Patent Description:
<CIT> discloses techniques for supporting multiple configurations of reference signals for OTDOA positioning in a wireless network. A UE sends to a location server, a message indicating reference signal characteristics supported by the UE, where the reference signal characteristics include a UE supported reference signal bandwidth. The UE then receives from the location server, positioning assistance data including reference signal configuration parameters for each cell of a plurality of cells transmitting reference signals according to the UE supported reference signal bandwidth. The UE may then perform positioning measurements for one or more of the plurality of cells transmitting the reference signals based on the reference signal configuration parameters for each cell of the plurality of cells. <CIT> discloses communication systems taking into account radio signal capabilities of the user equipment when determining the position of the user equipment. A method may include sending a request from a network entity to a user equipment. The method may also include receiving a response to the request from the user equipment. The response may include information about radio signal capabilities of the user equipment. In addition, the method may include determining location assistance data based on the received radio signal capabilities. Obtaining the location of a mobile device that is accessing a wireless network may be useful for many applications including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating a friend or family member, etc. Location of a mobile device requires network and/or mobile resources and may require providing assistance data to the mobile device to aid in the determination of a location. However, as mobile devices progress from being mostly smartphones to a plethora of new devices, such as internet of everything (IOT) devices, the devices are becoming more specialized, cheaper and more heterogenous in their RF requirements and needs. For example, a smartphone may be able to support several RF bands but a cheaper IOT device may only be able to communicate or receive data over some RF bands or some portions of those RF bands. As a result, there is a need to improve the capability to support positioning of devices with various limitations in their RF capabilities.

In accordance with the present application, a method, a mobile device, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium as defined in the independent claims is described. Further embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims. An example method for location determination at a mobile device useful for understanding the invention comprises sending positioning capabilities of the mobile device to a location server. The positioning capabilities comprising an identification of at least one partial Radio Frequency (RF) band. The partial RF band is contained within a complete RF band and the partial RF band or the complete RF band is transmitted by a plurality of wireless nodes. The positioning capabilities indicate that the mobile device is configured to measure the at least one partial RF band and is not configured to measure the complete RF band. Additionally, the method comprises receiving location assistance data from the location server, wherein the location assistance data comprises configuration information for at least one reference signal (RS) in the at least one partial RF band, wherein the at least one RS is transmitted by at least one wireless node. In addition, the method comprises obtaining at least one location measurement from the at least one RS based on the configuration information, and sending location information to the location server, wherein the location information is based on the at least one location measurement.

An example of a mobile device useful for understanding the invention comprises a memory and one or more transceivers. The one or more transceivers of the mobile device configured to send positioning capabilities of the mobile device to a location server. The positioning capabilities comprising an identification of at least one partial Radio Frequency (RF) band. The partial RF band is contained within a complete RF band and the partial RF band or the complete RF band is transmitted by a plurality of wireless nodes. The positioning capabilities indicate that the mobile device is configured to measure the at least one partial RF band and is not configured to measure the complete RF band. Additionally, the one or more transceivers of the mobile device are configured to receive location assistance data from the location server, wherein the location assistance data comprises configuration information for at least one reference signal (RS) in the at least one partial RF band, wherein the at least one RS is transmitted by at least one wireless node. In addition, the mobile device comprises one or more processors coupled to the memory and the one or more transceivers, and the one or more processors are configured to obtain at least one location measurement from the at least one RS based on the configuration information, and send location information to the location server, wherein the location information is based on the at least one location measurement.

An example of a mobile device for location determination useful for understanding the invention comprises means for sending positioning capabilities of the mobile device to a location server. The positioning capabilities comprising an identification of at least one partial Radio Frequency (RF) band. The partial RF band is contained within a complete RF band and the partial RF band or the complete RF band is transmitted by a plurality of wireless nodes. The positioning capabilities indicate that the mobile device is configured to measure the at least one partial RF band and is not configured to measure the complete RF band. Additionally, the mobile device comprises means for receiving location assistance data from the location server, wherein the location assistance data comprises configuration information for at least one reference signal (RS) in the at least one partial RF band, wherein the at least one RS is transmitted by at least one wireless node. In addition, the mobile device comprises means for obtaining at least one location measurement from the at least one RS based on the configuration information, and means for sending location information to the location server, wherein the location information is based on the at least one location measurement.

