CN117280239A - System and method for supporting position uncertainty for scheduled positions - Google Patents

Abstract

A location of a User Equipment (UE) is determined at a scheduled positioning time based on location measurements received for the UE from one or more other entities (804). Position measurements are obtained at a plurality of times based on the scheduled positioning times (802). An uncertainty of a location indicating a difference between a location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time is determined (806), and the location and the uncertainty of the location are sent to a requesting entity (808). This uncertainty of the location is based on a location uncertainty and a time uncertainty relative to the scheduled positioning time, which are combined into a single location uncertainty.

Description

System and method for supporting position uncertainty for scheduled positions

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 63/186,163 entitled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SUPPORTING A COMBINED LOCATION AND TIME UNCERTAINTY FOR SCHEDULED LOCATION (a system and method for supporting combined location and time uncertainty for a scheduled location)" filed on day 5 and 9 of 2021 and U.S. non-provisional application No.17/739,132 entitled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SUPPORTING A LOCATION UNCERTAINTY FOR A SCHEDULED LOCATION (a system and method for supporting location uncertainty for a scheduled location) filed on day 5 and 8 of 2022, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present application and expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Background

FIELD

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to location determination of a mobile device, and more particularly to supporting location of a mobile device using scheduled location times.

Related background

Wireless communication systems have evolved over several generations including first generation analog radiotelephone services (1G), second generation (2G) digital radiotelephone services (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) internet-capable high speed data wireless services, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., LTE or WiMax). The fifth generation (5G) mobile standard requires higher data transmission speeds, a greater number of connections and better coverage, and other improvements. According to the next generation mobile network alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide tens of megabits per second of data rate to each of thousands of users, and 1 gigabit per second of data rate to tens of employees in an office floor.

Obtaining the location of a mobile device that is accessing a wireless (e.g., 5G) network may be useful for many applications including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating friends or family members, etc. However, in many applications, it is desirable to reduce latency. There are many components in the positioning process that lead to latency. One way to reduce latency is to use a scheduled positioning time, which may allow a location services (LCS) client to specify an accurate future time at which the location of a User Equipment (UE) will be obtained. However, using scheduled positioning times may introduce additional uncertainty in the location of the UE that is desired to be controlled or reduced.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in connection with one or more aspects disclosed herein. As such, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be considered to identify key or critical elements of all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the sole purpose of the summary below is to present some concepts related to one or more aspects related to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form prior to the detailed description that is presented below.

A location of a User Equipment (UE) is determined at a scheduled positioning time T based on location measurements received for the UE from one or more other entities. Position measurements are obtained at a plurality of times based on the scheduled positioning times. An uncertainty of a location indicating a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time is determined and the location and the uncertainty of the location are sent to a requesting entity. The uncertainty is based on a position uncertainty and a time uncertainty, which are combined into a single position uncertainty.

In one implementation, a method at an entity for locating a UE at a scheduled location time, includes: receiving, from one or more other entities, location measurements for the UE, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period including the scheduled positioning time; determining a location of the UE based on the location measurement; determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and transmitting the location and the uncertainty of the location to another entity.

In one implementation, an entity in a wireless network configured for locating a UE at a scheduled location time, comprises: an external interface configured to communicate with other entities in the wireless network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receiving, from one or more other entities, location measurements for the UE, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period including the scheduled positioning time; determining a location of the UE based on the location measurement; determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and transmitting the location and the uncertainty of the location to another entity.

In one implementation, an entity in a wireless network configured for locating a User Equipment (UE) at a scheduled location time, comprises: means for receiving, from one or more other entities, location measurements for the UE, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period that includes the scheduled positioning time; means for determining a location of the UE based on the location measurement; means for determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between a location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and means for sending the location and the uncertainty of the location to another entity.

In one implementation, a non-transitory storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in an entity in a wireless network for locating a User Equipment (UE) at a scheduled location time, the program code comprising instructions for: receiving, from one or more other entities, location measurements for the UE, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period including the scheduled positioning time; determining a location of the UE based on the location measurement; determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and transmitting the location and the uncertainty of the location to another entity.

Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the drawings and the detailed description.

Brief Description of Drawings

The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

Fig. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system including a Next Generation (NG) radio access network.

Fig. 2 shows an extended architecture diagram of an NG-RAN node including a location server proxy (LSS).

Fig. 3 illustrates a messaging flow illustrating messaging for determining a location of a UE using scheduled positioning times.

Fig. 4 illustrates a location determination for a UE using scheduled positioning times and resulting locations and uncertainties.

Fig. 5 illustrates a position uncertainty and a timing uncertainty associated with an estimated position of a UE.

Fig. 6 is a message flow illustrating messaging for determining a location of a UE using scheduled positioning times.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of an entity configured to perform positioning of a UE using scheduled positioning times.

Fig. 8 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method for supporting locating a UE using scheduled location time.

Elements, stages, steps, and/or actions in different figures having the same reference number may correspond to each other (e.g., may be similar or identical to each other). Further, some elements in the various figures are labeled with a numerical prefix followed by an alphabetic or numerical suffix. Elements with the same numerical prefix but different suffix may be different instances of the same type of element. A numerical prefix without any suffix is used herein to refer to any element with the numerical prefix. For example, different examples 110-1 and 110-2 of gNB are shown in FIG. 1. Reference to the gNB 110 may then refer to any one of the gNB 110-1 and 110-2.

Detailed Description

Aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings for various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements in this disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

The terms "exemplary" and/or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and/or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, on the desired design, on the corresponding technology, and the like.

Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein can be performed by specialized circuits (e.g., application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that upon execution would cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to" perform the described action.

As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be dedicated or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT), unless otherwise indicated. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, tracking device, wearable device (e.g., smart watch, glasses, augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) head-mounted device, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), internet of things (IoT) device, industrial IoT (IIoT) device, etc. The UE may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at some time) and may communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be interchangeably referred to as "access terminal" or "AT," "client device," "wireless device," "subscriber terminal," "subscriber station," "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal," "mobile station," "mobile device," or variants thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE may connect with an external network (such as the internet) as well as with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core network and/or the internet are possible for the UE, such as through a wired access network, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), and so forth.

A base station may operate in accordance with one of several RATs when in communication with a UE depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an Access Point (AP), a network node, a node B, an evolved node B (eNB), a New Radio (NR) node B (also referred to as a gNB or a gndeb), or the like. The communication link through which a UE can send signals to a base station is called an Uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which a base station can transmit signals to a UE is called a Downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term Traffic Channel (TCH) may refer to either UL/reverse or DL/forward traffic channels.

The term "base station" may refer to a single physical Transmission Reception Point (TRP) or may refer to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, in case the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be a base station antenna corresponding to a cell of the base station. In the case where the term "base station" refers to a plurality of co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). In case the term "base station" refers to a plurality of non-co-located physical TRP, the physical TRP may be a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) (network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a Remote Radio Head (RRH) (remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRP may be a serving base station receiving measurement reports from the UE and a neighbor base station whose reference RF signal the UE is measuring.

To support locating a UE, two broad classes of location solutions have been defined: control plane and user plane. With Control Plane (CP) location, signaling related to positioning and positioning support may be carried over existing network (and UE) interfaces and using existing protocols dedicated to conveying the signaling. Using the User Plane (UP) location, protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP), transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) may be used as part of other data to carry signaling related to positioning and positioning support.

The third generation partnership project (3 GPP) has defined control plane location solutions for UEs using radio access according to the global system for mobile communications GSM (2G), universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) (3G), LTE (4G) and fifth generation (5G) New Radios (NR). These solutions are defined in 3GPP Technical Specifications (TS) 23.271 and 23.273 (common part), 43.059 (GSM access), 25.305 (UMTS access), 36.305 (LTE access) and 38.305 (NR access). The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) similarly defines an UP location solution called Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) that can be used to locate UEs accessing any of several radio interfaces supporting IP packet access, such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) in GSM, GPRS in UMTS, or IP access in LTE or NR.

Both CP and UP location solutions may employ a Location Server (LS) to support positioning. The LS may be part of or accessible from the serving network or home network of the UE, or may simply be accessible through the Internet or a local intranet. If a UE needs to be located, the LS may initiate a session with the UE (e.g., a location session or SUPL session) and coordinate location measurements made by the UE with the determination of the estimated location of the UE. During a location session, an LS may request location capabilities of a UE (or the UE may provide these capabilities without request), assistance data may be provided to the UE (e.g., with or without request by the UE), and location estimates or position measurements from the UE may be requested, e.g., for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), time difference of arrival (TDOA), departure Angle (AOD), angle of arrival (AOA), round Trip Time (RTT), multi-cell RTT, or a combination thereof, or other location methods. The assistance data may be used by the UE to acquire and measure GNSS and/or Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) signals (e.g., by providing desired characteristics of these signals such as frequency, desired time of arrival, signal decoding, signal doppler).

In a UE-based mode of operation, assistance data may additionally or alternatively be used by the UE to assist in determining a position estimate from the resulting position measurements (e.g., providing satellite ephemeris in the case of assistance data for GNSS positioning or providing base station position and other base station characteristics (such as PRS timing) in the case of terrestrial positioning using, for example, TDOA, AOD, multi-RTT, etc.).

In the UE-assisted mode of operation, the UE may return location measurements to the LS, which may determine the estimated location of the UE based on these measurements and possibly also based on other known or configured data, such as satellite ephemeris data for GNSS positioning or base station characteristics (including base station location and possible PRS timing) in case of terrestrial positioning using, for example, TDOA, aoD, multi-RTT, etc.

In some scenarios, a UE, location services (LCS) client or Application Function (AF) requesting the location of the target UE may know when the location should be obtained. For example, with periodically deferred mobile terminating location requests (MT-LR), the location of the UE is obtained at fixed periodic intervals and, thus, the positioning time is known in advance. In another example, such as in a factory or warehouse with moving tools, components, packages, etc., it may be precisely expected that a moving tool, component, package, etc., will reach a particular location or will complete a particular movement or operation at a particular time. In such scenarios, it may then be useful or critical to locate tools, components, or packages, etc. to confirm the expectation of the location at a particular time and make any further adjustments. In addition, the location of the UE may sometimes be scheduled to occur at a particular time in the future. For example, vehicles on a roadway may all be positioned at the same time to provide an indication of traffic congestion and to assist in communication and safety. Also, people, containers, transportation systems, etc. may be located at some common time. In scenarios such as these, the time at which the location(s) should be obtained (which may be referred to as the scheduled positioning time) may be provided in advance in order to accurately obtain the location(s) at the required time and/or to reduce the effective latency of providing location results to the recipient UE(s), LCS client(s) or AF(s).

As discussed above, the scheduled positioning time allows the external LCS client, AF or UE to specify a future time when the UE's location will be obtained. The location of the UE at the precise scheduled location time is typically the target, although some uncertainty or error in the LCS quality of service (QoS) in achieving the scheduled location time may be allowed. Uncertainty or errors may include multiple sources of error. For example, the uncertainty may include a position uncertainty reflecting a difference between an estimated position of the time target UE at the measurement and an actual position of the time target UE at the measurement. Another source of uncertainty may be time uncertainty due to the difference between the measurement time and the scheduled positioning time. For example, if the location request for the UE includes a scheduled positioning time T, the location measurement for the UE may occur at a slightly different time T1. The UE may be at a location L at time T and at a slightly different location L1 at time T1, and the estimated location for the UE at time T1 may be location L1'. The position uncertainty (or measurement uncertainty) or error may be represented at this time as L1-L1' (e.g., where vector subtraction may be used if L1 and L1' are each vectors, or where subtraction of corresponding coordinates may be used if L1 and L1' each include X and Y coordinates or X, Y and Z coordinates according to some cartesian coordinate system). The time uncertainty or error may be similarly represented as T-T1. Thus, the overall uncertainty or error includes a position error L1-L1' and a time error T-T1. If the UE is moving at a constant velocity V, the time error will result in a corresponding additional position error V x (T-T1). Thus, the effect of time errors can be significant if the UE is moving and requires a very accurate location. However, the LCS client, AF or UE may not be able to determine the importance level of the time error, e.g. may not be able to determine whether the returned location is still useful and available.

It may be desirable to combine the position uncertainty and the time uncertainty into a single combined position uncertainty that expresses the combined error of both types of uncertainty. For example, the combining may be performed if the location server has information about the UE movement (e.g., speed), or if UE location measurements are obtained both shortly before and shortly after the scheduled positioning time. The combined location uncertainty may avoid that the LCS client needs to know any information about the time error. The combined uncertainty may represent an expected (or possible) difference between the actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time and the location of the UE obtained at a time that may correspond to a slightly different time than the scheduled positioning time. The end result may be to simplify the use of the scheduled positioning time from the LCS client's point of view.

