CN113632521A

CN113632521A - Bandwidth portion configuration for reception of positioning reference signals

Info

Publication number: CN113632521A
Application number: CN201980094785.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陶涛; 刘建国; 孟艳; 沈钢
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2019-03-28
Filing date: 2019-03-28
Publication date: 2021-11-09
Also published as: WO2020191736A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to bandwidth portion configuration for reception of positioning reference signals. A method of configuring BWP for receiving PRSs comprising: generating, at a terminal device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of the terminal device for receiving positioning reference signals; sending a request to a network device; and receiving a target configuration of the bandwidth portion from the network device, the target configuration determined by the network device in response to receiving the allocation request. In this way, the BWP handover procedure may be significantly simplified, and thus signaling overhead may be reduced.

Description

Bandwidth portion configuration for reception of positioning reference signals

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular, to a method, device, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium for configuring a bandwidth portion for receiving positioning reference signals.

Background

The concept of "bandwidth part (BWP)" is introduced to save power. User Equipment (UE) is allowed to operate over a narrower bandwidth than the operating bandwidth of the next generation nodeb (gnb). Although configuration of up to four DL BWPs is allowed for one UE, only one DL bandwidth part may be active at a particular time.

Recently, NR localization studies have been approved. Some Radio Access Technology (RAT) related solutions to this study have agreed, downlink based solutions, downlink and uplink based solutions, and uplink based solutions. In both downlink-based solutions and downlink and uplink-based solutions, the UE may receive and measure reference signals from the transmission point on an appropriate BWP.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for configuring a bandwidth part (BWP) for reception of Positioning Reference Signals (PRS).

In a first aspect, there is provided a method comprising: generating, at a terminal device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of the terminal device for receiving positioning reference signals; sending a request to a network device; and receiving a target configuration of the bandwidth portion from the network device, the target configuration determined by the network device in response to receiving the allocation request.

In a second aspect, there is provided a method comprising: receiving, at a network device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of a terminal device, the allocation request for receiving a positioning reference signal from the terminal device; determining a target configuration for the bandwidth part; and sending the target configuration to the terminal device.

In a third aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: generating, at a terminal device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of the terminal device for receiving positioning reference signals; sending a request to a network device; and receiving a target configuration of the bandwidth portion from the network device, the target configuration determined by the network device in response to receiving the allocation request.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receiving, at a network device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of a terminal device, the allocation request for receiving a positioning reference signal from the terminal device; determining a target configuration for the bandwidth part; and sending the target configuration to the terminal device.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for generating, at a terminal device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of the terminal device for receiving a positioning reference signal; means for sending a request to a network device; and means for receiving a target configuration of the bandwidth portion from the network device, the target configuration determined by the network device in response to receiving the allocation request.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving, at a network device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of a terminal device, the allocation request for receiving a positioning reference signal from the terminal device; means for determining a target configuration for the bandwidth part; and means for sending the target configuration to the terminal device.

In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, having stored thereon a computer program, which, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to perform the method according to the first aspect.

In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, having stored thereon a computer program, which, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to perform the method according to the second aspect.

It should be understood that this summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description.

Drawings

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

fig. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example process 200 for BWP configuration for PRS reception in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example BWP switching window, in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 illustrates a block diagram of another example BWP switching window, in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 500 for reception of a BWP configuration, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 600 for reception of a BWP configuration, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer-readable medium in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements.

Detailed Description

The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described merely to illustrate and assist those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in a variety of ways other than those described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard or protocol, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), and 5G NR, and employs any suitable communication technology, including, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), OFDM, Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), bluetooth, ZigBee, Machine Type Communication (MTC), eMBB, MTC, and urrllc technologies. For discussion purposes, in some example embodiments, an LTE network, an LTE-a network, a 5G NR network, or any combination thereof are examples of a communication network.

As used herein, the term "network device" refers to any suitable device on the network side of a communication network. The network device may comprise any suitable device in an access network of a communication network, including for example a Base Station (BS), a relay, an Access Point (AP), a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a 5G or next generation NodeB (gnb), a remote radio module (RRU), a Radio Header (RH), a Remote Radio Header (RRH), a low power node, e.g. femto, pico, etc. For discussion purposes, in some example embodiments, the gNB is taken as an example of a network device.

