Distributed device management for positioning

Abstract

The positioning method includes establishing a positioning session between a plurality of positioning devices including a first positioning device and a second positioning device, obtaining line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight status (LOS / NLOS status) for a plurality of positioning device pairs, each being a pair of a plurality of positioning devices, and sending an invalidation message to the first positioning device based on the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device being non-line-of-sight for at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, wherein the invalidation message indicates invalidating at least one of transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device or measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 477,838, filed on September 17, 2021, entitled "DISTRIBUTED DEVICE MANAGEMENT FOR POSITIONING", which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002]

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-enabled wireless services, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE®) or WiMax), fifth-generation (5G) services, and the like. 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), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobile access (GSM®) variant of TDMA, and the like.

[0003]

[0003] Among the improvements, the fifth-generation (5G) mobile standard requires higher data transfer speeds, more connections, and better coverage. According to the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to tens of thousands of users, and 1 gigabit per second to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support the large-scale deployment of sensors, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections must be supported. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly higher compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency must be improved and latency significantly reduced compared to the current standard.

[0004]

[0004] Various technologies using 5G technology can be employed to determine the location of a mobile device. For example, 5G technology can be employed to determine the location with meter-level accuracy of two digits or even one digit. [Overview of the project]

[0005]

[0005] In one embodiment, the positioning method includes establishing a positioning session between a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; obtaining line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (NLOS) statuses for a plurality of positioning device pairs, each of which is a pair of the plurality of positioning devices; and sending an invalid message to the first positioning device based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices is non-line-of-sight for at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, wherein the invalid message indicates that at least one of the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device is invalid.

[0006]

[0006] In another embodiment, the device comprises a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor is configured to establish a positioning session between a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device, to obtain line-of-sight / out-of-line status (LOS / NLOS status) for a plurality of positioning device pairs, each of which is a pair of the plurality of positioning devices, and to send an invalid message to the first positioning device based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices is out of line of sight to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, the invalid message indicating that at least one of the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device is invalid.

[0007]

[0007] In another embodiment, the device includes means for establishing a positioning session between a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; means for obtaining line-of-sight / out-of-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) statuses for a plurality of positioning device pairs, each of which is a pair of the plurality of positioning devices; and means for sending an invalid message to the first positioning device based on the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices being out of line of sight to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, wherein the invalid message indicates invalidating at least one of the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device.

[0008]

[0008] In another embodiment, the non-temporary processor-readable storage medium includes a processor-readable instruction which causes the processor of the device to perform means for establishing a positioning session between a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; means for obtaining line-of-sight / out-of-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) status for a plurality of positioning device pairs, each of which is a pair of the plurality of positioning devices; and means for sending an invalid message to the first positioning device based on the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices being out of line of sight to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, wherein the invalid message indicates invalidating at least one of the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1]

[0009] This is a simplified diagram of an exemplary wireless communication system. [Figure 2]

[0010] Figure 1 is a block diagram of the components of an example user device shown. [Figure 3]

[0011] This is a block diagram of the components of an example transmission point. [Figure 4]

[0012] Figure 1 is a block diagram of the components of an exemplary server, illustrating various embodiments. [Figure 5]

[0013] This is a block diagram of an example positioning environment. [Figure 6]

[0014] This is a block diagram of an exemplary positioning device. [Figure 7]

[0015] This is a signaling and process flow for managing positioning session participants and determining their location information. [Figure 8]

[0016] This figure shows an example of a table showing both in-line and out-of-line information. [Figure 9]

[0017] This is a block flow diagram of the positioning method. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010]

[0018] Techniques for managing distributed device positioning are described herein. Membership in a positioning session, transmission of positioning reference signals, and / or measurement of positioning reference signals may be managed. For example, line-of-sight / out-of-line status between each member of a positioning session may be acquired and used to manage positioning. A positioning session member that is out of line of sight to a threshold amount of another member, and / or out of line of sight to a threshold amount (e.g., a sample percentage), may be disabled from participating in the positioning session. For example, a member may be instructed to stop transmitting a positioning reference signal (PRS) for the positioning session, and / or PRS transmitted by the member may not be measured. Disabled members of a positioning session may be instructed to form another positioning session, for example, if those members are in line of sight to each other. These are examples, and other examples may be implemented.

[0011]

[0019] The items and / or technologies described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned herein. For example, positioning accuracy, latency, clock drift, and / or power consumption can be improved by removing devices that do not improve positioning accuracy from a positioning session. Positioning accuracy for dynamic environments may be improved by adjusting thresholds for determining whether to retain or disable members of a positioning session. Other capabilities may be provided, and not all implementations of this disclosure are required to provide any, much less, of the capabilities described herein.

[0012]

[0020] Obtaining the location of mobile devices accessing a wireless network can be useful in many applications, including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, consumer asset tracking, and locating friends or family. Existing positioning methods include those based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices or entities in a wireless network, including satellite vehicles (SVs) and terrestrial radio sources, such as base stations and access points. Standardization for 5G wireless networks is expected to include support for various positioning methods, which may utilize reference signals transmitted by base stations, similar to how LTE wireless networks currently utilize positioning reference signals (PRS) and / or cell-specific reference signals (CRS) for location determination.

[0013]

[0021] The descriptions herein may, for example, refer to a series of actions performed by elements of a computing device. Various actions described herein may be performed by a specific circuit (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit, ASIC), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. A sequence of actions described herein may be embodied in a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing, at runtime, a corresponding set of computer instructions that will cause the relevant processors to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the various embodiments described herein may be embodied in several different forms, all of which fall within the scope of this disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0014]

[0022] As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not specific to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT), and are not otherwise limited to such RATs, unless otherwise noted. Generally, such a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or (e.g., stationary at a given 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 terminal,” “mobile station,” “mobile device,” or variations thereof. Generally, a UE may 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. Naturally, the UE may have other mechanisms to connect to the core network and / or the internet, such as via a wired access network or a Wi-Fi network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11).

[0015]

[0023] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with a UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed. Examples of base stations include access points (APs), network nodes, Node Bs, Evolved Node Bs (eNBs), or General Node Bs (g Node Bs, gNBs). In addition, in some systems, a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0016]

[0024] A UE may be embodied by any of several types of devices, including but not limited to a printed circuit (PC) card, a CompactFlash (registered trademark) device, an external or internal modem, a wireless or wired telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, a consumer asset tracking device, an asset tag, and the like. A communication link through which a UE can transmit signals to the RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). A communication link through which the RAN can send signals to a UE is called a downlink channel or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0017]

[0025] As used herein, the terms “cell” or “sector” may, depending on the context, refer to one of several cells of a base station or the base station itself. The term “cell” may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., via a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access to different types of devices. In some examples, the term “cell” may refer to a portion of the geographical coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which a logical entity operates.

[0018]

[0026] Referring to Figure 1, an example of a communication system 100 includes UE105, UE106, a radio access network (RAN), in this case a fifth-generation (5G) next-generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) 135, and a 5G core network (5GC) 140. UE105 and / or UE106 may be, for example, IoT devices, location tracking devices, cellular phones, vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, buses, boats, etc.), or other devices. The 5G network is sometimes called a New Radio (NR) network, NG-RAN 135 may be called a 5G RAN or NR RAN, and 5GC 140 may be called an NG Core network (NG Core, NGC). Standardization of NG-RAN and 5GC is underway in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). Therefore, NG-RAN135 and 5GC140 may comply with current and future standards from 3GPP for 5G support. NG-RAN135 may be another type of RAN, e.g., 3G RAN, 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. UE106 may be configured to send and / or receive signals to and from other similar entities in system 100 and may be coupled to UE105, although such signaling is not shown in Figure 1 for the sake of simplicity. Similarly, this discussion focuses on UE105 for the sake of brevity.The communication system 100 may utilize information from a constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 for a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or Beidou, or several other local or regional SPS such as Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0019]

[0027] As shown in Figure 1, NG-RAN135 includes NR node B (gNB) 110a, 110b, and next generation eNode B (ng-eNB) 114, and 5GC140 includes Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, Session Management Function (SMF) 117, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, and Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125. gNB110a, 110b, and ng-eNB114 are communicatively coupled to each other and configured to communicate wirelessly bidirectionally with UE105, and each is communicatively coupled to AMF115 and configured to communicate bidirectionally with AMF115. gNB110a, 110b, and ng-eNB114 are sometimes referred to as base stations (BS). AMF115, SMF117, LMF120, and GMLC125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client 130. SMF117 may function as an initial contact point for a Service Control Function (SCF) (not shown) for creating, controlling, and deleting media sessions. Base stations such as gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 may be macrocells (e.g., high-power cellular base stations), small cells (e.g., low-power cellular base stations), or access points (e.g., short-range base stations configured to communicate using short-range technologies such as WiFi, WiFi-Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Bluetooth-low energy (BLE), and Zigbee®). One or more base stations, e.g., one or more of gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114, may be configured to communicate with UE105 via multiple carriers.Each of the gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 may provide communication coverage for its respective geographical area, e.g., cell. Each cell may be divided into multiple sectors depending on the base station antenna.

[0020]

[0028] Figure 1 provides a generalized diagram of various components, any or all of which may be used as appropriate, and each component may be duplicated or omitted as needed. Specifically, one UE 105 is shown, but many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be used in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include more (or fewer) SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external client 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the communication system 100 may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks, including data and signaling connections. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired function.

[0021]

[0029] Figure 1 shows a 5G-based network, but similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies such as 3G and Long-Term Evolution (LTE). The implementations described herein (whether they are for 5G technology and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to transmit (or broadcast) a directional synchronization signal, receive and measure the directional signal at a UE (e.g., UE105), and / or provide location assistance to UE105 (via GMLC125 or other location servers), and / or calculate the location of UE105 in a location-enabled device such as UE105, gNB110a, 110b, or LMF120 based on the measurements received at UE105 for such directionally transmitted signals. The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114, and gNB (gNodeB) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by, or include, various other location server functions and / or base station functions in different embodiments.

[0022]

[0030] System 100 is wirelessly communicative in the sense that its components can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (at least sometimes using wireless connections) via, for example, gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, and / or 5GC140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other base transceiver stations). In the case of indirect communication, the communication may be modified during transmission from one entity to another, for example, to change the format, to change the header information of a data packet. UE105 may include multiple UEs and may be a mobile wireless communication device, but may communicate wirelessly and via wired connections. UE105 may be any of a variety of devices, such as a smartphone, tablet computer, or vehicle-based device, but these are examples, and other configurations of UEs may be used, as UE105 does not have to be any of these configurations. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or headsets). Further other UEs may be used, whether currently existing or to be developed in the future. Furthermore, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) may be implemented within System 100 and may communicate with each other, as well as with UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, 5GC 140, and / or external clients 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices. 5GC 140 may communicate with external clients 130 (e.g., computer systems) to enable external clients 130 to request and / or receive location information about UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 125).

[0023]

[0031] The UE105 or other devices will operate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, multiple Wi-Fi frequencies, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything, e.g., V2P (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian), V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), etc.), IEEE802.11p, etc.) , can be configured to communicate. V2X communication may be cellular (cellular V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Connection)). System 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multicarrier transmitter can transmit modulated signals simultaneously on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal may be a code division multiple access (CDMA) signal, a time division multiple access (TDMA) signal, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) signal, or a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (Single-Carrier These can be Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signals, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on a different carrier and can carry pilot, overhead information, data, etc. UE105 and 106 can communicate with each other via inter-UE sidelink (SL) communication by transmitting over one or more sidelink channels, such as the physical sidelink synchronization channel (PSSCH), physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), or physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH).

[0024]

[0032] UE105 may include, and / or be referred to as, a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) enabled terminal (SET), or any other name. Furthermore, UE105 may be compatible with cell phones, smartphones, laptops, tablets, PDAs, consumer asset tracking devices, navigation devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, health monitors, security systems, smart city sensors, smart meters, wearable trackers, or any other portable or mobile devices. Generally, but not necessarily, the UE105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA®), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN135 and 5GC140). The UE105 may also support wireless communications using, for example, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) that can connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using packet cable. The use of one or more of these RATs may enable UE105 to communicate with an external client 130 (for example, via an element of 5GC140 not shown in Figure 1, or possibly via GMLC125) and / or enable the external client 130 to receive location information about UE105 (for example, via GMLC125).

[0025]

[0033] UE105 may include a single entity or multiple entities in a personal area network where the user may employ audio, video and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or body sensors and separate wireline or wireless modems. The location estimation of UE105 may be called location, location estimation, location fix, fix, position, location estimation, or location fix, and may be geographical, and therefore may or may not include an elevation component (e.g., elevation, ground, floor, or height or depth from underground), and provides the location coordinates of UE105 (e.g., latitude and longitude). Alternatively, the location of UE105 may be expressed as an urban location (e.g., a postal address, or a designation for a destination or small area within a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of UE105 may be expressed as an area or volume (defined either geographically or in urban form) in which UE105 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of UE105 may be expressed as a relative location, including, for example, distance and direction from a known location. The relative location may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined with respect to some origin in a known location, which may be defined, for example, geographically, in urban terms, or by referring to a point, area, or volume shown on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the descriptions contained herein, the use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of UE, it is common to obtain local x, y, and possibly z coordinates, and then, if desired, convert the local coordinates to absolute coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0026]

[0034] UE105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of various technologies. UE105 may be configured to indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. D2D P2P links may be supported using any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), or Bluetooth®. One or more of the groups of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographical coverage area of ​​a Transmission / Reception Point (TRP), such as one or more of gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographical coverage area or may not be able to receive transmissions from the base station in a different manner. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without the involvement of a TRP. One or more of the groups of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographical coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographical coverage area or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication can utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without the involvement of a TRP.

