Joint side-link and uplink / downlink positioning

Abstract

To provide a device that performs positioning by combining a sidelink and an uplink / downlink.SOLUTION: In a wireless communication system, UE includes an interface having at least one of a receiver and a transmitter, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the interface and the memory. The processor identifies processing conflicts for an exchange of a first inter-UE location reference signal and an exchange of a first wireless network interface signal, determines a priority of the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first wireless network interface signal, and exchanges one of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first wireless network interface signal via the interface in accordance with the priority.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Relates to techniques for receiving, transmitting, measuring, and processing signals between UEs and wireless network interface signals.

Background Art

[0002]

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

[0003]

[0002] Among the improvements, the fifth-generation (5G) mobile standard requires higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage. The 5G standard by the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users and 1 gigabit per second to dozens of workers on an office floor. Hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported to support large sensor deployments. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly expanded compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be expanded and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard.

[0004]

[0003] Obtaining the location of a mobile device accessing a wireless network can be useful in many applications, including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, and locating friends or family members. Existing positioning methods include those based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices or entities, including satellite vehicles (SVs) and terrestrial radio sources in the wireless network, such as base stations and access points. Standardization of 5G wireless networks is expected to include support for various positioning methods, which may utilize reference signals transmitted by base stations in a manner similar to how LTE wireless networks currently utilize positioning reference signals (PRS) and / or cell-specific reference signals (CRS) for location determination. [Overview of the Initiative]

[0005]

[0004] An exemplary user device (UE) includes an interface comprising at least one of a receiver and a transmitter, memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the interface and the memory, wherein the processor is configured to identify a processing conflict for the exchange of a first UE-to-UE location reference signal and a first radio network interface signal, to determine the priority of the exchange of the first UE-to-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface signal, and to exchange one of the first UE-to-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface signal via the interface according to the priority.

[0006]

[0005] Such implementations of the UE may include one or more of the following features: The processor is configured to determine a priority from a priority list indicating the relative priority of uplinks with control information, uplinks without control information, and UEs with location reference signal content, based on the fact that the exchange of a first inter-UE location reference signal is the reception of a first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of a first radio network interface signal is the transmission of an uplink signal. The processor is configured to send a capability report via the interface indicating that the UE is able to receive a first inter-UE location reference signal and transmit a first radio network interface signal, and indicating at least one timing reference.

[0007]

[0006] Similarly or alternatively, such an implementation of the UE may include one or more of the following features: The processor is configured to send capability reports via an interface, the capability report indicating at least one of: the ability of the UEs to exchange a first interUE location reference signal via the interface, which is frequency-division duplexed with a first radio network interface signal, the first radio network interface signal comprising the first radio network interface location reference signal; and the ability of the UEs to exchange a first interUE location reference signal via the interface, which is time-division duplexed with the first radio network interface location reference signal, at least one designated timing reference. The processor is configured to receive a first inter-UE location reference signal frequency-division duplexed with a first downlink location reference signal and send a first measurement report indicating a first measurement of each of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first downlink location reference signal; and receive a second inter-UE location reference signal time-division duplexed with a second downlink location reference signal and send a second measurement report indicating a second measurement of each of the second inter-UE location reference signal and the second downlink location reference signal. The processor is configured to send at least one of the first measurement report and the second measurement report by at least one of the use of one or more separate uplink resources, the use of a media access control-control element, and a combination of other uplink data.

[0008]

[0007] Similarly or alternatively, such implementations of the UE may include one or more of the following features: The processor is configured to receive priority instructions via an interface. The UE is statically configured with priority. The processor is configured to send a first inter-UE location reference signal and a first radio network interface signal via an interface, the first radio network interface signal comprising a first radio network interface location reference signal, and the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface location reference signal comprising either a positioning sounding reference signal or a channel state information reference signal.

[0009]

[0008] Another exemplary UE includes means for identifying processing conflicts for the exchange of a first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of a first radio network interface signal; means for determining the priority of the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first radio network interface signal; and means for exchanging one of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface signal according to the priority.

[0010]

[0009] Such implementations of the UE may include one or more of the following features: Means for determining priority include means for determining priority from a priority list indicating relative priority between uplinks with control information, uplinks without control information, and UEs with location reference signal content, based on the exchange of a first inter-UE location reference signal being the reception of a first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of a first radio network interface signal being the transmission of an uplink signal. The UE includes means for sending a capability report indicating the UE's ability to receive a first inter-UE location reference signal and transmit a first radio network interface signal, and indicating at least one timing reference.

[0011]

[0010] Similarly or alternatively, an implementation of such a UE may include one or more of the following features: The UE includes means for sending capability reports, the capability reports indicating at least one of the following: that the UEs can exchange a first interUE location reference signal which is frequency-division duplexed with a first radio network interface signal, and that the first radio network interface signal comprises the first radio network interface location reference signal; and that the UEs can exchange a first interUE location reference signal which is time-division duplexed with the first radio network interface location reference signal at at least one specified timing reference. The UE includes at least one of the following: a means for receiving a first interUE location reference signal frequency-division duplexed with a first downlink location reference signal, and a means for sending a first measurement report indicating a first measurement of each of the first interUE location reference signal and the first downlink location reference signal; and a means for receiving a second interUE location reference signal time-division duplexed with a second downlink location reference signal, and a means for sending a second measurement report indicating a second measurement of each of the second interUE location reference signal and the second downlink location reference signal. The UE includes means for sending at least one of the first measurement report and the second measurement report by at least one of the use of one or more separate uplink resources, the use of a media access control-control element, and a combination with other uplink data.

[0012]

[0011] Similarly or alternatively, such implementations of the UE may include one or more of the following features: The UE includes means for receiving priority instructions from a network entity; the UE includes means for sending a first inter-UE location reference signal and a first radio network interface signal, the first radio network interface signal comprising a first radio network interface location reference signal, and the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface location reference signal comprising either a positioning sounding reference signal or a channel state information reference signal.

[0013]

[0012] An exemplary method of signal exchange via a wireless network interface through an interface between user devices includes, with respect to a user device (UE), identifying a processing conflict for the exchange of a first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of a first wireless network interface signal; determining the priority of the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first wireless network interface signal; and exchanging one of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first wireless network interface signal according to the priority.

[0014]

[0013] Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features: Determining priority includes determining priority from a priority list indicating relative priority between uplinks with control information, uplinks without control information, and UEs with location reference signal content, based on the exchange of a first interUE location reference signal being the reception of a first interUE location reference signal and the exchange of a first radio network interface signal being the transmission of an uplink signal. The method includes sending a capability report from the UE indicating that the UE is capable of receiving a first interUE location reference signal and transmitting a first radio network interface signal, and indicating at least one timing reference.

[0015]

[0014] Similarly or alternatively, implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features: The method includes sending a capability report from the UE, the capability report indicating at least one of the following: that the UEs can exchange a first interUE location reference signal which is frequency-division duplexed together with a first radio network interface signal; and that the first radio network interface signal comprises the first radio network interface location reference signal; and that the UEs can exchange a first interUE location reference signal which is time-division duplexed together with the first radio network interface location reference signal at at least one specified timing reference. The method includes at least one of the following: receiving a first interUE location reference signal frequency-division duplexed with a first downlink location reference signal, and sending a first measurement report from the UE showing first measurements of each of the first interUE location reference signal and the first downlink location reference signal; and receiving a second interUE location reference signal time-division duplexed with a second downlink location reference signal, and sending a second measurement report from the UE showing second measurements of each of the second interUE location reference signal and the second downlink location reference signal. The method includes sending at least one of the first measurement report and the second measurement report by at least one of the following: the use of one or more separate uplink resources, the use of a media access control-control element, and a combination with other uplink data.

[0016]

[0015] Similarly or alternatively, implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features: The method includes receiving priority instructions from a network entity; the method includes sending a first inter-UE location reference signal and a first radio network interface signal from the UE, the first radio network interface signal comprising a first radio network interface location reference signal, and the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface location reference signal comprising either a positioning sounding reference signal or a channel status information reference signal.

[0017]

[0016] An exemplary non-temporary processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor of a user device (UE) to, with respect to the UE, identify a processing conflict for the exchange of a first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of a first radio network interface signal, determine the priority of the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first radio network interface signal, and exchange one of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface signal according to the priority.

[0018]

[0017] Such a storage medium implementation may include one or more of the following features: Instructions configured to cause the processor to determine priority include instructions configured to cause the processor to determine priority from a priority list indicating relative priority between uplinks with control information, uplinks without control information, and UEs with location reference signal content, based on the exchange of a first inter-UE location reference signal being the reception of a first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of a first radio network interface signal being the transmission of an uplink signal. The storage medium includes instructions configured to cause the processor to send a capability report from the UE indicating that the UE is capable of receiving a first inter-UE location reference signal and transmitting a first radio network interface signal, and indicating at least one timing reference.

[0019]

[0018] Similarly or alternatively, an implementation of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features: The storage medium includes instructions configured to cause a processor to send a capability report from a UE, the capability report indicating at least one of the following: that the UEs can exchange a first inter-UE location reference signal which is frequency-division duplexed with a first radio network interface signal, and the first radio network interface signal comprises a first radio network interface location reference signal; and that the UEs can exchange a first inter-UE location reference signal which is time-division duplexed with a first radio network interface location reference signal at at least one specified timing reference. The storage medium includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform at least one of the following: receive a first inter-UE location reference signal frequency-division duplexed with a first downlink location reference signal and send a first measurement report from the UE indicating a first measurement of each of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first downlink location reference signal; and receive a second inter-UE location reference signal time-division duplexed with a second downlink location reference signal and send a second measurement report from the UE indicating a second measurement of each of the second inter-UE location reference signal and the second downlink location reference signal. The storage medium includes instructions configured to cause the processor to send at least one of the first measurement report and the second measurement report by at least one of the use of one or more separate uplink resources, the use of a media access control-control element, and a combination of other uplink data.

[0020]

[0019] Similarly or alternatively, such a storage medium implementation may include one or more of the following features: The storage medium includes instructions configured to cause a processor to receive priority instructions from a network entity. The storage medium includes instructions configured to cause a processor to send a first inter-UE location reference signal and a first radio network interface signal from a UE, the first radio network interface signal comprising a first radio network interface location reference signal, and the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface location reference signal comprising either a positioning sounding reference signal or a channel state information reference signal.

[0021]

[0020] An exemplary device includes a receiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the receiver and the memory, the processor being configured to: receive a measurement report from a user device (UE), the measurement report comprising first measurement information relating to an inter-UE location reference signal received by the UE, and second measurement information relating to a downlink location reference signal received by the UE; and combine the first measurement information and the second measurement information to determine location information relating to the UE.

[0022]

[0021] Such a device implementation may include one or more of the following features: The processor is configured to combine the first measurement information and the second measurement information using relative weighting of the first measurement information and the second measurement information, the relative weighting being based on relative link measurements of the inter-UE location reference signal and the downlink location reference signal. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0023] [Figure 1]

[0022] A simplified diagram of an exemplary wireless communication system. [Figure 2]

[0023] A block diagram of the components of an exemplary user device shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3]

[0024] Block diagram of the components of an exemplary transmit / receive point shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4]

[0025] Block diagram of the components of an exemplary server shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 5]

[0026] Simplified block diagram of an example of a user device shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 6]

[0027] Timing diagram of incoming UE-to-UE signals and outgoing radio network interface signals. [Figure 7]

[0028] Timing diagram of UE-to-UE location reference signals frequency division multiplexed with radio network interface location reference signals. [Figure 8]

[0029] Timing diagram of UE-to-UE location reference signals time division multiplexed with radio network interface location reference signals. [Figure 9]

[0030] Signals and processing flow for determining location information. [Figure 10]

[0031] Block flow diagram of a method of joint signal exchange via a UE-to-UE interface and via a radio network interface.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0024]

[0032] This specification discusses techniques for receiving, transmitting, measuring, and processing inter-UE signals and radio network interface signals. For example, techniques for dealing with collisions between inter-UE location reference signals (LRS) and radio network interface signals are discussed. User equipment (UE) may implement priorities for receiving an inter-UE location reference signal or transmitting an uplink signal when, for example, the inter-UE reference signal and the uplink signal are scheduled for one or more of the same resources. As another example, a UE may be capable of swapping (receiving and / or transmitting) the inter-UE LRS and the radio network interface LRS, and may implement priorities for swapping when the UE is unable to swap both signals as configured / scheduled as a result of configuring / scheduling the signals. As yet another example, a UE may report measurements of the inter-UE LRS and the radio network interface LRS to an entity, which may combine the measurements to determine location information (e.g., range, location, etc.). However, other examples may also be implemented.

