Correction of alignment groups related to user device positioning.

Abstract

Various techniques for wireless communications are disclosed. In an aspect, a UE identifies a plurality of consistency groups, each of the plurality of consistency groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources associated with measurement results that are within one or more shared error characteristics for a respective consistency group, reports information associated with the plurality of consistency groups to a location estimation entity, and receives instructions from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters associated with the plurality of consistency groups.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Cross-reference of related applications This patent application claims the interests of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 137,839, entitled “MODIFYING CONSISTENCY GROUPS ASSOCIATED WITH POSITIONING OF A USER EQUIPMENT,” filed on 15 January 2021, and U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 17 / 647,707, entitled “MODIFYING CONSISTENCY GROUPS ASSOCIATED WITH POSITIONING OF A USER EQUIPMENT,” filed on 11 January 2022, both of which have been assigned to the assignee of this application and are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0002] The aspects of this disclosure relate to wireless communications in general, and more specifically to modifying harmonization groups related to the positioning of user equipment (UEs). [Background technology]

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephone services (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone services (including provisional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, internet-enabled wireless services, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMAX). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and personal communication service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include cellular analog advanced mobile phone systems (AMPS) and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), etc. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), requires, among other improvements, higher data transfer speeds, more connections, and wider coverage. According to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to tens of thousands of users, and 1 gigabit per second to dozens of employees on an office floor. To support large-scale sensor deployments, it must support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications must be significantly higher compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency must be improved and latency significantly reduced compared to the current standard. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The following provides a simplified overview of one or more embodiments disclosed herein. Therefore, this overview should not be considered a broad overview of all intended embodiments, nor should it be considered to identify any major or significant elements of all intended embodiments, or to define the scope of any particular embodiment. Accordingly, the sole purpose of this overview is to provide, in a simplified form, some concepts relating to one or more embodiments of the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed descriptions presented below.

[0006] In one embodiment, a method for operating a user device (UE) includes the steps of: the UE identifying a plurality of alignment groups, each of which comprises a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each alignment group; reporting information relating to the plurality of alignment groups to a location estimation entity; and receiving a command from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0007] In one embodiment, a method for operating a network component includes the steps of: receiving information relating to a plurality of matching groups from a user device (UE), wherein each of the plurality of matching groups comprises a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each matching group; and sending a command to the UE to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of matching groups.

[0008] In one embodiment, the user equipment (UE) includes memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to identify a plurality of alignment groups, each of which has a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each alignment group, to report information relating to the plurality of alignment groups to a location estimation entity, and to receive, via the at least one transceiver, instructions from the location estimation entity to correct one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0009] In one embodiment, the network component includes memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive information relating to a plurality of alignment groups from a user device (UE) via the at least one transceiver, each of the plurality of alignment groups having a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for the respective alignment group, and to send commands to the UE via the at least one transceiver to correct one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0010] In one embodiment, the user device (UE) includes means for identifying a plurality of alignment groups, each of which comprises a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each alignment group; means for reporting information relating to the plurality of alignment groups to a location estimation entity; and means for receiving instructions from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0011] In one embodiment, the network component includes means for receiving information relating to a plurality of alignment groups from a user device (UE), wherein each of the plurality of alignment groups comprises a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each alignment group, and means for sending a command to the UE to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0012] In one embodiment, a non-temporary computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user device (UE), cause the UE to identify a plurality of alignment groups, each of which comprises a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for its respective alignment group, cause a location estimation entity to report information relating to the plurality of alignment groups, and receive instructions from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0013] In one embodiment, a non-temporary computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network component, cause the network component to receive information relating to a plurality of alignment groups from a user device (UE), each of the plurality of alignment groups having a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for the respective alignment group, and causing the network component to send instructions to the UE to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

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

[0015] The accompanying drawings are presented to help illustrate examples of one or more aspects of the subject matter disclosed, and are provided solely for illustrative purposes, not to limit the examples. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] This figure shows exemplary wireless communication systems in various configurations. [Figure 2A] This figure shows exemplary wireless network structures in various forms. [Figure 2B] This figure shows exemplary wireless network structures in various forms. [Figure 3A]A simplified block diagram of some exemplary aspects of components that may be utilized in a wireless communication node and configured to support communication as taught herein. [Figure 3B] A simplified block diagram of some exemplary aspects of components that may be utilized in a wireless communication node and configured to support communication as taught herein. [Figure 3C] A simplified block diagram of some exemplary aspects of components that may be utilized in a wireless communication node and configured to support communication as taught herein. [Figure 4A] A diagram illustrating an exemplary frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] A diagram illustrating exemplary channels within a frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] A diagram showing how a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) positioning signal can cause a user equipment (UE) to miscalculate its location. [Figure 6] A flowchart illustrating a conventional method for outlier detection. [Figure 7] A diagram showing a method of wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] A flowchart showing a partial method of wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 9A] A flowchart showing a partial method of wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 9B] A flowchart showing a partial method of wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] A diagram showing exemplary results of a method of wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] A flowchart showing a method of wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 12]This is a flowchart showing a wireless communication method according to several aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] This figure shows exemplary timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and an UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) according to aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 14] This figure shows exemplary timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (gNB) (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and an UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) according to aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 15] This figure shows an exemplary process of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] This figure shows an exemplary process of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] The aspects of this disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings, which cover various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative embodiments may be devised without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In addition, well-known elements of this disclosure are not described in detail or are omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

[0018] To overcome the technical shortcomings of the conventional systems and methods described above, a mechanism is presented that allows the bandwidth used by the user equipment (UE) for the positioning reference signal (PRS) to be dynamically adjusted, for example, in response to environmental conditions. For example, the UE receiver may indicate the environmental conditions in which the UE is operating to the transmitting entity, and in response, the transmitting entity may adjust the PRS bandwidth.

[0019] The terms “exemplary” and “example” are used herein to mean “to serve as an example, case, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” or “example” should not necessarily be construed as being preferable or advantageous to any other aspect. Similarly, the term “aspects of the disclosure” does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed herein.

[0020] Those skilled in the art will understand that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of the various different techniques and methods. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part with the specific application, in part with the desired design, in part with the corresponding technology.

[0021] Furthermore, many embodiments are described, for example, with respect to a set of actions to be performed by elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that the various actions described herein may be performed by a particular circuit (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. In addition, the set of actions described herein, when performed, may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-temporary computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that cause or instruct the relevant processor of the device to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the various embodiments of this disclosure may be embodied in several different forms, all of which are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the embodiments described herein, any corresponding form of such embodiment may be described herein, for example, as “logic configured to perform” the described actions.

[0022] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. Generally, a UE may be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, tracking device, wearable (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE may be mobile or stationary (e.g., at some point in time) and may communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the terms “UE” may be interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT,” “Client Device,” “Wireless Device,” “Subscriber Device,” “Subscriber Terminal,” “Subscriber Station,” “User Terminal” (UT), “Mobile Device,” “Mobile Terminal,” “Mobile Station,” or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms are also possible for a UE to connect to the core network, the internet, or both, such as wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.).

[0023] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs that communicate with the UE, depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, and may also be called an access point (AP), network node, NodeB, advanced NodeB (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) NodeB (also called gNB or gNodeB), etc. Base stations may be primarily used to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, signaling connectivity, or various combinations thereof for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control functions, network management functions, or both. The communication link through which a UE can transmit signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which a base station can transmit signals to a UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term Traffic Channel (TCH) may refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0024] The term “base station” can refer to a single physical transmit / receive point (TRP), or to multiple physical TRPs, which may or may not be located at the same location. For example, when the term “base station” refers to a single physical TRP, that physical TRP may be the base station’s antenna, corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. When the term “base station” refers to multiple physical TRPs located at the same location, those physical TRPs may be an array of antennas of the base station (for example, in a multi-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, or if the base station employs beamforming). When the term “base station” refers to multiple physical TRPs that are not located at the same location, those physical TRPs may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium), or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, physical TRPs that are not located at the same location may be a UE, and a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a neighboring base station from which the UE is measuring its reference radio frequency (RF) signal (or simply the “reference signal”). Since a TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, any reference to transmission from a base station or reception at a base station should be understood as referring to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0025] In some implementations supporting UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (for example, it may not support data, voice, signaling connectivity for the UE, or various combinations thereof), but instead may transmit a reference signal to the UE to be measured by the UE, receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE, or both. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (for example, when transmitting signals to the UE), a positioning unit (for example, when receiving and measuring signals from the UE), or both.

[0026] An "RF signal" comprises electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transport information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same RF signal transmitted over different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be called a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be called a "wireless signal," or simply a "signal" when the context makes it clear that the term "signal" refers to either a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0027] Figure 1 shows exemplary wireless communication systems 100 in various embodiments. The wireless communication system 100 (sometimes called a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations), small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations), or both. In some embodiments, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs, ng-eNBs, or both if the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs, or a combination of both if the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0028] The base station 102 may collectively form a radio access network (RAN) 106 and interface with a core network 108 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via a backhaul link 110, and with one or more location servers 112 (which may be part of or outside the core network 108) via the core network 108. In addition to other functions, the base station 102 may perform functions related to the transfer of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, delivery for non-access layer (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. The base stations 102 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (for example, via EPC / 5GC) via a backhaul link 114, which may be wired or wireless.

[0029] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station 102 may provide communication coverage to its respective geographical coverage area 116. In some embodiments, one or more cells may be supported by base stations 102 in each geographical coverage area 116. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (over several frequency resources, such as carrier frequencies, component carriers, carriers, or bandwidths), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), or a cell global identifier (CGI)) to distinguish cells operating over the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communications (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Since a cell is supported by a particular base station, the term “cell” may, depending on the context, refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it. In addition, since the TRP is usually the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms “cell” and “TRP” are sometimes used interchangeably. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to the geographical coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, insofar as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within some portion of the geographical coverage area 116.

[0030] The geographical coverage areas 116 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (for example, in handover areas), but parts of geographical coverage areas 116 may significantly overlap with larger geographical coverage areas 116. For example, a small cell base station 102' may have a coverage area 116' that significantly overlaps with the geographical coverage areas 116 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network containing both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations is sometimes known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB), which may serve a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0031] The communication link 118 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also called reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102, downlink (also called forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104, or both. The communication link 118 may utilize MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, transmit diversity, or various combinations thereof. The communication link 118 may be via one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to downlink and uplink (for example, more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

[0032] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a WLAN access point (AP) 120 communicating with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 122 via a communication link 124 in the unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 122, the WLAN AP 120, or various combinations thereof may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0033] Small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed frequency spectrum, unlicensed frequency spectrum, or both. When operating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, small cell base station 102' may utilize LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by WLAN AP120. Small cell base station 102' utilizing LTE / 5G in the unlicensed frequency spectrum may extend coverage to the access network, increase the capacity of the access network, or both. NR in the unlicensed spectrum may be called NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be called LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0034] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a mmW base station 126 that communicates with the UE 128 and can operate in millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies, quasi-mmW frequencies, or a combination thereof. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and wavelengths between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band are sometimes called millimeter waves. Quasi-mmW can extend down to frequencies as low as 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. Very high frequency (SHF) band, also called centimeter waves, extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz. Communication using the mmW / quasi-mmW radio frequency bands has high path loss and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 126 and UE 128 may utilize beamforming (transmit, receive, or both) over the mmW communication link 130 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short distances. Furthermore, in alternative configurations, it will be understood that one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or quasi-mmW and beamforming. Therefore, it will be understood that the above examples are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the various embodiments disclosed herein.

[0035] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectional). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and emits a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device. To change the directivity of an RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal in each of the one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (also called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates a beam of RF waves that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from transmitters are supplied to individual antennas with appropriate phase relationships so that radio waves from separate antennas combine to increase radiation in the desired direction, while radiation in undesirable directions is suppressed and removed.

[0036] Transmit beams may be quasi-collocations, meaning that regardless of whether the transmitting antennas of the network nodes are physically in the same location, their transmit beams appear to the receiver (e.g., UE) as having the same parameters. In NR, there are four types of quasi-collocation (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that several parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and mean delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0037] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a received beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, a receiver can increase the gain setting of an antenna array in a particular direction, adjust the phase setting, or a combination thereof, to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is said to be beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal intensity (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0038] Received beams may be spatially related. Spatial relationships mean that the parameters of a transmit beam for a second reference signal can be derived from information about the received beam for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a specific receive beam to receive one or more reference downlink reference signals from a base station (e.g., positioning reference signal (PRS), narrowband reference signal (NRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), cell-specific reference signal (CRS), channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS), primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.). The UE can then, based on the parameters of the received beam, form a transmit beam to transmit one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), PTRS, etc.) to its base station.

[0039] It should be noted that a “downlink” beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, then the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if a UE forms a downlink beam, then it is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station forms an uplink beam, then it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE forms an uplink beam, then it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0040] In 5G, the frequency spectrum on which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 126, UE104 / 128) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (450MHz to 6000MHz), FR2 (24250MHz to 52600MHz), FR3 (above 52600MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In multi-carrier systems such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell," while the remaining carrier frequencies are called "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCell." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by UE104 / 128 and the cell, and UE104 / 128 either performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be (but not always) a carrier on a licensed frequency. The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) which can be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE104 and the anchor carrier and can be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier on an unlicensed frequency. Since both the primary uplink and primary downlink carriers are usually UE-specific, the secondary carrier may only contain the necessary signaling information and signals, and for example, UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UE104 / 128 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE104 / 128 at any time. This is done, for example, to distribute the load across different carriers.Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which some base station communicates, terms such as "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" can be used interchangeably.

[0041] For example, continuing to refer to Figure 1, one of the frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 may be the anchor carrier (i.e., "PCell"), and other frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 126, or a combination thereof, may be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission, reception, or both of multiple carriers enable the UE 104 / 128 to significantly increase its data transmission rate, reception rate, or both. For example, aggregated two 20MHz carriers in a multicarrier system theoretically double the data rate (i.e., to 40MHz) compared to what would be achieved with a single 20MHz carrier.

[0042] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE 132, that indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more D2D peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “sidelinks”). In the example in Figure 1, UE 132 has a D2D P2P link 134 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (for example, through which UE 132 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 122 connected to a WLAN AP 120 (through which UE 132 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based internet connectivity). In one example, D2D P2P links 134 and 136 may be supported using any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), or Bluetooth®.