Fig. 1 shows a positioning architecture diagram of a communication system 100 that can support scheduling of locations and use a combination of location uncertainty and time uncertainty before when needed (scheduled positioning time), as well as using location management functions in the NG-RAN. The location management function in the NG-RAN may be a "location server proxy (LSS)" or a "Location Management Component (LMC)" and be in one or more gnbs 110 in fig. 1 or may be external to the gNB 110 but within the NG-RAN 135. Note that LMC or LSS is an optional element, which may not always be present.

The communication system 100 may be configured to support positioning of a User Equipment (UE) 102. Here, the communication system 100 includes components of a UE 102, and a fifth generation (5G) network, including a Next Generation (NG) Radio Access Network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 135 and a 5G core network (5 GCN) 140. The 5G network may also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or an NR RAN; and 5gcn 140 may be referred to as an NG core Network (NGC). The communication system 100 may further utilize information from a Satellite Vehicle (SV) 190 of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), such as GPS, GLONASS, galileo, or beidou, or some other local or regional Satellite Positioning System (SPS), such as IRNSS, EGNOS, or WAAS. Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. Communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

It should be noted that fig. 1 provides only a generalized illustration of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate and each component may be repeated or omitted as desired. In particular, although only one UE 102 is illustrated, it will be appreciated that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the communication system 100. Similarly, communication system 100 may include a greater (or lesser) number of SVs 190, gnbs 110, next generation evolved node bs (ng-enbs) 114, AMFs 115, external clients 130, and/or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and/or wireless connections, and/or additional networks. Moreover, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and/or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

Although fig. 1 illustrates a 5G-based network, similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, long Term Evolution (LTE), and the like. Implementations described herein, whether for 5G technology or other communication technologies and protocols, may be used to configure an increased amount of location-related information or resources associated with broadcast communications (e.g., broadcast of assistance data) from a wireless node, transmission of Positioning Reference Signals (PRSs), or some other location-related function of the wireless node in response to receiving a request.

The UE 102 may include and/or be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a Mobile Station (MS), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) -enabled terminal (SET), or some other name. Further, the UE 102 may correspond to a cellular phone, a smart phone, a laptop device, a tablet device, a PDA, a tracking device, a navigation device, an internet of things (IoT) device, or some other portable or mobile device. In general, although not necessarily, UE 102 may use one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs), such as using global system for mobile communications (GSM), code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, high Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), wireless communication systems (GSM), wireless communication systems (LTE), wireless communication systems (WiFi), wireless communication systems (wlan), and so forth, (BT), worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), new 5G radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5gcn 140), etc.). The UE 102 may also support wireless communications using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) that may be connected to other networks (e.g., the internet) using, for example, digital Subscriber Lines (DSLs) or packet cables. UsingOne or more of these RATs may allow UE 102 to communicate with external clients 130 (via elements of 5gcn 140 not shown in fig. 1, or possibly via Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125), and/or allow external clients 130 to receive location information about UE 102 (e.g., via GMLC 125).

The UE 102 may comprise a single entity or may comprise multiple entities, such as in a personal area network in which a user may employ audio, video, and/or data I/O devices, and/or body sensors, as well as separate wired or wireless modems. The estimation of the location of the UE 102 may be referred to as a location, a location estimate, a position fix, a position estimate, or a position fix, and may be geodetic, providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) with respect to the UE 102, which may or may not include an elevation component (e.g., altitude; a depth above or below a ground plane, floor plane, or basement plane). Alternatively, the location of the UE 102 may be expressed as a municipal location (e.g., expressed as a postal address or designation of a point or smaller area in a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of the UE 102 may also be expressed as a region or volume (geodetically or defined in municipal form) within which the UE 102 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 102 may further be a relative location including, for example, a distance and direction defined relative to an origin at a known location, which may be geodetically, in municipal form, or with reference to points, areas, or volumes indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan, or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates. In the description contained herein, the use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. In calculating the location of the UE, the local x, y and possibly z coordinates are typically solved and then converted to absolute coordinates (e.g. for latitude, longitude and altitude above or below the mean sea level) if needed.

The Base Stations (BSs) in NG-RAN 135 shown in fig. 1 include NR node BS, also referred to as gnbs 110-1 and 110-2 (collectively and generically referred to herein as gnbs 110). Pairs of gnbs 110 in NG-RAN 135 may be connected to each other-e.g., directly as shown in fig. 1 or indirectly via other gnbs 110. Access to the 5G network is provided to UE 102 via wireless communication between UE 102 and one or more gnbs 110, which one or more gnbs 110 may provide wireless communication access to 5gcn 140 on behalf of UE 102 using 5G NR. The 5G NR radio access may also be referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access. In fig. 1, it is assumed that the serving gNB of the UE 102 is the gNB110-1, although other gnbs (e.g., the gNB 110-2) may act as serving gnbs if the UE 102 moves to another location, or may act as secondary gnbs to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to the UE 102. An optionally present location server proxy (LSS) 117 within a node in NG-RAN 135, such as in serving gNB110-1, may perform location server functions as discussed herein.

The Base Stations (BSs) in NG-RAN 135 shown in fig. 1 may additionally or alternatively include next generation evolved node BS (also referred to as NG-enbs) 114. The NG-enbs 114 may be connected to one or more of the gnbs 110 in the NG-RAN 135-e.g., directly or indirectly via other gnbs 110 and/or other NG-enbs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE radio access and/or evolved LTE (ehte) radio access to the UE 102. Some of the gnbs 110 (e.g., the gnbs 110-2) and/or the ng-enbs 114 in fig. 1 may be configured to function as location-only beacons that may transmit signals (e.g., PRS signals) and/or may broadcast assistance data to assist in the location of the UE 102, but may not receive signals from the UE 102 or from other UEs. Note that although only one ng-eNB 114 is shown in fig. 1, some embodiments may include multiple ng-enbs 114.

The location server in fig. 1 may correspond to, for example, a Location Management Function (LMF) 120, a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) location platform (SLP) 129 in 5gcn 140, a location server proxy (LSS) 117 (or Location Management Component (LMC)) in NG-RAN 135, or a gNB 110. Such location servers may be capable of providing positioning assistance data to UE 102, including, for example, information about signals to be measured (e.g., expected signal timing, signal decoding, signal frequency, signal doppler), the location and identity of terrestrial transmitters (e.g., gNB 110), and/or signal, timing, and orbit information about GNSS SVs to facilitate positioning techniques such as a-GNSS, AFLT, aoD, downlink (DL) TDOA, RTT, and ECID. The facilitating may include improving signal acquisition and measurement accuracy by the UE 102, and in some cases, enabling the UE 102 to calculate its estimated location based on the location measurements. For example, a location server (e.g., LMF 120 or SLP 129) may access an almanac (also referred to as a Base Station Almanac (BSA)) that indicates the location and identity of cellular transceivers and/or local transceivers in one or more particular areas, such as a particular venue, and may provide information describing signals transmitted by cellular base stations or APs (e.g., gnbs), such as transmit power and signal timing. The UE 102 may obtain a signal strength measurement (e.g., a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI)) for signals received from the cellular transceiver and/or the local transceiver, and/or may obtain a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), a time of arrival (TOA), an angle of arrival (AOA), an angle of departure (AOD), a receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx), or a round trip signal propagation time (RTT) between the UE 102 and the cellular transceiver (e.g., the gNB) or the local transceiver (e.g., the WiFi Access Point (AP)). The UE 102 may use these measurements with assistance data (e.g., terrestrial almanac data or GNSS satellite data, such as GNSS almanac and/or GNSS ephemeris information) received from a location server (e.g., LMF 120 or SLP 129) or broadcast by base stations (e.g., gNB 110-1, gNB 110-2) in the NG-RAN 135 to determine the location of the UE 102.

As mentioned, although fig. 1 depicts a node configured to communicate according to the 5G NR and LTE communication protocols for NG-RAN 135, a node configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as, for example, the LTE protocol for an evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) or the IEEE 802.11x protocol for WLAN, may also be used. For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE radio access to UE 102, the RAN may comprise an E-UTRAN, which may include a base station with an evolved node B (eNB) supporting LTE radio access. The core network for EPS may include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may then include E-UTRAN plus EPC, where E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN 135 in FIG. 1 and EPC corresponds to 5GC 140 in FIG. 1.

The gNB 110 and the ng-eNB 114 may communicate with an access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, the AMF 115 communicating with a Location Management Function (LMF) 120 for positioning functionality. AMF 115 may support mobility of UE 102 (including cell change and handover) and may participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 102 and possibly data and voice bearers for UE 102. The LMF 120 may support scheduling for positioning of the UE 102 when the UE accesses the NG-RAN 135 and may support positioning procedures/methods such as assisted GNSS (a-GNSS), downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), multi-cell RTT, real-time kinematic (RTK), precision Point Positioning (PPP), differential GNSS (DGNSS), enhanced Cell ID (ECID), angle of arrival (AOA), angle of departure (AOD), and/or other positioning procedures. The LMF 120 may also process location service requests for the UE 102 received, for example, from the AMF 115 or from the GMLC 125. LMF 120 may be connected to AMF 115 and/or GMLC 125. In some embodiments, the node/system implementing the LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC). Note that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the location of the UE 102) may be performed at the UE 102 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by the UE 102 for signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as the gNB 110 and the ng-eNB 114, and assistance data provided to the UE 102 by the LMF 120, for example). In the case of OMA SUPL positioning, the location server may be a SUPL Location Platform (SLP), such as SLP 129, rather than LMF 120.

The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125 may support location requests for the UE 102 received from external clients 130 and may forward such location requests to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120 or may forward the location requests directly to the LMF 120. The location response (e.g., containing a location estimate for the UE 102) from the LMF 120 or LSS117 may be returned to the GMLC 125 directly or via the AMF 115, and the GMLC 125 may then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130.GMLC 125 is shown connected to both AMF 115 and LMF 120 in fig. 1, but in some implementations only one of these connections may be supported by 5gcn 140.

The gNB 110-1 may support positioning of the UE 102 when the UE 102 accesses the NG-RAN 135. The gNB 110-1 may also process the location service request for the UE 102 received, for example, directly or indirectly from the GMLC 125. In some embodiments, the node/system implementing the gNB 110-1 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) location platform (SLP) 129. It will be noted that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the positioning functionality (including deriving the location of the UE 102) may be performed at the UE 102 (e.g., using signal measurements for signals transmitted by the wireless node and assistance data provided to the UE 102).

To support services including location services for internet of things (IoT) UEs from external clients 130, a network open function (NEF) 127 may be included in the 5gcn 140. NEF 127 may support secure opening of external clients 130 with respect to capabilities and events of 5gcn 140 and UE 102, which may also be referred to as Application Functions (AFs)) and may enable secure provisioning of information from external clients 130 to 5gcn 140. In the context of location services, NEF 127 may be used to obtain a current or last known location for UE 102, may obtain an indication of a change in location for UE 102, or an indication of when UE 102 becomes available (or reachable). NEF 127 may be connected to GMLC 125 to support last known location, current location, and/or deferred periodic and triggered location of UE 102. The NEF 127 may include the GMLC 125 or may be combined with the GMLC 125 if desired, and may then obtain location information of the UE 102 directly from the LSS117 or LMF 120 (e.g., may be connected to the LSS117 or LMF 120). NEF 127 may also be connected to AMF 115 to enable NEF 127 to obtain the location of UE 102 directly from AMF 115.

User Plane Function (UPF) 126 may support voice and data bearers for UE 102 and may enable UE 102 to perform voice and data access to other networks, such as the internet. The UPF 126 functions may include: external PDU session interconnect to data network, packet (e.g., internet Protocol (IP)) routing and forwarding, packet inspection and policy rule enforcement user plane portion, quality of service (QoS) handling of user plane, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The location report of UE 102 (e.g., including a location estimate determined by LSS117 in or attached to serving gNB 110-1) may be returned by gNB 110-1 to external client 130 via UPF 126 and User Plane Aggregator (UPA) 128, if present. The UPF 126 may be connected to the SLP 129 to enable support for locating the UE 102 using SUPL. SLP 129 may be further connected to or accessed from external client 130 or external client 140.

The UPA 128 is optional and enables the external client 130 to receive location reports of the UE 102 on the user plane by interacting with the UPA 128 only. UPA 128 avoids the need for gNB 110-1 (or LSS 117) to establish a user plane location reporting session directly to an external client, which may improve security. UPA 128 may also provide security for NG-RAN 112 and/or external clients 130 by authenticating and authorizing external clients 130 and/or gNB 110-1 (or LSS 117). The UPA 128 may be part of the 5GCN 150 or may be external to the 5GCN 150 (e.g., may be associated with an external client 130). In some implementations, the UPA 128 may be part of the LMF 120, the GMLC 125, or may be connected to the LMF 120 or the GMLC 125. The UPA 128 may also be referred to as a router, IP router, UP router, or routing function.

