Distributed device management for positioning

Abstract

A positioning method includes: establishing a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; acquiring line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) states for pairs of the plurality of positioning devices, each pair being one of the plurality of positioning devices; and sending a disable message to the first positioning device based on a non-line-of-sight LOS / NLOS state of at least one of the first or second positioning devices relative to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, the disable 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 by the first positioning device of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device is prohibited.

Description

Technical Field

[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 has been assigned to the assignee of this application, and the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

[0002] The field of this invention is mobile device positioning, and more specifically, distributed device management for positioning. Prior Technology

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephony (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephony (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, internet-enabled wireless services, fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax), and fifth-generation (5G) services. Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include the Cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMPS) and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), and GSM variants of TDMA.

[0004] The fifth-generation (5G) mobile standard requires higher data transmission speeds, more connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide tens of megabits per second (Mbps) of data rate to each of tens of thousands of users, and 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) of data rate to dozens of workers in an office building. To support the deployment of numerous sensors, it should support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly enhanced compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signal transmission efficiency should be improved and latency should be greatly reduced compared to the current standard.

[0005] Various technologies utilizing 5G can be used to determine the location of mobile devices. For example, 5G technology can be used to determine location with meter-level accuracy, down to two or even single digits. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In one embodiment, a positioning method includes: establishing a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; acquiring line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) states for a plurality of pairs of positioning devices, each pair being one of the plurality of positioning devices; and sending a disable message to the first positioning device based on a non-line-of-sight LOS / NLOS state of at least one of the first or second positioning devices relative to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, the disable 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 prohibited.

[0007] In another embodiment, an apparatus includes: a transceiver; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured to: establish a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; acquire line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) states for a plurality of pairs of positioning devices, each pair being one of the plurality of positioning devices; and, based on a non-line-of-sight LOS / NLOS state of at least one of the first or second positioning devices relative to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, send a disable message to the first positioning device, the disable message indicating that at least one of one or more first positioning reference signals is prohibited from being transmitted from the first positioning device or from being measured by the first positioning device of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device.

[0008] In another embodiment, an apparatus includes: components for establishing a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; components for acquiring line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) states for a plurality of pairs of positioning devices, each pair being one of the plurality of positioning devices; and components for sending a disable message to a first positioning device based on at least one of the first or second positioning devices being a non-line-of-sight LOS / NLOS state relative to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, the disable message indicating that at least one of one or more first positioning reference signals is prohibited from being transmitted from the first positioning device or from the first positioning device to at least one of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device.

[0009] In another embodiment, a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions that cause a processor of the device to: include means for establishing a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; include means for acquiring line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) states for a plurality of pairs of positioning devices, each pair being one of the plurality of positioning devices; and include means for sending a disable message to a first positioning device based on at least one of the first or second positioning devices being a non-line-of-sight LOS / NLOS state relative to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, the disable message indicating that at least one of one or more first positioning reference signals is prohibited from being transmitted from the first positioning device or from the first positioning device to at least one of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0010] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0011] Figure 2 is a block diagram of the components of the example user device shown in Figure 1.

[0012] Figure 3 is a block diagram of the components of an example send / receive point.

[0013] Figure 4 is a block diagram of the components of an example server, various embodiments of which are illustrated in Figure 1.

[0014] Figure 5 is a block diagram of the example location environment.

[0015] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an example positioning device.

[0016] Figure 7 illustrates the signal transmission and processing flow used to manage participants in location communication and determine location information.

[0017] Figure 8 is an example of a sight / non-sight table.

[0018] Figure 9 is a flowchart of the positioning method. Implementation

[0019] This paper discusses techniques for managing the location of distributed devices. Members of a location communication period, the transmission of location reference signals (PRS), and / or the measurement of the PRS can be managed. For example, the line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight status between each member of a location communication period can be acquired and used to manage the location. A member of a location communication period who is non-line-of-sight relative to other members and / or who is non-line-of-sight relative to a threshold value (e.g., a percentage of samples) can be disabled from participating in the location communication period. For example, the member can be instructed to stop transmitting the location reference signal (PRS) for the location communication period, and / or the PRS transmitted by that member can be unmeasured. Disabled members in a location communication period can be instructed to form another location communication period, for example, if those members are line-of-sight relative to each other. These are examples, and other examples can be implemented.

[0020] The items and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as others not mentioned. Positioning accuracy, latency, clock drift, and / or power consumption may be improved, for example, by excluding devices from the positioning communication period that do not improve positioning accuracy. Positioning accuracy in dynamic environments may be improved by adjusting the thresholds used to determine whether to maintain or disable the members of the positioning communication period. Other capabilities may be provided, and not every embodiment according to this disclosure is required to provide any, let alone all, of the discussed capabilities.

[0021] Obtaining the location of mobile devices accessing a wireless network can be useful for many applications, including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, consumer property tracking, locating friends or family members, etc. Existing positioning methods include those based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices or entities, including satellite vehicles (SVs) and terrestrial radio sources in the wireless network, such as base stations and access points. Standardization for 5G wireless networks is expected to include support for various positioning methods that can utilize reference signals transmitted by base stations in a manner similar to how LTE wireless networks currently utilize Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) and / or Cell-Specific Reference Signals (CRS) for location determination.

[0022] The description herein can refer to a sequence of actions to be performed by elements such as a computing device. The various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), program instructions executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. The sequence of actions described herein can be embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a corresponding computer instruction set stored thereon, which, when executed, causes the associated processor to perform the functions described herein. Therefore, the various forms described herein can be embodied in many different ways, all of which are within the scope of this disclosure, including the claimed object.

[0023] Unless otherwise stated, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “base station” as used herein are not specific to, or otherwise limited to, any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT). Typically, such a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet, laptop, consumer property tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). The UE can be mobile or (e.g., sometimes) stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be used interchangeably with “Access Terminal” or “AT,” “Client Equipment,” “Wireless Equipment,” “User Equipment,” “User Terminal,” “Subscriber Station,” “User Terminal,” or “UT,” “Mobile Terminal,” “Mobile Station,” “Mobile Device,” or variations thereof. Typically, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through that core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as via wired access networks, WiFi networks (e.g., based on IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11, etc.).

[0024] Depending on the network in which it is deployed, a base station can operate based on one of several RATs used to communicate with the UE. Examples of base stations include Access Points (APs), Network Nodes, NodeBs, Evolved NodeBs (eNBs), or Next Generation NodeBs (gNodeBs, gNBs). Furthermore, in some systems, a base station may only provide edge node signaling capabilities, while in others it may provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0025] The UE can be represented by any of a variety of devices, including but not limited to printed circuit (PC) cards, compact flash memory devices, external or internal modems, wireless or wired telephones, smartphones, tablets, consumer property tracking devices, property tags, etc. The communication link through which the UE can send signals to the RAN is referred to as an uplink channel (e.g., reverse transport channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the RAN can send signals to the UE is referred to as a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward transport channel, etc.). As used herein, the term Transport Channel (TCH) can refer to either the uplink / reverse transport channel or the downlink / forward transport channel.

[0026] As used herein, the terms "cell" or "sector" may refer to one of a plurality of cells of a base station, or to the base station itself, depending on the context. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with the 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)) used to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some instances, 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), which can provide access for different types of devices. In some instances, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., a sector) of a geographic coverage area on which a logical entity operates.

[0027] Referring to Figure 1, examples of communication system 100 include UE 105, UE 106, a radio access network (RAN), here 5G Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) 135, and a 5G core network (5GC) 140. UE 105 and / or UE 106 can be, for example, IoT devices, location tracking devices, cellular phones, vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, buses, ships, etc.), or other devices. The 5G network can also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135 can be referred to as 5G RAN or NR RAN; and 5GC 140 can be referred to as NG core network (NGC). Standardization of NG-RAN and 5GC is underway within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 can comply with current or future standards from 3GPP for 5G support. NG-RAN 135 can be another type of RAN, such as 3G RAN, 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. UE 106 can be configured and coupled similarly to UE 105 to send and / or receive signals to other similar entities in system 100, but for simplicity of the figures, such signal transmission is not shown in Figure 1. Similarly, for simplicity, the discussion focuses on UE 105. Communication system 100 can utilize information from a cluster 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 for satellite positioning systems (SPS) (e.g., Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)), such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou, or some other local or regional SPS, such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Satellite Navigation Augmentation Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The following describes additional components of the communication system 100. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0028] As shown in Figure 1, NG-RAN 135 includes NR nodeBs (gNB) 110a and 110b, and a next-generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, while 5GC 140 includes Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, Communication Management Function (SMF) 117, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, and Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125. gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, each configured for bidirectional radio communication with UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to AMF 115 and configured for bidirectional communication with AMF 115. gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 can be referred to as base stations (BS). AMF 115, SMF 117, LMF 120, and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and GMLC is communicatively coupled to external client 130. SMF 117 can be used as the initial contact point for Service Control Function (SCF) (not shown) to establish, control, and terminate media communication periods. Base stations such as gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 can 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), Zigbee, etc.). One or more base stations, such as one or more of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, can be configured to communicate with UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of the gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic area, such as a cell. As a base station antenna, each cell can be divided into multiple sectors.

[0029] Figure 1 provides a general description of the various components, any or all of which can be appropriately utilized, and each can be copied or omitted as needed. Specifically, although one UE 105 is shown, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) can be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include more (or fewer) numbers of SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNBs 110a and 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 include data and signal transmission connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, depending on the desired functionality, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted.

[0030] Although Figure 1 illustrates a 5G-based network, similar network implementations and configurations can be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. The implementations described herein (which are for 5G technology and / or one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) can be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105), and / or provide location assistance to UE 105 (via GMLC 125 or other location servers), and / or calculate the location of UE 105 at a location-capable device (such as UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, or LMF 120) based on the quantities of such directional transmission received at UE 105. The Gateway Movement 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 in each embodiment they may be replaced by or may include various other location server functions and / or base station functions.

[0031] System 100 is capable of wireless communication because its components can communicate directly or indirectly with each other (at least sometimes via wireless connections), for example, via gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or 5GC 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other base station transceivers). For indirect communication, such communication can be modified during transmission from one entity to another, for example, by changing the header information of data packets, changing the format, etc. UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be mobile wireless communication devices, but can communicate wirelessly and via wired connections. UE 105 can be any of a variety of devices, such as smartphones, tablets, vehicle-based devices, etc., but these are examples, as UE 105 does not have to be any of these configurations, and other configurations of the UE can be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or headphones, etc.). Other UEs may also be used, whether currently existing or developed in the future. Furthermore, other wireless devices (whether active or not) may be implemented within system 100 and may communicate with each other and / or with UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, 5GC 140, and / or external client 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. 5GC 140 may communicate with external client 130 (e.g., a computer system), for example, to allow external client 130 (e.g., via GMLC 125) to request and / or receive location information about UE 105.

[0032] UE 105 or other devices can be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, Wi-Fi communication at multiple frequencies, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything, e.g., V2P (Vehicle-to-Person), V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.)). V2X communication can be cellular (Cellular-V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Connectivity)). System 100 can support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can simultaneously transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal can be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on a different carrier and can carry pilot frequency, management burden information, data, etc. UEs 105 and 106 can communicate with each other via UE-to-UE side walkway (SL) communication by transmitting on one or more side walkway channels, such as the Physical Side Walkway Synchronization Channel (PSSCH), the Physical Side Walkway Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), or the Physical Side Walkway Control Channel (PSCCH).

[0033] UE 105 may include and / or may 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 some other name. Furthermore, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, PDA, consumer property tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, health monitor, security system, smart city sensor, smart meter, wearable tracker, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, but not necessarily, UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High-Speed ​​Packet Data Access (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), WiMAX, and 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140). For example, UE 105 may support wireless communications using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), which may connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) via Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable. The use of one or more of these RATs may allow UE 105 to communicate with external client 130 (e.g., via a component of 5GC 140 not shown in FIG. 1, or possibly via GMLC 125), and / or allow external client 130 (e.g., via GMLC 125) to receive location information about UE 105.

[0034] UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as entities in a personal area network where the user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or human body sensors and separate wired or wireless modems. The estimation of the location of UE 105 may be referred to as location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, location estimate, or location fix, and may be geographical, thus providing the location coordinates of UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude), which may or may not include an elevation component (e.g., height above sea level, height above ground level, or depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, the location of UE 105 may be represented as a city location (e.g., a postal address or the name of a point or small area (such as a specific room or floor) within a building). The location of UE 105 may be represented as the area or volume (geographically or in a city-specific form) within which UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of UE 105 can be represented as a relative location, including, for example, distance and direction from a known location. A relative location can be represented as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to an origin of the known location, which can be, for example, geographically, in the form of a city, or defined with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated, for example, on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, unless otherwise stated, the use of the term location can include any of these variations. When calculating the location of the UE, local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved first, and then the local coordinates are converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and elevation above or below mean sea level) as needed.

