Request for an on-demand positioning reference signal positioning session at a future time

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communications are disclosed. In one aspect, a position determination entity (PDE) receives a request to schedule an on-demand PRS positioning session for a UE at a future time, the request being configured to request a first parameter set for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, and the availability of one or more parameters of the first parameter set at the future time is not determinable at the time the request is received. The PDE determines the availability of the one or more parameters at the future time. The PDE determines a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session in advance of the future time.

Description

Background Art

[0001] 1. Field of the Disclosure Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication.

[0002] 2. Description of Related Art Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first-generation (1G) analog wireless telephone service, second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-capable wireless service, and fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and personal communications 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), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), and the like.

[0003] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), requires higher data transfer speeds, more connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to tens of thousands of users, and 1 gigabit per second to dozens of employees on an office floor. To support large-scale sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections must be supported. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency must be increased and latency significantly reduced compared to the current standard. [Overview of the project]

[0004] The following provides a simplified overview relating to one or more embodiments disclosed herein. Therefore, this overview should not be considered a broad overview of all intended embodiments, nor should it be considered to identify any major or significant elements relating to all intended embodiments, or to define the scope relating to any particular embodiment. Accordingly, the sole purpose of this overview is to provide, in a simplified form, specific concepts relating to one or more embodiments of the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed descriptions presented below.

[0005] In one embodiment, a method for operating user equipment (UE) includes sending a request to a positioning entity for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for the UE at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time being undeterminable at the time the request is sent; and, in response to the request, receiving a PRS configuration prior to the future time, which includes a second set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the PRS configuration being at least partially based on the availability of one or more parameters at a future time.

[0006] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0007] In some embodiments, the requirement specifies whether each parameter in the first parameter set is mandatory or optional.

[0008] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth part (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0010] In some embodiments, one or more parameters that are undecidable when the request is sent are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0011] In some embodiments, one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor can be determined at the time the request is submitted, due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0012] In some embodiments, the request specifies a future time through indications of a preferred start time and duration.

[0013] In some embodiments, the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified by referring to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion in the current PRS configuration.

[0014] In some embodiments, at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0015] In some embodiments, at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0016] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0017] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is received via a plurality of partial PRS configurations, each of which cumulatively defines a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0018] In some embodiments, one or more requests for a PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0019] In one embodiment, a method for operating a position estimation entity includes: receiving a request for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for a user device (UE) at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the availability of one or more parameters of the first set at a future time being undeterminable when the request is received; determining, in response to the request, the availability of one or more parameters at a future time in advance of the future time; determining a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the PRS configuration comprising a second set of parameters, at least in part, based on the determination of the availability of one or more parameters at a future time; and, in response to the request, transmitting the PRS configuration to the UE in advance of the future time.

[0020] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0021] In some embodiments, the requirement specifies whether each parameter in the first parameter set is mandatory or optional.

[0022] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor.

[0023] In some aspects, the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, an SL beam direction, an SL bandwidth or bandwidth part (BWP), a synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0024] In some aspects, one or more parameters that are not determinable when a request is sent are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of the at least one SL anchor.

[0025] In some aspects, one or more other parameters for at least one static anchor are determinable when a request is sent due to the lack of mobility of the smallest one static anchor.

[0026] In some aspects, the request specifies a future time via an indication of a preferred start time and duration.

[0027] In some aspects, the preferred start time and duration are specified via a set of slots, subframes, or frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified by referring to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion of the current PRS configuration.

[0028] In some aspects, at least one parameter within the first parameter set is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0029] In some aspects, at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter can be requested, modified, or removed from an association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0030] In some aspects, the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0031] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is transmitted via a plurality of partial PRS configurations, each of which cumulatively defines a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0032] In some embodiments, one or more requests for a PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0033] In one embodiment, the user device (UE) comprises memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communically coupled to the memory and at least one transceiver, the processor being configured to transmit a request to a location estimating entity via the at least one transceiver for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for the UE at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time being undeterminable at the time the request is transmitted, and, in response to the request, in advance of a future time, a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the PRS configuration comprising a second set of parameters at least partially based on the availability of one or more parameters at a future time, via the at least one transceiver.

[0034] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0035] In some embodiments, the requirement specifies whether each parameter in the first parameter set is mandatory or optional.

[0036] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor.

[0037] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0038] In some embodiments, one or more parameters that are undecidable when the request is sent are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0039] In some embodiments, one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor can be determined at the time the request is submitted, due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0040] In some embodiments, the request specifies a future time through indications of a preferred start time and duration.

[0041] In some embodiments, the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified by referring to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion in the current PRS configuration.

[0042] In some embodiments, at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0043] In some embodiments, at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0044] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0045] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is received via a plurality of partial PRS configurations, each of which cumulatively defines a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0046] In some embodiments, one or more requests for a PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0047] In one embodiment, the position estimation entity comprises: memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communically coupled to the memory and at least one transceiver, the processor receiving a request via the at least one transceiver for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for a user device (UE) at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, wherein the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time is undeterminable when the request is received; determining, in response to the request, in advance of the future time, the availability of one or more parameters at a future time; determining a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, which includes a second set of parameters at least in part based on the determination of the availability of one or more parameters at a future time; and transmitting, in response to the request, in advance of the future time, the PRS configuration to the UE via the at least one transceiver.

[0048] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0049] In some embodiments, the requirement specifies whether each parameter in the first parameter set is mandatory or optional.

[0050] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor.

[0051] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0052] In some embodiments, one or more parameters that are undecidable when the request is sent are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0053] In some embodiments, one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor can be determined at the time the request is submitted, due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0054] In some embodiments, the request specifies a future time through indications of a preferred start time and duration.

[0055] In some embodiments, the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified by referring to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion in the current PRS configuration.

[0056] In some embodiments, at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0057] In some embodiments, at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0058] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0059] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is transmitted via a plurality of partial PRS configurations, each of which cumulatively defines a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0060] In some embodiments, one or more requests for a PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0061] In one embodiment, a user device (UE) includes means for transmitting a request to a location estimating entity, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, wherein the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters in the future time is undeterminable at the time the request is transmitted; and means for receiving, in response to the request and prior to the future time, a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, which includes a second set of parameters at least in part based on the availability of one or more parameters in the future time.

[0062] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0063] In some embodiments, the requirement specifies whether each parameter in the first parameter set is mandatory or optional.

[0064] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor.

[0065] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0066] In some embodiments, one or more parameters that are undecidable when the request is sent are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0067] In some embodiments, one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor can be determined at the time the request is submitted, due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0068] In some embodiments, the request specifies a future time through indications of a preferred start time and duration.

[0069] In some embodiments, the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified by referring to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion in the current PRS configuration.

[0070] In some embodiments, at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0071] In some embodiments, at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0072] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0073] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is received via a plurality of partial PRS configurations, each of which cumulatively defines a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0074] In some embodiments, one or more requests for a PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0075] In one embodiment, a location estimation entity includes means for receiving a request for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for a user device (UE) at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, wherein the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time is undeterminable when the request is received; means for determining the availability of one or more parameters at a future time in advance of the request; means for determining a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, which includes a second set of parameters at least in part based on the determination of the availability of one or more parameters at a future time; and means for transmitting the PRS configuration to the UE in advance of the request.

[0076] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0077] In some embodiments, the requirement specifies whether each parameter in the first parameter set is mandatory or optional.

[0078] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor.

[0079] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0080] In some embodiments, one or more parameters that are undecidable when the request is sent are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0081] In some embodiments, one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor can be determined at the time the request is submitted, due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0082] In some embodiments, the request specifies a future time through indications of a preferred start time and duration.

[0083] In some embodiments, the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified by referring to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion in the current PRS configuration.

[0084] In some embodiments, at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0085] In some embodiments, at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0086] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0087] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is transmitted via a plurality of partial PRS configurations, each of which cumulatively defines a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0088] In some embodiments, one or more requests for a PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0089] In one embodiment, a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, wherein when a computer-executable instruction is executed by a user device (UE), the non-temporary computer-readable medium causes the UE to send a request to a location estimating entity for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for the UE at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time being undeterminable at the time the request is sent, and in response to the request, the non-temporary computer-readable medium to receive, in advance of a future time, a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the PRS configuration comprising a second set of parameters at least in part based on the availability of one or more parameters at a future time.

[0090] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0091] In some embodiments, the requirement specifies whether each parameter in the first parameter set is mandatory or optional.

[0092] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor.

[0093] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0094] In some embodiments, one or more parameters that are undecidable when the request is sent are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0095] In some embodiments, one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor can be determined at the time the request is submitted, due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0096] In some embodiments, the request specifies a future time through indications of a preferred start time and duration.

[0097] In some embodiments, the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified by referring to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion in the current PRS configuration.

[0098] In some embodiments, at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0099] In some embodiments, at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0100] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0101] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is received via a plurality of partial PRS configurations, each of which cumulatively defines a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0102] In some embodiments, one or more requests for a PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0103] In one embodiment, a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, wherein when a computer-executable instruction is executed by a location-estimating entity, the non-temporary computer-readable medium causes the location-estimating entity to receive a request for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for a user device (UE) at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, wherein the availability of one or more parameters of the first set at a future time is undeterminable at the time the request is received, the non-temporary computer-readable medium to receive the request, and in response to the request, determine the availability of one or more parameters at a future time in advance of the future time, and to determine a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, which includes a second set of parameters at least in part based on the determination of the availability of one or more parameters at a future time, and to transmit the PRS configuration to the UE in advance of the future time, in response to the request.

[0104] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0105] In some embodiments, the requirement specifies whether each parameter in the first parameter set is mandatory or optional.

[0106] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0108] In some embodiments, one or more parameters that are undecidable when the request is sent are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0109] In some embodiments, one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor can be determined at the time the request is submitted, due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0110] In some embodiments, the request specifies a future time through indications of a preferred start time and duration.

[0111] In some embodiments, the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified by referring to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion in the current PRS configuration.

[0112] In some embodiments, at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0113] In some embodiments, at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0114] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0115] In some embodiments, the PRS configuration is transmitted via a plurality of partial PRS configurations, each of which cumulatively defines a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0116] In some embodiments, one or more requests for a PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0117] Other purposes and advantages relating to the embodiments disclosed herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0118] The accompanying drawings are provided to aid in describing various aspects of this disclosure and are provided solely for illustrative purposes of aspects, not as an limitation of those aspects. [Figure 1] This figure shows an exemplary wireless communication system according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A] This figure shows an exemplary wireless network structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] This figure shows an exemplary wireless network structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] This is a simplified block diagram of some exemplary embodiments of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE) and configured to support the communications taught herein. [Figure 3B] This is a simplified block diagram of some exemplary embodiments of components that may be employed in a base station and configured to support the communications taught herein. [Figure 3C] This is a simplified block diagram of some exemplary embodiments of components that may be employed in a network entity and configured to support the communications taught herein. [Figure 4] This figure shows an exemplary frame structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] This figure shows various downlink channels in an exemplary downlink slot according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] This figure shows various uplink channels in an exemplary uplink slot according to an aspect of this disclosure. [Figure 7] This figure shows an exemplary positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for a given base station PRS transmission according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] This figure shows an exemplary downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) configuration for two transmit / receive points (TRPs) operating in the same positioning frequency layer, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] This figure shows examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR) according to the aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 10] This figure shows an exemplary user device (UE) positioning operation according to an aspect of this disclosure. [Figure 11] This figure shows an exemplary process of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] This figure shows an exemplary process of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] This figure shows on-demand DL PRS parameters that may be required by UE, LMF, or both, according to aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 14] This figure shows an exemplary implementation of the processes shown in Figures 11 and 12, respectively, according to one aspect of this disclosure. [Figure 15] This figure shows an exemplary implementation of the processes shown in Figures 11 and 12, respectively, according to one aspect of this disclosure. [Figure 16]This figure shows an exemplary implementation of the processes shown in Figures 11 and 12, respectively, according to one aspect of this disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0119] The aspects of this disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings, which cover various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative embodiments may be devised without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In addition, well-known elements of this disclosure are not described in detail or are omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

[0120] The terms “exemplary” and / or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, case, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” should not necessarily be construed as being preferable or advantageous to any other aspect. Similarly, the term “aspects of the disclosure” does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed.