[0025]

[0033] The items and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned herein: Collisions between the inter-UE LRS and one or more uplink signals may be avoided; the inter-UE LRS and the radio network interface LRS may be swapped, and these LRS may be swapped according to priority if, for example, the configuration and / or scheduling of the LRS makes it impossible for both LRS to be swapped; the inter-UE LRS and the radio network interface LRS may be configured / scheduled for reception and / or transmission by a single UE; the inter-UE LRS and the radio network interface LRS may be measured by a single UE, the measurements may be reported, and the measurements may be combined to determine location information; other capabilities may be provided, and not all implementations of this disclosure are required to provide any, much less, of the capabilities discussed.

[0026]

[0034] The description may, for example, refer to a set of actions to be performed by elements of a computing device. The various actions described herein may be performed by a specific circuit (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. The set of actions described herein may be performed at runtime in a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that will cause the relevant processor to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the various embodiments described herein may be performed in several different forms, all of which, including the claimed subject matter, are within the scope of this disclosure.

[0027]

[0035] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not specific to or limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT) unless otherwise noted. Generally, such 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, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE may be mobile or (e.g., at some time) stationary and may communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT,” “Client Device,” “Wireless Device,” “Subscriber Device,” “Subscriber Terminal,” “Subscriber Station,” “User Terminal” or “UT,” “Mobile Terminal,” “Mobile Station,” or variations thereof. Generally, a UE may communicate with the core network over the RAN, and through the core network, a UE may be connected to external networks such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the internet are also possible for the UE, such as via a wired access network, a Wi-Fi® network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11), etc.

[0028]

[0036] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs communicating with the UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be called an access point (AP), network node, node B, advanced node B (eNB), general node B (g-node B, gNB), etc. Furthermore, in some systems, the base station may provide purely edge node signaling functionality, while in others, it may provide additional control and / or network management functionality.

[0029]

[0037] The UE may be implemented by any of several types of devices, including, but not limited to, printed circuit (PC) cards, CompactFlash® devices, external or internal modems, wireless or wireline phones, smartphones, tablets, tracking devices, and asset tags. The communication links through which the UE can signal to the RAN are called uplink channels (e.g., reverse traffic channels, reverse control channels, access channels, etc.). The communication links through which the RAN can signal to the UE are called downlink or forward link channels (e.g., paging channels, control channels, broadcast channels, forward traffic channels, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0030]

[0038] As used herein, the terms “cell” or “sector” may, depending on the context, refer to one of several cells of a base station or the base station itself. The term “cell” may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (for example, on a carrier) and may relate to an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) used to distinguish neighboring cells operating over the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communications (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), etc.) that may provide access to different types of devices. In some examples, the term “cell” may refer to a portion of the geographical coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which a logical entity operates.

[0031]

[0039] Referring to Figure 1, an example of a communication system 100 includes UE105, UE106, a Radio Access Network (RAN) 135, a fifth-generation (5G) next-generation RAN (NG) (NG-RAN), and a 5G core network (5GC) 140. UE105 and / or UE106 could be, for example, IoT devices, location tracker devices, cellular phones, vehicles, or other devices. The 5G network is sometimes called a New Radio (NR) network, NG-RAN 135 may be called a 5G RAN or NR RAN, and 5GC 140 may be called an NG core network (NGC). Standardization of NG-RAN and 5GC is underway in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). Therefore, NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 may comply with current or future standards for 5G support from 3GPP. RAN135 may be another type of RAN, such as a 3G RAN, a 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. UE106 may be configured and coupled similarly to UE105 to transmit and / or receive signals with other similar entities in system 100, but such signaling is not shown in Figure 1 for the sake of simplification. Similarly, the explanation focuses on UE105 for simplification. Communication system 100 may utilize information from constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SV) 190, 191, 192, 193 for several other regional or local SPS such as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or Beidou (e.g., Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) or the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0032]

[0040] As shown in Figure 1, NG-RAN135 includes NR nodes B (gNB) 110a, 110b and next-generation e-node B (ng-eNB) 114, and 5GC140 includes access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, session management function (SMF) 117, location management function (LMF) 120, and gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125. gNB110a, 110b, and ng-eNB114 are communicatively coupled to each other and configured to communicate wirelessly bidirectionally with UE105, respectively, and are communicatively coupled to AMF115 and configured to communicate bidirectionally with it. gNB110a, 110b, and ng-eNB114 are sometimes referred to as base stations (BS). AMF115, SMF117, LMF120, and GMLC125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and GMLC is communicatively coupled to external client 130. SMF117 may act as the first point of contact for a Service Control Function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions. BS110a, 110b, and 114 may be macrocells (e.g., high-power cellular base stations), small cells (e.g., low-power cellular base stations), or access points (e.g., short-range base stations configured to communicate using short-range technologies such as WiFi, WiFi-Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Bluetooth-low energy (BLE), and Zigbee®). One or more of BS110a, 110b, and 114 may be configured to communicate with UE105 via multiple carriers. Each of BS110a, 110b, and 114 may provide communication coverage for its respective geographical area, e.g., cell. Each cell may be divided into multiple sectors as a function of the base station antenna.

[0033]

[0041] Figure 1 provides a generalized diagram of various components, any or all of which may be used as appropriate, and each of them may be duplicated or omitted as needed. In detail, only one UE 105 is shown, but many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be used in communication system 100. Similarly, communication system 100 may include more (or fewer) SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external client 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in communication system 100 may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks, data and signaling connections. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired function.

[0034]

[0042] Figure 1 shows a 5G-based network, but similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies such as 3G and Long-Term Evolution (LTE). The implementations described herein (whether they are for 5G technology, and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE105), and / or provide location assistance to UE105 (via GMLC125 or other location servers), and / or calculate the location for UE105 in a location-enabled device such as UE105, gNB110a, 110b, or LMF120 based on measurements received at UE105 for such directionally transmitted signals. The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (e-Node B) 114, and gNB (gNode B) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by or include various other location server functions and / or base station functions in various embodiments.

[0035]

[0043] System 100 is wirelessly communicative in the sense that its components can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (at least sometimes using wireless connections) via, for example, BS110a, 110b, 114 and / or network 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other base transceiver stations). In indirect communication, the communication may be modified between transmissions from one entity to another, for example, by changing the header information or format of data packets. UE105 may include multiple UEs and may be a mobile wireless communication device, but may communicate wirelessly and via wired connections. UE105 may be any of a variety of devices, such as a smartphone, tablet computer, or vehicle-based device, but these are merely examples, and other configurations of UEs may be used, as UE105 does not have to be any of these configurations. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or headsets). Further other UEs may be used, whether they currently exist or will be developed in the future. Furthermore, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) may be implemented within System 100 and may communicate with each other, as well as with UE 105, BS 110a, 110b, 114, the core network 140, and / or external clients 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices. The core network 140 may communicate with external clients 130 (e.g., computer systems) to enable external clients 130 to request and / or receive location information about UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 125).

[0036]

[0044] UE105 or other devices may be configured to communicate on various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, WiFi communication, multiple frequencies of Wi-Fi® communication, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobiles), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (e.g., V2P (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian), V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.)). V2X communication may be cellular (Cellular-V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Communication)). System 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter may transmit signals modulated simultaneously on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal may be a code division multiple access (CDMA) signal, a time division multiple access (TDMA) signal, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) signal, a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal may be transmitted on a different carrier and may carry pilot, overhead information, data, etc. UEs 105 and 106 may communicate with each other through sidelink (SL) communication between UEs by transmitting over one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink synchronization channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), or a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH).

[0037]

[0045] The UE105 may be and / or referred to as a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) enabled terminal (SET), or any other name. Furthermore, the UE105 may be compatible with cell phones, smartphones, laptops, tablets, PDAs, tracking devices, navigation devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, asset trackers, health monitors, security systems, smart city sensors, smart meters, wearable trackers, or some other portable or mobile devices. Generally, though not always, the UE105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA®), LTE, High-Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX®), and 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN135 and 5GC140). The UE105 may also support wireless communications using, for example, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or a wireless local area network (WLAN) that can connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using packet cable. The use of one or more of these RATs may enable UE105 to communicate with an external client 130 (for example, via an element of 5GC140 not shown in Figure 1, or possibly via GMLC125), and / or enable the external client 130 to receive location information about UE105 (for example, via GMLC125).

[0038]

[0046] UE105 may include a single entity or multiple entities, such as in a personal area network where the user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or body sensors and separate wireline or wireless modems. The estimated location of UE105 may be called location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, location estimate, or location fix, and may provide the location coordinates of UE105 (e.g., latitude and longitude) which are geographical and therefore may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., elevation above sea level, ground elevation or ground depth, floor level or basement level). Alternatively, the location of UE105 may be represented as an urban location (e.g., as a postal address, or as the designation of some point or small area within a building, such as a specific room or floor). The location of UE105 may be represented as an area or volume (defined either geographically or in urban form) in which UE105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of a UE105 may be represented, for example, as a relative location with distance and direction from a known location. A relative location may be represented as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined with respect to some origin in a known location, which may be defined, for example, geographically, with respect to a city, or by referring to a point, area, or volume shown on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the descriptions contained herein, the use of the term location may have any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of a UE, it is common to obtain local x, y, and possibly z coordinate values ​​and then, if desired, convert the local coordinates to absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0039]

[0047] UE105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of various technologies. UE105 may be configured to connect indirectly to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. D2D P2P links may be supported using any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct® (WiFi-D), or Bluetooth. One or more of the groups of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographical coverage area of ​​a transmit / receive point (TRP), such as one or more of gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographical coverage area or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without the involvement of a TRP. One or more of the groups of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographical coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographical coverage area or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without the involvement of a TRP.

[0040]

[0048] The base station (BS) in NG-RAN135 shown in Figure 1 includes NR node B, referred to as gNB110a and 110b. The pair of gNB110a, 110b in NG-RAN135 may be connected to each other via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is given to UE105 via wireless communication between UE105 and one or more of gNB110a, 110b, and gNB110a, 110b may provide wireless communication access to 5GC140 for UE105 using 5G. In Figure 1, it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE105 is gNB110a, but another gNB (e.g., gNB110b) may act as a serving gNB when UE105 moves to a different location, or as a secondary gNB to give UE105 additional throughput and bandwidth.

[0041]

[0049] The base station (BS) in NG-RAN135 shown in Figure 1 may include ng-eNB114, also known as next-generation advanced node B. ng-eNB114 may, in some cases, connect to one or more of the gNB110a, 110b in NG-RAN135 via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. ng-eNB114 may provide UE105 with LTE wireless access and / or advanced LTE (eLTE) wireless access. One or more of the gNB110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB114 may transmit signals to help determine the location of UE105, but may be configured to function as a positioning-only beacon that may not receive signals from UE105 or other UEs.

[0042]

[0050] BS110a, 110b, and 114 may each have one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a BS cell may have a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., they may share a processor but have separate antennas). System 100 may include only macro-TRPs, or system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro-TRPs, pico-TRPs, and / or femto-TRPs. Macro-TRPs may cover relatively large geographical areas (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may enable unrestricted access by terminals subscribing to the service. Pico-TRPs may cover relatively small geographical areas (e.g., picocells) and may enable unrestricted access by terminals subscribing to the service. Femto-TRPs or home-TRPs may cover relatively small geographical areas (e.g., femtocells) and may enable limited access by terminals associated with femtocells (e.g., terminals for home users).

[0043]

[0051] As stated, Figure 1 shows a node configured to communicate according to the 5G communication protocol, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as the LTE protocol or the IEEE 802.11x protocol, may be used. For example, in an Advanced Packet System (EPS) that provides LTE wireless access to UE105, the RAN may comprise an Advanced Universal Mobile Communications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) which may comprise base stations with Advanced Node B (eNB). The core network for the EPS may comprise an Advanced Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may comprise E-UTRAN + EPC, where E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN135 in Figure 1 and EPC corresponds to 5GC140.