The network devices may also include any suitable device in the core network, including, for example, multi-standard radio (MSR) radios such as MSR BSs, network controllers (BSCs) such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers, multi-cell/Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs) and MMEs, operations and management (O & M) nodes, Operations Support Systems (OSS) nodes, self-organizing networks (SON) nodes, positioning nodes such as enhanced serving mobile location centers (E-SMLCs), and/or Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs).

As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to a device that is configurable, arranged, and/or operable for communicating with a network device or other terminal devices in a communication network. Communication may involve the transmission and/or reception of wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and/or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information over the air. In some example embodiments, a terminal device may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the terminal device may transmit information to the network device according to a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the network side.

Examples of end devices include, but are not limited to, User Equipment (UE), such as a smart phone, a wireless-enabled tablet, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop installed device (LME), and/or a wireless Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). For discussion purposes, some embodiments will be described below with reference to a UE as an example of a terminal device, and the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" (UE) may be used interchangeably in the context of this disclosure.

As used herein, the term "location server" may refer to a service function that provides the location of a target UE to a location client. The positioning server may communicate with the target UE via higher layer signaling to obtain a positioning measurement report of the target UE. The location service may also communicate with the network device to obtain information associated with the location of the target UE. The location server may be a network device independent component. Alternatively, the location server may be any functional module or functional entity embedded in the network device.

Corresponding to the term "location server", the term "location client" as used herein may refer to an application or entity that requests the location of a target UE. The location client may transmit a location request to a location service and receive a location of a target UE from a location server. Furthermore, the location client may be considered the target UE itself.

As used herein, the term "cell" refers to an area covered by radio signals transmitted by network equipment. Terminal devices within a cell may be served by a network device through which a communication network is accessed.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry), and

(b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, for example (as applicable): (i) analog and/or digital hardware circuitry and software/firmware, and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor having software (including a digital signal processor), software, and memory that work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions, and

(c) a hardware circuit and/or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but may not be present when operation is not required.

The definition of circuit applies to all uses of that term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also encompasses implementations of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also encompasses, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "including" and its variants are to be understood as open-ended terms, meaning "including but not limited to". The term "based on" is to be understood as "based at least in part on". The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" are to be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" is to be understood as "at least one other embodiment". Other definitions may be explicitly and implicitly included below.

Fig. 1 illustrates a communication environment 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

As shown in fig. 1, the communication environment 100 may include a plurality of

network devices

121, 122, and 123 (hereinafter also referred to as

gnbs

121, 122, and 123) and a terminal device 110 (hereinafter also referred to as a UE 110). UE110 may communicate with

multiple gnbs

121, 122, and 123. In communication environment 100, gNB123 may be considered a serving gNB for UE110, and serving cell 143 may be serving cell 110 for the UE, which may be considered a reference cell for UE110, while

cells

141 and 142 may be considered neighboring cells. It should be understood that the reference cell may not be the serving cell for UE 110. For example, the UE110 is moving to the edge of the serving cell and the reference signals associated with other cells have a better SNR than the reference signals associated with the serving cell, in which case the reference cell may be a cell other than the serving cell.

Location server 130 may communicate with UE110 to initiate a positioning procedure for UE 110. In general, location server 130 may provide configuration information for Positioning Reference Signals (PRSs) received from multiple cells to UE110 and receive positioning measurement reports from UE 110.

Alternatively, the location of UE110 may be determined by an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) technique. As described above, OTDOA is a downlink positioning technique in which a target UE measures TOAs (time of arrival) of PRSs transmitted from a reference cell and neighboring cells, and reports a Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) for finding the position of the target device. Accordingly, the UE110 may need corresponding resources to receive PRS from the reference cell and the neighbor cell.

As described above, the concept of "bandwidth part (BWP)" is introduced to save power. The UE is allowed to operate at a narrower bandwidth than the operating bandwidth of the gNB. Accordingly, the UE110 may switch to a particular portion of bandwidth for receiving PRS. In the legacy approach, BWP handover defines different approaches, namely through Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, through scheduling Downlink Control Information (DCI), and through inactivity timers. If BWP is switched by the inactivity timer, the default BWP becomes active when the inactivity timer times out.