[0121] Those skilled in the art will understand that the information and signals described below can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, desired design, corresponding technique, etc.

[0122] Furthermore, many aspects will be described, for example, with respect to sequences of actions performed by elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that 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 a combination of both. In addition, the sequence(s) of actions described herein, when executed, may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-temporary computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that cause or instruct the relevant processor of the device to perform the function described herein. Thus, the various aspects of this disclosure may be embodied in several different forms, all of which are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, any corresponding form of such aspect may be described herein, for example, as “logic configured to perform” the described action.

[0123] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise stated. Generally, a UE may be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer location device, wearable (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE may be mobile or stationary (e.g., at a particular time) 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 Device," "Mobile Terminal," "Mobile Station," or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, a UE may be connected to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (for example, based on the IEEE 802.11 specification), etc.

[0124] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs that communicate with the UE, depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, and may also be called an access point (AP), network node, node B, advanced node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), or new radio (NR) node B (also known as gNB or gNodeB). Base stations may be primarily used to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connectivity for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may only provide edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control and / or network management functionality. The communication link through which a UE can send signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which a base station can send signals to a UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0125] The term “base station” can refer to a single physical transmission-reception point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs, which may or may not be colocated. For example, when the term “base station” refers to a single physical TRP, that physical TRP may be the base station’s antennas corresponding to the base station’s cells (or several cell sectors). When the term “base station” refers to multiple colocated physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be an array of antennas of the base station (for example, in the case of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, or when the base station employs beamforming). When the term “base station” refers to multiple uncolocated physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, an uncollocated physical TRP may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE, and an adjacent base station from which the UE measures its reference radio frequency (RF) signal. Since a TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0126] In some implementations that support UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (e.g., it may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead may transmit a reference signal to the UE to be measured by the UE, and / or receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be called a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting a signal to the UE) and / or a positioning unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0127] An "RF signal" includes electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transport information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be called a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be called a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" where it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0128] Figure 1 shows an exemplary wireless communication system 100 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 (sometimes called a wireless wide area network, WWAN) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base station may include an eNB and / or ng-eNB corresponding to an LTE network, or a gNB corresponding to an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include a femtocell, picocell, microcell, etc.

[0129] The base station 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with the core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via a backhaul link 122, and with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a Location Management Function (LMF) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP)) via the core network 170. The location server(s) 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be outside the core network 170. The location server(s) 172 may be integrated with the base station 102. The UE(s) 104 may communicate with the location server(s) 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE(s) 104 may communicate with the location server(s) 172 via the base station(s) 102 currently serving it. UE104 may also communicate with location server 172 via other routes, such as via an application server (not shown), via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP150 described below), or via another network. For signaling purposes, communication between UE104 and location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., via core network 170) or a direct connection (e.g., as illustrated via direct connection 128), and intervening nodes (if any) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0130] In addition to other functions, base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: transferring user data, wireless channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, non-access stratum (NAS) message delivery, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracing, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and warning message delivery. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) via backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0131] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station 102 may provide communication coverage to a separate geographical coverage area 110. In one embodiment, one or more cells may be supported by base stations 102 in each geographical coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (over several frequency resources, e.g., called carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, etc.) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), enhanced cell identifier (ECI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) to distinguish cells operating over the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others). Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" may, depending on the context, refer to one or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it. In addition, since the TRP is usually the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographical coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, insofar as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0132] The geographical coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (for example, in handover areas), and some of the geographical coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by larger geographical coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" instead of "small cell") may have a geographical coverage area 110' that significantly overlaps with the geographical coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB) that may serve a limited group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0133] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also called reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102, and / or downlink (DL) (also called forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may utilize MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may operate through one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

[0134] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 communicating with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0135] Small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed frequency spectrum and / or unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in unlicensed frequency spectrum, small cell base station 102' may utilize LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by WLAN AP150. Small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed frequency spectrum may extend coverage to the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be called NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum may be called LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0136] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a mmW base station 180 that can operate in millimeter-wave (mmW) and / or quasi-mmW frequencies communicating with UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF is in the range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and has wavelengths between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band are sometimes called millimeter waves. Quasi-mmW can extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and is also called centimeter waves. Communication using the mmW / quasi-mmW radio frequency band has high path loss and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 180 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short distances. Furthermore, in alternative configurations, it will be understood that one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or quasi-mmW and beamforming. Therefore, it will be understood that the above examples are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the various embodiments disclosed herein.

[0137] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts that signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). Using transmit beamforming, a network node can determine where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and project a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster and more powerful RF signal (in terms of data rate) to one or more receiving devices. To change the directivity of an RF signal when transmitting, a network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node may use an array of antennas (also called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates a beam of RF waves that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. In detail, RF current from the transmitter is supplied to individual antennas with the appropriate phase relationship, and as a result, radio waves from separate antennas combine to enhance radiation in the desired direction while canceling out radiation in undesirable directions.

[0138] The transmit beam may be quasi-co-located, meaning that to the receiver (e.g., UE), the transmit beam appears to have the same parameters regardless of whether the transmit antenna of the network node itself is physically co-located or not. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on the source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and mean delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0139] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a received beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, a receiver can amplify an RF signal received from a particular direction (e.g., increase its gain level) by increasing the gain setting of an antenna array in that direction and / or adjusting the phase setting. Therefore, when a receiver is said to be beamforming in a particular direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal intensity (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR)) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0140] Transmit and receive beams may be spatially related. Spatial relationship means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive or transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE might use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block, SSB) from a base station. The UE could then use the parameters of the receive beam to form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal, SRS) to that base station.

[0141] It should be noted that a “downlink” beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, then the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if a UE forms a downlink beam, then it is a receive beam for receiving a downlink reference signal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station forms an uplink beam, then it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE forms an uplink beam, then it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0142] The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided into various classes, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands are identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz–7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz–52.6 GHz). Although a portion of FR1 is above 6 GHz, it should be understood that FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as the "sub-6 GHz" band in various documents and papers. A similar nomenclature issue can arise with respect to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and papers, even though it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz–300 GHz) which is identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0143] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as intermediate band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating band for these intermediate band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). The frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit the FR1 and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus, in effect, the features of FR1 and / or FR2 may be extended to the intermediate band frequencies. Furthermore, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0144] With the above aspects in mind, unless otherwise specified, terms such as "sub-6GHz" may broadly refer to frequencies that are below 6GHz, within FR1, or that may include intermediate band frequencies, as used herein. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, terms such as "millimeter wave" may broadly refer to frequencies that are within intermediate band frequencies, within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or that may be within the EHF band, as used herein.

[0145] In multi-carrier systems such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the "primary carrier," "anchor carrier," "primary serving cell," or "PCell," while the remaining carrier frequencies are called "secondary carriers," "secondary serving cells," or "SCells." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE104 / 182, and on the cell where the UE104 / 182 is either performing the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiating the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common control channels and UE-specific control channels and may (but not always) be a carrier on licensed frequencies. The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured when an RRC connection is established between the UE104 and the anchor carrier and may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier on unlicensed frequencies. Since both the primary uplink carrier and primary downlink carrier are typically UE-specific, the secondary carrier may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals; for example, UE-specific signaling information and signals do not need to be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UE104 / 182 within a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a “serving cell” (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which several base stations communicate, terms such as “cell,” “serving cell,” “component carrier,” and “carrier frequency” can be used interchangeably.

[0146] For example, still referring to Figure 1, one of the frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 may be the anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers allows UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission rate and / or data reception rate. For example, aggregated two 20MHz carriers in a multicarrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40MHz) compared to the data rate achieved by a single 20MHz carrier.

[0147] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a UE 164 that can communicate with a macrocell base station 102 via a communication link 120 and / or with an mmW base station 180 via an mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0148] In some cases, UE164 and UE182 may be capable of sidelink communication. Sidelink-enabled UEs (SL-UEs) can communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE164, UE182) may also communicate directly with each other via wireless sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-enabled UEs). Wireless sidelink (or simply “sidelink”) is a conformance of core-cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standards that enables direct communication between two or more UEs without the need for communication to go through a base station. Sidelink communication may be unicast or multicast and may be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of the groups of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communication may be within the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such groups may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102, or in some cases may not be able to receive transmissions from base station 102. In some cases, a group of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to all other SL-UEs in the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between SL-UEs without the involvement of base station 102.

[0149] In one embodiment, the sidelink 160 may operate on a wireless communication medium of interest, the communication medium of interest may be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points, as well as with other wireless communications between other RATs. The “medium” may consist of one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers) relating to wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs. In one embodiment, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared among various RATs. While different licensed frequency bands are reserved for some communication systems (e.g., by government agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems, particularly those employing small cell access points, have recently extended their operation to unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band, used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technology, most notably IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly known as “Wi-Fi”. This type of exemplary system includes various variations such as CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, and single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems.

[0150] Figure 1 shows only two of the UEs as SL-UEs (i.e., UE164 and UE182), but note that any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs. Furthermore, although it was explained that only UE182 is beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs, including UE164, may be beamforming. When SL-UEs are beamforming, they can beamform toward each other (i.e., toward other SL-UEs), toward other UEs (e.g., UE104), toward base stations (e.g., base stations 102, 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Therefore, in some cases, UE164 and UE182 may utilize beamforming via sidelink 160.

[0151] In the example in Figure 1, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in Figure 1 as a single UE 104 for simplicity) may receive signals 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one embodiment, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that the UEs 104 can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) arranged to enable receivers (e.g., UEs 104) to determine their locations on or above the Earth, at least in part on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a set number of repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) codes. While usually located within the SVs 112, the transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. UE104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signals 124 for deriving geolocation information from SV112.

[0152] In satellite positioning systems, the use of signal 124 may be associated with use involving one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, or may be otherwise enabled for such use, and may be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS). For example, an SBAS may include one or more augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), Global Positioning System (GPS)-assisted geo-augmented navigation, or GPS and Geo-Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN). Therefore, the satellite positioning systems used herein may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with one or more such satellite positioning systems.

[0153] In one embodiment, SV112 may, as an addition or alternative, be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTN). In an NTN, SV112 is connected to an earth station (also called a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which is then connected to an element in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in 5GC. This element then provides access to other elements in the 5G network, and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as internet web servers and other user devices. In this way, UE104 may receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV112 in place of, or in addition to, communication signals from terrestrial base station 102.

[0154] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more D2D peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "sidelinks"). In the example in Figure 1, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based internet connectivity). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported using any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), or Bluetooth®.