[0027]

[0035] The base station (BS) in NG-RAN135 shown in Figure 1 includes NR node B, referred to as gNB110a and 110b. The pair of gNB110a and 110b in NG-RAN135 may be connected to each other via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to UE105 via wireless communication between UE105 and one or more of gNB110a and 110b, and these gNBs may provide wireless communication access to 5GC140 on behalf of UE105 using 5G. In Figure 1, it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE105 is gNB110a, but another gNB (e.g., gNB110b) may act as the serving gNB when UE105 moves to a different location, or as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE105.

[0028]

[0036] The base stations (BS) in NG-RAN135 shown in Figure 1 may include ng-eNB114, also known as next-generation advanced node B. ng-eNB114 may, in some cases, be connected to one or more gNBs (gNB110a, 110b) in NG-RAN135 via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. ng-eNB114 may provide LTE wireless access and / or advanced LTE (eLTE) wireless access to UE105. One or more gNBs (gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114) may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons, capable of transmitting signals to assist in determining the location of UE105 but unable to receive signals from UE105 or other UEs.

[0029]

[0037] gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 may each have one or more TRPs. For example, each sector in a BS cell may have a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., they may share a processor but have separate antennas). System 100 may include only macro TRPs, or system 100 may have different types of TRPs, e.g., macro, pico, and / or femto TRPs. Macro TRPs may cover relatively large geographical areas (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may enable unrestricted access by terminals subscribing to the service. Pico TRPs may cover relatively small geographical areas (e.g., picocells) and may enable unrestricted access by terminals subscribing to the service. Femto TRPs or home TRPs may cover relatively small geographical areas (e.g., femtocells) and may enable limited access by terminals associated with femtocells (e.g., terminals for users in their homes).

[0030]

[0038] As stated, Figure 1 shows a node configured to communicate according to the 5G communication protocol, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as the LTE protocol or the IEEE 802.11x protocol, may be used. For example, in an Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to UE105, the RAN may include an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) which may include base stations including evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may also include E-UTRAN plus EPC, where in Figure 1, E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN135 and EPC corresponds to 5GC140.

[0031]

[0039] The gNB110a, 110b, and ng-eNB114 may communicate with the AMF115, which in turn communicates with the LMF120 for positioning functions. The AMF115 can support the mobility of the UE105, including cell changes and handovers, and may be involved in signaling connections to the UE105, and optionally supporting data and voice bearers for the UE105. The LMF120 may communicate directly with the UE105, for example, via wireless communication, or directly with the gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114. The LMF120 may support the positioning of UE105 when UE105 accesses NG-RAN135, and may support positioning procedures / methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., Downlink (DL) OTDOA or Uplink (UL) OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precision Single Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), and / or other positioning methods. The LMF120 can process location service requests for the UE105, for example, received from the AMF115 or the GMLC125. The LMF120 can be connected to the AMF115 and / or the GMLC125. The LMF120 may also be referred to by other names such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value Added LMF (VLMF).Nodes / systems implementing the LMF120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) location platform (SLP). At least part of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the UE105's location) may be performed in the UE105 (using signal measurements acquired by the UE105 for signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114, and / or supporting data provided to the UE105 by the LMF120, for example). The AMF115 may act as a control node handling signaling between the UE105 and the 5GC140, and may provide QoS (Quality of Service) flow and session management. The AMF115 may support the mobility of the UE105, including cell changes and handovers, and may participate in supporting signaling connections to the UE105.

[0032]

[0040] GMLC125 can support location requests for UE105 received from external client 130, and may forward such location requests to AMF115 for forwarding to LMF120 by AMF115, or it may forward the location requests directly to LMF120. The location response from LMF120 (including, for example, a location estimate for UE105) may be returned to GMLC125 either directly or via AMF115, and GMLC125 may then return the location response (including, for example, a location estimate) to external client 130. Although GMLC125 is shown connected to both AMF115 and LMF120, in some implementations it may not be connected to AMF115 or LMF120.

[0033]

[0041] As further shown in Figure 1, the LMF120 may communicate with gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 using a new radio positioning protocol A (sometimes called NPPa or NRPPa) as defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) as defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, and NRPPa messages are transmitted via the AMF115 between gNB110a (or gNB110b) and the LMF120, and / or between ng-eNB114 and the LMF120. As further shown in Figure 1, the LMF120 and UE105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) as defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. LMF120 and UE105 may communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (sometimes called NPP or NRPP) which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transferred between UE105 and LMF120 via serving gNB110a, 110b or serving ng-eNB114 for AMF115 and UE105. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transferred between LMF120 and AMF115 using the 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP), or between AMF115 and UE105 using the 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocol may be used to support positioning of UE105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID.The NRPPa protocol may be used to support the positioning of the UE105 using network-based positioning methods such as E-CID (for example, when used with measurements taken by gNB110a, 110b, or ng-eNB114), and / or the LMF120 may be used to obtain location-related information from gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114, such as parameters defining directional SS or PRS transmissions from gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114. The LMF120 may be collated or integrated with the gNB or TRP, or may be located remotely from the gNB and / or TRP, and may be configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or TRP.

[0034]

[0042] Using a UE-assisted positioning method, UE105 can acquire location measurements and send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF120) for the calculation of a location estimate for UE105. For example, location measurements may include one or more of the following for gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, and / or WLAN APs: Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round Trip signal propagation Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and / or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ). Location measurements may also include, or alternatively, GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase measurements for SV190-193.

[0035]

[0043] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE105 can acquire location measurements (which may be the same as, or similar to, location measurements from, a UE-assisted positioning method) and calculate its location (for example, using support data received from a location server such as LMF120, or broadcast by gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, or other base stations or APs).

[0036]

[0044] In a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114) or APs may acquire and / or receive location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or time-of-arrival (ToA) measurements for signals transmitted by UE105). One or more base stations or APs may send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF120) for the calculation of a location estimate for UE105.

[0037]

[0045] The information provided to the LMF120 by gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directional SS or PRS transmission, as well as location coordinates. The LMF120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE105 as supporting data in LPP and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN135 and 5GC140.

[0038]

[0046] LPP or NPP messages sent from LMF120 to UE105 can instruct UE105 to do one of a variety of things, depending on the desired function. For example, an LPP or NPP message may include an instruction for UE105 to acquire measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or any other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, an LPP or NPP message can instruct UE105 to acquire one or more measurements of a directional signal transmitted within a particular cell supported by one or more of gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114 (or supported by any other type of base station such as an eNB or WiFi AP) (e.g., beam ID, beamwidth, mean angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements). UE105 may send the measured quantity back to LMF120 via serving gNB110a (or serving ng-eNB114) and AMF115 in an LPP or NPP message (for example, within a 5G NAS message).

[0039]

[0047] As stated, while communication system 100 is described in relation to 5G technology, communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies such as GSM, WCDMA, and LTE, which are used to support and interact with mobile devices such as UE105 (for example, to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functions). In some such embodiments, 5GC140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, 5GC140 may be connected to a WLAN using a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF, not shown in Figure 1) in 5GC140. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE802.11 WiFi access for UE105 and may have one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may connect to the WLAN and to other elements in 5GC140 such as AMF115. In some embodiments, both NG-RAN135 and 5GC140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in an EPS, NG-RAN135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN including an eNB, and 5GC140 may be replaced by an EPC including a Mobility Management Entity (MME) instead of AMF115, an E-SMLC instead of LMF120, and a GMLC which may be similar to GMLC125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa instead of NRPPa to send and receive location information to and from the eNB within the E-UTRAN, and may use LPP to support the positioning of UE105. In these other embodiments, the positioning of UE105 using a directional PRS may be supported in a manner similar to the method described herein for 5G networks, the difference being that the functions and procedures described herein for gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, AMF115, and LMF120 may, in some cases, be applied instead to other network elements such as eNBs, WiFi APs, MMEs, and E-SMLCs.

[0040]

[0048] As described above, in some embodiments, the positioning function may be implemented at least in part using directional SS or PRS beams transmitted by base stations (such as gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114) within range of the UE (e.g., UE105 in Figure 1) whose position will be determined. In some cases, the UE may use directional SS or PRS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB114) to calculate the position of the UE.

[0041]

[0049] See also Figure 2, UE200 may be one example of UE105, 106, and may comprise a computing platform including a processor 210, a memory 211 containing software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for transceivers 215 (including a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a position device (PD) 219. The processor 210, memory 211, sensors 213, transceiver interface 214, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, and position device 219 may be communicatively coupled to one another by a bus 220 (which may be configured for optical and / or telecommunications, for example). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., one or more of the camera 218, positioning device 219, and / or sensor 213) may be omitted from the UE200. The processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor 210 may comprise multiple processors, including a general-purpose / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of the processors 230-234 may comprise multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, the sensor processor 234 may comprise a processor for, for example, RF (radio frequency) sensing (using one or more (cellular) wireless signals transmitted, and reflections used to identify, map, and / or track objects), and / or ultrasound. The modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs).For example, one SIM (Subscriber Identification Module or Subscriber Identification Module) may be used by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by an end user of the UE200 for connectivity. Memory 211 may be a non-temporary storage medium, including random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM). Memory 211 may store software 212, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions, which, when executed, may cause the processor 210 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, software 212 may not be directly executable by the processor 210, but may be configured, for example, to cause the processor 210 to perform functions when compiled and executed. The description herein may refer to the processor 210 performing functions, which includes other implementations, such as when the processor 210 executes software and / or firmware. In this specification, when one or more of the processors 230-234 perform a function, it may be referred to as processor 210 performing a function. In this specification, when one or more suitable components of the UE200 perform a function, it may be referred to as UE200 performing a function. In addition to memory 211, and / or instead of memory 211, processor 210 may include memory containing stored instructions. The functions of processor 210 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0042]

[0050] The configuration of the UE200 shown in Figure 2 is an example of the present disclosure, including the claims, and is not limited thereto; other configurations may be used. For example, an exemplary configuration of the UE may include one or more of the processors 230-234 of the processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Other exemplary configurations may include one or more of the processors 230-234 of the processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver, and one or more of the sensor 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PD219, and / or wired transceiver.

[0043]

[0051] The UE200 may include a modem processor 232 capable of performing baseband processing of signals received and downconverted by the transceiver 215 and / or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing of the signals so that they are upconverted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by a general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0044]

[0052] The UE200 may include sensor 213, which may include one or more sensors of various types, such as one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more mass sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors. The inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g., collectively responding to the acceleration of the UE200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscopes). Sensor 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometers) for determining orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which can be used for any of a variety of purposes, such as supporting one or more compass applications. The environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones. The sensor 213 may generate analog and / or digital signals, and the signal indications may be stored in memory 211 and processed by a DSP 231 and / or general-purpose / application processor 230 that support one or more applications, such as applications targeting positioning and / or navigation operations.

[0045]

[0053] Sensor 213 may be used in relative location measurement, relative location determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by Sensor 213 may be used for motion detection, relative displacement, autonomous navigation, sensor-based location determination, and / or sensor-assisted location determination. Sensor 213 may be useful in determining whether UE200 is stationary or mobile, and / or whether specific useful information regarding the mobility of UE200 should be reported to LMF120. For example, based on information acquired / measured by Sensor 213, UE200 may notify / report to LMF120 that UE200 has detected movement or has moved, and may report relative displacement / distance (e.g., via autonomous navigation, or sensor-based location determination, or sensor-assisted location determination enabled by Sensor 213). In another example, with respect to relative positioning information, the sensor / IMU may be used to determine the angle and / or bearing of other devices relative to UE200, etc.

[0046]

[0054] The IMU may be configured to provide measurements of the direction and / or velocity of motion of the UE200, which can be used in relative location determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU may each detect the linear acceleration and rotational velocity of the UE200. The measurements of the linear acceleration and rotational velocity of the UE200 may be integrated over time to determine the instantaneous direction of motion and the displacement of the UE200. The instantaneous direction of motion and displacement may be integrated to track the location of the UE200. For example, the reference location of the UE200 may be determined for a given moment using, for example, the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means), and measurements from the accelerometers and gyroscopes obtained after this moment may be used in autonomous navigation to determine the current location of the UE200 based on the motion (direction and distance) of the UE200 compared to the reference location.

[0047]

[0055] The magnetometer can determine the magnetic field strength in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of the UE200. For example, the orientation can be used to provide the UE200 with a digital compass. The magnetometer may include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and indicate the magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer may include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and indicate the magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer may provide means for detecting the magnetic field and providing an indication of the magnetic field to, for example, a processor 210.