[0035] UE 105 can be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of various technologies. UE 105 can 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 can be supported using any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, etc. One or more UEs in a group utilizing D2D communication can be within the geographic coverage area of ​​a Transmit / Receive Point (TRP) (such as one or more of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114). Other UEs in such a group may be outside this geographic coverage area or 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, where each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. TRPs can facilitate the scheduling of resources used for D2D communication. In other scenarios, D2D communication can be implemented between UEs without involving a TRP. One or more UEs in a group using D2D communication can be within the geographical coverage area of ​​the TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside this geographical coverage area or unable to receive transmissions from the base station. UE groups communicating via D2D communication can utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can send to other UEs in the group. The TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources used for D2D communication. In other scenarios, D2D communication can be implemented between UEs without involving a TRP.

[0036] The base stations (BS) in NG-RAN 135 shown in Figure 1 include NR Node Bs, referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b. The paired gNBs 110a and 110b in NG-RAN 135 can be interconnected via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to UE 105 via radio communication between UE 105 and one or more of gNBs 110a and 110b. gNBs 110a and 110b can provide radio communication access to 5GC 140 on behalf of UE 105 using 5G. In Figure 1, although another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) can act as the serving gNB or as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105 if UE 105 moves to another location, it is still assumed that the serving gNB for UE 105 is gNB 110a.

[0037] The base station (BS) in NG-RAN 135 shown in Figure 1 may include ng-eNB 114, also known as Next Generation Evolved Node B. ng-eNB 114 may (possibly via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs) connect to one or more of the gNBs 110a and 110b in NG-RAN 135. ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a and 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured as a location-only beacon, capable of transmitting signals to assist in determining the location of UE 105, but not necessarily receiving signals from UE 105 or other UEs.

[0038] gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may each include one or more TRPs. For example, although multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., share a processor but have separate antennas), each sector within a BS cell may include a TRP. System 100 may include only macro TRPs, or system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro TRPs, pico TRPs, and / or femto TRPs. Macro TRPs may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access for terminals with service subscriptions. Pico TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access for terminals with service subscriptions. Femto or home TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access for terminals associated with a femto cell (e.g., a user's terminal in a home).

[0039] As noted, although Figure 1 depicts a node configured to communicate according to the 5G communication protocol, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as, for example, the LTE protocol or the IEEE 802.11x protocol, can be used. For example, in an Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE radio access to UE 105, 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 include E-UTRAN plus EPC, where E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN 135 and EPC corresponds to 5GC 140 in Figure 1.

[0040] gNB 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 can communicate with AMF 115, which in turn communicates with LMF 120 for positioning functionality. AMF 115 supports the mobility of UE 105, including cell changes and handover, and can participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105, as well as potentially providing data and voice bearers for UE 105. LMF 120 can communicate directly with UE 105, for example, via radio communication, or directly with gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. When UE 105 accesses NG-RAN 135, LMF 120 can support UE 105's positioning and can support positioning procedures / methods such as Auxiliary 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 Dynamic Differential Positioning (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), and / or other positioning methods. LMF 120 can process, for example, location service requests for UE 105 received from AMF 115 or GMLC 125. LMF 120 can connect to AMF 115 and / or GMLC 125. LMF 120 may be referred to by other names such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value-Added LMF (VLMF). The node / system implementing LMF 120 may additionally / alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as Enhanced Service Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of UE 105's location) can be performed at UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements of signals transmitted by radio nodes such as gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 acquired by UE 105, and / or auxiliary data provided to UE 105, for example, by LMF 120). AMF 115 can be used as a control node to handle signaling between UE 105 and 5GC 140 and can provide QoS (Quality of Service) streaming and communication period management. AMF 115 can support the mobility of UE 105, including cell changes and handover, and can participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105.

[0041] GMLC 125 can support location requests for UE 105 received from external client 130, and can forward such location requests to AMF 115, which in turn forwards them to LMF 120, or the location request can be forwarded directly to LMF 120. Location responses from LMF 120 (e.g., containing location estimates for UE 105) can be returned to GMLC 125 directly or via AMF 115, and GMLC 125 can then return the location response (e.g., containing location estimates) to external client 130. GMLC 125 is illustrated as connected to both AMF 115 and LMF 120, but in some implementations it may not be connected to either AMF 115 or LMF 120.

[0042] As further shown in Figure 1, the LMF 120 can use the new Radio Positioning Protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa) defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455 to communicate with gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114. NRPPa can be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, wherein NRPPa messages are transmitted via AMF 115 between gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and LMF 120, and / or between ng-eNB 114 and LMF 120. As further shown in Figure 1, the LMF 120 and UE 105 can communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. LMF 120 and UE 105 can also communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (which may be called NPP or NRPP), either as an alternative or identical to LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between UE 105 and LMF 120 via AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, 110b, or serving ng-eNB 114 for UE 105. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between LMF 120 and AMF 115 using the 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP), and between AMF 115 and UE 105 using the 5G Non-Access Layer (NAS) protocol. LPP and / or NPP protocols can be used to support UE 105 positioning using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol can be used to support the positioning of UE 105 using network-based positioning methods such as E-CID (e.g., when used with measurements acquired by gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114), and / or can be used by LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as defining parameters for directional SS or PRS transmissions from gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. LMF 120 can be co-located or integrated with the gNB or TRP, or it can be positioned remotely from the gNB and / or TRP and configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or TRP.

[0043] Using a UE-assisted positioning method, UE 105 can acquire location measurements and send them to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in calculating UE 105 location estimation. For example, location measurements may include one or more of the following for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN AP: Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Round-Trip Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and / or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ). Location measurements may also be used in place of measurements including GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase for SV 190-193.

[0044] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE 105 can acquire location measurements (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to the location measurements used in UE-assisted positioning methods) and can calculate the location of UE 105 (e.g., with the aid of auxiliary data received from a location server such as LMF 120 or broadcast by gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, or other base stations or APs).

[0045] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs can acquire location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or Time of Arrival (TOA) of signals transmitted by UE 105), and / or can receive measurements acquired by UE 105. One or more base stations or APs can send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in calculating the location estimate of UE 105.

[0046] The information provided to the LMF 120 by the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directing SS or PRS transmissions, as well as location coordinates. The LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE 105 as supplementary data in LPP and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140.

[0047] Depending on the desired functionality, the LPP or NPP message sent from LMF 120 to UE 105 can instruct UE 105 to perform any of a variety of tasks. For example, the LPP or NPP message may contain instructions for UE 105 to acquire measurements of GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct UE 105 to acquire one or more measurements (e.g., beam ID, beamwidth, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within a specific cell supported by one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station such as eNB or WiFi AP). UE 105 can send measurements back to LMF 120 via serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and AMF 115 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message).

[0048] As noted, although the communication system 100 is described in relation to 5G technology, the communication system 100 can be implemented to support other communication technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc., for supporting mobile devices (such as UE 105) and interacting with mobile devices (e.g., to perform voice, data, location, and other functions). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 can be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the 5GC 140 can connect to a WLAN using a non-3GPP interoperability function (N3IWF, not shown in Figure 1) in the 5GC 140. For example, the WLAN can support IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi access for UE 105 and can include one or more Wi-Fi APs. Here, the N3IWF can connect to the WLAN as well as other elements in the 5GC 140, such as the AMF 115. In some embodiments, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 can be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in EPS, NG-RAN 135 can be replaced by E-UTRAN containing eNBs, and 5GC 140 can be replaced by EPC containing Mobility Management Entity (MME), E-SMLC, and GMLC, where MME replaces AMF 115, E-SMLC replaces LMF 120, and GMLC can be similar to GMLC 125. In this type of EPS, E-SMLC can use LPPa instead of NRPPa to send and receive location information from eNBs in E-UTRAN, and LPP can be used to support UE 105's positioning. In these other embodiments, the location of UE 105 using directional PRS can be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, except that the functions and procedures described herein for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 can be applied in some cases as alternatives to other network elements, such as eNB, WiFi AP, MME, and E-SMLC.

[0049] As noted, 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 gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) within range of the UE whose location is to be determined (e.g., UE 105 in Figure 1). In some instances, the UE may use directional SS or PRS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, etc.) to calculate the UE's location.

[0050] Referring also to Figure 2, UE 200 may be an instance of one of UEs 105 and 106, and may include a computing platform including a processor 210, memory 211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for transceivers 215 (including wireless transceiver 240 and wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning device (PD) 219. The processor 210, memory 211, sensors(s) 213, transceiver interface 214, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, and positioning device 219 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 220 (which may be configured for, for example, optical and / or electrical communications). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., camera 218, positioning device 219, and / or one or more of sensors 213, etc.) may be omitted from UE 200. Processor 210 may include one or more smart hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 210 may include 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 processors 230-234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, sensor processor 234 may include, for example, processors for RF (radio frequency) sensing (where one or more (cellular) wireless signals are transmitted and (multiple) reflections are used to identify, map, and / or track objects), and / or ultrasound, etc. Modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even multiple SIMs). For example, a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) can be used by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM can be used by the end user of UE 200 for connectivity. Memory 211 can be a non-transitory storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, optical disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 211 can store software 212, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that can be configured to cause processor 210 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 212 may not be directly executed by processor 210, but may be configured, for example, to cause processor 210 to perform such functions when compiled and executed. The description herein may refer to processor 210 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as cases where processor 210 executes software and / or firmware.The description herein may refer to processor 210 performing the function as a simplified expression for one or more of processors 230-234 performing the function. The description herein may refer to UE 200 performing the function as a simplified expression for one or more suitable components of UE 200 performing the function. Processor 210 may include memory with stored instructions as a supplement and / or replacement for memory 211. The function of processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0051] The configuration of UE 200 shown in Figure 2 is an example and is not a limitation of this disclosure, which includes the scope of the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, an example configuration of the UE may include one or more of processors 230-234 of processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Other example configurations may include one or more of processors 230-234 of processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver, and one or more of sensors 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PD 219, and / or wired transceiver.

[0052] UE 200 may include a modem processor 232 capable of performing baseband processing on signals received and downconverted by transceiver 215 and / or SPS receiver 217. Modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing on signals to be upconverted for transmission by transceiver 215. Additionally or alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0053] UE 200 may include multiple sensors 213, which may include one or more of various types of sensors, such as one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more light sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g., responding together to acceleration of UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., multiple three-dimensional gyroscopes). Multiple sensors 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., multiple three-dimensional magnetometers) to determine 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. Multiple environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometers, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones. Multiple sensors 213 can generate analog and / or digital signal indications that can be stored in memory 211 and processed by DSP 231 and / or general / application processor 230 to support one or more applications, such as applications intended for positioning and / or navigation operations.

[0054] Multiple sensors 213 can be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by the multiple sensors 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based position determination, and / or sensor-assisted position determination. The multiple sensors 213 are useful for determining whether the UE 200 is stationary or mobile and / or whether to report certain useful information about the mobility of the UE 200 to the LMF 120. For example, based on information acquired / measured by the multiple sensors 213, the UE 200 can notify / report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movement or that the UE 200 has moved, and can report relative displacement / distance (e.g., dead reckoning via the multiple sensors 213, or sensor-based position determination, or sensor-assisted position determination). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensors / IMU can be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of other devices relative to the UE 200.

[0055] The IMU can be configured to provide measurements of the UE 200's direction of motion and / or velocity, which can be used in relative position determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU can detect the UE 200's linear acceleration and rotational velocity, respectively. The UE 200's linear acceleration and rotational velocity measurements can be integrated in time to determine the UE 200's transient direction of motion and displacement. The transient direction of motion and displacement can be integrated to track the UE 200's position. For example, the UE 200's reference position can be determined, for example, at a certain moment using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other component), and measurements from the accelerometer(s) and gyroscope(s) measured after that moment can be used in dead reckoning to determine the UE 200's current position based on the UE 200's movement (direction and distance) relative to the reference position.

[0056] Multiple magnetometers can determine the magnetic field strength in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of the UE 200. For example, this orientation can be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The multiple magnetometers may include two-dimensional magnetometers configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. The multiple magnetometers may include three-dimensional magnetometers configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The multiple magnetometers may provide components for sensing magnetic fields and, for example, providing indications of magnetic fields to the processor 210.