[0155] Figure 2A shows an exemplary wireless network structure 200. For example, 5GC210 (also called Next Generation Core (NGC)) may be functionally considered to be control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), working collaboratively to form the core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB222 to 5GC210, and more specifically to user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, ng-eNB224 may also be connected to 5GC210 via NG-C215 to control plane functions 214 and NG-U213 to user plane functions 212. Furthermore, the ng-eNB224 may communicate directly with the gNB222 via the backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNB222s, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB224 and the gNB222. Either (or both) of the gNB222 or the ng-eNB224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0156] Another optional embodiment may include a location server 230 that may communicate with 5GC210 to provide location assistance to one or more UEs 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network 5GC210 and / or via the internet (not shown). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into the core network components, or alternatively, outside the core network (e.g., a third-party server such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or service server).

[0157] Figure 2B shows another exemplary wireless network structure 250. 5GC260 (which may correspond to 5GC210 in Figure 2A) can be functionally considered as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, working collaboratively to form the core network (i.e., 5GC260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, access authentication and access permission, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between a UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF264 also interacts with the authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE204, and receives the intermediate key established as a result of the UE204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The AMF264's functionality also includes security context management (SCM).The SCM receives keys from the SEAF that the SCM uses to derive access network-specific keys. The functionality of the AMF264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, transport for location service messages between the UE204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as the location server 230), transport for location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF270, EPS bearer identifier assignment for interacting with the evolved packet system (EPS), and UE204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP® (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0158] The functions of UPF262 include (when applicable) acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility, acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to data networks (not shown), routing and forwarding packets, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking on the downlink), uplink traffic verification (mapping service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow), transport-level packet marking on the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF262 may also support the forwarding of location service messages on the user plane between UE204 and location servers such as SLP272.

[0159] The functions of the SMF266 ​​include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF262 for routing traffic to appropriate destinations, control of policy enforcement and some QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF266 ​​communicates with the AMF264 is called the N11 interface.

[0160] Another optional embodiment may include an LMF270 that may communicate with the 5GC260 to provide location assistance to the UE204. The LMF270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spanning multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each corresponding to a single server. The LMF270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE204, which can connect to the LMF270 via the core network, the 5GC260, and / or via the internet (not shown). The SLP272 may support similar functionality to the LMF270, but the LMF270 can communicate with the AMF264, NG-RAN220, and UE204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to transmit signaling messages rather than voice or data), while the SLP272 can communicate with the UE204 and external clients (not shown in Figure 2B) on the user plane (e.g., using the transmission control protocol (TCP) and / or protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as IP).

[0161] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC260, specifically the UPF262 and AMF264, to one or more gNB222 and / or ng-eNB224 in the NG-RAN220, respectively. The interface between the gNB(single or multiple)222 and / or ng-eNB(single or multiple)224 and the AMF264 is called the "N2" interface, and the interface between the gNB(single or multiple)222 and / or ng-eNB(single or multiple)224 and the UPF262 is called the "N3" interface. The gNB(single or multiple)222 and / or ng-eNB(single or multiple)224 in the NG-RAN220 can communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 called the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNB222 and / or ng-eNB224 may communicate with one or more UE204s via a wireless interface called the "Uu" interface.

[0162] The functionality of gNB222 is divided between a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226 and one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228 is called the "F1" interface. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions such as transferring user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, and session management, except for those functions which are exclusively assigned to the gNB-DU(s) 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data conformance protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the gNB222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that hosts the radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layer of the gNB222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. A single gNB-DU228 can support one or more cells, while a single cell is supported by only one gNB-DU228. Therefore, the UE204 communicates with the gNB-CU226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, and with the gNB-DU228 via the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers.

[0163] Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C show several exemplary components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including location servers 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively, may be independent of the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure depicted in Figures 2A and 2B, such as a private network) to support the file transmission operations taught herein. It will be understood that these components may be implemented in different types of devices in different implementation forms (e.g., in an ASIC, a system-on-a-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Also, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, the device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0164] UE302 and base station304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, and provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for adjusting, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) for communicating over one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, and GSM networks. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes such as other UEs, access points, and base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs) over at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a target wireless communication medium (e.g., some set of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be configured in various ways, respectively, to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.). In detail, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, and each includes one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358.

[0165] UE 302 and base station 304 also each include, in at least some cases, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may each be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366 and may provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for withholding transmission, etc.) for communicating with other network nodes such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Z-Wave®, PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), etc.) on the wireless communication medium of interest. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be configured in various ways, respectively, to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.). In particular, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 each include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, and each includes one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth® transceivers, Zigbee® and / or Z-Wave® transceivers, NFC transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0166] UE302 and base station 304 also include, in at least some cases, satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may each be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, which may provide means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378. If satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith satellite system (QZSS), etc. If satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be equipped with any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may, as appropriate, request information and actions from other systems and, at least in some cases, perform calculations using the acquired measurements to determine the locations of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively, using any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.

[0167] Each base station 304 and network entity 306 includes one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 for communicating with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 for communicating with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0168] The transceiver may be configured to communicate via a wired or wireless link. Whether wired or wireless, the transceiver includes a transmitter circuit configuration (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuit configuration (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodying the transmitter and receiver circuit configurations in a single device), in some implementations it may comprise separate transmitter and receiver circuit configurations, or in other implementations it may be embodied in other ways. The transmitter and receiver circuit configurations of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. A wireless transmitter circuit configuration (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include, or be coupled to, multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array that enables individual devices (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit beamforming, as can be described herein. Similarly, a wireless receiver circuit configuration (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include, or be coupled to, multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array that enables individual devices (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as can be described herein. In one embodiment, the transmitter and receiver circuit configurations may share multiple identical antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that individual devices can either receive or transmit only at a given time, but not both at the same time. Wireless transceivers (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include network listening modules (NLMs) for performing various measurements.

[0169] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some implementations, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may generally be characterized as “transceiver,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers.” Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver can be inferred from the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers generally involves signaling via wired transceivers, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) generally involves signaling via wireless transceivers.

[0170] UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, for example, to provide functions related to wireless communication and to provide other processing functions. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 may include processing means such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, and means for directing. In one embodiment, processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0171] UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include memory circuit configurations that implement memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively (each including, for example, a memory device), for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memories 340, 386, and 396 can appropriately provide storage means, retrieval means, maintenance means, etc. In some cases, UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may include on-demand PRS components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. On-demand PRS components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, and when executed, the processors cause UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other embodiments, the on-demand PRS components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., as part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the on-demand PRS components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3A shows possible locations for the on-demand PRS component 342, which may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or it may be a standalone component. Figure 3B shows possible locations for an on-demand PRS component 388, which may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or it may be a standalone component.Figure 3C shows possible locations for an on-demand PRS component 398, which may be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or it may be a standalone component.

[0172] UE302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide means for detecting or detecting motion and / or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. For example, one or more sensors 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, one or more sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and their outputs may be combined to provide motion information. For example, one or more sensors 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0173] In addition, UE302 includes a user interface 346 that provides means for providing instructions to the user (e.g., acoustic instructions and / or visual instructions) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when a user activates a sensing device such as a keypad, touchscreen, or microphone). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0174] Referring more specifically to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 may be provided to processor 384. One or more processors 384 may implement functions for the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide RRC layer functions associated with system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection correction, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and broadcasting of measurement configurations for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction by automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0175] The transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer 1 (L1) functions related to various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to a signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., two-phase-shifted modulation (BPSK), quadrature-phase-shifted modulation (QPSK), M-phase-shifted modulation (M-PSK), M-quadrature-phase-amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols can then be divided into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time domain and / or frequency domain, and then synthesized together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel that carries the time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator can be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. Channel estimates can be derived from a reference signal and / or channel state feedback transmitted by UE302. Each spatial stream can then be supplied to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate the RF carrier using the individual spatial streams for transmission.

[0176] In UE302, receiver 312 receives signals through its individual antenna(s) 316. Receiver 312 reconstructs the information modulated on the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to reconstruct any spatial stream directed to UE302. If multiple spatial streams are directed to UE302, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by receiver 312. Receiver 312 then uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to convert the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal contains a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are reconstructed and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. Next, the soft decision decodes and deinterleaves the data and control signals that were initially transmitted by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332 that implement Layer 3 (L3) and Layer 2 (L2) functions.

[0177] In the uplink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between the transport channel and logical channel, packet reassembly, decoding, header reconstruction, and control signal processing to reconstruct IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0178] Similar to the functions described in relation to downlink transmission by base station 304, one or more processors 332 provide RRC layer functions associated with acquiring system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with forwarding upper layer PDUs, error correction by ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction by hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0179] The channel estimate derived by the channel estimator from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by the transmitter 314 may be supplied to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate the RF carrier using separate spatial streams for transmission.

[0180] Uplink transmissions are processed at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in relation to the receiver function in UE302. Receiver 352 receives the signal through its individual antenna(s) 356. Receiver 352 reconstructs the information modulated on the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 384.

[0181] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between the transport channel and logical channel, packet reassembly, decoding, header reconstruction, and control signal processing to reconstruct IP packets from the UE302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be delivered to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0182] For convenience, the UE302, base station 304, and / or network entity 306 are shown in Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it will be understood that the illustrated components may have different functions in different designs. In detail, the various components in Figures 3A–3C are optional in alternative configurations, and the various embodiments include configurations that may change due to design choices, cost, device usage, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A, a particular implementation of the UE302 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or PC or laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities without cellular capabilities), or the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 320 (e.g., cellular only), or the satellite signal receiver(s) 330, or the sensor(s) 344, etc. In another example, in the case shown in Figure 3B, a particular implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular functionality), or the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 360 (e.g., cellular only), or the satellite receiver 370, and so on. For the sake of brevity, examples of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0183] Various components of UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can be coupled to each other in a communicative manner via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one embodiment, data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may form or be part of the communication interfaces of UE302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, if various logical entities are embodied within the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality integrated within the same base station 304), data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may provide communication between them.

[0184] The components in Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C can be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components in Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310-346 may be implemented by the processor components(s) and memory components(s) of UE302 (e.g., by the execution of appropriate code and / or by the appropriate configuration of processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350-388 may be implemented by the processor components(s) and memory components(s) of base station 304 (e.g., by the execution of appropriate code and / or by the appropriate configuration of processor components). Furthermore, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 390-398 may be implemented by the processor components(s) and memory components(s) of the network entity 306 (for example, by the execution of appropriate code and / or by the appropriate configuration of processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed “by the UE,” “by the base station,” “by the network entity,” etc. However, as should be understood, such operations, actions, and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components such as the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, including processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memories 340, 386, and 396, and on-demand PRS components 342, 388, and 398.