[0043] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a UE 138 that can communicate with a macrocell base station 102 via a communication link 118, with an mmW base station 126 via a mmW communication link 130, or a combination thereof. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 138, and the mmW base station 126 may support one or more SCells for the UE 138.

[0044] Figure 2A shows exemplary wireless network structures 200 in various embodiments. For example, 5GC210 (also called Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally seen as control plane functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), working together to form the core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB222 to 5GC210, specifically to control plane functions 214 and user plane functions 212. In additional configurations, ng-eNB224 may also be connected to 5GC210 via NG-C215 to control plane functions 214 and NG-U213 to user plane functions 212. Furthermore, ng-eNB224 may communicate directly with gNB222 via backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the New RAN220 may have only one or more gNB222s, while other configurations may include one or more of both ng-eNB224s and gNB222s. Either a gNB222 or an ng-eNB224 may communicate with a UE204 (for example, one of the UEs shown in Figure 1). Another optional embodiment may include a location server 112, which may communicate with a 5GC210 to assist in the location of the UE204. The location server 112 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location server 112 may be configured to support one or more location services for a UE204 that can connect to the location server 112 via the core network, via the 5GC210, via the internet (not shown), or both.Furthermore, the location server 112 may be integrated into the core network components, or alternatively, it may be located outside the core network.

[0045] Figure 2B shows another exemplary wireless network structure 250 in various embodiments. For example, 5GC260 can be functionally viewed as a control plane function provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262, working together to form a core network (i.e., 5GC260). User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect ng-eNB224 to 5GC260, specifically to UPF262 and AMF264, respectively. In an additional configuration, gNB222 may also be connected to 5GC260 via the control plane interface 265 to AMF264 and the user plane interface 263 to UPF262. Furthermore, ng-eNB224 may communicate directly with gNB222 via backhaul connection 223, with or without a direct gNB connection to 5GC260. In some configurations, the New RAN220 may have only one or more gNB222s, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNB224s and gNB222s. Either a gNB222 or an ng-eNB224 can communicate with a UE204 (for example, one of the UEs shown in Figure 1). The base station of the New RAN220 communicates with the AMF264 via the N2 interface and with the UPF262 via the N3 interface.

[0046] The functions of AMF264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between UE204 and Session Management Function (SMF)266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access permission, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between UE204 and Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor function (SEAF). AMF264 also interacts with Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE204 and receives intermediate keys established as a result of the UE204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identification module (USIM), AMF264 retrieves security material from AUSF. The functions of AMF264 also include security context management (SCM). SCM receives keys from SEAF that SCM uses to derive access network specific keys. The AMF264's functions also include location service management for regulatory services, transport of location service messages between the UE204 and the Location Management Function (LMF)270 (acting as the Location Server 112), transport of location service messages between the New RAN220 and the LMF270, allocation of EPS bearer identifiers for interacting with the evolved packet system (EPS), and mobility event notification for the UE204. In addition, the AMF264 also supports functions for non-3GPP access networks (3GPP is a registered trademark).

[0047] The functions of UPF262 include acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to data networks (not shown), packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking on the downlink), uplink traffic validation (mapping service data flows (SDFs) to QoS flows), transport-level packet marking on the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, as well as sending and forwarding one or more “end markers” to source RAN nodes. UPF262 may also support the forwarding of location service messages over the user plane between UE204 and location servers such as Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 272.

[0048] The functions of the SMF266 ​​include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF262 for routing traffic to appropriate destinations, control of policy enforcement and some QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF266 ​​communicates with the AMF264 is called the N11 interface.

[0049] Another optional embodiment may include an LMF270 that may communicate with the 5GC260 to provide location assistance for the UE204. The LMF270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spanning multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each corresponding to a single server. The LMF270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE204, which can connect to the LMF270 via the core network, the 5GC260, the internet (not shown), or both. The SLP272 may support similar functionality to the LMF270, however, the LMF270 may communicate with the AMF264, New RAN220, and UE204 via the control plane (for example, using interfaces and protocols intended to transmit signaling messages rather than voice or data), while the SLP272 may communicate with the UE204 and external clients (not shown in Figure 2B) via the user plane (for example, using protocols intended to carry voice or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0050] In some embodiments, the LMF270, SLP272, or both may be integrated into a base station such as the gNB222 or ng-eNB224. When integrated into the gNB222 or ng-eNB224, the LMF270 or SLP272 may be referred to as a Location Management Component (LMC). However, as used herein, references to the LMF270 and SLP272 include both cases where the LMF270 and SLP272 are components of a core network (e.g., 5GC260) and cases where the LMF270 and SLP272 are components of a base station.

[0051] Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C show several exemplary components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including a location server 112 and an LMF 270) to support file transmission operations as taught herein. It will be understood that these components may be implemented in different types of devices in different implementation forms (e.g., in an ASIC, a system-on-a-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Also, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers, communicate via different technologies, or both.

[0052] UE 302 and base station 304 each include WWAN transceivers, such as wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver 310 and WWAN transceiver 350, respectively, configured to communicate over one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, or a GSM network. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas, such as antenna 316 and antenna 356, respectively, to communicate with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, and base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB), over at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., several sets of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be configured in various ways, respectively, to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals such as signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include one or more transmitters, such as transmitter 314 and transmitter 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, and one or more receivers, such as receiver 312 and receiver 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358.

[0053] UE302 and base station304 also include, at least in some cases, wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers 320 and WLAN transceiver 360, respectively. WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas, such as antenna 326 and antenna 366, respectively, to communicate with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, and base stations, via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth®, etc.) over the wireless communication medium of interest. WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be configured in various ways to transmit and encode signals (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), such as signal 328 and signal 368, respectively, and conversely, to receive and decode signals, such as signal 328 and signal 368, respectively, according to the designated RAT. Specifically, WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 each include one or more transmitters, such as transmitter 324 and transmitter 364, for transmitting and encoding signals such as signals 328 and 368, and each includes one or more receivers, such as receiver 322 and receiver 362, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368.

[0054] A transceiver circuit configuration including at least one transmitter and at least one receiver may, in some implementations, comprise an integrated device (e.g., embodied as the transmitter and receiver circuits of a single communication device), in some implementations comprise separate transmitter and receiver devices, or in other implementations, be embodied in other ways. In some embodiments, the transmitter may include or be coupled with a plurality of antennas, such as an antenna array (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), enabling each device to perform transmit "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the receiver may include or be coupled with a plurality of antennas, such as an antenna array (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), enabling each device to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In some embodiments, the transmitter and receiver may share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that each device can only receive or transmit at a given time, and not both simultaneously. The UE302, base station 304, or both wireless communication devices (e.g., transceivers 310 and 320, transceivers 350 and 360, or both) may also include a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0055] UE302 and base station 304 also include, at least in some cases, SPS receivers such as satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 330 and SPS receiver 370. SPS receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas, such as antenna 336 and antenna 376, respectively, to receive SPS signals such as SPS signal 338 and SPS signal 378, respectively, from global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), and Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), respectively. SPS receivers 330 and 370 may each have any suitable hardware, software, or both for receiving and processing SPS signals 338 and 378. SPS receivers 330 and 370 may, as appropriate, request information and operations from other systems and perform calculations necessary to determine the positions of UE302 and base station 304 using measurements obtained by any suitable SPS algorithm.

[0056] Each base station 304 and network entity 306 includes at least one network interface, such as network interface 380 and network interface 390, for communicating with other network entities. For example, network interfaces 380 and 390 (e.g., one or more network access ports) may be configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wired connection or a wireless backhaul connection. In some embodiments, network interfaces 380 and 390 may be implemented as transceivers configured to support wired or wireless signaling communication. This communication may involve, for example, sending and receiving messages, parameters, other types of information, or various combinations thereof.

[0057] UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE302 includes processor circuitry that implements a processing system 332 for, for example, wireless positioning functions and other processing functions. Base station 304 includes a processing system 384 for, for example, wireless positioning functions and other processing functions as disclosed herein. Network entity 306 includes a processing system 394 for, for example, wireless positioning functions and other processing functions as disclosed herein. In some embodiments, processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multicore processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices or processing circuits.

[0058] UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include memory circuitry that implements memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively (each including a memory device), for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). In some cases, UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may also include positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may, when executed, be hardware circuitry that, when executed, causes UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein, or are coupled to processing systems 332, 384, and 394, respectively. In other embodiments, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be outside of processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., they may be part of a modem processing system or integrated with another processing system). Alternatively, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3A shows a possible location of positioning component 342, which may be part of WWAN transceiver 310, memory component 340, processing system 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3B shows a possible location of positioning component 388, which may be part of WWAN transceiver 350, memory component 386, processing system 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.Figure 3C shows possible locations of the positioning component 398, which may be part of the network interface 390, the memory component 396, the processing system 394, or any combination thereof, or it may be a standalone component.

[0059] UE302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the processing system 332 to provide motion information, orientation information, or both, independent of motion data derived from signals received by the WWAN transceiver 310, WLAN transceiver 320, or SPS receiver 330. For example, the sensors 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), any other type of motion detection sensor, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, the sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices, and their outputs may be combined to provide motion information. For example, the sensors 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate location in a 2D or 3D coordinate system.

[0060] In addition, UE302 includes a user interface 346 for providing instructions to the user (e.g., acoustic instructions, visual instructions, or both), for receiving user input (e.g., when the user activates a sensing device such as a keypad, touchscreen, or microphone), or both. Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0061] Referring more closely to the processing system 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 may be provided to the processing system 384. The processing system 384 may implement functions for the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The processing system 384 may provide RRC layer functions related to broadcasting system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions related to header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions related to forwarding upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic retransmission requests (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions related to mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0062] The transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer 1 functions related to various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to a signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., two-phase shift modulation (BPSK), four-phase shift modulation (QPSK), M-phase shift modulation (M-PSK), M-phase quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols can then be divided into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time domain, frequency domain, or both, and then synthesized together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel that carries the time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator can be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. Channel estimates can be derived from a reference signal, from channel condition feedback transmitted by UE302, or both. Each spatial stream can then be supplied to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 can modulate the RF carrier using each spatial stream for transmission.

[0063] In UE302, the receiver 312 receives signals through its respective antenna 316. The receiver 312 reconstructs the demodulated information on the RF carrier and provides this information to the processing system 332. The transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functions related to various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to reconstruct any spatial stream directed to UE302. If multiple spatial streams are directed to UE302, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 312. The receiver 312 then uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to convert the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal contains a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are reconstructed and demodulated by determining the signal constellation point most likely to have been transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decision is then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals initially transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to processing system 332, which implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions.

[0064] At the uplink, processing system 332 recovers IP packets from the core network by performing demultiplexing between the transport channel and logical channel, packet reassembly, decoding, header decompression, and control signal processing. Processing system 332 is also responsible for error detection.

[0065] Similar to the functions described for downlink transmission by base station 304, processing system 332 provides RRC layer functions related to system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions related to header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions related to the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions related to mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic retransmission requests (HARQs), priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0066] The channel estimate derived by the channel estimator from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by base station 304 may be used by transmitter 314 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by transmitter 314 may be supplied to different antennas 316. Transmitter 314 may modulate the RF carrier using each spatial stream for transmission.

[0067] Uplink transmissions are processed at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described with respect to the receiver function in UE302. Receiver 352 receives the signal through its respective antenna 356. Receiver 352 reconstructs the demodulated information on the RF carrier and provides this information to processing system 384.

[0068] At the uplink, processing system 384 reconstructs IP packets from UE302 by performing demultiplexing between the transport channel and logical channel, packet reassembly, decoding, header decompression, and control signal processing. IP packets from processing system 384 can then be provided to the core network. Processing system 384 is also responsible for error detection.

[0069] For convenience, the UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 are shown in Figures 3A–3C as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it will be understood that the illustrated blocks may have different functions in different designs.

[0070] Various components of UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can communicate with each other via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. The components in Figures 3A to 3C can be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components in Figures 3A to 3C can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as one or more processors, one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors), or both. Here, each circuit may use or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE302 (for example, by the execution of appropriate code, by the appropriate configuration of the processor component, or both). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (for example, by the execution of appropriate code, by the appropriate configuration of the processor component, or both). Furthermore, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 390-398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (for example, by the execution of appropriate code, by the appropriate configuration of processor components, or both). For simplicity, various operations, actions, or functions are described herein as being performed “by the UE,” “by the base station,” “by the positioning entity,” etc. However, as will be understood, such operations, actions, or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components such as UEs, base stations, positioning entities, etc., including processing systems 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memory components 340, 386, and 396, positioning components 342, 388, and 398.

[0071] NR supports several cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, the UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (ToA) of a reference signal (e.g., PRS, TRS, Narrowband Reference Signal (NRS), CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from a pair of base stations, called reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers for a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and several non-reference base stations in the supporting data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each of the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity can estimate the location of the UE. In DL-AoD positioning, the base station measures the angle of the downlink transmit beam used to communicate with the UE and other channel characteristics (e.g., signal strength) to estimate the UE's location.

[0072] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink arrival time difference (UL-TDOA) and uplink arrival angle (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA but is based on an uplink reference signal (e.g., SRS) transmitted by the UE. In UL-AoA positioning, the base station measures the angle of the uplink received beam used to communicate with the UE and other channel characteristics (e.g., gain level) to estimate the UE's position.

[0073] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include enhanced cell-ID (E-CID) positioning and multi-round-trip-time (RTT) positioning (also known as "multi-cell RTT"). In the RTT procedure, the initiator (base station or UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to the responder (UE or base station), and the responder replies with an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) to the initiator. The RTT response signal includes the difference between the time of arrival (TOA) of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal, called the (Rx-Tx) measurement result. The initiator calculates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the TOA of the RTT response signal, called the "Tx-Rx" measurement result. The propagation time (also known as "time of flight") between the initiator and the responder can be calculated from the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx measurement results. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and the responder can be determined. In multi-RTT positioning, the UE performs RTT procedures with multiple base stations to allow the UE's position to be triangulated based on the known positions of the base stations. RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD to improve positional accuracy.