[0057] Transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250, configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to antenna 246 for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals 248 (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and converting signals from wireless signals 248 into wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals into wireless signals 248. Wireless transmitter 242 includes suitable components (e.g., a power amplifier and a digital-to-analog converter). Wireless receiver 244 includes suitable components (e.g., one or more amplifiers, one or more frequency filters, and an analog-to-digital converter). Wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components. Wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to communicate signals according to various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (e.g., with TRP and / or one or more other devices), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. New Radio may use millimeter wave frequencies and / or frequencies below (sub-)6 GHz. Wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with NG-RAN 135 to send and receive communications from NG-RAN 135. Wired transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or wired receiver 254 may include multiple receivers, which may be individual components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 250 may be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communication. Transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to transceiver interface 214, for example, via optical and / or electrical connections. Transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with transceiver 215. Wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244, and / or antenna 246 may each include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and / or multiple antennas for respectively transmitting and / or receiving appropriate signals.

[0058] User interface 216 may include one or more of several devices, such as, for example, a speaker, microphone, display device, vibration device, keyboard, touch screen, etc. User interface 216 may include more than one of these devices. User interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications of the UE 200 host. For example, in response to actions from the user, user interface 216 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 for processing by DSP 231 and / or general / application processor 230. Similarly, applications on the host of the UE 200 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 to present output signals to the user. User interface 216 may include audio input / output (I / O) devices, including, for example, speakers, microphones, digital-to-analog circuitry, analog-to-digital circuitry, amplifiers, and / or gain control circuitry (including more than one of these devices). Other configurations of the audio I / O devices may be used. Additionally or alternatively, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors that respond to touches and / or presses, for example, on a keyboard and / or a touchscreen on the user interface 216.

[0059] SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) is capable of receiving and acquiring SPS signal 260 via antenna 262. SPS antenna 262 is configured to convert SPS signal 260 from a wireless signal into a wired signal, such as an electrical or optical signal, and may be integrated with antenna 246. SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process the acquired SPS signal 260 wholly or partially for estimating the location of UE 200. For example, SPS receiver 217 may be configured to use SPS signal 260 to determine the location of UE 200 by trilateration. General-purpose / application processor 230, memory 211, DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown) may be used to combine SPS receiver 217 to process the acquired SPS signal wholly or partially, and / or calculate the estimated location of UE 200. Memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of SPS signal 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from wireless transceiver 240) for use in performing positioning operations. General-purpose / application processor 230, DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors, and / or memory 211 may provide or support a position engine for estimating the position of UE 200 in processing measurements.

[0060] UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or moving images. 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-to-digital circuitry, a frame buffer, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of the signal representing the captured image may be performed by a general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or a DSP 231. Additionally or alternatively, a video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of the signal representing the captured image. The video processor 233 may decode / decompress stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown), such as user interface 216.

[0061] Location device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the location of UE 200, the movement of UE 200, and / or the relative position of UE 200, and / or time. For example, PD 219 may communicate with some or all of SPS receivers 217, and / or may include some or all of SPS receivers 217. Although the description herein may refer to PD 219 being configured to perform, or be performing, according to (multiple) location methods, PD 219 may, as appropriate, work in conjunction with processor 210 and memory 211 to perform at least a portion of one or more location methods. PD 219 may additionally or alternatively be configured to use terrestrial-based signals (e.g., at least some of radio signals 248) for trilateration, to assist in acquiring and using SPS signal 260, or both, to determine the location of UE 200. PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of UE 200 based on the cell of the serving base station (e.g., cell center) and / or another technology such as E-CID. PD 219 can be configured to determine the location of UE 200 using one or more images from camera 218 combined with image recognition of known locations of landmarks (e.g., natural landmarks such as mountains and / or artificial landmarks such as buildings, bridges, streets, etc.). PD 219 can be configured to use one or more other technologies (e.g., location-based technologies that rely on the UE itself (e.g., portions of the UE location beacon)) to determine the location of UE 200, and can use a combination of technologies (e.g., SPS and land positioning signals) to determine the location of UE 200. PD 219 may include one or more of sensors 213 (e.g., multiple gyroscopes, multiple accelerometers, multiple magnetometers, etc.) that can sense the orientation and / or motion of UE 200 and provide indications thereof, and processor 210 (e.g., general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or DSP 231) can be configured to use these sensors to determine the motion of UE 200 (e.g., velocity vector and / or acceleration vector). PD 219 can be configured to provide an indication of uncertainty and / or error in the determined position and / or motion. The functionality of PD 219 can be provided in various ways and / or configurations, for example by a general-purpose / application processor 230, transceiver 215, SPS receiver 217, and / or another component of UE 200, and can be provided by hardware, software, firmware, or various combinations thereof.

[0062] Referring also to Figure 3, examples of the TRP 300 for gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 include a computing platform comprising a processor 310, memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, memory 311, and transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 320 (which may be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communications). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., wireless transceivers) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may include multiple processors (e.g., as shown in Figure 2, including general-purpose / application processors, DSPs, modem processors, video processors, and / or sensor processors). Memory 311 may be a non-transitory storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, optical disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 311 may store software 312, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 310 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 312 may not be directly executed by processor 310, but may be configured to cause processor 310 to perform such functions, for example, when compiled and executed.

[0063] The description herein may refer to processor 310 performing the function, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 310 performing software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to processor 310 performing the function as a simplified expression for one or more processors included in processor 310 that perform the function. The description herein may refer to TRP 300 performing the function as a simplified expression for one or more suitable components (e.g., processor 310 and memory 311) in TRP 300 (and thus one of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) that perform the function. Processor 310 may include memory with stored instructions as a complement and / or replacement for memory 311. The functionality of processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0064] Transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350, configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals 348 (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and converting signals from wireless signals 348 into wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals into wireless signals 348. Thus, wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be individual components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 can be configured to communicate signals according to various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (e.g., with UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. Wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with NG-RAN 135 to send and receive communications to, for example, LMF 120 and / or one or more other network entities. Wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that can be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that can be individual components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 350 may be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communication.

[0065] The configuration of TRP 300 shown in Figure 3 is an example and is not a limitation of this disclosure, which includes the scope of the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses that TRP 300 performs or can be configured to perform several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by LMF 120 and / or UE 200 (i.e., LMF 120 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0066] Referring further to Figure 4, server 400 (LMF 120 may be an example thereof) may include a computing platform comprising a processor 410, memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and transceiver 415. The processor 410, memory 411, and transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other via bus 420 (which may be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communications). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., wireless transceivers) may be omitted from server 400. Processor 410 may include one or more smart hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 410 may include multiple processors (e.g., including general-purpose / application processors, DSPs, modem processors, video processors, and / or sensor processors, as shown in Figure 2). Memory 411 may be a non-transitory storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, optical disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 411 may store software 412, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 410 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 412 may not be directly executed by processor 410, but may be configured, for example, to cause processor 410 to perform such functions when compiled and executed. The description herein may refer to processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 410 performing software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to processor 410 performing functions as a simplified expression for one or more processors included in processor 410 that perform the functions. The description herein may refer to server 400 performing functions as a simplified expression for one or more suitable components in server 400 that perform the functions. Processor 410 may include memory with stored instructions as a supplement to and / or replacement of memory 411. The functionality of processor 410 is discussed in more detail below.

[0067] Transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450, configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448, and for converting signals from wireless signals 448 into wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals into wireless signals 448. Thus, wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be individual components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 can be configured to communicate signals according to various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (e.g., with UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. Wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with NG-RAN 135 to send and receive communications to, for example, TRP 300 and / or one or more other network entities. Wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that can be individual components or combined / integrated components, and / or wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that can be individual components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 450 may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0068] The description herein may refer to processor 410 performing the function, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 410 performing software (stored in memory 411) and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to server 400 performing the function as a simplified expression for one or more suitable components (e.g., processor 410 and memory 411) in server 400 performing the function.

[0069] The configuration of server 400 shown in Figure 4 is an example and is not a limitation of this disclosure, which includes the scope of the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Additionally or alternatively, the description herein discusses server 400 performing or being configured to perform several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., TRP 300 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0070] Positioning technology

[0071] For terrestrial positioning of a UE in a cellular network, techniques such as Advanced Forward Link Trilateral Measurement (AFLT) and Observation Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) often operate in a "UE-assisted" mode, where the UE measures reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) transmitted by the base station and then provides them to a location server. The location server then calculates the UE's location based on these 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 location, they are not frequently used in applications such as car or mobile phone navigation, which typically rely on satellite-based positioning.

[0072] UEs can use a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) for high-precision positioning using Precise Point Positioning (PPP) or Real-Time Differential Positioning (RTK) technologies. These technologies use ancillary data, such as measurements from terrestrial base stations. LTE Release 15 allows data to be encrypted, so that only UEs subscribed to the service can read this information. This ancillary data changes over time. Therefore, by transmitting this data to other UEs that have not paid for the subscription, it may not be easy for a subscribed UE to "crack the encryption." This data needs to be transmitted repeatedly each time the ancillary data changes.

[0073] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measurements (e.g., TDOA, Angle of Arrival (AoA), etc.) to a positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has a Base Station Almanac (BSA), which contains multiple "entries" or "records," one record per cell, where each record contains the geographic cell location, but may also include other data. Identifiers of "records" can be referenced in multiple "records" of the BSA. The BSA and measurements from the UE can be used to calculate the UE's location.

[0074] In conventional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own location, thus avoiding sending measurements to the network (e.g., a location server), which in turn improves latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of the gNB (more broadly, base station)). The BSA information can be encrypted. However, since BSA information changes far less frequently than, for example, PPP or RTK auxiliary data described previously, it is easier to make BSA information available to UEs without subscribed and paid decryption keys (compared to PPP or RTK information). The transmission of reference signals by the gNB makes BSA information potentially accessible through crowdsourcing or war-driving, especially enabling BSA information to be generated based on on-the-ground and / or over-the-top observations.

[0075] Positioning technologies can be characterized and / or evaluated based on one or more criteria, such as location determination accuracy and / or latency. Latency is the time elapsed between the event that triggers the determination of location-related data and the availability of that data at the positioning system interface (e.g., the LMF 120 interface). At the initialization of the positioning system, the latency for the availability of location-related data is called the First Time to Fix (TTFF), and is greater than the latency after the TTFF. The reciprocal of the time elapsed between the availability of two consecutive location-related data is called the update rate, i.e., the rate at which location-related data is generated after the first fix. Latency can depend on, for example, the processing capacity of the UE. For example, a UE can report its processing capacity as the duration of DL PRS symbols in time units (e.g., milliseconds), which allows the UE to process DL PRS symbols in every T time units (e.g., T ms) of an assumed 272 PRB (Physical Resource Block) allocation. Other instances that can affect latency capacity are the number of TRPs from which the UE can process PRS, the number of PRSs the UE can process, and the UE's bandwidth.

[0076] One or more of many different positioning techniques (also known as positioning methods) can be used to determine the location of an entity, such as one of UEs 105 and 106. For example, known location determination techniques include RTT, multiple RTT, OTDOA (also known as TDOA and including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), enhanced cellular identification (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses the time it takes for a signal to travel from one entity to another and back to determine the distance between two entities. This distance, plus the known location of the first of the two entities and the angle between the two entities (e.g., azimuth), can be used to determine the location of the second of the two entities. In multiple RTT (also known as multi-cellular RTT), multiple distances from one entity (e.g., UE) to other entities (e.g., TRP) and the known locations of other entities can be used to determine the location of that entity. In TDOA, the difference in travel time between an entity and other entities can be used to determine the relative distance to other entities, and this relative distance can be used in combination with the known locations of other entities to determine the location of that entity. Arrival and / or departure angles can be used to help determine the location of an entity. For example, the angle of arrival or departure of a signal, a combination of the distance to the device (determined using signals, such as signal travel time, signal received power, etc.) and the known location of one of these devices, can be used to determine the location of the other devices. The angle of arrival or departure can be an azimuth relative to a reference direction such as true north. The angle of arrival or departure can also be a zenith angle relative to the direct upward direction from the entity (i.e., radially outward from the Earth's center). E-CID uses the identifier of the serving cell, timing advance (i.e., the difference between the reception time and transmission time at the UE), estimated timing and power of detected neighboring cell signals, and (e.g., the angle of arrival of signals from the base station at the UE, or vice versa) possible angles of arrival to determine the UE's location. In TDOA, the difference in arrival times of signals from different sources at the receiving device, along with the known location of the source and the known offset of the transmission time from the source, is used to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0077] In network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on serving cells of two or more adjacent base stations (and typically the serving base station, requiring at least three base stations). One or more base stations transmit RTT measurement signals on low-reuse resources allocated by the network (e.g., location servers, such as LMF 120) (e.g., resources used by the base stations to transmit system information). The UE records the arrival time (also known as receive time, reception time, time of receipt, or time of arrival (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE's current downlink timing (e.g., derived by the UE based on DL signals received from its serving base station), and (e.g., when instructed by its serving base station) sends a common or separate RTT response message (e.g., an SRS (Sound Reference Signal) for positioning, i.e., UL-PRS) to one or more base stations, and may include the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message in the payload of each RTT response message. (That is, UE T Rx-Tx or UE Rx-Tx). The RTT response message will include a reference signal, which the base station can use to infer the ToA of the RTT response. This is achieved by calculating the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT response at the base station. Time difference with UE report By comparison, the base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE. By assuming that the propagation time is the speed of light, the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station based on the propagation time.