An example of a non-transitory computer-readable medium for location determination at a mobile device useful for understanding the invention comprising processor-executable program code configured to cause one or more processors to send positioning capabilities of the mobile device to a location server. The positioning capabilities comprising an identification of at least one partial Radio Frequency (RF) band. The partial RF band is contained within a complete RF band and the partial RF band or the complete RF band is transmitted by a plurality of wireless nodes. The positioning capabilities indicate that the mobile device is configured to measure the at least one partial RF band and is not configured to measure the complete RF band. Additionally, the processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to receive location assistance data from the location server, wherein the location assistance data comprises configuration information for at least one reference signal (RS) in the at least one partial RF band, wherein the at least one RS is transmitted by at least one wireless node. In addition, the processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to obtain at least one location measurement from the at least one RS based on the configuration information, and send location information to the location server, wherein the location information is based on the at least one location measurement.

Other and further objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood with the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings.

For example, multiple instances of an element <NUM> may be indicated as <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM> etc. or as 110a, 110b, 110c etc. When referring to such an element using only the first number, any instance of the element is to be understood (e.g. element <NUM> in the previous example would refer to elements <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> or to elements 110a, 110b and 110c).

Obtaining the location of a mobile device that is accessing a wireless network may be useful for many applications including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating a friend or family member, etc. However, location of a mobile device typically requires usage of resources by a mobile device and/or by a network for such purposes as transmitting uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) signals that can be measured by another device, conveying assistance data to a mobile device that can be used to help obtain measurements and/or help determine a location, and performing processing and communication. The amount of resource usage, particularly on a network side, may increase substantially when many mobile devices need to be located over a period of time - e.g. hundreds, thousands or millions of mobile devices that may need to be located hourly or daily by a large wireless network.

As an example of resource usage by a wireless network, base stations in a wireless network may transmit a positioning reference signal (PRS) continuously or periodically in each cell to support, for example, observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) location determination (e.g., for LTE or <NUM> wireless access) which may consume significant operator bandwidth.

As another example of resource usage by a wireless network, location assistance data may be broadcast by a base station in a cell to assist a user equipment (UE) to obtain location related measurements and/or to determine a location from such measurements. In this case, operator bandwidth may be consumed by broadcasting the assistance data but the broadcast may only be received by UEs for some fraction of the broadcast time.

While transmission of a PRS to support location of mobile devices is described herein, transmission of other types of signal such as a Cell-specific Reference Signal (CRS) or Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) may be used instead for some wireless technologies (e.g. such as <NUM> NR). Consequently, methods exemplified herein to support increased resource allocation for PRS transmission may be equally applicable to transmission of other signals used for positioning such as a CRS or TRS.

As mobile devices progress from being mostly handheld cellphones and smartphones into a plethora of new devices, such as IOT devices, the devices are likely to become more specialized, generally cheaper and more heterogenous in their RF capabilities and needs. For example, a smartphone may be able to support several RF bands, but a cheaper IOT device may only be able to communicate or receive data over some RF bands or some portions of RF bands. As a result, it may not be possible for some UEs to measure signals such as a PRS or CRS over an entire RF band or to make use of assistance data which assists measurements over a whole RF band or assists in determining a location of the UE based on measurements of a whole RF band. This implies the need for solutions to support positioning of a UE that supports only partial RF bands.

<FIG> shows a diagram of a communication system <NUM>, according to an embodiment. The communication system <NUM> may be configured to support positioning of UEs that support partial RF bands. Here, the communication system <NUM> comprises a UE <NUM>, and components of a Fifth Generation (<NUM>) network comprising a Next Generation (NG) Radio Access Network (RAN) (NG-RAN) <NUM> and a <NUM> Core Network (5GCN) <NUM>. A <NUM> network may also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network; NG-RAN <NUM> may be referred to as a <NUM> RAN or as an NR RAN; and 5GCN <NUM> may be referred to as an NG Core network (NGCN). Standardization of an NG-RAN and 5GCN is ongoing in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, NG-RAN <NUM> and 5GCN <NUM> may conform to current or future standards for <NUM> support from 3GPP. The communication system <NUM> may further utilize information from space vehicles (SVs) <NUM> for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) like 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 <NUM> are described below. The communication system <NUM> may include additional or alternative components.