In downlink-based positioning techniques, a UE may sometimes receive and measure positioning reference signals not only from its serving cell but also from neighboring cells. At the serving gbb, the PRS configuration (e.g., bandwidth, periodicity) of the neighbor cells is unknown. Without this information, the gNB cannot allocate a suitable BWP for the UE to perform PRS reception. Thus, for the configuration of BWP for PRS reception by UE110, the primary issue is how serving gNB143 determines the appropriate BWP configuration for PRS reception, especially from neighboring cells.

Furthermore, in NR systems, the UE may configure an active downlink BWP (for data reception), which is maintained and controlled by its serving gNB. If the UE is requested to provide location services, the UE may need to adjust its RF to receive and measure PRSs. As described above, for the UE, the downlink BWP for normal traffic data reception is different from the BWP required for PRS reception. It may be important to determine how to initiate BWP handover for PRS reception.

Alternatively, the UE may autonomously switch its own RF to receive PRS. Without the control of the gNB, the BWP perceived by the gNB and the BWP perceived by the UE may not coincide. In the absence of information associated with BWP handover of the UE, the gNB may schedule data or transmit reference signals in the wrong BWP.

Alternatively, the serving gbb may switch the active BWP to a BWP with a configuration suitable for PRS reception. As described above, there are a number of potential ways for BWP handover in NR. However, all these approaches are one-way solutions, i.e. if the BWP for PRS reception is handed over to the active BWP for reception of normal data, the serving gNB needs to transmit another handover indication to switch back to the active BWP, which may increase the signaling overhead.

Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes an efficient BWP switching mechanism for PRS reception in NR positioning. UE110 may transmit an allocation request of BWP for receiving positioning reference signals to serving gNB123, and serving gNB123 may determine a configuration of a bandwidth portion for UE110 to enable UE110 to receive positioning reference signals from serving gNB123 or an adjacent gNB.

The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 2, fig. 2 illustrating a process 200 according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, process 200 will be described with reference to fig. 1. Process 200 may involve configuring BWP for PRS reception.

As shown in fig. 2, location server 130 may transmit 305 a location request to UE 110. In some embodiments, location server 130 may transmit a location request if the location of UE110 is required by an application, location client, or gNB, etc. Further, location server 130 may receive a configuration for PRS from a cell associated with UE 110. Here, the term "cell associated with the UE 110" may be referred to as a serving cell 143 as shown in fig. 1 or a

neighboring cell

141 or 142 as shown in fig. 1. That is, the gNB 121-123 may broadcast a configuration for PRS, which may be received by the location server 130.

Upon receiving the location request from the location server 130, the UE110 generates 310 an allocation request for BWP of the terminal device receiving the positioning reference signal. That is, the UE110 may switch from a BWP currently used for receiving general data to a specific BWP for receiving PRS. PRS may be transmitted from serving gbb 123 or neighboring

gbbs

121 and 122. UE110 then transmits 315 an allocation request to the gNB123 to request BWP configuration for PRS reception.

In some embodiments, the request may be sent from UE110 to the gNB123 via RRC signaling, such as a "bandwidth part switching indication. Some corresponding configuration information may also be transmitted from UE110 to gNB123 via RRC signaling.

To determine the configuration of BWP for receiving PRS, the reference configuration may be transmitted to the gNB 123. In some embodiments, the reference configuration may be referred to as positioning assistance information. As described above, the positioning assistance information may indicate a configuration of PRS for a cell associated with the UE 110. Location server 130 may transmit the positioning assistance information to UE110, and UE110 may forward the positioning assistance information to the gNB 123.

In some embodiments, the reference configuration may be referred to as a desired configuration of BWP determined by the UE 110. UE110 may receive positioning assistance information from location server 130 and generate desired information to configure UE110 and RF capabilities based on positioning assistance, e.g., a delay to switch from a current BWP to a BWP for receiving PRSs.

In some embodiments, the desired configuration may reflect when the UE110 receives PRS (i.e., PRS occasion) and where the UE110 receives PRS from different cells (i.e., PRS bandwidth and frequency points).

In some embodiments, the expected BWP configuration may be determined from a joint set of all positioning assistance information received. In some embodiments, the expected BWP configuration may be determined from a joint set of portions of the received positioning assistance information. UE110 may communicate the desired configuration of BWP to gNB 123.