[0078] UE-centric RTT estimation is similar to a network-based approach, except that the UE sends uplink RTT measurement signals (e.g., when indicated by a serving base station), which are received by multiple base stations near the UE. Each involved base station responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include 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 in the RTT response message payload.

[0079] For both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the side performing RTT calculation (network or UE) typically (though not always) sends (multiple) first messages or (multiple) signals (e.g., (multiple) RTT measurement signals), while the other side responds with one or more RTT response messages or (multiple) signals, which may include the difference between the ToA of (multiple) first messages or (multiple) signals and the transmission time of (multiple) RTT response messages or (multiple) signals.

[0080] Multiple RTT (Round-Trip Toll) technology can be used to determine location. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) can send one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and multiple second entities (e.g., other TSPs, such as (multiple) base stations and / or (multiple) UEs) can receive signals from the first entity and respond to those received signals. The first entity receives responses from multiple second entities. The first entity (or another entity, such as an LMF) can use the responses from the second entities to determine the distance to the second entities, and the location of the first entity can be determined by trilateration using multiple distances and the known locations of the second entities.

[0081] In some instances, additional information can be obtained in the form of angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD), which defines a straight-line direction (e.g., in a horizontal plane or three dimensions) or a range of possible directions (e.g., for the UE's position relative to the base station). The intersection of the two directions can provide another estimate of the UE's position.

[0082] For positioning techniques that use PRS (Location Reference Signal) signals (e.g., TDOA and RTT), PRS signals transmitted by multiple TRPs are measured, and the arrival time of these signals, the known transmission time, and the known location of the TRPs are used to determine the distance from the UE to the TRPs. For example, for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs, RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) can be determined and used in TDOA technology to determine the UE's location. The Location Reference Signal can be referred to as the PRS or PRS signal. PRS signals are typically transmitted using the same power, and PRS signals with the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency shift) can interfere with each other, causing PRS signals from more distant TRPs to be overwhelmed by PRS signals from closer TRPs, thus making signals from more distant TRPs potentially undetectable. PRS silencing can be used to help reduce interference by silencing some PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signal to, for example, zero, and therefore not transmitting the PRS signal). In this way, the weaker PRS signal can be more easily detected by the UE in the absence of interference from a stronger PRS signal. The term RS and its variations (e.g., PRS, SRS, CSI-RS (Channel State Information - Reference Signal)) can refer to one or more reference signals.

[0083] Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) include downlink PRS (DL PRS, often simply referred to as PRS) and uplink PRS (UL PRS) (which may be called SRS (Sound Reference Signals) for positioning). PRS may include PN codes (pseudo-scrambled codes) or may be generated using PN codes (e.g., by modulating a carrier signal with PN codes), allowing the PRS source to be used as a pseudo-satellite. PN codes can be unique for PRS sources (at least for PRS sources within a specified area, such that the same PRS from different PRS sources does not overlap). PRS may include frequency layer PRS resources and / or PRS resource sets. DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or just frequency layer) is a collection of DL PRS resource sets from one or more TRPs, having common parameters configured by the higher-layer parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer, DL-PRS-ResourceSet, and DL-PRS-Resource. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the DL PRS resource set and DL PRS resources within that frequency layer. Each frequency layer also has a DL PRS cyclic prefix (CP) for the DL PRS resource set and 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 occupying channel bandwidth. A bandwidth portion (BWP) is a set of consecutive common resource blocks and may include all common resource blocks within the channel bandwidth or a subset of common resource blocks. Furthermore, the DL PRS point A parameter defines the frequency of a reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of that resource block), where DL PRS resources belonging to the same DL PRS resource set have the same point A, and all DL PRS resource sets belonging to the same frequency layer have the same point A. The frequency layer also has the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same start PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size value (i.e., the frequency of each symbol PRS resource element, such that for comb-N, every N resource elements are PRS resource elements). The PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and can be associated with a specific TRP (identified by a cell ID) transmitted from the base station's antenna panel. The PRS resource ID in the PRS resource set can be associated with an omnidirectional signal and / or with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (where the base station can transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource in the PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam; thus, a PRS resource (or simply a resource) can also be referred to as a beam. This does not imply whether the UE is aware of the base station and the beam transmitting the PRS.

[0084] The TRP can be configured to send DL PRS per schedule, for example, by means of instructions received from the server and / or by software within the TRP. According to this schedule, the TRP can send DL PRS intermittently, for example, periodically at consistent intervals starting from the initial transmission. The TRP can be configured to send one or more PRS resource sets. A resource set is a cluster of PRS resources across a TRP that have the same periodicity, a common silence pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor across time slots. Each PRS resource set comprises multiple PRS resources, and each PRS resource comprises multiple OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) resource elements (REs), which can be located in multiple resource blocks (RBs) within N (one or more) consecutive symbols in a time slot. PRS resources (or, more generally, reference signal (RS) resources) can be referred to as OFDM PRS resources (or OFDM RS resources). An RB is a cluster of REs spanning one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain and a certain number (12 for 5G RBs) of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. Each PRS resource is configured with an RE offset, a slot offset, a symbol offset within the slot, and the number of consecutive symbols that the PRS resource can occupy within the slot. The RE offset defines the starting RE offset of the first symbol in the frequency within the DL PRS resource. The relative RE offsets of the remaining symbols within the DL PRS resource are defined based on the initial offset. The slot offset is the starting slot of the DL PRS resource relative to the slot offset of the corresponding resource set. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting slot. Transmitted REs can be repeated across slots; each transmission is called a repetition, allowing for multiple repetitions in a PRS resource. DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP, and each DL PRS resource has a DL PRS resource ID. The DL PRS resource ID in a DL PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (although a TRP can transmit one or more beams).

[0085] PRS resources can also be defined using quasi-co-addressable (QCL) and start PRB parameters. The QCL parameter defines any quasi-co-addressable information between the DL PRS resource and other reference signals. The DL PRS can be configured as QCL type D, with DL PRS or SS / PBCH (Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel) blocks from serving or non-serving cells. The DL PRS can also be configured as QCL type C, with SS / PBCH blocks from serving or non-serving cells. The start PRB parameter defines the starting PRB index of the DL PRS resource relative to reference point A. The starting PRB index has a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 2176 PRBs.

[0086] A PRS resource set is a cluster of PRS resources with the same period, the same silence pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor across time slots. Whenever all repetitions of all PRS resources in a PRS resource set are configured to be sent, it is called an "instance". Therefore, an "instance" of a PRS resource set is a specified number of repetitions for each PRS resource and a specified number of PRS resources within the PRS resource set, such that the instance is completed once the specified number of repetitions are sent for each of the specified number of PRS resources. An instance can also be called an "opportunity". DL PRS configuration, including a DL PRS transmission schedule, can be provided to the UE to allow the UE (or even enable the UE to) measure DL PRS.

[0087] Multiple frequency layers of a PRS can be aggregated to provide an effective bandwidth greater than any one of the individual layer bandwidths. Multiple frequency layers of component carriers (which may be consecutive and / or separate) that meet criteria (such as being quasi-co-located (QCLed)) and have the same antenna port can be spliced ​​to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for DL ​​PRS and UL PRS), resulting in improved time-of-arrival measurement accuracy. Splicing involves combining PRS measurements on individual bandwidth fragments into a unified piece, such that the spliced ​​PRS can be considered as derived from a single measurement. Because it is quasi-co-located, the different frequency layers behave similarly, thus enabling PRS splicing to produce a larger effective bandwidth. This larger effective bandwidth, often referred to as the aggregated PRS bandwidth or the frequency bandwidth of the aggregated PRS, provides better (e.g., TDOA) time-domain resolution. An aggregated PRS comprises a cluster of PRS resources, and each PRS resource in the aggregated PRS can be called a PRS component. Each PRS component can be transmitted on different component carriers, bands, or frequency layers, or on different parts of the same band.

[0088] Because RTT uses positioning signals sent from the TRP to the UE and from the UE (participating in RTT positioning) to the TRP, RTT positioning is an active positioning technology. The TRP can send a DL-PRS signal received by the UE, and the UE can send an SRS (Probe Reference Signal) signal received by multiple TRPs. The Probe Reference Signal can be referred to as SRS or SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, coordinated positioning can be used, where the UE sends a single UL-SRS for positioning received by multiple TRPs, instead of sending a separate UL-SRS for positioning for each TRP. A TRP participating in multi-RTT will typically search for UEs currently resident on that TRP (the served UE, where the TRP is the serving TRP) and UEs resident on adjacent TRPs (neighbor UEs). Neighbor TRPs can be TRPs of a single BTS (Base Transceiver Station) (e.g., gNB), or they can be TRPs of a single BTS and individual BTS TRPs. For RTT positioning including multi-RTT positioning, the DL-PRS signal and the UL-SRS signal in the positioning PRS / SRS signal pair used to determine the RTT (and thus the distance between the UE and TRP) can be close in time, so that the errors caused by UE movement and / or UE clock drift and / or TRP clock drift are within acceptable limits. For example, the signals in the positioning PRS / SRS signal pair can be transmitted from the TRP and the UE respectively within approximately 10 ms of each other. Since the positioning SRS is transmitted by the UE, and the positioning PRS and SRS are transmitted close in time, it has been found that radio frequency (RF) signal congestion can occur, especially when many UEs attempt to locate simultaneously (which can lead to excessive noise, etc.), and / or computational congestion can occur at the TRP that is attempting to measure many UEs simultaneously.

[0089] RTT positioning can be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, UE 200 determines the RTT and the corresponding distance to each of TRPs 300, and determines the location of UE 200 based on the distance to TRPs 300 and the known location of TRPs 300. In UE-assisted RTT, UE 200 measures a positioning signal and provides measurement information to TRPs 300, and TRPs 300 determine the RTT and distance. TRPs 300 provide the distance to a location server (e.g., server 400), and the server determines the location of UE 200, for example, based on the distance to different TRPs 300. RTT and / or distance can be determined by a TRP 300 that receives signals from the UE 200, by the TRP 300 combined with one or more other devices (e.g., one or more other TRP 300s and / or server 400), or by one or more other devices different from the TRP 300 that receives signals from the UE 200.

[0090] 5G NR supports various positioning technologies. Native NR positioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL-only positioning, UL-only positioning, and DL+UL positioning. Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. Combined DL+UL-based positioning methods include RTT using a single base station and RTT using multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

[0091] (For example, for a UE) Location estimation can be referred to by other names, such as location estimate, location, positioning, location pinpoint, etc. Location estimation can be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible altitude), or it can be urban and include street addresses, postal addresses, or some other verbal description of a location. Location estimation can also be defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible altitude). Location estimation can include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included with a certain specified or preset confidence level).

[0092] The configuration of server 400 shown in Figure 4 is an example and is not a limitation of this disclosure, which includes the scope of the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Additionally or alternatively, the description herein discusses server 400 performing or being configured to perform several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., TRP 300 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0093] Distributed location communication management

[0094] Referring also to Figure 5, environment 500 includes positioning devices 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515 and objects 531, 532, such as 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 (send and / or receive) and measure PRS, and possibly report PRS measurements and possibly report the line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) status of one or more of the other positioning devices 510-515 relative to the reporting positioning device. Each of the positioning devices 510-515 can be any of a variety of devices, such as an RSU (Roadside Unit) (e.g., positioning device 515), a UE such as a vehicle UE (e.g., positioning device 514), a pedestrian UE such as a smartphone (e.g., positioning devices 510-513), etc. The RSU can be a UE-type RSU or a TRP-type RSU. UE-type RSUs have the same stack as the UE and communicate with the UE using a side link, while TRP-type RSUs can be reduced-function TRPs (e.g., simplified gNBs) that communicate with the UE using DL and UL signal transmissions. Positioning devices 510-515 can transmit, measure, and report PRS measurements to implement one or more positioning techniques, such as RTT-based positioning procedures and / or one or more other positioning procedures. The location of one or more of the positioning devices 510-515 (e.g., the location of positioning device 510) can be determined based on the measured PRS, which is LOS between positioning devices 510 and positioning devices 511-515, where positioning devices 510 and positioning devices 511-515 transmit the PRS.