[0185] In some designs, network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 may be separate from the network operator or operation of the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN220 and / or 5GC210 / 260). For example, network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that communicates with UE302 via base station 304, or it may be configured independently of base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0186] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 4 is a 400-figure diagram illustrating an exemplary frame structure according to an aspect of this disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0187] LTE and, in some cases, NR utilize OFDM on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, commonly called tones or bins. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Generally, the modulation symbol is transmitted using OFDM in the frequency domain and SC-FDM in the time domain. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing may be 15 kilohertz (kHz), and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (i.e., 180 kHz). Therefore, the nominal FFT sizes may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0188] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), for example, subcarrier spacings of 15kHz (μ=0), 30kHz (μ=1), 60kHz (μ=2), 120kHz (μ=3), and 240kHz (μ=4), or greater, may be available. Within each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For a 15kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, i.e., 10 slots per frame, with a slot duration of 1 millisecond (ms), a symbol duration of 66.7 microseconds (μs), and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 50 with an FFT size of 4K. For a 30kHz SCS (μ=1), there are 2 slots per subframe, i.e., 20 slots per frame, with a slot duration of 0.5ms, a symbol duration of 33.3μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 100 for an FFT size of 4K. For a 60kHz SCS (μ=2), there are 4 slots per subframe, i.e., 40 slots per frame, with a slot duration of 0.25ms, a symbol duration of 16.7μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 200 for an FFT size of 4K. For a 120kHz SCS (μ=3), there are 8 slots per subframe, i.e., 80 slots per frame, with a slot duration of 0.125ms, a symbol duration of 8.33μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 400 for an FFT size of 4K. For a 240kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, i.e., 160 slots per frame, with a slot duration of 0.0625ms, a symbol duration of 4.17μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 800 for an FFT size of 4K.

[0189] In the example in Figure 4, a 15 kHz numerology is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes, each containing one time slot. In Figure 4, time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0190] A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, each time slot containing one or more time-parallel resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain (also called physical RBs or PRBs). The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of Figure 4, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0191] Some of the REs may carry a reference (pilot) signal (RS). Depending on whether the shown frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communication, the reference signal may include a positioning reference signal (PRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), cell-specific reference signal (CRS), channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), synchronization signal block (SSB), sounding reference signal (SRS), etc. Figure 4 shows an exemplary location of an RE carrying a reference signal (labeled "R").

[0192] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating various downlink channels within an exemplary downlink slot. In Figure 5, time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), increasing from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top. In the example in Figure 5, a 15 kHz numerology is used. Thus, in the time domain, the shown slot is 1 millisecond (ms) long and is divided into 14 symbols.

[0193] In NR, the channel bandwidth or system bandwidth is divided into multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs). A BWP is a contiguous set of RBs selected from a contiguous subset of common RBs for a given numerology on a given carrier. Generally, up to four BWPs can be specified on the downlink and uplink. That is, a UE can be configured with up to four BWPs on the downlink and up to four BWPs on the uplink. Only one BWP (uplink or downlink) may be active at a given time, meaning that the UE can receive or transmit through only one BWP at a time. On the downlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be greater than or equal to the bandwidth of the SSB, but each BWP may or may not include the SSB.

[0194] Referring to Figure 5, the primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by the UE to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identification information. The secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identification information group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identification information and physical layer cell identification information group number, the UE can determine the PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the DL-RS described above. A physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also called SS / PBCH). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the downlink system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH, such as system information blocks (SIB), and paging messages.

[0195] A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries downlink control information (DCI) within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE containing one or more RE group (REG) bundles (which may span multiple symbols in the time domain), each REG bundle containing one or more REGs, each REG corresponding to 12 resource elements (one resource block) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain. The set of physical resources used to carry the PDCCH / DCI is called a control resource set (CORESET) in NR. In NR, the PDCCH is confined to a single CORESET and transmitted with its own DMRS. This allows for UE-specific beamforming for the PDCCH.

[0196] In the example in Figure 5, there is one CORESET per BWP, and the CORESET extends to three symbols in the time domain (although it could be only one or two symbols). Unlike the LTE control channel, which occupies the entire system bandwidth, in NR, the PDCCH channel is confined to a specific region in the frequency domain (i.e., a CORESET). Therefore, the frequency components of the PDCCH shown in Figure 5 are shown as less than a single BWP in the frequency domain. Note that the illustrated CORESET is contiguous in the frequency domain, but does not have to be. In addition, a CORESET can extend to fewer than three symbols in the time domain.

[0197] The DCIs within a PDCCH carry information about (persistent and non-persistent) uplink resource allocations, called uplink grants and downlink grants, and descriptions of downlink data to be sent to the UE, respectively. More specifically, DCIs indicate resources scheduled for downlink data channels (e.g., PDSCHs) and uplink data channels (e.g., physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs)). Multiple (e.g., up to eight) DCIs may be configured within a PDCCH, and these DCIs may have one of several formats. For example, there may be different DCI formats for uplink scheduling, downlink scheduling, and uplink transmit power control (TPC). A PDCCH may be transmitted by one, two, four, eight, or sixteen CCEs to accommodate different DCI payload sizes or coding rates.

[0198] Figure 6 is a diagram showing various uplink channels within an exemplary uplink slot. In Figure 6, time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), increasing from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top. In the example in Figure 6, a 15 kHz numerology is used. Thus, in the time domain, the shown slot is 1 millisecond (ms) long and is divided into 14 symbols.

[0199] A random access channel (RACH), also called a physical random access channel (PRACH), may reside in one or more slots within a frame based on a PRACH configuration. A PRACH may contain six consecutive RB pairs within a slot. The PRACH allows the UE to perform initial system access and achieve uplink synchronization. A physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) may be located on the edge of the uplink system bandwidth. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, CSI reports, channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. A physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) carries data and may additionally carry buffer status reports (BSR), power headroom reports (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0200] Figure 7 is a diagram of an exemplary PRS configuration 700 for PRS transmission of a given base station according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In Figure 7, time is represented horizontally, increasing from left to right. Each long rectangle represents a slot, and each short (shaded) rectangle represents an OFDM symbol. In the example of Figure 7, PRS resource set 710 (labeled “PRS resource set 1”) includes two PRS resources, namely a first PRS resource 712 (labeled “PRS resource 1”) and a second PRS resource 514 (labeled “PRS resource 2”). The base station transmits PRS on PRS resources 712 and 714 of PRS resource set 710.

[0201] The PRS resource set 710 has an occasion length of 2 slots (N_PRS) and a periodicity of, for example, 160 slots, or 160 milliseconds (ms) (for a subcarrier interval of 15 kHz) (T_PRS). Thus, both PRS resources 712 and 714 are two consecutive slots in length, and are repeated every T_PRS slots, starting from the slot in which the first symbol of the individual PRS resources appears. In the example in Figure 7, PRS resource 712 has a symbol length of 2 symbols (N_symb), and PRS resource 714 has a symbol length of 4 symbols (N_symb). PRS resources 712 and 714 may be transmitted on separate beams of the same base station.

[0202] Each instance of the PRS resource set 710, shown as instances 720a, 720b, and 720c, contains an occasion of length "2" (i.e., N_PRS=2) for each PRS resource 712, 714 in the PRS resource set. PRS resources 712 and 714 are repeated every T_PRS slots until the muting sequence periodicity T_REP. Therefore, a bitmap of length T_REP is required to indicate which occasions among instances 720a, 720b, and 720c of the PRS resource set 710 are muted (i.e., not transmitted).

[0203] In one embodiment, additional constraints may apply to the PRS configuration 700. For example, for all PRS resources (e.g., PRS resources 712, 714) of a PRS resource set (e.g., PRS resource set 710), the base station may configure the following parameters, namely (a) occasion length (N_PRS), (b) number of symbols (N_symb), (c) comb type, and / or (d) bandwidth, to be the same. In addition, for all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets, the subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix may be configured to be the same for one base station or for all base stations. Whether it is for one base station or for all base stations may depend on the UE's ability to support the first and / or second option.

[0204] Figure 8 is an exemplary PRS configuration for two TRPs (labeled "TRP1" and "TRP2") operating in the same positioning frequency layer (labeled "Positioning Frequency Layer 1") according to an aspect of the present disclosure. For a positioning session, the UE may provide supporting data indicating the illustrated PRS configuration. In the example of Figure 8, the first TRP ("TRP1") is associated with (e.g., transmits) two PRS resource sets labeled "PRS Resource Set 1" and "PRS Resource Set 2", and the second TRP ("TRP2") is associated with one PRS resource set labeled "PRS Resource Set 3". Each PRS resource set contains at least two PRS resources. Specifically, the first PRS resource set ("PRS Resource Set 1") includes PRS resources labeled "PRS Resource 1" and "PRS Resource 2," the second PRS resource set ("PRS Resource Set 2") includes PRS resources labeled "PRS Resource 3" and "PRS Resource 4," and the third PRS resource set ("PRS Resource Set 3") includes PRS resources labeled "PRS Resource 5" and "PRS Resource 6."

[0205] NR supports several cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. Figure 9 shows examples of various positioning methods according to aspects of this disclosure. In the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure shown by Scenario 910, the UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (ToA) of a reference signal (e.g., positioning reference signal (PRS)) received from a pair of base stations, called reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and several non-reference base stations in the support data. The UE then measures the RSTD between each of the reference base station and the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurements, a positioning entity (e.g., the UE in the case of UE-based positioning, or a location server in the case of UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the location of the UE.

[0206] In DL-AoD positioning as shown in Scenario 920, the positioning entity uses beam reports from the UE, of received signal intensity measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams, to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the transmitting base station(s). The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the transmitting base station(s).

[0207] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink arrival time difference (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA but is based on an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) transmitted by the UE. In UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal intensity of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receiving beams. The positioning entity uses the signal intensity measurements and the angle(s) of the receiving beam(s) to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the base station(s). Based on the determined angle(s) and the known locations(s) of the base stations(s), the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0208] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include Extended Cell ID (E-CID) positioning and Multi-Round Trip Time (RTT) positioning (also known as "Multi-Cell RTT" and "Multi-RTT"). In the RTT procedure, a first entity (e.g., a base station or UE) transmits a first RTT-related signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or base station), and the second entity transmits a second RTT-related signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the time to arrival (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is called the reception-to-transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement may be performed or adjusted to include only the time difference between the nearest subframe boundaries for the received and transmitted signals. Next, both entities may send their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF270), which calculates the round-trip propagation time (i.e., RTT) between the two entities from the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity may send its Rx-Tx time difference measurement to the other entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities can be determined from the RTT and the known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). In the case of multi-RTT positioning as shown in Scenario 930, the first entity (e.g., a UE or base station) performs an RTT positioning procedure with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) to enable the location of the first entity to be determined (e.g., using multilateration) based on the distance to the second entity and the known location of the second entity. As shown in Scenario 940, RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD to improve location accuracy.

[0209] The E-CID positioning method is based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identifier, estimated timing, and signal strength of any detected neighboring base stations. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base station(s).

[0210] To support positioning operations, location servers (e.g., location servers 230, LMF270, SLP272) may provide support data to the UE. For example, the support data may include the identifier of the base station (or base station cell / TRP) from which the reference signal should be measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning subframes, the periodicity of the positioning subframes, the muting sequence, the frequency hopping sequence, the reference signal identifier, the reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the support data may be obtained directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages). In some cases, the UE may be able to discover the neighboring network node itself without using support data.

[0211] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, the supporting data may further include the expected RSTD value and the associated uncertainty around the expected RSTD, i.e., the search window. In some cases, the expected RSTD value range may be + / -500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for positioning measurements are in FR1, the uncertainty range for the expected RSTD may be + / -32 μs. In other cases, when all of the resources used for positioning measurements (one or more) are in FR2, the uncertainty range for the expected RSTD may be + / -8 μs.

[0212] Location estimates may also be referred to by other names such as position estimate, location, position, position fix, or fix. Location estimates may be geodetic and comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or urban and comprise a street address, postal address, or some other linguistic description of the location. Location estimates may further be defined for some other known location, or they may be defined absolutely (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). Location estimates may include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including an area or volume in which the location is expected to be contained with some specified or default level of confidence).

