WO2023047012A1 - Permettre le positionnement en mode veille/inactif pour équipements terminaux à puissance limitée - Google Patents

Permettre le positionnement en mode veille/inactif pour équipements terminaux à puissance limitée Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023047012A1
WO2023047012A1 PCT/FI2022/050431 FI2022050431W WO2023047012A1 WO 2023047012 A1 WO2023047012 A1 WO 2023047012A1 FI 2022050431 W FI2022050431 W FI 2022050431W WO 2023047012 A1 WO2023047012 A1 WO 2023047012A1
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Prior art keywords
access node
terminal device
target access
configuration
uplink positioning
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PCT/FI2022/050431
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English (en)
Inventor
Samantha Caporal Del Barrio
Benny Vejlgaard
Christian Rom
Johannes Harrebek
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Nokia Technologies Oy
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Publication of WO2023047012A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023047012A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L5/00—Arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path
    • H04L5/003—Arrangements for allocating sub-channels of the transmission path
    • H04L5/0048—Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W64/00—Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L5/00—Arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path
    • H04L5/0091—Signaling for the administration of the divided path
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. TPC [Transmission Power Control], power saving or power classes
    • H04W52/04—TPC
    • H04W52/18—TPC being performed according to specific parameters
    • H04W52/24—TPC being performed according to specific parameters using SIR [Signal to Interference Ratio] or other wireless path parameters
    • H04W52/242—TPC being performed according to specific parameters using SIR [Signal to Interference Ratio] or other wireless path parameters taking into account path loss
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. TPC [Transmission Power Control], power saving or power classes
    • H04W52/04—TPC
    • H04W52/30—TPC using constraints in the total amount of available transmission power
    • H04W52/32—TPC of broadcast or control channels
    • H04W52/325—Power control of control or pilot channels
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. TPC [Transmission Power Control], power saving or power classes
    • H04W52/04—TPC
    • H04W52/30—TPC using constraints in the total amount of available transmission power
    • H04W52/36—TPC using constraints in the total amount of available transmission power with a discrete range or set of values, e.g. step size, ramping or offsets
    • H04W52/365—Power headroom reporting
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W76/00—Connection management
    • H04W76/20—Manipulation of established connections
    • H04W76/27—Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states

Definitions

  • Various example embodiments relate to wireless communications.
  • Positioning is one of the key enablers for various verticals and use cases that 5G aims to support.
  • applications such as location-based services, autonomous driving, and industrial Internet of Things (loT) may be fulfilled by 5G system.
  • GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System
  • GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System
  • positioning methods based on measurements of downlink/uplink signals have been considered as potential alternatives.
  • uplink signal-based positioning techniques is the often limited uplink power budget of a terminal device. This is particularly a problem when Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle and inactive modes are used as typical mitigation techniques require forming an RRC connection.
  • RRC Radio Resource Control
  • Figure 1 illustrates an exemplified wireless communication system
  • Figures 2A, 2B, 3, 4, 5A, 5B and 6 illustrate exemplary processes according to embodiments;
  • Figures 7A and 7B illustrate, respectively, examples of default and adjusted physical random access channel (PRACH) configurations as used in some embodiments;
  • PRACH physical random access channel
  • Figure 8 illustrates examples of default and adjusted configurations as used in some embodiments.
  • FIGS 9 and 10 illustrate apparatuses according to embodiments.
  • Embodiments and examples described herein may be implemented in any communications system comprising wireless connection (s).
  • wireless connection s
  • LTE Advanced long term evolution advanced
  • NR new radio
  • Embodiments and examples described herein may be implemented in any communications system comprising wireless connection (s).
  • LTE Advanced long term evolution advanced
  • NR new radio
  • the embodiments may also be applied to other kinds of communications networks having suitable means by adjusting parameters and procedures appropriately.
  • UMTS universal mobile telecommunications system
  • UTRAN radio access network
  • LTE long term evolution
  • WLAN wireless local area network
  • WiFi worldwide interoperability for microwave access
  • Bluetooth® personal communications services
  • PCS personal communications services
  • WCDMA wideband code division multiple access
  • UWB ultra-wideband
  • sensor networks mobile ad-hoc networks
  • IMS Internet Protocol multimedia subsystems
  • Figure 1 depicts examples of simplified system architectures showing some elements and functional entities, some or all being logical units, whose implementation may differ from what is shown.
  • the connections shown in Figure 1 are logical connections; the actual physical connections may be different. It is apparent to a person skilled in the art that the system typically comprises also other functions and structures than those shown in Figure 1.
  • Figure 1 shows a part of an exemplifying radio access network.
  • Figure 1 shows user devices 100 and 102 configured to be in a wireless connection on one or more communication channels in a cell with an access node (such as (e/g) NodeB) 104 providing the cell.
  • the physical link from a user device to a (e/g)NodeB is called uplink or reverse link and the physical link from the (e/g)NodeB to the user device is called downlink or forward link.
  • (e/g)NodeBs or their functionalities may be implemented by using any node, host, server or access point etc. entity suitable for such a usage.
  • a communications system typically comprises more than one (e/g)NodeB in which case the (e/g)NodeBs may also be configured to communicate with one another over links, wired or wireless, designed for the purpose. These links may be used for signalling purposes.
  • the (e/g)NodeB is a computing device configured to control the radio resources of communication system it is coupled to.
  • the NodeB may also be referred to as a base station, an access point or any other type of interfacing device including a relay station capable of operating in a wireless environment.
  • the (e/g)NodeB includes or is coupled to transceivers. From the transceivers of the (e/g) NodeB, a connection is provided to an antenna unit that establishes bi-directional radio links to user devices.
  • the antenna unit may comprise a plurality of antennas or antenna elements.
  • the (e/g)NodeB is further connected to core network 110 (CN or next generation core NGC).
  • core network 110 CN or next generation core NGC.
  • the counterpart on the CN side can be a serving gateway (S-GW, routing and forwarding user data packets), packet data network gateway (P-GW), for providing connectivity of user devices (UEs) to external packet data networks, or mobile management entity (MME), etc.
  • S-GW serving gateway
  • P-GW packet data network gateway
  • MME mobile management entity
  • the core network 110 may comprise a Location Management Function (LMF) and/or some other network node for performing position estimation of terminal devices.
  • LMF Location Management Function
  • the LMF may be configured to receive measurements and assistance information from the next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) and the terminal devices 100, 102 via the access and mobility management function (AMF) of the core network 110 over the NLs interface between the AMF and LMF for calculating the position of the terminal devices 100, 102.
  • NG-RAN next generation radio access network
  • AMF access and mobility management function
  • the user device also called UE, user equipment, user terminal, terminal device, etc.
  • UE user equipment
  • user terminal terminal device
  • any feature described herein with a user device may be implemented with a corresponding apparatus, such as a relay node.
  • a relay node is a layer 3 relay (self-backhauling relay) towards the base station.
  • the user device typically refers to a portable computing device that includes wireless mobile communication devices operating with or without a subscriber identification module (SIM), including, but not limited to, the following types of devices: a mobile station (mobile phone), smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), handset, device using a wireless modem (alarm or measurement device, etc.), laptop and/or touch screen computer, tablet, game console, notebook, and multimedia device.