[0044]

[0052] The gNB110a, 110b, and ng-eNB114 can communicate with the AMF115, which communicates with the LMF120, for positioning purposes. The AMF115 can support the mobility of the UE105, including cell changes and handovers, and can participate in supporting signaling connections to the UE105 and, in some cases, to data and voice bearers for the UE105. The LMF120 can communicate directly with the UE105, for example, via wireless communication, or directly with the BS110a, 110b, and 114. The LMF120 may support the positioning of UE105 when UE105 accesses NG-RAN135, and may support positioning procedures / methods such as Auxiliary GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., Downlink (DL)OTDOA or Uplink (UL)OTDOA), Real-time Kinematics (RTK), Precision Single Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Extended Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), and / or other positioning methods. The LMF120 may process location service requests for UE105 received, for example, from AMF115 or GMLC125. The LMF120 may be connected to AMF115 and / or GMLC125. The LMF120 may be referred to by other names such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value-Added LMF (VLMF). Nodes / systems implementing the LMF120 may, as an addition or alternative, implement other types of location support modules, such as an Extended Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the UE105's location) may be performed in the UE105 (using signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as gNB110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB114, and / or signal measurements acquired by the UE105 for supporting data provided to the UE105 by the LMF120, for example).The AMF115 can act as a control node handling signaling between the UE105 and the core network 140, providing QoS (Quality of Service) flow and session management. The AMF115 can support the mobility of the UE105, including cell changes and handovers, and can participate in supporting signaling connections to the UE105.

[0045]

[0053] GMLC125 may support a location request for UE105 received from an external client 130 and forward such a location request to AMF115 for forwarding to LMF120 via AMF115, or it may forward the location request directly to LMF120. The location response from LMF120 (including, for example, a location estimate for UE105) may be returned to GMLC125 directly or via AMF115, and GMLC125 may then return the location response (including, for example, a location estimate) to the external client 130. Although GMLC125 connected to both AMF115 and LMF120 is shown, in some implementation forms, only one of these connections may be supported by 5GC140.

[0046]

[0054] As further shown in Figure 1, the LMF120 may communicate with gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 using New Radio Positioning Protocol A (sometimes called NPPa or NRPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa), as defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, and NRPPa messages are transmitted between gNB110a (or gNB110b) and LMF120 and / or between ng-eNB114 and LMF120 via the AMF115. As further shown in Figure 1, the LMF120 and UE105 may communicate using LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. The LMF120 and UE105 may communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (sometimes called NPP or NRPP) which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transferred between the UE105 and the LMF120 via the AMF115 and serving gNB110a, 110b, or serving ng-eNB114 for the UE105. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transferred between the LMF120 and AMF115 using the 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP), and between the AMF115 and UE105 using the 5G Non-Access Layer (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocols may be used to support positioning of the UE105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID.The NRPPa protocol may be used to support the positioning of the UE105 using network-based positioning methods such as E-CID (for example, when used with measurements taken by gNB110a, 110b, or ng-eNB114), and / or the LMF120 may be used to obtain location-related information from gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114, such as parameters defining directional SS transmissions from gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114. The LMF120 may be located at the same location as the gNB or TRP or integrated with it, or it may be located away from the gNB and / or TRP and configured to communicate with the gNB and / or TRP directly or indirectly.

[0047]

[0055] In UE-assisted positioning methods, UE105 may acquire location measurements and send them to a location server (e.g., LMF120) for the calculation of location estimates for UE105. For example, location measurements may include one or more of the following for gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, and / or WLAN APs: Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Round-Trip Signal Propagation Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and / or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ). Location measurements may also include, or alternatively, GNSS pseudodistance, code phase, and / or carrier phase measurements for SV190-193.

[0048]

[0056] In a UE-based positioning method, UE105 may acquire location measurements (which may be the same as or similar to the location measurements for a UE-assisted positioning method, for example) and calculate the location of UE105 (with the help of support data received from a location server such as LMF120 or broadcast by gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, or other base stations or APs).

[0049]

[0057] In a network-based location method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114) or APs may acquire and / or receive location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or Time of Arrival (ToA) measurements for signals transmitted by UE105). One or more base stations or APs may send measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF120) for the calculation of a location estimate for UE105.

[0050]

[0058] The information provided to the LMF120 by gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directional SS transmission and location coordinates. The LMF120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE105 as supporting data in LPP messages and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN135 and 5GC140.

[0051]

[0059] An LPP or NPP message sent from the LMF120 to the UE105 may instruct the UE105 to do one of a variety of things depending on the desired function. For example, an LPP or NPP message may contain instructions for the UE105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, an LPP or NPP message may instruct the UE105 to obtain one or more measurements of a directional signal transmitted within a particular cell supported by one or more of gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 (or supported by some other type of base station such as an eNB or WiFi AP) (e.g., beam ID, beam width, mean angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements). UE105 can send the measured quantity back to LMF120 in an LPP or NPP message (for example, within a 5G NAS message) via serving gNB110a (or serving ng-eNB114) and AMF115.

[0052]

[0060] As stated, the communication system 100 is described in relation to 5G technology, but the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies such as GSM, WCDMA, and LTE, which are used to support and interact with mobile devices such as UE105 (for example, to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functions). In some such embodiments, 5GC140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, 5GC140 may be connected to a WLAN using a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF, not shown in Figure 1) in 5GC150. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE802.11 WiFi access for UE105 and may comprise one or more WiFi APs. Here, N3IWF may connect to the WLAN and other elements in 5GC140 such as AMF115. In some embodiments, both NG-RAN135 and 5GC140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in an EPS, NG-RAN135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN containing an eNB, and 5GC140 may be replaced by an EPC containing a Mobility Management Entity (MME) instead of AMF115, an E-SMLC instead of LMF120, and a GMLC which may be similar to GMLC125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa instead of NRPPa to send location information to eNBs in the E-UTRAN and receive location information from those eNBs, and may use LPP to support the positioning of UE105. In these other embodiments, the positioning of UE105 using a directional PRS may be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, except that the functions and procedures described herein for gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, AMF115, and LMF120 may, in some cases, be applied instead to other network elements such as eNBs, WiFi APs, MMEs, and E-SMLCs.

[0053]

[0061] As described above, in some embodiments, the positioning function may be implemented using, at least partially, directional SS beams sent by base stations (such as gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114) within range of the UE whose position will be determined (e.g., UE105 in Figure 1). In some examples, the UE may use directional SS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB110a, 110b, and ng-eNB114) to calculate the UE's position.

[0054]

[0062] Referring also to Figure 2, UE200 is one example of UE105, 106, and comprises a computing platform including a processor 210, memory 211 containing software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215, a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning device (PD) 219. The processor 210, memory 211, sensors 213, transceiver interface 214, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, and positioning device 219 may be coupled to communicate with each other by a bus 220 (for example, which may be configured for optical and / or telecommunications). One or more of the illustrated devices (for example, camera 218, positioning device 219, and / or one or more of sensors 213) may be omitted from UE200. The processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor 210 may comprise multiple processors, including a general-purpose / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of the processors 230-234 may comprise multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, the sensor processor 234 may comprise processors for radar, ultrasound, and / or lidar, for example. The modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, one SIM (subscriber identification module or subscriber identification module) may be used by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by the end user of the UE200 for connectivity. Memory 211 is a non-temporary storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM).Memory 211 stores software 212, which may be processor-readable processor-executable software code, containing instructions configured, when executed, to cause the processor 210 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, software 212 may not be directly executable by the processor 210, but may be configured, for example, to cause the processor 210 to perform functions when compiled and executed. This description may refer only to the processor 210 that performs the functions, but this includes other implementations, such as when the processor 210 runs software and / or firmware. The description may refer to the processor 210 that performs the functions as an abbreviation for one or more of the processors 230-234 that perform the functions. The description may refer to the UE200 that performs the functions as an abbreviation for one or more appropriate components of the UE200 that perform the functions. In addition to memory 211, and / or instead, the processor 210 may include memory with stored instructions. The functions of the processor 210 are discussed more fully below.

[0055]

[0063] The configuration of the UE200 shown in Figure 2 is an example of the present invention, including the claims, and is not limiting to the present invention, and other configurations may be used. For example, an exemplary configuration of the UE includes one or more of the processors 230-234 of the processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Other exemplary configurations include one or more of the processors 230-234 of the processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver 240, and sensor 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PD219, and / or wired transceiver 250.

[0056]

[0064] The UE200 may include a modem processor 232 capable of performing baseband processing on signals received and downconverted by the transceiver 215 and / or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing on signals to be upconverted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Similarly, or alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by a processor 230 and / or a DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0057]

[0065] The UE200 may include sensor 213, which may include one or more of various types of sensors, such as one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors. The inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g., responding as a whole to the acceleration of the UE200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscopes). Sensor 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometers) for determining orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which may be used for any of a variety of purposes, such as supporting one or more compass applications. Environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones. The sensor 213 may generate analog and / or digital signals whose instructions are stored in the memory 211 and can be processed by the DSP 231 and / or processor 230 which support one or more applications, such as applications targeting positioning and / or navigation operations.

[0058]

[0066] Sensor 213 can be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by sensor 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based positioning, and / or sensor-assisted positioning. Sensor 213 can be useful for determining whether UE200 is stationary or moving, and / or reporting any useful information regarding the mobility of UE200 to LMF120. For example, based on information acquired / measured by the sensor, UE200 may notify / report to LMF120 that UE200 has detected motion or has moved, and report relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning, or sensor-based positioning, or sensor-assisted positioning enabled by sensor 213). In another example, the sensor / IMU may be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of other devices relative to UE200, etc., for relative positioning information.

[0059]

[0067] The IMU may be configured to provide measurements of the direction and / or velocity of motion of the UE200, which can be used in determining its relative position. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU may each detect the linear acceleration and rotational velocity of the UE200. The measurements of the linear acceleration and rotational velocity of the UE200 may be integrated over time to determine the instantaneous direction of motion and the displacement of the UE200. The instantaneous direction of motion and displacement may be integrated to track the position of the UE200. For example, the reference position of the UE200 may be determined, for example, for a given moment using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means), and the measurements from the accelerometers and gyroscopes obtained after this moment may be used in dead reckoning to determine the current location of the UE200 based on the motion (direction and distance) of the UE200 relative to the reference position.

[0060]

[0068] The magnetometer can determine the strength of the magnetic field in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of the UE200. For example, the orientation can be used to provide a digital compass for the UE200. The magnetometer may be a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide indications of the magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. Alternatively, the magnetometer may be a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide indications of the magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer may provide means for sensing the magnetic field and providing indications of the magnetic field to, for example, a processor 210.

[0061]

[0069] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250, which are configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a transmitter 242 and a receiver 244 coupled to one or more antennas 246 for transmitting a wireless signal 248 (for example, over one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (for example, over one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels), and for converting the signal from the wireless signal 248 to a wired (for example, electrical and / or optical) signal and from the wired (for example, electrical and / or optical) signal to the wireless signal 248. Thus, the transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 244 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to communicate signals (for example, with the TRP and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Communications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, and Zigbee. The New Radio may use millimeter-wave frequencies and / or sub-6GHz frequencies. The wired transceiver 250 may include, for example, a transmitter 252 and a receiver 254 configured for wired communication with network 135. The transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 254 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components.The wired transceiver 250 may be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communications. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, for example, by optical and / or electrical connections. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with the transceiver 215.

[0062]

[0070] The user interface 216 may comprise one or more of several devices, such as a speaker, microphone, display device, vibration device, keyboard, and touchscreen. The user interface 216 may include two or more of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to allow the user to interact with one or more applications hosted by the UE200. For example, the user interface 216 may store instructions for analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 so that they are processed by the DSP 231 and / or general-purpose processor 230 in response to user actions. Similarly, an application hosted on the UE200 may store instructions for analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 to present output signals to the user. The user interface 216 may include an audio input / output (I / O) device comprising, for example, a speaker, microphone, digital-analog circuitry, analog-digital circuitry, amplifier, and / or gain control circuits (including two or more of these devices). Other configurations of the audio I / O device may be used. Similarly, or alternatively, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors that respond to touch and / or pressure, for example, on the keyboard and / or touchscreen of the user interface 216.