[0213] Figure 10 shows an exemplary UE positioning operation 1000 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The UE positioning operation 1000 may be performed by UE204, NG-RAN node 1002 in NG-RAN220 (e.g., gNB222, gNB-CU226, ng-eNB224, or other node in NG-RAN220), AMF264, LMF270, and 5GC Location Service (LCS) entity 1080 (e.g., any third-party application requesting the location of UE204, a public service access point (PSAP), an E-911 server, etc.).

[0214] A location service request to obtain the location of the target (i.e., UE204) can be initiated by the 5GC LCS entity 1080, the AMF264 servicing UE204, or UE204 itself. Figure 10 shows these options as stages 1010a, 1010b, and 1010c, respectively. Specifically, in stage 1010a, the 5GC LCS entity 1080 sends a location service request to the AMF264. Alternatively, in stage 1010b, the AMF264 generates the location service request itself. Alternatively, in stage 1010c, UE204 sends a location service request to the AMF264.

[0215] When AMF264 receives (or generates) a location service request, in step 1020, it forwards the location service request to LMF270. LMF270 then performs an NG-RAN positioning procedure with NG-RAN node 1002 in step 1030a, and a UE positioning procedure with UE204 in step 1030b. The specific NG-RAN positioning procedure and UE positioning procedure may depend on the type(s) of positioning method(s) used to locate UE204, which may depend on the capabilities of UE204. The positioning method may be downlink-based (e.g., LTE-OTDOA, DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, etc.), uplink-based (e.g., UL-TDOA, UL-AoA, etc.), and / or downlink and uplink-based (e.g., LTE / NR E-CID, multi-RTT, etc.). The corresponding positioning procedure is publicly available and described in detail in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.305, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0216] The NG-RAN positioning procedure and the UE positioning procedure may utilize LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling between UE204 and LMF270, and LPP Type A (LPPa) or New Radio Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling between NG-RAN node 1002 and LMF270. LPP is used point-to-point between a location server (e.g., LMF270) and a UE (e.g., UE204) to obtain measured or estimated location values ​​or to transfer supporting data. A single LPP session is used to support a single location request (e.g., for a single Mobile Incoming Location Request (MT-LR), Mobile Outgoing Location Request (MO-LR), or Network Induced Location Request (NI-LR)). Multiple LPP sessions may be used between the same endpoints to support multiple different location requests. Each LPP session comprises one or more LPP transactions, each LPP transaction performing a single action (e.g., capability exchange, supporting data transfer, location information transfer). An LPP transaction is also called an LPP procedure.

[0217] The prerequisite for stage 1030 is that the LCS correlation identifier (ID) and AMF ID have been passed to LMF270 by serving AMF264. Both the LCS correlation ID and AMF ID may be represented as strings selected by AMF264. The LCS correlation ID and AMF ID are provided to LMF270 by AMF264 in stage 1020 when a location service request is made. Then, when LMF270 triggers stage 1030, LMF270 also includes the LCS correlation ID for this location session, along with the AMF ID indicating the AMF instance servicing UE204. The LCS correlation ID is used during the positioning session between LMF270 and UE204 to ensure that positioning response messages from UE204 are returned by AMF264 to the correct LMF270 and carry an instruction (LCS correlation ID) that can be recognized by LMF270.

[0218] It should be noted that the LCS correlation ID serves as a location session identifier that can be used to identify messages exchanged between the AMF264 and LMF270 for a particular location session for a UE204, as described in more detail in 3GPP TS23.273, which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. As described above and shown in step 1020, a location session between the AMF264 and LMF270 for a particular UE204 is induced by the AMF264, and the LCS correlation ID can be used to identify this location session (for example, it can be used by the AMF264 to identify state information for this location session).

[0219] LPP positioning methods and associated signaling content are defined in the 3GPP LPP standard (published and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, 3GPP TS37.355). LPP signaling may be used to request and report measurements related to the following positioning methods, namely LTE-OTDOA, DL-TDOA, A-GNSS, E-CID, sensors, TBS, WLAN, Bluetooth, DL-AoD, UL-AoA, and multi-RTT. Currently, LPP measurement reports may include the following measurements: (1) one or more ToA, TDOA, RSTD, or Rx-Tx time difference measurements; (2) one or more AoA and / or AoD measurements (currently only for base stations reporting UL-AoA and DL-AoD to LMF270); (3) one or more multipath measurements (ToA, RSRP, AoA / AoD per path); (4) one or more motion conditions (e.g., walking, driving, etc.) and trajectory (currently only for UE204); and (5) one or more report quality indicators.

[0220] As part of the NG-RAN node positioning procedure (stage 1030a) and the UE positioning procedure (stage 1030b), the LMF270 may provide LPP support data in the form of downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) configuration information for the selected positioning method(s). Alternatively or additionally, the NG-RAN node 1002 may provide DL-PRS and / or uplink PRS (UL-PRS) configuration information for the selected positioning method(s). Note that although Figure 10 shows a single NG-RAN node 1002, there may be multiple NG-RAN nodes 1002 involved in the positioning session.

[0221] When configured in DL-PRS and / or UL-PRS configurations, NG-RAN node 1002 and UE204 transmit and receive / measure individual PRS signals at scheduled times. NG-RAN node 1002 and UE204 then transmit their respective measurements to LMF270.

[0222] When the LMF270 obtains measurements from the UE204 and / or NG-RAN node 1002 (depending on the type of positioning method (single or multiple)), it uses these measurements to calculate an estimate of the UE204's location. Then, in step 1040, the LMF270 sends a location service response to the AMF264 containing the location estimate for the UE204. The AMF264 then forwards the location service response to the entity that generated the location service request in step 1050. Specifically, if the location service request is received from the 5GC LCS entity 1080 in step 1010a, then in step 1050a, the AMF264 sends the location service response to the 5GC LCS entity 1080. However, if the location service request is received from the UE204 in step 1010c, then in step 1050c, the AMF264 sends the location service response to the UE204. Alternatively, if AMF264 generates a location service request in step 1010b, in step 1050b, AMF264 stores / uses the location service response itself.

[0223] The above describes UE positioning operation 1000 as a UE-assisted positioning operation, but please note that UE-based positioning operation may also be used instead. In UE-assisted positioning operation, the LMF270 calculates the location of the UE204, while in UE-based positioning operation, the UE204 calculates its own location.

[0224] In the case of an on-demand PRS-based UE positioning session, such as the process in Figure 10, there is little delay between the time a location service request is issued (e.g., in 1010a, 1010b, or 1010c) and the time the NG-RAN node positioning procedure (stage 1030a) and / or the UE positioning procedure (stage 1030b) are executed. In this case, the location service request may request several parameters for the on-demand PRS positioning session, and the availability of the requested parameter(s) can be checked in real time (e.g., since there is no significant gap between the location service request and the on-demand PRS positioning session, the availability of the requested parameters is checked only once and, if available, can be allocated to the on-demand PRS positioning session).

[0225] Some designs require that the UE location be known at a future time T. Some designs may have a one-off request for the location at time T, or a periodic request with a first instance starting at time T. The need to track future UE locations can arise in various use cases, such as IIoT, V2X, and asset tracking.

[0226] In some designs, PRS positioning may require measurement information related to both on-demand PRS and scheduled PRS (e.g., periodic or semi-persistent PRS). One potential problem is that if on-demand and scheduled PRS are separated by a large time gap, the UE may move between measurements. Clock drift can also cause additional timing errors. To limit these issues, the UE may need to request that on-demand PRS be scheduled within a requested future time window (e.g., to align all PRS in a positioning session). However, some on-demand PRS configurations may not be immediately available to the UE after the request if the scheduled time in the request is far in the future. For example, if the UE requests that an on-demand SL PRS be scheduled from a specific mobile UE within one hour in the future, the configuration to the target UE might be problematic because the SL anchor may not be close to the target UE at that time. In a particular use case, an autonomous vehicle might move along a planned trajectory within a factory and request that an on-demand PRS be scheduled at a future time T_1 approximately within region R. The on-demand PRS could be from any anchor (TRP or SL). While Uu PRS may be pre-configurable, LMF cannot predict which mobile SL anchors will be available around region R at time T1 (for example, other robots may be interfered with and therefore unable to follow their planned trajectory).

[0227] Aspects of this disclosure relate to requests for scheduling an on-demand PRS positioning session of a UE at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session. In contrast to legacy on-demand PRS positioning sessions, where the availability of any requested parameters is simply checked in real time and then (if available) assigned to the on-demand PRS positioning session, according to aspects of this disclosure, the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time is undeterminable when the request is submitted. The positioning entity can then track a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, which includes a second set of parameters, at least in part, based on the availability of one or more parameters at a future time, in advance of that future time. Such aspects can offer various technical advantages, such as facilitating on-demand PRS positioning at a future time, rather than being limited to scheduling real-time on-demand PRS positioning as in legacy systems. Also, in some designs, overhead can be reduced because future on-demand PRS can be scheduled without the need to set up periodic broadcast PRS.

[0228] Figure 11 shows an exemplary process 1100 of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, process 1100 may be performed by a UE such as UE302 (e.g., a UE for which position estimation is desired).

[0229] Referring to Figure 11, in 1110, UE302 (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324, data bus 334, etc.) sends a request to a location estimation entity for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for the UE at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time is undeterminable at the time the request is sent. In some designs, the location estimation entity may be the UE itself (e.g., for UE-based location estimation), BS304 (e.g., an LMF integrated into the RAN), or a network entity 306 (e.g., an LMF integrated into a core network component, location server, etc.). In the case of UE-based location estimation, the transmission in 1110 may correspond to an internal transfer of data between logical components, or a transmission to an external component such as a gNB or LMF.

[0230] Referring to Figure 11, in 1120, UE302 (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, data bus 334, etc.) receives, on request, a PRS configuration for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session in advance of future time, which includes a second set of parameters at least partially based on the availability of one or more parameters at future time. In some designs, the location estimation entity may correspond to the UE itself (e.g., for UE-based location estimation), BS304 (e.g., an LMF integrated into the RAN), or network entity 306 (e.g., an LMF integrated into a core network component, location server, etc.). In the case of UE-based location estimation, reception in 1120 may correspond to internal transfers of data between logical components, or to receptions from external components such as gNBs or LMFs.

[0231] Figure 12 shows an exemplary process 1200 of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, process 1200 may be performed by a location estimation entity. In some designs, the location estimation entity may correspond to a UE302 (e.g., for UE-based location estimation), or a BS304 (e.g., an LMF integrated into the RAN), or a network entity 306 (e.g., an LMF integrated into a core network component, location server, etc.).

[0232] Referring to Figure 12, in 1210, a location estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, network transceiver(s) 390, data bus 334 or 382 or 392, etc.) receives a request for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for a user device (UE) at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time being undeterminable when the request is received. In some designs, the request may be received from the UE, as in 1110 in Figure 11. In other designs, the request may be received from another entity, such as an LCS client or LMF. In the case of UE-based location estimation where the request is received from the UE, the reception in 1210 may correspond to an internal transfer of data between logical components. If the request is for UE-assisted position estimation received from the LMF, the reception of 1210 may correspond to an internal transfer of data between logical components.

[0233] Referring to Figure 12, in 1220, a location estimation entity (e.g., one or more processors 332, 382, ​​or 392, on-demand PRS component 342, 388, or 398, etc.) determines, on request, the availability of one or more parameters at a future time, prior to that future time. In some designs, this parameter availability lookup operation may be performed similarly to the legacy parameter availability lookup operation, except for its timing. For example, the legacy parameter availability lookup operation is generally performed as soon as a location service request for on-demand PRS is issued (i.e., without delay). However, the parameter availability lookup operation in 1220 may be performed with a delay or offset from the time the request is received in 1210 (e.g., at some future time before the future time when the on-demand PRS positioning session is performed).