  • SIM subscriber identification module
  • a user device may also be a nearly exclusive uplink device, of which an example is a camera or video camera loading images or video clips to a network.
  • a user device may also be a device having capability to operate in Internet of Things (loT) network which is a scenario in which objects are provided with the ability to transfer data over a network without needing human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.
  • the user device (or in some embodiments a layer 3 relay node) is configured to perform one or more of user equipment functionalities.
  • the user device may also be called a subscriber unit, mobile station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal or user equipment (UE) just to mention but a few names or apparatuses.
  • CPS cyberphysical system
  • ICT devices sensors, actuators, processors microcontrollers, etc.
  • Mobile cyber physical systems in which the physical system in question has inherent mobility, are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robotics and electronics transported by humans or animals.
  • 5G enables using multiple input - multiple output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than the LTE (a so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in co-operation with smaller stations and employing a variety of radio technologies depending on service needs, use cases and/or spectrum available.
  • MIMO multiple input - multiple output
  • 5G mobile communications supports a wide range of use cases and related applications including video streaming, augmented reality, different ways of data sharing and various forms of machine type applications, including vehicular safety, different sensors and real-time control.
  • 5G is expected to have multiple radio interfaces, namely below 6GHz, cmWave and mmWave, and also being integradable with existing legacy radio access technologies, such as the LTE.
  • Integration with the LTE may be implemented, at least in the early phase, as a system, where macro coverage is provided by the LTE and 5G radio interface access comes from small cells by aggregation to the LTE.
  • 5G is planned to support both inter-RAT operability (such as LTE-5G) and inter-Rl operability (inter-radio interface operability, such as below 6GHz - cmWave, below 6GHz - cmWave - mmWave).
  • inter-RAT operability such as LTE-5G
  • inter-Rl operability inter-radio interface operability, such as below 6GHz - cmWave, below 6GHz - cmWave - mmWave.
  • One of the concepts considered to be used in 5G networks is network slicing in which multiple independent and dedicated virtual sub-networks (network instances) may be created within the substantially same infrastructure to run services that have different needs on latency, reliability, throughput and mobility.
  • the current architecture in LTE networks is fully distributed in the radio and fully centralized in the core network.
  • the low latency applications and services in 5G need to bring the content close to the radio which leads to local break out and multi-access edge computing (MEC).
  • 5G enables analytics and knowledge generation to occur at the source of the data. This approach needs leveraging resources that may not be continuously connected to a network such as laptops, smartphones, tablets and sensors.
  • MEC provides a distributed computing environment for application and service hosting. It also has the ability to store and process content in close proximity to cellular subscribers for faster response time.
  • Edge computing covers a wide range of technologies such as wireless sensor networks, mobile data acquisition, mobile signature analysis, cooperative distributed peer- to-peer ad hoc networking and processing also classifiable as local cloud/fog computing and grid/mesh computing, dew computing, mobile edge computing, cloudlet, distributed data storage and retrieval, autonomic self-healing networks, remote cloud services, augmented and virtual reality, data caching, Internet of Things (massive connectivity and/or latency critical), critical communications (autonomous vehicles, traffic safety, real-time analytics, time-critical control, healthcare applications).
  • the communication system is also able to communicate with other networks, such as a public switched telephone network or the Internet 112, or utilise services provided by them.
  • the communication network may also be able to support the usage of cloud services, for example at least part of core network operations may be carried out as a cloud service (this is depicted in Figure 1 by "cloud" 114).
  • the communication system may also comprise a central control entity, or a like, providing facilities for networks of different operators to cooperate for example in spectrum sharing.
  • Edge cloud may be brought into radio access network (RAN) by utilizing network function virtualization (NVF) and software defined networking (SDN).
  • RAN radio access network
  • NVF network function virtualization
  • SDN software defined networking
  • Using edge cloud may mean access node operations to be carried out, at least partly, in a server, host or node operationally coupled to a remote radio head or base station comprising radio parts. It is also possible that node operations will be distributed among a plurality of servers, nodes or hosts.
  • Application of cloudRAN architecture enables RAN real time functions being carried out at the RAN side (in a distributed unit, DU 104) and non-real time functions being carried out in a centralized manner (in a centralized unit, CU 108).
  • 5G may also utilize satellite communication to enhance or complement the coverage of 5G service, for example by providing backhauling.
  • Possible use cases are providing service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) or Internet of Things (loT) devices or for passengers on board of vehicles, or ensuring service availability for critical communications, and future railway/maritime/aeronautical communications.
  • Satellite communication may utilise geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite systems, but also low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, in particular mega-constellations (systems in which hundreds of (nano)satellites are deployed).
  • GEO geostationary earth orbit
  • LEO low earth orbit
  • At least one satellite 106 in the mega-constellation may cover several satellite-enabled network entities that create on-ground cells.
  • the on-ground cells may be created through an on-ground relay node 104 or by a gNB located on- ground or in a satellite.
  • the depicted system is only an example of a part of a radio access system and in practice, the system may comprise a plurality of (e/g)NodeBs, the user device may have an access to a plurality of radio cells and the system may comprise also other apparatuses, such as physical layer relay nodes or other network elements, etc. At least one of the (e/g)NodeBs or may be a Home(e/g)nodeB. Additionally, in a geographical area of a radio communication system a plurality of different kinds of radio cells as well as a plurality of radio cells may be provided.
  • Radio cells may be macro cells (or umbrella cells) which are large cells, usually having a diameter of up to tens of kilometers, or smaller cells such as micro-, femto- or picocells.
  • the (e/g)NodeBs of Figure 1 may provide any kind of these cells.
  • a cellular radio system may be implemented as a multilayer network including several kinds of cells. Typically, in multilayer networks, one access node provides one kind of a cell or cells, and thus a plurality of (e/g)NodeBs are needed to provide such a network structure.
  • a network which is able to use “plug-and-play" (e/g)Node Bs includes, in addition to Home (e/g)NodeBs (H(e/g)nodeBs), a home node B gateway, or HNB-GW (not shown in Figure 1).
  • HNB-GW HNB Gateway
  • a HNB Gateway (HNB-GW) which is typically installed within an operator’s network may aggregate traffic from a large number of HNBs back to a core network.
  • Positioning is one of the key enablers for various verticals and use cases that 5G aims to support.
  • applications such as location-based services, autonomous driving, and industrial Internet of Things (loT) may be fulfilled by 5G system.
  • GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System
  • GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System
  • positioning methods based on measurements of down- link/uplink signals have been considered as potential alternatives.
  • a clear limitation of terminal device uplink signal-based positioning techniques is the often limited uplink power budget of the terminal device. This is particularly a problem in RRC idle and inactive modes as typical mitigation techniques require establishing a RRC Connection.
  • the uplink positioning signal usable in RRC idle and inactive modes may be, e.g., a preamble of the random access channel (RACH) or physical random access channel (PRACH) or a sounding reference signal for positioning (SRS-P).
  • the uplink power limitation of the terminal device may be due to terminal device conditions (such as high Power Management Maximum Power Reduction (P-MPR), e.g., due to Maximum Permissible Exposure regulation) or due to channel conditions (e.g., gNB coverage, terminal device located on a cell edge or non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenarios). Furthermore, if the terminal device is power limited, it may not be able to reach all or majority of the target access nodes which will decrease positioning accuracy.