[0074] The E-CID positioning method is based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identifier, estimated timing, and signal strength of any nearby base stations detected. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0075] To support positioning operations, location servers (e.g., location servers 112, LMF270, SLP272) may provide support data to the UE. For example, the support data may include the identifier of the base station (or base station cell / TRP) from which the reference signal should be measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning slots, the periodicity of the positioning slots, the muting sequence, the frequency hopping sequence, the reference signal identifier (ID), the reference signal bandwidth, the slot offset, etc.), other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method, or a combination thereof. Alternatively, the support data may be obtained directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages). In some cases, the UE may be able to discover the neighboring network node itself without using support data.

[0076] Location estimation may be referred to by other names such as location estimate, location, place, location fix, or fix. Location estimation may be geodetic and comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or urban and comprise a street address, postal address, or some other linguistic description of the location. Location estimation may further be defined in relation to some other known location, or it may be defined absolutely (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). Location estimation may include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including an area or volume in which the location is expected to be contained, with some specified or default level of confidence).

[0077] Various frame structures can be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs).

[0078] Figure 4A is Figure 400, which shows an example of a downlink frame structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

[0079] Figure 4B is a diagram showing an example of channels in a downlink frame structure according to an aspect of this disclosure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures, different channels, or both.

[0080] LTE, and sometimes NR, utilize OFDM on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also offers the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, commonly called tones or bins. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Generally, the modulation symbol is transmitted using OFDM in the frequency domain and using SC-FDM in the time domain. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing may be 15 kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (i.e., 180 kHz). Therefore, the nominal FFT sizes may be equal to 128, 256, 504, 1024, or 2048 for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be divided into subbands. For example, the subbands may cover 1.8 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0081] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing, symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), for example, subcarrier spacings of 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, 120kHz, and 240kHz or greater may be available. Table 1, given below, lists several different parameters for different NR numerologies. [Table 1]

[0082] In the examples in Figures 4A and 4B, a 15 kHz numerology is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 millisecond (ms) frame is divided into 10 subframes of equal size, each 1 ms long, with each subframe containing one time slot. In Figures 4A and 4B, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis), increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0083] A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, each time slot containing one or more time-parallel resource blocks (RBs) (also called physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In NR, a subframe has a time length of 1 ms, a slot has 14 symbols in the time domain, and an RB contains 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 14 consecutive symbols in the time domain. Therefore, in NR, there is one RB per slot. Depending on the SCS, an NR subframe may have 14 symbols, 28 symbols, or more, and thus may have one slot, two slots, or more. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0084] Some of the REs carry downlink reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS). DL-RS may include PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, etc. Figure 4A shows an exemplary location of an RE carrying PRS (labeled "R").

[0085] A “PRS instance” or “PRS opportunity” is one instance of a regularly repeating time frame (for example, a group of one or more consecutive slots) in which a PRS is expected to be sent. A PRS opportunity may also be called a “PRS positioning opportunity,” “PRS positioning instance,” “positioning opportunity,” “positioning instance,” “positioning iteration,” or simply “opportunity,” “instance,” or “iteration.”

[0086] A set of resource elements (REs) used for PRS transmission is called a "PRS resource." A set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and "N" (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain. Within a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0087] The transmission of a PRS resource within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also called "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size "N", the PRS is transmitted on every N subcarriers of the symbols in the PRB. For example, in comb-4, for each of the fourth 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. Currently, comb sizes comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 are supported for DL ​​PRS. Figure 4A shows an exemplary PRS resource configuration for comb-6 (spanning six symbols). The positions of the shaded REs (labeled "R") indicate the comb-6 PRS resource configuration.

[0088] A "PRS resource set" is a collection of PRS resources used for transmitting PRS signals, where 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 its PRS resource set ID and associated with a specific TRP (identified by its TRP ID). In addition, PRS resources within a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (e.g., PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor) across slots. Periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource in the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource in the next PRS instance. Periodicity is 2 μ The {4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5040, 10240} slots may have lengths selected from μ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The iteration coefficient may have lengths selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0089] A PRS resource ID within a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or 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.” It should be noted that this does not imply whether the PRS is aware of the TRP and beam transmitted on it to the UE.

[0090] A "positioning frequency layer" (also simply called a "frequency layer") is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets spanning one or more TRPs that have the same values ​​for several parameters. Specifically, a collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning all numerologies supported for PDSCH are also supported for PRS), the same Point A, the same downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The Point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" stands for "Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number") and is an identifier / code that specifies a pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of 4PRB, with a minimum of 24PRB and a maximum of 272PRB. Currently, up to four frequency layers are defined, and each frequency layer may consist of up to two PRS resource sets per TRP.

[0091] The concept of frequency layers is somewhat similar to the concepts of component carriers and bandwidth portions (BWPs), but differs in that component carriers and BWPs are used by one base station (or macrocell and smallcell base stations) to transmit data channels, while frequency layers are used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRSs. A UE may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when it transmits its positioning capabilities to the network, such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session. For example, a UE might indicate whether it can support one positioning frequency layer or four positioning frequency layers.

[0092] Figure 4B shows examples of various channels within a downlink slot of a wireless frame. In NR, the channel bandwidth or system bandwidth is divided into multiple BWPs. A BWP is a contiguous set of PRBs selected from a contiguous subset of common RBs for a given numerology on a given carrier. Generally, up to four BWPs can be specified on the downlink and uplink. That is, a UE can be configured with up to four BWPs on the downlink and up to four BWPs on the uplink. Only one BWP (uplink or downlink) may be active at a given time, meaning that the UE can receive or transmit through only one BWP at a time. On the downlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be greater than or equal to the bandwidth of the SSB, although each BWP may or may not contain the SSB.

[0093] Referring to Figure 4B, the UE uses a primary synchronization signal (PSS) to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identification information. The UE uses a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) to determine the physical layer cell identification information group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identification information and physical layer cell identification information group number, the UE can determine the PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the DL-RS location described above. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the MIB may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also called SS / PBCH). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the downlink system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH such as system information blocks (SIB), and paging messages.

[0094] A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries downlink control information (DCI) within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE containing one or more RE group (REG) bundles (which may span multiple symbols in the time domain), each REG bundle containing one or more REGs, each REG corresponding to 12 resource elements (one resource block) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain. The set of physical resources used to carry the PDCCH / DCI is called the control resource set (CORESET) in NR. In NR, the PDCCH is confined to a single CORESET and transmitted with its own DMRS. This allows for UE-specific beamforming for the PDCCH.

[0095] In the example in Figure 4B, there is one CORESET per BWP, and the CORESET spans three symbols in the time domain (which may be just one or two symbols). Unlike the LTE control channel, which occupies the entire system bandwidth, in NR, the PDCCH channel is confined to a specific region in the frequency domain (i.e., a CORESET). Therefore, the frequency components of the PDCCH shown in Figure 4B are shown as smaller than a single BWP in the frequency domain. Note that the shown CORESET is contiguous in the frequency domain, but does not need to be. In addition, the CORESET may span fewer than three symbols in the time domain.

[0096] The DCIs within the PDCCH carry information about (persistent and non-persistent) uplink resource allocation and descriptions of downlink data to be sent to the UE. Multiple DCIs (e.g., up to eight) may be configured within the PDCCH, and these DCIs may have one of several formats. For example, there are different DCI formats for uplink scheduling, non-MIMO downlink scheduling, MIMO downlink scheduling, and uplink power control. To accommodate different DCI payload sizes or coding rates, the PDCCH may be transmitted by one, two, four, eight, or sixteen CCEs.

[0097] Figure 5 illustrates how beyond line of sight (NLOS) positioning signals can cause UE 104 to miscalculate its location. In Figure 5, UE 104 operating in an area with multiple base stations 102 calculates its location based on the time to arrival (TOA) of signals from those base stations 102. UE 104 knows the geographical location of the base stations 102, for example, by receiving support data provided by a location server. This support data may also identify PRS resources, PRS resource sets, transmit / receive points (TRPs), or combinations thereof, that UE should use for positioning. For brevity, PRS resources, PRS resource sets, TRPs, or combinations thereof are collectively referred to herein as “positioning sources.” UE 104 determines its geographical location based on its distance from each of one or more base stations 102, and UE 104 calculates its geographical location based on the TOA of signals from a particular base station 102 and the speed of radio signals in the air, assuming that TOA corresponds to the time of flight of the LOS path.

[0098] However, if the signal from base station 102 is an NLOS signal, the signal will have traveled a longer distance than the straight-line distance to the UE, so the TOA of the NLOS signal will be slower than the TOA of a LOS signal. This means that if UE 104 happens to base its positioning estimation on the TOA of the NLOS signal, the unnaturally long TOA value of the NLOS signal will distort the location calculation, thereby meaning that UE 104 is in an apparent location different from its actual location. Therefore, one challenge is to distinguish between LOS and NLOS signals so that NLOS signals are excluded from consideration during positioning estimation.

[0099] One method for distinguishing between LOS and NLOS signals is outlier detection. Outlier detection analyzes positioning signals from a set of cells against each other to determine which of those cells appears to produce a TOA value that is an "outlier" compared to the TOA values ​​produced by the other cells in the group. Outlier detection produces what is called a "matched group," which is a set of N positioning sources that gave rise to a positioning result (e.g., RSTD, RSRP, Rx-Tx), where using a subset X of those N positioning sources for positioning results in a location estimate that, when used to estimate the TOA to the remaining NX positioning sources, yields a value with an error within a threshold T. The size of the matched group produced by outlier detection for a set of cells can be any value from 0 to the size of the entire set of cells being analyzed, but is usually somewhere in between.

[0100] One way to define a matching group is that the set of measurement results have the same / similar errors, such as internal timing errors (e.g., hardware group delay). The following definition is used to describe internal timing errors.

[0101] Transmit (Tx) Timing Error: From a signal transmission perspective, there is a time delay between the time the digital signal is generated in the baseband and the time the RF signal is transmitted from the transmitting antenna. To assist positioning, the UE / TRP may perform internal calibration / compensation for the transmit time delay for DL-PRS / UL-SRS transmission, which may also include calibration / compensation for the relative time delays between different RF chains within the same UE / TRP. This compensation may also take into account the offset of the phase center of the transmitting antenna relative to the physical antenna center. However, calibration may not be perfect. The remaining transmit time delay after calibration, or the uncalibrated transmit time delay, is defined as the "transmit timing error" or "Tx timing error".

[0102] Receiving (Rx) Timing Error: From a signal reception perspective, there is a time delay between the time the RF signal reaches the Rx antenna and the time the signal is digitized in baseband and a timestamp is recorded. To assist positioning, the UE / TRP may perform internal calibration / compensation of the Rx time delay before reporting the measurement results obtained from the DL-PRS / SRS, which may also include calibration / compensation of the relative time delays between different RF chains within the same UE / TRP. This compensation may also take into account the offset of the phase center of the Rx antenna relative to the physical center of the antenna. However, calibration may not be perfect. The remaining Rx time delay after calibration, or the uncalibrated Rx time delay, is defined as the "Rx timing error".

[0103] UE Tx Timing Error Group (TEG): A UE Tx TEG (or TxTEG) is associated with a transmission of one or more SRS resources intended for positioning, which have Tx timing errors that are within a certain range (e.g., within a threshold of each other).

[0104] TRP Tx TEG: A TRP Tx TEG (or TxTEG) is associated with the transmission of one or more DL-PRS resources, which have a Tx timing error within a certain range.

[0105] UE Rx TEG: UE Rx TEG (or RxTEG) is associated with one or more downlink measurement results that have an Rx timing error within a certain range.

[0106] TRP Rx TEG: TRP Rx TEG (or RxTEG) is associated with one or more uplink measurement results that have an Rx timing error within a specified range.

[0107] UE Rx-Tx TEG: A UE Rx-Tx TEG (or RxTxTEG) is associated with one or more UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement results and one or more SRS resources intended for positioning, which have an Rx timing error + Tx timing error within a certain range.

[0108] TRP Rx-Tx TEG: A TRP Rx-Tx TEG (or RxTxTEG) is associated with one or more TRP Rx-Tx time difference measurement results and one or more DL-PRS resources, which have an Rx timing error + Tx timing error within a certain range.

[0109] Matching groups are not limited to grouping positioning sources with similar timing errors, but can also be formed using positioning sources with other shared error characteristics, such as shared angular error characteristics, or combinations of shared timing angular error characteristics and shared angular error characteristics.

[0110] Another method for analyzing cells in a set relative to each other (e.g., computationally complete analysis) requires comparing each possible combination of a subset of cells with the rest of the cells in the group, which is computationally intensive and impractical for UEs. Therefore, a technique called Random Sampling and Consensus (RANSAC) is used instead. This technique analyzes groups of positioning source candidates relative to each other in various combinations by randomly selecting a subset of positioning sources in a group, generating estimated UE locations based on that subset, using the thus generated location estimates to predict TOA timings for the rest of positioning sources not in that subset, and checking how well the actual TOA and predicted TOA match for each positioning source not in the subset, for example, by determining whether the difference between the actual TOA and the predicted TOA is within a timing error threshold T. Positioning sources within the error threshold are called inliers. Positioning sources outside the threshold are called outliers. The number of inliers L is determined for each randomly selected sample.

[0111] It is possible that one of the positioning sources in a randomly selected subset may be an NLOS, which distorts the estimated UE location and therefore the estimated TOA to cells not in that subset. Therefore, the RANSAC algorithm performs the operation described above multiple times, each time using a different randomly selected subset of positioning sources from the group. After a certain number of iterations, the subset of positioning sources that produced the largest number of inliers, and those inliers, are reported as elements of the matching group. Outliers are excluded from the matching group. The identified matching group is then used as a pool of positioning sources from which the UE calculates its final estimated location. An exemplary implementation of RANSAC is shown in Figure 6.

