not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more dedicated processors (such as a digital signal processing chip, a graphics acceleration processor), and / or other processing structures that can be configured to perform one or more of the methods described herein. The computer system 1400 may also include, but are not limited to, one or more input devices 1415, which may include a mouse, a keyboard, a camera, a microphone, etc., and one or more output devices 1420, which may include, but are not limited to, a display device, a printer, etc.

[0113] The computer system 1400 may further include (and / or communicate with) one or more non-temporary storage devices 1425, which may include, but are not limited to, local and / or network-accessible storage, and / or, but are not limited to, solid-state storage devices such as disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, programmable, flash-updatable, etc., RAM and / or ROM. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data store, including, but are not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc. Such data stores may include databases and / or other data structures used to store and manage messages and / or other information to be sent to one or more devices via a hub, as described herein.

[0114] The computer system 1400 may also include a communications subsystem 1430, which may include wireless communications technology managed and controlled by a wireless communications interface 1433, as well as wired communications technology (such as Ethernet, coaxial communications, or Universal Serial Bus (USB)). The wireless communications interface 1433 may comprise one or more wireless transceivers and may transmit and receive wireless signals 1455 (e.g., signals via 5G NR or LTE) via a wireless antenna 1450. Thus, the communications subsystem 1430 may comprise modems, network cards (wireless or wired), infrared communications devices, wireless communications devices, and / or chipsets, etc., which can enable the computer system 1400 to communicate with any device on any of the communications networks described herein, including user equipment (UEs), base stations and / or other TRPs, and / or any other electronic devices described herein. Thus, the communications subsystem 1430 may be used to receive and transmit data as described in the embodiments described herein.

[0115] In many embodiments, the computer system 1400 further comprises a working memory 1435 which may include a RAM device or a ROM device, as described above. Software elements indicated as located within the working memory 1435 may include other code such as an operating system 1440, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more applications 1445, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments as described herein and / or may be designed to implement methods provided by other embodiments and / or to constitute a system provided by other embodiments. Just as an example, one or more procedures described with respect to the methods described above may be implemented as code and / or instructions executable by a computer (and / or processing units within the computer), and in one embodiment, such code and / or instructions may then be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the methods described.

[0116] These instructions and / or sets of code may be stored on a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium, such as the storage device 1425 described above. In some cases, the storage medium may be incorporated into a computer system, such as computer system 1400. In other embodiments, the storage medium may be separate from the computer system (e.g., a removable medium such as an optical disc) and / or provided in an installation package, so that the storage medium may be used to program, configure, and / or adapt a general-purpose computer using the instructions / code stored thereon. These instructions may take the form of executable code that can be executed by computer system 1400, and / or in the form of source and / or installable code, which, once compiled and / or installed on computer system 1400 (e.g., using any of the various commonly available compilers, installers, compression / decompression utilities, etc.), then take the form of executable code.

[0117] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial modifications may be made to suit specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may be used, and / or certain elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be employed.

[0118] Referring to the attached diagram, components that may include memory may also include non-temporary machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable media” and “computer-readable media” refer to any storage medium involved in providing data to a machine to operate in a particular manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code for execution to processing units and / or other devices. Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable media may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code. In many implementations, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile and volatile media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, magnetic and / or optical media, any other physical media having a pattern of holes, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other media from which a computer can read instructions and / or code.

[0119] The methods, systems, and devices described herein are examples. Various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, features described in relation to some embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of embodiments may be combined in the same way. Various components of the figures provided herein may be embodied in hardware and / or software. Furthermore, technology evolves, and therefore many elements are examples that do not limit the scope of this disclosure to their specific examples.

[0120] For reasons of common usage, it is sometimes convenient to refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, numerical values, etc. However, it should be understood that all of these terms, or similar terms, should be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise specified, as is evident from the above description, descriptions throughout this specification using terms such as “process,” “calculate,” “compute,” “determine,” “verify,” “identify,” “associate,” “measure,” and “execute” are understood to refer to actions or processes of specific devices, such as a dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or converting signals that are generally represented as electronic, electrical, or magnetic physical quantities within the memory, registers, or other information storage devices, transmitting devices, or display devices of the dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device.