It should be noted that <FIG> provides only a generalized illustration of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be duplicated or omitted as necessary. Specifically, although only one UE <NUM> is illustrated, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the communication system <NUM>. Similarly, the communication system <NUM> may include a larger (or smaller) number of SVs <NUM>, gNBs <NUM>, ng-eNBs <NUM>, AMFs <NUM>, external clients <NUM>, and/or other components. The illustrated connections that connect the various components in the communication system <NUM> include data and signaling connections which may include additional (intermediary) components, direct or indirect physical and/or wireless connections, and/or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and/or omitted, depending on desired functionality.

While <FIG> illustrates a <NUM>-based network, similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as <NUM>, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc..

The UE <NUM> may comprise and/or be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Enabled Terminal (SET), or by some other name. Moreover, UE <NUM> may correspond to a cellphone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, PDA, tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or moveable device. Typically, though not necessarily, the UE <NUM> may support wireless communication using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as using Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE <NUM> WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), <NUM> New Radio (NR) (e.g., using the NG-RAN <NUM> and 5GCN <NUM>), etc. The UE <NUM> may also support wireless communication using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) which may connect to other networks (e.g. the Internet) using a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable for example. The use of one or more of these RATs may allow the UE <NUM> to communicate with an external client <NUM> (via elements of 5GCN <NUM> not shown in <FIG>, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) <NUM>) and/or allow the external client <NUM> to receive location information regarding the UE <NUM> (e.g., via the GMLC <NUM>).

The UE <NUM> may include a single entity or may include multiple entities such as in a personal area network where a user may employ audio, video and/or data I/O devices and/or body sensors and a separate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of a location of the UE <NUM> may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate or position fix, and may be geographic, thus providing location coordinates for the UE <NUM> (e.g., latitude and longitude) which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above or depth below ground level, floor level or basement level). Alternatively, a location of the UE <NUM> may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or the designation of some point or small area in a building such as a particular room or floor). A location of the UE <NUM> may also be expressed as an area or volume (defined either geographically or in civic form) within which the UE <NUM> is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., <NUM>%, <NUM>%, etc.). A location of the UE <NUM> may further be a relative location comprising, for example, a distance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates defined relative to some origin at a known location which may be defined geographically, in civic terms, or by reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term location may comprise any of these variants unless indicated otherwise. When computing the location of a UE, it is common to solve for local x, y, and possibly z coordinates and then, if needed, convert the local coordinates into absolute ones (e.g. for latitude, longitude and altitude above or below mean sea level).

Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN <NUM> shown in <FIG> comprise NR NodeBs, also referred to as gNBs, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> (collectively and generically referred to herein as gNBs <NUM>). Pairs of gNBs <NUM> in NG-RAN <NUM> may be connected to one another - e.g. directly as shown in <FIG> or indirectly via other gNBs <NUM>. Access to the <NUM> network is provided to UE <NUM> via wireless communication between the UE <NUM> and one or more of the gNBs <NUM>, which may provide wireless communications access to the 5GCN <NUM> on behalf of the UE <NUM> using <NUM> NR. <NUM> NR radio access may also be referred to as NR radio access or as <NUM> radio access. In <FIG>, the primary serving gNB for UE <NUM> is assumed to be gNB <NUM>-<NUM>, although other gNBs (e.g. gNB <NUM>-<NUM> and/or gNB <NUM>-<NUM>) may act as a serving gNB if UE <NUM> moves to another location or may act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughout and bandwidth to UE <NUM>.

Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN <NUM> shown in <FIG> may also or instead include a next generation evolved Node B, also referred to as an ng-eNB, <NUM>. Ng-eNB <NUM> may be connected to one or more gNBs <NUM> in NG-RAN <NUM> - e.g. directly or indirectly via other gNBs <NUM> and/or other ng-eNBs. An ng-eNB <NUM> may provide LTE wireless access and/or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to UE <NUM>. Some gNBs <NUM> (e.g. gNB <NUM>-<NUM>) and/or ng-eNB <NUM> in <FIG> may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons, which may transmit signals (e.g. PRS signals) and/or may broadcast assistance data to assist positioning of UE <NUM> but may not receive signals from UE <NUM> or from other UEs. It is noted that while only one ng-eNB <NUM> is shown in <FIG>, some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNBs <NUM>.