[0095] Positioning devices 510-515 can transmit pre-PRS, PRS, and post-PRS signals. The pre-PRS signal provides information about the PRS to be transmitted by positioning devices 510-515 respectively. The pre-PRS signal can establish a positioning communication period with positioning devices 510-515, for example, by signaling from the initiating device to query available positioning devices and indicate the selected positioning device 510-515 during the positioning communication period, and by signaling from the receiving device to indicate availability and acceptance of entry into the positioning communication period. The pre-PRS for each of positioning devices 510-515 can indicate a PRS ID associated with the PRS to be transmitted by each of positioning devices 510-515. The PRS ID can be a temporary ID used to associate the PRS with the positioning device (at least temporarily), allowing the recipient of the PRS to identify the source of the PRS. The pre-PRS signal can indicate the time and / or frequency characteristics (e.g., frequency layer, time offset, frequency offset, etc.) of the PRS to be transmitted. The transmitted PRS will conform to the PRS characteristics and PRS ID indicated in the preceding PRS signal transmission. The subsequent PRS signal transmission may include information about the transmitted and / or received PRS. For example, the subsequent PRS signal transmission may indicate the PRS departure time (transmission time), and / or the arrival time of the received and measured PRS, and / or the angle of arrival of the PRS, etc. The subsequent PRS signal transmission may include an indication of whether another positioning device 510-515 is LOS or NLOS relative to the positioning device 510-515 that transmitted the subsequent PRS signal transmission. By receiving the preceding PRS signal transmission from the device initiating the positioning communication period, the positioning devices 510-515 can broadcast the PRS and subsequent PRS signal transmissions. The initiating device can be one or the other of the positioning devices 510-515. More than one initiating device or management device may exist in the positioning device group during the positioning communication period.

[0096] Positioning devices 510-515, as part of the positioning communication period, can be managed. Positioning devices can be enabled or disabled from participating in the positioning communication period. For example, a positioning device responding to an availability inquiry can be instructed to broadcast a PRS and measure PRS from other participants in the positioning communication period. If a positioning device 510-515 that receives a PRS pre-transmission signal is NLOS more frequently than a threshold number of positioning devices 510-515 in the positioning communication period and / or is NLOS more frequently than a threshold NLOS frequency, then that positioning device 510-515 can be disabled, for example, instructed not to send PRS and / or the PRS sent from that positioning device 510-515 is not measured by other devices in the positioning device 510-515. This can help reduce latency and / or power consumption by reducing the number of PRS transmitted, measured, and processed, can reduce collisions between PRS from different sources, and / or, for example, can improve positioning accuracy by reducing the number of multipath PRS measured and used to determine location. If the PRS is sent on an unauthorized channel, reducing the number of PRS sent can reduce latency due to contention for channel access. A positioning device can receive a preceding PRS but is not NLOS during the PRS transmission time, for example, because the positioning device is not NLOS during the preceding PRS transmission time or because the positioning device moves relative to another positioning device before the PRS transmission time. In environment 500, positioning device 514 is NLOS relative to each of positioning devices 510-513 and LOS relative to positioning device 515, and positioning device 515 is LOS relative to positioning devices 510 and 514 and NLOS relative to positioning devices 511-513. In this example, for instance, if a multipath PRS from any of the positioning units 514 and 515 is measured and used to determine the position of the positioning device 510, then, for example, the PRS transmission by the positioning devices 514 and 515 and the attempted measurement of the PRS from the positioning devices 514 and 515 may be undesirable, for example, because power consumption does not significantly or improve positioning accuracy or even reduces positioning accuracy.

[0097] Referring also to FIG. 6, the positioning device 600 includes a processor 610, a transceiver 620, and a memory 630 communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 640. The positioning device 600 may include the components shown in FIG. 6. The positioning device 600 may include one or more other components, such as any of the components shown in FIG. 2, so that the UE 200 may be an instance 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, such as a wireless transmitter 242 and an antenna 246, or a wireless receiver 244 and an antenna 246, or a wireless transmitter 242, a wireless receiver 244, and an antenna 246. Additionally or alternatively, the transceiver 620 may include a wired transmitter 252 and / or a wired receiver 254. Memory 630 can be configured similarly to memory 211, for example, including software with processor-readable instructions configured to cause processor 610 to perform functions.

[0098] The description herein may refer to processor 610 performing the function, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 610 executing software (stored in memory 630) and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to positioning device 600 performing the function as a simplified expression for one or more suitable components (e.g., processor 610 and memory 630) performing that function in positioning device 600. Processor 610 (possibly in combination with memory 630 and, if necessary, transceiver 620) may include positioning communication period management unit 650, PRS measurement unit 660, LOS / NLOS determination unit 670, and post-PRS reporting unit 680. The location communication period management unit 650, PRS measurement unit 660, LOS / NLOS determination unit 670, and post-PRS reporting unit 680 are further discussed below, and the description may generally refer to the processor 610 or the location device 600 performing any one of the functions of the location communication period management unit 650, PRS measurement unit 660, LOS / NLOS determination unit 670, and / or post-PRS reporting unit 680, wherein the location device 600 is configured to perform these functions. Any of the location devices 510-515 may be an instance of the location device 600. In instances of the location device 600, one or more of units 650, 660, 670, and 680 may be omitted. For example, the location device may not be configured to control membership of the location communication period, and thus the location communication period management unit 650 may be omitted, or the location communication period management unit 650 may have a reduction function (e.g., to acknowledge a request to join the location communication period).

[0099] Referring to Figure 7, and also to Figures 1 through 6, the signal transmission and processing flow 700 for managing participants in the location communication period and determining location information includes the stages shown. In flow 700, a management location device 705 manages the participation of a first location device 701 and a second location device 702 in the location communication period. In this example, the management location device 705 is the target device whose location estimation is to be determined. Although referred to as a management location device, the management location device 705 can be a location device or another (non-location) device. For example, location devices 510 and / or 600 can be, and for this discussion is assumed to be, instances of the management location device 705, and thus location devices 510 and 600 can be interchangeably referred to as the management location device 705. Furthermore, the first location device 701 and the second location device 702 are instances of location device 600, for example, possibly without a location communication period management unit 650. In this example, three positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 are illustrated for simplicity, but more than three positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 can be used. For example, for example environment 500, six positioning devices can be used, namely positioning devices 510-515. Process 700 is an instance, and stages can be added, rearranged, and / or removed, for example.

[0100] In phase 710, devices 701, 702, and 705 transmit a pre-positioning PRS signal to establish a positioning communication period. The managing positioning device 705, for example, the positioning communication period management unit 650, broadcasts an availability request 711 received by the first positioning device 701 and the second positioning device 702. Additionally or alternatively, one or more availability requests may be multicast and / or one or more unicast availability requests may be sent. The availability request 711 inquires whether any positioning device receiving the availability request 711 is available and willing to participate in the positioning communication period. Each of the first positioning device 701 and the second positioning device 702 that receives the availability request 711 sends (e.g., broadcasts) an availability response 712, 713. The availability responses 712, 713 either refuse to participate in the positioning communication period (e.g., indicate unavailability) or agree to participate in the positioning communication period. The availability responses 712, 713 may be sent to the managing positioning device 705 as unicast messages, as shown, or may be multicast or broadcast.

[0101] The management positioning device 705, such as the positioning communication period management unit 650, can respond to availability responses 712 and 713 by sending (e.g., broadcasting) a positioning communication period and PRS information message 714. Message 714 can indicate which positioning devices or whether a specific positioning device is included in the positioning communication period. A unicast message can indicate whether a target positioning device is accepted into the positioning communication period. Message 714 can indicate one or more PRS characteristics of the PRS to be sent 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, period, etc.). The PRS ID can be a temporary ID used to associate the PRS with a source, which in this case is 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 can be combined with availability request 711, for example, provided in availability request 711.

[0102] The first positioning device 701 and the second positioning device 702 are each selected to send (e.g., broadcast) a PRS information message for a positioning communication period. The first positioning device 701 sends a PRS information message 715 indicating the characteristics of the PRS (including the PRS ID) to be sent by the first positioning device 701. Message 715 can be combined with an availability response 712. For example, message 715 may include the PRS ID and a positioning communication period ID corresponding to the positioning communication period, and serve as an acknowledgment that the positioning device is joining the positioning communication period. The second positioning device 702 sends (e.g., broadcast) a PRS information message 716 indicating the characteristics of the PRS (including the PRS ID) to be sent by the second positioning device 702. Message 716 can be combined with an availability response 713, for example, similar to the combination of message 715 and availability response 712. Messages 715 and / or 716 can be multicast or unicast, but not broadcast.

[0103] In phase 720, positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 transmit a PRS, for example, an SL PRS. The managing positioning device 705 broadcasts a PRS 721 based on the PRS characteristics indicated in the positioning communication and PRS information message 714. The first positioning device 701 broadcasts a PRS 722 based on the PRS characteristics indicated in the PRS information message 715. The second positioning device 702 broadcasts a PRS 723 based on the PRS characteristics indicated in the PRS information message 716.

[0104] In phase 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 during the positioning communication period is LOS or NLOS. For example, in sub-phase 731, the managing positioning device 705, such as PRS measurement unit 660, measures any one of the PRS 722 and 723 received by the managing positioning device 705 to determine location information (e.g., one or more PRS measurements, such as ToA, AoA, etc.). Furthermore, in sub-phase 731, the managing positioning device 705, such as LOS / NLOS determination unit 670, determines whether each of the positioning devices 701 and 702 during the positioning communication period is LOS or NLOS relative to the managing positioning device 705. Similarly, in sub-stages 732 and 733, each of the first positioning device 701 and the second positioning device 702 (e.g., 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 each of the other positioning devices managing the positioning device 705 and the other positioning devices during the positioning communication period is LOS or NLOS relative to the respective positioning devices 701 and 702.

[0105] The LOS / NLOS state of a 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, if the PRS is received from the PRS source positioning device at the PRS receiving positioning device, the PRS source positioning device (i.e., the positioning device that is the source of the PRS) can be determined to be LOS, and the PRS source positioning device is not determined to be NLOS. A device can be determined to be NLOS based on a preceding PRS received from that device but the PRS was not received from that device. As another example, if the difference between the current distance from the PRS receiving positioning device (i.e., the device that receives the PRS from the PRS source) to the PRS source positioning device and the previous distance to the PRS source positioning device is greater than a threshold amount, the PRS source positioning device can be determined to be NLOS. The threshold amount can depend on the time between the time corresponding to the previous distance and the current time and / or the expected relative motion between the PRS source positioning device and the PRS receiving positioning device (e.g., due to device type and / or measured speed). As another example, if the distance to the first PRS source positioning device and the location of the first PRS source positioning device are outliers compared to the distance to other second PRS source positioning devices and the locations of the second PRS source positioning devices, then the first PRS source positioning device can be determined to be NLOS relative to the PRS receiving positioning device.

[0106] In phase 740, positioning devices 701, 702, and 705 send post-PRS messages, and management positioning device 705 compiles the combined LOS / NLOS status of paired devices during positioning communication. For example, the post-PRS reporting unit 680 of each of positioning devices 705, the first positioning device 701, and the second positioning device 702 broadcasts the corresponding PRS measurement and LOS / NLOS messages 741, 742, and 743. Messages 741-743 provide PRS measurements and indications of which other devices are LOS relative to the reporting positioning device and which other devices are NLOS relative to the reporting positioning device during positioning communication. These indications can be combined to form the combined LOS / NLOS status of each positioning device relative to each other positioning device during positioning communication.

[0107] In sub-stage 744, also referring to FIG8, the management positioning device 705 can aggregate LOS / NLOS information to determine the composite LOS / NLOS state for each combination of devices during the positioning communication period. Although the management positioning device 705 compiles this information in this example, any device (positioning device or other device) that obtains the content of messages 741-743 (e.g., by receiving messages 741-743 or generating one of messages 741-743 in combination with receiving other messages 741-743) can compile this information to determine the LOS / NLOS state of the devices relative to each other during the positioning communication period. For example, table 800 includes a set 810 of row indicators, each indicator indicating a corresponding positioning device during the positioning communication period, and a set 820 of column indicators, each indicator indicating a corresponding positioning device during the positioning communication period. In this example corresponding to environment 500, the set 810 of row indicators and the set 820 of column indicators indicate positioning devices 510-515. Row and column indicators can be omitted from table 800, where the corresponding devices are implicit, for example, known to the device storing table 800. The contents of table 800 indicate whether each corresponding device in positioning devices 510-515 (i.e., the devices in the corresponding rows and columns) is LOS or NLOS relative to each other. Thus, for example, table 800 indicates that positioning device 510 is LOS relative to positioning devices 511-513 and 515, and NLOS relative to positioning device 514, and indicates that positioning device 514 is NLOS relative to positioning devices 510-513, and LOS relative to positioning device 515. Other LOS / NLOS relationships are shown in the figure.