[0121] As used herein, the terms “and” and “or” may have a variety of meanings, which are also expected to depend at least in part on the context in which such terms are used. Generally, when “or” is used to relate a list such as A, B, or C, it is intended to mean A, B, and C, as used here in an inclusive sense, and also A, B, or C, as used here in an exclusive sense. In addition, as used herein, the term “one or more” may be used to represent any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or any combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that these are merely illustrative examples, and the claimed subject matter is not limited to these examples. Furthermore, when the term “at least one of” is used to relate a list such as A, B, or C, it may be interpreted to mean any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0122] While several embodiments have been described, various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. For example, the elements described above may simply be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over the applications of the various embodiments, or the applications of the various embodiments may be modified in a different way. Also, several steps may be undertaken before, during, or after the consideration of the elements described above. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0123] In light of this description, embodiments may include combinations of different features. Examples of implementations are described in the following numbered clauses. Clause 1. A method for coordinating the transmission of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, comprising the steps of: a location server obtaining an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold; in response to obtaining the instruction, the location server determining a PRS configuration in which a tracking reference signal (TRS) will be used as a quasi-collocation (QCL) reference for the DL-PRS resources, wherein a transmit / receive point (TRP) is configured to transmit the TRS and the DL-PRS resources, and the determining step includes (i) selecting a TRS from an existing TRS configuration obtained from the TRP, or (ii) sending configuration information relating to the DL-PRS resources to the TRP and receiving information relating to the TRS in response; and sending the PRS configuration from the location server to the UE. Clause 2. The method of Clause 1, wherein the TRP includes the UE's Serving TRP. Clause 3. The method of Clause 1, wherein the TRP includes a neighboring TRP of the UE, and the method further includes the step of sending information regarding the transmission of a TRS from the location server to the UE. Clause 4. The TRS is used as an indirect QCL reference for the DL-PRS resource, and the TRS includes a QCL reference for the synchronization signal block (SSB) transmitted by the TRP, and the SSB includes the QCL reference DL-PRS resource, in any way of Clauses 1 to 3. Clause 5. The TRS includes a QCL-TypeC reference in any way described in Clauses 1-4. Clause 6. Any method of Clauses 1-5, wherein the TRS includes periodic TRS (P-TRS) or non-periodic TRS (AP-TRS). Clause 7. Any method of Clauses 1-6, wherein the step of obtaining an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold includes the step of receiving information indicating the speed from the UE. Clause 8. Any method of Clauses 1 to 7, wherein the method is performed during a positioning session between the UE and the location server, and the method further comprises the step of sending a speed report from the location server to a TRP and one or more additional TRPs configured to transmit a reference signal during the positioning session, wherein the speed report includes speed information of the UE. Clause 9. The method of Clause 8, further including the UE identifier (ID), timestamp, source of speed information, or uncertainty regarding the UE speed, or a combination thereof, in the speed report. Clause 10. The PRS configuration includes any method of Clauses 1 to 9, including a PRS measurement period dynamically configured by the TRP. Clause 11. Any method of Clauses 1 to 10, comprising the step of determining the PRS measurement period to be included in the PRS configuration, wherein the step of determining the PRS measurement period is at least in part based on a preferred PRS measurement period received from the UE. Any method of Clause 12. Based on an estimate of the UE's velocity, determine a suggested PRS measurement period; send the suggested PRS measurement period to the UE; and receive the PRS measurement period from the UE in response to sending the suggested PRS measurement period to the UE. Clause 13. A location server for coordinating the transmission of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, comprising a transceiver, memory, and one or more processors communicably coupled to the transceiver and memory, wherein one or more processors are configured to receive an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold, and in response to receiving the instruction, determine a PRS configuration in which a tracking reference signal (TRS) will be used as a quasi-collocation (QCL) reference for the DL-PRS resource, and a transmit / receive point (TRP) is configured to transmit the TRS and the DL-PRS resource, and the determination includes (i) selecting a TRS from an existing TRS configuration received from the TRP, or (ii) sending