[0048]

[0056] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250, respectively, configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to an antenna 246 for transmitting (e.g., over one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., over one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) a wireless signal 248, and converting the wireless signal 248 to a wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal, and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal to the wireless signal 248. The wireless transmitter 242 includes appropriate components (e.g., a power amplifier and a digital-to-analog converter). The wireless receiver 244 includes appropriate components (e.g., one or more amplifiers, one or more frequency filters, and an analog-to-digital converter). The wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components. The wireless receiver 240 can be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the TRP and / or one or more other devices) in accordance with various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, and Zigbee. The New Radio may use mm wave frequencies and / or sub-6GHz frequencies.The wired transceiver 250 may include a network interface that can be used to communicate with a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, for example, an NG-RAN 135, to send communications to the NG-RAN 135, and to receive communications from there. The wired transmitter 252 may include a plurality of transmitters, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 254 may include a plurality of receivers, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured for optical communication and / or telecommunications, for example. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, for example, by optical and / or electrical connections. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with the transceiver 215. The wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244, and / or antenna 246 may each include a plurality of transmitters, a plurality of receivers, and / or a plurality of antennas for sending and / or receiving appropriate signals, respectively.

[0049]

[0057] The user interface 216 may include one or more of several devices, such as a speaker, microphone, display device, vibration device, keyboard, and touchscreen. The user interface 216 may include two or more of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to allow the user to interact with one or more applications hosted by the UE200. For example, the user interface 216 may store instructions for analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 so that they are processed by the DSP 231 and / or general-purpose / application processor 230 in response to user actions. Similarly, an application hosted on the UE200 may store instructions for analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 to present output signals to the user. The user interface 216 may include an audio input / output (I / O) device, such as a speaker, microphone, digital-analog circuitry, analog-digital circuitry, amplifier, and / or gain control circuitry (including two or more of these devices). Other configurations of the audio I / O device may be used. Alternatively, the user interface 216 may include, for example, one or more touch sensors that respond to contact and / or pressure on the keyboard and / or touchscreen of the user interface 216.

[0050]

[0058] An SPS receiver 217 (for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring an SPS signal 260 via an SPS antenna 262. The SPS antenna 262 may be configured to convert the SPS signal 260 from a wireless signal to a wired signal, such as an electrical or optical signal, and may be integrated with antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process the acquired SPS signal 260, either entirely or partially, to estimate the location of the UE200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine the location of the UE200 by trilateration using the SPS signal 260. A general-purpose / application processor 230, memory 211, DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown) may be used with the SPS receiver 217 to process the acquired SPS signal, either entirely or partially, and / or to calculate the estimated location of the UE200. Memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measured values) of the SPS signal 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals obtained from the wireless transceiver 240) for use when performing positioning operations. The general-purpose / application processor 230, DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors, and / or memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for use when processing measured values ​​to estimate the location of the UE200.

[0051]

[0059] The UE200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or moving images. The camera 218 may include, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device or a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) imager), a lens, analog-digital circuitry, a frame buffer, and the like. Additional processing, adjustment, encoding, and / or compression of the signal representing the captured image may be performed by a general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or DSP 231. Similarly or alternatively, a video processor 233 may perform adjustment, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of the signal representing the captured image. The video processor 233 may decode / decompress the stored image data for, for example, presentation on a display device (not shown) of the user interface 216.

[0052]

[0060] The position device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the position of the UE 200, the movement of the UE 200, and / or the relative position of the UE 200, and / or the time. For example, the PD 219 may communicate with and / or include part or all of the SPS receiver 217. The PD 219 may, as appropriate, operate in conjunction with the processor 210 and memory 211 to perform at least part of one or more positioning methods, but the description herein may refer to the PD 219 being configured to perform according to a positioning method, or performing according to a positioning method. Similarly or alternatively, the PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 using ground-based signals for trilateration (e.g., at least some of the wireless signals 248), to assist in the acquisition and use of the SPS signal 260, or both. The PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 based on another technology, such as a serving base station cell (e.g., cell center) and / or E-CID. PD219 may be configured to determine the location of UE200 using image recognition combined with one or more images from camera 218 and known locations of landmarks (e.g., natural landmarks such as mountains and / or artificial landmarks such as buildings, bridges, and roads). PD219 may be configured to use one or more other techniques for determining the location of UE200 (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., part of the UE's location beacon)), and a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS and ground positioning signals) may be used to determine the location of UE200. PD219 may include one or more sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, etc.) capable of detecting and providing indications of the UE200's orientation and / or motion, and a processor 210 (e.g., general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or DSP 231) may be configured to use these indications to determine the UE200's motion (e.g., velocity vectors and / or acceleration vectors). The PD219 may be configured to provide indications of uncertainty and / or error in the determined position and / or movement.The functions of the PD219 may be provided in various ways and / or configurations, for example, by a general-purpose / application processor 230, a transceiver 215, an SPS receiver 217, and / or other components of the UE200, and may be provided by hardware, software, firmware, or various combinations thereof.

[0053]

[0061] Referring also to Figure 3, an example of the TRP300 for gNB110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB114 comprises a computing platform comprising a processor 310, a memory 311 containing software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, memory 311, and transceiver 315 may be coupled to each other communicatively by a bus 320 (which may be configured, for example, for optical and / or telecommunications). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., wireless transceivers) may be omitted from the TRP300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, as shown in Figure 2). Memory 311 may be a non-temporary storage medium, including random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM). Memory 311 may store software 312, which may be processor-readable processor-executable software code including instructions, which, when executed, cause the processor 310 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, software 312 may not be directly executable by the processor 310, but may be configured, for example, to cause the processor 310 to perform functions when compiled and executed.

[0054]

[0062] The description herein may refer to the processor 310 performing a function, including other implementations such as when the processor 310 runs software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 310 performing a function as a shorthand for when one or more processors included in the processor 310 perform a certain function. The description herein may refer to the TRP300 performing a function as a shorthand for when one or more suitable components of the TRP300 (and accordingly one of gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB114) (e.g., the processor 310 and memory 311) perform a function. The processor 310 may include, in addition to and / or instead of memory 311, memory containing stored instructions. The functions of the processor 310 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0055]

[0063] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350, respectively, configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 to transmit (e.g., over one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and / or receive (e.g., over one or more downlink channels and / or one or more uplink channels) a wireless signal 348, and to convert the signal from the wireless signal 348 to a wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal, and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal to the wireless signal 348. Thus, the wireless transmitter 342 may include a plurality of transmitters, which may be individual components or a composite / integrated component, and / or the wireless receiver 344 may include a plurality of receivers, which may be individual components or a composite / integrated component. The Wireless Transceiver 340 can be configured to communicate signals (for example, with UE200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) in accordance with various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, and Zigbee.The wired transceiver 350 may include a network interface that can be used to transmit and receive communications to, for example, the LMF120 and / or one or more other network entities, by communicating with a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, for example, the NG-RAN135. The wired transmitter 352 may include a plurality of transmitters, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include a plurality of receivers, which may be individual components or composite / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 can be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or telecommunications.

[0056]

[0064] The configuration of the TRP300 shown in Figure 3 is an example of the present disclosure, including the claims, and is not limited thereto; other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses that the TRP300 may be configured to perform or is configured to perform several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the LMF120 and / or UE200 (i.e., the LMF120 and / or UE200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0057]

[0065] Referring also to Figure 4, the server 400, which may be an example of the LMF120, may comprise a computing platform comprising a processor 410, memory 411 containing software (SW) 412, and transceivers 415. The processor 410, memory 411, and transceivers 415 may be coupled to each other communicatively by a bus 420 (which may be configured, for example, for optical and / or telecommunications). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., wireless transceivers) may be omitted from the server 400. The processor 410 may comprise one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 410 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, as shown in Figure 2). The memory 411 may comprise non-temporary storage media, such as random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM). Memory 411 may store software 412, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions, which, when executed, cause the processor 410 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410, but may be configured, for example, to cause the processor 410 to perform a function when compiled and executed. The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing a function, which includes other implementations such as the processor 410 executing software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing a function as an abbreviation for one or more processors included in the processor 410 performing a certain function. The description herein may refer to the server 400 performing a function as an abbreviation for one or more appropriate components of the server 400 performing a function.The processor 410 may include, in addition to and / or instead of, memory 411, memory containing stored instructions. The functions of the processor 410 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0058]

[0066] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450, respectively, configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 to transmit (e.g., over one or more downlink channels) and / or receive (e.g., over one or more uplink channels) a wireless signal 448, and to convert the signal from the wireless signal 448 to a wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal, and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signal to the wireless signal 448. Thus, the wireless transmitter 442 may include a plurality of transmitters, which may be individual components or a composite / integrated component, and / or the wireless receiver 444 may include a plurality of receivers, which may be individual components or a composite / integrated component. The Wireless Transceiver 440 can be configured to communicate signals (for example, with UE200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) in accordance with various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, and Zigbee. The wired transceiver 450 may include a network interface that can be used to transmit and receive communications to, for example, TRP300 and / or one or more other network entities, by communicating with a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, such as NG-RAN135.The wired transmitter 452 may include a plurality of transmitters, which may be individual components or a composite / integrated component, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include a plurality of receivers, which may be individual components or a composite / integrated component. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured, for example, for optical communications and / or telecommunications.

[0059]

[0067] The descriptions herein may refer to the processor 410 that performs the function, but also include other implementations, such as the processor 410 running software (stored in memory 411) and / or firmware. The descriptions herein may refer to the server 400 performing the function as a simplification of the fact that one or more of the appropriate components of the server 400 (e.g., the processor 410 and memory 411) perform the function.

[0060]

[0068] The configuration of the server 400 shown in Figure 4 is an example of the present disclosure, including the claims, and is not limited thereto; other configurations may be used. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Similarly, or alternatively, the description herein describes how the server 400 may be configured to perform or to perform several functions, one or more of which may be performed by the TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., the TRP 300 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0061]

[0069] Positioning technology

[0070] For ground positioning of UEs in cellular networks, techniques such as Altitude Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) and Observation Time of Arrival Difference (OTDOA) often operate in "UE-assisted" mode, in which the UE takes measurements of reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) transmitted by a base station and provides them to a location server. The location server then calculates the UE's position based on the measurements and the known location of the base station. Because these techniques use a location server rather than the UE itself to calculate the UE's position, these positioning techniques are not frequently used in applications such as car navigation or cell phone navigation, which instead typically rely on satellite-based positioning.

[0062]

[0071] A UE may use a satellite positioning system (SPS) (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) for high-accuracy positioning using precision point positioning (PPP) or real-time kinematic (RTK) techniques. These techniques use supporting data, such as measurements from ground-based stations. LTE Release 15 allows data to be encrypted so that only a UE subscribed to the service can read the information. Such supporting data changes over time. Therefore, a UE subscribed to the service cannot easily "break the encryption" for other UEs by passing the data to them who have not paid for the subscription. This pass would need to be repeated each time the supporting data changes.

[0063]

[0072] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measured values ​​(e.g., TDOA, angle of arrival (AoA), etc.) to a positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has a base station almanac (BSA) containing multiple "entries" or "records," i.e., one record per cell, where each record contains geographic cell location but may also contain other data. An identifier of one of the multiple "records" in the BSA may be referenced. The BSA and measured values ​​from the UE can be used to calculate the UE's position.

[0064]

[0073] In conventional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own position and thus avoids sending measurements to a network (e.g., a location server), which improves latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of gNBs (or more broadly, base stations)). The BSA information may be encrypted. However, since the BSA information changes much less frequently than, for example, the previously described PPP or RTK-assisted data, it may be easier (compared to PPP or RTK information) to make the BSA information available to UEs that have not subscribed and have not paid to obtain the decryption key. The transmission of reference signals by gNBs makes the BSA information potentially accessible to crowdsourcing or ward driving, essentially enabling the generation of BSA information based on on-site and / or beyond-limit observations.

[0065]

[0074] Positioning technology may be characterized and / or assessed based on one or more criteria, such as position determination accuracy and / or latency. Latency is the time elapsed between an event that triggers the determination of location-related data and the availability of that data at the positioning system interface, e.g., the LMF120 interface. In the initialization of the positioning system, the latency for location-related data to become available is called the time to first fix (TTFF), and is greater than the latency after the TTFF. The reciprocal of the time elapsed between the availability of two consecutive pieces of location-related data is called the update rate, i.e., the rate at which location-related data is generated after the first fix. Latency may depend, for example, on the processing capacity of the UE. For example, the UE may report its processing capacity as the duration of DL PRS symbols in units of time (e.g., milliseconds) that the UE can process for every amount of time T (e.g., T ms), assuming a 272 PRB (Physical Resource Block) allocation. Other examples of factors that can affect latency include the number of TRPs that the UE can process from, the number of PRSs that the UE can process, and the UE's bandwidth.