[0108] The LOS / NLOS state for each pair of devices can be determined based on a single LOS / NLOS decision for that pair of devices or a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS decisions for that pair of devices. For example, the LOS / NLOS decision unit 670 can compile N decisions for the LOS / NLOS state and determine whether a device meets a threshold level for the LOS decision before being marked as LOS. For example, the LOS / NLOS decision unit 670 can average the LOS / NLOS decisions over time (e.g., assigning a value of 1 to LOS and 0 to NLOS, summing the N values, and dividing by N), and if the average exceeds a threshold, for example, 0.6, then the device combination is marked as LOS; otherwise, the device combination is marked as NLOS. The value of N can be set to various values ​​and can be set to values ​​that vary over time. For example, in response to a relatively static location communication period (where location devices 701, 702, and 705 move very little relative to each other), the value of N can be set to a relatively high value, and in response to a relatively dynamic location communication period (where location devices 701, 702, and 705 move significantly relative to each other), the value of N can be set to a relatively low value. As another example, a combination of location devices can be labeled as NLOS based on the number of consecutive instances or based on the number of instances within a threshold time period; for example, regardless of the frequency of the determination, a combination of location devices can be labeled as NLOS. Many other examples of techniques based on which combination of devices can be labeled as NLOS can also be used.

[0109] In phase 750, location communication period management information is determined and disseminated to the location devices 701 and 702 in the location communication period. For example, in sub-phase 751, the location communication period management unit 650 managing the location device 705 can analyze the LOS / NLOS status for one or more (e.g., each) combinations of the location devices 701, 702, and 705 in the location communication period to determine whether to disable the transmission and / or measurement of any PRS, for example, whether to make any changes to the membership of the location communication period. For example, the location communication period management unit 650 can decide to disable the transmission and / or measurement of PRS corresponding to any location device that is determined to be NLOS relative to the threshold amount of the location communication period among other location devices 701, 702, and 705. For example, the threshold amount could be one, such that, based on the fact that the second positioning device 702 has been determined to be NLOS relative to another positioning device 701, 705 during the positioning communication period, the positioning communication period management unit 650 managing positioning device 705 could decide to prohibit PRS transmission and / or reception from the second positioning device 702. As another example, the threshold amount could be greater than one, or it could be a percentage of the total number of positioning devices 701, 702, 705 during the positioning communication period, or some other threshold. The threshold could be such that, based on the second positioning device 702 providing a lower-than-expected LOS PRS measurement to, for example, demonstrate that measuring the processing time and / or power of the PRS and / or measuring the NLOS PRS from the second positioning device 702 is worthwhile, the second positioning device 702 would be disabled. As another example, the threshold for disabling PRS transmission and / or measurement could be that there are more positioning devices NLOS for the second positioning device 702 during the positioning communication period than positioning devices LOS for the second positioning device 702 during the positioning communication period. As another example, the threshold for disabling PRS transmission and / or measurement could be the ratio of the number of devices that are NLOS for the second positioning device 702 to the number of devices that are LOS for the second positioning device 702 being greater than a threshold (where a threshold of 1.0 corresponds to the second positioning device 702 being NLOS relative to the majority of devices, thus triggering disabling). Other examples can be used. For example, the examples discussed consider the number of devices that are NLOS for the second positioning device 702 relative to the total number of devices during the positioning communication period, which could be useful if the second positioning device 702 is a target device (whose location is to be determined) or an anchor device (whose location is known and used to help determine the location of one or more target devices). Other examples could consider the number of devices that are NLOS for the second positioning device 702 relative to the total number of target devices (i.e., devices whose location is to be determined) during the positioning communication period. Other examples can also be used.

[0110] The positioning device 705, such as the positioning communication period management unit 650 of the positioning device 705, can send a positioning communication period management information message 752 to the first positioning device 701 and / or a positioning communication period management information message 753 to the second positioning device 702 to prohibit the transmission and / or measurement of PRS determined in sub-stage 751. The positioning device 705 can send 752 and 753 individually, or it can send one or more multicast messages, or it can send broadcast messages to control the transmission and / or measurement of PRS. For example, based on the fact that the first positioning device 701 has been determined to be NLOS for at least a threshold amount of other positioning devices 702 and 705, message 752 can prohibit the transmission of PRS by the first positioning device 701. Message 752 can (explicitly or implicitly) instruct the first positioning device 701 not to transmit PRS for that positioning communication period. Message 752 can implicitly instruct the first positioning device 701 not to send a PRS for the positioning communication period by including PRS information for managing the positioning device 705 but excluding a trigger for the first positioning device 701 to send a PRS. Therefore, message 752 can be a new PRS information message. As another example, based on the fact that the second positioning device 702 has been determined to be NLOS for at least a threshold amount of other positioning devices 701, 705, message 752 can prohibit PRS measurement by the first positioning device 701 of the PRS from the second positioning device 702. Message 752 can (explicitly or implicitly) instruct the first positioning device 701 not to measure the PRS from the second positioning device 702 for, for example, the positioning communication period. Message 752 can disable the PRS of the positioning device 702 by instructing the positioning device 702 to leave the positioning communication period (e.g., not sending PRS 722 and not measuring PRS 721, 723). Message 753 can disable the PRS of the second positioning device 702 by instructing the second positioning device 702 to leave the positioning communication period. Broadcast messages can indicate to all positioning devices 701, 702 (and other devices, if any) in the positioning communication period which positioning devices are being disabled, for example, removed from the positioning communication period.

[0111] Messages 752 and 753 may instruct one or more of the positioning devices 701 and 702 to initiate another positioning communication period. For example, since positioning device 514 is NLOS with respect to positioning devices 510-513, and positioning device 515 is NLOS with respect to positioning devices 511-513, and positioning devices 514 and 515 are LOS with respect to each other, positioning devices 514 and 515 may be instructed to form a positioning communication period including positioning devices 514 and 515 (and any other possible devices, whether or not instructed to positioning devices 514 and 515). Positioning devices 514 and 515 may also be instructed to leave the positioning communication period with positioning devices 510-513. In other instances, positioning devices may be instructed to form another positioning communication period without disabling the current positioning communication period or being instructed to leave the current positioning communication period.

[0112] In stage 760, the management positioning device 705, such as processor 610, can determine location information. For example, processor 610 can 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 positioning devices 701, 702, one or more location estimates for managing positioning device 705, etc.). The management positioning device 705 can send one or more indications of the location information to one or more entities, such as a server like LMF, which sends it to a location client as needed.

[0113] Referring to Figure 9, and further to Figures 1 through 8, the positioning method 900 includes the stages illustrated. However, method 900 is an example and not a limitation. Method 900 can be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, executing simultaneously, and / or dividing a single stage into multiple stages.

[0114] In stage 910, method 900 includes establishing a location communication period among a plurality of location devices, including a first location device and a second location device. For example, a management location device 705 (or a management device that may not be a location device, such as server 400 or TRP 300) establishes a location communication period with location devices 701 and 702 by transmitting at least a location communication period information portion of an availability request 711 and availability responses 712, 713, a location communication period, and a PRS information message 714. A processor 610 (possibly in combination with memory 630) combined with a transceiver 620 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244, and antenna 246) may include components for establishing a location communication period. As another example, a processor 310 (possibly in combination with memory 311) combined with a transceiver 315 (e.g., wireless transmitter 342, wireless receiver 344, and antenna 346) may include components for establishing a location communication period.

[0115] In stage 920, method 900 includes acquiring the line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) state for multiple pairs of devices among a plurality of positioning devices. For example, managing positioning device 705 determines the LOS / NLOS state relative to positioning devices 701, 702 in sub-stage 731, and receives from positioning devices 701, 702 messages 742, 743 an indication of the LOS / NLOS state, and / or a LOS / NLOS indication of the LOS / NLOS determination. Managing positioning device 705 can determine the LOS / NLOS state of positioning devices 701, 702 relative to other positioning devices during positioning communication based on these LOS / NLOS determinations. Processor 610 (possibly in combination with memory 630) and transceiver 620 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244, and antenna 246) may include components for acquiring the LOS / NLOS state. As another example, processor 310 (possibly in combination with memory 311) and transceiver 315 (e.g., wireless transmitter 342, wireless receiver 344, and antenna 346) may include components for acquiring LOS / NLOS status.

[0116] At stage 930, method 900 includes sending a disable message to the first positioning device based on a LOS / NLOS state where at least one of the first or second positioning devices is NLOS relative to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices. The disable message instructs the prohibition of at least one of the transmission of one or more first positioning reference signals from the first positioning device or the measurement by the first positioning device of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device. For example, managing positioning device 705 sends a positioning communication period management information message 752 to first positioning device 701 to prevent the first positioning device 701 from transmitting a PRS (e.g., a PRS 722 to be transmitted in the future), and / or to prevent measurements by the first positioning device 701 of a PRS from the second positioning device 702 (e.g., a PRS 723 to be transmitted in the future). The disable message can be sent using appropriate communication technologies, such as sidelink or downlink communication (depending on the type of device sending and receiving the disable message). Processor 610 (possibly in combination with memory 630) and transceiver 620 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246) may include components for transmitting a disable message. As another example, processor 310 (possibly in combination with memory 311) and transceiver 315 (e.g., wireless transmitter 342 and antenna 346) may include components for transmitting a disable message. Disabling PRS transmission and / or PRS reception based on LOS / NLOS state can help improve positioning accuracy by eliminating PRS measurements of NLOS PRS that may provide inaccurate distances to the anchoring device. Disabling PRS transmission and / or PRS reception based on LOS / NLOS state can help reduce positioning latency by eliminating the time cost of measuring NLOS PRS and determining that the PRS originates from an NLOS source to ignore such measurements, and / or by eliminating the time cost of attempting to measure NLOS PRS. 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 decide to ignore such measurements.

[0117] Implementations of method 900 may include one or more of the features described below. In an example implementation, sending a disable message includes sending a disable message based on a LOS / NLOS state where at least one of the first or second positioning devices is NLOS relative to a plurality of positioning devices with at least a threshold amount. For example, managing positioning device 705 may send message 752 based on the fact that the first positioning device 701 and / or the second positioning device 702 is NLOS relative to a threshold amount (e.g., number, percentage, etc.) of positioning devices during the positioning communication period (e.g., all positioning devices during the positioning communication period or all target devices of the positioning device during the positioning communication period). In another example implementation, sending a disable message includes sending a disable message to the first positioning device to prevent the transmission of the first PRS by the first positioning device based on the fact that the first positioning device is NLOS relative to a plurality of positioning devices with at least a threshold amount. For example, in response to the determination that the first positioning device is NLOS relative to a threshold number of positioning devices during the positioning communication period (e.g., all or all of the target positioning devices or another set of positioning devices), message 752 may (explicitly or implicitly) instruct the first positioning device 701 not to send a PRS for the positioning communication period in the future (e.g., PRS 722). Thus, for example, if sending a PRS from the first positioning device 701 would incur more costs than benefits to the positioning communication period, the first positioning device 701 may be prevented from sending a PRS. In another example implementation, sending a disable message includes sending a disable message to the first positioning device to prevent the measurement of the second PRS by the first positioning device based on the fact that the second positioning device is NLOS relative to at least a threshold number of positioning devices. For example, in response to the determination that the second positioning device is NLOS relative to a threshold number of positioning devices during the positioning communication period (e.g., all or all of the target positioning devices or another set of positioning devices), message 752 may (explicitly or implicitly) instruct the first positioning device 701 not to measure a PRS for the positioning communication period in the future (e.g., PRS 723). Therefore, for example, if measuring the PRS from the second positioning device 702 would incur more costs than benefits to the positioning communication period, the first positioning device 701 may prevent the measurement of the PRS from the second positioning device 702.