In some embodiments, the reference configuration information may be transmitted with the request via RRC signaling. Alternatively, the reference configuration information may be transmitted from UE110 to gNB123 via RRC signaling after the request has been sent by UE 110.

Alternatively, the reference configuration may be provided from the positioning server 130. For the case where the positioning server 130 provides the reference configuration, the reference configuration may also be referred to as positioning assistance information in some embodiments. As described above, the positioning assistance information may indicate a configuration of PRS for a cell associated with the UE 110. Location server 130 may transmit positioning assistance information to the gNB 123.

In some implementations, location server 130 may determine a reference configuration based on the positioning assistance information and transmit the reference configuration to the gNB 123.

The gNB123 then determines 320 a configuration (hereinafter also referred to as a target configuration). For example, the gNB123 may determine a target configuration for BWP based on a reference configuration provided by the UE 110. For example, the reference configuration may be positioning assistance information forwarded from the location server 130 or a desired configuration determined by the UE 110.

In some embodiments, the reference configuration may be provided by a location server. In some embodiments, the reference configuration may be positioning assistance information. In some embodiments, the reference configuration may be determined by location server 130 based on positioning assistance information.

The gNB123 may transmit 325 the target configuration for BWP to the UE 110. The target configuration may include an indication of BWP in the frequency domain and in the time domain. For example, the target configuration may include a bandwidth length of the bandwidth part and a frequency reference point of the bandwidth part. It should be understood that reference points herein may be referred to as starting points, ending points, or points with offsets.

For example, the target configuration may include a duration of a handover window for handing over to the bandwidth portion, the handover window including an RF return delay for handing over to the bandwidth portion and at least one of: switching opportunities, time reference points of the switching windows, and periodicity of the switching windows. Similarly, it should be understood that reference points herein may be referred to as starting points, ending points, or points with offsets.

Fig. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example BWP switching window, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the length of the BWP switching window may include at least one of a transition time (delay) from the current BWP to the PRS BWP, a duration for PRS reception, and a transition time from the PRS BWP to the original BWP. As shown in fig. 3, the switching window 310 may include a transition time (delay) from the current BWP to the PRS BWP 341, a duration for PRS reception 331, and a transition time from the PRS BWP to the original BWP 342. Also shown in fig. 1 is another switching window 311, which is the same as switching window 310. In each window, a different BWP is assigned to UE110 to receive PRSs from the serving gbb and/or other gbbs. For example, BWP 321 is allocated to UE110 to receive PRS from serving gNB 123.

Fig. 4 illustrates a block diagram of another example BWP switching window, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the BWP switch window may include more than one set of consecutive PRS occasions. For example, as shown in fig. 4, the switching window 410 may include two sets of consecutive PRS occasions, each set of consecutive PRS occasions having a different BWP, e.g., BWP 421 and 423 and BWPs 424-426, assigned to the UE110 to receive PRS from the serving gNB or other gnbs. The switching window 411 may have a similar structure to the switching window 410.

In some embodiments, the periodicity of the switching window may be zero, meaning that the UE110 does not need to switch its BWP from the PRS BWP back to the original BWP.

UE110 may then receive PRS based on the target configuration from either gNB123 or

gNB

121 or 122. In some embodiments, if the target configuration includes a PRS BWP frequency allocation, the UE110 switches its BWP from the original BWP to the indicated PRS BWP and performs PRS reception and then switches back to the original BWP within the switching window.

In some embodiments, if the configuration does not include a PRS BWP frequency allocation, the UE110 switches its BWP according to the PRS configuration received within the switching window. In some embodiments, if the length of the handover window is configured to be "0", the UE110 switches its BWP to PRS BWP at the indicated timing.

Based on the received PRS, UE110 may generate a location report and transmit the report to location server 130.

In some embodiments, UE110 may transmit a termination indication to gNB123 to stop allocating the bandwidth portion. The gNB123 may generate a disabling indication for disabling the target configuration based on the termination indication and transmit the disabling indication to the terminal device.

The BWP configuration mechanism proposed in the present disclosure may be used in any downlink-only based positioning technology (e.g., OTDOA and DL-AoD). UE110 switches its BWP for PRS reception within the switching window according to the configuration of the gNB. The proposed mechanism may also be used in downlink and uplink based positioning techniques (e.g. multi-cell E-CID; multi-cell RTT) in order to perform reception and measurement of downlink reference signaling.