[0066]

[0075] One or more of many different positioning techniques (also called positioning methods) can be used to determine the location of an entity, such as one of UE105, UE106, etc. For example, known positioning techniques include RTT, multi-RTT, OTDOA (also known as TDOA, including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), Extended Cell Identification (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT determines the distance between two entities using the time it takes for a signal to travel from one entity to another and back. This distance, plus one known location of the first entity and the angle (e.g., azimuth) between the two entities, can be used to determine the location of the second entity. In multi-RTT (also known as multi-cell RTT), multiple distances from one entity (e.g., UE) to another entity (e.g., TRP), and the known location of the other entity can be used to determine the location of the first entity. In TDOA technology, the difference in elapsed time between one entity and the other entity may be used to determine the relative distance from the other entity, and the relative distance, combined with the known location of the other entity, may be used to determine the location of one entity. The angle of arrival and / or the angle of departure may be used to help determine the location of an entity. For example, the angle of arrival or departure of a signal (determined using the signal, e.g., the signal's elapsed time, the signal's received power, etc.), combined with the distance between devices, and the known location of one of the devices may be used to determine the location of the other device. The angle of arrival or departure may be an azimuth angle with respect to a reference direction, such as true north. The angle of arrival or departure may be the zenith angle with respect to directly upward from the entity (i.e., radially outward from the center of the Earth).E-CID determines the location of a UE using serving cell identification information, timing advance (i.e., the difference between the receive time and transmit time at the UE), estimated timing and power of detected neighboring cell signals, and, if applicable, the angle of arrival (e.g., from the base station to the UE, or vice versa). TDOA uses the difference in arrival times of signals from different sources at a receiving device, along with the known location of the source and the known offset of the transmit time from the source, to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0067]

[0076] In network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on the serving cells of two or more neighboring base stations (and, since at least three base stations are required, usually the serving base station). One or more base stations transmit RTT measurement signals on low-reuse resources (e.g., resources used by base stations to transmit system information) allocated by the network (e.g., a location server such as LMF120). The UE records the arrival time (also called receive time, reception time, time of reception, or ToA) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE's current downlink timing (for example, derived by the UE from the DL signal received from its serving base station), and transmits a common or individual RTT response message (e.g., SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) for positioning, i.e., UL-PRS) to one or more base stations (for example, when commanded by its serving base station), and in the payload of each RTT response message, the time difference T between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message. Tx→Rx (That is, UET) Rx-Tx or UE Rx-Tx) may include. The RTT response message will contain a reference signal from which the base station can infer the ToA of the RTT response. The difference T between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT response at the base station. Tx→Rx The time difference T reported by UE Rx→Tx By comparing this, the base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE, and from there, the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station by assuming the speed of light during this propagation time.

[0068]

[0077] UE-centered RTT estimation is similar to network-based methods, except that the UE transmits an uplink RTT measurement signal (for example, when commanded by a serving base station) which is received by multiple base stations in the vicinity of the UE. Each participating base station responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include in its RTT response message payload the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal at the base station and the transmission time of the RTT response message from the base station.

[0069]

[0078] For both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the party performing the RTT calculation (network or UE) typically (but not always) sends a first message or signal (e.g., an RTT measurement signal), and the other party responds with one or more RTT response messages or signals, which may include the difference between the ToA of the first message or signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message or signal.

[0070]

[0079] Multi-RTT techniques may be used to determine location. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) may send one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and several second entities (e.g., other TSPs such as base stations and / or UEs) may receive signals from the first entity and respond to these received signals. The first entity receives responses from several second entities. The first entity (or another entity such as an LMF) may use the responses from the second entities to determine the distance to the second entities, and may use several distances and known locations of the second entities to determine the location of the first entity by trilateration.

[0071]

[0080] In some cases, additional information may be obtained in the form of an angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD) that defines a range of directions (e.g., in the horizontal plane or in three dimensions) or, in some cases, a range of directions (e.g., for the UE from the base station location). The intersection of the two directions can provide another estimate of the location relative to the UE.

[0072]

[0081] In positioning techniques that use a PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) signal (e.g., TDOA and RTT), PRS signals sent by multiple TRPs are measured, and the signal arrival time, known transmission time, and known location of the TRP are used to determine the distance from the UE to the TRP. For example, the RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) may be determined for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs and may be used in TDOA techniques to determine the location of the UE. The positioning reference signal is sometimes called a PRS or PRS signal. PRS signals, typically transmitted using the same power and having the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency shift), can interfere with each other, and as a result, PRS signals from more distant TRPs may be overwhelmed by PRS signals from closer TRPs, making it impossible to detect signals from more distant TRPs. PRS muting may be used to help reduce interference by muting some PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signals, for example, to zero, and therefore not transmitting the PRS signals). In this way, stronger PRS signals do not interfere with weaker PRS signals, and weaker PRS signals (in the UE) can be more easily detected by the UE. The term RS, and its variations (e.g., PRS, SRS, CSI-RS (Channel Status Information - Reference Signal)), can refer to one or more reference signals.

[0073]

[0082] The positioning reference signal (PRS) includes a downlink PRS (DL PRS, often simply called PRS) and an uplink PRS (UL PRS) (which may be called an SRS (sounding reference signal) for positioning purposes). The PRS may include a PN code (pseudorandom code), or may be generated using a PN code (e.g., by modulating a carrier signal with a PN code) so that the PRS source acts as a pseudo-satellite. The PN code may be unique to the PRS source (at least within a specified area so that identical PRSs from different PRS sources do not overlap). The PRS may comprise frequency layer PRS resources and / or PRS resource sets. The DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply frequency layer) is a collection of DL PRS resource sets from one or more TRPs, each having PRS resources with common parameters configured by the upper layer parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer, DL-PRS-ResourceSet, and DL-PRS-Resource. Each frequency layer has DL PRS resource sets and DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for DL ​​PRS resources within that frequency layer. Each frequency layer also has DL PRS resource sets and DL PRS cyclic prefixes (CP) for DL ​​PRS resources within that frequency layer. In 5G, a resource block occupies 12 consecutive subcarriers and a specified number of symbols. A common resource block is a set of resource blocks that occupy the channel bandwidth. A bandwidth part (BWP) is a set of consecutive common resource blocks that may include all or a subset of common resource blocks within the channel bandwidth. Additionally, the DL PRS point A parameter defines the frequency of a reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of the resource block), and DL PRS resources belong to the same DL PRS resource set having the same point A, and all DL PRS resource sets belong to the same frequency layer having the same point A.The frequency layer also has the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size (i.e., the frequency of the PRS resource element per symbol, such that for comb N, every Nth resource element is a PRS resource element). A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and may be associated with a specific TRP (identified by a cell ID) transmitted by the base station's antenna panel. A PRS resource ID within a PRS resource set may be associated with an omnidirectional signal and / or a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (a base station may transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore a PRS resource (or simply a resource) may also be called a beam. This has no implications for whether the base station and PRS know the beam transmitted on it to the UE.

[0074]

[0083] A TRP may be configured to send DL PRS on a schedule, for example, by instructions received from a server and / or by software within the TRP. According to the schedule, the TRP may send DL PRS intermittently, for example, periodically at consistent intervals from the initial transmission. A TRP may be configured to send one or more PRS resource sets. A resource set is a collection of PRS resources across a single TRP, where resources have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition coefficient across slots. Each PRS resource set contains multiple PRS resources, each PRS resource containing multiple OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) resource elements (REs) which may be in multiple resource blocks (RBs) within N (one or more) consecutive symbols in a slot. PRS resources (or generally reference signal (RS) resources) may be called OFDM PRS resources (or OFDM RS resources). RB is a set of REs (Representative Errors) spanning the amount of one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain and the amount of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain (12 for 5G RB). Each PRS resource consists of an RE offset, a slot offset, a symbol offset within the slot, and several consecutive symbols that the PRS resource may occupy within the slot. The RE offset specifies the starting RE offset of the first symbol in the DL PRS resource within the frequency. The relative RE offsets of the remaining symbols in the DL PRS resource are specified based on the initial offset. The slot offset is the starting slot of the DL PRS resource relative to the corresponding resource set slot offset. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting slot. Transmitted REs may be repeated across slots, and each transmission is called an iteration such that there may be multiple iterations within the PRS resource. DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP, and each DL PRS resource has a DL PRS resource ID.In a DL PRS resource set, a DL PRS resource ID is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (although a TRP may transmit one or more beams).

[0075]

[0084] PRS resources can also be defined by quasi-colocation and start-PRB parameters. The quasi-colocation (QCL) parameter can define arbitrary quasi-colocation information for DL ​​PRS resources with other reference signals. A DL PRS may be configured to be a QCL type D with DL PRS or SS / PBCH (Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel) blocks from a serving cell or non-serving cell. A DL PRS may be configured to be a QCL type C with SS / PBCH blocks from a serving cell or non-serving cell. The start-PRB parameter defines the start-PRB index of the DL PRS resource with respect to reference point A. The start-PRB index has a granularity of one PRB and can have a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 2176 PRBs.

[0076]

[0085] A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources that span slots and have the same periodicity, the same muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor. The entire time period configured to send all iterations of all PRS resources in a PRS resource set is called an "instance." Therefore, an "instance" of a PRS resource set is a specified number of iterations for each PRS resource and a specified number of PRS resources within the PRS resource set, and consequently, the instance is complete when the specified number of iterations have been sent for each of the specified number of PRS resources. An instance is sometimes called an "occasion." To facilitate (and even enable) the UE to measure DL PRS, a DL PRS configuration, including a DL PRS transmission schedule, may be provided to the UE.

[0077]

[0086] Multiple frequency layers of a PRS can be aggregated to provide an effective bandwidth greater than any of the individual layer bandwidths. Multiple frequency layers having the same antenna port, meeting criteria such as constituent carriers (which may be consecutive and / or distinct) and being pseudo-colocated (QCLed), may be stitched together to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for DL ​​PRS and UL PRS) and improve arrival time measurement accuracy. Stitching involves combining PRS measurements across individual bandwidth fragments into one integrated one, so that the stitched PRS can be treated as if it were taken from a single measurement. When QCLed, different frequency layers behave similarly, allowing the stitching of the PRS to result in a larger effective bandwidth. The larger effective bandwidth may be called the aggregated PRS bandwidth or aggregated PRS frequency bandwidth and results in better time-domain resolution (e.g., TDOA). An aggregated PRS includes a collection of PRS resources, each PRS resource in the aggregated PRS may be called a PRS component, and each PRS component may be transmitted on different component carriers, bandwidths, or frequency layers, or on different portions of the same bandwidth.

[0078]

[0087] RTT positioning is an active positioning technique in which the RTT uses positioning signals sent by the TRP to the UE and by the UE (participating in RTT positioning) to the TRP. The TRP may send a DL-PRS signal that is received by the UE, and the UE may send an SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) signal that is received by multiple TRPs. The Sounding Reference Signal is sometimes called an SRS or SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, cooperative positioning may be used in conjunction with the UE sending a single UL-SRS for positioning that is received by multiple TRPs, rather than sending a separate UL-SRS for positioning to each TRP. A TRP participating in multi-RTT typically searches for UEs currently camped on to that TRP (the UE being served if the TRP is a serving TRP), and UEs camped on adjacent TRPs (adjacent UEs). A neighboring TRP may be the TRP of a single BTS (base station transceiver) (e.g., gNB), or it may be the TRP of one BTS and the TRP of a separate BTS. For RTT positioning, including multi-RTT positioning, the DL-PRS signal and the positioning UL-SRS signal in the positioning PRS / SRS signal pair used to determine the RTT (and therefore to determine the range between the UE and the TRP) may occur close together in time so that errors due to the movement of the UE and / or the clock drift of the UE and / or the TRP clock drift are within acceptable limits. For example, the signals in the positioning PRS / SRS signal pair may be transmitted from the TRP and the UE, respectively, within approximately 10 ms of each other. It is known that when SRS signals for positioning are transmitted by UEs, and PRS and SRS signals for positioning are carried in close proximity to each other in terms of time, radio frequency (RF) signal congestion can occur (potentially causing excessive noise, etc.), and / or computational congestion can occur in TRPs attempting to measure multiple UEs simultaneously.

[0079]

[0088] RTT positioning may be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, UE200 determines the RTT and corresponding distance to each TRP300, as well as the location of UE200, based on the distance to TRP300 and the known location of TRP300. In UE-assisted RTT, UE200 measures a positioning signal and provides the measurement information to TRP300, which determines the RTT and distance. TRP300 provides the distance to a location server, e.g., server 400, which determines the location of UE200, e.g., based on the distance to different TRP300s. The RTT and / or distance may be determined by TRP300 receiving a signal from UE200, by this TRP300 in combination with one or more other devices, e.g., one or more other TRP300s and / or server 400, or by one or more devices other than TRP300 receiving a signal from UE200.

[0080]

[0089] 5G NR supports a variety of positioning technologies. NR-specific positioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL-only positioning methods, UL-only positioning methods, and DL+UL positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. Combined DL+UL-based positioning methods include RTT with a single base station and RTT with multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

[0081]

[0090] Location estimates (for example, for a UE) may be referred to by other names such as location estimate, location, position, position fix, or fix. Location estimates may be geodesic, may consist of coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or may relate to a city, and may include a street address, mailing address, or any other linguistic description of the location. Location estimates may further be defined for several other known locations, or may be defined in absolute terms (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 at some specified or default confidence level).