The LMF 120 may communicate with the gNB 110 and/or the ng-eNB 114 using a new radio positioning protocol a (NRPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa messages may then be communicated between the gNB 110 and the LMF 120 and/or between the ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115. LMF 120 and UE 102 may communicate using an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3gpp TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be communicated between UE 102 and LMF 120 via AMF 115 and serving gNB 110-1 or serving ng-eNB 114 of UE 102. For example, LPP messages may be communicated between LMF 120 and AMF 115 using hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), and may be communicated between AMF 115 and UE 102 using a 5G non-access stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support locating the UE 102 using UE-assisted and/or UE-based location methods, such as a-GNSS, RTK, DL-TDOA, multi-cell RTT, and/or ECID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 102 (e.g., to enable measurements to be obtained by the gNB 110 or the ng-eNB 114) using network-based or network-associated positioning methods (such as ECID, AOA, and multi-cell RTT) and/or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 110 and/or the ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining PRS transmissions from the gNB 110 and/or the ng-eNB 114.

With the UE-assisted positioning method, the UE 102 may obtain location measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120, SLP 129, or LSS117 (or LMC) within a node in NG-RAN 135, such as in serving gNB 110-1) to calculate a location estimate for the UE 102. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of the following: a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), round trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx), reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), AOA, and/or AOD of the gNB 110, the ng-eNB 114, and/or the WLAN Access Point (AP). The position measurements may additionally or alternatively include measurements of GNSS pseudoranges, code phases, and/or carrier phases of the SV 190. With the UE-based positioning method, the UE 102 may obtain location measurements (e.g., which may be the same or similar to the location measurements of the UE-assisted positioning method) and may calculate the location of the UE 102 (e.g., with assistance data received from a location server (such as LMF 120) or broadcast by the gNB 110, the ng-eNB 114, or other base stations or APs). Using network-based positioning methods, one or more base stations (e.g., the gNB 110 and/or the NG-eNB 114) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA or time of arrival (TOA) measurements) for signals transmitted by the UE 102 and/or may receive measurements obtained by the UE 102 and may send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120, SLP 129, or LSS117 (or LMC) within a node in the NG-RAN 135, such as in the serving gNB 110-1) to calculate a location estimate for the UE 102.

Information provided by the gNB 110 and/or the NG-eNB 114 to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) using NRPPa, or to LSS117 within a node in the NG-RAN 135 (such as in serving gNB 110-1) using an Xn application protocol (XnAP) may include timing and configuration information for PRS transmissions and location coordinates. The location server may then provide some or all of this information in an LPP message to the UE 102 via the NG-RAN 135 and 5gc 140 as assistance data.

The LPP message sent from the location server to the UE 102 may instruct the UE 102 to perform any of a variety of operations depending on the desired functionality. For example, the LPP message may include instructions to cause the UE 102 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, and/or DL-TDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of DL-TDOA, the LPP message may instruct UE 102 to obtain one or more measurements (e.g., RSTD measurements) of PRS signals transmitted within a particular cell supported by a particular gNB 110 and/or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station such as an eNB or WiFi AP). The RSTD measurements may include a time difference of arrival of a signal (e.g., PRS signal) transmitted or broadcast by one gNB 110 and a similar signal transmitted by another gNB 110 at the UE 102. UE 102 may send the measurements back to the server, e.g., in an LPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message) via serving gNB 110-1 (or serving NG-eNB 114) and AMF 115, to LMF 120, or to LSS117 within a node in NG-RAN 135, such as in serving gNB 110-1.

As mentioned, although the communication system 100 is described with respect to 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.) that are used to support and interact with mobile devices (such as UE 102) (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionality). In some such embodiments, the 5gc 140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, in some embodiments, the 5gcn 140 may be connected to the WLAN directly or using a non-3 GPP interworking function (N3 IWF, not shown in fig. 1) in the 5gcn 140. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11WiFi access for UE 102 and may include one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may be connected to WLAN and other elements in the 5gc 140, such as AMF 115. In some other embodiments, both NG-RAN 135 and 5gcn 140 may be replaced by other RANs and other core networks. For example, in EPS, NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by E-UTRAN including eNB, and 5gc 140 may be replaced by EPC including Mobility Management Entity (MME) in place of AMF 115, E-SMLC in place of LMF 120, and GMLC that may be similar to GMLC 125. In such EPS, the E-SMLC may send and receive location information to and from enbs in the E-UTRAN using LTE positioning protocol a (LPPa) instead of NRPPa, and may support positioning of UE 102 using LPP. In these other embodiments, on-demand resource allocation for locating UE 102 may be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, except that the functions and procedures described herein for the gNB 110, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 may be applied instead to other network elements such as enbs, wiFi APs, MMEs, and E-SMLCs in some cases. It should be noted that the gNB 110 and the NG-eNB 114 may not always both be present in the NG-RAN 135. Further, when both the gNB 110 and the NG-eNB 114 are present, the NG interface with the AMF 115 may exist for only one of them.

As illustrated, the gNB 110 may be allowed to control one or more Transmission Points (TPs) 111, such as broadcast-only TPs, for improved support for DL positioning methods such as DL-TDOA or ECID. Additionally, the gNB 110 may be allowed to control one or more Receiving Points (RP) 113, such as an internal Location Measurement Unit (LMU), for UL measurements of positioning methods such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) or ECID. TP 111 and RP 113 may be combined into a Transmission Reception Point (TRP) 112 or defined as part of Transmission Reception Point (TRP) 112 to support Downlink (DL) and/or Uplink (UL) positioning methods such as DL-TDOA, UL-TDOA, and multi-cell round trip signal propagation time (RTT). Additionally, the gNB 110 may be allowed to include a location server proxy (LSS) 117 to support the positioning of the target UE 102 by the serving gNB 110. The LSS117 (or LMC) may support some or all of the same functions as the LMF 120, except that the LSS117 is located in the NG-RAN 135 and the LMF 120 is located in the 5gcn 140. The term "location server proxy" is used herein for NG-RAN location management functionality, but other terms may also be used, such as "local LMF" or "NG-RAN LMF" and the like. The positioning of the UE 102 by the serving gNB 110 may be used to provide location services to the UE 102, the serving AMF 115, or the LMF 120, and improve NG-RAN operation-e.g., by reducing the latency of positioning determination and increasing the number of UEs 102 that may support positioning.

As illustrated, the ng-eNB 114 may control one or more TPs 111a, which may use different protocols than TP 111 in the gnbs 110-1 and 110-2, e.g., TP 111a may use a protocol related to LTE, while TP 111 uses a protocol related to 5G NR. TP 111a may perform similar functions as TP 111 in gNB 110-1 and 110-2, and accordingly, TP 111 and 111a may be collectively referred to herein as TP 111.

The location management functionality in NG-RAN 135 (i.e., LSS 117) may have comparable capabilities to a 5GCN LMF (e.g., LMF 120). An operator may restrict the LSS117 from supporting scheduling of NR Radio Access Technology (RAT) related positioning, for example. The LSS117 (if present) may communicate with a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) and may support location determination and reporting, as described later. The LMF 120 may manage scheduling of one or more Transmission Points (TPs) 111 configured to transmit Downlink (DL) Reference Signals (RSs) to be measured by the UE 102 and one or more Reception Points (RPs) 113 configured to receive and measure Uplink (UL) Resource Signals (RSs) transmitted by the UE 102 and UL transmissions transmitted by the UE 102.

LMF 120, SLP 129, and LSS117 (or LMC) in gNB 110 may perform various functions. For example, LMF 120 (or SLP 129) may request location measurements from UE 102, e.g., using RRC or LPP, and may manage UL location measurements by the gNB 110 or TRP 112 of UE 102, and may manage static and dynamic scheduling of DL-PRSs and broadcasting of assistance data by the gNB 110. The LMF 120 (or SLP 129) may further interact with other gnbs 110 to coordinate location support (e.g., obtain UL location measurements for the UE 102 or request changes to DL-PRS broadcasts). The LSS117 may receive the location measurements and may determine a location estimate for the UE 102. The above-described functions are provided by way of example only. Additional or different functions may be performed if desired. LSS117 may communicate with other gnbs 110 using XnAP or a location specific protocol over XnAP to coordinate support for these functions.

Thus, LSS117 may support determination of UE 102 location by NG-RAN 135, which may be requested by UE 102 (e.g., using LPP), by serving AMF 115 (e.g., using NGAP or a location-specific protocol delivered by NGAP), by another gNB 110/NG-eNB 114 (e.g., using XnAP or a location-specific protocol delivered by XnAP), or by LMF 120 (e.g., using NRPPA protocol). Such capability would allow for location support with reduced latency in location determination (because NG-RAN 135 is closer to UE 102 than LMF 120) and offloading location support from the LMF.

Fig. 2 shows an architecture diagram of an NG-RAN node 200, which NG-RAN node 200 may include an LSS117 or may be coupled to an LSS117 (which is within the NG-RAN), for example as a separate entity or as part of another gNB. According to one implementation, the NG-RAN node 200 may be the gNB 110. For example, the architecture shown in FIG. 2 may be applicable to any gNB 110-1 and 110-2 in NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1.

As illustrated, the gNB 110 includes a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 202 and gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 204 and 206, which may be physically co-located in the gNB 110 or may be physically separate. The gNB-CU 202 is a logical or physical node that hosts support for the RRC, SDAP and PDCP protocols of the gNB used on the NR Uu air interface and controls the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU terminates the F1 interface connected to the gNB-DU. As illustrated, the gNB-CU 202 may communicate with the AMF 115 via an NG interface. The gNB-CU 202 may further communicate with one or more other gNBs 110 via an Xn interface. gNB-DUs 204 and 206 are logical or physical nodes that host support for RLC, MAC, and PHY protocol layers used on the NR Uu air interface of gNB 110, the operation of which is controlled in part by gNB-CU 202.gNB-DU terminates the F1 interface connected with gNB-CU. The gNB-CU 202 requests positioning measurements (e.g., E-CIDs) from gNB-DUs 204 and 206. The gNB-DUs 204 and 206 report the measurements back to the gNB-CU 202. The gNB-DU 204 or 206 may include positioning measurement functionality. It should be understood that separate measuring nodes are not excluded.

LSS117 may be part of gNB-CU 202 (e.g., a logical function of gNB-CU 202). However, to offload positioning support from the gNB-CU 202 and allow for a multi-vendor environment, a separate LSS117 is allowed, which may be connected to the gNB-CU 202 via an F1 interface. Additionally or alternatively, LSS117 within NG-RAN 135 may be external to gNB 110, e.g., as part of another gNB, and may be connected to gNB 110 via an Xn interface. The gNB-CU 202 may then forward all location related signaling to the LSS117 and/or gNB-DUs 204 and 206 or TRP 112.

Additionally, as illustrated, the gNB 110 may include TP 111 and RP 113 combined into TRP 112, and LSS117, which LSS117 may be physically or logically located in the gNB 110.gNB-CU 202 may be configured to communicate with TP 111, RP 113, and LSS117 via an F1 interface, for example. Thus, gNB-CU 202 controls one or more TP 111 and RP 113 and LSS117 accessible from gNB-CU 202 via the F1 interface.

In some embodiments, NG-RAN node 200 (or gNB 110) may include a subset of the elements shown in fig. 2. For example, NG-RAN node 200 may include gNB-CU 202 and LSS117, but may not include one or more of gNB-DUs 204 and 206, RP 113, or TP 111. Alternatively, NG-RAN node 200 may include one or more of gNB-DUs 204 and 206, RP 113, or TP 111, but may not include LSS117. Furthermore, the elements shown in fig. 2 may be logically separate but physically co-located, or may be physically partially or completely separate. For example, LSS117 may be physically separate from gNB-CU 202 or may be physically combined with gNB-CU 202. Similarly, one or more of gNB-DUs 204 and 206, RP 113, or TP 111 may be physically separate from gNB-CU 202, or may be physically combined with gNB-CU 202. In the case of physical separation, the F1 interface may define signaling over a physical link or connection between two separate elements. In some implementations, the gNB-CU 202 may be split into a control plane portion (referred to as CU-CP or gNB-CU-CP) and a user plane portion (referred to as CU-UP or gNB-CU-UP). In this case, both the gNB-CU-CP and gNB-CU-UP may interact with gNB-DUs 204 and 206 to support NR Uu air interface signaling for the control plane and the user plane, respectively. However, only the gNB-CU-CP may interact with LSS117, TP 111, and RP 113 to support and control location-related communications.

The protocol layering between the gNB-CU 202 and TP 111, RP 113 and LSS117 may be based on F1C as defined in 3GPP TS 38.470, which uses F1AP at the top level as specified in 3GPP TS 38.473. The new message supporting positioning may be added directly to the F1AP or may be introduced into a new location specific protocol transmitted using the F1AP.