[0112] Figure 6 is a flowchart of RANSAC, a conventional method 600 for outlier detection in UE-based positioning. In Figure 6, at 602, the UE identifies a set of positioning sources (in this example, a set of cells) of candidate positioning sources, for example, based on link quality. At 604, the UE randomly selects a subset C of cells of size K, for example, having K cells in a subset. At 606, the UE estimates the location using the TOA values ​​of the positioning signals from the cells in subset C. At 608, the UE calculates the expected TOA from the cells in the set of positioning sources that are not in subset C. At 610, the UE finds L, the number of inliers (cells whose difference between the actual TOA and the expected TOA is within a timing error tolerance T). At 612, the UE determines whether more subset processing is required, for example, by determining whether the number of random subsets is less than the number M of targets for random subsets. In many cases, the process is repeated from step 604 onward for another randomly selected subset of cells, continuing until M subsets have been tested. From there, at 614, the subset C that produced the largest value of L is identified, and at 616, the cells within that subset, as well as the inliers found based on that subset, are used to calculate the location of the UE. At 618, cells that are not inliers are declared outlier cells, and at 620, the UE reports the elements of the harmonized group to the network as a set of positioning sources excluding outlier cells. The same outlier detection procedure may be performed on the network side (for example, this may prompt the network to split or merge harmonized groups or define new harmonized groups, etc.).

[0113] The conventional methods for identifying outliers described above have drawbacks. One drawback is that any change in the parameters K (size of the random set C), M (number of iterations), and T (tolerance used to distinguish inliers from outliers) can lead to different results.

[0114] Another drawback is that since subsets and all possible combinations of the rest are not computed, not all outliers may be identified and excluded from the harmonized group. This means that some subset C selected from the harmonized group may contain NLOS positioning sources, which can lead to positioning errors. For example, a random selection process might select a subset of positioning sources with multiple NLOS errors that coincidentally cancel each other out, producing what appears to be a reasonable result, so the algorithm does not identify that NLOS positioning source and exclude them from the harmonized group reported to the network. Similarly, a random selection process might select a random group that is not exactly the same, but is similar enough that the coverage of the entire set of positioning sources is less than intended, or that a few M was not substantially large enough.

[0115] Another drawback is that conventional methods for identifying outliers report elements of a consistent group, which by definition includes positioning sources whose TOA values ​​are within the threshold error range, but does not indicate whether the cells within the consistent group easily meet the threshold or barely meet it, nor does it provide any information about whether some groups of positioning sources had better consistency than others (for example, whether the difference between the expected TOA and the actual TOA was smaller).

[0116] Another drawback is that the NLOS signal can not only distort the apparent value of TOA, but it can also distort other time-angle metrics such as RTT, RSTD, time difference of arrival (TDOA), angle of arrival (AoA), and zenith of arrival (ZoA) at UE104, as well as the transmission angle (AoD) and radiant zenith (ZoD) from base station 102 for the signal received by UE104. However, conventional methods do not consider angle measurements such as AoA, AoD, ZoA, or ZoD when defining matching groups.

[0117] To address these technical shortcomings, an improved method for identifying outliers is presented herein, which, in addition to reporting matched groups that satisfy the error threshold, also provides the network with information about subsets within the matched groups. Furthermore, the definition of a matched group is expanded to optionally include angle-based matched groups, i.e., the error threshold is a timing error threshold (E T ), and angular error threshold (E A ), or a combination thereof. Thus, as used herein, error thresholds may refer to timing error thresholds, angular error thresholds, or a combination of both. When multiple time-angle metrics are considered, in some embodiments each time-angle metric may have its own distinct error threshold, and there may be error thresholds that apply to any combination of time-angle metrics, or to a combination of combinations.

[0118] Figure 7 shows a wireless communication method 700 according to several embodiments of the present disclosure. In Figure 7, in 702, a location server 112 or other network entity transmits a definition of a set of positioning sources to a base station 102 serving a UE 104. In 704, the base station 102 forwards the set of positioning sources to the UE 104. In some embodiments, in 706, the location server 112 or other network entity may provide a predefined list of subsets of positioning sources within the set of positioning sources, and in 708, the base station 102 forwards the predefined list of subsets of positioning sources to the UE 104. Both of these steps may be performed via the LPP protocol, and the forwarding operation at the BS may be transparent to the BS (meaning the BS simply forwards packets without packing / unpacking the LPP protocol). In 710, the UE performs outlier detection in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, as described in more detail below (for example, for UE-based location estimation using RANSAC), and in 712, the UE reports the results of the outlier detection, which include one or more identified matching groups and a list of at least one subset of positioning sources within the matching groups, shown in Figure 7 as {Si...Sn}. Optionally, the UE 104 may also provide additional information about each subset, such as the error {Ei...En} of the subset, other information, or a combination thereof. In 714, the base station 102 forwards the information to the location server 112 or other network entity. While Figure 7 illustrates RANSAC in relation to UE-based location estimation, outlier detection may also be performed for UE-assisted location estimation (for example, the UE may report measurement results defined in multiple matching groups, each group having similar or the same error (e.g., the same hardware group delay or internal timing delay) below a threshold T).

[0119] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail a portion of Method 700, outlier detection 710, according to some aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, outlier detection may be performed by a UE. In some aspects, outlier detection in 800 includes identifying a set of positioning sources, each positioning source comprising a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmit / receive point (TRP), or a combination thereof.

[0120] In some embodiments, outlier detection in 802 includes identifying positioning sources from a set of positioning sources that form a harmonized group, wherein the harmonized group comprises a set of positioning sources, characterized in that the UE location estimation used to estimate the time-angle metrics of reference signals from positioning sources not in the subset, based on a subset of positioning sources in the harmonized group, results in estimated time-angle metrics that differ from the measured time-angle metrics for the positioning sources not in the subset by a value less than an error threshold. For example, the identification of a set of positioning sources forming a harmonized group in 802 may be based on outlier detection for UE-based location estimation as described above with respect to Figure 7 (or alternatively, via outlier detection for UE-assisted location estimation). Alternatively, the identification of a set of positioning sources forming a harmonized group in 802 may be based on UE hardware configuration. For example, specific UE / gNB hardware information may be associated with a specific harmonized group (at least by default, with the possibility of change).

[0121] In some embodiments, outlier detection includes identifying one or more subsets of positioning sources within a matching group in 804, each subset having an error value which may be a timing error, an angular error, or any combination thereof.

[0122] In some embodiments, outlier detection includes reporting to the network entity in 806 information about a harmonized group and information about at least one of one or more subsets of positioning sources within the harmonized group. In some embodiments, error values ​​may also be reported along with each subset.

[0123] In some embodiments, time-angle metrics may include time to arrival (TOA), angle to arrival (AoA), zenith to arrival (ZoA), time to arrival difference (TDOA), time to radiation (ToD), angle to emission (AoD), zenith to radiation (ZoD), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), round-trip time (RTT), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, error thresholds may include time-angle thresholds. In some embodiments, time-angle thresholds may include timing thresholds, angle thresholds, received power thresholds, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, error thresholds may include multiple time-angle thresholds. In some embodiments, each element of a matching group must satisfy at least one of the multiple time-angle thresholds. In some embodiments, each element of a matching group must satisfy all of the multiple time-angle thresholds.

[0124] In some embodiments, identifying a set of positioning sources may include receiving a set of positioning sources from a base station. In some embodiments, identifying positioning sources from a set of positioning sources that form a matched group may include performing a sampling and consensus operation a certain number of times (m>1), where each sampling and consensus operation includes: using different sampling subsets of positioning sources in the set of positioning sources to identify positioning sources that are not in any sampling subset having an error below an error threshold as inliers; selecting the sampling subset that produced the largest number of inliers; identifying positioning sources that are not in any sampling subset that produced the largest number of inliers but do not have an error below an error threshold as outliers; identifying a set of positioning sources excluding outliers as a matched group; and calculating the location of the UE based on one or more time-angle metric values ​​from the positioning sources, selected from a combination of the sampling subset that produced the largest number of inliers and the inliers identified using the sampling subset that produced the largest number of inliers.

[0125] In some embodiments, performing a sampling-and-consensus operation may include: selecting a sampling subset from a set of positioning sources; estimating the location of a UE using time-angle metrics from the positioning sources in the sampling subset; calculating expected time-angle metrics from the estimated location of the UE to the positioning sources in the set of positioning sources not in the sampling subset; determining Li, which is the number of inliers associated with the sampling subset, such that the inliers include positioning sources in the set of positioning sources not in the sampling subset having an error below an error threshold; and determining the error of the inliers, which may be the mean error, maximum error, minimum error, or other error metrics.

[0126] In some embodiments, selecting a sampling subset from a set of positioning sources may include creating a sampling subset by randomly selecting positioning sources within the set of positioning sources. In some embodiments, selecting a sampling subset from a set of positioning sources may include creating a sampling subset by selecting positioning sources within the set of positioning sources according to a pseudo-random sequence.

[0127] In some embodiments, selecting a sampling subset from a set of positioning sources may involve selecting a subset from a predefined list of subsets of positioning sources within the set of positioning sources. In some embodiments, all sampling subsets are of the same size. In some embodiments, at least one sampling subset is of a different size from another sampling subset. In some embodiments, the method may include storing the errors of the sampling subsets, Li, and InLier.

[0128] In some embodiments, reporting information about at least one subset may include identifying the positioning sources contained in each subset. In some embodiments, the positioning sources contained in each subset are identified entirely or by difference, explicitly or implicitly, by index or reference, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, reporting information about at least one subset may include reporting the error associated with each subset. In some embodiments, reporting information about at least one subset may include reporting the error for each positioning source contained in the subset. In some embodiments, reporting the error for each positioning source contained in a subset may include reporting the error for each positioning source with respect to an error threshold, with respect to a consensus value produced by the subset, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, reporting information about at least one subset may include reporting subsets that have an error that satisfies a threshold reporting value Tr.

[0129] Figures 9A and 9B are flowcharts illustrating in more detail the outlier detection portion shown in Figure 8, according to several aspects of this disclosure.

[0130] In Figure 9A, identifying the positioning sources that form a matching group (802) and identifying one or more subsets of the positioning sources within the matching group (804) comprises the following steps.

[0131] In 900, a sampling subset of size K is selected from the set of positioning sources. (For brevity, the sampling subset may also be referred to simply as a subset in this specification.) In some embodiments, the subset may be randomly selected from the set of positioning sources. In some embodiments, the subset may be selected from a predefined list of subsets provided to the UE by the network.

[0132] In 902, the location of the UE is estimated using one or more time-angle metrics from positioning sources within a sampling subset. In one example, the UE location is estimated using TOA values ​​from positioning sources within a sampling subset. In another example, the UE location is estimated using a combination of TOA and AoA values ​​from positioning sources within a sampling subset.

[0133] In 904, the UE location is used to calculate the expected value of one or more time-angle metric values ​​from a cell that is in the set of positioning sources but not in a subset. For example, the estimated UE location is used to calculate the expected TOA value for a cell that is in the set of positioning sources but not in a subset. In another example, the estimated UE location is used to calculate the expected TOA and AoA values ​​for a cell that is in the set of positioning sources but not in a subset.

[0134] In 906, the number of inliers in the set of positioning sources associated with the sampling subset, Li, and the inlier error are determined. For example, the inlier error may be a timing error, an angular error, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the inlier error is the average inlier error, but alternatively, it may be the maximum time-angle metric error of the inliers, or it may be calculated in some other way.

[0135] In 908, a subset, the number of inliers Li based on the subset, and the error of those inliers are stored (for example, in random access memory (RAM) or flash memory within the UE) for later access. In some embodiments, a list Ii of inliers determined using the sampled subset may also be stored.

[0136] Operations 900 to 908 include a sampling and consensus operation 910 that uses one subset of positioning sources from the set of positioning sources, and in 912, it is determined whether additional sampling and consensus operations 910 should be performed. In Figure 9A, the parameter M specifies how many sampling and consensus operations 910, and therefore how many subsets, must be processed. If the number of subsets processed is less than M, the sampling and consensus operation 910 is repeated until M subsets have been processed. In some embodiments, between each sampling and consensus operation 910, the values ​​of the sampled subset, Li, and the error of the inlier are stored, for example, by the time the process proceeds to 914, {S1, L1, E1} has been converted to {S M , L M , E M} is stored in memory.

[0137] In 914, the sampling subset that produced the largest number of inliers (i.e., Lx) is selected. In 916, positioning sources that are not inliers are declared as outlier positioning sources. In 918, a matching group is defined as the set of positioning sources excluding outlier positioning sources. In 920, the location of the UE is calculated using the TOA values ​​of the positioning sources in the matching group.

[0138] In Figure 9B, reporting information to the network about a matching group and information about at least one of one or more subsets of positioning sources within the matching group (806) comprises, in 922, reporting the elements of the matching group, and in 924, reporting at least one element of the sampling subset (and optionally Ii), and the error of the inlier associated with the sampling subset. In some embodiments, the UE reports the error to a threshold T R Report only the subsets that are less than [a certain value].

[0139] Figure 10 shows an exemplary result of outlier detection 710 such that a set of positioning sources U is analyzed, yielding a matching group G and a set of outliers O. Within the matching group, several subsets S1-S7 are identified.

[0140] In some embodiments, subsets may be the same size or of different sizes. In Figure 10, for example, S4 is a small subset and S7 is a large subset. In some embodiments, a minimum number P of subsets may be configured as a reporting requirement. In some embodiments, the value of P may depend on the size of the set of positioning sources. In some embodiments, subsets may have to satisfy the same or different error thresholds. For example, in some embodiments, all subsets may have to satisfy an error threshold, but the largest deviation from the error threshold is reported. In some embodiments, detailed consistency errors for each link in a consistency group or subset may be reported. In some embodiments, for each link in a consistency group or subset, its error may be reported in relation to consensus rather than a threshold. This may provide some benefit in more accurately modeling the error distribution. In some embodiments, multiple thresholds may be configured, along with the requirement that at least Pi subsets must satisfy a particular threshold.

[0141] Random. In some embodiments, elements of a subset are randomly selected from elements of a set of positioning sources. In these embodiments, the subset report identifies the elements of each subset. In some embodiments, the network may instruct or construct a UE with the number of random subsets to be tried.

[0142] Pseudorandom. In some embodiments, the elements of a subset are selected pseudorandomly, for example, according to a pseudorandom sequence (PRS) known to both the UE and the network. In these embodiments, the UE may report the subset as an initial value for a pseudorandom number generator (PNG), i.e., a PNG "seed," and an offset to the generated PRS, and various other parameters, for example, indicating the size of each subset, and the network can use its size to reconstruct a list of elements for each subset. In some embodiments, the network may provide the PNG seed value to the UE.

[0143] The subsets are predefined. In some embodiments, the elements of the subset are provided to the UE, for example, by a location server. In some embodiments, the UE can report which of these subsets can be used to derive consistent measurement results. In these embodiments, the subset report may identify which of the predefined subsets is being reported by index, offset, key, field, or other identifier. In some embodiments, the predefined subsets may be defined by earlier UE reports, by RRC configurations from base stations or location servers, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, as described above, the predefined subsets may be defined based on the UE's hardware / RF configuration.