configuration information relating to the DL-PRS resource to the TRP and in response receiving information relating to the TRS, and sending the PRS configuration to the UE via the transceiver. Clause 14. To determine the PRS configuration, one or more processors are further configured to determine the PRS configuration, including the serving TRP of the UE, as per the location server of Clause 13. Clause 15. Any location server of Clause 13, wherein one or more processors are further configured to determine a PRS configuration in which the TRP includes neighboring TRPs of the UE, and one or more processors are further configured to send information via transceivers regarding the transmission of TRS to the UE. Clause 16. To determine the PRS configuration, one or more processors are configured to use a TRS as an indirect QCL reference for DL-PRS resources, the TRS containing a QCL reference for a synchronization signal block (SSB) transmitted by the TRP, and the SSB containing the QCL reference DL-PRS resources, as per any of the location servers in Clauses 13-15. A location server according to any of the clauses 13-16, wherein one or more processors are configured to use TRS as a QCL-TypeC reference. Clause 18. A location server under any of Clauses 13-17, where the TRS includes a periodic TRS (P-TRS) or a non-periodic TRS (AP-TRS). In order to obtain an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold, one or more processors are configured to receive speed-indicating information from the UE, as specified in any of the location servers in Clauses 13-18. A location server according to any of the clauses 13 to 19, wherein one or more processors are configured to send PRS configurations during a positioning session between the UE and the location server, and one or more processors are further configured to send speed reports via transceivers to a TRP and one or more additional TRPs configured to transmit reference signals during a positioning session, the speed reports including speed information of the UE. The location servers of Clause 20, further configured such that one or more processors include in their speed reports the UE identifier (ID), timestamp, source of speed information, uncertainty regarding the UE speed, or a combination thereof. A location server according to any of the clauses 13 to 21, wherein one or more processors are further configured to include PRS measurement periods dynamically configured by the TRP in the PRS configuration. A location server according to any of the clauses 13 to 22, wherein one or more processors determine the PRS measurement periods to be included in the PRS configuration, and the determination of the PRS measurement periods is further configured to be based at least in part on preferred PRS measurement periods received from the UE. A location server according to any of the clauses 13 to 21, further configured to determine a suggested PRS measurement period based on an estimate of the UE's speed, send the suggested PRS measurement period to the UE, and receive the PRS measurement period from the UE. Clause 25. Apparatus for coordinating the transmission of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, comprising means for obtaining an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold; means for determining, in response to obtaining the instruction, a PRS configuration in which a tracking reference signal (TRS) is used as a pseudo-collocation (QCL) reference for the DL-PRS resource, wherein a transmit / receive point (TRP) is configured to transmit the TRS and the DL-PRS resource, and determining includes (i) selecting a TRS from an existing TRS configuration obtained from the TRP, or (ii) sending configuration information relating to the DL-PRS resource to the TRP and, in response, receiving information relating to the TRS; and means for sending the PRS configuration from a location server to the UE. The apparatus of Clause 25, wherein the means for determining the PRS configuration comprises means for determining the PRS configuration, the TRP including the serving TRP of the UE. Any device of Clause 25, wherein the means for determining the PRS configuration includes means for determining the PRS configuration including neighboring TRPs of the UE, and the device further includes means for sending information regarding the transmission of TRS from the location server to the UE. A device according to any of the clauses 25-27, wherein the means for obtaining an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold comprises means for receiving speed-indicating information from the UE. The apparatus of any of the Clauses 25 to 28, further comprising means for sending a PRS configuration during a positioning session between the UE and a location server, and means for sending a speed report to a TRP and one or more additional TRPs configured to transmit a reference signal during the positioning session, wherein the speed report includes speed information of the UE. Clause 30. The apparatus under Clause 29, which includes means for sending speed reports, including means for including in the speed report an identifier (ID) of a UE, a timestamp, a source of speed information, or uncertainty regarding the speed of a UE, or a combination thereof. Clause 31. An apparatus of any of Clauses 25 to 30, further comprising means for determining a PRS measurement period to be included in the PRS configuration, wherein determining the PRS