The location procedure between the gNB-CU 202 and the LSS117 may include all location related procedures on the NG, xn, and NR-Uu interfaces. For example, the location procedure between AMF 115 and NG-RAN node 200 may use NGAP. The location procedure between NG-RAN node 200 and other NG-RAN nodes (e.g., gNB 110) may use XnAP or protocols over XnAP, such as extended NR positioning protocol a (NRPPa) defined in 3gpp TS 39.455. The location procedure between NG-RAN node 200 and UE 102 may use RRC and/or LPP.

Corresponding messages supporting positioning may be carried within the transparent F1AP messaging container. For example, NGAP location report control and delivery of NAS transport messages may be carried in UL/DL NGAP messaging. The delivery of location related XnAP messages may be carried in UL/DL XnAP messaging. The delivery of location related RRC (LPP) messages may be carried in UL/DL RRC (LPP) messaging.

The above support may also be implemented with a single F1AP UL/DL LSS messaging container and/or a new location protocol using F1AP transmissions. Thus, the gNB-CU 202 may forward any location related pass messages received on NG, xn, and Uu interfaces to the LSS117 (within the same gNB 110 (e.g., where the gNB includes LSS, as illustrated in fig. 2) or to another gNB (e.g., where the gNB does not have LSS).

The location procedure between LSS117 and gNB-DUs 204 and 206, TP 111 and RP 113 (which may be coordinated by gNB-CU 202) may include the transfer of UL/DL PRS configuration and the transfer of UL/DL PRS measurement information. The above functionality may be similar to the functionality of the LTE LMUs specified in 3gpp TS 36.305 and TS 36.459 (slap), and also similar to the functionality between the LMF 120 and NG-RAN node 200. Thus, NRPPa may be extended to support TRP location measurement/configuration messages, which may be carried in the F1AP transmission message.

Thus, NG-RAN node 200 may support signaling and location procedures between gNB-CU 202 and LSS117 based on F1AP to support the same location procedures as supported on NG, xn, and NR-Uu interfaces, and further, support UL/DL PRS configuration and transfer of measurement information from gNB-DU/TRP to/from LSS to gNB-DU/TRP. It can be seen that NG-RAN location functionality (LSS) can be implemented using existing interfaces and protocols. However, given the common location procedures on Xn, NG and F1, it will be valid to define a new generic RAN location protocol that can be transmitted by passing messages through Xn-C or F1-C (and possibly NG). It is also possible to extend NRPPa to support additional RAN location messages, given that most functionality is also required between LMF and NG-RAN nodes (i.e. new Rel-16 location methods and features are supported by 5GCN LMF).

As discussed above, the UE 102, LCS client 130, or AF requesting the location of the target UE may know when the location should be obtained. This time may be provided as part of a location-related request as a scheduled positioning time. A location server (such as LMF 120 or LSS 117) may schedule location measurements of the target UE 102 to occur at or near the scheduled location time and return the resulting UE location to the recipient UE, LCS client or AF. The location of the UE 102 precisely at the scheduled location time may be the target, although some uncertainty or error in the LCS quality of service (QoS) in achieving the scheduled location time may be allowed. The scheduled positioning time may be used with 5GC-MT-LR, 5GC-MO-LR, or deferred 5GC-MT-LR for periodic or triggered location events.

Fig. 3 illustrates a messaging flow 300 between LCS client/AF 130, 5gcn 140, and NG-RAN 135 and UE 102 using scheduled positioning times to determine the location of UE 102. The location determination may be performed by the LMF 120 (e.g., in the 5gcn 140) or the LSS117 in the NG-RAN 135 (e.g., in a UE-assisted positioning procedure such as multi-RTT). The positioning procedure used during the messaging flow 300 may include transmission and measurement of one or both of DL PRS and UL Sounding Reference Signals (SRS). DL PRS and UL SRS measurements may be used, for example, to support positioning methods such as multi-cell RTT (also referred to as multi-RTT), where UE 102 obtains measurements (e.g., rx-Tx measurements) of DL PRS (e.g., transmitted by gNB 110) and gNB 110 in NG-RAN 135 obtains measurements (e.g., rx-Tx measurements) of UL SRS (transmitted by UE 102). Additionally, the procedure may be used with positioning measurements (such as UL TDOA, UL AOA, DL TDOA, DL AOD, a-GNSS, WLAN, RTT, or some combination of these). When using the scheduled positioning time, as illustrated by the messaging flow 300, the location procedure consists of two phases: a positioning preparation stage 310 and a positioning execution stage 320.

The location preparation phase 310 begins when a location related request is sent by the LCS client 130, AF or UE 102 to a location server (such as LMF 120 in 5gcn 140) requesting the current location of the UE in phase 312. The request includes the scheduled positioning time T and the request is sent some time T1 before the scheduled positioning time, i.e. at time T-T1.

In stage 314, as part of the location preparation stage 310, the 5gcn 140, NG-RAN 135 and/or UE 102 interact to determine the appropriate location method and schedule location measurements of the UE 102 or location measurements made by the UE 102 to occur at or near time T. The positioning preparation phase 310 ends just before time T.

At stage 322, the location execution stage 320 begins at or near time T, where the NG-RAN 135 and/or UE 102 obtain location measurements scheduled during the location preparation stage 310.

At stage 324, after the position measurement at stage 322, the position execution stage 320 includes a determination of the UE position (e.g., performed by the UE 102 for a UE-based positioning method, or by the LMF 120 in the 5gcn 140 or the LSS117 in the NG-RAN 135 for a UE-assisted or network-based positioning method).

At stage 326, the UE position is delivered to the receiving LCS client 130, AF or UE 102 at a time T2 after the scheduled positioning time T, i.e. at time t+t2.

The duration of the positioning preparation phase (t 1 in fig. 3) is not included in the total position response time. Instead, the location response time is equal to the duration of the location execution phase (t 2 in fig. 3), which may enable a reduction in latency.

The scheduled positioning time is only applied when the external LCS client 130, AF or UE 102 knows a specific time at which the UE's location is needed in the future. The LCS client, AF or UE may provide a requirement for accuracy of the scheduled positioning time as a supplement to the scheduled positioning time of a portion of the UE 102's location request. The scheduled positioning time accuracy may indicate how close the location of the UE 102 to be obtained is to the scheduled positioning time. For example, when the scheduled positioning time is T and if the accuracy of the scheduled positioning time is T, it may be desirable to obtain the position of UE 102 at time T, where T must lie within a time period T-T to t+t. Obtaining the location of the UE 102 at time T will then meet the requirement of the scheduled positioning time accuracy T.

When the accuracy of the scheduled positioning time is included, the scheduled positioning time may or may not interact with LCS quality of service (QoS). For example, with respect to location accuracy requirements as part of LCS QoS, no interaction may be required when including the scheduled location time accuracy, and the location accuracy requirements need not be affected by the existence of the scheduled location time and the scheduled location accuracy. Regarding the response time requirements as part of LCS QoS, the low delay requirements and delay tolerance requirements for response time may still each be allowed, but may only apply to the positioning execution phase shown in fig. 3 and not to the positioning preparation phase in fig. 3. Regarding LCS QoS class, with a guaranteed class for LCS QoS class, the scheduled positioning time accuracy may be met, or if the scheduled positioning time accuracy cannot be met, the UE location may not be available, but error causes may instead be provided to the LCS client, AF or UE. With best effort class for LCS QoS class, if the scheduled positioning time accuracy is not met, the location may still be obtained and provided to the LCS client, AF or UE with an indication that the scheduled positioning time accuracy is not met.

When the scheduled positioning time accuracy is explicitly or by default not included, the LCS QoS response time requirements may be treated as just described, and the LCS QoS location accuracy requirements may be re-interpreted as an accuracy applicable to the obtained location relative to the actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time. Re-interpreting LCS QoS positioning accuracy in this way may mean that the position error or position uncertainty may include a component caused by the movement of the UE during the period between the scheduled positioning time and the time applicable to the position obtained for the UE. This may affect the location determination but may avoid the need for the LCS client to specify the accuracy of the scheduled positioning time.

It should be appreciated that during positioning measurements may be obtained at or near the scheduled positioning time T. The determination of the UE location is based on these measurements, but the positioning procedure may use the best measurement (e.g., a measurement based on the strongest received signal or a signal with the least interference, etc.), and accordingly, the time applicable to the obtained location for the UE may not be exactly the scheduled positioning time T. Thus, although the location determination of the UE may have a scheduled positioning time T, the time applicable to the location determined for the UE may be a slightly different time T1. For example, a location measurement for determining the location of the UE may be obtained at time T1.

Furthermore, position determination with or without scheduled positioning time will typically include position uncertainty. For example, the estimated location for the UE may be different from the true location of the UE, and the difference between the estimated location and the true location is a location error or uncertainty.

The resulting uncertainty of the location for the UE may include a component from the location determination and may further include a component caused by a time error (i.e., positioning time uncertainty). The positioning time uncertainty t can be expressed in two alternative ways. One option (a) is to explicitly specify t, which in the case of scheduled positioning times can be supported using scheduled positioning time uncertainty or scheduled positioning time accuracy (e.g., which can be equal to t). Another option (B) may be to include a positioning time uncertainty as part of the position uncertainty, which is considered as an uncertainty or error of the UE's position at time T. For example, assume that a UE is located at location L at time T, at location L1 at time T1 (where T1 is close to T), and at time T1 location L2 is estimated (e.g., calculated) for the UE. Then in the case of option a, the position error is L1-L2 and the time error is T-T1. In the case of option B, the position error is L-L2 and there is no explicit time error.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of using the scheduled positioning time T for location determination for the UE 102 when the times applicable to the determined location for the UE 102 are different times Tl. As indicated by white point 402, UE 102 may be at location L at scheduled positioning time T. Gray point 404 illustrates the actual location L1 of UE 102 at time T1, TI being the time suitable for the location obtained for UE 102. Based on the assumption that the UE 102 is moving, the actual location L1 illustrated by gray point 404 (at time T1) is at a different location than the location L illustrated by white point 402 (at time T). If the UE 102 is stationary between times T and T1, the actual location L1 at time T1 will coincide with location L at time T. Additionally, black dots 406 in fig. 4 illustrate an estimated (e.g., calculated) location L2 of the UE 102 at time T1. The estimated position L2 illustrated by the black dot 406 (at time T1) is at a different location than the actual position L1 (at time T1) due to position errors (e.g., errors in position measurements and/or position calculations).

Thus, as illustrated by fig. 4, due to the use of the scheduled positioning time, the position error may include components caused by the position determination, and may further include components caused by the movement of the UE 102 during a period of time between the scheduled positioning time and a time applicable to the position obtained for the UE 102. Accordingly, when reporting the determined position of the UE 102 at the scheduled positioning time, the uncertainty of the position should include not only a position error component but also a time error component.

In one option, option a illustrated in fig. 4, the uncertainty of the position may be reported with separate position error and time error components. For example, the position error component is an estimate (e.g., prediction) of the difference x between the actual position L1 of the measurement time T1 and the estimated position L2 of the measurement time T1, i.e., x=l1-L2. The time error component is an estimate of the difference T between the scheduled positioning time T and the measurement time T1, i.e. t=t-T1.

In another option, namely option B illustrated in fig. 4, the uncertainty of the position may be reported based on a combination of a position error component and a time error component. For example, the time error component may be converted to a position error based on a known (e.g., measured) velocity of the UE 102 or based on UE 102 position measurements obtained shortly before and shortly after the scheduled positioning time. Accordingly, the combined position error may be reported as an estimate of L-L2, which includes a time error component, and thus, no separate time error component is reported.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example 500 of uncertainty that may be associated with the determined location of the UE 102 due to location uncertainty and time uncertainty from the scheduled positioning time. Fig. 5 illustrates a 2-dimensional position in the horizontal plane (e.g., in an X-Y coordinate system), but the 3-dimensional version of fig. 5 may be created by transforming the circle shown in fig. 5 into a sphere. As depicted in fig. 4, the UE 102 has an actual location L at the scheduled positioning time T, and an actual location L1 at the measurement time T1, and an estimated location L2 at the measurement time T1, wherein the time T1 may differ from the time T by a maximum amount T according to T-t+.t1+.t. For example, t may be a scheduled positioning time accuracy requirement or accuracy target, which may be implicit and may be estimated based on a known time to obtain a position measurement for UE 102.