[0118] Additionally or alternatively, implementations of method 900 may include one or more of the features described below. In an example implementation, obtaining the LOS / NLOS state for a plurality of pairs of devices in a plurality of positioning devices includes determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the plurality of pairs of devices in the plurality of positioning devices. For example, the LOS / NLOS determination unit 670 managing positioning device 705 may use more than one LOS / NLOS indication for a pair of positioning devices to determine the LOS / NLOS state of that pair of devices, for example, to ensure that the LOS / NLOS determination becomes robust over time to determine the LOS / NLOS state. Processor 610 (possibly in combination with memory 630) may include means for determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications. As another example, processor 310 (possibly in combination with memory 311) may include means for determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications. In another example implementation, determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications includes determining an average of the multiple LOS / NLOS indications. For example, the LOS / NLOS determination unit 670 of the management positioning device 705 can determine that 60% of the samples from a specific pair of positioning devices are LOS. The LOS / NLOS determination unit 670 of the management positioning device 705 can average the indications by, for example, assigning values ​​to the LOS and NLOS indications (e.g., assigning a value of 1 to LOS and a value of 0 to NLOS), summing N values ​​(corresponding to N LOS / NLOS indications), and dividing by N. In another example implementation, obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for multiple pairs of devices among a plurality of positioning devices includes, for each of the multiple pairs of devices among the plurality of positioning devices, determining that the pair of devices is NLOS based on a threshold percentage greater than a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications for that pair of devices. For example, if the LOS / NLOS indication for a pair of positioning devices is greater than a threshold percentage for a given set of indications, the LOS / NLOS determination unit 670 of the positioning device 705 can determine that the LOS / NLOS state of the pair of positioning devices is NLOS, otherwise determine that the LOS / NLOS state is LOS, or if the indication is greater than the threshold percentage for the LOS / NLOS indication of the pair of positioning devices, then determine that the LOS / NLOS state is LOS.

[0119] Additionally or alternatively, implementations of method 900 may include one or more of the features described below. In an example implementation, a disable message instructs a first positioning device to be removed from a positioning communication period. For example, message 752 may instruct the first positioning device 701 to cease participating in the positioning communication period established in phase 710. Message 753 may instruct the second positioning device 702 that the first positioning device 701 is being, or has been, removed from a positioning communication period. In another example implementation, the positioning communication period is the first positioning communication period, and a disable message instructs the first and second positioning devices to establish a second positioning communication period separate from the first positioning communication period. For example, positioning devices in the current positioning communication period may be notified that they can benefit from being in a positioning communication period with each other. In another example implementation, a disable message instructs the first and second positioning devices to establish a second positioning communication period based on a LOS / NLOS state where the first positioning device is LOS relative to the second positioning device. For example, in cases where devices in the current positioning communication period are frequently LOS relative to each other, for example, a determination greater than a threshold percentage, these devices may be instructed to form a positioning communication period with each other. These devices may be removed or not removed from the current location communication period. For example, if (multiple) devices are NLOS with more than a threshold number of other devices in the current location communication period, one or more of these devices may be removed from the current location communication period.

[0120] Examples of implementation methods

[0121] Examples of implementation methods are provided in the clauses numbered below.

[0122] Clause 1. A positioning method includes: Establish a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; Obtain the line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) state for a plurality of positioning device pairs, where each pair is one of the plurality of positioning devices; and Based on the fact that at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is in a non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) state relative to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, a disable message is sent to the first positioning device, the disable 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 prohibited.

[0123] Clause 2. The method as described in Clause 1, wherein sending the disable message includes sending the disable message based on at least one of the first or second positioning devices being in a non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) state relative to at least a threshold amount of a plurality of positioning devices.

[0124] Clause 3. The method as described in Clause 2, wherein sending a disable message includes sending a disable message to the first positioning device to prevent the first positioning device from sending one or more first positioning reference signals based on the first positioning device being out of line of sight relative to a plurality of positioning devices of at least a threshold amount.

[0125] Clause 4. The method as described in Clause 2, wherein sending a disable message includes sending a disable message to the first positioning device to prevent measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals by the first positioning device based on the fact that the second positioning device is out of line of sight relative to a plurality of positioning devices of at least a threshold amount.

[0126] Clause 5. The method as described in Clause 1, wherein obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for a plurality of positioning device pairs includes determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the plurality of positioning device pairs.

[0127] Clause 6. The method as described in Clause 5, wherein determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications includes determining an average of the multiple LOS / NLOS indications.

[0128] Clause 7. The method as described in Clause 5, wherein obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for a plurality of positioning device pairs includes determining that the NLOS positioning device pair is non-line-of-sight based on a threshold percentage greater than a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications for the NLOS positioning device pair.

[0129] Clause 8. The method as described in Clause 1, wherein the disable message instructs the first positioning device to be removed from the positioning communication period.

[0130] Clause 9. The method as described in Clause 1, wherein the positioning communication period is a first positioning communication period, and wherein a disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish a second positioning communication period separate from the first positioning communication period.

[0131] Clause 10. The method as described in Clause 9, wherein, based on the LOS / NLOS state where the first positioning device is LOS relative to the second positioning device, a disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish a second positioning communication period.

[0132] Clause 11. An apparatus comprising: transceiver; Memory; and The processor is communicatively coupled to the transceiver and memory and is configured as follows: Establish a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; Obtain the line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) state for a plurality of positioning device pairs, where each pair is one of the plurality of positioning devices; and Based on the fact that at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is in a non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) state relative to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, a disable message is sent to the first positioning device, the disable 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 prohibited.

[0133] Clause 12. The apparatus as described in Clause 11, wherein the processor is further configured to send a disable message based on a non-line-of-sight (LOS) / NLOS state of at least one of the first or second positioning devices relative to a plurality of positioning devices of at least a threshold amount.

[0134] Clause 13. The apparatus as described in Clause 12, wherein the processor is further configured to send a disable message to the first positioning device to prevent the first positioning device from transmitting one or more first positioning reference signals based on the first positioning device being non-line-of-sight relative to a plurality of positioning devices of at least a threshold amount.

[0135] Clause 14. The apparatus as described in Clause 12, wherein the processor is further configured to send a disable message to the first positioning device to prevent measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals by the first positioning device based on the fact that the second positioning device is non-line-of-sight relative to a plurality of positioning devices of at least a threshold amount.

[0136] Clause 15. The apparatus as described in Clause 11, wherein, in order to obtain the LOS / NLOS status for a plurality of positioning device pairs, the processor is configured to determine a combination of a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the plurality of positioning device pairs.

[0137] Clause 16. The apparatus as described in Clause 15, wherein, in order to determine a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications, the processor is configured to determine an average of the multiple LOS / NLOS indications.

[0138] Clause 17. The apparatus as described in Clause 15, wherein, in order to obtain the LOS / NLOS status for a plurality of positioning device pairs, the processor is configured to determine that an NLOS positioning device pair is non-line-of-sight based on a threshold percentage greater than a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications for the NLOS positioning device pair indicating that the NLOS positioning device pair is non-line-of-sight.

[0139] Clause 18. The apparatus as described in Clause 11, wherein a disable message instructs the first positioning device to be removed from positioning communications.

[0140] Clause 19. The apparatus as described in Clause 11, wherein the positioning communication period is a first positioning communication period, and wherein a disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish a second positioning communication period separate from the first positioning communication period.

[0141] Clause 20. The apparatus as described in Clause 19, wherein a disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish a second positioning communication period based on a LOS / NLOS state where the first positioning device is LOS relative to the second positioning device.

[0142] Clause 21. An apparatus comprising: A component for establishing a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; Components for obtaining the line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) states for a plurality of positioning device pairs, each pair being one of the plurality of positioning devices; and A component for sending a disable message to a first positioning device based on a non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) state where at least one of the first or second positioning devices is non-line-of-sight relative to at least a subset of a plurality of positioning devices, the disable 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 by the first positioning device of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device is prohibited.

[0143] Clause 22. The apparatus as described in Clause 21, wherein the component for sending a disable message includes a component for sending a disable message based on a LOS / NLOS state in which at least one of the first or second positioning devices is out of sight relative to at least a threshold amount of a plurality of positioning devices.

[0144] Clause 23. The apparatus as described in Clause 22, wherein the component for sending a disable message includes a component for sending a disable message to the first positioning device to prevent the first positioning device from sending one or more first positioning reference signals based on the first positioning device being out of line of sight relative to a plurality of positioning devices of at least a threshold amount.

[0145] Clause 24. The apparatus as described in Clause 22, wherein the component for sending a disable message includes a component for sending a disable message to a first positioning device to prevent measurement by the first positioning device of one or more second positioning reference signals based on the fact that the second positioning device is out of line of sight relative to a plurality of positioning devices of at least a threshold amount.

[0146] Clause 25. The apparatus as described in Clause 21, wherein the components for obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for a plurality of positioning device pairs include components for determining a combination of a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the plurality of positioning device pairs.

[0147] Clause 26. The apparatus as described in Clause 25, wherein the component for determining a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications includes a component for determining an average of the multiple LOS / NLOS indications.

[0148] Clause 27. The apparatus of Clause 25, wherein the component for obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for a plurality of positioning device pairs includes a component for determining that one of the plurality of positioning device pairs is a non-line-of-sight positioning device pair based on a threshold percentage greater than a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications for the NLOS positioning device pair indicating that the NLOS positioning device pair is non-line-of-sight.

[0149] Clause 28. The apparatus as described in Clause 21, wherein a disable message instructs the first positioning device to be removed from positioning communication.

[0150] Clause 29. The apparatus as described in Clause 21, wherein the positioning communication period is a first positioning communication period, and wherein a disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish a second positioning communication period separate from the first positioning communication period.

[0151] Clause 30. The apparatus as described in Clause 29, wherein a disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish a second positioning communication period based on a LOS / NLOS state where the first positioning device is LOS relative to the second positioning device.

[0152] Clause 31. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions, such processor-readable instructions causing the processor of the device to: Establish a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; Obtain the line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) state for a plurality of positioning device pairs, where each pair is one of the plurality of positioning devices; and Based on the fact that at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is in a non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) state relative to at least a subset of the plurality of positioning devices, a disable message is sent to the first positioning device, the disable 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 prohibited.

[0153] Clause 32. The storage medium as described in Clause 31, wherein the processor-readable instructions causing the processor to send a disable message include processor-readable instructions causing the processor to send a disable message based on a non-line-of-sight (LOS) / NLOS state of at least one of the first or second positioning devices relative to a plurality of positioning devices of at least a threshold amount.

[0154] Clause 33. The storage medium as described in Clause 32, wherein the processor-readable instructions causing the processor to send a disable message include processor-readable instructions causing the processor to send a disable message to the first positioning device based on the first positioning device being non-line-of-sight relative to a plurality of positioning devices of at least a threshold amount, to prevent the first positioning device from transmitting one or more first positioning reference signals.

[0155] Clause 34. The storage medium as described in Clause 32, wherein the processor-readable instructions cause the processor to send a disable message, including processor-readable instructions causing the processor to send a disable message to the first positioning device to prevent measurement of one or more second positioning reference signals by the first positioning device based on the fact that the second positioning device is not in line of sight relative to a plurality of positioning devices of at least a threshold amount.

[0156] Clause 35. The storage medium as described in Clause 31, wherein processor-readable instructions cause the processor to acquire the LOS / NLOS status for a plurality of positioning device pairs, including processor-readable instructions causing the processor to determine a combination of a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the plurality of positioning device pairs.

[0157] Clause 36. The storage medium as described in Clause 35, wherein such processor-readable instructions cause the processor to determine a combination of multiple LOS / NLOS indications, including processor-readable instructions causing the processor to determine an average of multiple LOS / NLOS indications.

[0158] Clause 37. The storage medium as described in Clause 35, wherein such processor-readable instructions cause the processor to acquire the LOS / NLOS status for a plurality of positioning device pairs, including processor-readable instructions causing the processor to indicate that the NLOS positioning device pair is non-line-of-sight based on a threshold percentage greater than a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications for the NLOS positioning device pair.

[0159] Clause 38. The storage medium as described in Clause 31, wherein a disable message instructs the first positioning device to be removed from positioning communication.

[0160] Clause 39. The storage medium as described in Clause 31, wherein the positioning communication period is a first positioning communication period, and wherein a disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish a second positioning communication period separate from the first positioning communication period.

[0161] Clause 40. The storage medium as described in Clause 39, wherein a disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish a second positioning communication period based on the LOS / NLOS state where the first positioning device is LOS relative to the second positioning device.

[0162] Other considerations

[0163] Other examples and implementations are also within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the functions described above can be implemented using processor-executed software, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. Features implementing the functions can also be physically located in various locations, including distributed implementations where different parts of the function are implemented at different physical locations.