measurement period is at least in part based on a preferred PRS measurement period received from the UE. An apparatus according to any of the Clauses 25-30, further comprising means for determining a suggested PRS measurement period based on an estimate of the speed of the UE; means for sending the suggested PRS measurement period to the UE; and means for receiving the PRS measurement period from the UE in response to having sent the suggested PRS measurement period to the UE. Clause 33. Non-temporary computer-readable medium storing instructions for coordinating the transmission of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, wherein the instructions include code for determining that a UE's speed exceeds a threshold, and in response to having obtained the instruction, determining a PRS configuration in which a tracking reference signal (TRS) will be used as a quasi-collocation (QCL) reference for a DL-PRS resource, and a transmit / receive point (TRP) is configured to transmit the TRS and DL-PRS resources, and for determining to send the PRS configuration from a location server to the UE, the determination including (i) selecting a TRS from an existing TRS configuration obtained from the TRP, or (ii) sending configuration information relating to a DL-PRS resource to the TRP and in response receiving information relating to the TRS. A computer-readable medium of Clause 33 containing the code for determining the PRS configuration, which includes the code for determining the PRS configuration such that the TRP includes the UE's serving TRP. A computer-readable medium of Clause 34, wherein the code for determining the PRS configuration includes the code for determining the PRS configuration such that the TRP includes the neighboring TRP of the UE, and the instruction further includes the code for sending information regarding the transmission of the TRS from the location server to the UE. A computer-readable medium of any of the clauses 33-35, wherein the instruction further includes code for using a TRS as an indirect QCL reference for a DL-PRS resource, the TRS includes a QCL reference for a synchronization signal block (SSB) transmitted by the TRP, and the SSB includes a QCL reference DL-PRS resource. A computer-readable medium of any of the clauses 33-36, which includes a code for obtaining an instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold, and a code for receiving speed-indicating information from the UE. A computer-readable medium of any of the clauses 33-37, which includes a code for determining the PRS configuration in which the PRS measurement period is dynamically configured by the TRP. Clause 39. A computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 33 to 38, further comprising a code for determining the PRS measurement period such that the PRS measurement period is included in the PRS configuration, wherein the determination of the PRS measurement period is at least in part based on a preferred PRS measurement period received from the UE. A computer-readable medium of any of the clauses 33-38, further comprising code for determining a suggested PRS measurement period based on an estimate of the UE's velocity, sending the suggested PRS measurement period to the UE, and receiving the PRS measurement period from the UE in response to sending the suggested PRS measurement period to the UE. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0124] 100 positioning systems 105 UE 110 satellites, GNSS satellites 120 base station 130 Access Points (APs), APs 133 First communication link 135 Second communication link 140 RF signals 145 UE 160 Location Servers 170 Networks 180 External Clients 200 5G NR positioning system 210 access nodes, gNB 210-1 NR node B (gNB), gNB 210-2 NR node B (gNB), gNB 214 access nodes, ng-eNB 215 Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), AMF 216 access nodes, wireless local area network (WLAN), WLAN 220 LMF 225 Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC), GMLC 230 External Clients 235 Next-generation (NG) wireless access network (RAN) (NG-RAN), NG-RAN 237 Xn Interface 239 Uu Interface 240 5G Core Network (5G CN), 5G CN 245 Network Exposure Function (NEF), NEF 250 Non-3GPP Interworking Function (N3IWF), N3IWF 300 Environment 305-a, 305-b, 305-c, 305-d, 305-e, 305-f, 305-g, 305-h Tx beam 309-a, 309-b, 309-c, 309-d, 309-e, 309-f, 309-g, 309-h Tx beam 311-a, 311-b Receive beam (Rx beam) 320, 320-1, 320-2 base station, TRP 500 wireless frame sequences, subframe sequences 510, 510-1, 510-2, 510-3 PRS positioning opportunities 515 Cell-specific subframe offset 520 PRS period 812 Arrow 825 Arrow 830 Arrow 835 Arrow 920 Arrow 925 Arrow 1020 Arrow 1100 methods 1205 Bus 1210 Processing Unit 1215 Output Device 1220 DSP 1230 Wireless Communication Interface 1232 Wireless Communication Antenna 1234 Wireless Signal 1240 Sensor 1260 memory 1270 Input Devices 1280 Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, GNSS receiver 1282 Antenna 1284 signal 1305 Bus 1310 Processing Unit 1320 DSP 1330 Wireless Communication Interface 1360 memory 1380 Network Interface 1332 Wireless Communication Antenna 1334 Wireless Signal 1400 Computer Systems 1405 Bus 1410 Processing Unit 1415 Input Devices 1420 Output Device 1425 Non-temporary memory devices, memory devices 1430 Communication Subsystem 1433 Wireless communication interface 1435 Working Memory 1440 Operating Systems 1445 applications 1450 Wireless Antenna 1455 Wireless signal