[0082]

[0091] The configuration of the server 400 shown in Figure 4 is an example of the present disclosure, including the claims, and is not limited thereto; other configurations may be used. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Similarly, or alternatively, the description herein describes how the server 400 may be configured to perform or to perform several functions, one or more of which may be performed by the TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., the TRP 300 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0083]

[0092] Distributed positioning session management

[0093] See also Figure 5, the environment 500 includes positioning devices 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515 and objects 531, 532, e.g., buildings. Positioning devices 510-515 provide a distributed system for determining the location of one or more of the positioning devices 510-515. Positioning devices 510-515 are configured to transmit (transmit and / or receive) PRS, measure, optionally report PRS measurements, and optionally report line-of-sight / out-of-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) status to one or more of the other positioning devices 510-515 for reporting positioning devices. Each of the positioning devices 510-515 may be any of various devices, e.g., RSU (Roadside Unit) (e.g., positioning device 515), UE such as vehicle UE (e.g., positioning device 514), pedestrian UE such as smartphone (e.g., positioning devices 510-513), etc. An RSU can be a UE-type RSU or a TRP-type RSU. A UE-type RSU has the same stack as the UE and uses sidelinks to communicate with the UE, while a TRP-type RSU can be a TRP with reduced functionality (e.g., a stripped-down gNB) that uses DL and UL signaling to communicate with the UE. Positioning devices 510-515 can transmit PRS, measure PRS, and report PRS measurements to implement one or more positioning techniques, such as an RTT-based positioning procedure and / or one or more other positioning procedures. The position of one or more of the positioning devices 510-515, for example, positioning device 510, can be determined based on the measured PRS, which is the LOS between positioning device 510 and positioning devices 511-515 to which positioning device 510 transmits PRS.

[0084]

[0094] Positioning devices 510-515 may transmit pre-PRS, PRS, and post-PRS signaling. The pre-PRS signal provides information about the PRS transmitted by the positioning devices 510-515, respectively. The pre-PRS signal may establish a positioning session with the positioning devices 510-515, for example, by using signaling from an initiating device that queries for available positioning devices and indicates that the positioning devices 510-515 have been selected to be in a positioning session, and signaling from a receiving device that indicates availability and affirms acceptance into the positioning session. The pre-PRS for each of the positioning devices 510-515 may indicate a PRS ID associated with the PRS transmitted by each of the positioning devices 510-515. The PRS ID may be a temporary ID for the PRS that is (at least temporarily) associated with the positioning device so that the recipient of the PRS can identify the source of the PRS. The pre-PRS signal may indicate the time and / or frequency characteristics of the transmitted PRS (e.g., frequency layer, time offset, frequency offset, etc.). The transmitted PRS will conform to the PRS characteristics and PRS ID indicated in the pre-PRS signaling. The post-PRS signaling may contain information about the transmitted and / or received PRS. For example, the post-PRS signaling may indicate the departure time of the PRS (transmission time) and / or the arrival time of the received and measured PRS and / or the angle of arrival of the PRS. The post-PRS signaling may include an instruction from another positioning device 510-515 to the positioning device 510-515 transmitting the post-PRS signaling whether it is LOS or NLOS. Positioning devices 510-515 may be enabled to broadcast the PRS and post-PRS signaling by the pre-PRS signaling received from the device initiating the positioning session. The initiating device may be one of the positioning devices 510-515, or another device. There may be two or more initiating or managing devices within a group of positioning devices in a positioning session.

[0085]

[0095] Positioning devices 510-515, which are part of a positioning session, may be managed. A positioning device may be enabled or disabled to participate in a positioning session. For example, a positioning device responding to an availability query may be instructed to broadcast a PRS and measure PRS from other participants in the positioning session. If a positioning device 510-515 receiving pre-PRS signaling is NLOS for more PRS than the threshold number of positioning devices 510-515 in the positioning session and / or more frequently than the threshold NLOS frequency, that positioning device 510-515 may be disabled, for example, instructed not to transmit PRS and / or PRS transmitted from that positioning device 510-515 may not be measured by the other positioning devices 510-515. This can help reduce latency and / or power consumption by reducing the number of PRSs transmitted, measured and processed, reduce collisions between PRSs from different sources, and / or improve positioning accuracy by reducing multipath PRSs measured and used to determine location, for example. If PRSs are transmitted over an unauthorized channel, reducing the number of PRSs transmitted can reduce latency due to the time it takes to compete for channel access. A positioning device may receive a pre-PRS, but may be NLOS at the time of the PRS transfer, for example, because the positioning device was NLOS at the time of the pre-PRS transfer, or due to the positioning device moving to another positioning device by the time of the PRS transfer. In environment 500, positioning device 514 is NLOS to each of positioning devices 510-513 and LOS to positioning device 515, and positioning device 515 is LOS to positioning devices 510, 514 and NLOS to positioning devices 511-513.In this example, PRS transmission by positioning devices 514, 515, and attempted measurement of PRS from positioning devices 514, 515, may be undesirable, for example, if multipath PRS is measured from either positioning unit 514, 515 and used to determine the position of positioning device 510, due to significant improvement or no improvement in power consumption, or even a decrease in positioning accuracy.

[0086]

[0096] See also Figure 6, the positioning device 600 includes a processor 610, a transceiver 620, and a memory 630, all coupled together by a bus 640 for communication. The positioning device 600 may include the components shown in Figure 6. The positioning device 600 may include one or more other components, such as any of those shown in Figure 2, so that UE200 may be an example of the positioning device 600. For example, the processor 610 may include one or more components of the processor 210. The transceiver 620 may include one or more components of the transceiver 215, for example, a wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246, or a wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246, or a wireless transmitter 242, a wireless receiver 244, and an antenna 246. Similarly or alternatively, the transceiver 620 may include a wired transmitter 252 and / or a wired receiver 254. Memory 630 may be configured similarly to memory 211, for example, by including software having processor-readable instructions configured to cause processor 610 to perform functions.

[0087]

[0097] The descriptions herein may refer to the processor 610 that performs the function, but also include other implementations, such as the processor 610 running software (stored in memory 630) and / or firmware. The descriptions herein may refer to the positioning device 600 that performs the function as an abbreviation for one or more appropriate components of the positioning device 600 that performs the function (e.g., the processor 610 and memory 630). The processor 610 (in some cases together with memory 630 and, as appropriate, the transceiver 620) may include a positioning session management unit 650, a PRS measurement unit 660, a LOS / NLOS determination unit 670, and a post-PRS reporting unit 680. The positioning session management unit 650, the PRS measurement unit 660, the LOS / NLOS determination unit 670, and the post-PRS reporting unit 680 are described further below, and the description may generally refer to the processor 610, or generally the positioning device 600, as performing any of the functions of the positioning session management unit 650, the PRS measurement unit 660, the LOS / NLOS determination unit 670, and / or the post-PRS reporting unit 680, and the positioning device 600 is configured to perform that function. Any of the positioning devices 510 to 515 may be an example of the positioning device 600. In the example of the positioning device 600, one or more of the units 650, 660, 670, and 680 may be omitted. For example, a positioning device may not be configured to control membership in a positioning session, and therefore the positioning session management unit 650 may be omitted or may have reduced functionality (e.g., to acknowledge requests to join a positioning session).

[0088]

[0098] Referring further to Figures 1-6 and then to Figure 7, the signaling and process flow 700 for managing positioning session participants and determining location information includes the steps shown. In flow 700, the managing positioning device 705 manages the participation of the first positioning device 701 and the second positioning device 702 in the positioning session. In this example, the managing positioning device 705 is the target device whose location estimate is determined. Although referred to as the managing positioning device, the managing positioning device 705 may be a positioning device or another (non-positioning) device. For example, positioning devices 510 and / or 600 may be examples of the managing positioning device 705, and are assumed to be so in this description; therefore, positioning devices 510 and 600 may be referred to interchangeably with the managing positioning device 705. Furthermore, the first and second positioning devices 701 and 702 are examples of positioning devices 600, for example, without the positioning session management unit 650 in some cases. In this example, three positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 are shown for simplicity, but more than three positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 may be used. For example, in the exemplary environment 500, six positioning devices, i.e., positioning devices 510 to 515, may be used. Flow 700 is an example, and steps may be added, rearranged, and / or deleted, for example.

[0089]

[0099] In stage 710, devices 701, 702, and 705 forward pre-PRS signaling to establish a positioning session. A managing positioning device 705, e.g., a positioning session management unit 650, broadcasts an availability request 711 to be received by the first positioning device 701 and the second positioning device 702. Similarly or alternatively, one or more availability requests may be multicast and / or one or more unicast availability requests may be transmitted. The availability request 711 inquires whether any positioning device receiving the availability request 711 is available and willing to join the positioning session. Each of the first positioning device 701 and the second positioning device 702 receiving the availability request 711 transmits (e.g., broadcasts) an availability response 712, 713, respectively. The availability responses 712, 713 either refuse to join the positioning session (e.g., indicate they are unavailable) or accept to join the positioning session. Availability responses 712, 713 may be sent to the management positioning device 705 as unicast messages, as shown, or they may be multicast or broadcast.

[0090]

[0100] A management positioning device 705, for example, a positioning session management unit 650, may respond to availability responses 712, 713 by transmitting (e.g., broadcasting) a positioning session and PRS information message 714. Message 714 may indicate which positioning devices are included in the positioning session, or whether a particular positioning device is included in the positioning session. A unicast message may indicate whether a destination positioning device is accepted into the positioning session. Message 714 may indicate one or more PRS characteristics of the PRS transmitted by the management positioning device 705. For example, message 714 may include a PRS ID, one or more frequency characteristics (e.g., frequency layer, frequency offset), one or more timing characteristics (e.g., offset, periodicity, etc.). The PRS ID may be a temporary ID for associating the PRS with a source, in this case the management positioning device 705, and may not be the ID of the PRS source (in this case the management positioning device 705). The PRS information in message 714 may be provided in combination with the availability request 711, for example.

[0091]

[0101] Each of the first positioning device 701 and the second positioning device 702, selected for a positioning session, transmits (e.g., broadcasts) a PRS information message. The first positioning device 701 transmits a PRS information message 715 that describes the characteristics of the PRS transmitted by the first positioning device 701, including the PRS ID. Message 715 may be combined with an availability response 712. For example, message 715 may include the PRS ID and a positioning session ID that corresponds to a positioning session and serves as an acknowledgment that the positioning device is participating in the positioning session. The second positioning device 702 transmits (e.g., broadcasts) a PRS information message 716 that describes the characteristics of the PRS transmitted by the second positioning device 702, including the PRS ID. Message 716 may be combined with an availability response 713, for example, similar to how message 715 is combined with an availability response 712. Messages 715 and / or 716 may be multicast or unicast instead of broadcast.

[0092]

[0102] In step 720, positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 transmit a PRS, for example, an SL PRS. Management positioning device 705 broadcasts a PRS 721 according to the positioning session and PRS characteristics indicated in PRS information message 714. First positioning device 701 broadcasts a PRS 722 according to the PRS characteristics indicated in PRS information message 715. Second positioning device 702 broadcasts a PRS 723 according to the PRS characteristics indicated in PRS information message 716.

[0093]

[0103] In stage 730, positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 measure the received PRS 721-723 and determine whether each of the other positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 in the positioning session is LOS or NLOS. For example, in sub-stage 731, management positioning device 705, for example, PRS measurement unit 660, measures either PRS 722 or 723 received by management positioning device 705 in order to determine location information (e.g., one or more PRS measurements such as ToA, AoA, etc.). Also in sub-stage 731, management positioning device 705, for example, LOS / NLOS determination unit 670, determines whether each of the positioning devices 701 and 702 in the positioning session is LOS or NLOS relative to management positioning device 705. Similarly, in sub-stages 732 and 733, each of the first positioning device 701 and the second positioning device 702 (for example, the PRS measurement unit 660 and the LOS / NLOS determination unit 670 of each of the positioning devices 701 and 702) measures the received PRS and determines whether the management positioning device 705 and each of the other positioning devices in the positioning session are LOS or NLOS for their respective positioning devices 701 and 702.

[0094]

[0104] The LOS / NLOS status of one positioning device relative to another positioning device can be determined by the LOS / NLOS determination unit 670 in one or more of various ways. For example, a PRS source positioning device (i.e., a positioning device that is the source of a PRS) may be determined to be LOS if a PRS is received from the PRS source positioning device at a PRS receiver positioning device and the PRS source positioning device is not determined to be NLOS. A device may be determined to be NLOS based on the fact that a pre-PRS is received from the device but a PRS is not received from the device. As another example, a PRS source positioning device may be determined to be NLOS if the change in range between the current range from the PRS receiver positioning device (i.e., a device that receives a PRS from a PRS source) to the PRS source positioning device and the previous range to the PRS source positioning device differs by more than a threshold amount. The threshold amount may depend on the time between the time corresponding to the previous range and the current time, and / or the expected relative motion (by, for example, the device type and / or the measured velocity) between the PRS source positioning device and the PRS receiver positioning device. As another example, if the position based on the distance to a first PRS source positioning device and the location of the first PRS source positioning device is an outlier compared to the position based on the distance to another second PRS source positioning device and the location of the second PRS source positioning device, the first PRS source positioning device may be determined to be NLOS with respect to the PRS receiver positioning device.

[0095]

[0105] In stage 740, positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 transmit post-PRS messages, and the management positioning device 705 compiles the combined LOS / NLOS status of the pair of devices in the positioning session. For example, the post-PRS reporting units 680 of the management positioning device 705, the first positioning device 701, and the second positioning device 702 each broadcast their respective PRS measurements and LOS / NLOS messages 741, 742, and 743. Messages 741-743 provide the PRS measurements and indications of which other devices in the positioning session are LOS to the reporting positioning device and which other devices in the positioning session are NLOS to the reporting positioning device. These indications can be combined to form the combined LOS / NLOS status of each positioning device in the positioning session for each other positioning device in the positioning session.