[0234] Referring to Figure 12, in 1230, a location estimation entity (e.g., one or more processors 332, 382, ​​or 392, on-demand PRS component 342, 388, or 398, etc.) determines a PRS configuration for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, which includes a second set of parameters, at least in part, based on determining the availability of one or more parameters at future times.

[0235] Referring to Figure 12, in 1240, the location estimation entities (e.g., transmitters 314 or 324 or 354 or 364, network transceivers (one or more) 390, data buses 334 or 382 or 392, etc.) transmit the PRS configuration to the UE in advance of future time, as required. As will be described in more detail, the transmissions in 1240 may include a single transmission or multiple transmissions. In the case of UE-based location estimation, the transmissions in 1240 may correspond to internal transfers of data between logical components or may be received from external components such as gNB or LMF (e.g., anchor locations and / or PRS resources from a particular anchor may be provided to the UE by gNB or LMF).

[0236] Referring to Figures 11 and 12, in some designs, “undecidable” parameters can be distinguished from “decidable” parameters by the respective confidence level at which parameter availability can be predicted in future time. For example, the availability of a particular SL anchor near a target UE in one hour may be characterized as undecidable because the probability of a successful prediction is very low (for example, since both the target UE and the SL anchor could be mobile devices).

[0237] Referring to Figures 11 and 12, in some designs, the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0238] Referring to Figures 11 and 12, in some designs (e.g., 3GPP Rel. 17), various on-demand PRS parameters may be specified. Figure 13 shows on-demand DL PRS parameters 1300 that may be required by a UE, LMF, or both, according to aspects of this disclosure. In some designs, the requester of an on-demand PRS session (e.g., a UE or LMF or gNB or location estimation entity) may further specify whether certain parameters are mandatory or optional. In some designs, if a mandatory parameter cannot be met, the location estimation entity may return a failure (e.g., cancel the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session). In some designs, if an optional parameter cannot be met, the location estimation entity may configure a compatible parameter or ignore this optional parameter. Thus, in some designs, for each parameter in the first parameter set, the requirement in 1110 of Figure 11 or 1210 of Figure 12 specifies whether the individual parameter is mandatory or optional. In this case, any parameter associated with "Yes" in relation to Figure 13 may instead be associated with a "Required" or "Optional" designation.

[0239] Referring to Figures 11 and 12, in some designs, the first parameter set includes at least one sidelink (SL) anchor. In one example, the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronous signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof. In another example, one or more parameters that are undecidable when the request is sent are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor. In yet another example, one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor are determinable when the request is sent due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor. Thus, in some designs, the request in 1110 in Figure 11 or 1210 in Figure 12 may include only undecidable parameters, or alternatively, a combination of determinable and undecidable parameters.

[0240] Referring to Figures 11 and 12, in some designs, the requirement specifies future times through indications of preferred start time (T) and duration. In some designs, the preferred start time and duration are specified via a set of slots, subframes, or frames, or they are specified in absolute time (e.g., ms or s), or they are specified by referring to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion in the current PRS configuration. In some designs, the requirement may further specify the minimum number of anchors required to achieve the target accuracy requirement.

[0241] Referring to Figures 11-12, in some designs, at least one parameter in a first parameter set is associated with at least one time constraint. For example, at least one time constraint restricts when at least one parameter can be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session. In a particular example, suppose a UE sends a scheduled on-demand PRS request to a positioning entity (PE) to schedule an on-demand PRS at a future time T_1. In some designs, each preferred parameter Z_i in the request may be sent within a limited time window [X_i, Y_i]. In some designs, parameter Z_i cannot be requested, modified, or removed earlier than x (for example, because the positioning entity requests time to configure / schedule / adjust based on the requested parameters), and parameter Z_i cannot be requested, modified, or removed later than Y_i (alter than). In some designs, each parameter may have a different time window. Thus, an on-demand request may be sent in several messages.

[0242] In one specific example with one X_i and Y_i, the position estimation entity (or specification) may define a threshold T_r for scheduled on-demand requests. Only a subset of on-demand PRS parameters may be specified in the request before T_1~T_r. Others should be specified after T_1~T_r. In one example, a particular SL anchor may be added to the on-demand request only when the current time is close to the scheduled time. Otherwise, the SL anchor may move out of the vicinity of the target UE. In another example, positioning accuracy requirements can be specified at any time. In some designs, an LCS client or UE may send on-demand PRS requests by several messages over a time period prior to time T_1. Each request contains partially desired on-demand PRS parameters (e.g., before the scheduled T1, the UE should provide a fully customized PRS request; in some designs, messages may add / modify / remove subsets of on-demand parameters from previous messages). In some designs, given a threshold, some parameters cannot be specified. In some designs, the position estimation entity (or specification) may further define a threshold T_3 after T_1 to T_3, after which no further desired parameters can be added / modified / removed. In one example, this time (T_3) may allow the position estimation entity to configure and schedule a customized PRS based on a fixed, preferred set of parameters. Timing examples in the various examples provided above may be defined in terms of slots, subframes, frames, absolute time, etc.

[0243] Referring to Figures 11-12, some designs require that PRS configurations be received at the UE within a specified time window. In a particular example, assume that a location estimation entity is required to provide a customized PRS configuration scheduled around T_1. Each on-demand PRS configuration W_i in the response should be sent within a limited time window [X_i,X_i] (e.g., not earlier than X, because the location estimation entity cannot decide on the configuration / scheduling before this time, and not later than Y_i, because the UE requires time to adjust the configuration). In some designs, each parameter may have a different time window. Therefore, the on-demand response may be sent in several messages.

[0244] In one particular example having one X_i and one Y_i, a timing threshold T_{nf} is defined for far future / near future on-demand responses. In some designs, requests within the threshold (T_1 < T_{nf}) are considered near future requests, and the response (i.e., the desired customized PRS configuration and scheduling) can be completed by the positioning entity as soon as possible before time T_1. Requests exceeding the threshold (T_1 > T_{nf}) are considered far future requests. In some designs, since some detailed configurations are not available in advance, the response (configuration and scheduling) can be completed through several messages. In some designs, each message includes a partial on-demand PRS configuration. In some designs, before scheduled T1, the positioning entity can provide a fully customized PRS configuration. In context, "fully" means there are no missing PRS parameters causing ambiguity, or the UE does not need to perform blind search. In one example, the positioning entity may be able to configure on-demand PRS from a far future stationary TRP instead of a mobile anchor. In some designs, the positioning entity can send several on-demand PRS responses through several LPP messages over a time before the requested time. In some designs, the positioning entity or the UE can further specify a second timing threshold T_2 for which the positioning entity must respond with a customized PRS configuration before T_1 - T_2. In some designs, T_2 is designed to provide sufficient time for the UE to adjust its configuration / hardware for on-demand PRS operation. The timing examples in the various examples provided above can be defined with respect to slots, subframes, frames, absolute time, etc.

[0245] Referring to FIGS. 11 - 12, in some designs as described above, the PRS configuration is received via a plurality of partial PRS configurations that cumulatively define each of a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0246] Referring to Figures 11 and 12, in some designs, one or more requests for a PRS configuration (e.g., an initial request plus any supplementary requests modifying PRS parameters) and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration may include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions. For example, if a UE requests multiple on-demand PRS configurations that overlap in time (e.g., each having its own separate on-demand PRS requests and responses), the UE and the positioning entity may have trouble-distinguishing signaling related to the multiple on-demand PRS configurations. In this case, as described above, each of the multiple on-demand PRS configurations may be associated with a unique identifier. In some designs, the unique identifier may be assigned by the sender (e.g., the UE). Therefore, the UE attaches a new identifier to the request in 1110 of Figure 11 or 1210 of Figure 12, and the localization entity then associates this new identifier with subsequent signaling associated with the request (e.g., signaling that communicates the PRS configuration, signaling from the UE that requests one or more changes to the requested PRS parameters).

[0247] Figure 14 shows exemplary implementations 1400 of processes 1100 to 1200 of Figures 11 to 12, respectively, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In particular, exemplary implementations 1400 relate to on-demand DL PRS in a Uu. In one example in Figure 14, if the UE does not have information about possible on-demand PRS, the UE may request a desired customized PRS configuration. In a further example in Figure 14, if the UE has some pre-configured on-demand PRS, the UE may request a specific reconfiguration or switch to a desired configuration. Generally, Figure 14 shows modified implementations of process 1000 of Figure 10.

[0248] Referring to Figure 14, LMF270 sends NRPPa support information control to NG-RAN1002 (1a), and NG-RAN1002 sends system information to UE302 via RRC (1b). Next, a “future” on-demand PRS request is sent to AMF264 by UE302 (2a), or sent to AMF264 by 5GC LCS entity 1080 (2b), or generated by AMF264 itself (2c). A location request is sent to LMF270 by AMF264 (3). Instead of immediately setting up the PRS configuration, various LPP procedures are performed (4). As the future time for on-demand PRS approaches, LMF270 determines a new DL PRS configuration for on-demand PRS (5). An NRPPa DL PRS reconfiguration is performed for the new DL PRS configuration (6), and a DL PRS transmission is performed using the new configuration (7). LPP procedures and optionally NRPPa procedures are performed (8). The LMF sends a location response to the AMF264 (9), and the AMF264 sends the location response to the UE302 (10a), or to the 5GC LCS entity 1080 (10b), or to the AMD264 (10c) (e.g., a logical transfer). The LMF270 then restores the old DL PRS configuration (11a). The NRPPa DL PRS reconfiguration is performed against the old DL PRS configuration (11b), and the DL PRS transmission is performed using the old configuration (12).

[0249] Figure 15 shows an exemplary implementation 1500 of processes 1100 to 1200 of Figures 11 to 12, respectively, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In particular, Figure 15 shows optional signaling that may occur during process 1400 of Figure 14. Referring to Figure 15, the LMF270 sends an NRPPA message (type: DL PRS Reconfiguration Request) to the gNB304 (1). For example, the reconfiguration request in (1) may occur between (6) or (11b) in Figure 14. In response, the gNB304 sends an NRPPa message (type: DL PRS Reconfiguration Response / Failure) to the LMF270 (2). As described above, the reconfiguration request may be permitted or denied based on various constraints (e.g., it may be too early and the parameters to be reconfigured cannot yet be set, or it may be too late and the parameters can no longer be changed).

[0250] Figure 16 shows an exemplary implementation 1600 of processes 1100 to 1200 of Figures 11 to 12, respectively, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In particular, Figure 16 shows optional signaling that may occur during process 1400 of Figure 14. Referring to Figure 14, gNB304 transmits positioning SIB (posSIB) to UE302 (1a). LMF270 transmits support data to UE302 via LPP (1b). UE302 may later transmit a request to LMF270 for updated support data via LPP (2). Accordingly, LMF270 transmits the updated support data to UE302 via LPP (3). For example, in (3), the updated support data may modify, add, or remove one or more PRS parameters from the support data from (1b).