[0144] In some embodiments, a subset of a harmonized group may be reported using the same reporting format used to report the harmonized group.

[0145] In some embodiments where subsets are randomly generated, each subset may be explicitly described (e.g., whole or completely) in the report. In some embodiments, a subset may be described as a list of positioning sources Pi within the subset, for example, sampling subset Si = {P1, P3, P9, P 10 These subsets can be identified or described explicitly or implicitly (for example, by index or reference). In some embodiments, a subset may be described using a list of positioning sources not present in the subset, e.g., a sampling subset Si = U - {P4, P8}. In some embodiments, where a subset is selected from a predefined list of subsets of positioning sources within a set of positioning sources, the subset may be identified by a name, location, or index in the list, which a location server can use to determine the positioning sources within that subset.

[0146] In some embodiments, the list of subsets may be reported by difference. In some embodiments, nested subsets may be reported in ascending order of size, where the elements of the smallest subset are fully specified, and for each larger subset, only the additional elements of the larger subset are reported.

[0147] Referring again to Figure 10, in one example, S5={A,B,C}, S6={A,B,C,D,E}, and S7={A,B,C,D,E,F}. In this example, the report format could be (S5:{A,B,C}; S6:+{D,E}; S7:+{F}). In another example where S2={G,H,I,J,K,L} and S3={I,J,K,L,M,N}, the reporting format may identify the union of the two sets (indicated by the operator "∩") and the elements of one set X that are not in the other set Y (indicated by the operator "X\Y"): S2∩S3:{I,J,K,L}; S2\S3:{G,H}; S3\S2:{M,N} Alternatively, a dummy subset Sx may be used, for example. Sx:{I,J,K,L}; S1:Sx+{G,H}; S2:Sx+{M,N} These examples are not limiting, but illustrate that the size of a subset report can be reduced by differential reporting, other data compression methods, or a combination thereof.

[0148] In some embodiments, the reporting format may depend on whether the report is carried at L1 (e.g., in an uplink control information (UCI) message), L2 (e.g., in MAC-CE), or L3 (e.g., via RRC, LPP, etc.). In some embodiments, the reporting format may depend on the subset constraints described above. For example, if subsets are grouped by different thresholds, subsets within each threshold may be reported differentially as groups.

[0149] In some embodiments, a subset may only be reported if it satisfies a reporting threshold. For example, in some embodiments, a subset may be reported if its timing error relative to the threshold satisfies the threshold reporting value Tr.

[0150] In some embodiments, the subsets to be reported may be constrained, limiting how much one subset can overlap with another, for example, how many positioning sources can be common to both subsets. For example, reporting two subsets that differ by only one positioning source may be less useful than reporting two more significantly different subsets. In some embodiments, two subsets may be quite different if the number of elements common to both subsets is less than a threshold number, or less than a threshold percentage of the number of elements in the subsets. In some embodiments, two subsets may be quite different if the number of elements not common to both subsets is greater than a threshold number, or greater than a threshold percentage of the number of elements in the subsets. In some embodiments, the threshold number or threshold percentage may be the same for all subsets. In some embodiments, the threshold number or threshold percentage may be different for different subsets, for example, it may depend on the size of the subsets. In some embodiments, two subsets may be quite different if at least one of the subsets meets the criteria for non-overlap. In some embodiments, two subsets are quite different only if both subsets satisfy the criteria for non-overlap. In Figure 10, for example, the elements of subsets S2 and S3 may not be different enough that both should be reported. In some embodiments, one of the two sets (e.g., either S2 or S3) is reported. In some embodiments, neither set is reported. In some embodiments, such as when the relative timing errors of S2 and S3 are the same or sufficiently similar, a new set consisting of the union of S2 and S3 may be reported.

[0151] Figure 11 shows an exemplary method 1100 of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In some aspects, method 1100 may be performed by a serving base station (e.g., one of the base stations 102 described herein). In 1102, the base station receives a set of positioning sources from a network entity. In some aspects, the base station may comprise a gNodeB (gNB). In some aspects, the network entity may comprise a location server. In some aspects, the location server may comprise an LMF270 or an SLP272. In some aspects, the location server may be a component of the base station or may be located at the same location as the base station. In 1104, the base station transmits the set of positioning sources to a UE (e.g., one of the UE104 described herein). In some aspects, the set of positioning sources may be transmitted to the UE via an RRC or an LLP.

[0152] In 1106, the base station may optionally receive from a network entity a predefined list of subsets of positioning sources within a set of positioning sources. Positioning sources within a particular subset may be explicitly identified (e.g., by a cell identifier, TRP identifier, etc.) or implicitly identified (e.g., by an index to a predefined list already known to the base station and UE), and in 1108, the base station may optionally transmit a predefined list of subsets of positioning sources to the UE.

[0153] In 1110, the base station receives from the UE information about a harmonized group comprising one or more positioning sources within a set of positioning sources, and information about at least one subset of positioning sources within the harmonized group. In some embodiments, the information includes the average timing error for the subset. In 1112, the base station transmits to the network entity the information received from the UE, namely the harmonized group and one or more subsets.

[0154] In some embodiments, time-angle metrics may include TOA, AoA, ZoA, TDOA, ToD, AoD, ZoD, RSTD, RSRP, RTT, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, error thresholds may include time-angle thresholds. In some embodiments, time-angle thresholds may include timing thresholds, angle thresholds, received power thresholds, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, error thresholds may include multiple time-angle thresholds. In some embodiments, each element of a matching group must satisfy at least one of multiple time-angle thresholds. In some embodiments, each element of a matching group must satisfy all of multiple time-angle thresholds. In some embodiments, the method may include the steps of receiving a predefined list of subsets of positioning sources in a set of positioning sources from a network entity before receiving information from the UE about a matching group and information about at least one of the subsets of positioning sources in the matching group, and transmitting the predefined list of subsets to the UE.

[0155] In some embodiments, a network entity may include a location server. In some embodiments, a location server may include a Location Management Function (LMF) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). In some embodiments, a base station may include a gNodeB (gNB).

[0156] In some embodiments, information about at least one subset of positioning sources within a matching group may include the mean error for at least one subset. In some embodiments, receiving information from the UE about at least one subset of positioning sources within a matching group may include receiving information that identifies the positioning sources included in each subset. In some embodiments, the positioning sources included in each subset are identified entirely or by difference, explicitly or implicitly, by index or reference, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, receiving information from the UE about at least one subset of positioning sources within a matching group may include receiving the error associated with each subset.

[0157] In some embodiments, receiving information from the UE about at least one subset may include receiving information that identifies the error for each positioning source included in the subset. In some embodiments, receiving information that identifies the error for each positioning source included in the subset may include receiving information that identifies the error for each positioning source with respect to an error threshold, with respect to a consensus value produced by the subset, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, receiving information from the UE about at least one subset of positioning sources in a matching group may include receiving information about a subset having an error that satisfies a threshold reporting value Tr.

[0158] Figure 12 shows an exemplary method 1200 of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, method 1200 may be performed by a network entity which may have a location server. In 1202, the network entity transmits a set of positioning sources to a base station. In 1204, the network entity optionally transmits a predefined list of subsets of positioning sources to a base station. In 1206, the network entity receives from the base station information defining a matching group and information about at least one subset of positioning sources within the matching group. In some aspects, the information includes the mean timing error for the subsets.

[0159] In some embodiments, time-angle metrics may include TOA, AoA, ZoA, TDOA, ToD, AoD, ZoD, RSTD, RSRP, RTT, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, error thresholds may include time-angle thresholds. In some embodiments, time-angle thresholds may include timing thresholds, angle thresholds, received power thresholds, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, error thresholds may include multiple time-angle thresholds. In some embodiments, each element of a matching group must satisfy at least one of multiple time-angle thresholds. In some embodiments, each element of a matching group must satisfy all of multiple time-angle thresholds. In some embodiments, the method may include the step of sending a base station a predefined list of subsets of positioning source subsets in a matching group before receiving information about the matching group and information about at least one of the subsets of positioning sources in the matching group. In some embodiments, a network entity may include a location server. In some embodiments, a location server may include an LMF or SLP.

[0160] RAN1 NR may define UE measurements for DL reference signals applicable to NR positioning (e.g., for serving cells, reference cells, and / or neighbor cells), including DL reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements for NR positioning, DL RSRP measurements for NR positioning, and UE Rx-Tx (e.g., the hardware group delay from signal reception in the UE receiver to response signal transmission in the UE transmitter for time difference measurements for NR positioning such as RTT).

[0161] RAN1 NR may define gNB measurements based on UL reference signals applicable to NR positioning, such as relative UL arrival time (RTOA) for NR positioning, UL AoA measurements for NR positioning (e.g., including azimuth and zenith angles), UL RSRP measurements for NR positioning, and gNB Rx-Tx (e.g., the hardware group delay from signal reception in the gNB receiver to response signal transmission in the gNB transmitter for time difference measurements for NR positioning such as RTT).

[0162] FIG. 13 is a diagram 1300 showing an exemplary timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station 1302 (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE 1304 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 13, the base station 1302 transmits an RTT measurement signal 1310 (e.g., PRS, NRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) to the UE 1304 at time t1. The RTT measurement signal 1310 has a certain propagation delay T Prop as it travels from the base station 1302 to the UE 1304. At time t2 (the TOA of the RTT measurement signal 1310 at the UE 1304), the UE 1304 receives / measures the RTT measurement signal 1310. After a certain UE processing time, the UE 1304 transmits an RTT response signal 1320 at time t3. After the propagation delay T Prop , the base station 1302 receives / measures the RTT response signal 1320 from the UE 1304 at time t4 (the TOA of the RTT response signal 1320 at the base station 1302).

[0163] To determine the Time of Analysis (TOA) (e.g., t2) of a reference signal (e.g., RTT measurement signal 1310) transmitted by a given network node (e.g., base station 1302), a receiver (e.g., UE 1304) first processes all resource elements (REs) on the channel from which the transmitter is transmitting the reference signal together and performs an inverse Fourier transform to transform the received reference signal into the time domain. This transformation of the received reference signal into the time domain is called the estimation of the channel energy response (CER). The CER shows the peaks on the channel over time, and therefore the earliest "prominent" peak should correspond to the TOA of the reference signal. Generally, the receiver uses noise-related quality thresholds to remove spurious local peaks, thereby accurately identifying the likely prominent peaks on the channel. For example, the receiver might choose the TOA estimate to be the earliest maximum value of the CER, which is at least X dB higher than the median of the CER and up to Y dB lower than the main peak on the channel. To determine the TOA of each reference signal from different transmitters, the receiver determines the CER for each reference signal from each transmitter.

[0164] In some designs, the RTT response signal 1320 is the difference between time t3 and time t2 (i.e., T Rx→Tx 1312) may explicitly include this measurement result, and the difference between time t4 and time t1 (i.e., T Tx→Rx Using 1322), base station 1302 (or other positioning entity such as location server 230, LMF270, etc.) can calculate the distance to UE1304 as follows:

number

[0165] Further sources of delay or error are due to UE and gNB group delays for localization (e.g., timing group delays, which may include hardware group delays, software / firmware-related group delays, or both). Figure 14 shows an exemplary timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (gNB) (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) according to aspects of this disclosure. In some aspects, 1410–1422 in Figure 14 are analogous to 1310–1322 in Figure 13, respectively. However, in Figure 14, UE and gNB group delays (which are primarily due to internal hardware delays between the baseband (BB) component and the antenna (ANT) in the UE and gNB) are shown in relation to 1430 and 1440. As can be understood, path-specific or beam-specific delays on both the Tx and Rx sides affect the RTT measurement. Group delays such as 1430 and 1440 can contribute to timing and / or calibration errors, which can affect RTT, as well as other measurement results such as TDOA and RSTD, potentially impacting positioning performance. For example, in some designs, a 10 nsec error can result in a 3 meter error in the final fix.

[0166] As mentioned above, various types of NR positioning can be performed, including DL-TDOA, UL-TDOA, RTT, and differential RTT. As shown in Table 2, each NR positioning technique has its own specific advantages and disadvantages. [Table 2]

[0167] In relation to Table 2, DL-TDOA and UL-TDOA are TDOA-based techniques (e.g., RSTD) that provide multilateral positioning-based RSTD for multiple cells relative to a reference cell. Multi-RTT measurement is TOA-based and provides true-range multilateral positioning. Differential RTT is a type of multi-RTT positioning where RSTD is calculated from RTT Rx-Tx measurement results. In some designs, differential RTT may be used to eliminate calibration errors in the UE (e.g., if all RTT measurement results are associated with the same Rx / Tx calibration error in the UE). However, different panels, beams, RF chains, etc., may be associated with different Tx or Rx timing group delays. In this case, differential RTT may not be able to eliminate the UE timing group delay.

[0168] As mentioned above, in some designs, the alignment group may be defined by the UE for Tx and / or Rx timing group delays for UE-assisted location estimation, and a network entity (e.g., BS or LMF integrated into the core network) selects a subset of measurement results belonging to a particular alignment group to guide the UE's position estimation. In other designs, as mentioned above, the alignment group may be defined by the UE / gNB hardware configuration and / or outlier detection for UE-based location estimation, etc. As mentioned above, the alignment group may also be defined based at least in part on other error metrics, such as angular bias.

[0169] However, one drawback can arise if the UE prefers to measure and report PRS within a single harmonized group whenever possible to reduce the impact of group delay (for example, in some designs, group delay in the UE may be eliminated within a harmonized group). For example, suppose the UE has two panels (panels 1 and 2), and therefore possibly two group delays. The UE may adopt a strategy of measuring all PRS using panel 1, but some PRS may yield better SINR or more accurate TOA measurements using panel 2. This can reduce the overall accuracy of positioning. Another issue is that the UE may report PRS for different harmonized groups, but these different harmonized groups may have similar group delays within a reasonable tolerance. The UE itself may not be aware of this, as it may not be possible to calibrate group delays via OTA calibration.