In this way, the BWP handover procedure may be significantly simplified and thus the signaling overhead may be reduced. Furthermore, compared to UE autonomous BWP handover, the proposal for gbb to control BWP handover avoids data loss due to BWP misalignment. Under the control of the gNB, the UE can switch to the appropriate BWP at the correct time for PRS reception.

Further details of example embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 5 to 6.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 500 for configuring a BWP for receiving PRSs, in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 may be implemented at the UE110 as shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 500 will be described with reference to fig. 1.

At 510, UE110 generates an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of a terminal device receiving a positioning reference signal.

In some example embodiments, UE110 may obtain positioning assistance information from a location server, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with UE 110; and generates an allocation request based on the positioning assistance information.

In some example embodiments, the UE110 may obtain positioning assistance information from a location server, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with the UE110, determine a desired configuration based on the positioning assistance information and a delay for switching to the bandwidth part; and generates an allocation request based on the desired configuration.

At 520, UE110 sends a request to a network device. At 530, UE110 receives a target configuration of a bandwidth portion from a network device, the target configuration determined by the network device in response to receiving the allocation request.

In some example embodiments, the UE110 may receive a bandwidth length for the bandwidth portion, a frequency reference point for the bandwidth portion, a duration of a switching window for switching to the bandwidth portion (the switching window includes a delay to switch to the bandwidth portion and at least one switching occasion), a time reference point for the switching window, and a periodicity of the switching window.

In some example embodiments, UE110 may receive positioning reference signals from the gNB123 based on the target configuration.

In some example embodiments, UE110 may transmit a termination indication to gNB123 to stop allocating the bandwidth portion; a disabling indication for disabling the target configuration is received from the gNB123, the disabling indication being generated by the network device based on the termination indication.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 600 for configuring BWP for receiving PRS according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 600 may be implemented at a gNB123 as shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 600 will be described with reference to fig. 1.

At 610, the gNB123 receives an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of a terminal device receiving positioning reference signals from the UE 110.

At 620, the gNB123 determines a target configuration for the bandwidth part based on the allocation request.

In some example embodiments, the gNB123 may obtain positioning assistance information from the UE110, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with the terminal device; and determining a target configuration based on the positioning assistance information.

In some example embodiments, the gNB123 may obtain a desired configuration from the allocation request, the desired configuration determined by the terminal device based on the positioning assistance information and the delay for switching to the bandwidth part, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals of a cell associated with the terminal device; and determines a target configuration based on the desired configuration.

In some example embodiments, the gNB123 may obtain positioning assistance information from a location server indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with the UE110, and determine a target configuration based on the positioning assistance information.

In some example embodiments, the gNB123 may obtain a reference configuration from the location server, the reference configuration being determined by the location server based on positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with the terminal device; and determining a target configuration based on the reference configuration.

In some example embodiments, the gNB123 may send the target configuration including communicating at least one of: a bandwidth length of the bandwidth part, a frequency reference point of the bandwidth part, a duration of a switching window for switching to the bandwidth part (the switching window comprises a delay of switching to the bandwidth part and at least one switching occasion), a time reference point of the switching window and a period of the switching window.

In some example embodiments, the gNB123 may transmit a positioning reference signal to the UE110 based on the target configuration.

In some example embodiments, the gNB123 may receive a termination indication from the UE110 to stop allocating the bandwidth portion; generating a disabling indication for disabling the target configuration based on the termination indication; and send a disable indication to UE 110.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., implemented at UE 110) capable of performing method 500 may include means for performing various steps of method 500. The apparatus may be embodied in any suitable form. For example, the apparatus may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for generating, at a terminal device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of the terminal device for receiving a positioning reference signal; means for transmitting a request to a network device; and means for receiving a target configuration of the bandwidth portion from the network device, the target configuration determined by the network device in response to receiving the allocation request.

In some example embodiments, the means for generating an allocation request comprises: means for obtaining positioning assistance information from a location server, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with a terminal device; and means for generating an allocation request based on the positioning assistance information.

In some example embodiments, the means for generating an allocation request comprises: means for obtaining positioning assistance information from a location server, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals of a cell associated with the terminal device; means for determining a desired configuration based on the positioning assistance information and a delay to switch to the bandwidth part; and means for generating an allocation request based on the desired configuration.