As noted, while <FIG> depicts nodes configured to communicate according to <NUM> NR and LTE communication protocols for an NG-RAN <NUM>, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols may be used, such as, for example, an LTE protocol for an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) or an IEEE <NUM>. 11x protocol for a WLAN. For example, in a Fourth Generation (<NUM>) Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to UE <NUM>, a RAN may comprise an E-UTRAN, which may comprise base stations comprising evolved Node Bs (eNBs) supporting LTE wireless access. A core network for EPS may comprise an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). An EPS may then comprise an E-UTRAN plus EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN <NUM> and the EPC corresponds to 5GCN <NUM> in <FIG>. The methods and techniques described herein for support of positioning of a UE <NUM> that supports partial RF bands may be applicable to such other networks.

The gNBs <NUM> and ng-eNB <NUM> can communicate with an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) <NUM>, which, for positioning functionality, communicates with a Location Management Function (LMF) <NUM>. The AMF <NUM> may support mobility of the UE <NUM>, including cell change and handover and may participate in supporting a signaling connection to the UE <NUM> and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE <NUM>. The LMF <NUM> may support positioning of the UE <NUM> when UE <NUM> accesses the NG-RAN <NUM> and may support position procedures / methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Real Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), angle of arrival (AOA), angle of departure (AOD), and/or other position methods. The LMF <NUM> may also process location services requests for the UE <NUM>, e.g., received from the AMF <NUM> or from the GMLC <NUM>. The LMF <NUM> may be connected to AMF <NUM> and/or to GMLC <NUM>. The LMF <NUM> may be referred to by other names such as a Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), commercial LMF (CLMF) or value added LMF (VLMF). In some embodiments, a node / system that implements the LMF <NUM> may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location-support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC). It is noted that in some embodiments, at least part of the positioning functionality (including derivation of a UE <NUM>'s location) may be performed at the UE <NUM> (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by UE <NUM> for signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as gNBs <NUM> and ng-eNB <NUM>, and assistance data provided to the UE <NUM>, e.g. by LMF <NUM>).

The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) <NUM> may support a location request for the UE <NUM> received from an external client <NUM> and may forward such a location request to the AMF <NUM> for forwarding by the AMF <NUM> to the LMF <NUM> or may forward the location request directly to the LMF <NUM>. A location response from the LMF <NUM> (e.g. containing a location estimate for the UE <NUM>) may be similarly returned to the GMLC <NUM> either directly or via the AMF <NUM>, and the GMLC <NUM> may then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client <NUM>. The GMLC <NUM> is shown connected to both the AMF <NUM> and LMF <NUM> in <FIG> though only one of these connections may be supported by 5GCN <NUM> in some implementations.

As further illustrated in <FIG>, the LMF <NUM> may communicate with the gNBs <NUM> and/or with the ng-eNB <NUM> using a New Radio Position Protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) <NUM>. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS <NUM>, with NRPPa messages being transferred between a gNB <NUM> and the LMF <NUM>, and/or between an ng-eNB <NUM> and the LMF <NUM>, via the AMF <NUM>. As further illustrated in <FIG>, LMF <NUM> and UE <NUM> may communicate using an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in <NPL>. LMF <NUM> and UE <NUM> may also or instead communicate using a New Radio Positioning Protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and/or NPP messages may be transferred between the UE <NUM> and the LMF <NUM> via the AMF <NUM> and a serving gNB <NUM>-<NUM> or serving ng-eNB <NUM> for UE <NUM>. For example, LPP and/or NPP messages may be transferred between the LMF <NUM> and the AMF <NUM> using a transport protocol or a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) based service operation, and may be transferred between the AMF <NUM> and the UE <NUM> using a <NUM> Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and/or NPP protocol may be used to support positioning of UE <NUM> using UE assisted and/or UE based position methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA and/or ECID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of UE <NUM> using network based position methods such as ECID (e.g. when used with measurements obtained by a gNB <NUM> or ng-eNB <NUM>) and/or may be used by LMF <NUM> to obtain location related information from gNBs <NUM> and/or ng-eNB <NUM>, such as parameters defining PRS transmission from gNBs <NUM> and/or ng-eNB <NUM>.