[0170] Thus, aspects of this disclosure relate to a network entity (e.g., LMF) that instructs a UE to modify one or more parameters related to multiple harmonized groups. Such aspects may result in various technical advantages, such as more accurate localization of the UE, in particular in scenarios where the LMF is better positioned to assess group delays (for example, since the LMF may receive measurement reports from both the UE and several gNBs involved in localization).

[0171] Figure 15 shows an exemplary process 1500 of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, process 1500 may be performed by a UE, which may correspond to a UE such as UE302.

[0172] In 1510, the UE302 (e.g., positioning component 342, processing system 332, etc.) identifies multiple matching groups by the UE. As described above, each of the multiple matching groups may include multiple positioning sources (e.g., PRS resources, PRS resource sets, PRS frequency layers, TRPs, RF chains, panels, TRPs, etc., for example in some designs, a matching group may consist only of positioning sources corresponding to one or more of the PRS resources, PRS resource sets, PRS frequency layers, TRPs, RF chains, panels, and / or TRPs) that are within one or more shared error characteristics for each matching group (e.g., within a certain threshold from each other and / or within a certain range, etc.). For example, as described above, one or more shared error characteristics may include shared timing error characteristics, shared angular error characteristics, or a combination thereof (e.g., shared time-angle metrics or error ranges / thresholds relating to one or more of TOA, AoA, ZoA, TDOA, ToD, AoD, ZoD, RSTD, RSRP, RTT, etc.). In one example, a UE location estimation based on a first positioning result from a first subset of multiple positioning sources may allow estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of multiple positioning sources that are within an error threshold. In one example, multiple matching groups may be constructed by the UE302 based on information known to the UE302 (e.g., PRS resources, PRS resource sets, PRS frequency layers, TRPs, RF chains, panels, etc.). For example, multiple alignment groups may include PRS1-3 associated with a first alignment group having alignment group ID #1, PRS4 associated with a second alignment group having alignment group ID #2, and PRS5-6 associated with a third alignment group having alignment group ID #3.

[0173] In 1520, the UE302 (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324) reports information to the location estimation entity relating to multiple alignment groups. For example, this information may include error values ​​and / or ranges of error values ​​related to alignment groups and / or specific positioning resources, and shared error metrics for specific alignment groups. In an example where the location estimation entity corresponds to the UE302 itself (e.g., UE-based positioning), the report may be logically transferred from one UE component to another via a data bus.

[0174] In 1530, UE302 (e.g., receiver 312 or 322) receives a command from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters related to multiple matching groups. In one embodiment, UE302 may then modify the parameters according to the command (e.g., splitting groups, merging groups, defining new groups, deleting groups, etc.). In an example where the location estimation entity corresponds to UE302 itself (e.g., UE-based positioning), the command may be logically transferred from one UE component to another via a data bus.

[0175] Figure 16 shows an exemplary process 1600 of wireless communication according to an aspect of this disclosure. In some aspects, process 1600 may be performed by a location estimation entity, which may correspond to a UE such as UE302 (for example, for UE-based positioning), a BS or gNB such as BS304 (for example, for an LMF integrated in a RAN for a UE-assisted technique), or a network entity 306 (for example, a core network component such as an LMF, a location determination entity, a location server, or other network entities for a UE-assisted technique). In some designs, process 1500 in Figure 15 may be performed together with process 1600 in Figure 16 (for example, a location estimation entity referred to in process 1500 in Figure 15 may correspond to a location estimation entity performing process 1600 in Figure 16, and a UE referred to in process 1600 in Figure 16 may correspond to a UE performing process 1500 in Figure 15).

[0176] In 1610, a location estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, data bus 382, ​​network interface 380 or 390, etc.) receives information from the UE relating to multiple alignment groups. For example, this information may include error values ​​and / or ranges of error values ​​relating to a alignment group and / or a particular positioning resource, shared error metrics for a particular alignment group, etc. As stated above, each of the multiple alignment groups may include multiple positioning sources (e.g., PRS resources, PRS resource sets, PRS frequency layers, TRPs, RF chains, panels, beams, etc.) relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for their respective alignment group. For example, as described above, one or more shared error characteristics may include shared timing error characteristics, shared angular error characteristics, or a combination thereof (e.g., shared time-angle metrics or error ranges / thresholds relating to one or more of TOA, AoA, ZoA, TDOA, ToD, AoD, ZoD, RSTD, RSRP, RTT, etc.). In one example, a UE location estimation based on a first positioning result from a first subset of multiple positioning sources may allow estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of multiple positioning sources that are within an error threshold. In one example, multiple matching groups may be constructed by the UE based on information known to the UE (e.g., PRS resources, PRS resource sets, PRS frequency layers, TRPs, RF chains, panels, etc.). For example, multiple matching groups may include PRS1-3 associated with a first matching group with matching group ID #1, PRS4 associated with a second matching group with matching group ID #2, and PRS5-6 associated with a third matching group with matching group ID #3. In an example where the location estimation entity corresponds to the UE302 itself (e.g., UE-based positioning), information can be logically received by one UE component from another UE component via a data bus.

[0177] In 1620, a location estimation entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324, data bus 382, ​​network interface 380 or 390, etc.) sends a command to the UE to modify one or more parameters related to multiple alignment groups. In an example where the location estimation entity is the UE 302 itself (e.g., UE-based positioning), the transmission of the command may be logically transmitted from one UE component to another via the data bus.

[0178] Referring to Figures 15-16, in some designs, commands in 1530 or 1620 may be transmitted within location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0179] Referring to Figures 15-16, in some designs, instructions may tell the UE to merge two or more alignment groups into a unified alignment group. The UE can then perform various actions with respect to the unified alignment group. For example, the UE may prefer to measure and report the RTT based on the SINR conditions for the unified alignment group rather than for the previous alignment groups. For example, the UE may compensate for calibration errors in one or more PRS measurement results associated with the unified alignment group based on compensation parameters for the unified alignment group (for example, compensation parameters may be received at the UE from network components), or report PRS measurement results with one or more calibration errors compensated for to the location estimation entity, or add PRS compensation indicators and / or PRS measurement result calibration values ​​to one or more measurement result reports, or a combination thereof.

[0180] Referring to Figures 15-16, in some designs, the UE may transmit a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, each associated with two or more harmonized group identifiers for two or more harmonized groups. For example, suppose three harmonized groups are associated with harmonized group identifiers #1, #2, and #3, and then integrated into an integrated harmonized group. In this case, the three harmonized groups can be individually identified in the first measurement result report via harmonized group identifiers #1, #2, and #3. In other designs, the UE may transmit a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, each associated with a single harmonized group identifier for the integrated harmonized group. For example, suppose three harmonized groups are associated with harmonized group identifiers #1, #2, and #3, and then integrated into an integrated harmonized group associated with harmonized group identifier #4. In this case, the three harmonized groups can be identified in the first measurement result report via harmonized group identifier #4.

[0181] Referring to Figures 15-16, in some designs, the location estimation entity may receive measurement results reports from the UE and one or more base stations related to the UE's positioning session, and may perform OTA calibration of the UE group delay and base station group delay based on the measurement results reports, outlier detection (e.g., as in Figure 7), or a combination thereof. The location estimation entity may further identify a new grouping of multiple harmonized groups based on the OTA calibration. In this case, the instruction in 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to transition to the new grouping. As an example, the location estimation entity may perform calibration to derive the UE's group delay and / or the difference between different harmonized groups. The location estimation entity may further perform outlier rejection (e.g., RANSAC) to estimate the difference or result of group delays between harmonized groups. Such embodiments may provide the location estimation entity with more knowledge about the group delay of the aligned groups, the differences between aligned groups, and the aligned outcomes (e.g., binary classification where the outcome is either consistent or inconsistent) based on an outlier rejection threshold or the determination of a new aligned group (e.g., the integration of a subset of aligned groups into a unified aligned group) (as described above).

[0182] Referring to Figures 15-16, in some designs, instructions in 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of multiple harmonized groups or a new integrated harmonized group.

[0183] Referring to Figures 15-16, in some designs, instructions in 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to modify error thresholds associated with one or more of multiple alignment groups or new integrated alignment groups.

[0184] Referring to Figures 15-16, in some designs, instructions in 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters related to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0185] Referring to Figures 15 and 16, in some designs, instructions in 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to merge two or more first subsets of multiple harmonized groups into a first unified harmonized group, and then merge two or more second subsets of other harmonized groups of multiple harmonized groups into a second unified harmonized group.

[0186] Referring to Figures 15 and 16, in some designs, instructions in 1530 or 1620 may instruct the UE to split one of several alignment groups into two or more new alignment groups.

[0187] Referring to Figures 15 and 16, in some designs, the error thresholds for each of the multiple matching groups include a timing threshold (e.g., TOA or TDOA), an angle threshold (e.g., AoD or AoA), a received power threshold (e.g., RSTD), or a combination thereof.

[0188] Referring to Figures 15 and 16, in some designs, multiple positioning sources for each of the multiple matching groups comprise PRS resources, PRS resource sets, PRS frequency layers, TRPs, or a combination thereof.

[0189] In the embodiments for carrying out the above invention, it will be understood that various features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the exemplary clauses have more features than are explicitly stated within each clause. Rather, the various embodiments of this disclosure may contain fewer features than all features of the individual exemplary clauses disclosed. Accordingly, the following clauses should be considered as incorporated into the description, and each clause may be valid on its own as a separate example. Each dependent clause may refer within itself to a particular combination with one of the other clauses, but the embodiments of that dependent clause are not limited to that particular combination. It will be understood that other exemplary clauses may also contain combinations of embodiments of the dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause, or any combination of features with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. Unless it is not explicitly stated or easily inferred that a particular combination is not intended (for example, a contradictory embodiment such as defining an element as both an insulator and a conductor), the various embodiments disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations. Furthermore, even if a clause is not directly subordinate to an independent clause, it is intended that the form of the clause may be included in any other independent clause.

[0190] Examples of implementation forms are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0191] Clause 1. A method for operating a user device (UE), comprising the steps of: the UE identifying a plurality of alignment groups, each of the plurality of alignment groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources, wherein the UE's location estimation based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources that is within an error threshold; reporting information relating to the plurality of alignment groups to a location estimation entity; and receiving an instruction from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0192] Clause 2. The method of Clause 1, wherein the instruction is received within location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0193] Clause 3. Any method of Clauses 1 or 2 in which an instruction directs the UE to merge two or more harmonized groups into a unified harmonized group.

[0194] Clause 4. The method of Clause 3, further comprising the steps of compensating one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration errors, wherein one or more PRS measurement results are associated with an integrated alignment group based on compensation parameters for the integrated alignment group, or reporting one or more PRS measurement results with calibration errors compensated to a location estimation entity, or adding a PRS compensation indicator and / or PRS measurement result calibration value to one or more measurement result reports, or a combination thereof.

[0195] Clause 5. Any method of Clauses 3 to 4, each further comprising the steps of: transmitting a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to two or more harmonized group identifiers of two or more harmonized groups; or transmitting a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to a single harmonized group identifier of an integrated harmonized group.

[0196] Clause 6. Any method of Clauses 1 through 5 in which an instruction directs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) relating to one or more of multiple harmonized groups or a new integrated harmonized group.

[0197] Clause 7. Any method of Clauses 1 through 6 in which an instruction directs the UE to modify error thresholds relating to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0198] Clause 8. Any method of Clauses 1 through 7 in which an instruction directs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters relating to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0199] Clause 9. Any method of Clauses 1 through 8 in which an instruction directs the UE to merge two or more first subsets of multiple harmonized groups into a first unified harmonized group, and to merge two or more second subsets of other harmonized groups of multiple harmonized groups into a second unified harmonized group.

[0200] Clause 10. Any method of Clauses 1 through 9 in which an instruction directs the UE to divide one separate of several harmonized groups into two or more new harmonized groups.

[0201] Clause 11. Any method of Clauses 1 to 10 wherein the error threshold for each of the multiple matching groups comprises a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

[0202] Clause 12. Multiple positioning sources for each of multiple matching groups comprising a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmit / receive point (TRP), or a combination thereof, in any manner of Clauses 1 through 11.

[0203] Clause 13. A method for operating a network component, comprising: receiving information relating to a plurality of matching groups from a user device (UE), wherein each of the plurality of matching groups comprises a plurality of positioning sources, and a location estimation of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources that is within an error threshold; and sending a command to the UE to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of matching groups.

[0204] The method of Clause 14, further comprising the steps of receiving measurement result reports relating to the UE's positioning sessions from the UE and one or more base stations, performing over-the-air (OTA) calibration of UE group delays and base station group delays based on the measurement result reports, and identifying a new grouping of multiple harmonized groups based on the OTA calibration, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to transition to the new grouping.

[0205] Clause 15. Instructions are transmitted within location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling, in any of the manner described in Clauses 13 to 14.

[0206] Clause 16. Any method of Clauses 13 through 15 in which an instruction directs the UE to merge two or more harmonized groups into a unified harmonized group.

[0207] The methods of Clause 17, instructing the UE to further compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration errors, to associate one or more PRS measurement results with an integrated alignment group based on compensation parameters for the integrated alignment group, or to report one or more compensated PRS measurement results to a location estimation entity, or to add PRS compensation indicators and / or PRS measurement result calibration values ​​to one or more measurement result reports, or to do a combination thereof.

[0208] Clause 18. Any method of Clauses 16 to 17, each further comprising the steps of receiving a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group in relation to two or more harmonized group identifiers of two or more harmonized groups, or receiving a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group in relation to a single harmonized group identifier of an integrated harmonized group.

[0209] Clause 19. Any method in Clauses 13 through 18 in which an instruction directs the UE to divide one of several harmonized groups into two or more new harmonized groups.

[0210] Clause 20. Any method in Clauses 13 through 19 that instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) relating to one or more of multiple harmonized groups or a new integrated harmonized group.

[0211] Clause 21. Any method of Clauses 13 through 20 in which an instruction directs the UE to modify error thresholds relating to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0212] Clause 22. Any method in any of Clauses 13 to 21 in which an instruction directs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters relating to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0213] Clause 23. Any method in any of Clauses 13 to 22, instructing the UE to merge two or more first subsets of multiple harmonized groups into a first unified harmonized group, and to merge two or more second subsets of other harmonized groups of multiple harmonized groups into a second unified harmonized group.

[0214] Clause 24. An apparatus comprising memory and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the memory and at least one processor are configured to perform any method according to Clauses 1 to 23.