[0096]

[0106] In sub-stage 744, also referring to Figure 8, the management positioning device 705 can aggregate LOS / NLOS information to determine the composite LOS / NLOS status for each combination of devices in a positioning session. In this example, the management positioning device 705 compiles this information, but any device (positioning device or others) that obtains the content of messages 741-743 (for example, by receiving messages 741-743, or by a combination of generating one of messages 741-743 and receiving the other messages 741-743) can compile this information to determine the LOS / NLOS status of the positioning session devices relative to each other. For example, Table 800 includes a set of row indicators 810, each representing a positioning device in a positioning session, and a set of column indicators 820, each representing a positioning device in a positioning session. In this example corresponding to environment 500, the set of row indicators 810 and the set of column indicators 820 represent positioning devices 510-515. Row and column indicators may be omitted from Table 800, and each device is implicit and known, for example, by the device storing Table 800. The contents of Table 800 indicate whether each corresponding pair of positioning devices 510-515 (i.e., each row and column device) is LOS or NLOS with respect to each other. For example, Table 800 indicates that positioning device 510 is LOS with respect to positioning devices 511-513 and 515 and NLOS with respect to positioning device 514, and that positioning device 514 is NLOS with respect to positioning devices 510-513 and LOS with respect to positioning device 515. Other LOS / NLOS relationships are shown in the figure.

[0097]

[0107] The LOS / NLOS status for each pair of devices can be determined from one LOS / NLOS decision for that pair, or from a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS decisions for that pair. For example, the LOS / NLOS decision unit 670 may compile N decisions for the LOS / NLOS status and determine whether the device meets a threshold level for LOS decisions before being labeled as LOS. For example, the LOS / NLOS decision unit 670 may average the LOS / NLOS decisions over time (e.g., assign a value of 1 for LOS and a value of 0 for NLOS, sum the N values, and divide by N) and label the device combination as LOS if the average exceeds a threshold, e.g., 0.6; otherwise, label the device combination as NLOS. The value of N can be set to various values ​​and may be set to different values ​​over time. For example, the value of N may be set to a relatively high value in response to a relatively static positioning session (positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 hardly moving relative to each other), or to a relatively low value in response to a relatively dynamic positioning session (positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 moving significantly relative to each other). As another example, a combination of positioning devices may be labeled as NLOS based on a threshold number of consecutive instances determined to be NLOS, or, for example, based on a threshold number of instances determined to be NLOS within a threshold amount of time, regardless of the frequency of the determination. Yet another example of the technique based on the fact that a combination of devices can be labeled as NLOS may be used.

[0098]

[0108] In stage 750, positioning session management information is determined and disseminated to positioning devices 701 and 702 in the positioning session. For example, in sub-stage 751, the positioning session management unit 650 of the managing positioning device 705 can analyze the LOS / NLOS status for one or more of the positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 in the positioning session, for example, all combinations, to determine whether to disable any PRS transmission and / or measurement, for example, whether to make any changes to the membership of the positioning session. For example, the positioning session management unit 650 may decide to disable PRS transmission and / or measurement corresponding to any positioning device that has been determined to be NLOS with respect to a threshold amount of the other positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 in the positioning session. For example, the threshold amount could be 1, and therefore the positioning session management unit 650 of the management positioning device 705 could decide to disable PRS transmission by and / or PRS reception from the second positioning device 702 based on the determination that the second positioning device 702 is NLOS to other positioning devices 701, 705 in the positioning session. As another example, the number of thresholds could be two or more, or a percentage of the total number of positioning devices 701, 702, 705 in the positioning session, or some other threshold. The threshold could be such that the second positioning device 702 is disabled based on the fact that the second positioning device 702 provides a LOS PRS measurement that is less than desired in order to justify the processing time and / or power required to attempt to measure a PRS and / or measure an NLOS PRS from the second positioning device 702. As another example, the threshold for disabling PRS transmission and / or measurement may be that the second positioning device 702 is NLOS for more positioning devices in a positioning session than the second positioning device 702 is LOS.As another example, the threshold for disabling PRS transmission and / or measurement may be that the ratio of the number of devices for which the second positioning device 702 is NLOS to the number of devices for which the second positioning device 702 is LOS exceeds the threshold (a threshold of 1.0 to trigger disabling corresponds to the second positioning device 702 being NLOS for the majority of devices). Other examples may be used. For example, the example described considers the number of devices for which the second positioning device 702 is NLOS relative to the total number of devices in a positioning session, which may be useful for the second positioning device 702 being a target device (a device whose location is determined) or an anchor device (a device whose location is known and is used to help determine the location of one or more target devices). Another example may consider the number of devices for which the second positioning device 702 is NLOS relative to the total number of target devices (i.e., devices whose location is determined) in a positioning session. Yet another example may be used.

[0099]

[0109] The management positioning device 705, for example, the positioning session management unit 650 of the management positioning device 705, may send a positioning session management information message 752 to the first positioning device 701 and / or a positioning session management information message 753 to the second positioning device 702 in order to disable PRS transmission and / or measurement determined in sub-stage 751. The management positioning device 705 may send messages 752 and 753 separately, or send one or more multicast messages, or send a broadcast message in order to control PRS transmission and / or measurement. For example, based on the determination that the first positioning device 701 is NLOS with at least a threshold amount of other positioning devices 702 and 705, message 752 may disable PRS transmission by the first positioning device 701. Message 752 may (explicitly or implicitly) instruct the first positioning device 701 not to transmit PRS for the positioning session. Message 752 may implicitly instruct the first positioning device 701 not to transmit a PRS for a positioning session by including PRS information for the management positioning device 705, without including a trigger for the first positioning device 701 to transmit a PRS. Thus, message 752 could be a new PRS information message. As another example, based on the determination that the second positioning device 702 is NLOS with at least a threshold amount of the other positioning devices 701, 705, message 752 may invalidate the PRS measurement by the first positioning device 701 of the PRS from the second positioning device 702. Message 752 may (explicitly or implicitly) instruct the first positioning device 701 not to measure the PRS from the second positioning device 702 for a positioning session, for example. Message 752 may disable PRS for positioning device 702 by instructing positioning device 702 to leave the positioning session (for example, not sending PRS 721 and not measuring PRS 722, 723). Message 753 may disable PRS for second positioning device 702 by instructing second positioning device 702 to leave the positioning session.A broadcast message can inform all positioning devices 701, 702 (and any other positioning devices, if any) in a positioning session which positioning device has been disabled, for example, removed from the positioning session.

[0100]

[0110] Messages 752 and 753 may instruct one or more of the positioning devices 701 and 702 to start another positioning session. For example, if positioning device 514 is NLOS to positioning devices 510-513, positioning device 515 is NLOS to positioning devices 511-513, and positioning devices 514 and 515 are LOS to each other, then positioning devices 514 and 515 may be instructed to form a positioning session that includes positioning devices 514 and 515 (and possibly other devices, whether indicated by positioning devices 514 and 515 or not). Positioning devices 514 and 515 may also be instructed to leave the positioning session with positioning devices 510-513. In other examples, a positioning device may be instructed to form another positioning session without being disabled from the current positioning session or instructed to leave the current positioning session.

[0101]

[0111] In step 760, the management positioning device 705, for example, the processor 610, may determine location information. For example, the processor 610 may use one or more measurements of PRS 721-723 (e.g., ToD, ToA, AoA, etc.) to determine location information (e.g., one or more distances to one or more of positioning devices 701, 702, one or more location estimates for the management positioning device 705, etc.). The management positioning device 705 may, as appropriate, transmit one or more indications of location information to one or more entities, for example, a server such as an LMF, for transmission to a location client.

[0102]

[0112] Referring further to Figures 1 to 8 and then to Figure 9, the positioning method 900 includes the illustrated steps. However, method 900 is an example and not limiting. Method 900 may be modified, for example, by adding, deleting, rearranging, combining, performing simultaneously, and / or dividing a single step into multiple steps.

[0103]

[0113] In step 910, method 900 includes establishing a positioning session between a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device. For example, a management positioning device 705 (or a management device that is not a positioning device, e.g., a server 400 or TRP 300) establishes a positioning session with positioning devices 701, 702 by transferring an availability request 711 and availability responses 712, 713, and at least the positioning session information portion of the positioning session and PRS information message 714. A processor 610, possibly combined with a memory 630 and a transceiver 620 (e.g., a wireless transmitter 242, a wireless receiver 244, and an antenna 246), may have means for establishing a positioning session. As another example, a processor 310, possibly combined with memory 311 and a transceiver 315 (e.g., a wireless transmitter 342, a wireless receiver 344, and an antenna 346), may have means for establishing a positioning session.

[0104]

[0114] In step 920, method 900 includes obtaining line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) statuses for multiple pairs of multiple positioning devices. For example, a management positioning device 705 determines the LOS / NLOS status for positioning devices 701, 702 in sub-step 731 and receives LOS / NLOS instructions from positioning devices 701, 702 in messages 742, 743 indicating LOS / NLOS decisions that the management positioning device 705 can determine, including the LOS / NLOS status and / or the LOS / NLOS status of positioning devices 701, 702 for other positioning devices in the positioning session. A processor 610, possibly combined with a memory 630 and a transceiver 620 (e.g., a wireless transmitter 242, a wireless receiver 244, and an antenna 246), may have means for obtaining LOS / NLOS statuses. As another example, a processor 310, possibly combined with memory 311 and a transceiver 315 (e.g., a wireless transmitter 342, a wireless receiver 344, and an antenna 346), may have means for obtaining LOS / NLOS status.

[0105]

[0115] In step 930, method 900 includes sending an invalid message to the first positioning device based on the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices being NLOS for at least a subset of the positioning devices, the invalid message indicating that at least one of the following is invalid: the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device, or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device. For example, management positioning device 705 sends a positioning session management information message 752 to the first positioning device 701 to prohibit the transmission of a PRS (e.g., a future transmitted PRS 723) by the first positioning device 701, and / or to prohibit the measurement by the first positioning device 701 to measure a PRS from the second positioning device 702, e.g., a future transmitted PRS 722. Invalid messages may be transmitted using appropriate communication techniques, such as sidelink or downlink communication, depending on the type of device sending and receiving invalid messages. A processor 610, possibly combined with memory 630 and a transceiver 620 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246), may be provided with means for transmitting invalid messages. As another example, a processor 310, possibly combined with memory 311 and a transceiver 315 (e.g., wireless transmitter 342 and antenna 346), may be provided with means for transmitting invalid messages. Disabling PRS transmission and / or PRS reception based on LOS / NLOS status may help improve positioning accuracy by eliminating PRS measurements of NLOS PRS, which could provide an inaccurate range to the anchor device. Disabling PRS transmission and / or PRS reception based on LOS / NLOS status may help reduce positioning latency by eliminating the time spent measuring NLOS PRS and determining that the PRS is from an NLOS source, and / or the time spent attempting to measure NLOS PRS, in order to ignore the measurement.Disabling PRS transmission and / or PRS reception based on LOS / NLOS status can help reduce power consumption by eliminating the power used to attempt to measure NLOS PRS, the power used to measure NLOS PRS, and / or the power used to determine that the measured PRS is NLOS, and by deciding to ignore the measurement.

[0106]

[0116] Implementations of Method 900 may include one or more of the following features: In an exemplary implementation, sending an invalid message includes sending an invalid message based on the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices being NLOS for at least a threshold amount of multiple positioning devices. For example, the management positioning device 705 may send message 752 based on the first positioning device 701 and / or the second positioning device 702 being NLOS for a threshold amount (e.g., amount, percentage, etc.) of positioning devices in a positioning session (e.g., all positioning devices in a positioning session or all target devices of positioning devices in a positioning session). In another exemplary implementation, sending an invalid message includes sending an invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from sending a first PRS based on the first positioning device being NLOS for at least a threshold amount of multiple positioning devices. For example, message 752 may indicate (explicitly or implicitly) that the first positioning device 701 will not send a PRS (e.g., PRS722) for the positioning session in the future, in response to the first positioning device determining that it is NLOS with respect to a threshold amount of positioning devices in the positioning session (e.g., all positioning devices or a target positioning device or another set of positioning devices). Thus, for example, if sending a PRS from the first positioning device 701 would incur more costs than benefits to the positioning session, the first positioning device 701 may be prohibited from sending a PRS. In another exemplary implementation, sending an invalid message includes sending the invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from measuring a second PRS based on the second positioning device being NLOS with respect to at least a threshold amount of multiple positioning devices.For example, message 752 may indicate (explicitly or implicitly) that the first positioning device 701 will not measure future PRS (e.g., PRS723) for the positioning session in response to the second positioning device determining that it is NLOS with respect to a threshold amount of positioning devices in the positioning session (e.g., all positioning devices, target positioning devices, or other sets of positioning devices). Therefore, for example, if measuring the PRS from the second positioning device 702 would incur more costs than benefits for the positioning session, the first positioning device 701 may be prohibited from measuring the PRS from the second positioning device 702.