With a UE assisted position method, UE <NUM> may obtain location measurements (e.g. of signals transmitted by gNBs <NUM>, ng-eNB <NUM> and/or SVs <NUM>) and send the measurements to a location server (e.g. LMF <NUM>) for computation of a location estimate for UE <NUM>. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round Trip signal propagation Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), AOA, and/or AOD for gNBs <NUM>, ng-eNB <NUM> and/or a WLAN access point (AP). The location measurements may also or instead include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase and/or carrier phase for SVs <NUM>. With a UE based position method, UE <NUM> may obtain location measurements (e.g. which may be the same as or similar to location measurements for a UE assisted position method) and may compute a location of UE <NUM> (e.g. with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as LMF <NUM> or broadcast by gNBs <NUM>, ng-eNB <NUM> or other base stations or APs). With a network based position method, one or more base stations (e.g. gNBs <NUM> and/or ng-eNB <NUM>) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g. measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA or Time Of Arrival (TOA)) for signals transmitted by UE <NUM>, and/or may receive measurements obtained by UE <NUM>, and may send the measurements to a location server (e.g. LMF <NUM>) for computation of a location estimate for UE <NUM>.

Information provided by the gNBs <NUM> and/or ng-eNB <NUM> to the LMF <NUM> using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for PRS transmission and location coordinates. The LMF <NUM> can then provide some or all of this information to the UE <NUM> as assistance data in an LPP and/or NPP message via the NG-RAN <NUM> and the 5GCN <NUM>.

An LPP or NPP message sent from the LMF <NUM> to the UE <NUM> may instruct the UE <NUM> to do any of a variety of things, depending on desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message could contain an instruction for the UE <NUM> to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, and/or OTDOA (or some other position method). In the case of OTDOA, the LPP or NPP message may instruct the UE <NUM> to obtain one or more measurements (e.g. RSTD measurements) of PRS signals transmitted within particular cells supported by particular gNBs <NUM> and/or ng-eNB <NUM> (or supported by some other type of base station such as an eNB or WiFi AP). An RSTD measurement may comprise the difference in the times of arrival at the UE <NUM> of a signal (e.g. a PRS signal) transmitted or broadcast by one gNB <NUM> and a similar signal transmitted by another gNB <NUM>. The UE <NUM> may send the measurements back to the LMF <NUM> in an LPP or NPP message (e.g. inside a <NUM> NAS message) via the serving gNB <NUM>-<NUM> (or serving ng-eNB <NUM>) and the AMF <NUM>.

As noted, while the communication system <NUM> is described in relation to <NUM> technology, the communication system <NUM> may be implemented to support other communication technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc., that are used for supporting and interacting with mobile devices such as the UE <NUM> (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionalities). In some such embodiments, the 5GCN <NUM> may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, in some embodiments, 5GCN <NUM> may be connected to a WLAN, either directly or using a Non-3GPP InterWorking Function (N3IWF, not shown <FIG>) in the 5GCN <NUM>. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE <NUM> WiFi access for UE <NUM> and may comprise one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may connect to the WLAN and to other elements in the 5GCN <NUM> such as AMF <NUM>. In some other embodiments, both the NG-RAN <NUM> and the 5GCN <NUM> may be replaced by other RANs and other core networks. For example, in an EPS, the NG-RAN <NUM> may be replaced by an E-UTRAN containing eNBs and the 5GCN <NUM> may be replaced by an EPC containing a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in place of the AMF <NUM>, an E-SMLC in place of the LMF <NUM> and a GMLC that may be similar to the GMLC <NUM>. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa in place of NRPPa to send and receive location information to and from the eNBs in the E-UTRAN and may use LPP to support positioning of UE <NUM>. In these other embodiments, support for positioning of a UE <NUM> that supports partial RF bands may be supported in an analogous manner to that described herein for a <NUM> network with the difference that functions and procedures described herein for gNBs <NUM>, ng-eNB <NUM>, AMF <NUM> and LMF <NUM> may, in some cases, apply instead to other network elements such eNBs, WiFi APs, an MME and an E-SMLC.

To support certain position methods such as OTDOA and transmission of PRS or other signals used in positioning of a UE <NUM>, base stations may be synchronized. In a synchronized network, the transmission timing of gNBs <NUM> may be synchronized such that each gNB <NUM> has the same transmission timing as every other gNB <NUM> to a high level of precision - e.g. <NUM> nanoseconds or less. Alternatively, the gNBs <NUM> may be synchronized at a radio frame or subframe level such that each gNB <NUM> transmits a radio frame or subframe during the same time duration as every other gNB <NUM> (e.g. such that each gNB <NUM> starts and finishes transmitting a radio frame or subframe at almost precisely the same time as every other gNB <NUM>), but does not necessarily maintain the same counters or numbering for radio frames or subframes. For example, when one gNB <NUM> is transmitting a subframe or radio frame with counter or number zero (which may be the first radio frame or subframe in some periodically repeated sequence of radio frames or subframes), another gNB <NUM> may be transmitting a radio frame or subframe with a different number or counter such as one, ten, one hundred etc..