[0251] In the embodiments for carrying out the above invention, it will be seen that various features are grouped together in each example. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the exemplary clauses have more features than are explicitly stated within each clause. Rather, the various embodiments of this disclosure may contain fewer features than all the features of the individual exemplary clauses disclosed. Accordingly, the following clauses should be considered as incorporated into the description, and each clause may be valid on its own as a separate example. Each dependent clause may refer within itself to a particular combination with one of the other clauses, but the embodiments (singular or plural) of that dependent clause are not limited to that particular combination. It will be understood that other exemplary clauses may also contain combinations of embodiments (singular or plural) of dependent clauses with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or any combination of features with other dependent and independent clauses. Unless it is not explicitly stated or easily inferred that a particular combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory embodiments such as defining an element as both an insulator and a conductor), the various embodiments disclosed herein explicitly include those combinations. Furthermore, even if a clause is not directly subordinate to an independent clause, it is intended that the form of the clause may be included in any other independent clause.

[0252] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0253] Clause 1. A method for operating a user device (UE), comprising: sending a request to a location estimating entity for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for the UE at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, wherein the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time is undeterminable at the time the request is sent; and, in response to the request, receiving a PRS configuration prior to a future time, which includes a second set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, wherein the second set of parameters is at least partially based on the availability of one or more parameters at a future time.

[0254] Clause 2. The method described in Clause 1, wherein the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0255] Clause 3. The method of Clause 1 or 2, wherein the requirement specifies whether an individual parameter is mandatory or optional for each parameter in the first parameter set.

[0256] Clause 4. The method described in any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein the first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor.

[0257] Clause 5. The method according to Clause 4, wherein the first set of parameters includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0258] Clause 6. The method according to Clause 4 or 5, wherein one or more parameters that are indeterminate at the time the request is submitted are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0259] Clause 7. The method according to Clause 6, wherein one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor are determinable at the time the request is submitted due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0260] Clause 8. The method described in any one of Clauses 1 to 7, wherein the request specifies a future time via instructions for a preferred start time and duration.

[0261] Clause 9. The method of Clause 8, wherein the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in reference to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion of the current PRS configuration.

[0262] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, wherein at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0263] Clause 11. The method of Clause 10, wherein at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0264] Clause 12. The method described in any one of Clauses 1 to 11, wherein the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0265] The method described in any one of the clauses 1 to 12, wherein the PRS configuration is received via a plurality of partial PRS configurations that cumulatively define each of a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0266] The method described in any one of the clauses 1 to 13, wherein one or more requests for a PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0267] Clause 15. A method for operating a position estimation entity, comprising: a request for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for a user device (UE) at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, wherein the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time is undeterminable when the request is received; receiving the request; determining, in response to the request, the availability of one or more parameters at a future time in advance of the future time; determining a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, comprising a second set of parameters, which is at least in part based on the determination of the availability of one or more parameters at a future time; and, in response to the request, transmitting the PRS configuration to the UE in advance of the future time.

[0268] Clause 16. The method described in Clause 15, wherein the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0269] Clause 17. The method of Clause 15 or 16, wherein the requirement specifies whether an individual parameter is mandatory or optional for each parameter in the first parameter set.

[0270] Clause 18. The method described in any one of Clauses 15 to 17, wherein the first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor.

[0271] Clause 19. The method according to Clause 18, wherein the first set of parameters includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0272] Clause 20. The method according to Clause 18 or 19, wherein one or more parameters that are indeterminate at the time the request is submitted are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0273] Clause 21. The method according to Clause 20, wherein one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor are determinable at the time the request is submitted due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0274] Clause 22. The method described in any one of Clauses 15 to 21, wherein the request specifies a future time via instructions for a preferred start time and duration.

[0275] Clause 23. The method of any one of Clause 22, wherein the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in reference to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion of the current PRS configuration.

[0276] Clause 24. The method described in any one of Clauses 15 to 23, wherein at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0277] Clause 25. The method of Clause 24, wherein at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0278] Clause 26. The method described in any one of Clauses 15 to 25, wherein the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0279] The method described in any one of the clauses 15 to 26, wherein the PRS configuration is transmitted via a plurality of partial PRS configurations that cumulatively define each of a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0280] The method described in any one of the clauses 15 to 27, wherein one or more requests for a PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying a PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0281] Clause 29. User equipment (UE) comprising: memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and at least one transceiver, the UE transmits a request to a location estimating entity via the at least one transceiver for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for the UE at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, wherein the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time is undeterminable at the time the request is transmitted; and the UE, in response to the request, in advance of a future time, a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, comprising a second set of parameters at least partially based on the availability of one or more parameters at a future time.

[0282] Clause 30. The UE according to clause 29, wherein the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a side-link (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0283] Clause 31. The UE according to clause 29 or 30, wherein the claim specifies whether each parameter within a first parameter set is mandatory or optional.

[0284] Clause 32. The UE according to any one of clauses 29 to 31, wherein the first parameter set includes at least one side-link (SL) anchor.

[0285] Clause 33. The UE according to clause 32, wherein the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, an SL beam direction, an SL bandwidth or bandwidth part (BWP), a synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0286] Clause 34. The UE according to clause 32 or 33, wherein one or more parameters that are not determinable when the claim is transmitted are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0287] Clause 35. The UE according to clause 34, wherein one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor are determinable when the claim is transmitted due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0288] Clause 36. The UE according to any one of clauses 29 to 35, wherein the claim specifies a future time via an indication of a preferred start time and duration.

[0289] Clause 37. The UE described in Clause 36, wherein the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in reference to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion of the current PRS configuration.

[0290] Clause 38. A UE described in any one of Clauses 29 to 37, wherein at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0291] Clause 39. The UE described in Clause 38, which limits when at least one time constraint may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0292] Clause 40. A UE described in any one of Clauses 29 to 39 is required to receive the PRS configuration within a specified time window.

[0293] Clause 41. A UE as described in any one of Clauses 29 to 40, where the PRS configuration is received via multiple partial PRS configurations that cumulatively define each of a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0294] A UE as described in any one of the clauses 29 to 41, wherein one or more requests for PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0295] Clause 43. A location estimation entity comprising: memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communically coupled to the memory and at least one transceiver, the processor receiving a request via the at least one transceiver for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for a user device (UE) at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, wherein the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time is undeterminable when the request is received; determining a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, which includes a second set of parameters at least in part based on the determination of the availability of one or more parameters at a future time; and transmitting the PRS configuration to the UE via the at least one transceiver, upon request and in advance of the future time.

[0296] Clause 44. A position estimation entity as described in Clause 43, whose PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0297] Clause 45. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 43 or 44, wherein the request specifies whether an individual parameter is required or optional for each parameter in the first parameter set.

[0298] Clause 46. A location estimation entity as described in any one of Clauses 43 to 45, wherein the first parameter set includes at least one sidelink (SL) anchor.

[0299] Clause 47. A position estimation entity as described in Clause 46, wherein the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0300] Clause 48. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 46 or 47, wherein one or more parameters that are indeterminable at the time the request is submitted are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0301] Clause 49. A position estimation entity as described in Clause 48, wherein one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor are determinable at the time the request is submitted due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0302] Clause 50. A location estimation entity as described in any one of Clauses 43 to 49, whose request specifies a future time via instructions for a preferred start time and duration.

[0303] Clause 51. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 50, wherein the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in reference to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion of the current PRS configuration.

[0304] Clause 52. A location estimation entity as described in any one of Clauses 43 to 51, wherein at least one parameter in the first parameter set is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0305] Clause 53. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 52, where at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0306] Clause 54. A positioning entity as described in any one of Clauses 43 to 53, where the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0307] Clause 55. A positioning entity as described in any one of Clauses 43 to 54, where the PRS configuration is transmitted via a plurality of partial PRS configurations that cumulatively define each of a first parameter set for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0308] Clause 56. A positioning entity as described in any one of Clauses 43 to 55, where one or more requests for a PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include an identifier configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0309] Clause 57. A user equipment (UE) comprising means for transmitting to a positioning entity a request for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session of the UE at a future time, the request being configured to request a first parameter set for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, and the availability of one or more parameters of the first parameter set at the future time being indeterminable when the request is transmitted; and means for receiving, in response to the request and prior to the future time, a PRS configuration for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the PRS configuration including a second parameter set that is at least partially based on the availability of one or more parameters at the future time.

[0310] Clause 58. The UE according to Clause 57, where the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a side link (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0311] Clause 59. The UE described in Clause 57 or 58, where the requirement specifies whether an individual parameter is required or optional for each parameter in the first parameter set.

[0312] Clause 60. A UE as described in any one of Clauses 57 to 59, wherein the first parameter set includes at least one sidelink (SL) anchor.

[0313] Clause 61. The UE described in Clause 60, wherein the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0314] Clause 62. The UE described in Clause 60 or 61, wherein one or more parameters that are indeterminate at the time the request is submitted are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0315] Clause 63. One or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor are determinable at the time the request is submitted, as described in Clause 62, due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0316] Clause 64. The request specifies a future time via instructions for a preferred start time and duration, as described in any one of Clauses 57 to 63.

[0317] Clause 65. The UE described in Clause 64, wherein the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in reference to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion of the current PRS configuration.

[0318] Clause 66. A UE described in any one of Clauses 57 to 65, wherein at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0319] Clause 67. The UE described in Clause 66, which limits when at least one time constraint may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0320] Clause 68. A UE described in any one of Clauses 57 to 67 is required to receive the PRS configuration within a specified time window.

[0321] Clause 69. A UE as described in any one of Clauses 57 to 68, where the PRS configuration is received via a plurality of partial PRS configurations that cumulatively define each of a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0322] A UE as described in any one of Clauses 57 to 69, wherein one or more requests for PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0323] Clause 71. A location estimation entity comprising: means for receiving a request for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for a user device (UE) at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, wherein the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time is undeterminable when the request is received; means for determining the availability of one or more parameters at a future time in advance of the request; means for determining a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, which includes a second set of parameters at least in part based on the determination of the availability of one or more parameters at a future time; and means for transmitting the PRS configuration to the UE in advance of the request.

[0324] Clause 72. A position estimation entity as described in Clause 71, whose PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0325] Clause 73. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 71 or 72, wherein the request specifies whether an individual parameter is required or optional for each parameter in the first parameter set.

[0326] Clause 74. A location estimation entity as described in any one of Clauses 71 to 73, wherein the first parameter set includes at least one sidelink (SL) anchor.

[0327] Clause 75. A position estimation entity as described in Clause 74, wherein the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0328] Clause 76. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 74 or 75, wherein one or more parameters that are indeterminable at the time the request is submitted are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0329] Clause 77. A position estimation entity as described in Clause 76, in which one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor are determinable at the time the request is submitted due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0330] Clause 78. A location estimation entity as described in any one of Clauses 71 to 77, whose request specifies a future time via a preferred start time and duration instruction.

[0331] Clause 79. A position estimation entity as described in Clause 78, wherein the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in reference to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion of the current PRS configuration.

[0332] Clause 80. A location estimation entity as described in any one of Clauses 71 to 79, wherein at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0333] Clause 81. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 80, where at least one time constraint limits when at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0334] Clause 82. A location estimation entity as described in any one of Clauses 71 to 81, for which the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0335] Clause 83. A location estimation entity as described in any one of Clauses 71 to 82, whose PRS configuration is transmitted via a plurality of partial PRS configurations that cumulatively define each of a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0336] A location estimation entity as described in any one of the clauses 71 to 83, wherein one or more requests for PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0337] Clause 85. Non-temporary computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, wherein when a computer-executable instruction is executed by a user device (UE), the non-temporary computer-readable medium causes the UE to send a request to a positioning entity for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for the UE at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time being undeterminable at the time the request is sent, and in response to the request, in advance of a future time, the non-temporary computer-readable medium to receive a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, the PRS configuration comprising a second set of parameters at least in part based on the availability of one or more parameters at a future time.