  • P-MPR Power Management Maximum Power Reduction
  • NLOS non-line-of-sight
  • the LMF may reassign target cells for positioning based on the unsuccessful reception of uplink positioning signals, this option may significantly limit the number of usable target cells, hence decrease the positioning accuracy.
  • the serving access node may optimize the transmission power of uplink positioning signals by adjusting the SRS configuration (e.g., bandwidth), this is not possible for terminal device operating in RRC idle or inactive mode due to requiring an RRC reconfiguration.
  • the SRS configuration e.g., bandwidth
  • the embodiments to be discussed below in detail seek to enable terminal devices (or especially power limited terminal devices) to send uplink positioning signals when operating in RRC idle /inactive mode.
  • the embodiments provide means for mitigating missing power headroom in a terminal device towards target access node(s) when the terminal device is operating in the RRC idle or inactive mode so that the uplink positioning signals transmissions can be carried out.
  • Figures 2A and 2B illustrate two parallel processes according to embodiment for enabling transmission of uplink positioning signals when the terminal device is operating in an inactive or idle mode. Namely, Figure 2A corresponds to a terminal device -side process while Figure 2B corresponds to a core network -side (or specifically LMF-side) process.
  • the process in Figure 2A may be performed by an apparatus (e.g., a computing device).
  • said apparatus may be a terminal device (e.g., either of terminal devices 100, 102 of Figure 1) or a part thereof or an apparatus communicatively connected to a terminal device.
  • the terminal device may be an uplink power limited terminal device.
  • the entity carrying out the process is called simple an apparatus.
  • the terminal device may be initially assumed that the terminal device is operating, in block 201, in an RRC inactive or idle mode.
  • the apparatus causes, in block 201, the terminal device to operate in said RRC inactive or idle mode.
  • the terminal device may operate in said RRC inactive or idle mode throughout the process of Figure 2A.
  • the terminal device may be assumed here to be configured for sending uplink positioning signals at least to a target access node (e.g., as discussed below in connection with elements 302, 303 of Figure 3 for two target access nodes).
  • the apparatus detects, in block 202, whether an estimated power headroom associated with a planned transmission of an uplink positioning signal from the terminal device to the target access node (using a pre-defined default configuration of the terminal device) is negative. Power headroom indicates how much transmission power is left for the terminal device to use in addition to the power being used by a current or planned transmission (here, the uplink positioning signal transmission).
  • a negative power headroom calculated for the planned transmission of the uplink positioning signal indicates that the terminal device does not have enough transmission power available for transmitting the uplink positioning signal to the target access node.
  • the uplink positioning signal may be, for example, a preamble of the RACH or PRACH or a SRS-P.
  • the pre-defined default configuration may define, e.g., the time and/or frequency resources (e.g., physical resource blocks, PRBs) to be used for uplink transmission (in the idle or inactive mode) by default (i.e., if no other configuration is defined to supersede it).
  • the power headroom (and possibly the power budget in general) may have been estimated, by the apparatus (or the terminal device in general), based on a synchronization signal (SS) burst received previously from the target access node, as will be described in more detail in connection with elements 304 to 308 of Figure 3.
  • SS synchronization signal
  • the apparatus causes transmitting, in block 203, information on the negative estimated power headroom as a small data transfer (SDT) from the terminal device to an LMF via an access node.
  • the access node is here specifically an access node providing a cell on which the terminal device is currently camping.
  • the expression "camping on a cell” means here that the terminal device operating in an inactive or idle mode is located within a cell provided by said access node and is able to con- nectionlessly communicate with said access node to a limited extent (e.g., is able to receive system information and perform RRC connection establishment).
  • the information on the negative estimated power headroom may comprise at least the value or level of the estimated power headroom (e.g., in dB) and/or an index value indicative of the value (or a range of values) or level of the estimated power headroom defined in a pre-defined table or list maintained in a memory of the LMF (and of the apparatus or the terminal device). Additionally or alternatively, the information on the negative estimated power headroom define the number of repetitions estimated to be needed for overcoming the negative power headroom.
  • the information on the negative estimated power headroom may also comprise an identifier of the target cell (i.e., of a targeted cell of the target access node).
  • the small data transfer corresponds to (infrequent) transmission of a small amount of data not requiring establishment of a connection (i.e., not requiring switching to RRC connected mode).
  • the small data transfer may, in block 203, correspond either to uplink small data transmission for RACH-based schemes (i.e., 2-step and 4-step RACH using, e.g., MSGA or MSG3) or transmission of uplink data on pre-configured physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resources (i.e., reusing the configured grant type 1) when timing advance (TA) is valid.
  • RACH-based schemes i.e., 2-step and 4-step RACH using, e.g., MSGA or MSG3
  • PUSCH physical uplink shared channel
  • TA timing advance
  • the small data transfer in the RRC idle mode may be carried out also in a corresponding manner.
  • the apparatus receives, in block 203, over a paging channel of the access node from the location management function, a configuration message defining a configuration (or equally an adjusted configuration) enabling transmission of the uplink positioning signal to the target access node.
  • the configuration may define, e.g., the number of repetitions in transmission and/or the amount of bandwidth reduction compared to the pre-defined default configuration. This definition could be applicable for any RACH opportunity for the target cell or for a specific subset of RACH opportunities.
  • the configuration may define the time and/or frequency resources (e.g., physical resource blocks, PRBs) to be used for uplink transmission (corresponding to an increase in the number of repetitions in transmission and/or a decrease in the amount of bandwidth reduction compared to the pre-defined default configuration).
  • the configuration may be defined such that the negative estimated power headroom is compensated for. How the configuration is derived is discussed in detail in connection with Figure 2B.
  • the apparatus causes transmitting, in block 205, the uplink positioning signal to the target access node using the (received) configuration.
  • the uplink positioning signal may be, for example, a preamble of the RACH or PRACH or an SRS- P or other uplink positioning signal compatible with the RRC inactive or idle mode.
  • the apparatus may cause transmitting, in block 206, the uplink positioning signal to the target access node using the pre-defined default configuration.
  • block 206 may be omitted (i.e., some embodiments may be limited to handling the scenario where the estimated power headroom is limited).
  • the process of Figure 2A may, in practice, be carried out for a plurality of target access nodes by the same terminal device (in parallel or consecutively).
  • the configuration for uplink positioning signal transmission may be defined per target access node. Based on a plurality of uplink positioning signals transmitted, respectively, to a plurality of target access nodes, the position of the terminal device may be determined.
  • the process in Figure 2B may be performed by an apparatus (e.g., a computing device).
  • said apparatus may be a LMF (e.g., forming a part of the core network 110 of Figure 1) or a part thereof or an apparatus communicatively connected to an LMF.
  • LMF e.g., forming a part of the core network 110 of Figure 1
  • the entity carrying out the process is called simple an apparatus.
  • the apparatus receives, in block 211, as a small data transfer from a terminal device via an access node, information on a negative estimated power headroom associated with transmission of an uplink positioning signal from a terminal device to a target access node using a pre-defined default configuration of the terminal device.