Synchronization of the transmission timing of ng-eNBs <NUM> in NG-RAN <NUM> may be supported in a similar manner to synchronization of gNBs <NUM>, although since ng-eNBs <NUM> may typically use a different frequency to gNBs <NUM> (to avoid interference), an ng-eNB <NUM> may not always be synchronized to gNBs <NUM>. Synchronization of gNBs <NUM> and ng-eNBs <NUM> may be achieved using a GPS receiver or a GNSS receiver in each gNB <NUM> and ng-eNB <NUM> or by other means such as using the IEEE <NUM> Precision Time Protocol.

To support positioning methods such as OTDOA in which a UE <NUM> measures PRS, CRS, TRS or other signals transmitted by gNBs <NUM> and/or ng-eNB <NUM>, the UE <NUM> can indicate the RF bands supported by the UE <NUM> to LMF <NUM>. LMF <NUM> can then request measurements from UE <NUM> (e.g. RSTD measurements) for signals in one or more of the supported RF bands and possibly provide assistance data to UE <NUM> to help enable these measurements. For example, the assistance data could indicate the carrier frequency, bandwidth, PRS positioning occasions, PRS code sequence, PRS muting pattern and other configuration parameters for a PRS signal for which measurements are requested as described in more detail later with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>. However, one important consideration which may not be supported is that UE <NUM> may not support an entire frequency band for a PRS (or other signal) and instead only support a partial band due to various limitations such as RF front-end limitations, cost constraints, filter limitations across an entire frequency band etc. This limitation may be particularly likely for RF bands at higher frequencies which may have a wide bandwidth. Examples of such RF bands may include <NUM> bands for <NUM> - <NUM> and <NUM> - <NUM> in the US, <NUM> - <NUM> in Korea, <NUM> - <NUM> in Japan, <NUM> - <NUM> and <NUM> - <NUM> in China, <NUM> - <NUM> in Sweden and <NUM> - <NUM> in the European Union, which may be allocated for <NUM> trials and evaluation and later for commercial operation. For these RF bands (and/or others), UE <NUM> may only support a portion of the overall frequency range - e.g. may support <NUM> of frequency at the top, bottom or somewhere in the middle of the frequency range.

In the absence of an ability to indicate partial band support, a UE <NUM> may determine not to indicate support for an RF band to LMF <NUM> which may cause LMF <NUM> to not request measurements for this RF band which may reduce location accuracy or prevent location of UE <NUM>. Alternatively, when UE <NUM> only partially supports an RF band, UE <NUM> may indicate to LMF <NUM> that the entire band is supported, which may result in a request for measurements by LMF <NUM> which UE <NUM> is unable to perform or can only perform with impaired accuracy and reliability, which may again reduce location accuracy or prevent location of UE <NUM>.

To overcome such limitations, UE <NUM> may indicate to LMF <NUM> if UE <NUM> supports only part of an RF band and may include information concerning which part(s) of the RF band are supported. As an example, this information could be included as part of UE <NUM> positioning capabilities transferred to LMF <NUM> using LPP or NPP.

Partial support for an RF band can be indicated by UE <NUM> in different ways. In one embodiment, UE <NUM> can indicate the supported resource blocks (RBs) (or subcarriers) within the RF band. For example, UE <NUM> may provide a set of integers I1, I2, I3. to LMF <NUM>, where I1 indicates a number of consecutive supported RBs starting from the lowest frequency for the RF band, I2 indicates a number of consecutive non-supported RBs immediately following the supported RBs indicated by I1, I3 indicates a number of consecutive supported RBs immediately following the non-supported RBs indicated by I2 etc..

In another embodiment, UE <NUM> can indicate partial support for an RF band by indicating frequency regions within the RF band which are supported. For example, UE <NUM> may indicate one or more supported frequency regions by providing a frequency range for each supported region (e.g. <NUM>, <NUM>, etc.) and may indicate where each supported frequency range occurs in the RF band by indicating whether it is at the top end, bottom end or somewhere in the middle of the band (and may then also provide an offset to the supported frequency range relative to the top or bottom of the range).