Claims

1. A method for coordinating the transmission of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources for positioning user devices (UEs) in a wireless communication network, The location server receives a signal that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold, In response to receiving the aforementioned instruction, the location server determines a PRS configuration in which the tracking reference signal (TRS) is used as a quasi-collocation (QCL) reference for the DL-PRS resource, The step of determining includes (i) selecting the TRS from an existing TRS configuration obtained from a transmit / receive point (TRP) which is configured to transmit the TRS and the DL-PRS resources, or (ii) sending configuration information relating to the DL-PRS resources to the TRP and receiving information relating to the TRS in response. The steps include sending the PRS configuration from the location server to the UE, and Methods that include...

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the TRP includes the serving TRP of the UE.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the TRP includes neighboring TRPs of the UE, and the method further includes the step of sending information relating to the transmission of the TRS from the location server to the UE.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the TRS is used as an indirect QCL reference for the DL-PRS resource, the TRS includes a QCL reference for a synchronization signal block (SSB) transmitted by the TRP, and the SSB includes a QCL reference DL-PRS resource.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the TRS includes a QCL-TypeC reference.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the TRS includes a periodic TRS (P-TRS) or a non-periodic TRS (AP-TRS).

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the instruction that the speed of the UE exceeds a threshold includes the step of receiving information indicating the speed from the UE.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the method is performed during a positioning session between the UE and the location server, and the method further comprises the step of sending a speed report from the location server to the TRP and one or more additional TRPs configured to transmit a reference signal during the positioning session, wherein the speed report includes speed information of the UE.

9. The aforementioned speed report, The identifier (ID) of the aforementioned UE, Timestamp, The source of the aforementioned speed information, or Uncertainty regarding the speed of the aforementioned UE, or those combinations The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the PRS configuration includes a PRS measurement period dynamically configured by the TRP.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining a PRS measurement period to be included in the PRS configuration, wherein the step of determining the PRS measurement period is at least in part based on a preferred PRS measurement period received from the UE.

12. The steps include determining the suggested PRS measurement period based on the estimated velocity of the UE, The steps include sending the suggested PRS measurement period to the UE, The steps include: receiving the PRS measurement period from the UE in response to sending the suggested PRS measurement period to the UE; The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

13. A device for coordinating the transmission of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources for positioning user devices (UEs) in a wireless communication network, Means for obtaining an instruction that the speed of the aforementioned UE exceeds a threshold, Means for determining a PRS configuration in which a tracking reference signal (TRS) is used as a quasi-collocation (QCL) reference for the DL-PRS resource in response to obtaining the aforementioned instruction, The means for determining the above includes (i) selecting the TRS from an existing TRS configuration obtained from a transmit / receive point (TRP) configured to transmit the TRS and the DL-PRS resources, or (ii) sending configuration information relating to the DL-PRS resources to the TRP and receiving information relating to the TRS in response. Means for sending the PRS configuration from the location server to the UE and A device equipped with the following features.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the TRP includes the serving TRP of the UE.

15. A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing instructions for coordinating the transmission of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resources for positioning user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, wherein the instructions include a code for performing the method described in any one of items 1 to 12.

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