  • the terminal device may be assumed to operate in the RRC inactive or idle mode.
  • the access node may be specifically an access node providing a cell on which the terminal device is camped.
  • the apparatus may have previously requested, via a paging channel of the access node, the terminal device to initiate the process of transmitting an uplink positioning signal to the target access node, as will be discussed in detail in connection with message 302 of Figure 3.
  • the apparatus calculates, in block 212, a configuration (or an adjusted configuration) enabling transmission of the uplink positioning signal from the terminal device to a target access node by compensating for the negative estimated power headroom (calculated using a pre-defined default configuration of the terminal device). In other words, the apparatus calculates, in block 212, a configuration using which the terminal device is able to transmit the uplink positioning signal so that the power headroom is no longer negative.
  • the apparatus may define, in block 212, a configuration corresponding to a reduction of the bandwidth by half or a doubling of the number of transmissions in a given amount of time (compared to the pre-defined default configuration) or to a simultaneous (smaller) reduction of the bandwidth and (smaller) increase of the number of transmissions in a given amount of time (compared to the pre-defined default configuration).
  • the configuration may define, e.g., the number of repetitions in transmission and/or the amount of bandwidth reduction compared to the pre-defined default configuration of the terminal device (which is known also to the apparatus and/or LMF).
  • the configuration may define the time and/or frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) to be used for uplink transmission (corresponding to an increase in the number of repetitions in transmission and/or a decrease in the amount of bandwidth reduction compared to the pre-defined default configuration).
  • time and/or frequency resources e.g., PRBs
  • the negative power headroom is such that the compensation is possible.
  • the negative power headroom is high enough (i.e., close enough to zero) that the configuration for uplink positioning signal transmission may be adjusted by, e.g., reducing the bandwidth and/or increasing the number of repetitions while still satisfying any (pre-defined) requirements for uplink positioning signal transmissions (e.g., maximum number of repetitions and/or minimum bandwidth). Said requirements may be dependent on capabilities of the target access node.
  • the apparatus causes transmitting, in block 213, a first configuration message defining the configuration associated with the target access node (and the terminal device) to the target access node.
  • the first configuration message may be called an uplink positioning signal (re) configuration request.
  • the apparatus may receive, following the transmission of the first configuration message, an acknowledgment from the target access node.
  • the apparatus causes transmitting, in block 214, a second configuration message defining the configuration associated with the target access node (and the terminal device) to the terminal device via the access node using the paging channel of the access node.
  • the process of Figure 2B may, in practice, be carried out for a plurality of target access nodes (in parallel or consecutively).
  • the apparatus may receive, in block 211, as a small data transfer from a terminal device via an access node information on one or more negative estimated power headrooms associated with transmission of an uplink positioning signal from a terminal device to one or more target access node, respectively and the subsequent actions (in blocks 212 to 214) may be carried out separately for each target access node (and associated negative power headroom), as will be described in more detail in connection with Figure 4 below.
  • Figure 3 illustrates signaling between a terminal device, an LMF and first and second target access nodes according to embodiments.
  • the processes performed by the terminal device and the LMF (or certain parts thereof) in Figure 3 correspond to more detailed example of the processes discussed in connection with Figures 2A and 2B, now performed for two separate target access nodes. Any of the definitions provided in connection with Figures 2A and 2B may apply also here.
  • the communication between the terminal device and the LMF may be enabled via an access node providing a cell on which the terminal device is camping.
  • the terminal device is operating, in block 301, in the RRC inactive or idle mode.
  • the LMF initiates the uplink positioning process by transmitting, in block 302, to the terminal device via an access node, a paging message (equally called a positioning request) requesting transmission of uplink positioning signals at least to first and second target access nodes (in general embodiments, to one or more target access nodes).
  • the paging message may be transmitted using a paging channel of the access node.
  • the first and second target access nodes transmit, in messages 303, 304, SS bursts which are received by the terminal device in block 305.
  • the first and second target access nodes may be configured to transmit SS bursts periodically.
  • Each SS burst may comprise a plurality of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs).
  • Each SSB may comprise 240 subcarriers and 4 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols containing the following channels and signals: primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), physical broadcast channel (PBCH) and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) demodulation reference signal (PBCH DM-RS).
  • PSS primary synchronization signal
  • SSS secondary synchronization signal
  • PBCH physical broadcast channel
  • PBCH physical broadcast channel demodulation reference signal
  • the terminal device calculates, in block 306, a first transmission power budget for transmission of a first uplink positioning signal to the first target access node and a second transmission power budget for transmission of a second uplink positioning signal to the second target access node.
  • the calculation of the first and second transmission power budgets may comprise at least estimating the first and second power headrooms for transmission of the first and second uplink positioning signals based on the received SS bursts.
  • the first and second transmission power budgets may be calculated, e.g., according to the following equation:
  • ⁇ i s the output power of the terminal device i s the configured maximum output power of the terminal device, i s provided by pO for active UL bandwidth part (BWP] b of carrier/of serving cell c and SRS resource set q s provided by SRS-ResourceSet and SRS-ResourceSetld,
  • - is a SRS bandwidth expressed in number of resource blocks for SRS transmission occasion i, i s provided by alpha for active UL BWP b of carrier/of serving cell c and SRS resource set q s , > f > is a downlink pathloss estimate in dB calculated by the terminal device and is the current PUSCH power control adjustment state.
  • the estimated power headroom corresponds here to the difference between PCMAX,/,C(0
  • the first and second transmission power budgets may be calculated, e.g., according to the following equation: where / (0 is the configured maximum output power of the terminal device, for carrier/of serving cell c within transmission occasion i, / c, //RACK, target,/, c is the PRACH target reception power (PREAMBLE_RECEIVED_TARGET_POWER) provided by higher layers for the active UL BWP b of carrier/of serving cell c, and is a pathloss for the active UL BWP b of carrier/based on the downlink [DL] reference signal associated with the PRACH transmission on the active DL BWP of serving cell c and calculated by the UE in dB as referenceSignalPower, i.e., as higher layer filtered reference signal received power [RSRP] in dBm.
  • the estimated power headroom corresponds here to the difference between PCMAX,/,C(0 and
  • the terminal device detects, in block 308, that the estimated power headrooms associated with the transmission of first and second uplink positioning signal from the terminal device to the first and second target access nodes are both negative. Consequently, the terminal device transmits, in message 309, information on the negative estimated power headrooms as a small data transfer (or multiple small data transfers) from the terminal device to the LMF via the access node.
  • the LMF receives, in block 310, the information on the negative power headrooms and calculates, in block 310, based thereon first and second configurations enabling transmission of the uplink positioning signal from the terminal device to the first and second target access nodes, respectively.
  • the first and/or second configurations may define, e.g., the number of repetitions in transmission and/or the amount of bandwidth reduction (compared to the pre-defined default configuration).
  • the first and/or second configuration may define the time and/or frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) used for uplink transmission (corresponding to increase in the number of repetitions in transmission and/or decrease in the amount of bandwidth reduction compared to the pre-defined default configuration).
  • the LMF transmits, in message 311, a first configuration message defining the first configuration associated with the first target access node (and with the terminal device) to the first target access node.