[0063]

[0071] An SPS receiver 217 (for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring SPS signals 260 via an SPS antenna 262. The antenna 262 may be configured to convert the wireless signals 260 to wired signals, such as electrical or optical signals, and may be integrated with an antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process the collected SPS signals 260 whole or partially for estimating the position of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine the position of the UE 200 by trilateration using the SPS signals 260. A general-purpose processor 230, memory 211, DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown) may be used with the SPS receiver 217 to process the acquired SPS signals whole or partially and / or to calculate the estimated position of the UE 200. Memory 211 may store instructions (e.g., measurement results) of the SPS signal 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals obtained from the wireless transceiver 240) for use when performing positioning operations. The general-purpose processor 230, DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors, and / or memory 211 may provide or support a positioning engine for use when processing measurement results to estimate the position of the UE200.

[0064]

[0072] The UE200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still images or video. The camera 218 may include, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device or CMOS imager), a lens, analog-digital circuitry, a frame buffer, and the like. Additional processing, adjustment, encoding, and / or compression of the signal representing the captured image may be performed by the general-purpose processor 230 and / or DSP 231. Similarly, or alternatively, a video processor 233 may perform adjustment, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of the signal representing the captured image. The video processor 233 may decode / restore stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown), for example, of the user interface 216.

[0065]

[0073] The positioning device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200, the movement of the UE 200, and / or the relative location of the UE 200, and / or the time. For example, the PD 219 may communicate with and / or include part or all of the SPS receiver 217. The PD 219 may, as appropriate, work in conjunction with the processor 210 and memory 211 to perform at least part of one or more positioning methods, but the description herein may refer only to the PD 219 being configured to perform, or performing, a positioning method. Similarly, or alternatively, the PD 219 may be configured to determine the position of the UE 200 using ground-based signals for trilateration (e.g., at least some of signals 248), to assist in the acquisition and use of SPS signals 260, or both. The PD219 may be configured to use one or more other techniques to determine the location of the UE200 (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., part of the UE's location beacon)), or a combination of techniques to determine the location of the UE200 (e.g., SPS and ground positioning signals). The PD219 may include one or more sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, etc.) that can sense the orientation and / or motion of the UE200 and provide indications thereof, and the processor 210 (e.g., processor 230 and / or DSP231) may be configured to use these indications to determine the motion of the UE200 (e.g., velocity vector and / or acceleration vector). The PD219 may be configured to provide indications of uncertainty and / or error in the determined location and / or motion.

[0066]

[0074] Referring also to Figure 3, examples of TRP300 in BS110a, 110b, and 114 include a computing platform comprising a processor 310, a memory 311 containing software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, memory 311, and transceiver 315 may be coupled to each other communicatively by a bus 320 (which may be configured, for example, for optical and / or telecommunications). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., wireless interfaces) may be omitted from TRP300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor 310 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, as shown in Figure 2). Memory 311 is a non-temporary storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM). Memory 311 stores software 312, which may be processor-readable processor-executable software code, containing instructions that, when executed, cause the processor 310 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, software 312 may not be directly executable by the processor 310, but may, when compiled and executed, be configured to cause the processor 310 to perform functions. This description may refer only to the processor 310 that performs the functions, including other implementations such as when the processor 310 runs software and / or firmware. The description may refer to the processor 310 that performs the functions as an abbreviation for one or more processors included in the processor 310 that performs the functions. The description may refer to a TRP300 that performs a function as an abbreviation for one or more appropriate components of the TRP300 that perform that function (and therefore one of BS110a, 110b, or 114).The processor 310 may include, in addition to and / or instead of, memory 311, memory containing stored instructions. The functions of the processor 310 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0067]

[0075] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and a wired transceiver 350, configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a transmitter 342 and a receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting a wireless signal 348 (for example, on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (for example, on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more uplink channels), and for converting the signal from the wireless signal 348 to a wired (for example, electrical and / or optical) signal and from the wired (for example, electrical and / or optical) signal to the wireless signal 348. Thus, the transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 344 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 may be configured to communicate signals (for example, with UE200 and one or more other UEs and / or one or more other devices) in accordance with various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Communications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, and Zigbee. The wired transceiver 350 may include, for example, a transmitter 352 and a receiver 354 configured for wired communication, for example, network 135, to send communications to LMF120 and then receive communications therefrom.The transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 354 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured, for example, for optical communications and / or telecommunications.

[0068]

[0076] The configuration of the TRP300 shown in Figure 3 is an example of the present invention, including the claims, and is not limiting to the present invention, and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses that the TRP300 is configured to perform, or will perform, several functions, one or more of which may be performed by the LMF120 and / or UE200 (i.e., the LMF120 and / or UE200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0069]

[0077] Referring also to Figure 4, the server 400, an example of the LMF120, comprises a computing platform comprising a processor 410, memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. The processor 410, memory 411, and transceiver 415 may be coupled to communicate with each other by a bus 420 (which may be configured, for example, for optical and / or telecommunications). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., wireless interfaces) may be omitted from the server 400. The processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 410 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, as shown in Figure 2). The memory 411 is a non-temporary storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 411 stores software 412, which may be processor-readable processor-executable software code, containing instructions configured, when executed, to cause the processor 410 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, software 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410, but may, when compiled and executed, be configured to cause the processor 410 to perform functions. This description may refer only to the processor 410 that performs the functions, but this includes other implementations, such as when the processor 410 runs software and / or firmware. The description may refer to the processor 410 that performs the functions as an abbreviation for one or more processors included in the processor 410 that performs the functions. The description may refer to the server 400 that performs the functions as an abbreviation for one or more appropriate components of the server 400 that performs the functions. In addition to memory 411, and / or instead, the processor 410 may include memory with stored instructions.The functionality of processor 410 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0070]

[0078] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and a wired transceiver 450, configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a transmitter 442 and a receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting (e.g., over one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., over one or more uplink channels) a wireless signal 448, and converting the wireless signal 448 to a wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal, and from a wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal to a wireless signal 448. Thus, the transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 444 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 may be configured to communicate signals (for example, with UE200 and one or more other UEs and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Communications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, and Zigbee. The wired transceiver 450 may include, for example, a transmitter 452 and a receiver 454 configured for wired communication, for example, network 135, to send communications to TRP300 and then receive communications therefrom. The transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 454 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components.The wired transceiver 450 may be configured, for example, for optical and / or telecommunications.

[0071]

[0079] Positioning techniques

[0080] In terrestrial positioning of UEs in cellular networks, techniques such as Advanced Forward Link Trilateralization (AFLT) and Observation Time of Arrival Difference (OTDOA) often operate in a "UE-assisted" mode, where the UE measures a reference signal (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) transmitted by a base station and then provides it to a location server. The location server then calculates the UE's position based on the measurement and the known location of the base station. Because these techniques use a location server rather than the UE itself to calculate the UE's position, these positioning techniques are not frequently used in applications such as car navigation or cell phone navigation, which generally instead rely on satellite-based positioning.

[0072]

[0081] UEs may use satellite positioning systems (SPS) (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) for high-precision positioning using Precision Single-Person Positioning (PPP) or Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) techniques. These techniques use supporting data such as measurements from ground stations. LTE Release 15 allows data to be encrypted so that only UEs subscribed to the service can read the information. Such supporting data changes over time. Therefore, a UE subscribed to the service may not be able to easily "decrypt" the data for other UEs who have not paid for a subscription by transferring the data to them. This transfer would need to be repeated every time the supporting data changes.

[0073]

[0082] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measurements (e.g., TDOA, angle of arrival (AoA), etc.) to a positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has a base station almanac (BSA) containing multiple “entries” or “records” per cell, where each record contains geographical cell location but may also contain other data. The identifier of one of the multiple “records” in the BSA may be referenced. The BSA and measurements from the UE may be used to calculate the UE’s position.

[0074]

[0083] In conventional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own position and thus avoids sending measurements to a network (e.g., a location server), which in turn improves latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of a gNB (broader, a base station)). BSA information can be encrypted. However, since BSA information changes much less frequently than, for example, the PPP or RTK-assisted data described earlier, it may be easier (compared to PPP or RTK information) to make BSA information available to UEs that are not subscribed and have not paid for the decryption key. Transmitting reference signals by gNBs makes BSA information potentially accessible to crowdsourcing or ward driving, essentially allowing the generation of BSA information based on on-site and / or over-the-top observations.

[0075]

[0084] Positioning techniques can be characterized and / or assessed based on one or more criteria, such as positioning accuracy and / or latency. Latency is the time elapsed between an event that triggers the determination of location-related data and the availability of that data at the positioning system interface, e.g., the LMF120 interface. At the initialization of the positioning system, the latency for the availability of location-related data is called the time-to-first fix (TTFF) and is greater than the latency after the TTFF. The reciprocal of the time elapsed between the availability of two consecutive locations-related data is called the update rate, i.e., the rate at which location-related data is generated after the first fix. Latency can depend, for example, on the processing capacity of the UE. For example, a UE may report its processing capacity as the duration of DL PRS symbols in time units (e.g., milliseconds) that the UE can process per T time quantity (e.g., Tms) in the case of a 272 PRB (Physical Resource Block) allocation. Other examples of capabilities that can affect latency are the number of TRPs that the UE can process, the number of PRS that the UE can process, and the bandwidth of the UE.

[0076]

[0085] One or more of several different positioning techniques (also called positioning methods) may be used to determine the location of an entity, such as one of UE105, UE106, etc. For example, known location techniques include RTT, multi-RTT, OTDOA (also known as TDOA, including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), Enhanced Cell Identification Information (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses the time it takes for a signal to travel from one entity to another and back to determine the distance between two entities. This distance, as well as the known position of a first entity and the angle between the two entities (e.g., azimuth), may be used to determine the location of a second entity. In multi-RTT (also known as multi-cell RTT), multiple distances from one entity (e.g., UE) to another entity (e.g., TRP) and the known positions of the other entities may be used to determine the location of that entity. In the TDOA technique, the difference in travel time between one entity and another can be used to determine the relative distance from the other entity, and that relative distance, combined with the known position of the other entity, can be used to determine the position of that entity. The arrival angle and / or departure angle can be used to aid in determining the position of an entity. For example, the arrival or departure angle of a signal can be combined with the distance between devices (determined using signals, e.g., the signal's travel time, the signal's received power, etc.) and the known position of one of the devices to determine the position of another device. The arrival or departure angle may be an azimuth angle relative to a reference direction, such as true north. The arrival or departure angle may also be a zenith angle relative to directly above the entity (i.e., relative to the direction radially outward from the center of the Earth).E-CID uses serving cell identification information, timing advance (i.e., the difference between the receive time and transmit time at the UE), estimated timing and power of detected neighboring cell signals, and, in some cases, the angle of arrival (e.g., for signals from a base station to the UE, or vice versa) to determine the location of the UE. TDOA uses the difference in arrival times at the receiving device of signals from different sources, along with the known location of the source and a known offset of the transmit time from the source, to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0077]

[0086] In network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on the serving cells of two or more neighboring base stations (and, generally, at least three base stations are required, hence the serving base station). One or more base stations transmit RTT measurement signals on low-reuse resources (e.g., resources used by base stations to transmit system information) allocated by the network (e.g., a location server such as an LMF120). The UE records the arrival time (also called receive time, reception time, time of reception, or time of arrival (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE's current downlink timing (for example, derived by the UE from the DL signal received from its serving base station), and transmits a common or individual RTT response message (e.g., SRS (sounding reference signal) for positioning, UL-PRS) to one or more base stations (for example, when commanded by its serving base station), and in the payload of each RTT response message, the time difference T between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message. Rx→Tx (That is, UET) Rx-Tx or UE Rx-Tx) may include. The RTT response message will include a reference signal from which the base station can infer the ToA of the RTT response. The difference T between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT response at the base station. Tx→Rx The time difference T reported by UE Rx→Tx By comparing this, the base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE, and the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station by assuming the speed of light during this propagation time.