As illustrated in fig. 5, the estimated location L2 illustrated by the black dot 502 is a location obtained by a location server (e.g., LMF 120 or LSS 117) or a location obtained by the UE 102 for the UE 102 at time Tl, when the UE 102 is at the actual location L1. The estimated position L2 is associated with a position uncertainty region 504, the position uncertainty region 504 being illustrated as the gray interior of a circle of radius x around the point 502, where x is the estimated maximum difference between the estimated position L2 and the actual position L1 at time T1, i.e., x=max (L1-L2). There may be some confidence associated with the value x. For example, x may be estimated such that L1-L2 has a 67% (or 90% or 95%) probability of being less than x. The actual location L1 at time T1 may be anywhere within the uncertainty region 504 of radius x (e.g., with some level of confidence). It should be appreciated that the uncertainty region 504 may not be a circular interior, but may have other geometries (e.g., may be an elliptical interior or an interior of a three-dimensional sphere or ellipsoid). In addition, as already discussed, the size (radius) of the uncertainty may be determined by the desired confidence level. In other words, while the estimated location L2 is known, the actual location L1 at time T1 is unknown, the uncertainty may be determined with a desired confidence level, e.g., such that the actual location L1 has a desired probability of being within the uncertainty region 504 (confidence level). The determination of the location uncertainty region 504 with the desired confidence level is conventionally performed and reported during positioning.

If the estimated location has the greatest error, i.e., the actual location L1 is located on the perimeter (or surface) of the uncertainty region (or volume) 504, the gray point 506 represents one possibility for the actual location L1 of the UE. The actual position L1 at point 506 is associated with a time uncertainty T, which is the difference (or maximum difference) between the scheduled positioning time T and the measurement time T1, i.e. t=t-T1 (or t=max (T-T1)). The location server (e.g., LMF 120 or LSS117 (or UE 102)) may determine the distance D associated with the time uncertainty t based on, for example, the velocity of the UE 102 (whereby the server (or UE 102) may receive from the UE 102) or may determine D using one or more location measurements. The distance D may be an estimate of the maximum distance between the location L and the location L1, and thus the maximum distance the UE 102 moves between time T and time T1. As before, distance D may have an associated confidence-e.g., where the actual distance between locations L and L1 is less than D with a confidence of 67% (or 90% or 95%). The distance D may be determined based on the estimated velocity v of the UE 102 and the time uncertainty t, which results in d=v×t. The distance D associated with the time uncertainty T may be determined from several measurements or based on UE 102 location measurements obtained shortly before and shortly after the scheduled positioning time T. For example, multiple measurements near or at the scheduled positioning time T may be obtained, and the determination of the estimated location L2 of the UE 102 may be based on the best measurement from the measurement time T1 (e.g., based on the strongest received signal or the measurement of the signal with the least interference, etc.). The location server (or UE 102) may use multiple measurements over time periods T-T to T + T to generate additional location estimates and may determine the distance D based on these location estimates. The actual location L may then lie within a distance D of the actual location L1 and thus may lie anywhere within the uncertainty region 508, which uncertainty region 508 is inside a circle 516 having a radius D and centered on the location L1. The possible location L with the largest distance to the estimated location L2 is shown by the white point 510. Other gray points 506 and white points 510 may be used to add similar exemplary locations for L1 and L in FIG. 5. The white point 510 having the greatest distance from location L2 will then lie on the circumference of a circle 514 centered at location L2 and having a radius x+D.

White point 510 represents one possibility for the actual location L of UE 102 at the scheduled positioning time T. However, the actual location Ll (shown with gray dots 506) may be located anywhere on or within the perimeter of the uncertainty region 504. Similarly, for each possible actual location L1, the actual location L may be any location on or within the perimeter of the uncertainty region 508, in this example the uncertainty region 508 is within the circle 516 (although in a different example another geometry, such as an ellipse, sphere, or ellipsoid, is possible). For each possible actual position Ll, the combination of the uncertainty region 504 of the actual position Ll and the uncertainty region 508 of the actual position L results in an uncertainty region 512 of the actual position L, which is the union of all possible uncertainty regions 508. In the example of fig. 5, the uncertainty region 512 is the interior of a circle 514, but may have other geometries (e.g., oval, sphere, or ellipsoid) in other examples. Accordingly, a location uncertainty region 512 (which may also be referred to as simply a location uncertainty) for location L associated with the estimated location L2 at point 502 may be generated based on the location uncertainty x for location L1 (which is also a location error for location L2 relative to location L1) and a distance D (which is also a time error for location L2) corresponding to a time uncertainty t for location L1. In this example, the combined position uncertainty 512 (which applies to option (B) previously described) may be the inside of a circle with radius x+d.

Fig. 6 is a message flow 600 illustrating messaging between LCS client 130, 5GCN LCS entity 602 (such as GMLC 125 or AMF 115 and NEF 127), LMF 120, gNB110, and UE 102 for a multi-RTT positioning procedure as described in 3gpp TS 38.305, wherein the time of location determination of the UE is scheduled in advance. The serving gNB 110-1 and the plurality of neighboring gNBs 110-2, 110-3, and 110-4 may be gNBs collectively referred to as gNB 110. Although the use of LMF 120 is illustrated in fig. 6, it should be understood that other entities may be used in place of LMF 120 to determine the location and uncertainty of the location of UE 102, including, for example, SLP 129, or LSS117 (or LMC) in NG-RAN 135, or UE 102. For example, LSS117 may be a logical function of serving gNB 110-1 CU. In some implementations, LSS117 may be internal to gNB 110-1, but connected to the CU or external to gNB 110-1. For example, if LSS117 is external to gNB 110-1 or separate from gNB 110-1CU, additional messages (e.g., xnAP messages) may be used to pass messages from gNB 110-1 to LSS117 and from LSS117 back to gNB 110-1. For inclusion, the positioning procedure illustrated in fig. 6 includes both DL PRS and UL SRS measurements. DL PRS and UL SRS measurements may be used, for example, to support positioning methods such as multi-cell RTT (also referred to as multi-RTT) where UE 102 obtains DL measurements and gNB110 obtains UL measurements. However, it should be appreciated that the procedure illustrated in fig. 6 may be used with other types of positioning methods that rely on DL PRS only, e.g., by excluding phases related to UL PRS, or UL SRS only by excluding phases related to DL PRS. Accordingly, the procedure may be used with positioning measurements (such as UL-TDOA, UL-AOA, DL-TDOA, DL-AOD, A-GNSS, WLAN, RTT, multi-cell RTT, or some combination of these). For example, to support UL positioning methods such as UL-TDOA or UL-AOA, where the gNB110 measures UL SRS signals from the UE 102, but the UE 102 does not measure DL PRS signals or other DL signals from the gNB110 (e.g., from SV 190 or WLAN AP), stages 0, 7, 8, 9a, and 10 in fig. 6 may be omitted. Similarly, to support DL positioning methods such as DL-TDOA, DL-AOD, a-GNSS, or WLAN, where UE 102 measures DL PRS signals or other DL signals from the gNB110 (e.g., from SV 190 or WLAN AP), but the gNB110 does not measure UL SRS signals from the UE 102, stages 2-6, 9b, and 11 in fig. 6 may be omitted.

As illustrated in fig. 6, the positioning procedure may request and schedule the location of the UE 102 when needed (e.g., at time T). Accordingly, the left side of the message flow is a timeline illustrating when the various phases are performed with respect to the scheduled positioning time T. As illustrated, phases 0-8 are all part of the location preparation phase and are performed before time T. At time T, UL and DL signals are transmitted and measured. After time T, a positioning execution phase occurs, which is illustrated as including phases 9-12 and C. Message flow 600 illustrates using LMF 120 for location determination, but if desired, LSS117 (or LMC) in serving gNB 110-1 or UE 102 itself may be used to further reduce latency in the location procedure, e.g., during the location execution phase. In stage a in fig. 6, a location service request from an LCS client 130 is sent to the LMF 120 via one or more 5GCN LCS entities 602 and includes a scheduled location time T in a format appropriate for the LCS client 130. In this example, the location time T may be provided in coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and define a request to obtain the target device location in the future at t=12:34:0000z. The request may include an uncertainty required for the location of the UE, which may be a maximum difference (e.g., a maximum distance) between the estimated location of the UE and the actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time T. For example, the request may include a time window or uncertainty t for locating time; that is, the desired positioning time is t±t seconds. As discussed in fig. 4, the positioning time uncertainty t can be represented in two alternative ways. One option (a) is to explicitly specify t. Another option (B) is to include a positioning time uncertainty as part of the position uncertainty, which is considered as an uncertainty or error in the UE position at time T. For example, assume that UE 102 is located at location L at time T, is located at location L1 at time T1 (near T), and obtains location L2 for the UE at time T1. With option A, the position error is then L1-L2, and the time error is T-T1. With option B, the position error is L-L2 and there is no time error. Option B may require a more complex LMF 120 (or SLP 129, LSS117, or UE 102) implementation that requires determining a position uncertainty based on both a position error and a time error, as discussed in fig. 5. Thus, in implementations where combined position and time uncertainty is supported for scheduled positioning times, based on support for option B, no time window or uncertainty t may be provided at stage a, but only the required position accuracy (e.g., maximum position error) may be provided. However, the location server (e.g., LMF 120) may still determine a time window or uncertainty t that is not visible to the LCS client 130, which may be used to help support the required location accuracy specified by the LCS client 130.

In phase B, LMF 120 schedules a location session for target UE 102 so that the UE location can be obtained (e.g., as close as possible) at the requested time T (i.e., in this example, the UE location is valid at time t=12:34:0000z).

The location preparation phase starts at phase 0 of time T-T1, where T1 depends on the desired duration of the location preparation phase (depending on, for example, the location method(s) selected, etc.).

In stage 0, lmf 120 and gNB 110 may use NRPPa DL PRS configuration information exchange, e.g., as described in 3gpp TS 38.455, to obtain or send DL PRS configuration information (e.g., including parameters for DL PRS transmissions such as PRS frequency, bandwidth, timing, coding, muting, frequency hopping) required for a positioning method (e.g., multi-RTT positioning) from or to the gNB 110. PRS configuration information may also be sent as assistance data to UE 102 (at stage 7) and/or LSS117 (not shown). PRS configuration information may be used by: UE 102 assists DL PRS measurements in stage 9 a; LMF 120 requests UL SRS configuration information from serving gNB 110-1 for UE 102 in stage 2; and/or by the LSS117 to assist in the calculation of the UE 102 location.

In stage 1, the lmf 120 may request the positioning capabilities of the UE 102 using an LPP capability transfer procedure, e.g., as described in 3gpp TS 37.355.

In stage 2, lmf 120 sends an NRPPa location information request message to serving gNB 110-1 to request UL information for UE 102.

In stage 3, serving gNB 110-1 determines the resources available for UL SRS and configures UE 102 with the set of UL-SRS resources in stage 3 a.

In stage 4, the serving gNB 110-1 provides the UL SRS configuration information to the LMF 120 in an NRPPa location information response message.

In stage 5a, lmf 120 sends an NRPPa location activation request to serving gNB 110-1 requesting UE SRS activation. The NRPPa location activation request message may include a time T at which the location of UE 102 is to be measured, and thus a time at which UE 102 needs to transmit UL SRS to enable UL measurement at phase 9b to occur at or near time T. In stage 5b, serving gNB 110-1 activates UE SRS transmission at or near time T. UE 102 will wait until time T or close to time T to begin UL SRS transmission. In stage 5c, serving gNB 110-1 sends an NRPPa location activation response message to LMF 120 indicating SRS activation of UE 102.

In stage 6, lmf 120 requests UL measurements of UL SRS transmissions for UE 102 by selected gnbs 110 by sending NRPPa measurement request messages to each of the selected gnbs 110. Each message may include an indication of a physical measurement time T' to perform UL measurements. The time T' ultimately defines the time at which the UE 102 location is valid/acquired. The time T' may specify, for example, an NR or LTE System Frame Number (SFN) and/or a subframe slot number. Time T' may have a one-to-one (1:1) relationship with T (e.g., a 1:1 relationship with UTC time requested at stage A). For example, T' may be equal to T or may be slightly different (e.g., 1-100 milliseconds (ms) different). This difference may be needed if it is not possible to schedule UL SRS transmissions for UE 102 or DL PRS transmissions for the gNB 110 at exactly time T. The message includes all the information required to enable the gNB/TRP 110 to perform the UL measurements.

In stage 7, the lmf 120 sends the LPP provisioning assistance data message to the UE 102. The message includes any assistance data required by the UE 102 to perform the necessary DL PRS measurements (e.g., including PRS configuration information sent or received by the LMF 120 at stage 0).

In stage 8, the LMF 120 sends an LPP request location information message to the UE 102 to request DL measurements (e.g., UE Rx-Tx) to support multiple RTTs. The request location information message includes an indication of time T ' as in phase 6 (e.g., where T ' =t or T ' is slightly different from T). The request location information message may further indicate the type of positioning method to be used, e.g. UE-assisted multi-RTT.