  • the configuration message may be equally called an uplink positioning signal (re) configuration request.
  • the first target access node configures, in block 312, itself according to the received first configuration and transmits, in messages 313, an acknowledgment acknowledging the (re) configuration of the first target access node to the LMF.
  • the acknowledgment is received by the LMF in block 314.
  • the configuration procedure discussed in connection with elements 311 to 314 for configuring the first target access node with the first configuration is repeated in elements 315 to 318 for configuring the second target access node with the second configuration.
  • the procedure described with elements 311 to 314 and the procedure described with elements 315 to 318 may be carried out in parallel.
  • the LMF transmits, in message 319, a second configuration message defining the first and second configurations associated with the first and second target access nodes (and with the terminal device) to the terminal device via the access node using the paging channel of the access node.
  • the two separate second configuration messages defining, respectively, the first and second configurations may be transmitted over the paging channel.
  • the procedure described with elements 319 to 320 may be carried out in parallel with the procedure described with elements 311 to 314 and/or the procedure described with elements 315 to 318 or the relative order between the procedure described with elements 311 to 318 and the procedure described with elements 319, 320 may be reversed.
  • the terminal device receives, in block 320, over the paging channel of the access node from the location management function, the second configuration message and transmits, in messages 321, 322, first and second uplink positioning signals according to the received first and second configuration, respectively.
  • the first and second target access nodes measures, in blocks 323, 324, the first and second uplink positioning signals using the first and second configurations, respectively.
  • the first and second target access nodes may measure, e.g., signal power, the time at which the first/second uplink positioning signal is received or the angle of arrival of the first/second uplink positioning signal. Based on the knowledge of the first and second configurations used by the terminal device for transmission to the first and second target terminal device, the uplink positioning signal measurements may be combined and consequently the location of the terminal device may be determined.
  • the measurements of the first and second uplink positioning signals by the first and second target access nodes may be employed (e.g., by the LMF) for calculating the position of the terminal device.
  • uplink time difference of arrival UL-TDOA
  • U-TDoA the difference in time in which the uplink positioning signal reaches the different target access nodes is used for calculating the position of the terminal device.
  • uplink angle of arrival UL-AoA
  • Figure 4 illustrate an alternative core network -side (or specifically LMF-side) process according to embodiments for enabling transmission of uplink positioning signals when the terminal device is operating in an inactive or idle mode.
  • the process in Figure 4 may be performed by an apparatus (e.g., a computing device).
  • said apparatus may be a LMF (e.g., forming a part of the core network 110 of Figure 1) or a part thereof or an apparatus communicatively connected to an LMF.
  • the entity carrying out the process is called simple an apparatus.
  • the illustrated process corresponds to a more detailed version of the process of Figure 2B and thus any of the definitions provided in connection with Figure 2B (or in connection with the LMF of Figure 3) may apply also here.
  • the apparatus causes transmitting, in block 401, to a terminal device via the access node using a paging channel of the access node, a paging message requesting transmission of one or more uplink positioning signals to one or more target access nodes (similar to message 302 of Figure 3).
  • the terminal device may be assumed to operate in the RRC inactive or idle mode.
  • the access node may be specifically an access node providing a cell on which the terminal device is camped.
  • the apparatus receives, in block 402, as a small data transfer from the terminal device via the access node, information on one or more negative estimated power headrooms associated with transmission of an uplink positioning signal from a terminal device to one or more target access nodes.
  • the apparatus selects, in block 403, the next target access node (being, in this case, the first or initial target access node) of the one or more target access nodes (and the associated negative estimated power headroom) for processing.
  • the next target access node being, in this case, the first or initial target access node
  • the one or more target access nodes and the associated negative estimated power headroom
  • the apparatus determines, in block 404, whether compensation for the negative estimated power headroom defined for the selected target access node is possible so as to enable the transmission of the uplink positioning signal from the terminal device to said target access node.
  • the compensation may be determined not to be possible, for example, if the needed configuration fails to satisfy one or more (pre-defined) requirements for accurate transmission of the uplink positioning signal.
  • Said one or more (pre-defined) requirements may comprise, for example, an upper pre-defined threshold for the number of repetitions and/or a lower pre-defined threshold for the bandwidth and/or a lower pre-defined threshold for the sensitivity of the target access node or cell (which may be dependent also on the current interference level).
  • said upper and/or lower thresholds may be defined dynamically, by the (core) network, based on, e.g., current cell load.
  • Said one or more requirements may be dependent on capabilities of the selected target access node.
  • the apparatus In response to the determining that the compensation for the negative power headroom is possible in this case in block 405, the apparatus carries out, in block 406, the action described previously in connection with blocks 212 to 214 of Figure 2B.
  • the apparatus performs, in block 407, one of two alternative actions.
  • the apparatus simply discards the target access node for positioning (i.e., the planned transmission of the uplink positioning signal to said target access node is cancelled). In other words, it is decided that said target access node is not to be used for positioning of the terminal device.
  • the apparatus transmits, to the terminal device via said access node (providing the cell on which the terminal device is camped) using a paging channel of the access node, a request for establishing RRC connection from the terminal device to the target access node and subsequently performing positioning using the RRC connected mode.
  • the apparatus requests the terminal device to switch to the RRC connected mode so that the uplink positioning signal may be transmitted. This enables higher flexibility and ensures higher accuracy of the positioning.
  • the apparatus checks, in block 408, whether all of the one or more target access nodes for which negative power headroom information was provided in block 402 have been covered (i.e., processed in blocks 404 to 406 or in blocks 404 to 405, 407). If this is not the case, the apparatus selects, in block 403, the next target access node and repeats actions pertaining to blocks 404 to 406 or blocks 404 to 405, 407 for that target access node. When all the one or more target access nodes have been covered in block 408, the reconfiguration process (which was triggered by the small data transfer in block 402) is terminated.
  • the apparatus may, once the reconfiguration process has finished, select one or more further target access nodes to replace the discarded target access nodes and repeat the process of Figure 4 for these further target access nodes (and for the same terminal device). Said one or more further target access node may be selected from the same sector or from different sector as the one or more discarded target access nodes.
  • Figures 5A and 5B illustrate two parallel processes according to embodiment for enabling transmission of uplink positioning signals when the terminal device is operating in an inactive or idle mode. Said two parallel processes are alternatives to the processes of Figures 2A and 2B, respectively (or to processes of Figure 3 and/or 4). Namely, Figure 5A corresponds to an alternative terminal device -side process while Figure 5B corresponds to an alternative core network -side (or specifically LMF-side) process. In contrast to the processes described above, the processes of Figures 5A and 5B require no inter -access node coordination of resources and reduce the time needed for the terminal device to send the uplink positioning signal (i.e., the delay between paging message requesting positioning and transmission the uplink positioning signal).
  • the process in Figure 5A may be performed by an apparatus (e.g., a computing device).
  • said apparatus may be a terminal device (e.g., either of terminal devices 100, 102 of Figure 1) or a part thereof or an apparatus communicatively connected to a terminal device.
  • the terminal device may be an uplink power limited terminal device.
  • the entity carrying out the process is called simple an apparatus.