[0215] Clause 25. An apparatus comprising means for carrying out any of the methods stipulated in Clauses 1 to 23.

[0216] Clause 26. A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions comprise at least one instruction causing a computer or processor to perform an action in any of the manner prescribed in Clauses 1 to 23.

[0217] Additional implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0218] Clause 1. A method for operating a user device (UE), the UE comprising the steps of: identifying a plurality of alignment groups, each of which comprises a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each alignment group; reporting information relating to the plurality of alignment groups to a location estimation entity; and receiving a command from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0219] The method of Clause 1, wherein one or more shared error characteristics comprise a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angular error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0220] Clause 3. The instruction is received within the location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling, in any of the manner described in Clauses 1 or 2.

[0221] Clause 4. Any method of Clauses 1 through 3 in which an instruction directs the UE to merge two or more harmonized groups into a unified harmonized group.

[0222] Clause 5. The method of Clause 4, further comprising the steps of compensating one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration errors, wherein one or more PRS measurement results are associated with an integrated alignment group based on compensation parameters for the integrated alignment group, or reporting one or more PRS measurement results with compensated calibration errors to a location estimation entity, or adding a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement result calibration value, or both to one or more measurement result reports, or a combination thereof.

[0223] Clause 6. Any method of Clauses 4 to 5, each further comprising the steps of: transmitting a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to two or more harmonized group identifiers of two or more harmonized groups; or transmitting a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to a single harmonized group identifier of an integrated harmonized group.

[0224] Clause 7. Any method in Clauses 1 through 6 that instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) relating to one or more of multiple harmonized groups or a new integrated harmonized group.

[0225] Clause 8. Any method of Clauses 1 through 7 in which an instruction directs the UE to modify error thresholds relating to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0226] Clause 9. Any method of Clauses 1 through 8 in which an instruction directs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters relating to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0227] Clause 10. Any method of Clauses 1 through 9 that instructs the UE to merge two or more first subsets of multiple harmonized groups into a first unified harmonized group, and to merge two or more second subsets of other harmonized groups of multiple harmonized groups into a second unified harmonized group.

[0228] Clause 11. Any method of Clauses 1 through 10 in which an instruction directs the UE to divide one separate of several harmonized groups into two or more new harmonized groups.

[0229] Clause 12. Any method of Clauses 1 through 11, wherein the UE's location estimation based on a first positioning result from a first subset of multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of multiple positioning sources that are within an error threshold.

[0230] Clause 13. The method of Clause 12, wherein the error threshold for each of the multiple matching groups comprises a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

[0231] Clause 14. Multiple positioning sources for each of multiple matching groups comprising a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmit / receive point (TRP), or a combination thereof, in any manner of Clauses 1 through 13.

[0232] Clause 15. A method for operating a network component, comprising the steps of: receiving information relating to a plurality of matching groups from a user device (UE), wherein each of the plurality of matching groups comprises a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each matching group; and sending a command to the UE to correct one or more parameters relating to the plurality of matching groups.

[0233] The method of Clause 15, wherein one or more shared error characteristics comprise a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angular error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0234] Any method of the provisions

[0235] Clause 18. Instructions are transmitted within location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling, in any manner described in Clauses 15 to 17.

[0236] Clause 19. Any method in Clauses 15 through 18 in which an instruction directs the UE to merge two or more harmonized groups into a unified harmonized group.

[0237] Clause 20. The methods of Clause 19, instructing the UE to further compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration errors, to associate one or more PRS measurement results with an integrated alignment group based on compensation parameters for the integrated alignment group, or to report one or more compensated PRS measurement results to a location estimation entity, or to add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement result calibration value, or both to one or more measurement result reports.

[0238] Clause 21. Any method of Clauses 19 to 20, each further comprising the steps of receiving a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to two or more harmonized group identifiers of two or more harmonized groups, or receiving a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to a single harmonized group identifier of an integrated harmonized group.

[0239] Clause 22. Any method of Clauses 15 through 21 in which an instruction directs the UE to divide one of several harmonized groups into two or more new harmonized groups.

[0240] Clause 23. Any method in Clauses 15 through 22 in which an instruction directs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) relating to one or more of multiple harmonized groups or a new integrated harmonized group.

[0241] Clause 24. Any method of Clauses 15 to 23, wherein a UE location estimate based on a first positioning result from a first subset of multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of multiple positioning sources that are within an error threshold, and the instruction directs the UE to modify the error threshold relating to one or more of the multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0242] Clause 25. Any method of Clauses 15 to 24 in which an instruction directs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters relating to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0243] Clause 26. Any method of Clauses 15 to 25 in which an instruction directs the UE to merge two or more first subsets of multiple harmonized groups into a first unified harmonized group, and to merge two or more second subsets of other harmonized groups of multiple harmonized groups into a second unified harmonized group.

[0244] Clause 27. User equipment (UE) comprising memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to identify a plurality of alignment groups, each of the plurality of alignment groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each alignment group, to report information relating to the plurality of alignment groups to a location estimation entity, and to receive, via at least one transceiver, instructions from the location estimation entity to correct one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0245] Clause 28. One or more shared error characteristics comprise a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angular error characteristic, or a combination thereof, as per Clause 27.

[0246] Clause 29. An UE under any of Clauses 27 to 28, where an instruction is received within location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0247] Clause 30. A UE under any of Clauses 27 to 29 whose directive instructs the UE to merge two or more harmonized groups into a unified harmonized group.

[0248] Clause 31. The UE of Clause 30, wherein at least one processor is configured to further compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration errors, and one or more PRS measurement results are associated with an integrated alignment group based on compensation parameters for the integrated alignment group, or one or more compensated PRS measurement results are reported to a location estimation entity, or to add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement result calibration value, or both to one or more measurement result reports, or to do a combination thereof.

[0249] Clause 32. A UE of any of Clauses 30 to 31, wherein at least one processor is further configured to transmit a first measurement result report via at least one transceiver based on a first PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, each relating to two or more harmonized group identifiers of two or more harmonized groups, or to transmit a second measurement result report via at least one transceiver based on a second PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, each relating to a single harmonized group identifier of an integrated harmonized group.

[0250] Clause 33. Any UE under any of Clauses 27 to 32 instructs a UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) relating to one or more of multiple harmonized groups or a new integrated harmonized group.

[0251] Clause 34. A UE under any of Clauses 27 to 33 instructs a UE to modify error thresholds relating to one or more alignment groups or new integrated alignment groups.

[0252] Clause 35. Any UE under any of Clauses 27 to 34 instructs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters relating to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0253] Clause 36. Any UE under any of Clauses 27 to 35, which is instructed by an instruction to merge two or more first subsets of multiple harmonized groups into a first unified harmonized group, and to merge two or more second subsets of other harmonized groups of multiple harmonized groups into a second unified harmonized group.

[0254] Article 37. A UE under any of Articles 27 through 36 in which an instruction directs the UE to divide one separate of several harmonized groups into two or more new harmonized groups.

[0255] Clause 38. A UE whose location estimation based on a first positioning result from a first subset of multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of multiple positioning sources that is within an error threshold, as specified in any of Clauses 27 to 37.

[0256] Clause 39. The UE of Clause 38, wherein the error threshold for each of the multiple matching groups comprises a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

[0257] Clause 40. A UE of any of Clauses 27 to 39, wherein each of the multiple alignment groups comprises a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmit / receive point (TRP), or a combination thereof.

[0258] Clause 41. A network component comprising memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive information relating to a plurality of alignment groups from a user device (UE) via at least one transceiver, each of the plurality of alignment groups comprises a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for the respective alignment group, and to send commands to the UE via at least one transceiver to correct one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0259] A network component of Clause 41, wherein one or more shared error characteristics include a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angular error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0260] Clause 43. Any network component of Clauses 41 to 42, wherein at least one processor is further configured to receive measurement result reports related to the UE's positioning session from the UE and one or more base stations via at least one transceiver, perform over-the-air (OTA) calibration of UE group delay and base station group delay based on the measurement result reports, outlier detection, or a combination thereof, identify a new grouping of multiple aligned groups based on the OTA calibration, and instruct the UE to move to the new grouping.

[0261] Clause 44. Any network component of Clauses 41 to 43 in which instructions are transmitted within location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0262] Clause 45. Any network component in any of Clauses 41 to 44 whose directive instructs the UE to merge two or more harmonized groups into a unified harmonized group.

[0263] Clause 46. The Network Components of Clause 45, which are further instructed by the instruction to compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration errors, to associate one or more PRS measurement results with an integrated alignment group based on compensation parameters for the integrated alignment group, or to report one or more compensated PRS measurement results to a location estimation entity, or to add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement result calibration value, or both to one or more measurement result reports, or to do a combination thereof.

[0264] Clause 47. A network component of any of Clauses 45 to 46, wherein at least one processor is further configured to receive a first measurement result report via at least one transceiver based on a first PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group in relation to two or more harmonized group identifiers of two or more harmonized groups, or to receive a second measurement result report via at least one transceiver based on a second PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group in relation to a single harmonized group identifier of an integrated harmonized group.

[0265] Clause 48. Any network component in any of Clauses 41 through 47, where the instruction directs the UE to divide one separate of several harmonized groups into two or more new harmonized groups.

[0266] Clause 49. Network components of any of Clauses 41 to 48 in which an instruction directs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource collection identifiers (IDs) relating to one or more of multiple harmonized groups or a new integrated harmonized group.

[0267] Clause 50. A network component of any of Clauses 41 to 49 in which a UE's location estimation based on a first positioning result from a first subset of multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of multiple positioning sources that are within an error threshold, and an instruction directs the UE to modify the error threshold associated with one or more of the multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0268] Clause 51. Network components of any of Clauses 41 to 50 in which instructions tell the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters relating to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0269] Clause 52. Any network component from Clauses 41 to 51 that instructs the UE to integrate two or more first subsets of a plurality of alignment groups into a first integrated alignment group and integrate two or more other second subsets of a plurality of alignment groups into a second integrated alignment group.

[0270] Clause 53. A user equipment (UE) comprising means for identifying a plurality of alignment groups, each of the plurality of alignment groups comprising a plurality of positioning sources related to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each alignment group, means for reporting information related to the plurality of alignment groups to a location estimation entity, and means for receiving from the location estimation entity an instruction to modify one or more parameters related to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0271] Clause 54. The UE of Clause 53, wherein the one or more shared error characteristics comprise a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angular error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0272] Clause 55. The UE of any of Clauses 53 to 54, wherein the instruction is received within positioning assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0273] Clause 56. The UE of any of Clauses 53 to 55, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to integrate two or more of the plurality of alignment groups into an integrated alignment group.

[0274] Clause 57. The UE of Clause 56 further comprises means for compensating one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration errors, wherein one or more PRS measurement results are associated with an integrated matching group based on compensation parameters for the integrated matching group, or means for reporting one or more PRS measurement results with calibration errors compensated to a location estimation entity, or means for adding a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement result calibration value, or both to one or more measurement result reports, or a combination thereof.

[0275] Clause 58. Any UE of Clauses 56 to 57, each further comprising means for transmitting a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to two or more harmonized group identifiers of two or more harmonized groups, or means for transmitting a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to a single harmonized group identifier of an integrated harmonized group.

[0276] Clause 59. Any UE under any of Clauses 53 to 58 instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource collection identifiers (IDs) relating to one or more of multiple harmonized groups or a new integrated harmonized group.

[0277] Clause 60. Any UE under any of Clauses 53 to 59 instructs the UE to modify error thresholds relating to one or more alignment groups or new integrated alignment groups.

[0278] Clause 61. A UE under any of Clauses 53 to 60 instructs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters relating to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0279] Clause 62. Any UE under any of Clauses 53 to 61 in which an instruction directs the UE to merge two or more first subsets of multiple harmonized groups into a first unified harmonized group, and to merge two or more second subsets of other harmonized groups of multiple harmonized groups into a second unified harmonized group.

[0280] Article 63. A UE under any of Articles 53 to 62 in which an instruction directs the UE to divide one separate of several harmonized groups into two or more new harmonized groups.

[0281] Clause 64. A UE whose location estimation based on a first positioning result from a first subset of multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of multiple positioning sources that is within an error threshold, as specified in any of Clauses 53 to 63.

[0282] Clause 65. The UE of Clause 64, wherein the error threshold for each of the multiple matching groups comprises a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

[0283] Clause 66. A UE of any of Clauses 53 to 65, in which multiple positioning sources for each of multiple matching groups comprise a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmit / receive point (TRP), or a combination thereof.

[0284] Clause 67. A network component comprising: means for receiving information relating to a plurality of alignment groups from a user device (UE), wherein each of the plurality of alignment groups comprises a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each alignment group; and means for transmitting an instruction to the UE to correct one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0285] A network component of Clause 67, wherein one or more shared error characteristics comprise a shared timing error characteristic, a shared angular error characteristic, or a combination thereof.

[0286] A network component of any of the provisions of 67 to 68, further comprising means for receiving measurement result reports relating to the positioning sessions of the UE from the UE and one or more base stations, means for performing over-the-air (OTA) calibration of UE group delays and base station group delays based on the measurement result reports, outlier detection, or a combination thereof, and means for identifying new groupings of multiple harmonized groups based on the OTA calibration, and for instructing the UE to transition to the new grouping.

[0287] Clause 70. Any network component of Clauses 67 to 69, in which instructions are transmitted within location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0288] Clause 71. Any network component of Clauses 67 through 70 in which an instruction directs the UE to merge two or more harmonized groups into a unified harmonized group.

[0289] The Network Components of Clause 71, where the instruction further instructs the UE to compensate one or more Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration errors, associate one or more PRS measurement results with an integrated alignment group based on compensation parameters for the integrated alignment group, or report one or more compensated PRS measurement results to a location estimation entity, or add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement result calibration value, or both to one or more measurement result reports, or a combination thereof.

[0290] Clause 73. A network component according to any of Clauses 71 to 72, further comprising means for receiving a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with an integrated coherence group, respectively, in relation to two or more coherence group identifiers of two or more coherence groups, or means for receiving a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with an integrated coherence group, in relation to a single coherence group identifier of an integrated coherence group.

[0291] Clause 74. A network component according to any of Clauses 67 to 73, wherein the command instructs the UE to split a separate one of a plurality of coherence groups into two or more new coherence groups.