At stage 9a, at or near the scheduled positioning time T, the UE 102 performs position measurements, e.g., DL PRS measurements (such as RSTD, RSRP, RSRQ, AOD, AOA, rx-Tx) of all the gnbs 110 provided in the assistance data of stage 7. The UE 102 performs the measurements such that the measurements/locations are valid at time T' (e.g., the physical time base corresponding to T). The position measurements may additionally or alternatively include one of GNSS pseudoranges, GNSS code phases, GNSS carrier phases, wiFi measurements (RSSI, AOA or RTT), bluetooth measurements (RSSI, AOA or RTT), measurements of DL NR signals (RSTD, RSRP, RSRQ, AOD, AOA, rx-Tx) from the gNB, measurements performed by sensors (such as inertial sensors, barometers, etc.).

At or near time T, each gNB 110 configured at stage 6 measures UL SRS transmissions from the UE 102, such as AOA, RSRP, rx-Tx, TOA, at stage 9 b. The gNB 110 performs the measurement such that the measurement/location is valid at time T' (e.g., the physical time base corresponding to T).

UE 102 and/or gNB 110 thus obtains a plurality of measurements during the time period that may include the scheduled positioning time T at stages 9a and 9 b. For example, the measurement may occur over a period of time less than 1 second, less than 100ms, less than 10ms, or less than 1ms in duration.

At stage 10, the ue 102 reports the measurements performed at stage 9a to the LMF 120 in an LPP provided location information message, which may identify the measurement time T. The position report at stage 10 includes the measurement/position estimate and may optionally together include a time T "(e.g., where T" is as close as possible to the requested time T '; i.e., ideally T "=t'). Positioning time error= (T "-T'). The UE 102 may provide an indication of its speed and/or distance moved between time T' and time t″ or allow the LMF 120 to determine a measurement (e.g., sensor measurement) of the UE 102 speed or distance moved.

In stage 11, each of the neighboring gnbs 110-2, 110-3, and 110-4 reports the measurement performed in stage 9b to the LMF 120 in an NRPPa measurement response message, which may also identify the time T' "when the measurement was obtained. The position report at stage 11 includes the measurement/position estimate, optionally together with a time T ' "(e.g. where T '" is as close as possible to the requested time T '; i.e. ideally T ' "=t '). Positioning time error= (T '"-T').

In stage 12, the lmf 120 determines the location of the UE 102 based on the measurements received in stages 10 and 11. For example, LMF 120 may determine RTTs from UE 102 and the gNB 110Rx-Tx time difference measurements for each gNB 110 and calculate the positioning of UE 102, with corresponding UL and DL measurements provided at stages 10 and 11 for each gNB 110. The LMF 120 further determines the uncertainty of the location. For example, the LMF 120 may determine the location of the UE 102 with an uncertainty that does not exceed the required uncertainty indicated by stage a. As discussed in fig. 4 and 5, the LMF 120 may determine an uncertainty that is an indication of the difference between the determined (i.e., estimated) location of the UE 102 and the actual location of the UE 102 at the scheduled positioning time T. The location of the UE 102 may be an estimate of the actual location of the UE 102 at a time T1, the time T1 being within a time period that includes the scheduled positioning time T. The time period may be, for example, less than 1 second, less than 100ms, less than 10ms, or less than 1ms. The uncertainty in the location of the UE 102 may indicate an error in the estimate of the actual location of the UE 102 at time T1 combined with an error in the estimate of the distance the UE 102 moves between time T and time T1. As discussed in fig. 4 and 5, the uncertainty of the location may be, for example, a combination of a first location uncertainty based on the location measurement but not based on the scheduled positioning time and a second location uncertainty based on the scheduled positioning time for the location. For example, as discussed in fig. 4 and 5, LMF 120 may determine the uncertainty of the location by determining a first location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between the determined location L2 of UE 102 and the actual location L1 at time T1 during a plurality of times and/or periods of time during which measurements were obtained in phases 9a and 9 b. The second location uncertainty may be determined based on an estimate of the difference between the actual location L1 of the UE 102 at time T1 and the actual location L of the UE at the scheduled positioning time T. The LMF 120 may combine the first location uncertainty and the second location uncertainty to determine the location uncertainty of the UE 102.

It should be appreciated that while stage 12 illustrates LMF 120 determining the location and uncertainty of UE 102, other entities may perform this stage, including UE 102, SLP 129, gNB 110, LSS117 (or LMC in NG-RAN 135).

In stage C, the LMF 120 sends a location services response to the LCS client 140 via one or more 5GCN LCS entities 602 that provides the UE 102 location and a location uncertainty indicating the difference between the UE's location and the UE's actual location at the scheduled positioning time T. In this example, a timestamp indicating the positioning time is t=12:34:0000z+δ may also be included. The location estimate is received by the LCS client 130/-at time t+t2 (i.e. at t=12:34:0000z+δ+t2 in this example), where T2 is the latency and δ (which may be positive or negative) is the difference between the requested positioning time and the actual positioning time.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic block diagram that understands certain exemplary features of an entity 700 in a wireless network, the entity 700 configured to perform positioning of the UE 102 using scheduled positioning time and combined position and time uncertainty, as discussed herein. Entity 700 may be LMF 120, SLP 129, gNB 110, LSS117 (or LMC) or UE 102 in NG-RAN 135, as shown in fig. 1 and 2. The entity 700 may be configured to perform the message flow 600 illustrated in fig. 6, including the determination of uncertainty, as illustrated in fig. 4 and 5, and the procedure 800 illustrated in fig. 8, as well as other algorithms discussed herein. The entity 700 can, for example, comprise one or more processors 702, memory 704, external interfaces 710 (e.g., wired or wireless network interfaces to entities in a base station, UE, and/or core network), which can be operatively coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium 720 and memory 704 with one or more connections 706 (e.g., bus, line, fiber optic, link, etc.). In some example implementations, all or a portion of entity 700 may take the form of a chipset or the like. Depending on the implementation, entity 700 may include additional components not illustrated herein. For example, if entity 700 is a UE, SPS signals may be received and processed from SV 190 shown in fig. 1 to measure GNSS pseudoranges, GNSS code phases, GNSS carrier phases, and the like, as well as additional components (such as SPS receivers), and sensors (e.g., inertial sensors such as one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, magnetometers, barometers, and the like). The external interface 710 of the UE may include a WWAN transceiver including a transmitter and receiver capable of measuring RSTD, RSRP, RSRQ, AOD, AOA, rx-Tx, etc. of DL NR signals from the gNB, and/or a WLAN transceiver including a transmitter and receiver capable of measuring, for example, wiFi measurements (such as RSSI, AOA, or RTT), bluetooth measurements (such as RSSI, AOA, or RTT), etc. If the entity 700 is a base station, the external interface may include a WWAN transceiver including a transmitter and a receiver capable of measuring AOA, RSRP, rx-TX, TOA, etc. of the UL SRS signal from the UE 102. The external interface 710 of the base station may further comprise a wired or wireless network interface to a core network entity.

The one or more processors 702 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 702 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein by implementing one or more instructions or program code 708 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as medium 720 and/or memory 704. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 702 may represent one or more circuits that may be configured to perform at least a portion of a data signal calculation procedure or process related to the operation of the entity 700.

The medium 720 and/or the memory 704 may store instructions or program code 708 comprising executable code or software instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors 702, cause the one or more processors 702 to operate as a special purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As illustrated in entity 700, medium 720 and/or memory 704 can include one or more components or modules that can be implemented by the one or more processors 702 to perform the methodologies described herein. While the components or modules are illustrated as software in the medium 720 that is executable by the one or more processors 702, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in the memory 704 or may be dedicated hardware in the one or more processors 702 or external to the processors.

Several software modules and data tables may reside on the medium 720 and/or memory 704 and be utilized by the one or more processors 702 to manage both communications and functionality described herein. It is to be appreciated that the organization of the contents of medium 720 and/or memory 704 as illustrated in entity 700 is merely exemplary, and as such, the functionality of the various modules and/or data structures may be combined, separated, and/or structured in different ways depending on the implementation of entity 700.

The medium 720 and/or the memory 704 may include a location measurement module 722, which when implemented by the one or more processors 702, configures the one or more processors 702 to receive location measurements for the UE from one or more other entities (such as the UE 102 or the one or more gnbs 110) via the external interface 710. The position measurements may be obtained by one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period including the scheduled positioning time, e.g., the time period may be less than 1 second, less than 100ms, less than 10ms, or less than 1ms. The one or more processors 702 may be further configured to receive a velocity of the UE at or near the scheduled positioning time.

The medium 720 and/or the memory 704 may include a positioning module 724 that, when implemented by the one or more processors 702, configures the one or more processors 702 to determine a location of the UE based on the location measurements. For example, the location is an estimate of the actual location of the UE during a time period that includes the scheduled positioning time. For example, the one or more processors 702 may be further configured to receive a request for a location of the UE from another entity (such as LCS client 140, AF, or UE 102). The request may include a required uncertainty for the location of the UE, the required uncertainty including a maximum difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time. The one or more processors 702 may be configured to determine the location of the UE with an uncertainty of the location that does not exceed the required uncertainty.

The medium 720 and/or the memory 704 may include an uncertainty module 726, which when implemented by the one or more processors 702, configures the one or more processors 702 to determine an uncertainty of the determined location, wherein the uncertainty is indicative of a difference between the determined location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time. For example, the determined location for the UE may be an estimate of the actual location of the UE at time T1, the time T1 being close to the scheduled positioning time T, and the uncertainty of the location may be indicative of an error in the estimate of the actual location of the UE at time T1 combined with an error in the estimate of the distance the UE moves between the scheduled positioning time T and time T1. For example, the one or more processors 702 may be configured to determine the uncertainty of the location by determining a first location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between the determined location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at one of a plurality of times during which the positioning measurements are obtained. For example, the one or more processors 702 may be further configured to determine the second location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between an actual location of the UE at the one time and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time. For example, the second location uncertainty may be based on a velocity of the UE received with the positioning measurement, for example, or on UE location measurements obtained shortly before and shortly after the scheduled positioning time. For example, the one or more processors 702 may be configured to combine the first position uncertainty and the second position uncertainty to determine the position uncertainty.

The medium 720 and/or the memory 704 may include a reporting module 728, which when implemented by the one or more processors 702, configures the one or more processors 702 to send the location and the uncertainty of the location to another entity, such as a requesting entity (which may be, for example, the LCS client 140, AF, or UE 102), via the external interface 710.

The methodology described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, these methodologies may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the one or more processors 702 may be implemented within one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), digital Signal Processors (DSPs), digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

For a firmware and/or software implementation, these methodologies may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing the methodologies described herein. For example, the software codes may be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium 720 or memory 704 connected to the one or more processors 704 and executed by the one or more processors 702. The memory may be implemented within the one or more processors or external to the one or more processors. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, nonvolatile, or other memory and is not to be limited to any particular type of memory or number of memories, or type of media upon which memory is stored.

If implemented in firmware and/or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 708 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as medium 720 and/or memory 704. Examples include computer readable media encoded with data structures and computer readable media encoded with computer program code 708. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium including program code 708 stored thereon may include program code 708 to support location determination of a UE using a scheduled positioning time and a combined location and time uncertainty in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer readable medium 720 includes a physical computer storage medium. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code 708 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer; disk (disc) and disc (disc), as used herein, includes Compact Disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

In addition to being stored on computer readable medium 720, instructions and/or data may also be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in a communication device. For example, the communication equipment may include an external interface 710 with signals indicative of instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium having signals indicative of information for performing the disclosed functions.

Memory 704 may represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 704 may include, for example, main memory and/or secondary memory. The main memory may include, for example, random access memory, read only memory, and the like. Although illustrated in this example as being separate from the one or more processors 702, it should be understood that all or a portion of the main memory may be provided within the one or more processors 702 or otherwise co-located/coupled with the one or more processors 702. The secondary memory may include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as the primary memory and/or one or more data storage devices or systems (such as, for example, magnetic disk drives, optical disk drives, tape drives, solid state memory drives, etc.).

In some implementations, the secondary memory may be operably housed or otherwise configurable to be coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium 720. As such, in certain example implementations, the methods and/or apparatus presented herein may take the form of all or part of a computer-readable medium 720 that may include computer-implementable program code 708 stored thereon, which computer-implementable program code 702, when executed by one or more processors 702, may be operatively enabled to perform all or part of the example operations as described herein. The computer-readable medium 720 may be part of the memory 704.

Fig. 8 shows a flow chart of an exemplary method 800 for locating a user equipment (e.g., UE 102) at a scheduled location time, performed by an entity (such as the entity of fig. 7) in a manner consistent with the disclosed implementations, which may be UE 102, LMF 120, SLP 129, gNB 110, LSS117, or LMC in NG-RAN 135.