[0107]

[0117] Similarly or alternatively, implementations of method 900 may include one or more of the following features: In an exemplary implementation, obtaining LOS / NLOS status for multiple pairs of multiple positioning devices includes determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the multiple pairs of multiple positioning devices. For example, the LOS / NLOS determination unit 670 of the management positioning device 705 may determine the LOS / NLOS status of a pair of positioning devices using two or more LOS / NLOS indications for that pair to ensure that the LOS / NLOS determination hardens over time to determine the LOS / NLOS status. The processor 610 may optionally be provided with means for determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications in combination with memory 630. In another example, the processor 310 may optionally be provided with means for determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications in combination with memory 311. In another exemplary implementation, determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications includes determining the average of the multiple LOS / NLOS indications. For example, the LOS / NLOS determination unit 670 of the management positioning device 705 may determine that a particular pair of positioning devices is LOS for 60% of the sample. The LOS / NLOS determination unit 670 of the management positioning device 705 may, for example, average the indications by assigning numerical values ​​to the LOS and NLOS indications (for example, assigning a value of 1 to LOS and a value of 0 to NLOS), summing the N values ​​(corresponding to N LOS / NLOS indications), and dividing by N. In another exemplary implementation, obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for multiple pairs of multiple positioning devices involves determining for each of the multiple pairs of multiple positioning devices that the pair is NLOS based on the fact that the percentage of multiple LOS / NLOS indications for the pair is greater than a threshold percentage indicating that the pair is NLOS.For example, the LOS / NLOS determination unit 670 of the management positioning device 705 may determine that the LOS / NLOS status of a pair of positioning devices is NLOS if the indication for that pair is greater than a threshold ratio for a given set of indications, and may determine that the LOS / NLOS status is LOS if, otherwise, the indication for that pair is greater than a threshold ratio for LOS / NLOS indications.

[0108]

[0118] Similarly or alternatively, implementations of Method 900 may include one or more of the following features: In an exemplary implementation, the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device is being removed from the positioning session. For example, message 752 may instruct the first positioning device 701 to cease participating in the positioning session established in step 710. Message 753 may indicate to the second positioning device 702 that the first positioning device 701 has been removed from the positioning session or has been removed. In another exemplary implementation, the positioning session is the first positioning session, and the invalid message indicates that the first and second positioning devices are establishing a second positioning session separate from the first positioning session. For example, positioning devices in the current positioning session may be notified that they may benefit from being in a positioning session with each other. In another exemplary implementation, the invalid message indicates that the first and second positioning devices establish a second positioning session based on the first positioning device's LOS / NLOS status relative to the second positioning device being LOS. For example, if devices in the current positioning session are frequently LOS to each other, for example, exceeding a threshold percentage of determinations, devices may be instructed to form a positioning session with each other. Devices may or may not be removed from the current positioning session. For example, one or more devices may be removed from the current positioning session if the device is NLOS more than a threshold number of other devices in the current positioning session.

[0109]

[0119] Implementation example

[0120] Implementation examples are given in the following numbered clauses.

[0110]

[0121] Article 1. Establishing a positioning session between multiple positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device, Obtaining the line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) status for multiple positioning device pairs, each of which consists of multiple positioning devices, A positioning method comprising sending an invalid message to a first positioning device on the basis that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices is out of line of sight to at least a subset of the positioning devices, wherein the invalid message indicates that at least one of the following is invalid: the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device, or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device.

[0111]

[0122] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein sending an invalid message is based on the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices being out of line of sight for at least a threshold amount of multiple positioning devices.

[0112]

[0123] The method of Clause 3, wherein sending an invalid message is the first method of sending an invalid message to the first positioning device in order to prohibit the first positioning device from transmitting one or more first positioning reference signals on the basis that the first positioning device is out of line of sight to at least a threshold amount of multiple positioning devices.

[0113]

[0124] The method of Clause 4, wherein sending an invalid message includes sending an invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from measuring one or more second positioning reference signals based on the second positioning device being out of line of sight to at least a threshold amount of multiple positioning devices.

[0114]

[0125] Clause 5. Obtaining LOS / NLOS status for multiple positioning device pairs is the method described in Clause 1, which includes determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the multiple positioning device pairs.

[0115]

[0126] Clause 6. The method of Clause 5, which includes determining the average of multiple LOS / NLOS instructions, which is used to determine a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS instructions.

[0116]

[0127] The method of claim 5, comprising determining that an NLOS positioning device pair among multiple positioning device pairs is out of line of sight, based on the fact that obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for multiple positioning device pair is greater than a threshold ratio of multiple LOS / NLOS indications for an NLOS positioning device pair indicating that the NLOS positioning device pair is out of line of sight.

[0117]

[0128] Clause 8. An invalidation message indicates the removal of the first positioning device from the positioning session, as described in Clause 1.

[0118]

[0129] Clause 9. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the positioning session is a first positioning session, and the invalid message indicates that the first and second positioning devices establish a second positioning session separate from the first positioning session.

[0119]

[0130] Clause 10. The method according to Clause 9, wherein the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish a second positioning session based on the LOS / NLOS status of the first positioning device to the second positioning device being LOS.

[0120]

[0131] Article 11. Transceiver and, Memory and A processor that is communicatively coupled to a transceiver and memory, A device comprising, the processor, A positioning session is established between multiple positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device. The system obtains the line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) status for multiple positioning device pairs, each of which consists of multiple positioning devices. A device configured to send an invalid message to a first positioning device based on the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of a first positioning device or a second positioning device being out of line of sight to at least a subset of a plurality of positioning devices, wherein the invalid message indicates that at least one of the following is invalid: the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device, or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device.

[0121]

[0132] Clause 12. The apparatus according to Clause 11, wherein the processor is further configured to send an invalid message based on the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices being out of line of sight for at least a threshold amount of multiple positioning devices.

[0122]

[0133] Clause 13. The apparatus according to Clause 12, further configured to send an invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from transmitting one or more first positioning reference signals based on the first positioning device being out of line of sight to at least a threshold amount of a plurality of positioning devices.

[0123]

[0134] Clause 14. The apparatus according to Clause 12, further configured to send an invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from measuring one or more second positioning reference signals based on the second positioning device being out of line of sight with respect to at least a threshold amount of multiple positioning devices.

[0124]

[0135] Clause 15. The apparatus as described in Clause 11, wherein the processor is configured to determine a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the multiple positioning device pairs in order to obtain LOS / NLOS status for multiple positioning device pairs.

[0125]

[0136] Clause 16. The apparatus described in Clause 15, wherein the processor is configured to determine the average of the multiple LOS / NLOS instructions in order to determine a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS instructions.

[0126]

[0137] Clause 17. The apparatus as described in Clause 15, wherein, in order to obtain LOS / NLOS status for multiple positioning device pairs, the processor is configured to determine that an NLOS positioning device pair is out of line of sight based on a threshold ratio of multiple LOS / NLOS indications for an NLOS positioning device pair that indicates the NLOS positioning device pair is out of line of sight.

[0127]

[0138] Clause 18. An invalid message indicates that the first positioning device is being removed from the positioning session, as described in Clause 11.

[0128]

[0139] Clause 19. The positioning session is the first positioning session, and the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish a second positioning session separate from the first positioning session, as described in Clause 11.

[0129]

[0140] Clause 20. An invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish a second positioning session based on the LOS / NLOS status of the first positioning device to the second positioning device being LOS, as described in Clause 19.

[0130]

[0141] Article 21. Means for establishing a positioning session between multiple positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device, A means for obtaining the line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight status (LOS / NLOS status) for multiple positioning device pairs, each of which is a pair of multiple positioning devices, Means for sending an invalid message to a first positioning device based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices is out of line of sight to at least a subset of multiple positioning devices, An apparatus comprising, wherein the invalid message indicates that at least one of the following is invalid: the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from a first positioning device, or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from a second positioning device by the first positioning device.

[0131]

[0142] Clause 22. The apparatus according to Clause 21, wherein the means for sending an invalid message includes means for sending an invalid message based on the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices being out of line of sight for at least a threshold amount of multiple positioning devices.

[0132]

[0143] The apparatus according to Clause 22, wherein the means for transmitting an invalid message includes means for transmitting an invalid message to a first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from transmitting one or more first positioning reference signals based on the first positioning device being out of line of sight to at least a threshold amount of a plurality of positioning devices.

[0133]

[0144] Clause 24. The apparatus according to Clause 22, wherein the means for transmitting an invalid message includes means for transmitting an invalid message to a first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from measuring one or more second positioning reference signals based on the second positioning device being out of line of sight to at least a threshold amount of a plurality of positioning devices.

[0134]

[0145] Clause 25. The apparatus described in Clause 21, which includes means for obtaining LOS / NLOS status for multiple positioning device pairs, and means for determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the multiple positioning device pairs.

[0135]

[0146] Clause 26. The apparatus described in Clause 25, which includes means for determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications, including means for determining the average of multiple LOS / NLOS indications.

[0136]

[0147] Clause 27. The apparatus as described in Clause 25, wherein the means for obtaining LOS / NLOS status for multiple positioning device pairs includes means for determining that an NLOS positioning device pair is out of line of sight based on a threshold ratio of multiple LOS / NLOS indications for an NLOS positioning device pair that indicates the NLOS positioning device pair is out of line of sight.

[0137]

[0148] Clause 28. An invalid message indicates that the first positioning device is being removed from the positioning session, as described in Clause 21.

[0138]

[0149] Clause 29. The positioning session is a first positioning session, and the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish a second positioning session separate from the first positioning session, as described in Clause 21.

[0139]

[0150] Clause 30. An invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish a second positioning session based on the LOS / NLOS status of the first positioning device to the second positioning device being LOS, as described in Clause 29.

[0140]

[0151] Clause 31. A non-temporary processor-readable storage medium containing processor-readable instructions, the processor-readable instructions are transmitted to the processor of the device. A positioning session is established between multiple positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device. The system obtains the line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) status for multiple positioning device pairs, each of which consists of multiple positioning devices. A storage medium that causes the first positioning device to send an invalid message based on the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices being out of line of sight to at least a subset of multiple positioning devices, the invalid message indicating that the first positioning device disables at least one of the following: the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device, or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device.

[0141]

[0152] The storage medium described in Clause 31 includes a processor-readable instruction causing the processor to send an invalid message, based on the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first or second positioning devices being out of line of sight for at least a threshold amount of multiple positioning devices.

[0142]

[0153] The storage medium described in Clause 33, wherein a processor-readable instruction causing a processor to send an invalid message includes a processor-readable instruction causing a first positioning device to send an invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from sending one or more first positioning reference signals on the basis that the first positioning device is out of line of sight to at least a threshold amount of a plurality of positioning devices.

[0143]

[0154] The storage medium described in Clause 34, wherein the lossr-readable instruction causing the processor to send an invalid message includes a processor-readable instruction causing the processor to send an invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from measuring one or more second positioning reference signals based on the fact that the second positioning device is out of line of sight to at least a threshold amount of multiple positioning devices.

[0144]

[0155] Clause 35. A storage medium as described in Clause 31, comprising processor-readable instructions causing a processor to obtain LOS / NLOS status for multiple positioning device pairs, which includes processor-readable instructions causing a processor to determine a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS instructions corresponding to different times for each of the multiple positioning device pairs.

[0145]

[0156] Clause 36. A processor-readable instruction causing a processor to determine a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS instructions is a storage medium as described in Clause 35, which includes a processor-readable instruction causing a processor to determine the average of multiple LOS / NLOS instructions.

[0146]

[0157] The storage medium described in Clause 35, wherein the processor-readable instructions causing the processor to obtain LOS / NLOS status for multiple positioning device pairs include instructions causing the processor to determine that one of the multiple positioning device pairs is out of line of sight, based on a threshold ratio of multiple LOS / NLOS indications for the NLOS positioning device pair indicating that the NLOS positioning device pair is out of line of sight.

[0147]

[0158] Clause 38. An invalid message indicates the removal of the first positioning device from the positioning session, as described in Clause 31.

[0148]

[0159] Clause 39. The storage medium described in Clause 31, wherein the positioning session is the first positioning session, and the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish a second positioning session separate from the first positioning session.

[0149]

[0160] Clause 40. The invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish a second positioning session based on the LOS / NLOS status of the first positioning device to the second positioning device being LOS, as described in Clause 39.

[0150]

[0161] Other considerations

[0162] Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the accompanying claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the functions described above may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof, executed by a processor. The functional units implementing the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that parts of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0151]

[0163] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” also include the plural forms unless the context otherwise clearly indicates. As used herein, the terms “to include,” “to have,” “to include,” and / or “to include” specify the presence of the feature, integer, step, action, element, and / or component being described, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, actions, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0152]

[0164] Furthermore, as used herein in enumerations of items (which may begin with "at least one of" or "one or more of"), "or" indicates a disjunctive enumeration, such as the enumeration "at least one of A, B, or C" or "one or more of A, B, or C" or "A or B or C" meaning A, or B, or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination of two or more features (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Accordingly, a statement that an item, for example, a processor is configured to perform a function of at least one of A or B, or that an item is configured to perform function A or function B, means that the item may be configured to perform a function of A, or may be configured to perform a function of B, or may be configured to perform functions of A and B. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B" or "a processor configured to measure A or B" means that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and measure B (and may be configured to choose whether to measure A or B, or to choose whether to measure both A and B). Similarly, the statement "means for measuring at least one of A or B" includes means for measuring A (which may or may not be able to measure B), or means for measuring B (which may or may not be configured to measure A), or means for measuring A and B (which may be configured to choose whether to measure A or B, or to choose whether to measure both A and B).As another example, a statement that an item, for example, a processor, is configured to perform at least one of function X or function Y, means that the item may be configured to perform function X, or may be configured to perform function Y, or may be configured to perform function X and function Y. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to perform at least one of measuring X or measuring Y" means that the processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or may be configured to measure X and measure Y (and may be configured to choose whether to measure X or Y, or to choose whether to measure X and Y).