[0292] Clause 75. A network component according to any of Clauses 67 to 74, wherein the command instructs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of a plurality of coherence groups or one or more new integrated coherence groups.

[0293] Clause 76. A location estimation of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of a plurality of positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of a plurality of positioning sources within an error threshold, and the command instructs the UE to modify an error threshold associated with one or more of a plurality of coherence groups or one or more new integrated coherence groups.

[0294] Clause 77. A network component according to any of Clauses 67 to 76, wherein the command instructs the UE to modify one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of a plurality of coherence groups or one or more new integrated coherence groups.

[0295] Clause 78. Any network component of Clauses 67 through 77 instructs the UE to integrate two or more first subsets of multiple harmonized groups into a first unified harmonized group, and to integrate two or more second subsets of other harmonized groups of multiple harmonized groups into a second unified harmonized group.

[0296] Clause 79. A non-temporary computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user device (UE), cause the UE to identify a plurality of alignment groups, each of the plurality of alignment groups having a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each alignment group, cause a location estimation entity to report information relating to the plurality of alignment groups, and receive instructions from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0297] Non-transient computer-readable media of Clause 79, wherein one or more shared error characteristics comprise shared timing error characteristics, shared angular error characteristics, or a combination thereof.

[0298] Clause 81. Instructions received within location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling in any non-temporary computer-readable medium under Clauses 79 to 80.

[0299] Clause 82. A non-transient computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 79 to 81 in which an instruction directs the UE to merge two or more harmonized groups into a unified harmonized group.

[0300] The non-temporary computer-readable medium of Clause 82, further comprising computer-executable instructions, when performed by the UE, to cause the UE to compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration errors, to associate one or more PRS measurement results with an integrated alignment group based on compensation parameters for an integrated alignment group, or to report one or more compensated PRS measurement results to a location estimation entity, or to add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement result calibration value, or both to one or more measurement result reports, or a combination thereof.

[0301] A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of the clauses 82 to 83, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to transmit a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to two or more harmonized group identifiers of two or more harmonized groups, or a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to a single harmonized group identifier of an integrated harmonized group.

[0302] Clause 85. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 79 to 84 in which an instruction directs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) relating to one or more of multiple harmonized groups or a new integrated harmonized group.

[0303] Clause 86. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 79 to 85 in which an instruction directs the UE to correct an error threshold relating to one or more of multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0304] Clause 87. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 79 to 86 in which an instruction directs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters relating to one or more of multiple harmonization groups or a new integrated harmonization group.

[0305] Clause 88. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 79 to 87 instructing the UE to integrate two or more first subsets of multiple harmonized groups into a first unified harmonized group, and to integrate two or more second subsets of other harmonized groups of multiple harmonized groups into a second unified harmonized group.

[0306] Article 89. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Articles 79 to 88 in which an instruction directs the UE to divide one separate of several harmonized groups into two or more new harmonized groups.

[0307] Clause 90. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 79 to 89, in which a UE location estimate based on a first positioning result from a first subset of multiple positioning sources can estimate a second positioning result from a second subset of multiple positioning sources that are within an error threshold.

[0308] Clause 91. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of Clause 90, wherein the error thresholds for each of the multiple matching groups comprise a timing threshold, an angular threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

[0309] Clause 92. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 79 to 91, comprising multiple positioning sources for each of multiple matching groups, comprising positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, PRS resource sets, PRS frequency layers, transmit / receive points (TRPs), or a combination thereof.

[0310] Clause 93. A non-temporary computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network component, causes the network component to receive information relating to a plurality of alignment groups from a user device (UE), each of the plurality of alignment groups having a plurality of positioning sources relating to measurement results within one or more shared error characteristics for each alignment group, and to send an instruction to the UE to correct one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups.

[0311] A non-transient computer-readable medium of Clause 93, wherein one or more shared error characteristics comprise shared timing error characteristics, shared angular error characteristics, or a combination thereof.

[0312] Clause 95. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 93 to 94, further comprising computer-executable instructions, when executed by a network component, causing the network component to receive measurement result reports related to the UE's positioning sessions from the UE and one or more base stations; to perform over-the-air (OTA) calibration of UE group delays and base station group delays based on the measurement result reports, outlier detection, or a combination thereof; and to identify a new grouping of multiple harmonized groups based on the OTA calibration, the instructions instructing the UE to move to the new grouping.

[0313] Clause 96. Instructions transmitted within location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling in any non-temporary computer-readable medium under any of Clauses 93 to 95.

[0314] Clause 97. A non-transient computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 93 to 96 in which an instruction directs the UE to merge two or more harmonized groups into a unified harmonized group.

[0315] Clause 98. Instructing the UE to further compensate one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results for calibration errors, to associate one or more PRS measurement results with an integrated alignment group based on compensation parameters for the integrated alignment group, or to report one or more compensated PRS measurement results to a location estimation entity, or to add a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement result calibration value, or both to one or more measurement result reports, or to do so in a non-temporary computer-readable medium of Clause 97.

[0316] Clause 99. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 97 to 98, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network component, cause the network component to receive a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to two or more harmonized group identifiers of two or more harmonized groups, or to receive a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with an integrated harmonized group, relating to a single harmonized group identifier of an integrated harmonized group.

[0317] Clause 100. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 93 to 99 in which an instruction directs the UE to divide one separate of several harmonized groups into two or more new harmonized groups.

[0318] Clause 101. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 93 to 100 in which an instruction directs the UE to modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) relating to one or more of multiple harmonized groups or a new integrated harmonized group.

[0319] Clause 102. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 93 to 101 in which a UE's location estimation based on a first positioning result from a first subset of multiple positioning sources is capable of estimating a second positioning result from a second subset of multiple positioning sources that are within an error threshold, and the instruction instructs the UE to modify the error threshold relating to one or more of the multiple alignment groups or a new integrated alignment group.

[0320] Clause 103. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 93 to 102 in which an instruction directs the UE to correct one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters relating to one or more of multiple harmonization groups or a new integrated harmonization group.

[0321] Clause 104. A non-temporary computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 93 to 103 instructing the UE to integrate two or more first subsets of multiple harmonized groups into a first unified harmonized group, and to integrate two or more second subsets of other harmonized groups of multiple harmonized groups into a second unified harmonized group.

[0322] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips which may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, electric current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0323] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in relation to the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly demonstrate this hardware and software compatibility, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described above in relation to their functions. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware or as software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functions in various ways for each specific application, but such decisions on implementation should not be construed as causing a departure from the scope of this disclosure.

[0324] Various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in relation to the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or run using general-purpose processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors working with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0325] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in relation to the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software modules may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated with the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may reside in the user terminal as separate components.

[0326] In one or more exemplary embodiments, the described functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via computer-readable media as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any media that facilitate the transfer of computer programs from one location to another. Storage media may be any available media accessible by a computer. Such computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Any connection is also appropriately referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of media. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray® disc, where a disk typically reproduces data magnetically and a disc optically reproduces data using a laser. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0327] While the above disclosures illustrate exemplary aspects of the Disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the Disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims in the aspects of the Disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, while elements of the Disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is intended unless explicitly stated to limit them to the singular. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0328] 102 base stations, macrocell base stations 102' Small cell base station 104 UE 108 Core Network 110 Backhaul Link 112 Location Server 114 Backhaul Link 116 Geographic Coverage Areas 116' Coverage Area 118 Communication Links 120 WLAN AP 122 WLAN STA 124 Communication Links 126 mmW base station 128 UE 130 mmW communication link 132 UE 134 D2D P2P Links 136 P2P links 138 UE 204 UE 210 5GC 212 User Plane Features 213 NG-U, User Plane Interface 214 Control Plane Functions 215 NG-C, control plane interface 220 New RAN 222 gNB 223 Backhaul connection 224 ng-eNB 230 Location Servers 260 5GC 262 UPF, User Plane Function 263 User Plane Interface 264 AMF, Mobility Management Function 265 Control Plane Interface 266 SMF, Session Management Function 270 LMF, location management function 272 SLP, Secure User Plane Location Platform 302 UE 304 base station 306 Network Entity 310 Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) Transceiver, WWAN Transceiver, Transceiver 312 Receiver 314 Transmitter 316 Antenna 318 Signal 320 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Transceivers, WLAN Transceivers, Transceivers 322 Receiver 324 Transmitter 326 Antenna 328 signal 330 Satellite Positioning System (SPS) receiver, SPS receiver 332 Processing System 334 Data Bus 336 Antenna 338 SPS signal 340 memory components 342 Positioning Components 344 Sensors 346 User Interface 350 WWAN transceiver, transceiver 352 Receiver 354 Transmitter 356 Antenna 358 Signal 360 WLAN transceiver, transceiver 362 Receiver 364 Transmitter 366 Antenna 368 signal 370 SPS receiver 376 Antenna 378 SPS signal 380 network interfaces 382 Databus 384 Processing Systems 386 memory components 388 positioning components 390 Network Interfaces 392 Data Bus 394 processing system 396 memory components 398 Positioning Components 1302 Base station, BS 1304 UE 1310 RTT measurement signal 1320 RTT response signal

Claims

1. A method for operating user equipment (UE), A step of identifying multiple alignment groups by the aforementioned UE, Each of the plurality of matching groups includes a plurality of positioning sources, the plurality of positioning sources enabling the estimation of a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources within an error threshold, based on a location estimation of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources. The steps include reporting information related to the multiple matching groups to the location estimation entity, A method comprising the step of receiving an instruction from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters related to the plurality of matching groups.

2. The aforementioned instruction, The method according to claim 1, wherein the UE is instructed to merge two or more of the plurality of matching groups into a unified matching group.

3. A step of compensating for calibration errors with one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results, wherein the one or more PRS measurement results are associated with the integrated matching group based on compensation parameters for the integrated matching group, or The step of reporting the PRS measurement results, in which one or more calibration errors have been compensated, to the location estimation entity, or A step of adding a PRS compensation indicator, a PRS measurement result calibration value, or both to one or more measurement result reports, or The method according to claim 2, further comprising these combinations.

4. Each step involves transmitting a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the integrated alignment group, in relation to two or more alignment group identifiers of two or more alignment groups, or The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of transmitting a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the integrated alignment group in relation to a single alignment group identifier of the integrated alignment group.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the error threshold for each of the plurality of matching groups comprises a timing threshold, an angle threshold, a received power threshold, or a combination thereof.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of positioning sources for each of the plurality of matching groups comprises a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmit / receive point (TRP), or a combination thereof.

7. A method for operating a location estimation entity, A step of receiving information related to multiple matching groups from a user device (UE), Each of the aforementioned matching groups includes multiple positioning sources, The plurality of positioning sources enable the estimation of a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources within an error threshold, based on the location estimation of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources. A step of sending an instruction to the UE to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups, wherein the instruction includes an instruction to modify the alignment groups with respect to at least a portion of the plurality of alignment groups. A method that includes [a certain feature].

8. The method according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the error threshold comprises a timing error threshold, an angular error threshold, or a combination thereof.

9. The steps include receiving measurement result reports related to the positioning session of the UE from the UE and one or more base stations, The steps include performing over-the-air (OTA) calibration of UE group delay and base station group delay based on the aforementioned measurement result report, outlier detection, or a combination thereof, The further step is to identify a new grouping of the plurality of matching groups based on the OTA calibration, The method according to claim 7, wherein the instruction instructs the UE to proceed to the new grouping.

10. The method according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the instruction is transmitted within location assistance data via Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

11. The aforementioned instruction, The method according to claim 7, wherein the UE is instructed to merge two or more of the plurality of matching groups into a unified matching group.

12. The aforementioned instruction further, Compensating for calibration errors by one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) measurement results, wherein the one or more PRS measurement results are associated with the integrated matching group based on compensation parameters for the integrated matching group, or Reporting one or more of the aforementioned compensated PRS measurement results to the location estimation entity, or Adding one or more PRS compensation indicators, PRS measurement result calibration values, or both to the measurement result report, or These combinations The method according to claim 11, wherein the UE is instructed to do so.

13. Each step involves receiving a first measurement result report based on a first PRS measurement result associated with the integrated alignment group, in relation to two or more alignment group identifiers of two or more alignment groups, or The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of receiving a second measurement result report based on a second PRS measurement result associated with the integrated alignment group in relation to a single alignment group identifier of the integrated alignment group.

14. The aforementioned instruction, Modify one or more PRS resource set identifiers (IDs) associated with one or more of the aforementioned multiple alignment groups or new integrated alignment groups. Modify the error threshold associated with one or more of the aforementioned multiple alignment groups or new integrated alignment groups, or Modify one or more uncertainty or calibration error parameters associated with one or more of the aforementioned multiple alignment groups or new integrated alignment groups. Integrating two or more first subsets of the plurality of harmonized groups into a first unified harmonized group, or integrating two or more second subsets of other harmonized groups of the plurality of harmonized groups into a second unified harmonized group, or Divide one of the aforementioned multiple alignment groups into two or more new alignment groups. The method according to claim 1 or 7, which instructs the UE to do so.

15. User equipment (UE), Memory and At least one transceiver, The system comprises the memory and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor This involves identifying multiple matching groups, Each of the aforementioned multiple matching groups includes a plurality of positioning sources, and the plurality of positioning sources are specified to enable the estimation of a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources within an error threshold, based on the location estimation of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources. To report information related to the aforementioned multiple alignment groups to the location estimation entity, The at least one transceiver receives instructions from the location estimation entity to modify one or more parameters related to the plurality of matching groups. A UE configured to perform the following actions.

16. A location-estimating entity, Memory and At least one transceiver, The system comprises the memory and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor Receiving information relating to multiple harmonized groups from a user device (UE) via at least one transceiver, Each of the aforementioned matching groups includes multiple positioning sources, The plurality of positioning sources enable the estimation of a second positioning result from a second subset of the plurality of positioning sources within an error threshold, based on the location estimation of the UE based on a first positioning result from a first subset of the plurality of positioning sources, and receiving Sending an instruction to the UE via the at least one transceiver to modify one or more parameters relating to the plurality of alignment groups, wherein the instruction includes an instruction to modify the alignment groups with respect to at least a portion of the plurality of alignment groups. A location estimation entity configured to perform this task.

17. A computer program that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 14.

Images