[0164] Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, as used herein, the singular form "a" ("a", "an", and "the") also includes the plural form. As used herein, the term "comprising" indicates the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0165] Furthermore, as used herein, the "or" in a list of items (possibly beginning with "at least one" or "one or more") indicates a separate list, such that, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C," or a list of "one or more of A, B, or C," or a list of "A or B or C" means 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 having more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a statement that an item, for example, a processor is configured to perform a function with respect to at least one of A or B, or a statement that an item is configured to perform function A or function B, means that the item can be configured to perform a function with respect to A, or can be configured to perform a function with respect to B, or can be configured to perform a function with respect to both 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 measure B" means that the processor can be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or can be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or can be configured to measure both A and B (and can be configured to select which one or both of A and B to measure). Similarly, a statement for a component used to measure at least one of A or B includes a component used to measure A (which may or may not be able to measure B), or a component used to measure B (which may or may not be configured to measure A), or a component used to measure both A and B (which may be able to select which one or both of A and B to measure). As another example, a statement that an item of, for example, a processor is configured to perform at least one of function X or function Y means that the item can be configured to perform function X, or can be configured to perform function Y, or can be configured to perform both function X and function Y. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of measurement X or measurement Y" means that the processor can be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or can be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or can be configured to measure both X and Y (and can be configured to select which one or both of X and Y to measure).

[0166] Unless otherwise stated, as used herein, the expression 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 stated and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions other than the item or condition stated.

[0167] Numerous variations are possible depending on specific requirements. For example, custom hardware may be used, and / or specific elements may be implemented in the hardware, the software executed by the processor (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be used. Unless otherwise indicated, the interconnected or communicating components, functions, etc., illustrated in the accompanying drawings and / or discussed herein are communicatively coupled. That is, they can be directly or indirectly connected to enable communication between them.

[0168] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may be omitted, substituted, or added as appropriate, including various programs or components. For example, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined into various other configurations. Different forms and elements of such configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Furthermore, technology is evolving, and therefore many of these elements are examples and do not limit the scope of this disclosure and patent application.

[0169] A wireless communication system is a system in which communication is transmitted wirelessly between wireless communication devices, that is, by electromagnetic and / or sound waves through the atmosphere rather than through cables or other physical connections. A wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless communication system, wireless communication network, or wireless communication network) may not transmit all communications wirelessly, but may be configured to transmit at least some communications wirelessly. Furthermore, the term "wireless communication device" or similar terms do not require that the device's function is solely or even primarily for communication, or that communication using the wireless communication device is solely or even primarily wireless, or that the device is a mobile device, but indicate that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (one-way or two-way), for example, including at least one radio for wireless communication (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver).

[0170] The description herein provides specific details to offer a thorough understanding of the example configurations, including implementations. However, these configurations can be implemented without such specific details. For example, well-known circuit processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been illustrated without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring the configuration. The description herein provides example configurations and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of these configurations provides a description for implementing the described techniques. Various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of the elements.

[0171] As used herein, the terms "processor-readable media," "machine-readable media," and "computer-readable media" refer to any media that participates in providing data that enables a machine to operate in a particular manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may involve providing instructions / code to (or to) processor(s) for execution, and / or may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as signals). In many embodiments, 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 and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0172] Several example configurations have been described, and various modifications, alternative structures, and equivalents can be used. For example, the elements above can be components of a larger system, where other rules take precedence over or modify the application disclosed herein. Furthermore, multiple operations can be undertaken before, during, or after the elements above are considered. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the patent application.

[0173] Unless otherwise indicated, when referring to measurable values, such as quantities, durations, etc., the terms "about" and / or "approximately" as used herein include, in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other embodiments described herein, deviations from the specified values ​​by ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% as appropriate. Unless otherwise indicated, when referring to measurable values, such as quantities, durations, entity properties (such as frequencies), the term "substantially" as used herein also includes, in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other embodiments described herein, deviations from the specified values ​​by ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% as appropriate.

[0174] A statement that a value exceeds (or is greater than or equal to) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold, which is slightly greater than the first threshold. For example, the second threshold is a value higher than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system. A statement that a value is less than (or within or below) the first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold, which is slightly less than the first threshold. For example, the second threshold is a value less than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system.

[0175] 5G: Fifth Generation 100: Communication System 105:UE 106:UE 110a:NR nodeB(gNB) 110b:NR nodeB(gNB) 114: Next-generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 115: Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) 117: Communication Management Function (SMF) 120: Location Management Function (LMF) 125: Gateway Movement Position Center (GMLC) 130: External Client 135: Fifth Generation (5G) Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) 140: 5G Core Network (5GC) 185: Cluster 190: Satellite Vehicle (SV) 191: Satellite Vehicle (SV) 192: Satellite Vehicle (SV) 193: Satellite Vehicle (SV) 200:UE 210: Processor 211: Memory 212: Software (SW) 213: Sensor 214: Transceiver Interface 215: Transceiver 216: User Interface 217: Satellite Positioning System (SPS) Receiver 218: Camera 219: Positioning Device (PD) 220: Busbar 230: General Purpose / Application Processor 231: Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 232: Modem Processor 233: Video Processor 234: Sensor Processor 240: Wireless transceiver 242: Wireless Transmitter 244: Wireless Receiver 246: Antenna 248: Wireless signal 250: Wired transceiver 252: Wired transmitter 254: Wired receiver 260: SPS signal 262: Antenna 300:TRP 310: Processor 311: Memory 312: Software (SW) 315: Transceiver 320: Busbar 340: Wireless transceiver 342: Wireless Transmitter 344: Wireless Receiver 346: Antenna 348: Wireless signal 350: Wired transceiver 352: Wired transmitter 354: Wired receiver 400: Server 410: Processor 411: Memory 412: Software (SW) 415: Transceiver 420: Busbar 440: Wireless transceiver 442: Wireless Transmitter 444: Wireless Receiver 446: Antenna 448: Wireless signal 450: Wired transceiver 452: Wired transmitter 454: Wired receiver 500: Environment 510: Positioning equipment 511: Positioning device 512: Positioning device 513: Positioning equipment 514: Positioning equipment 515: Positioning equipment 531: Object 532: Object 600: Positioning device 610: Processor 620: Transceiver 630: Memory 640: Busbar 650: Positioning and Communication Management Unit 660: PRS Measurement Unit 670: LOS / NLOS Determining Unit 680: Rear PRS Reporting Unit 700: Processing Flow 701: First Positioning Device 702: Second Positioning Device 705: Management and Positioning Equipment 710: Stage 711: Availability Request 712: Availability Response 713: Usability Response 714: Location communication period and PRS information message 715: PRS Information 716: PRS Information 720: Stage 721:PRS 722:PRS 723:PRS 730: Stage 731: Sub-phase 732: Sub-phase 733: Sub-phase 740: Stage 741: PRS Measurement and LOS / NLOS Messages 742: PRS Measurement and LOS / NLOS Messages 743: PRS Measurement and LOS / NLOS Messages 744: Sub-phase 750: Stage 751: Sub-phase 752: Location Communication Period Management Information Message 753: Location Communication Period Management Information Message 760: Stage 800: Form 810: Set 820: Set 900: Method 910: Stage 920: Phase 930: Phase LOS: line of sight NLOS: Non-Line of Sight PRS: Positioning Reference Signal Domestic storage information (please note in order of storage institution, date, and number) none Overseas storage information (please note in the order of storage country, institution, date, and number) none

Claims

1. A positioning method comprising the steps of: establishing a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; acquiring line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) states for pairs of the plurality of positioning devices, each pair being one of the plurality of positioning devices; and, based on the LOS / NLOS state in which at least one of the first positioning device or the second positioning device is non-line-of-sight relative to at least a threshold amount, sending a disable message to the first positioning device, the disable 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 by the first positioning device of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device is prohibited.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the disable message includes sending the disable message to the first positioning device to prevent the first positioning device from sending the one or more first positioning reference signals based on the fact that the first positioning device is not in line of sight relative to at least the threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the disable message includes sending the disable message to the first positioning device to prevent measurement of the one or more second positioning reference signals by the first positioning device based on the fact that the second positioning device is non-line-of-sight relative to at least the threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the LOS / NLOS state 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 as described in claim 4, wherein determining the combination of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications includes determining an average of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein obtaining the LOS / NLOS status for the plurality of positioning device pairs includes indicating that the NLOS positioning device pair is non-line-of-sight based on a threshold percentage greater than the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications for the NLOS positioning device pair, and determining that one of the plurality of positioning device pairs is non-line-of-sight.

7. The method as described in claim 1, wherein the disable message indicates the removal of the first positioning device from the positioning communication period.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the location communication period is a first location communication period, and wherein the disable message instructs the first location device and the second location device to establish a second location communication period separate from the first location communication period.

9. The method as described in claim 8, wherein the disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish the second positioning communication period based on the fact that the LOS / NLOS state of the first positioning device relative to the second positioning device is LOS.

10. An apparatus for distributed device management for location tracking, comprising: One transceiver; One memory; The transceiver and the memory are communicatively coupled to a processor and configured to: establish a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; acquire line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) states for pairs of the plurality of positioning devices, each pair being one of the plurality of positioning devices; and, based on the LOS / NLOS state where at least one of the first or second positioning devices is non-line-of-sight relative to at least a threshold amount, send a disable message to the first positioning device, the disable message indicating that at least one of one or more first positioning reference signals is prohibited from being transmitted from the first positioning device or from being measured by the first positioning device of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to send the disable message to the first positioning device to prevent the first positioning device from transmitting the one or more first positioning reference signals based on the first positioning device being non-line-of-sight relative to at least the threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to send the disable message to the first positioning device to prevent measurement of the one or more second positioning reference signals by the first positioning device based on the fact that the second positioning device is out of line of sight relative to at least the threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein, in order to obtain the LOS / NLOS state for the plurality of positioning device pairs, the processor is configured to determine a combination of a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the plurality of positioning device pairs.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein, in order to determine the combination of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications, the processor is configured to determine an average of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein, in order to obtain the LOS / NLOS state for the plurality of positioning device pairs, the processor is configured to determine that the NLOS positioning device pair is non-line-of-sight based on a threshold percentage greater than the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications for a single NLOS positioning device pair indicating that the NLOS positioning device pair is non-line-of-sight.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the disable message instructs the first positioning device to be removed from the positioning communication.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the positioning communication period is a first positioning communication period, and wherein the disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish a second positioning communication period separate from the first positioning communication period.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish the second positioning communication period based on the LOS / NLOS state in which the first positioning device is LOS relative to the second positioning device.

19. An apparatus for distributed device management for location tracking, comprising: The components include: a component for establishing a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; a component for acquiring line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) states for a plurality of positioning device pairs, each pair being one of the plurality of positioning devices; and a component for sending a disable message to the first positioning device based on the LOS / NLOS state of at least one of the first or second positioning devices being non-line-of-sight relative to at least a threshold amount, the disable 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 by the first positioning device of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device is prohibited.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the component for sending the disable message includes a component for sending the disable message to the first positioning device to prevent the transmission of the one or more first positioning reference signals by the first positioning device based on the fact that the first positioning device is not in line of sight relative to at least the threshold amount of the plurality of positioning devices.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the component for sending the disable message includes a component for sending the disable message to the first positioning device to prevent measurement of the one or more second positioning reference signals by the first positioning device based on the fact that the second positioning device is out of line of sight relative to the plurality of positioning devices at least the threshold amount.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the component for obtaining the LOS / NLOS state for the plurality of positioning device pairs includes a component for determining a combination of a plurality of LOS / NLOS indications corresponding to different times for each of the plurality of positioning device pairs.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the component for determining the combination of the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications includes an average component for determining the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the component for obtaining the LOS / NLOS state for the plurality of positioning device pairs includes a component for determining that the NLOS positioning device pair is non-line-of-sight based on a threshold percentage greater than that for the plurality of LOS / NLOS indications for a single NLOS positioning device pair.

25. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the disable message instructs the first positioning device to be removed from the positioning communication.

26. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the positioning communication period is a first positioning communication period, and wherein the disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish a second positioning communication period separate from the first positioning communication period.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the disable message instructs the first positioning device and the second positioning device to establish the second positioning communication period based on the LOS / NLOS state in which the first positioning device is LOS relative to the second positioning device.

28. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium, comprising processor-readable instructions that cause a processor of a device to perform the following procedure: establishing a positioning communication period among a plurality of positioning devices, including a first positioning device and a second positioning device; acquiring line-of-sight / non-line-of-sight (LOS / NLOS) states for a plurality of pairs of positioning devices, each pair being one of the plurality of positioning devices; and sending a disable message to the first positioning device based on the LOS / NLOS state where at least one of the first or second positioning devices is non-line-of-sight relative to at least a threshold amount, the disable message indicating that at least one of one or more first positioning reference signals is prohibited from being transmitted from the first positioning device or from being measured by the first positioning device of at least one of one or more second positioning reference signals from the second positioning device.

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