At block 802, the entity receives location measurements for the UE from one or more other entities, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period that includes the scheduled positioning time, e.g., as discussed at stages 10 and 11 of fig. 6. For example, the one or more other entities may include at least one of a UE, a serving gNB (e.g., gNB 110-1), or a neighboring gNB (e.g., gNB 110). The position measurements may include at least one of GNSS pseudoranges, GNSS code phases, GNSS carrier phases, wiFi measurements (e.g., RSSI, AOA, or RTT), bluetooth measurements (e.g., RSSI, AOA, or RTT), measurements of DL NR signals (e.g., DL PRS signals) from the gNB (e.g., RSTD, RSRP, RSRQ, AOD, AOA, rx-Tx), measurements of UL NR signals (e.g., UL SRS signals) from the UE (e.g., AOA, RSRP, rx-Tx, TOA), measurements performed by a sensor (e.g., inertial sensor or barometer for the UE). For example, the time period may be less than 1 second, less than 100ms, less than 10ms, or less than 1ms. An apparatus for receiving position measurements for a UE from one or more other entities, the position measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times over a period of time including a scheduled positioning time may include, for example, an external interface 710 and one or more processors 702, the one or more processors 702 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions in memory 704 and/or medium 720 in entity 700, such as position measurement module 722 shown in fig. 7.

At block 804, the entity determines the location of the UE based on the location measurements, e.g., as discussed in stage 12 of fig. 6. An apparatus for determining a location of a UE based on location measurements may include, for example, one or more processors 702, the one or more processors 702 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions in a memory 704 and/or medium 720 implementing an entity 700, such as a positioning module 724 shown in fig. 7.

At block 806, the entity determines an uncertainty in the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between the location of the UE and the actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time, e.g., as discussed in stage 12 of fig. 6 and as discussed in fig. 4 and 5. For example, the location of the UE is an estimate of the actual location of the UE at some time within the time period. The uncertainty of the location may then indicate an error in the estimate of the actual location of the UE at the time combined with an error in the estimate of the distance the UE moved between the scheduled positioning time and the time. An apparatus for determining an uncertainty of a location, wherein the uncertainty is indicative of a difference between a location of a UE and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time, may comprise, for example, one or more processors 702, the one or more processors 702 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions in a memory 704 and/or medium 720 implementing an entity 700, such as an uncertainty module 726 shown in fig. 7.

At block 808, the entity sends the location and uncertainty of the location to another entity, e.g., as discussed at stage C of FIG. 6. An apparatus for transmitting a location and uncertainty of the location to another entity may include, for example, one or more processors 702, the one or more processors 702 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions in the memory 704 and/or medium 720 implementing the entity 700, such as the reporting module 728 shown in fig. 7.

In one implementation, the uncertainty of the location may include a combination of a first location uncertainty of the location, wherein the first location uncertainty is based on the location measurement but not on the scheduled positioning time, and a second location uncertainty, wherein the second location uncertainty is based on the scheduled positioning time. For example, the entity may determine the uncertainty of the location by determining a first location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at one of a plurality of times (or during a time period), e.g., as discussed in stage 12 of fig. 6 and fig. 4 and 5. The entity may determine the second location uncertainty based on an estimate of the difference between the actual location of the UE at the one time and the actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time, e.g., as discussed in stage 12 of fig. 6 and fig. 4 and 5. The entity may combine the first and second position uncertainties to determine the position uncertainties, e.g., as discussed in stage 12 of fig. 6 and fig. 4 and 5. An apparatus for determining uncertainty of a location by determining a first location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between a location of a UE and an actual location of the UE at one of a plurality of times may include, for example, one or more processors 702, the one or more processors 702 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions in a memory 704 and/or medium 720 of an implementation entity 700, such as an uncertainty module 726 shown in fig. 7. An apparatus for determining a second location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between an actual location of a UE at the one time and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time may include, for example, one or more processors 702, the one or more processors 702 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions in a memory 704 and/or medium 720 implementing an entity 700, such as an uncertainty module 726 shown in fig. 7. An apparatus for combining a first location uncertainty and a second location uncertainty to determine a location uncertainty may include, for example, one or more processors 702, the one or more processors 702 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions in a memory 704 and/or medium 720 implementing an entity 700, such as an uncertainty module 726 shown in fig. 7.

In one implementation, an entity may receive a request for the location of a UE from another entity, the request including a required uncertainty for the location of the UE, the required uncertainty including a maximum difference between the location of the UE and the actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time, e.g., as discussed in stage a of fig. 6. The entity may determine the location of the UE, wherein the uncertainty of the location does not exceed the required uncertainty, e.g., as discussed in stage 12 of fig. 6. An apparatus for receiving a request for a location of a UE from another entity (the request including a required uncertainty for the location of the UE, the required uncertainty including a maximum difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time) may include, for example, one or more processors 702, the one or more processors 702 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions in a memory 704 and/or medium 720 of an implementation entity 700, such as a positioning module 724 shown in fig. 7. An apparatus for determining a location of a UE, wherein the uncertainty of the location does not exceed the required uncertainty, may comprise, for example, one or more processors 702, the one or more processors 702 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions in the memory 704 and/or medium 720 of the implementation entity 700, such as the positioning module 724 shown in fig. 7.

Reference throughout this specification to "one example," "an example," "certain examples," or "example implementations" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the feature and/or example may be included in at least one feature and/or example of claimed subject matter. Thus, the appearances of the phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same feature, example, and/or limitation, as in "one example," "an example," "in some examples," or "in some implementations," or other similar phrases. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in one or more examples and/or features.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions included herein are presented in terms of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on binary digital signals stored within a memory of a particular device or special purpose computing apparatus or platform. In the context of this particular specification, the term specific apparatus or the like includes a general purpose computer that, once programmed, performs specific operations in accordance with instructions from program software. Algorithmic descriptions or symbolic representations are examples of techniques used by those of ordinary skill in the signal processing or related arts to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations or similar signal processing leading to a desired result. In this context, operations or processing involve physical manipulation of physical quantities. Typically, but not necessarily, such quantities may take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, data, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, values, or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the discussion herein, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," or the like, refer to the action or processes of a particular apparatus (such as a special purpose computer, special purpose computing device, or similar special purpose electronic computing device). In the context of this specification, therefore, a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals generally represented as physical electronic or magnetic quantities within memories, registers, or other information storage devices, transmission devices, or display devices of the special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device.

In the above detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods and apparatuses known by those of ordinary skill have not been described in detail so as not to obscure claimed subject matter.

The terms "and," "or," and/or "as used herein may include various meanings that are also expected to depend, at least in part, on the context in which such terms are used. Generally, or, if used in connection with a list, such as A, B or C, is intended to mean A, B and C (inclusive meaning as used herein) and A, B or C (exclusive meaning as used herein). Furthermore, the terms "one or more" as used herein may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular or may be used to describe a plurality of features, structures, or characteristics or some other combination thereof. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example and claimed subject matter is not limited to this example.

While there has been illustrated and described what are presently considered to be example features, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other modifications may be made, and equivalents may be substituted, without departing from claimed subject matter. Additionally, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation to the teachings of the claimed subject matter without departing from the central concept described herein.

It is intended, therefore, that the claimed subject matter not be limited to the particular examples disclosed, but that the claimed subject matter may also include all aspects falling within the scope of the appended claims, and equivalents thereof.

As with this description, various embodiments may include different combinations of features. Examples of implementations are described in the following numbered clauses:

clause 1. A method at an entity for locating a User Equipment (UE) at a scheduled location time, comprising: receiving, from one or more other entities, location measurements for the UE, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period including the scheduled positioning time; determining a location of the UE based on the location measurement; determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and transmitting the location and the uncertainty of the location to another entity.

Clause 2 the method of clause 1, wherein the entity is a UE, a Location Management Function (LMF), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) location platform (SLP), a new radio node B (gNB), a location server proxy (LSS), or a Location Management Component (LMC).

Clause 3 the method of any of clauses 1 or 2, wherein the one or more other entities comprise at least one of the UE, a serving gNB, or a neighboring gNB.

Clause 4 the method of any of clauses 1-3, wherein the position measurement comprises at least one of: global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) pseudoranges; a GNSS code phase; GNSS carrier phase; wiFi (also known as Wi-Fi) measurements including Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), angle of arrival (AOA), or Round Trip Time (RTT); bluetooth measurements including RSSI, AOA or RTT; measurements of Downlink (DL) New Radio (NR) signals from NR node B (gNB) including Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), departure Angle (AOD), AOA or receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx); measurements of Uplink (UL) NR signals from UEs, including AOA, RSRP, rx-Tx, time of arrival (TOA); and measurements performed by sensors including inertial sensors or barometers.

Clause 5 the method of any of clauses 1-4, wherein the period of time is less than 1 second, less than 100 milliseconds (ms), less than 10ms, or less than 1ms.

Clause 6 the method of any of clauses 1-5, wherein the location of the UE is an estimate of the actual location of the UE at a time during the time period.

Clause 7 the method of clause 6, wherein the uncertainty of the location indicates an error in the estimate of the actual location of the UE at the time combined with an error in the estimate of the distance the UE moved between the scheduled positioning time and the time.

Clause 8 the method of any of clauses 1-7, wherein the uncertainty of the location comprises a combination of a first location uncertainty of the location (the first location uncertainty being based on the location measurement but not based on the scheduled positioning time) and a second location uncertainty (the second location uncertainty being based on the scheduled positioning time).

Clause 9 the method of clause 8, wherein determining the uncertainty of the location comprises: determining the first location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between a location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at one of the plurality of time periods; determining the second location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between an actual location of the UE at the one time and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and combining the first position uncertainty and the second position uncertainty to determine the uncertainty of the position.

Clause 10 the method of any of clauses 1-9, further comprising: receiving a request for the location of the UE from the other entity, the request including a required uncertainty for the location of the UE, the required uncertainty including a maximum difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and determining the location of the UE, wherein the uncertainty of the location does not exceed the required uncertainty.

Clause 11 an entity configured for positioning a User Equipment (UE) at a scheduled positioning time in a wireless network, comprising: an external interface configured to communicate with other entities in the wireless network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receiving, from one or more other entities, location measurements for the UE, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period including the scheduled positioning time; determining a location of the UE based on the location measurement; determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and transmitting the location and the uncertainty of the location to another entity.

Clause 12 the entity of clause 11, wherein the entity is a UE, a Location Management Function (LMF), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) location platform (SLP), a new radio node B (gNB), a location server proxy (LSS), or a Location Management Component (LMC).

Clause 13 the entity of any of clauses 11 or 12, wherein the one or more other entities comprise at least one of the UE, a serving gNB, or a neighboring gNB.

Clause 14 the entity of any of clauses 11-13, wherein the position measurement comprises at least one of: global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) pseudoranges; a GNSS code phase; GNSS carrier phase; wiFi measurements including Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), angle of arrival (AOA), or Round Trip Time (RTT); bluetooth measurements including RSSI, AOA or RTT; measurements of Downlink (DL) New Radio (NR) signals from NR node B (gNB) including Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), departure Angle (AOD), AOA or receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx); measurements of Uplink (UL) NR signals from UEs, including AOA, RSRP, rx-Tx, time of arrival (TOA); and measurements performed by sensors including inertial sensors or barometers.

Clause 15 the entity of any of clauses 11-14, wherein the period of time is less than 1 second, less than 100 milliseconds (ms), less than 10ms, or less than 1ms.

Clause 16 the entity of any of clauses 11-15, wherein the location of the UE is an estimate of the actual location of the UE at a time during the time period.

Clause 17 the entity of clause 16, wherein the uncertainty of the location indicates an error in the estimate of the actual location of the UE at the time combined with an error in the estimate of the distance the UE moved between the scheduled positioning time and the time.

Clause 18 the entity of any of clauses 11-17, wherein the uncertainty of the location comprises a combination of a first location uncertainty of the location (the first location uncertainty being based on the location measurement but not based on the scheduled positioning time) and a second location uncertainty (the second location uncertainty being based on the scheduled positioning time).

Clause 19, the entity of clause 18, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine the uncertainty of the location by being configured to: determining the first location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between a location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at one of the plurality of time periods; determining the second location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between an actual location of the UE at the one time and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and combining the first position uncertainty and the second position uncertainty to determine the uncertainty of the position.

Clause 20 the entity of any of clauses 11-19, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receiving a request for the location of the UE from the other entity, the request including a required uncertainty for the location of the UE, the required uncertainty including a maximum difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and determining the location of the UE, wherein the uncertainty of the location does not exceed the required uncertainty.

Clause 21. An entity in a wireless network configured for locating a User Equipment (UE) at a scheduled location time, comprising: means for receiving, from one or more other entities, location measurements for the UE, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period that includes the scheduled positioning time; means for determining a location of the UE based on the location measurement; means for determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between a location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and means for sending the location and the uncertainty of the location to another entity.