In some example embodiments, the means for receiving the target configuration comprises means for receiving at least one of: a bandwidth length of the bandwidth part, a frequency reference point of the bandwidth part, a duration of a switching window of the bandwidth part for switching to (the switching window comprising a delay of switching to the bandwidth part and at least one switching occasion), a time reference point of the switching window, and a period of the switching window.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: means for receiving a positioning reference signal from a network device based on a target configuration.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: means for transmitting a termination indication to the network device to stop allocating the portion of bandwidth; means for receiving a disabling indication from the network device for disabling the target configuration, the disabling indication generated by the network device based on the termination indication.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 600 (e.g., implemented at gNB 123) may include means for performing various steps of method 600. The apparatus may be embodied in any suitable form. For example, the apparatus may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, at a network device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of a terminal device for receiving positioning reference signals from the terminal device; means for determining a target configuration for the bandwidth part; and means for sending the target configuration to the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the target configuration comprises: means for obtaining positioning assistance information from a terminal device, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of a positioning reference signal of a cell associated with the terminal device; and means for determining a target configuration based on the positioning assistance information.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the target configuration comprises: means for obtaining a desired configuration from the allocation request, the desired configuration being determined by the terminal device based on positioning assistance information and a delay to switch to the bandwidth part, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of a positioning reference signal of a cell associated with the terminal device; and means for determining a target configuration based on the desired configuration.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the target configuration comprises: means for obtaining positioning assistance information from a location server, the positioning assistance information being determined by the location server based on positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of a positioning reference signal of a cell associated with the terminal device; and means for determining a target configuration based on the positioning assistance information.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the target configuration comprises: means for obtaining a reference configuration from a positioning server, the reference configuration being determined by the positioning server based on positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with the terminal device; and determining a target configuration based on the reference configuration.

In some example embodiments, the means for sending the target configuration comprises: means for transmitting at least one of: a bandwidth length of the bandwidth part, a frequency reference point of the bandwidth part, a duration of a switching window for switching to the bandwidth part (the switching window comprising a delay of switching to the bandwidth part and at least one switching occasion), a time reference point of the switching window, and a period of the switching window.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: means for transmitting a positioning reference signal to a terminal device based on a target configuration.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: means for receiving a termination indication from the terminal device to stop allocating the bandwidth part; means for generating a disabling indication for disabling the target configuration based on the termination indication; and means for transmitting a disabling indication to the terminal device.

Fig. 7 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 700 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparatus 700 may be provided to implement UE110 and gNB123 as shown in fig. 1. As shown, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processors 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processors 710.

The communication module 740 is used for bidirectional communication. The communication module 440 has one or more communication interfaces for communicating with one or more modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface required to communicate with other network elements. In certain example embodiments, the communication module 440 may include at least one antenna.

The processor 710 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. Device 700 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are subordinate in time to a clock that synchronizes the host processor.

Memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, Read Only Memory (ROM)724, Electrically Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), flash memory, a hard disk, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), and other magnetic and/or optical storage. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, Random Access Memory (RAM)722 and other volatile memory that does not persist for the duration of the power down.

The computer programs 730 include computer-executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 710. The program 730 may be stored in the ROM 724. The processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 730 into the RAM 722.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by the program 730 so that the device 700 may perform any of the processes of the present disclosure as discussed with reference to fig. 2-4. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software.

In some implementations, the program 730 can be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, which can be included in the device 700 (e.g., in the memory 720) or in other storage accessible to the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer-readable medium into the RAM 722 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any type of tangible, non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, a hard disk, a CD, a DVD, etc. Fig. 8 shows an example of a computer readable medium 800 in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has program 730 stored thereon.