  • the terminal device may be initially assumed that the terminal device is operating, in block 501, in an RRC inactive or idle mode.
  • the apparatus causes, in block 501, the terminal device to operate in said RRC inactive or idle mode.
  • the terminal device may operate in said RRC inactive or idle mode throughout the process of Figure 5A.
  • the apparatus receives, in block 502, from the LMF via an access node, at least one paging message requesting transmission of one or more uplink positioning signals to one or more target access nodes.
  • the access node may be specifically the access node providing a cell on which the terminal device is camped.
  • the at least one paging message may be transmitted using a paging channel of the access node.
  • the at least one paging message comprises a plurality of configurations for performing transmissions of uplink positioning signals from the terminal device (to one or more target access nodes).
  • the plurality of configurations correspond to different (transmission) power budgets.
  • the plurality of configuration may be defined such that they enable compensation for different negative power headrooms estimated for an uplink positioning signal transmission with a pre-defined default configuration of the terminal device.
  • the plurality of configurations are associated with a corresponding set of preambles, RACH opportunities or synchronization signal block (SSB) indices for (uniquely) identifying the plurality of configurations.
  • each configuration is associated with a particular preamble, a particular RACH opportunity and/or a particular SSB index which enables (unique) identification of said configuration.
  • Said set of preambles, RACH opportunities or SSB indices for identifying the plurality of configurations may form of a part of the plurality of configuration (and thus said set may be received in block 502) or they may be pre-defined.
  • the uplink positioning signals may be, for example, preambles of the RACH or PRACH or SRS-Ps.
  • the apparatus stores the received plurality of configurations to a memory of the apparatus (or to a memory of the terminal device) upon reception.
  • the apparatus detects, in block 503, whether an estimated power headroom associated with a planned transmission of an uplink positioning signal from the terminal device to a target access node is negative (similar to as described, e.g., in connection with block 202 of Figure 2A).
  • an estimated power headroom associated with a planned transmission of an uplink positioning signal from the terminal device to a target access node is negative (similar to as described, e.g., in connection with block 202 of Figure 2A).
  • the estimated power headroom may have been calculated, before the detecting in block 503, by the apparatus based on a synchronization signal burst received from the target access node, similar to as described in connection with above embodiments.
  • the apparatus selects, in block 504, a configuration (or an adjusted configuration) from the plurality of configurations for compensating for the negative estimated power headroom.
  • a configuration or an adjusted configuration from the plurality of configurations for compensating for the negative estimated power headroom.
  • the apparatus selects, in block 504, a configuration based on the negative estimated power headroom.
  • the selected configuration may be a configuration of the plurality of configurations which necessitates the smallest amount of changes compared to the pre-defined default configuration while still leading to a non-negative power headroom.
  • the apparatus transmits, in block 505, the uplink positioning signal to the target access node using the (selected) configuration.
  • a selection of the configuration is indicated to the target access node in a preamble, a RACH opportunity or an SSB index used with the uplink positioning signal.
  • Said preamble, RACH opportunity or SSB index is specific (or unique) to said configuration and thus the unique identification of the selected configuration is enabled.
  • the uplink positioning signal corresponds to the preamble of the RACH or PRACH
  • said preamble itself or the RACH opportunity may be used for indicating the configuration used for the transmission.
  • different preambles may be associated to different PRACH configurations, e.g., to different RACH opportunity periodicities for the target access nodes.
  • the uplink positioning signal corresponds to the SRS-P
  • the SSB index may be used for indicating the configuration used for the transmission.
  • the apparatus may cause transmitting, in block 506, the uplink positioning signal to the target access node using the pre-defined default configuration.
  • block 506 may be omitted (i.e., some embodiments may be limited to handling the scenario where the estimated power headroom is limited).
  • any subsequent paging messages may not necessarily comprise any configurations of the terminal device for performing uplink positioning signal transmissions as such configurations are already known to the terminal device based on the initial paging message.
  • only the initial paging message transmitted to a terminal device may comprise said plurality of configurations (unless updating of the plurality of configurations is desired), at least according to some embodiments.
  • the position of the terminal device may be determined.
  • the process in Figure 5B may be performed by an apparatus (e.g., a computing device).
  • said apparatus may be a LMF (e.g., forming a part of the core network 110 of Figure 1) or a part thereof or an apparatus communicatively connected to an LMF.
  • LMF e.g., forming a part of the core network 110 of Figure 1
  • the entity carrying out the process is called simple an apparatus.
  • the LMF has a considerably diminished role in this embodiment compared to the embodiments discussed in connection with Figures 2A, 2B, 3 and 4.
  • the process of Figure 5B comprises a single step.
  • the apparatus transmits, in block 511, from the LMF via an access node to a terminal device, at least one paging message requesting transmission of one or more uplink positioning signals to one or more target access node.
  • the at least one paging message comprises a plurality of configurations for performing transmissions of an uplink positioning signal from a terminal device (to one or more target access nodes).
  • the plurality of configurations correspond to different power budgets and are associated with a corresponding set of preambles, RACH opportunities or SSB indices for identifying the plurality of configurations.
  • the at least one paging message may be transmitted via a paging channel of the access node. Following said transmission, the terminal device is capable of adjusting its own configuration as discussed in connection with Figure 5A and thus no further steps need to be carried out by the LMF.
  • Figure 6 illustrates signaling between a terminal device, a LMF and first and second target access nodes according to embodiments.
  • the processes performed by the terminal device and the LMF (or certain parts thereof) in Figure 6 correspond to more detailed example of the processes discussed in connection with Figures 5A and 5B, now performed for two separate target access nodes. Any of the definitions provided in connection with Figures 5A and 5B may apply also here.
  • the communication between the terminal device and the LMF may be enabled via an access node providing a cell on which the terminal device is camping.
  • the LMF initiates the uplink positioning process by transmitting, in block 602, to the terminal device via an access node using a paging channel of the access node, a paging message requesting transmission an uplink positioning signal to first and second target access node.
  • said paging message comprises or defines a plurality of configurations for performing transmissions of an uplink positioning signal from a terminal device (to one or more target access nodes).
  • the plurality of configurations correspond to different (transmission) power budgets (and/or negative power headrooms to be compensated for).
  • the element 602 may correspond fully to block 511 of Figure 5B.
  • the terminal device receives, in block 602, the paging message and stores, also in block 602, said plurality of configurations to a memory.
  • the plurality of configurations may be mapped to different power budgets and/or negative power headrooms in the memory.
  • the first and second target access nodes transmit, in messages 604, 605, SS bursts which are received by the terminal device in block 606, similar to elements 303 to 305 of Figure 3.
  • the terminal device calculates, in block 607, a first transmission power budget for transmission of a first uplink positioning signal to the first target access node and a second transmission power budget for transmission of a second uplink positioning signal to the first target access node.
  • the calculation of the first and second transmission power budgets may comprise at least estimating the first and second power headrooms for transmission of the first and second uplink positioning signals based on the received SS bursts.
  • the terminal device detects, in block 608, that first and second estimated power headrooms associated with planned transmissions of uplink positioning signals from the terminal device to the first target access node and to the second target access node, respectively, are both negative based on the first and second transmission power budgets.