[0078]

[0087] UE-centered RTT estimation is similar to network-based methods, except that the UE transmits an uplink RTT measurement signal that is received by multiple base stations in the vicinity of the UE (for example, when commanded by a serving base station). Each involved base station responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include a time difference in the RTT response message payload between the time of arrival (ToA) of the RTT measurement signal at the base station and the time of transmission of the RTT response message from the base station.

[0079]

[0088] In both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the party performing the RTT calculation (network or UE) generally (though not always) sends an initial message or signal (e.g., an RTT measurement signal), and the other party responds with one or more RTT response messages or signals, which may include the difference between the ToA of the initial message or signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message or signal.

[0080]

[0089] Multi-RTT techniques can be used to determine location. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) may send one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and multiple second entities (e.g., other TSPs such as base stations and / or UEs) may receive signals from the first entity and respond to these received signals. The first entity receives responses from multiple second entities. The first entity (or other entities such as an LMF) may use the responses from the second entities to determine the distance to the second entities, and may use multiple distances and known locations of the second entities to determine the location of the first entity by trilateration.

[0081]

[0090] In some cases, additional information may be obtained in the form of an angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD) that defines a range of directions (e.g., in the horizontal plane or in three dimensions), or possibly a range of directions (e.g., for the UE from the base station location). The intersection of the two directions can give another estimate of the location for the UE.

[0082]

[0091] In positioning techniques using PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) signals (e.g., TDOA and RTT), the distance from the UE to the TRP is determined by measuring PRS signals transmitted by multiple TRPs, using the signal arrival time, known transmission time, and known location of the TRP. For example, the RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) may be determined for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs and used in the TDOA technique to determine the location of the UE. The positioning reference signal is sometimes called a PRS or PRS signal. PRS signals are usually transmitted using the same power, and PRS signals with the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency shift) can interfere with each other, resulting in PRS signals from more distant TRPs being buried by PRS signals from closer TRPs, and consequently, signals from more distant TRPs may not be detected. PRS muting may be used to help reduce interference by muting some PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signal to, for example, 0, and therefore not transmitting the PRS signal). In this way, weaker PRS signals (in the UE) can be more easily detected by the UE without interference between the weaker PRS signals and stronger PRS signals.

[0083]

[0092] The positioning reference signal (PRS) includes a downlink PRS (DL PRS) and an uplink PRS (UL PRS) (which is sometimes called the SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) for positioning). A PRS may comprise a frequency layer PRS resource or PRS resource set. The DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply frequency layer) is a collection of DL PRS resource sets from one or more TRPs having common parameters comprised of higher-order layer parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer, DL-PRS-ResourceSet, and DL-PRS-Resource. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the DL PRS resource sets and DL PRS resources within the frequency layer. Each frequency layer also has a DL PRS cyclic prefix (CP) for the DL PRS resource sets and DL PRS resources within the frequency layer. Furthermore, the DL PRS Point A parameter defines the frequency of the reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of the resource block), and DL PRS resources belong to the same DL PRS resource set having the same Point A, and all DL PRS resource sets belong to the same frequency layer having the same Point A. Frequency layers also have the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size.

[0084]

[0093] A TRP may be configured to transmit DL PRS on a schedule, for example, by instructions received from a server and / or by software within the TRP. According to that schedule, the TRP may transmit DL PRS intermittently, for example, periodically at regular intervals from the initial transmission. A TRP may be configured to transmit one or more PRS resource sets. A resource set is a collection of PRS resources across a single TRP, where resources have the same period, a common muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition coefficient across slots. Each PRS resource set comprises multiple PRS resources, each PRS resource comprising multiple resource elements (REs) that may span multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) in N (one or more) consecutive symbols within a slot. A PRB is a collection of REs spanning a certain number of consecutive symbols in the time domain and a certain number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. In OFDM symbols, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs. Each PRS resource is comprised of an RE offset, a slot offset, a symbol offset within the slot, and the number of consecutive symbols that the PRS resource can occupy within the slot. The RE offset defines the starting RE offset of the first symbol in the DL PRS resource at a given frequency. The relative RE offsets of the remaining symbols in the DL PRS resource are defined based on the initial offset. The slot offset is the starting slot of the DL PRS resource relative to the corresponding resource set slot offset. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting slot. Transmitted REs can repeat across slots, with each transmission being called a repeat, and consequently, there can be multiple repeats within a PRS resource. DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP, and each DL PRS resource has a DL PRS resource ID. A DL PRS resource ID in a DL PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (however, a TRP can transmit one or more beams).

[0085]

[0094] PRS resources can also be defined by pseudo-collocation and start-PRB parameters. Pseudo-collocation (QCL) parameters can define arbitrary pseudo-collocation information for a DL PRS resource with other reference signals. A DL PRS may be configured as a QCL type D with a DL PRS or SS / PBCH (Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel) block from a serving cell or non-serving cell. A DL PRS may be configured as a QCL type C with an SS / PBCH block from a serving cell or non-serving cell. The start-PRB parameter defines the start-PRB index of the DL PRS resource with respect to reference point A. The start-PRB index has a granularity of 1 PRB and can have a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 2176 PRBs.

[0086]

[0095] A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources across slots, with the same period, the same muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same iteration coefficient. Each individual time period configured to send all iterations of all PRS resources in a PRS resource set is called an "instance." Thus, an "instance" of a PRS resource set is a specified number of iterations for each PRS resource and a specified number of PRS resources in the PRS resource set, and as a result, an instance is completed when the specified number of iterations have been sent for each of the specified number of PRS resources. An instance is sometimes called an "opportunity." A DL PRS configuration, including a DL PRS transmission schedule, may be provided to the UE to help (or even enable) the UE to measure DL PRS.

[0087]

[0096] Multiple frequency layers of a PRS can be aggregated to provide an effective bandwidth greater than any one of the layer bandwidths individually. Multiple frequency layers that meet criteria such as component carriers (which may be continuous and / or separate), being quasi-collocated (QCLed), and having the same antenna port can be stitched together to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for DL ​​PRS and UL PRS), resulting in increased arrival time measurement accuracy. When QCLed, different frequency layers behave similarly, making it possible for PRS stitching to result in a larger effective bandwidth. The larger effective bandwidth, sometimes called aggregated PRS bandwidth or aggregated PRS frequency bandwidth, provides better time-domain resolution (e.g., TDOA). An aggregated PRS consists of a collection of PRS resources, each PRS resource in an aggregated PRS may be called a PRS component, and each PRS component may be transmitted on different component carriers, bands, or frequency layers, or on different parts of the same band.

[0088]

[0097] RTT positioning is an active positioning technique in which RTT uses positioning signals transmitted by the TRP to the UE and by the UE (participating in RTT positioning) to the TRP. The TRP may transmit a DL-PRS signal that is received by the UE, and the UE may transmit an SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) signal that is received by multiple TRPs. The Sounding Reference Signal is sometimes called an SRS or SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, coordinated positioning may be used, where the UE transmits a single UL-SRS for positioning that is received by multiple TRPs, rather than transmitting separate UL-SRS for positioning to each TRP. A TRP participating in multi-RTT typically looks for UEs currently camped at that TRP (served UEs, the TRP is the serving TRP) and also looks for UEs camped at neighboring TRPs (neighboring UEs). A neighboring TRP can be the TRP of a single BTS (e.g., gNB) or it can be the TRP of one BTS and the TRPs of separate BTSs. In RTT positioning, including multi-RTT positioning, the DL-PRS and UL-SRS signals in the PRS / SRS relating to the positioning signal pair used to determine the RTT (and therefore the distance between the UE and the TRP) may be temporally close to each other, resulting in errors due to the movement of the UE and / or the clock drift of the UE and / or the clock drift of the TRP being within acceptable limits. For example, the signals in the PRS / SRS relating to the positioning signal pair may be transmitted from the TRP and the UE, respectively, within about 10 ms of each other. When the SRS relating to the positioning signal is transmitted by the UE, and the PRS and SRS relating to the positioning signal are carried temporally close to each other, it has been found that congestion of radio frequency (RF) signals can occur (which can cause excessive noise, etc.), and / or computational congestion can occur in the TRP attempting to measure a large number of UEs simultaneously, especially when many UEs attempt to position themselves at the same time.

[0089]

[0098] RTT positioning can be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, the RTT and corresponding distances to each of the TRP300 and the location of the UE200 are determined based on the distance to the TRP300 and the known location of the TRP300. In UE-assisted RTT, the UE200 measures a positioning signal and provides the measured information to the TRP300, which then determines the RTT and distance. The TRP300 provides the distance to a location server, for example, server 400, which determines the location of the UE200, for example, based on the distance to different TRP300s. The RTT and / or distance may be determined by the TRP300 receiving a signal from the UE200, by this TRP300 in combination with one or more other devices, for example, one or more other TRP300s and / or server 400, or by one or more devices other than the TRP300 receiving a signal from the UE200.

[0090]

[0099] Various positioning techniques are supported in 5G NR. NR native positioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL-only positioning, UL-only positioning, and DL+UL positioning. Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. Combined DL+UL-based positioning methods include RTT with one base station and RTT with multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

[0091]

[0100] Location estimates (for example, for a UE) may be referred to by other names such as location estimate, location, position, position fix, or fix. A location estimate may be geodetic and comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or it may be urban and comprise a place address, mailing address, or any other wording of the location. A location estimate may further be defined for some other known location, or it may be defined in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A location estimate may include expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume that the location is expected to contain at some specified or default confidence level).

[0092]

[0101] UE inter-inter

[0102] NRs should be more efficient and cost-effective than ever before, and should be scalable and deployable. To achieve this, peak throughput, latency, and / or reliability requirements may be relaxed. Equally or alternatively, improvements in efficiency (e.g., power consumption and system overhead) and cost may be made. Reduced-capability UEs can be used to reduce power consumption and provide cost-effective UEs. Reduced-capability UEs have many applications, including wearables, components of industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs), surveillance cameras, and low-cost smartphones.

[0093]

[0103] UEs can communicate with each other (exchange signals) through inter-UE dialogue, often via sidelink (SL) channels. However, UEs may be configured to send and receive uplink (UL) signals and downlink (DL) signals, including DL-PRS and UL-SRS for positioning. Thus, inter-UE signaling may include signaling using SL channels, DL channels, and / or UL channels. When transmitting using SL channels, UEs may operate according to at least one of at least two modes. In the first mode, UEs receive permission from the base station for resources to transmit SL signals, such as PSCCH and / or PSSCH resources. In the second mode, UEs are configured with a resource pool that they can use, and UEs monitor the resource pool to determine which resources are unoccupied and use one or more of the unoccupied resources for transmission. Base stations may configure a resource pool but do not inform UEs which resources to use, and UEs may perform blink detection within the resource pool. In the case of reception using an SL channel, the UE may be configured with a resource pool, monitor the resource pool for incoming signals, and determine whether any particular incoming signal is directed to that UE. While a base station may configure a resource pool for reception to limit discovery complexity, the UE may not be informed, for example, by the base station, which resources it should monitor for signal reception.

[0094]

[0104] Using inter-UE signaling for positioning can be desirable for several reasons. For example, SPS signals and / or base station signals may be unavailable and / or unreliable (e.g., indoors or in urban canyons). Another example is that inter-UE positioning may use less power than other forms of positioning (e.g., signaling with a base station). Reduced-capability UEs can introduce additional difficulties to inter-UE positioning, as such UEs are more susceptible to power consumption than other UEs, and reduced-capability UEs are often configured for half-duplex signaling instead of full-duplex signaling. In half-duplex signaling (either receiving or transmitting, but not both simultaneously), some inbound signals may be missed while the UE is transmitting. To help avoid missed signals, coordination of signaling time and frequency may be used.