In general, the various embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the block diagrams, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in the following: non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product comprises computer executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the

methods

500 and 600 as described above with reference to fig. 2-4. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired. Machine-executable instructions of program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed facility, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Program code for performing the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, implement the flowchart and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on the machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of a carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Also, while the above discussion contains several specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular implementations. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

generating, at a terminal device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of the terminal device to receive a positioning reference signal;

sending the request to the network device; and

receiving, from the network device, a target configuration of the bandwidth portion, the target configuration determined by the network device in response to receiving the allocation request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the allocation request comprises:

obtaining positioning assistance information from a location server, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with the terminal device; and

generating the allocation request based on the positioning assistance information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the request comprises:

obtaining positioning assistance information from a location server, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with the terminal device;

determining a desired configuration based on the positioning assistance information and a delay to switch to the portion of bandwidth; and

generating the allocation request based on the desired configuration.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the target configuration comprises receiving at least one of:

the bandwidth length of the bandwidth part is,

a frequency reference point of the portion of the bandwidth,

a duration of a switching window to the bandwidth portion, the switching window comprising a delay to switch to the bandwidth portion and at least one switching occasion,

a time reference point of the switching window, an

A period of the switching window.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the positioning reference signal from the network device based on the target configuration.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a termination indication to the network device to stop allocating the portion of bandwidth; and

receiving a disabling indication from the network device to disable the target configuration, the disabling indication generated by the network device based on the termination indication.

7. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a network device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of a terminal device, the allocation request for receiving a positioning reference signal from the terminal device;

determining a target configuration for the bandwidth portion; and

and sending the target configuration to the terminal equipment.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein determining the target configuration comprises:

obtaining positioning assistance information from the terminal device, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with the terminal device; and

determining the target configuration based on the positioning assistance information.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein determining the target configuration comprises:

obtaining a desired configuration from the allocation request, the desired configuration being determined by the terminal device based on positioning assistance information and a delay to switch to the bandwidth part, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with the terminal device; and

determining the target configuration based on the desired configuration.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein determining the target configuration comprises:

obtaining positioning assistance information from the positioning server, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with the terminal device; and

11. The method of claim 7, wherein determining the target configuration comprises:

obtaining a reference configuration from the positioning server, the reference configuration being determined by the positioning server based on the positioning assistance information, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell associated with the terminal device; and

determining the target configuration based on the reference configuration.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein sending the target configuration comprises sending at least one of:

the bandwidth length of the bandwidth part is,

a frequency reference point of the portion of the bandwidth,

a time reference point of the switching window, an

A period of the switching window.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

and sending the positioning reference signal to the terminal equipment based on the target configuration.

14. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving a termination indication from the terminal device to stop allocating the portion of bandwidth;

generating a disabling indication for disabling the target configuration based on the termination indication; and

and sending the disabling indication to the terminal equipment.

15. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:

sending the request to the network device; and

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus is caused to generate the allocation request by:

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus is caused to generate the request by:

generating the allocation request based on the desired configuration.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus is caused to receive the target configuration by receiving at least one of:

the bandwidth length of the bandwidth part is,

a frequency reference point of the portion of the bandwidth,

a time reference point of the switching window, an

A period of the switching window.

19. An apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

20. An apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

21. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

determining a target configuration for the bandwidth portion; and

and sending the target configuration to the terminal equipment.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus is caused to determine the target configuration by:

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus is caused to determine the target configuration by:

obtaining a desired configuration from the allocation request, the desired configuration being determined by the terminal device based on positioning assistance information and a delay to switch to the portion of bandwidth, the positioning assistance information indicating a configuration of positioning reference signals for a cell with which the terminal device is associated; and

determining the target configuration based on the desired configuration.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus is caused to determine the target configuration by:

25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus is caused to determine the target configuration by:

determining the target configuration based on the reference configuration.

26. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus is caused to send the target configuration by sending at least one of:

the bandwidth length of the bandwidth part is,

a frequency reference point of the portion of the bandwidth,

a time reference point of the switching window, an

A period of the switching window.

27. An apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

28. An apparatus of claim 21, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

and sending the disabling indication to the terminal equipment.

29. An apparatus, comprising:

means for generating, at a terminal device, an allocation request for a bandwidth portion of the terminal device to receive a positioning reference signal;

means for sending the request to the network device; and

means for receiving, from the network device, a target configuration of the bandwidth portion, the target configuration determined by the network device in response to receiving the allocation request.

30. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving, at a network device, an allocation request for an allocation portion of a bandwidth of a terminal device, the allocation request for receiving a positioning reference signal from the terminal device;

means for determining a target configuration for the bandwidth portion; and

means for sending a target configuration to the terminal device.

31. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the method of any one of claims 1-6.

32. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the method of any one of claims 7-14.