Other embodiments can include UE <NUM> providing a bit map to LMF <NUM>, where a bit map refers to a particular set of consecutive RBs (or sub carriers) and indicates whether each RB or subcarrier is supported (e.g. via a bit with a one value) or not supported (e.g. via a bit with a zero value). In another embodiment, UE <NUM> may provide a set of integers or enumerated values to LMF <NUM> to indicate particular sets of RBs (or subcarriers) which are or are not supported.

Based on the indication(s) of partial RF band support received from UE <NUM>, LMF <NUM> can request measurements from UE <NUM> (e.g. RSRD measurements) and/or provide assistance data to UE <NUM> only for PRS, CRS, TRS or other signals which are entirely contained within (or otherwise entirely supported by) the portions of any RF band that are indicated as supported by UE <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a signaling flow <NUM> that illustrates various messages sent between components of the communication system <NUM> depicted in <FIG>, during a location session between the UE <NUM> and the LMF <NUM>. While the flow diagram <NUM> is discussed, for ease of illustration, in relation to a <NUM> NR wireless access using gNBs <NUM>, signaling flows similar to <FIG> involving ng-eNBs <NUM> or eNBs rather than gNBs <NUM> will be readily apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the UE <NUM> itself may be configured to determine its location using, for example, assistance data provided to it. In the signaling flow <NUM>, it is assumed that the UE <NUM> and LMF <NUM> communicate using the LPP and/or NPP positioning protocols referred to earlier. Thus, messages for signaling flow <NUM> are referred to as LPP/NPP messages which may comprise LPP messages (without use of NPP), NPP messages (without use of LPP) or LPP messages combined with NPP messages (e.g. wherein an NPP message is encapsulated within an LPP message). However, messages for other positioning protocols may also be used in other signaling flows similar to signaling flow <NUM>.

In some embodiments, a location session for UE <NUM> can be triggered when the LMF <NUM> receives a location request at action <NUM>. Depending on the scenario, the location request may come to the LMF <NUM> from the AMF <NUM>, from the GMLC <NUM> or from the UE <NUM> (e.g. via the serving gNB <NUM>-<NUM> and the AMF <NUM>) depicted in <FIG>. In some implementations, the LMF <NUM> may then query the AMF <NUM> for information for the UE <NUM> and the AMF <NUM> may then send information for the UE <NUM> to the LMF <NUM> (not shown in <FIG>). The information may indicate that the UE has <NUM> NR wireless access (for the example embodiments of <FIG>), and may provide the identity (ID) of a current NR serving cell for the UE <NUM> (e.g. a cell supported by gNB <NUM>-<NUM> which may be a serving gNB for the UE <NUM>) and/or may indicate that the UE <NUM> supports location using LPP/NPP. Some or all of this information may have been obtained by the AMF <NUM> from the UE <NUM> and/or from the gNB <NUM>-<NUM>, e.g., when the UE <NUM> obtains a signaling link to the AMF <NUM> and/or registers with the AMF <NUM>. In some other implementations, the same or similar information may be included in a location request sent by AMF <NUM> to LMF <NUM> at action <NUM>.

To begin the location session (e.g., and based on an indication of UE support for LPP/NPP with <NUM> NR wireless access), the LMF <NUM> sends an LPP/NPP Request Capabilities message at action <NUM> to the AMF <NUM> serving the UE <NUM> (e.g. using a transport protocol or HTTP based service operation). The AMF <NUM> may include the LPP/NPP Request Capabilities message within a <NUM> NAS transport message, at action <NUM>, which is sent to the UE <NUM> (e.g., via the serving gNB <NUM>-<NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>). The UE <NUM> responds to the AMF <NUM> with an LPP/NPP Provide Capabilities message at action <NUM>, also sent within a <NUM> NAS transport message. The AMF <NUM> extracts the LPP/NPP Provide Capabilities message from the <NUM> NAS transport message and relays the LPP/NPP Provide Capabilities message to the LMF <NUM> (e.g., using a transport protocol or HTTP based service operation) at action <NUM>. Here, the LPP/NPP Provide Capabilities message sent at actions <NUM> and <NUM> may indicate the positioning capabilities of the UE <NUM> with respect to LPP/NPP, e.g., the LPP and/or NPP position methods and associated LPP and/or NPP assistance data supported by the UE <NUM> (e.g. such as A-GNSS positioning, OTDOA positioning, ECID positioning, WLAN positioning, etc.) while accessing a <NUM> NR network.