[0095]

[0105] Referring to Figure 5 with further reference to Figures 1-4, the UE500, an example of the UE200 shown in Figure 2, includes a processor 510, an interface 520, and memory 530, all coupled together by a bus 540 for communication. The UE500 may include some or all of the components shown in Figure 5, and may include one or more other components, such as any of the components shown in Figure 2. The processor 510 may include one or more components of the processor 210. The interface 520 may include one or more components of the transceiver 215, for example, a wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246, or a wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246, or a wireless transmitter 242, a wireless receiver 244, and an antenna 246. Similarly or alternatively, the interface 520 may include a wired transmitter 252 and / or a wired receiver 254. The interface 520 may include an SPS receiver 217 and antenna 262. The memory 530 may be configured similarly to the memory 211, for example, by including software that has processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor 510 to perform a function.

[0096]

[0106] Implementations of the UE500 may include premium UEs and / or reduced-capacity UEs. Reduced-capacity UEs may have less capability than premium UEs. For example, a reduced-capacity UE may not be able to communicate in full-duplex and instead may be configured to communicate in half-duplex, for example. Another example is that a reduced-capacity UE may have a lower data rate (e.g., 150 Mbps) for downloads than a premium UE. An example of a reduced-capacity UE is a Category 4 (CAT4) UE in the case of LTE. A reduced-capacity UE may consume less power than a premium UE and may be able to remain in standby mode for more than 8 hours with less battery capacity than a premium UE.

[0097]

[0107] The description herein may refer only to the processor 510 that performs the function, including other implementations such as when the processor 510 runs software and / or firmware (stored in memory 530). The description herein may refer to the UE 500 that performs the function as an abbreviation for one or more suitable components of the UE 500 that perform the function (e.g., the processor 510 and memory 530). The processor 510 (in some cases together with memory 530 and, as appropriate, together with interface 520) includes an inter-UE signaling and radio network interface (RNI) signaling processing unit, which is referred herein to as the UE / RNI unit 560. The UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured to perform one or more functions for receiving and / or transmitting (including, as appropriate, prioritizing) location reference signals and other signals, measuring location reference signals, and / or reporting measurements of location reference signals (LRS). LRS is one or more location reference signals sent or received by the UE 500. The term LRS may refer to one or more location reference signals. LRS may be configured similarly to SRS in the case of positioning signals (for example, having a similar format), or it may have a different configuration.

[0098]

[0108] The UE500, for example, the UE / RNI unit 560, may be configured statically (e.g., programmed during manufacturing) and / or dynamically (e.g., according to configuration information received via interface 520, for example, from server 400 or TRP300). In addition to static configuration, dynamic configuration may define or modify (e.g., refine) the static configuration. For example, the UE500 may be statically configured to implement a default operating mode (e.g., to implement default priorities for signal exchange (receive and / or transmit)) and may be dynamically configured to implement different operating modes (e.g., for signal exchange).

[0099]

[0109] Signaling conflict between UEs and wireless network interfaces

[0110] See also Figure 6, the UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured to process one or more of the incoming inter-UE LRS 610 and the outgoing RNI signal 620. For example, the inter-UE LRS 610 may be a sidelink (SL) receive (Rx) signal, and the outgoing RNI signal 620 may be an uplink (UL) transmit (Tx) signal. Sidelink signals in NR are exchanged (transmitted and / or received) via UL resources (e.g., resource elements, resource blocks). Current standards for 5G NR do not allow for the resolution of conflicts between SL Rx (receive) and UL Tx (transmit). The RNI signal 620 is exchanged via RNI, which is sometimes referred to as the Uu interface.

[0100]

[0111] The UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured to identify processing conflicts for UE 500 to receive the inter-UE LRS 610 and transmit the RNI signal 620. For example, the UE / RNI unit 560 may determine that the inter-UE LRS 610 and the RNI signal 620 have a scheduled conflict, i.e., they are scheduled to use one or more of the same resource elements, or that there is not enough time between them to allow UE 500 to receive the inter-UE LRS 610 and transmit the RNI signal 620. For example, the RNI signal 630 is the same as the RNI signal 620, but scheduled earlier than the inter-UE LRS 610, and this RNI signal 630 may be scheduled to end before a guard interval 650. The guard interval 650 is the amount of time for UE 500 to transition from transmitting the RNI signal 630 to receiving the inter-UE LRS 610. As another example, RNI signal 640 is RNI signal 620, but scheduled later than the interUE LRS 610, and this RNI signal 640 may be scheduled to start less than guard interval 660. Guard interval 660 is the amount of time required for UE 500 to transition from receiving the interUE LRS 610 to transmitting the RNI signal 640. Guard intervals 650 and 660 may differ (i.e., UE 500 may require different amounts of time for the transition from receive to transmit and the transition from transmit to receive).

[0101]

[0112] The UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured not to prioritize the processing of either the inter-UE LRS 610 or the RNI signal 620. Thus, the UE / RNI unit 560 may cause the processor 510 to process (receive or transmit) whichever signal is earlier, if possible, and not process (receive or transmit) the other signal.

[0102]

[0113] The UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured to determine priority for processing inter-UE LRS 610 or RNI signals 620. The UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured to determine priority in response to or prior to identifying processing conflicts. The UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured statically and / or dynamically with priority. For example, if UE 500 is statically configured with priority, the UE / RNI unit 560 may determine priority by reading priority from memory 530, which may be hardcoded with priority (e.g., during manufacturing). Static priority may define priority order for signals such as PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) signals with control information (i.e., containing control information), PUSCH signals without control information, Sidelink Reference Signals (SL RS), and Sidelink signals without a reference signal. Signals with a reference signal will typically take precedence over data-only signals. An exemplary priority order may be between UEs with RS, PUSCH with control, PUSCH without control, and between UEs without RS. To be dynamically configured with priority, the UE / RNI unit 560 may receive the priority from interface 520 or read the priority from memory 530, which may have already received the priority from interface 520. Dynamic priority may override statically configured priority. Dynamic priority may be received as part of a control signal, for example, a PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Control Channel) signal including a priority indicator. The PSCCH signal may schedule the UE-to-UE LRS 610 and RNI signal 620. For example, in the case of UE-to-UE LRS 610, the PSCCH may schedule the symbol 670(T) at the beginning of signal 610 for the time of the PSCCH. AGC (called) and symbol 680 (T) at the end of signal 610 gapThe PSCCH signal may include bits to specify the inter-UE LRS 610 and / or RNI signal 620 (i.e., the PSCCH signal supports cross-slot scheduling) across multiple slots following the PSCCH signal. The dynamic priority may be a single indication that one signal has a higher (or lower) priority than another, or it may have separate priority values ​​for each signal, and the UE / RNI unit 560 may determine the relative priority between signals by comparing the individual priority values. For example, the inter-UE LRS may have a priority value of 5 and the UL Tx may have a priority value of 3, with higher values ​​indicating higher priority. Therefore, the inter-UE LRS has a higher priority relative to the UL Tx, and thus, if there is a conflict that would prevent the processing of both signals, the inter-UE LRS will be processed (e.g., received and measured) rather than the RNI signal.

[0103]

[0114] The UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured to cause the processor 510 to receive inter-UE LRS 610 or transmit RNI signals 620 according to a priority determined (statically and / or dynamically). The UE / RNI unit 560 may implement statically configured or dynamically configured priorities (if any) to perform whichever of the two higher priorities is receiving inter-UE LRS 610 or transmitting RNI signals 620. The UE / RNI unit 560 may cause the processor 510 to process the higher-priority signal according to priority (for example, exchanging the higher-priority signal with another entity (receiving via an interface or transmitting via interface 520)), provided that there is sufficient time between the receipt of a dynamic priority instruction and the scheduled time for receiving or transmitting the higher-priority signal. That is, the UE / RNI unit 560 may cause the processor 510 to process the appropriate signal according to priority, provided that the scheduled exchange (receive or transmit) time begins after the receipt of the priority instruction and a threshold time 690 has elapsed. The threshold time is the preparation time (T) required for the UE500 to prepare to exchange (receive or transmit) the appropriate signal. prep The preparation time can vary between different UEs, for example, due to differences in the time it takes for each UE to generate the signal to be transmitted, or the time it takes for each UE to modulate, deinterleave, etc., the received signal. The preparation time for preparing to transmit a signal may differ from the preparation time for preparing to receive a signal.

[0104]

[0115] See also Figure 7, the UE500 can be configured so that frequency-division duplexed inter-UE LRS and RNI LRS can be received and / or transmitted by the UE500. For example, the UE500 can be configured to receive both inter-UE LRS, in this case SL LRS710 and RNI LRS720 simultaneously, with SL LRS710 being frequency-division duplexed (FDD) together with RNI LRS720. In the example shown in Figure 7, SL LRS710 and RNI LRS720 occupy non-overlapping frequency ranges, for example, SL LRS710 uses UL resources and RNI LRS720 is a received DL signal and therefore uses DL resources. However, other configurations, for example, configurations where ranges overlap but resources are not shared, may be used. Some UEs may not be able to receive FDD signals simultaneously, for example, if the UE is a reduced-capability UE capable of half-duplex communication only. The UE500 can also be configured to transmit both SL LRS710 and RNI LRS720, either likewise or alternatively. For example, the UE500 can transmit inter-UE LRS and RNI LRS in positioning SRS or CSI-RS (Channel Status Information-Reference Signal) format.

[0105]

[0116] See also Figure 8, the UE500 can be configured such that time-division duplexed interUE LRS and RNI LRS can be received and / or transmitted by the UE500. For example, the UE500 can be configured to receive both interUE LRS, in this case SL LRS810 and RNI LRS820, with SL LRS810 being time-division duplexed (TDD) together with RNI LRS820. SL LRS810 and RNI LRS820 are separated by a gap 830 within a threshold gap range. The threshold gap range extends from a lower time quantity to an upper time quantity. The lower time quantity is greater than or equal to the guard period, and the guard period is long enough to allow the UE500 to transition from receiving SL LRS810 to receiving RNI LRS820 (or vice versa, if SL LRS810 is received after RNI LRS820). The guard period is sufficient to allow the UE500 to switch tuning between the respective resources for the SL LRS810 and RNI LRS820. The upper limit time is short enough so that the measurements for the SL LRS810 and RNI LRS820 can be considered to be measured jointly. The TRP300 can ensure proper isolation 830 by appropriately scheduling the interUE LRS so that the interUE LRS source is operating in the first mode discussed above, where the scheduled resources are used for transmission. However, the TRP300 may not be able to guarantee that isolation 830 will exceed the guard period in some circumstances. This is, for example, when the interUE LRS source is operating in the second mode discussed above, where the UE monitors whether there are available resources to use for signal transmission instead of being scheduled for transmission.

[0106]

[0117] Similar to the above discussion regarding Figure 6, the UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured to cause the processor 510 to receive and measure one of several incoming interUE LRS and RNI LRS according to a determined priority when the UE 500 cannot receive and measure all incoming LRS. For example, the UE 500 may not be configured to receive simultaneous frequency-division duplexed LRS, and / or the UE 500 may not be configured to receive and measure interUE LRS that are time-division duplexed together with RNI LRS that are not far enough in time from the interUE LRS to receive and measure both signals. Again, similar to the above discussion, the priority of several LRS may be a single indication of relative priority, or separate priorities (e.g., priority values) for each different LRS, from which the relative priority may be determined by the UE / RNI unit 560.

[0107]

[0118] Inter-UE and Wireless Network Interface LRS Measurement Report

[0119] See also Figure 9, the UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured to coordinate and report measurements for inter-UE LRS and RNI LRS. Figure 9 shows a signaling and process flow 900 for coordinating, receiving, measuring, and reporting LRS measurements. Flow 900 includes the steps shown, but steps may be added, removed, and / or rearranged.

[0108]

[0120] For example, the UE / RNI unit 560 in UE500-1 may be configured in step 910 to send capability report 912 to TRP300 and / or capability report 914 to another UE500-2. UE500 may send capability report 912 in the uplink channel and capability report 914 in the sidelink channel. Capability reports 912 and 914 indicate whether UE500-1 can receive both inter-UE LRS and RNI LRS, and if so, under what conditions. For example, the UE / RNI unit 560 may send capability reports 912 and 914 to indicate that UE500-1 can simultaneously process (e.g., receive and measure) inter-UE LRS that is frequency-division duplexed along with RNI LRS. Capability reports 912 and 914 may specify a frequency range for the LRS. Alternatively, the UE / RNI unit 560 may send capability reports 912, 914 indicating that UE500-1 can process inter-UE LRS that are time-division duplexed together with the RNI LRS. Capability reports 912, 914 may indicate the range of LRS separation (for example, the acceptable range of separation from the end of one LRS to the beginning of the other) that allows UE500-1 to process multiple LRS jointly. The capability reports may indicate different ranges of separation based on which LRS is scheduled to arrive first.