Clause 22 the entity of clause 21, wherein the entity is the UE, a Location Management Function (LMF), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) location platform (SLP), a new radio node B (gNB), a location server proxy (LSS), or a Location Management Component (LMC).

Clause 23 the entity of any of clauses 21 or 22, wherein the one or more other entities comprise at least one of the UE, a serving gNB, or a neighboring gNB.

Clause 24 the entity of any of clauses 21-23, wherein the position measurement comprises at least one of: global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) pseudoranges; a GNSS code phase; GNSS carrier phase; wiFi measurements including Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), angle of arrival (AOA), or Round Trip Time (RTT); bluetooth measurements including RSSI, AOA or RTT; measurements of Downlink (DL) New Radio (NR) signals from NR node B (gNB) including Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), departure Angle (AOD), AOA or receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx); measurements of Uplink (UL) NR signals from UEs, including AOA, RSRP, rx-Tx, time of arrival (TOA); and measurements performed by sensors including inertial sensors or barometers.

Clause 25 the entity of any of clauses 21-24, wherein the period of time is less than 1 second, less than 100 milliseconds (ms), less than 10ms, or less than 1ms.

Clause 26 the entity of any of clauses 21-25, wherein the location of the UE is an estimate of the actual location of the UE at a time during the time period.

Clause 27 the entity of clause 26, wherein the uncertainty of the location indicates an error in the estimate of the actual location of the UE at the time combined with an error in the estimate of the distance the UE moved between the scheduled positioning time and the time.

Clause 28 the entity of any of clauses 21-27, wherein the uncertainty of the location comprises a combination of a first location uncertainty of the location (the first location uncertainty being based on the location measurement but not based on the scheduled positioning time) and a second location uncertainty (the second location uncertainty being based on the scheduled positioning time).

Clause 29 the entity of clause 28, wherein the means for determining the uncertainty of the location comprises: means for determining the first location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between a location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at one of the plurality of times; means for determining the second location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between an actual location of the UE at the one time and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and means for combining the first position uncertainty and the second position uncertainty to determine the uncertainty of the position.

Clause 30 the entity of any of clauses 21-29, further comprising: means for receiving a request for the location of the UE from the other entity, the request including a required uncertainty for the location of the UE, the required uncertainty including a maximum difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and means for determining the location of the UE, wherein the uncertainty of the location does not exceed the required uncertainty.

Clause 31, a non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in an entity in a wireless network for locating a User Equipment (UE) at a scheduled location time, the program code comprising instructions for: receiving, from one or more other entities, location measurements for the UE, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period including the scheduled positioning time; determining a location of the UE based on the location measurement; determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and transmitting the location and the uncertainty of the location to another entity.

Clause 32 the non-transitory storage medium of clause 31, wherein the entity is the UE, a Location Management Function (LMF), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) location platform (SLP), a new radio node B (gNB), a location server proxy (LSS), or a Location Management Component (LMC).

Clause 33 the non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 31 or 32, wherein the one or more other entities comprise at least one of the UE, a serving gNB, or a neighboring gNB.

Clause 34 the non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 31-33, wherein the position measurement comprises at least one of: global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) pseudoranges; a GNSS code phase; GNSS carrier phase; wiFi measurements including Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), angle of arrival (AOA), or Round Trip Time (RTT); bluetooth measurements including RSSI, AOA or RTT; measurements of Downlink (DL) New Radio (NR) signals from NR node B (gNB) including Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), departure Angle (AOD), AOA or receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx); measurements of Uplink (UL) NR signals from UEs, including AOA, RSRP, rx-Tx, time of arrival (TOA); and measurements performed by sensors including inertial sensors or barometers.

Clause 35 the non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 31-34, wherein the time period is less than 1 second, less than 100 milliseconds (ms), less than 10ms, or less than 1ms.

Clause 36 the non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 31-35, wherein the location of the UE is an estimate of the actual location of the UE at a time during the time period.

Clause 37, the non-transitory storage medium of clause 36, wherein the uncertainty of the location indicates an error in the estimate of the actual location of the UE at the time combined with an error in the estimate of the distance the UE moved between the scheduled positioning time and the time.

Clause 38 the non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 31-37, wherein the uncertainty of the location comprises a combination of a first location uncertainty of the location (the first location uncertainty being based on the location measurement but not based on the scheduled positioning time) and a second location uncertainty (the second location uncertainty being based on the scheduled positioning time).

Clause 39 the non-transitory storage medium of clause 38, wherein the instructions for determining the uncertainty of the location comprise instructions for: determining the first location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between a location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at one of the plurality of time periods; determining the second location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between an actual location of the UE at the one time and an actual location of the UE at the scheduled positioning time; and combining the first position uncertainty and the second position uncertainty to determine the uncertainty of the position.

Clause 40 the non-transitory storage medium of any of clauses 31-39, wherein the program code further comprises instructions for: receiving a request for the location of the UE from the other entity, the request including a required uncertainty for the location of the UE, the required uncertainty including a maximum difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and determining the location of the UE, wherein the uncertainty of the location does not exceed the required uncertainty.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and/or actions in the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

Claims (30)

1. A method at an entity for locating a User Equipment (UE) at a scheduled location time, comprising:

Receiving location measurements for the UE from one or more other entities, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period including a scheduled positioning time;

determining a location of the UE based on the location measurements;

determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and

the location and the uncertainty of the location are sent to another entity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity is the UE, a Location Management Function (LMF), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) location platform (SLP), a new radio node B (gNB), a location server proxy (LSS), or a Location Management Component (LMC).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more other entities comprise at least one of the UE, a serving gNB, or a neighboring gNB.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the location measurement comprises at least one of: global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) pseudoranges; a GNSS code phase; GNSS carrier phase; wiFi measurements including Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), angle of arrival (AOA), or Round Trip Time (RTT); bluetooth measurements including RSSI, AOA or RTT; measurements of Downlink (DL) New Radio (NR) signals from NR node B (gNB) including Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), departure Angle (AOD), AOA or receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx); measurements of Uplink (UL) NR signals from the UE, including AOA, RSRP, rx-Tx, time of arrival (TOA); and measurements performed by sensors including inertial sensors or barometers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the period of time is less than 1 second, less than 100 milliseconds (ms), less than 10ms, or less than 1ms.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the UE is an estimate of the actual location of the UE at a time within the time period.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the uncertainty of the location indicates an error in the estimate of the actual location of the UE at the time combined with an error in the estimate of the distance the UE moved between the scheduled positioning time and the time.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the uncertainty of the location comprises a combination of a first location uncertainty of the location based on the location measurement but not based on a scheduled positioning time and a second location uncertainty based on a scheduled positioning time.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the uncertainty of the location comprises:

determining the first location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at one of the plurality of times;

Determining the second location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between an actual location of the UE at the one time and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and

the uncertainty of the location is determined by combining the first location uncertainty and the second location uncertainty.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request for the location of the UE from the other entity, the request comprising a required uncertainty for the location of the UE, the required uncertainty comprising a maximum difference between the location of the UE and the actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and

the location of the UE is determined, wherein the uncertainty of the location does not exceed the required uncertainty.

11. An entity configured for locating a User Equipment (UE) at a scheduled location time in a wireless network, comprising:

an external interface configured to communicate with other entities in the wireless network;

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory and configured to:

Receiving location measurements for the UE from one or more other entities, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period including a scheduled positioning time;

determining a location of the UE based on the location measurements;

determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and

the location and the uncertainty of the location are sent to another entity.

12. The entity of claim 11, wherein the entity is the UE, a Location Management Function (LMF), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) location platform (SLP), a new radio node B (gNB), a location server proxy (LSS), or a Location Management Component (LMC).

13. The entity of claim 11, wherein the one or more other entities comprise at least one of the UE, a serving gNB, or a neighboring gNB.

14. The entity of claim 11, wherein the location measurement comprises at least one of: global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) pseudoranges; a GNSS code phase; GNSS carrier phase; wiFi measurements including Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), angle of arrival (AOA), or Round Trip Time (RTT); bluetooth measurements including RSSI, AOA or RTT; measurements of Downlink (DL) New Radio (NR) signals from NR node B (gNB) including Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), departure Angle (AOD), AOA or receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx); measurements of Uplink (UL) NR signals from the UE, including AOA, RSRP, rx-Tx, time of arrival (TOA); and measurements performed by sensors including inertial sensors or barometers.

15. The entity of claim 11, wherein the period of time is less than 1 second, less than 100 milliseconds (ms), less than 10ms, or less than 1ms.

16. The entity of claim 11, wherein the location of the UE is an estimate of the actual location of the UE at a time within the time period.

17. The entity of claim 16, wherein the uncertainty of the location indicates an error in an estimate of the actual location of the UE at the time combined with an error in an estimate of a distance the UE moves between a scheduled positioning time and the time.

18. The entity of claim 11, wherein the uncertainty of the location comprises a combination of a first location uncertainty of the location based on the location measurement but not based on a scheduled positioning time and a second location uncertainty based on a scheduled positioning time.

19. The entity of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine the uncertainty of the location by being configured to:

determining the first location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at one of the plurality of times;

Determining the second location uncertainty based on an estimate of a difference between an actual location of the UE at the one time and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and

the uncertainty of the location is determined by combining the first location uncertainty and the second location uncertainty.

20. The entity of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

receiving a request for the location of the UE from the other entity, the request comprising a required uncertainty for the location of the UE, the required uncertainty comprising a maximum difference between the location of the UE and the actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and

the location of the UE is determined, wherein the uncertainty of the location does not exceed the required uncertainty.

21. An entity configured for locating a User Equipment (UE) at a scheduled location time in a wireless network, comprising:

means for receiving, from one or more other entities, location measurements for the UE, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period including a scheduled positioning time;

Means for determining a location of the UE based on the location measurements;

means for determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and

means for sending the location and the uncertainty of the location to another entity.

22. The entity of claim 21, wherein the location measurement comprises at least one of: global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) pseudoranges; a GNSS code phase; GNSS carrier phase; wiFi measurements including Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), angle of arrival (AOA), or Round Trip Time (RTT); bluetooth measurements including RSSI, AOA or RTT; measurements of Downlink (DL) New Radio (NR) signals from NR node B (gNB) including Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), departure Angle (AOD), AOA or receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx); measurements of Uplink (UL) NR signals from the UE, including AOA, RSRP, rx-Tx, time of arrival (TOA); and measurements performed by sensors including inertial sensors or barometers.

23. The entity of claim 21, wherein the location of the UE is an estimate of the actual location of the UE at a time within the time period.

24. The entity of claim 21, wherein the uncertainty of the location comprises a combination of a first location uncertainty of the location based on the location measurement but not based on a scheduled positioning time and a second location uncertainty based on a scheduled positioning time.

25. The entity of claim 21, further comprising:

means for receiving a request for the location of the UE from the other entity, the request comprising a required uncertainty for the location of the UE, the required uncertainty comprising a maximum difference between the location of the UE and the actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and

means for determining the location of the UE, wherein the uncertainty of the location does not exceed the required uncertainty.

26. A non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code operable to configure at least one processor in an entity in a wireless network for locating a User Equipment (UE) at a scheduled location time, the program code comprising instructions for:

Receiving location measurements for the UE from one or more other entities, the location measurements obtained by the one or more other entities at a plurality of times within a time period including a scheduled positioning time;

determining a location of the UE based on the location measurements;

determining an uncertainty of the location, wherein the uncertainty indicates a difference between the location of the UE and an actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and

the location and the uncertainty of the location are sent to another entity.

27. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 26, wherein the location measurement comprises at least one of: global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) pseudoranges; a GNSS code phase; GNSS carrier phase; wiFi measurements including Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), angle of arrival (AOA), or Round Trip Time (RTT); bluetooth measurements including RSSI, AOA or RTT; measurements of Downlink (DL) New Radio (NR) signals from NR node B (gNB) including Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), departure Angle (AOD), AOA or receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx); measurements of Uplink (UL) NR signals from the UE, including AOA, RSRP, rx-Tx, time of arrival (TOA); and measurements performed by sensors including inertial sensors or barometers.

28. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 26, wherein the location of the UE is an estimate of the actual location of the UE at a time within the time period.

29. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 26, wherein the uncertainty of the location comprises a combination of a first location uncertainty of the location based on the location measurement but not based on a scheduled positioning time and a second location uncertainty based on a scheduled positioning time.

30. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 26, wherein the program code further comprises instructions for:

receiving a request for the location of the UE from the other entity, the request comprising a required uncertainty for the location of the UE, the required uncertainty comprising a maximum difference between the location of the UE and the actual location of the UE at a scheduled positioning time; and

the location of the UE is determined, wherein the uncertainty of the location does not exceed the required uncertainty.