[0153]

[0165] When used herein, unless otherwise specified, the statement that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the item or condition described, and may also be based on one or more items and / or conditions in addition to the item or condition described.

[0154]

[0166] Significant modifications may be made to meet specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may be used, and / or certain elements may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be employed. Functional or other components shown in the figures and / or discussed herein, which are connected to or communicate with one another, are connected in a communicative manner unless otherwise stated. That is, components may be connected directly or indirectly to enable communication between them.

[0155]

[0167] The systems and devices described above are examples. Various configurations may be made by omitting, substituting, or adding various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, features described in relation to a particular configuration may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of configurations may be combined in the same way. Furthermore, technology evolves, and therefore many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of this disclosure or the claims.

[0156]

[0168] A wireless communication system is a communication system in which communication is transmitted wirelessly, that is, between wireless communication devices, by electromagnetic waves and / or sound waves that propagate through the atmosphere rather than through wires or other physical connections. A wireless communication system (also called a wireless communication system, wireless communication network, or wireless communication network) is configured to transmit at least some, but not all, communications wirelessly. Furthermore, the term “wireless communication device” or similar terms does not require that the functionality of the device is exclusively, or even primarily, for communication, or that the communication using the wireless communication device is exclusively, or even primarily, wireless, or that the device is a mobile device, but that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (unidirectional or bidirectional), for example, including at least one radio for wireless communication (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver).

[0157]

[0169] Specific details are given in this description to provide a complete understanding of exemplary configurations (including implementations). However, configurations may be implemented without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques are shown without unnecessary details to avoid obscuring the configurations. This description provides exemplary configurations and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configurations of the claims. Rather, the foregoing description of configurations provides instructions for implementing the described techniques. Various modifications may be made in the function and arrangement of elements.

[0158]

[0170] As used herein, the terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any medium involved in providing data that enables a machine to operate in a particular manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code to a processor for execution and / or may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., signals). In many implementations, processor-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical disks and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0159]

[0171] While several exemplary configurations have been described, various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents are permitted. For example, the elements described above may be components of a larger system, and other rules may take precedence over the examples of application of this disclosure, or the examples of application of this disclosure may be modified in a different way. Furthermore, several actions may occur before, during, or after the consideration of the elements described above. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0160]

[0172] Unless otherwise specified, “about” and / or “approximately” as used herein when referring to measurable values ​​such as quantity, duration, etc., include variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, or ±0.1% from the specified value, where such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other forms of implementation described herein. Unless otherwise specified, “substantially” as used herein when referring to measurable values ​​such as quantity, duration, physical attributes (such as frequency), etc., also include variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, where such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other forms of implementation described herein.

[0161]

[0173] The statement that a value exceeds a first threshold (i.e., is greater than or above it) is equivalent to the statement that a value satisfies or exceeds a second threshold that is slightly greater than the first threshold, for example, the second threshold being a single value higher than the first threshold in the resolution of the computing system. The statement that a value is less than a first threshold (i.e., is within or below it) is equivalent to the statement that a value is less than or equal to a second threshold that is slightly lower than the first threshold, for example, the second threshold being a single value lower than the first threshold in the resolution of the computing system. The invention described in the original claims of this application is listed below. [C1] Establishing a positioning session between multiple positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device, Each of the above pairs of positioning devices obtains the line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight status (LOS / NLOS status), Based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is out of line of sight for at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, an invalid message is sent to the first positioning device, A positioning method comprising the following, wherein the invalid message indicates that at least one of the following is invalid: the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device, or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device. [C2] The method of C1, wherein sending the invalid message is based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is out of line of sight for at least a threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices. [C3] The method of C2, wherein transmitting the invalid message is transmitted to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from transmitting the one or more first positioning reference signals, based on the fact that the first positioning device is out of line of sight to at least the threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices. [C4] The method of C2, wherein transmitting the invalid message is transmitted to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from measuring the one or more second positioning reference signals, based on the fact that the second positioning device is out of line of sight to at least the threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices. [C5] The method of C1, wherein obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for the plurality of positioning device pairs includes determining a combination of a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the plurality of positioning device pairs. [C6] The method of C5, wherein determining the combination of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indicators includes determining the average of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indicators. [C7] The method of C5, comprising determining that one of the multiple positioning device pairs is out of line of sight, based on the fact that obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for the multiple LOS / NLOS indications for the NLOS positioning device pair is greater than a threshold ratio of the multiple LOS / NLOS indications for the NLOS positioning device pair that indicates the NLOS positioning device pair is out of line of sight. [C8] The method of C1, wherein the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device is removed from the positioning session. [C9] The method according to C1, wherein the positioning session is a first positioning session, and the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish a second positioning session separate from the first positioning session. [C10] The method of C9, wherein the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish the second positioning session based on the LOS / NLOS status of the first positioning device to the second positioning device being LOS. [C11] Transceiver and, Memory and A processor that is communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, A device comprising, the processor, A positioning session is established between multiple positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device. Each of the above pairs of positioning devices obtains the line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight status (LOS / NLOS status), A device configured to send an invalid message to the first positioning device based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is out of line of sight to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, wherein the invalid message indicates that at least one of the following is disabled: the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device, or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device. [C12] The apparatus according to C11, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the invalid message based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is out of line of sight for at least a threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices. [C13] The apparatus according to C12, wherein the processor is further configured to send the invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from transmitting the one or more first positioning reference signals based on the first positioning device being out of line of sight to at least the threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices. [C14] The apparatus according to C12, wherein the processor is further configured to send the invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from measuring the one or more second positioning reference signals based on the fact that the second positioning device is out of line of sight to at least the threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices. [C15] The apparatus according to C11, wherein the processor is configured to determine a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the multiple positioning device pairs in order to obtain the LOS / NLOS status for the multiple positioning device pairs. [C16] The apparatus according to C15, wherein the processor is configured to determine the average of the plurality of LOS / NLOS instructions in order to determine the combination of the plurality of LOS / NLOS instructions. [C17] The apparatus according to C15, wherein, in order to obtain the LOS / NLOS status for the plurality of positioning device pairs, the processor is configured to determine that one of the plurality of positioning device pairs is out of line of sight, based on a threshold ratio of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications for the NLOS positioning device pair that indicates the NLOS positioning device pair is out of line of sight. [C18] The device described in C11, wherein the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device is removed from the positioning session. [C19] The apparatus according to C11, wherein the positioning session is a first positioning session, and the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish a second positioning session separate from the first positioning session. [C20] The apparatus according to C19, wherein the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish the second positioning session based on the LOS / NLOS status of the first positioning device to the second positioning device being LOS. [C21] Means for establishing a positioning session between a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device, Means for obtaining line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight status (LOS / NLOS status) for multiple pairs of positioning devices, each of which is a pair of the aforementioned multiple positioning devices, Means for sending an invalid message to the first positioning device based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is out of line of sight to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, An apparatus comprising, wherein the invalid message indicates that at least one of the following is invalid: the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device, or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device. [C22] The apparatus according to C21, wherein the means for transmitting the invalid message includes means for transmitting the invalid message based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is out of line of sight for at least a threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices. [C23] The apparatus according to C22, wherein the means for transmitting the invalid message includes means for transmitting the invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from transmitting the one or more first positioning reference signals based on the first positioning device being out of line of sight to at least the threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices. [C24] The apparatus according to C22, wherein the means for transmitting the invalid message includes means for transmitting the invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from measuring the one or more second positioning reference signals based on the second positioning device being out of line of sight to at least the threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices. [C25] The apparatus according to C21, wherein the means for obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for the plurality of positioning device pairs includes means for determining a combination of a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the plurality of positioning device pairs. [C26] The apparatus according to C25, wherein the means for determining the combination of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indicators includes means for determining the average of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indicators. [C27] The apparatus according to C25, wherein the means for obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for the plurality of positioning device pairs includes means for determining that one of the plurality of positioning device pairs is out of line of sight, based on a threshold ratio of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications for the NLOS positioning device pair that indicates the NLOS positioning device pair is out of line of sight. [C28] The device described in C21, wherein the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device is removed from the positioning session. [C29] The apparatus according to C21, wherein the positioning session is a first positioning session, and the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish a second positioning session separate from the first positioning session. [C30] The apparatus according to C29, wherein the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish the second positioning session based on the LOS / NLOS status of the first positioning device to the second positioning device being LOS. [C31] A non-temporary processor-readable storage medium that includes processor-readable instructions, wherein the processor-readable instructions are transmitted to the processor of the device. A positioning session is established between multiple positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device. Each of the above pairs of positioning devices obtains the line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight status (LOS / NLOS status) for each of the multiple positioning device pairs, A storage medium that causes the first positioning device to send an invalid message based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is out of line of sight to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, the invalid message indicating that the first positioning device disables the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device. [C32] The storage medium according to C31, wherein the processor-readable instruction causing the processor to send the invalid message includes a processor-readable instruction causing the processor to send the invalid message based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is out of line of sight for at least a threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices.

Claims

1. A positioning method based on a positioning session between multiple positioning devices, To determine the position of one or more positioning devices, a positioning session is established between multiple positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device. The system acquires the line-of-sight / out-of-line status (LOS / NLOS status) for multiple pairs of positioning devices, each of which is a pair of the aforementioned multiple positioning devices. Based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is outside the line of sight relative to a threshold percentage based on the number of devices of the plurality of positioning devices, an invalid message is sent to the first positioning device, A method comprising, wherein the invalidation message indicates that at least one of the following is invalid: the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device, or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the invalid message includes transmitting the invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from transmitting one or more first positioning reference signals, based on the first positioning device being out of line of sight with respect to at least one threshold percentage of the plurality of positioning devices based on the number of devices.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the invalid message includes transmitting the invalid message to the first positioning device to prohibit the first positioning device from measuring one or more second positioning reference signals, based on the fact that the second positioning device is out of line of sight to at least a threshold percentage of the plurality of positioning devices based on the number of devices.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for the plurality of positioning device pairs includes determining a combination of a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the plurality of positioning device pairs.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein determining the combination of the plurality of LOS / NLOS instructions includes determining the average of the plurality of LOS / NLOS instructions.

6. The method according to claim 4, comprising determining that the NLOS positioning device pair among the plurality of positioning device pairs is out of line of sight, based on the fact that obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for the plurality of positioning device pairs is greater than a threshold ratio of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications for the NLOS positioning device pair that indicates the NLOS positioning device pair is out of line of sight.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device is removed from the positioning session.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the positioning session is a first positioning session, and the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish a second positioning session separate from the first positioning session.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the invalid message indicates that the first positioning device and the second positioning device establish the second positioning session based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of the first positioning device to the second positioning device is LOS.

10. A device, Means for establishing a positioning session among multiple positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device, in order to determine the position of one or more positioning devices, Means for obtaining line-of-sight / out-of-line status (LOS / NLOS status) for multiple pairs of positioning devices, each of which is a pair of the aforementioned multiple positioning devices, Means for sending an invalid message to the first positioning device based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is outside the line of sight relative to a threshold ratio based on the number of devices of at least one of the plurality of positioning devices, A device comprising, wherein the invalidation message indicates that at least one of the following is invalid: the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device, or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, further configured to perform the steps described in any one of claims 2 to 9.

12. Transceiver and, Memory and A processor that is communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, The processor further comprises, In order to determine the position of one or more positioning devices, a positioning session is established between multiple positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device. The system acquires the line-of-sight / out-of-line status (LOS / NLOS status) for multiple pairs of positioning devices, each of which is a pair of the aforementioned multiple positioning devices. Based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is outside the line of sight relative to at least one threshold percentage based on the number of devices of the plurality of positioning devices, an invalid message is sent to the first positioning device. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the invalid message indicates that at least one of the following is invalid: the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device, or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, further configured to perform the steps described in any one of claims 2 to 9.

14. A non-temporary processor-readable storage medium, which includes processor-readable instructions, wherein the processor-readable instructions are transmitted to the processor of the device. To determine the position of one or more positioning devices, a positioning session is established between multiple positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device. The system obtains the line-of-sight / out-of-line status (LOS / NLOS status) for multiple pairs of positioning devices, each of which is a pair of the aforementioned multiple positioning devices. A non-temporary processor-readable storage medium, which causes the first positioning device to send an invalid message based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS status of at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is out of line of sight relative to at least one threshold percentage based on the number of devices of the plurality of positioning devices, the invalid message indicating that the first positioning device disables at least one of the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device or the measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device by the first positioning device.

15. The non-temporary processor-readable storage medium according to claim 14, further configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 2 to 9.

Images