[0109]

[0121] The UE500 is configured in step 920 to receive one or more LRS configuration messages 922, 924. The LRS configuration messages 922, 924 may indicate one or more resources for the UE500 to use to report joint reception (e.g., simultaneous FDD LRS and / or TDD LRS that meet one or more criteria for being considered jointly received). Resources for reporting LRS measurements may be, for example, joint RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identifier) ​​or one or more time / frequency resources. The configuration messages 922, 924 may indicate that the measurement report is in a separate UL resource (e.g., PUCCH), in MAC-CE (Media Access Control - Control Element), or combined with other data being transmitted on the sidelink or uplink channel. Reporting using PUCCH may use predefined resources that offer more reporting opportunities than using MAC-CE, whereas MAC-CE reporting provides more flexible resources (e.g., flexible size) for reporting.

[0110]

[0122] The UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured in step 930 to receive and measure LRS 932, 934 from TRP 300 and UE 500-2. For example, the UE / RNI unit 560 may process FDD LRS and / or TDD LRS received via interface 520 to determine the measured values ​​of LRS 932, 934. Similarly or alternatively, the UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured to transmit LRS 936 to TRP 300 via RNI and LRS 938 to UE 500-2 via an inter-UE interface (e.g., SL). The UL Tx signal 936 may contain LRS and / or other information.

[0111]

[0123] The UE / RNI unit 560 may be configured to send one or more measurement reports containing LRS 932, 934 measurements to the TRP / SL receiver 902. In step 940, the UE / RNI unit 560 may send a combined measurement report containing LRS measurements, or separate measurement reports, each containing LRS measurements corresponding to the LRS from their respective sources (e.g., TRP300 or UE500-2). The measurement report 942 may be sent in accordance with LRS configuration messages 922, 924 (e.g., using the resources indicated therein and / or in the format indicated therein) (e.g., combined RNTI, separate UL resources, MAC-CE, data). The TRP / SL receiver 902 may be TRP300, UE500-2, or another entity (e.g., another TRP, another UE).

[0112]

[0124] The TRP / SL receiver 902 may be configured in step 950 to receive a measurement report 942 from the UE500-1 and process the LRS measurements in the report 942. For example, the TRP / SL receiver 902 (e.g., its processor) may be configured to determine that multiple measurement reports correspond to the UE500-1 by analyzing the RNTI and / or user ID and / or other information. The TRP / SL receiver 902 (e.g., its processor) may be configured to combine the LRS measurements of the LRS received by the UE500-1. For example, the TRP / SL receiver 902 may combine the measurements using an equation or algorithm. The TRP / SL receiver 902 may weight different LRS measurements differently based on a link measurement, such as RSRP. For example, a first LRS measurement with a first RSRP may be weighted more heavily than a second LRS measurement with a second RSRP lower than the first RSRP. This is because the first LRS measurement may be more reliable than the second LRS measurement, given that the RSRP is higher.

[0113]

[0125] Various modifications to flow 900 are possible. For example, in addition to or instead of the TRP / SL receiver 902 determining the location information in step 950, UE500-1 may determine the location information. UE500-1 may report the determined location information (e.g., pseudo-distance, location estimate) to one or more other entities, such as UE500-2. For example, if UE500-1 determines the location information, UE500-1 may not send the measurement report 942 to the TRP / SL receiver 902. UE500-1 may not send one or more of the capability reports 912, 914 discussed above, or any part of reports 912, 914.

[0114]

[0126] operation

[0127] Referring to Figure 10, with further reference to Figures 1-9, Method 1000 of joint signal exchange via RNI through an inter-UE interface includes the illustrated steps. However, Method 1000 is merely an example and not limiting. Method 1000 can be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing simultaneously, and / or dividing a single step into multiple steps.

[0115]

[0128] In step 1010, method 1000 includes identifying a processing conflict with respect to user equipment (UE) regarding the exchange of a first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of a first radio network interface signal. For example, UE / RNI unit 560 determines from LRS configuration messages 922, 924 that a conflict is scheduled that would prevent processor 510 from processing scheduled exchanges (receive or transmit) of inter-UE LRS and scheduled exchanges (receive or transmit) of RNI signals. UE / RNI 560 may determine, for example, that processor 510 would be unable to receive an inter-UE LRS (e.g., SL LRS) and transmit a UL signal to TRP 300, or receive an inter-UE LRS and receive a DL LRS, or transmit an inter-UE LRS and transmit a UL LRS. For example, UE / RNI 560 may determine that scheduled incoming inter-UE LRS and RNI LRS are frequency-division duplexed and that UE 500 is not configured to process FDD inter-UE LRS and RNI LRS. As another example, the UE / RNI unit 560 may determine that the incoming inter-UE LRS and RNI LRS are time-division duplexed and scheduled with no time gap between signals sufficient for the UE 500 to process both signals (e.g., change tuning from the first signal to the second). The processor 510 may optionally include means for identifying processing conflicts, in conjunction with the memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246).

[0116]

[0129] In step 1020, method 1000 includes determining the priority of the exchange of a first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of a first radio network interface signal. For example, UE / RNI unit 560 may read statically configured priorities from memory 530 (e.g., hardcoded during the manufacture of UE 500). As another example, UE / RNI unit 560 may receive a dynamic priority indicator via interface 520, or read a dynamic priority indicator from memory 530, which may be received via interface 520 and stored in memory 530. UE / RNI unit 560 may use a dynamic priority indicator instead of statically configured priorities. The priority indicator may indicate the relative priority of signals, or may consist of multiple indicators each indicating the priority of one signal or signal type, from which the relative priority may be determined (e.g., by UE / RNI unit 560), or may indicate the priority of an interface (e.g., SL vs. DL). The processor may, in some cases, be provided with means for determining priority in conjunction with memory 530 and / or interface 520.

[0117]

[0130] In step 1030, method 1000 includes exchanging one of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface signal according to priority. For example, UE 500-1 may receive or transmit only the one of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface signal with higher priority. The processor may optionally include means for exchanging one of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface signal, in conjunction with memory 530 and also with interface 520 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and / or wireless receiver 244, and antenna 246).

[0118]

[0131] Implementations of Method 1000 may include one or more of the following features. For example, determining priority may involve determining priority from a priority list indicating relative priority between uplinks with control information, uplinks without control information, and UEs with location reference signal content, based on the fact that the scheduled exchange of a first interUE location reference signal is the reception of a first interUE location reference signal and the scheduled exchange of a first radio network interface signal is the transmission of an uplink signal. As another example, Method 1000 may involve sending a capability report from the UE, the capability report indicating that the UE is able to receive a first interUE location reference signal and transmit a first radio network interface signal, and indicating at least one timing reference. As another example, method 1000 may comprise sending a capability report from the UE, which indicates at least one of the following: that the UEs can exchange a first inter-UE location reference signal that is frequency-division duplexed with a first radio network interface signal; and that the first radio network interface signal comprises the first radio network interface location reference signal; and that the UEs can exchange a first inter-UE location reference signal that is time-division duplexed with the first radio network interface location reference signal at at least one specified timing criterion. For example, UE 500 may send capability reports 912, 914, which indicate a time range for the first inter-UE location reference signal to be separated from a first RNI signal (for example, a time range for the end of the earlier of these signals to be separated from the beginning of the later of these signals). The range may vary based on which of the signals is earlier. The processor may optionally, in conjunction with memory 530 and also with interface 520 (for example, wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246), provide means for sending capability reports.

[0119]

[0132] Similarly or alternatively, an implementation of Method 1000 may include one or more of the following features. For example, Method 1000 may include at least one of the following: receiving a first interUE location reference signal frequency-division duplexed with a first downlink location reference signal and sending a first measurement report from the UE showing measured values ​​for the first interUE location reference signal and the first downlink location reference signal; and receiving a second interUE location reference signal time-division duplexed with a second downlink location reference signal and sending a second measurement report from the UE showing measured values ​​for the second interUE location reference signal and the second downlink location reference signal. For example, LRS932,934 may be FDD or TDD, and UE500 may receive LRS932,934 and send a measurement report 942 to TRP / SL receiver 902. The processor may optionally include, in conjunction with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246), means for receiving a first interUE LRS FDD along with a first DL LRS, and / or means for receiving a second interUE LRS TDD along with a second DL LRS. The processor may optionally include, in conjunction with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246), means for sending measurement reports. The method may include sending at least one of the first and second measurement reports by at least one of the use of one or more separate uplink resources, the use of a media access control-control element, and a combination of other uplink data.

[0120]

[0133] Similarly or alternatively, implementations of Method 1000 may include one or more of the following features: For example, Method 1000 may include receiving priority instructions from a network entity. UE 500 may be dynamically configured by priority by receiving priority instructions via an interface. The processor may optionally include means for receiving priority instructions in conjunction with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246). As another example, Method 1000 may include sending a first inter-UE location reference signal and a first radio network interface signal from the UE, the first radio network interface signal comprising a first radio network interface location reference signal, and the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface location reference signal comprising either a positioning sounding reference signal or a channel state information reference signal. For example, the UE / RNI unit 560 can send LRS 936 and UL Tx signals 938 (equipped with UL LRS) to the TRP 300 and UE 500-2. The processor may optionally be provided with means for sending inter-UE LRS and RNI LRS, in conjunction with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246).

[0121]

[0134] Other considerations

[0135] Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the attached claims. For example, depending on the nature of the software and the computer, the functions described above may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof, executed by a processor. The features implementing the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that parts of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0122]

[0136] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” also include the plural form unless the context makes otherwise clear. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and / or “including” indicate the presence of the described features, integers, steps, actions, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, actions, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0123]

[0137] As used herein, any statement that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means, unless otherwise stated, that the function or operation is based on the stated item or condition, and may be based on one or more additional items and / or conditions.

[0124]

[0138] Furthermore, as used herein, "or" in an enumeration of items ending in "at least one of" or "one or more of" indicates a disjunctive enumeration, such as the enumeration "at least one of A, B, or C" or "one or more of A, B, or C" meaning A or B or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination of more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a statement that an item, for example, a processor, is configured to perform a function relating to at least one of A or B means that the item may be configured to perform a function relating to A, or may be configured to perform a function relating to B, or may be configured to perform a function relating to both A and B. For example, the phrase “a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B” means that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and B (and may be configured to choose whether to measure A or B or both). Similarly, a description of means for measuring at least one of A or B includes means for measuring A (which may or may not be capable of measuring B), or means for measuring B (which may or may not be configured to measure A), or means for measuring A and B (which may be capable of choosing whether to measure A or B or both).As another example, the statement that an item, for example, a processor, is configured to perform at least one of function X or function Y means that the item may be configured to perform function X, or may be configured to perform function Y, or may be configured to perform both function X and function Y. For example, the phrase “a processor configured to perform at least one of measuring X or measuring Y” means that the processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or may be configured to perform both function X and function Y (and may be configured to choose which of X and Y or both should be measured).

[0125]

[0139] Significant modifications may be made depending on the specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may be used, and / or certain elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets) executed by a processor, or both. Furthermore, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be utilized. Unless otherwise stated, functional or other components shown in the diagrams and / or discussed herein, connected to or communicating with each other, are coupled in a communicative manner. That is, components may be connected directly or indirectly to enable communication between them.

[0126]

[0140] The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, features described in relation to some configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of configurations may be combined in similar ways. Also, as technology evolves, many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of this disclosure or claims.

[0127]

[0141] A wireless communication system is a communication system in which communication is carried wirelessly, that is, by electromagnetic waves and / or sound waves that propagate through space rather than by wired or other physical connections. A wireless communication network may not have all communications transmitted wirelessly, but may be configured so that at least some communications are transmitted wirelessly. Furthermore, the term “wireless communication device” or similar terms does not require that the function of the device is solely for communication, or that the function of the device is equally primarily for communication, or that the device is a mobile device, but rather that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (one-way or two-way), for example, including at least one radio for wireless communication (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver).