[0338] Clause 86. Non-transient computer-readable media as described in Clause 85, where the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0339] Clause 87. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in Clause 85 or 86, in which the request specifies whether, for each parameter in the first parameter set, an individual parameter is required or optional.

[0340] Clause 88. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 85 to 87, wherein the first parameter set includes at least one sidelink (SL) anchor.

[0341] Clause 89. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in Clause 88, wherein the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0342] Clause 90. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in Clause 88 or 89, wherein one or more parameters that are indeterminate at the time the request is sent are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0343] Clause 91. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in Clause 90, in which one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor are determinable at the time the request is submitted due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0344] Clause 92. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 85 to 91, in which the request specifies a future time via instructions for a preferred start time and duration.

[0345] Clause 93. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in Clause 92, in which the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in reference to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion of the current PRS configuration.

[0346] Clause 94. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 85 to 93, wherein at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0347] Clause 95. Non-temporary computer-readable media as described in Clause 94, which limits when at least one time constraint may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0348] Clause 96. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 85 to 95, which is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0349] Clause 97. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 85 to 96, which receives a PRS configuration via a plurality of partial PRS configurations that cumulatively define each of a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0350] A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 85 to 97, which includes one or more requests for PRS configuration and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration, and which includes identifiers configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

[0351] Clause 99. Non-temporary computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, wherein when a computer-executable instruction is executed by a position-estimating entity, the non-temporary computer-readable medium causes the position-estimating entity to receive a request for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for a user device (UE) at a future time, the request being configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, wherein the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time is undeterminable at the time the request is received, the non-temporary computer-readable medium to receive the request, and in response to the request, determine the availability of one or more parameters at a future time in advance of the future time, and to determine a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, which includes a second set of parameters at least in part based on the determination of the availability of one or more parameters at a future time, and to transmit the PRS configuration to the UE in advance of the future time, in response to the request.

[0352] Clause 100. Non-transient computer-readable media as described in Clause 99, including a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0353] Clause 101. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in Clause 99 or 100, in which the request specifies whether, for each parameter in the first parameter set, an individual parameter is required or optional.

[0354] Clause 102. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 99 to 101, wherein the first parameter set includes at least one sidelink (SL) anchor.

[0355] Clause 103. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in Clause 102, wherein the first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof.

[0356] Clause 104. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in Clause 102 or 103, wherein one or more parameters that are indeterminate at the time the request is sent are associated with at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of at least one SL anchor.

[0357] Clause 105. A non-transient computer-readable medium as described in Clause 104, in which one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor are determinable at the time the request is submitted due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor.

[0358] Clause 106. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 99 to 105, in which the request specifies a future time via instructions for a preferred start time and duration.

[0359] Clause 107. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in Clause 106, in which the preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or the preferred start time and duration are specified in reference to a future measurement gap or PRS occasion of the current PRS configuration.

[0360] Clause 108. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 99 to 107, wherein at least one parameter in the first set of parameters is associated with at least one time constraint.

[0361] Clause 109. Non-temporary computer-readable media as described in Clause 108, which limits when at least one time constraint may be requested, modified, or removed from association with a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0362] Clause 110. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 99 to 109, which is required to be received within a specified time window.

[0363] Clause 111. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 99 to 110, through which the PRS configuration is transmitted via a plurality of partial PRS configurations that cumulatively define each of a first set of parameters for a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

[0364] Clause 112. A non-temporary computer-readable medium as described in any one of Clauses 99 to 111, which includes an identifier configured to distinguish a scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions, one or more requests for a PRS configuration, and one or more responses carrying the PRS configuration.

[0365] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0366] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in relation to the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly demonstrate this hardware-software compatibility, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been schematically described above in relation to their functions. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware or as software depends on the design constraints imposed on the particular application and the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functions in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as causing a departure from the scope of this disclosure.

[0367] Various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in relation to the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or carried out using general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), ASICs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors working with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0368] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in relation to the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied in hardware directly, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software modules may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated with the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may reside in the user terminal as separate components.

[0369] In one or more exemplary embodiments, the described functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on or transmitted through a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any media that facilitate the transfer of computer programs from one location to another. The storage media may be any available medium accessible by a computer. Such computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium accessible by a computer that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures. Any connection is also appropriately referred to as computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of a medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray® disc, where a disk typically reproduces data magnetically and a disc optically reproduces data using a laser. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0370] While the above disclosures illustrate exemplary aspects of the Disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the Disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims in the aspects of the Disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, elements of the Disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, but unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular, the plural is intended. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0371] 102 Base station 102' Small cell base station 110 Geographic Coverage Areas 110' Geographic Coverage Area 112. Earth-orbiting space vehicle (SV) 120 Communication Links 122 Backhaul Link 124 signal 128 Direct connection 134 Backhaul Link 150 Access Points (APs) 150 access points 152 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Station (STA) 154 Communication Links 160 Sidelink 170 Core Network 172 Location Server 180 mmW base station 184 mmW communication link 192 P2P links 194 P2P links 200 Wireless Network Structures 212 User Plane Features 213 User Plane Interface (NG-U) 214 Control Plane Functions 215 Control plane interface (NG-C) 220 NG-RAN 223 Backhaul connection 226 Central Unit (gNB-CU) 228 Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 230 Location Servers 232 Interfaces 250 Wireless Network Structures 262 User Plane Function (UPF) 263 User Plane Interface 264. Access and mobility management function (AMF) 265 Control Plane Interface 266 Session Management Function (SMF) 300GHz band 304 base station 306 Network Entity 310 WWAN Transceiver 312 Receiver 314 Transmitter 316 Antenna 318 Signal 320 Short-distance wire restaurant Seaba 322 Receiver 324 Transmitter 326 Antenna 328 signal 330 Satellite signal receiver 332 processors 334 Data Bus 336 Antenna 338 Communication signals 340 memory 342 On-Demand PRS Components 344 Sensors 346 User Interface 350 transceivers 350 WWAN Transceiver 352 Receiver 354 Transmitter 356 Antenna 358 Signal 360 Short-distance wire restaurant Seaba 362 Receiver 364 Transmitter 366 Antenna 368 signal 370 Satellite signal receiver 376 Antenna 378 Communication signals 380 Network Transceivers 382 Databus 384 processors 386 memory 388 On-Demand PRS Components 390 Network Transceivers 392 Data Bus 394 processors 396 memory 398 On-Demand PRS Components 514 Second PRS Resource 700 PRS configuration 710 PRS Resource Set 712 First PRS Resource 720a instance 720b instance 910 Scenarios 920 Scenarios 930 Scenarios 940 Scenarios 1000 UE positioning operation 1002 NG-RAN Node 1080 5GC LCS entities 1300 PRS parameters

Claims

1. A method for operating user equipment (UE), Sending a request to a location estimation entity for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session of the UE at a future time, wherein the request is configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, and the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at the future time is undeterminable at the time the request is sent. In response to the request, receiving a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session prior to the future time, the PRS configuration comprising a second set of parameters based at least in part on the availability of one or more parameters at the future time, method.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the request specifies whether each parameter in the first parameter set is mandatory or optional.

4. The first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor, The first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof. The method according to claim 1.

5. The first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor, One or more parameters that are undecidable when the request is sent are associated with the at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of the at least one SL anchor. The method according to claim 1.

6. One or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor can be determined when the request is sent, due to the lack of mobility of the smallest stationary anchor. The method according to claim 5.

7. The request specifies the future time through instructions for a preferred start time and duration, The aforementioned preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or The preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or The preferred start time and duration are specified with reference to future measurement gaps or PRS occasions in the current PRS configuration. The method according to claim 1.

8. At least one parameter in the first parameter set is associated with at least one time constraint, The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one time constraint limits when the at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the PRS configuration is received via a plurality of partial PRS configurations that cumulatively define each of the first parameter sets for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein one or more requests for the PRS configuration and one or more responses for carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

12. A method for operating a location-estimating entity, A request for scheduling an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for a user device (UE) at a future time, wherein the request is configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, and the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at the future time is undeterminable at the time the request is received. In response to the aforementioned request, the availability of one or more parameters at the future time is determined prior to the future time, Determining a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, comprising a second set of parameters based at least in part on the determination of the availability of one or more parameters in the future time, In response to the aforementioned request, the PRS configuration is transmitted to the UE prior to the aforementioned future time, method.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the PRS configuration includes a downlink (DL) PRS configuration, an uplink (UL) PRS configuration, a sidelink (SL) PRS configuration, or a combination thereof.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the request specifies whether each parameter in the first parameter set is mandatory or optional.

15. The first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor, The first parameter set includes, for at least one SL anchor, the SL beam direction, the SL bandwidth or bandwidth portion (BWP), the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration, or a combination thereof. The method according to claim 12.

16. The first parameter set includes at least one side link (SL) anchor, The method according to claim 12, wherein one or more parameters that are indeterminate when the request is transmitted are associated with the at least one SL anchor due to the mobility of the at least one SL anchor.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein one or more other parameters for at least one stationary anchor are determinable when the request is sent due to the smallest lack of mobility of one stationary anchor.

18. The request specifies the future time through instructions for a preferred start time and duration, The aforementioned preferred start time and duration are specified via a slot, subframe, or set of frames, or The preferred start time and duration are specified in absolute time, or The preferred start time and duration are specified with reference to future measurement gaps or PRS occasions in the current PRS configuration. The method according to claim 12.

19. At least one parameter in the first parameter set is associated with at least one time constraint, The method according to claim 12, wherein the at least one time constraint limits when the at least one parameter may be requested, modified, or removed from association with the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

20. The method according to claim 12, wherein the PRS configuration is required to be received within a specified time window.

21. The method according to claim 12, wherein the PRS configuration is transmitted via a plurality of partial PRS configurations that cumulatively define each of the first parameter sets for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session.

22. The method according to claim 12, wherein one or more requests for the PRS configuration and one or more responses for carrying the PRS configuration include identifiers configured to distinguish the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session from one or more other scheduled on-demand PRS positioning sessions.

23. User equipment (UE), Memory and At least one transceiver, The system comprises the memory and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is A request is sent to a location estimation entity via at least one transceiver to schedule an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session of the UE at a future time, wherein the request is configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, and the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at the future time is undeterminable at the time the request is sent. The transceiver is configured to receive, in response to the request and prior to the future time, a PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, which includes a second set of parameters based at least in part on the availability of one or more parameters at the future time. UE.

24. A location-estimating entity, Memory and At least one transceiver, The system comprises the memory and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is A request to schedule an on-demand positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning session for a user device (UE) at a future time via at least one transceiver, wherein the request is configured to request a first set of parameters for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, and the availability of one or more parameters of the first set of parameters at a future time is undeterminable when the request is received, In response to the aforementioned request, the availability of one or more parameters at the future time is determined prior to the future time. A PRS configuration for the scheduled on-demand PRS positioning session, comprising a second set of parameters, which is at least partially based on the determination of the availability of one or more parameters in the future time, The PRS configuration is configured to be transmitted to the UE via at least one of the transceivers in response to the request and prior to the future time. Location-estimated entity.

25. The UE according to claim 23, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 2 to 11.

26. The location estimation entity according to claim 24, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 13 to 22.

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