  • the terminal device selects, in block 609, a first configuration from the plurality of configurations (maintained in the memory) for compensating for the first negative estimated power headroom and a second configuration from the plurality of configurations (maintained in the memory) for compensating for the second negative estimated power headroom.
  • the terminal device transmits, in messages 610, 611, first and second uplink positioning signals to the first and second target access nodes using the first and second configurations, respectively.
  • a selection of the first configuration is indicated to the first target access node in a first preamble, a first RACH opportunity or a first SSB index of the first uplink positioning signal.
  • the selection of the second configuration is indicated to the second target access node in a second preamble, a second RACH opportunity or a second SSB index of the second uplink positioning signal.
  • the first and second target access nodes Upon receiving or measuring the first or second uplink positioning signal in blocks 612, 613 (or at least a relevant part thereof), the first and second target access nodes detect, in blocks 614, 615, the first and second configurations used by the terminal device for transmitting the first and second uplink positioning signals based on the preamble, RACH opportunity or SSB index of the first and second uplink positioning signals. Based on the knowledge of the first and second configurations used by the terminal device for transmission to the first and second target terminal device, the uplink positioning signal measurements may be combined and consequently the location of the terminal device may be determined. In the following, the details of the different configurations for PRACH or SRS with bandwidth adjustments and/or repetitions are detailed in connection with Figures 7A, 7B and 8.
  • RACH config 12 has the following form:
  • Figure 7B illustrates, using a presentation similar to Figure 7A, an adjusted configuration according to an embodiment.
  • the illustrated adjusted configuration enables repetitions and smaller bandwidth for successful aggregation at the target access node as more symbols with reduced bandwidth are configured to be used.
  • Figure 8 illustrates configured time-frequency resources (i.e., PRBs) as defined in a default configuration and two adjusted configurations.
  • PRBs time-frequency resources
  • This example may correspond to a scenario illustrated in Figure 3 or 6.
  • the first and second configurations defined for the first and second target access node in Figure 3 or 6 may correspond to the two adjusted configurations shown on the right-hand side of Figure 8 while the left-hand side shows the pre-defined default configuration which was estimated to result in negative power headroom when used in uplink positioning signal transmission.
  • the specific adjusted configurations of Figure 8 may be communicated from the LMF to the terminal device (either following a reception of negative power headrooms at the LMF or beforehand in a paging message) to adapt to the specific power condition the terminal device is in.
  • the first and second target access node are enabled to increase effective reception signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (S1NR) (by collecting more power from the terminal device) and consequently successful reception of the uplink positioning signals, and thereby increased positioning accuracy, is ensured.
  • S1NR signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio
  • the embodiments provide at least the following benefits compared to the prior art solutions.
  • the embodiments enable RRC idle/inactive mode uplink positioning for (uplink power limited) terminal devices. In comparison with uplink positioning in the RRC connected mode, this reduces power consumption of the terminal device as the amount of required uplink signaling is minimized.
  • the embodiments limit the required uplink signaling to the case where the power headroom is estimated to be negative, which has clear advantages on power consumption of the terminal device.
  • the coordination signaling is put on the downlink by enhancing paging with multiple configurations for the terminal device depending on negative headroom(s) to target access node which serves to further reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.
  • the functionalities carried out by the LMF (or a part thereof or an apparatus communicatively connected to the LMF) in the above discussion may be carried out by another network node (or specifically by another core network node).
  • Figure 9 provides an apparatus 901 (e.g., a computing device) according to some embodiments. Specifically, Figure 9 illustrates an apparatus 901 configured to carry out at least some of the terminal device -side functionalities according to embodiments described above.
  • the apparatus 901 may be a terminal device or a part thereof or an apparatus communicatively connected to a terminal device.
  • the apparatus 901 may comprise one or more communication control circuitry 920, such as at least one processor, and at least one memory 930, including one or more algorithms 931, such as a computer program code (software) wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code (software) are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to carry out any one of the exemplified terminal device -side functionalities described above.
  • the communication control circuitry 920 of the apparatus 901 comprise at least uplink positioning signal transmission circuitry 921 which is configured at least to carry out uplink positioning signal transmission and adjustment or selection of configuration for said transmission.
  • the uplink positioning signal transmission circuitry 921 is configured to carry out functionalities of the terminal device (or associated with the terminal device) described above by means of any of Figures 2A, 3, 5A and 6 using one or more individual circuitries.
  • the memory 930 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory.
  • the apparatus 901 may further comprise different interfaces 910 such as one or more communication interfaces (TX/RX) comprising hardware and/or software for realizing communication connectivity over the medium according to one or more communication protocols.
  • the communication interface may provide the apparatus 901 with communication capabilities to communicate in the cellular communication system and enable communication between terminal devices and different network nodes or elements (e.g., different access nodes and the LMF), for example.
  • the communication interface may comprise standard well-known components such as an amplifier, filter, frequency-converter, (de) modulator, and encoder/decoder circuitries, controlled by the corresponding controlling units, and one or more antennas.
  • the apparatus 901 may also comprise different user interfaces.
  • Figure 10 provides an apparatus 1001 (e.g., a computing device) according to some embodiments. Specifically, Figure 10 illustrates an apparatus 1001 configured to carry out at least some of the core network -side functionalities according to embodiments described above.
  • the apparatus 1001 may be an LMF or a part thereof or an apparatus communicatively connected to an LMF.
  • the apparatus 1001 may comprise one or more communication control circuitry 1020, such as at least one processor, and at least one memory 1030, including one or more algorithms 1031, such as a computer program code (software) wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code (software) are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to carry out any one of the exemplified core network -side functionalities (or LMF functionalities) described above.
  • the communication control circuitry 1020 of the apparatus 1001 comprise at least uplink positioning signal configuration circuitry 1021 which is configured to configure one or more terminal devices for transmitting and receiving uplink positioning reference signals using certain configura- tion(s).
  • the uplink positioning signal configuration 1021 is configured to carry out functionalities of the LMF (or associated with the LMF) described above by means of any of Figures 2B, 3, 4, 5B and 6 using one or more individual circuitries.
  • the memory 1030 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory.
  • the apparatus 1001 may further comprise different interfaces 1010 such as one or more communication interfaces (TX/RX) comprising hardware and/or software for realizing communication connectivity over the medium according to one or more communication protocols.
  • the communication interface may provide the apparatus 1001 with communication capabilities to communicate in the cellular communication system and enable communication with user devices (terminal devices) and different network nodes or elements and/or a communication interface to enable communication between different network nodes or elements, for example.
  • the communication interface may comprise standard well-known components such as an amplifier, filter, frequency-converter, (de) modulator, and encoder/decoder circuitries, controlled by the corresponding controlling units, and one or more antennas.
  • the communication interfaces may comprise optical interface components providing the base station with optical fiber communication capability.
  • circuitry' may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations, such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry, and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software (and/or firmware), such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit(s) with software/firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software, including digital signal processor (s), software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a terminal device or an access node or an LMF, to perform various functions, and (c) hardware circuit(s) and processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g.
  • circuitry' also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware.
  • the term 'circuitry' also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit for an access node or a terminal device or other computing or network device.