[0128]

[0142] The description provides specific details to ensure a complete understanding of exemplary configurations (including implementation forms). However, configurations can be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques are presented without unnecessary details to avoid obscuring the configurations. This description merely provides exemplary configurations and does not limit the claims, applicability, or configurations. Rather, the preceding description of the configurations provides instructions for implementing the described techniques. Various modifications may be made to the function and configuration of the elements.

[0129]

[0143] As used herein, the terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any medium involved in providing data that enables a machine to operate in a particular manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code to a processor for execution, and / or may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., signals). In many implementations, processor-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take many forms, including, but are not limited to, non-volatile and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical disks and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0130]

[0144] While several exemplary configurations have been described, various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used. For example, the elements described above may be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the present invention. Also, some operations may occur before, during, or after the consideration of the elements described above. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0131]

[0145] The statement that a value exceeds (or is greater than or greater than) a first threshold is equivalent to the statement that a value satisfies or exceeds a second threshold that is slightly greater than the first threshold, for example, the second threshold being a single value higher than the first threshold in the resolution of the computing system. The statement that a value is less than (or is within or below) a first threshold is equivalent to the statement that a value is less than or equal to a second threshold that is slightly lower than the first threshold, for example, the second threshold being a single value lower than the first threshold in the resolution of the computing system. The invention described in the original claims of this application is listed below. [C1] An interface comprising at least one of a receiver and a transmitter, Memory and A processor that is communicatively coupled to the interface and the memory, A user device (UE) comprising the processor, Identifying processing conflicts regarding the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first wireless network interface signal, Determining the priority of the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first wireless network interface signal, In accordance with the aforementioned priority, the interface is used to exchange one of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first wireless network interface signal. A UE configured to perform the following actions. [C2] The UE described in [C1] is configured to determine the priority from a priority list indicating the relative priority between uplinks with control information, uplinks without control information, and UEs with location reference signal content, based on the fact that the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal is the reception of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first wireless network interface signal is the transmission of the uplink signal. [C3] The UE described in [C2] is configured to send a capability report via the interface indicating that the UE can receive the first inter-UE location reference signal and transmit the first wireless network interface signal, and also indicating at least one timing reference. [C4] The processor is configured to send capability reports via the interface, and the capability reports are The UEs can exchange the first interUE location reference signal, which is frequency-division duplexed together with the first wireless network interface signal, via the interface, and the first wireless network interface signal comprises the first wireless network interface location reference signal. The UEs can exchange the first inter-UE location reference signal, which is time-division duplexed together with the first wireless network interface location reference signal at at least one specified timing criterion, via the interface. The UE described in [C1], which represents at least one of the following. [C5] The aforementioned processor, The system receives the first interUE location reference signal, which is frequency-division duplexed together with the first downlink location reference signal, and sends a first measurement report indicating first measured values ​​of the first interUE location reference signal and the first downlink location reference signal, The system receives a second interUE location reference signal that is time-division duplexed together with a second downlink location reference signal, and sends a second measurement report indicating the second measured values ​​of the second interUE location reference signal and the second downlink location reference signal, The UE described in [C1] is configured to perform at least one of the following: [C6] The UE described in [C5] is configured to send at least one of the first measurement report and the second measurement report by at least one of the use of one or more separate uplink resources, the use of a media access control-control element, and a combination of other uplink data. [C6] The UE described in [C1] is configured to receive the priority instructions via the interface. [C8] The aforementioned UE is the UE described in [C1], which is statically configured with the aforementioned priority. [C9] The processor is configured to send the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface signal via the interface, the first radio network interface signal comprising a first radio network interface location reference signal, and the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface location reference signal comprising one of a positioning sounding reference signal and a channel state information reference signal, as described in [C1]. [C10] Means for identifying processing conflicts regarding the exchange of first user equipment (UE) location reference signals and the exchange of first wireless network interface signals, Means for determining the priority of the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first wireless network interface signal, Means for exchanging one of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first wireless network interface signal according to the aforementioned priority, A UE equipped with [unclear]. [C11] The UE according to [C10], wherein the means for determining the priority is a means for determining the priority from a priority list indicating the relative priority between at least uplinks with control information, uplinks without control information, and UEs with location reference signal content, based on the fact that the exchange of the first interUE location reference signal is the reception of the first interUE location reference signal and the exchange of the first wireless network interface signal is the transmission of the uplink signal. [C12] The UE according to [C11] further comprises means for sending a capability report indicating that the UE can receive the first inter-UE location reference signal and transmit the first radio network interface signal, and also indicating at least one timing reference. [C13] The means for submitting competency reports are further provided, and the said competency reports are, The UE can exchange the first interUE location reference signal, which is frequency-division duplexed together with the first wireless network interface signal, and the first wireless network interface signal comprises the first wireless network interface location reference signal. The UEs can exchange the first inter-UE location reference signal, which is time-division duplexed together with the first wireless network interface location reference signal at at least one specified timing criterion, The UE described in [C10], which represents at least one of the following. [C14] Means for receiving the first interUE location reference signal, which is frequency-division duplexed together with the first downlink location reference signal, and means for sending a first measurement report indicating first measured values ​​of the first interUE location reference signal and the first downlink location reference signal, Means for receiving a second interUE location reference signal that is time-division duplexed together with a second downlink location reference signal, and means for sending a second measurement report indicating a second measurement of the second interUE location reference signal and the second downlink location reference signal, The UE described in [C10] further comprises at least one of the following. [C15] The UE according to [C14], comprising means for sending at least one of the first measurement report and the second measurement report by at least one of the use of one or more separate uplink resources, the use of a media access control-control element, and a combination with other uplink data. [C16] The UE described in [C10] further comprises means for receiving the aforementioned priority instructions from a network entity. [C17] The UE according to [C10], further comprising means for sending the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface signal, wherein the first radio network interface signal comprises a first radio network interface location reference signal, and the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface location reference signal comprises one of a positioning sounding reference signal and a channel status information reference signal. [C18] A method for joint signal exchange via user device interfaces and via wireless network interfaces, For user equipment (UE), to identify processing conflicts regarding the exchange of a first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of a first wireless network interface signal, Determining the priority of the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first wireless network interface signal, In accordance with the aforementioned priority, one of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first wireless network interface signal is to be exchanged, A method for providing this. [C19] The method according to [C18], wherein determining the priority is determined from a priority list showing the relative priority of at least uplinks with control information, uplinks without control information, and UEs with location reference signal content, based on the fact that the exchange of the first interUE location reference signal is the reception of the first interUE location reference signal and the exchange of the first radio network interface signal is the transmission of the uplink signal. [C20] The method according to [C19], further comprising sending a capability report from the UE indicating that the UE can receive the first inter-UE location reference signal and transmit the first wireless network interface signal, and indicating at least one timing reference. [C21] The UE further provides to send a capability report, and the capability report is, The UE can exchange the first interUE location reference signal, which is frequency-division duplexed together with the first wireless network interface signal, and the first wireless network interface signal comprises the first wireless network interface location reference signal. The UEs can exchange the first inter-UE location reference signal, which is time-division duplexed together with the first wireless network interface location reference signal at at least one specified timing criterion, A method according to [C18], which shows at least one of the following. [C22] The first interUE location reference signal is frequency-division duplexed together with the first downlink location reference signal, and the UE sends a first measurement report indicating first measured values ​​of the first interUE location reference signal and the first downlink location reference signal, respectively. The system receives a second interUE location reference signal that is time-division duplexed together with a second downlink location reference signal, and sends a second measurement report from the UE indicating a second measured value of the second interUE location reference signal and the second downlink location reference signal, respectively. The method according to [C18], further comprising at least one of the following. [C23] The method according to [C22], comprising sending at least one of the first measurement report and the second measurement report by at least one of the use of one or more separate uplink resources, the use of a media access control-control element, and a combination with other uplink data. [C24] The method described in [C18], further comprising receiving the aforementioned priority instructions from a network entity. [C25] The method according to [C18], further comprising sending the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface signal from the UE, wherein the first radio network interface signal comprises a first radio network interface location reference signal, and the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first radio network interface location reference signal comprises one of a positioning sounding reference signal and a channel status information reference signal. [C26] To exchange signals via interfaces between user devices and via wireless network interfaces, the processor of the user device (UE) is configured as follows: For the aforementioned UE, to identify processing conflicts regarding the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first radio network interface signal, Determining the priority of the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first wireless network interface signal, In accordance with the aforementioned priority, one of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first wireless network interface signal is to be exchanged, A non-temporary processor-readable storage medium having processor-readable instructions configured to perform the following actions. [C27] The storage medium according to [C26], wherein the instruction configured to cause the processor to determine the priority is an instruction configured to cause the processor to determine the priority from a priority list indicating the relative priority of at least uplinks with control information, uplinks without control information, and UEs with location reference signal content, based on the fact that the exchange of the first inter-UE location reference signal is the reception of the first inter-UE location reference signal and the exchange of the first wireless network interface signal is the transmission of the uplink signal. [C28] The storage medium according to [C27] further comprises instructions configured to cause the processor to send a capability report indicating that the UE can receive the first inter-UE location reference signal and transmit the first wireless network interface signal, and that the UE can send a capability report indicating at least one timing reference. [C29] The instruction further comprises instructions configured to cause the processor to send a capability report from the UE, the capability report being: The UE can exchange the first interUE location reference signal, which is frequency-division duplexed together with the first wireless network interface signal, and the first wireless network interface signal comprises the first wireless network interface location reference signal. The UEs can exchange the first inter-UE location reference signal, which is time-division duplexed together with the first wireless network interface location reference signal at at least one specified timing criterion, A storage medium as described in [C26], which represents at least one of the following. [C30] The first interUE location reference signal is frequency-division duplexed together with the first downlink location reference signal, and the UE sends a first measurement report indicating first measured values ​​of the first interUE location reference signal and the first downlink location reference signal, respectively. The system receives a second interUE location reference signal that is time-division duplexed together with a second downlink location reference signal, and sends a second measurement report from the UE indicating a second measured value of the second interUE location reference signal and the second downlink location reference signal, respectively. The storage medium according to [C26] further comprises instructions configured to cause the processor to perform at least one of the following. [C31] The storage medium according to [C30], wherein the instruction includes an instruction configured to cause the processor to send at least one of the first measurement report and the second measurement report by at least one of the use of one or more separate uplink resources, the use of a media access control-control element, and a combination of other uplink data. [C32] The storage medium according to [C26] further comprises instructions configured to cause the processor to receive instructions of the aforementioned priority from a network entity. [C33] The storage medium according to [C26] further comprises an instruction configured to cause the processor to send the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first wireless network interface signal from the UE, wherein the first wireless network interface signal comprises a first wireless network interface location reference signal, and the first inter-UE location reference signal and the first wireless network interface location reference signal comprises one of a positioning sounding reference signal and a channel state information reference signal. [C34] Receiver and Memory and A processor that is communicatively coupled to the receiver and the memory, A device comprising, the processor, The system receives a measurement report from a user equipment (UE), and the measurement report comprises first measurement information relating to an inter-UE location reference signal received by the UE, and second measurement information relating to a downlink location reference signal received by the UE. In order to determine the location information of the aforementioned UE, the first measurement information and the second measurement information are combined, A device configured to perform the following actions. [C35] The processor is configured to combine the first measurement information and the second measurement information using a relative weighting of the first measurement information and the second measurement information, wherein the relative weighting is based on the relative link measurements of the inter-UE location reference signal and the downlink location reference signal, as described in [C34].

Claims

[Claim 1] Receiver and Memory and A processor that is communicatively coupled to the receiver and the memory, A device comprising, the processor, The system receives a measurement report from a user equipment (UE), and the measurement report comprises first measurement information relating to an inter-UE location reference signal received by the UE, and second measurement information relating to a downlink location reference signal received by the UE. In order to determine the positional information relating to the UE, the first measurement information and the second measurement information are combined using a relative weighting of the first measurement information and the second measurement information, It is configured to do the following: The aforementioned relative weighting is based on a first reference signal received power (RSRP) for the inter-UE location reference signal and a second RSRP for the downlink location reference signal. device.

Images