  • At least some of the processes described in connection with Figures 2A, 2B, 3, 4, 5A, 5B and 6 maybe carried out by an apparatus (e.g., computing device or a computing system) comprising corresponding means for carrying out at least some of the described processes.
  • Some example means for carrying out the processes may include at least one of the following: detector, processor (including dual-core and multiple-core processors), digital signal processor, controller, receiver, transmitter, encoder, decoder, memory, RAM, ROM, software, firmware, display, user interface, display circuitry, user interface circuitry, user interface software, display software, circuit, antenna, antenna circuitry, and circuitry.
  • the at least one processor, the memory, and the computer program code form processing means or comprises one or more computer program code portions for carrying out one or more operations according to any one of the embodiments of Figures 2A, 2B, 3, 4, 5A, 5B and 6 or operations thereof.
  • an apparatus comprising means for performing, while operating a terminal device in a radio resource control idle or inactive mode, the following: in response to detecting that an estimated power headroom associated with a planned transmission of an uplink positioning signal from the terminal device to a target access node using a pre-defined default configuration is negative, causing transmitting information on the negative estimated power headroom as a small data transfer to a location management function via an access node; receiving, over a paging channel of the access node from the location management function, a configuration message defining a configuration enabling transmission of the uplink positioning signal to the target access node; and causing transmitting the uplink positioning signal to the target access node using the configuration.
  • an apparatus comprising means for performing: receiving, as a small data transfer from a terminal device via an access node, information on a negative estimated power headroom associated with transmission of an uplink positioning signal from a terminal device to a target access node using a pre-defined default configuration of the terminal device; calculating a configuration enabling transmission of the uplink positioning signal from the terminal device to the target access node by compensating for the negative estimated power headroom; causing transmitting a first configuration message defining the configuration associated with the target access node to the target access node; and causing transmitting a second configuration message defining the configuration associated with the target access node to the terminal device via the access node using a paging channel of the access node.
  • an apparatus comprising means for performing, while operating a terminal device in a radio resource control idle or inactive mode, the following: receiving, from a location management function via an access node using a paging channel of the access node, at least one paging message requesting transmission of one or more uplink positioning signals to one or more target access nodes, wherein the at least one paging message comprises a plurality of configurations for performing transmissions of an uplink positioning signal between a terminal device and one or more target access nodes, the plurality of configurations correspond to different power budgets and are associated with a corresponding set of preambles, random access channel opportunities or synchronization signal block indices for identifying the plurality of configurations; in response to detecting that an estimated power headroom associated with a planned transmission of an uplink positioning signal from the terminal device to a target access node using a pre-defined default configuration is negative, selecting a configuration from the plurality of configurations for compensating for the negative estimated power headroom; and causing transmitting the
  • an apparatus comprising means for performing: causing transmitting, via an access node to a terminal device using a paging channel of the access node, at least one paging message for transmitting one or more uplink positioning signals to one or more target access node, wherein the at least one paging message comprises a plurality of configurations for performing transmissions of an uplink positioning signal between a terminal device and one or more target access nodes, the plurality of configurations corresponding to different power budgets and being associated with a corresponding set of preambles, random access channel opportunities or synchronization signal block indices for identifying the plurality of configurations.
  • the at least one processor, the memory, and the computer program code form processing means or comprises one or more computer program code portions for carrying out one or more operations according to any one of the embodiments of Figures 2A, 2B, 3, 4, 5A, 5B and 6 or operations thereof.
  • Embodiments as described may also be carried out in the form of a computer process defined by a computer program or portions thereof. Embodiments of the methods described in connection with Figures 2A, 2B, 3, 4, 5A, 5B and 6 may be carried out by executing at least one portion of a computer program comprising corresponding instructions.
  • the computer program may be provided as a computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon or as a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon.
  • the computer program may be in source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form, and it may be stored in some sort of carrier, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program.
  • the computer program may be stored on a computer program distribution medium readable by a computer or a processor.
  • the computer program medium may be, for example but not limited to, a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory, electrical carrier signal, telecommunications signal, and software distri- bution package, for example.
  • the computer program medium may be a non-transi- tory medium. Coding of software for carrying out the embodiments as shown and described is well within the scope of a person of ordinary skill in the art.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

Selon un aspect, l'invention concerne un appareil permettant de mettre en œuvre ce qui suit tout en actionnant un équipement terminal dans un mode veille ou inactif de commande de ressources radio. En réponse à la détection du fait qu'une marge de puissance estimée associée à une transmission planifiée d'un signal de positionnement de liaison montante de l'équipement terminal à un nœud d'accès cible utilisant une configuration par défaut prédéfinie est négative, l'appareil provoque la transmission d'informations concernant la marge de puissance estimée négative en tant que transfert de petites données à une fonction de gestion de localisation par l'intermédiaire d'un nœud d'accès. L'appareil reçoit, sur un canal de radiomessagerie du nœud d'accès en provenance de la fonction de gestion de localisation, un message de configuration définissant une configuration permettant la transmission du signal de positionnement de liaison montante au nœud d'accès cible. L'appareil provoque la transmission du signal de positionnement de liaison montante au nœud d'accès cible au moyen de la configuration.
PCT/FI2022/050431 2021-09-22 2022-06-17 Permettre le positionnement en mode veille/inactif pour équipements terminaux à puissance limitée WO2023047012A1 (fr)

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Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20160037463A1 (en) * 2014-07-31 2016-02-04 Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) Power Headroom Reporting Accounting
WO2020168573A1 (fr) * 2019-02-22 2020-08-27 Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd. Positionnement de liaison montante pour dispositif terminal inactif ou au repos
US20210068102A1 (en) * 2011-09-30 2021-03-04 Interdigital Patent Holdings, Inc. Multipoint transmission in wireless communication
WO2021112999A1 (fr) * 2019-12-05 2021-06-10 Qualcomm Incorporated Association d'un signal de référence de sondage (srs) à de multiples ressources de canal d'accès aléatoire (rach) décalé dans le domaine fréquentiel

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20210068102A1 (en) * 2011-09-30 2021-03-04 Interdigital Patent Holdings, Inc. Multipoint transmission in wireless communication
US20160037463A1 (en) * 2014-07-31 2016-02-04 Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) Power Headroom Reporting Accounting
WO2020168573A1 (fr) * 2019-02-22 2020-08-27 Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd. Positionnement de liaison montante pour dispositif terminal inactif ou au repos
WO2021112999A1 (fr) * 2019-12-05 2021-06-10 Qualcomm Incorporated Association d'un signal de référence de sondage (srs) à de multiples ressources de canal d'accès aléatoire (rach) décalé dans le domaine fréquentiel

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HUAWEI, HISILICON: "[AT114-e][620][POS] RRC state exposure for positioning (Huawei)", 3GPP DRAFT; R2-2106588, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), MOBILE COMPETENCE CENTRE ; 650, ROUTE DES LUCIOLES ; F-06921 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS CEDEX ; FRANCE, vol. RAN WG2, no. Electronic; 20210519 - 20210527, 27 May 2021 (2021-05-27), Mobile Competence Centre ; 650, route des Lucioles ; F-06921 Sophia-Antipolis Cedex ; France , XP052015882 *

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