The positioning capabilities provided at actions <NUM> and <NUM> by UE <NUM> may indicate positioning capabilities of UE <NUM> with respect to RF band support as described previously. For example, the positioning capabilities may include an identification of at least one partial RF band, where the partial RF band is contained within a complete RF band. The identification of at least one partial RF band may indicate that the UE <NUM> is configured to measure the at least one partial RF band and is not configured to measure the complete RF band. In another example, if the complete RF band is listed, without excluding any frequencies, frequency ranges, resource blocks, reference signals, etc., then this may indicate to LMF <NUM> that UE <NUM> is configured to measure the complete RF band. These positioning capabilities may help the LMF <NUM> determine a suitable position method or position methods, suitable signal measurements to request and/or suitable assistance data for the UE <NUM>.

The identification of at least one partial RF band at actions <NUM> and <NUM> by UE <NUM> may comprise an identification of at least one resource block (RB), an identification of at least one subcarrier (SC), an identification of at least one frequency range, an identification of a minimum frequency, an identification of a maximum frequency, an identification of an offset from a minimum frequency, an identification of an offset from a maximum frequency, or any combination thereof. In an example for LTE Band <NUM> which may span the frequency range <NUM> - <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may indicate in the positioning capabilities sent at actions <NUM> and <NUM> that the UE is configured to measure a subrange of <NUM> through <NUM>. As a result, the UE <NUM> indicates that it is configured to measure this subrange and it is not configured to measure the entirety of LTE band <NUM>.

In another example, the UE <NUM> may indicate support for at least one partial RF band at actions <NUM> and <NUM> by indicating support for a frequency range and an offset from a minimum frequency, such as by indicating support for a one hundred MHz frequency range for LTE Band <NUM> offset by <NUM> from the minimum frequency <NUM>. In this example, UE <NUM> may indicate the RF band (LTE Band <NUM>), the supported frequency range (one hundred MHz), the offset (<NUM>) and the minimum frequency (e.g. which may be referred to using a flag or may be assumed by the LMF <NUM> by default).

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the UE <NUM> may indicate at least one partial RF band at actions <NUM> and <NUM> by indicating an RF band and an offset, where the offset applies to a minimum or maximum frequency for the RF band (e.g. where the indication of a minimum or maximum frequency may be pre-configured, standardized or may be provided explicitly using a flag or other parameter). In this aspect, there may be a convention that UE <NUM> is able to (i) support all frequencies between the minimum frequency for the RF band and the minimum frequency plus the offset in the case that a minimum frequency is indicated, or (ii) is able to support all frequencies starting from the maximum frequency minus the offset to the maximum frequency in the case that a maximum frequency is indicated. For example, UE <NUM> may indicate LTE band <NUM>, an offset of twenty MHz, and a maximum frequency for LTE band <NUM>. As a result, LMF <NUM> may infer that UE <NUM> is configured to measure a frequency range of <NUM> to <NUM>.

In another aspect, UE <NUM> may indicate at least one partial RF band at actions <NUM> and <NUM> by indicating a starting frequency and an ending frequency. For example, the UE <NUM> may indicate a starting frequency of <NUM> and an ending frequency of <NUM> for LTE Band <NUM>, which may indicate that UE <NUM> is not configured to measure the entirety of LTE band <NUM> but is only configured to measure the frequency range <NUM> to <NUM>.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, UE <NUM> may provide a plurality of partial RF bands at actions <NUM> and <NUM>, where the plurality of partial RF bands have non-overlapping RF frequencies. For example, the UE may specify, through one of the many ways described throughout this specification, that UE <NUM> is configured to measure the frequency ranges <NUM> to <NUM>, <NUM> to <NUM> and <NUM> to <NUM>. This may indicate to LMF <NUM> that UE <NUM> cannot measure LTE band <NUM> in its entirety but can measure the three RF frequency ranges within LTE band <NUM> which are indicated.

In another aspect, the at least one partial RF band indicated by UE <NUM> at actions <NUM> and <NUM> may comprise a plurality of one or more resource blocks (RBs), a plurality of one or more subcarriers (SCs), a plurality of one or more frequency ranges or any combination thereof. An RB may comprise a number of consecutive subcarriers (e.g. for <NUM> NR or LTE) as described in more detail in association with <FIG> and <FIG>.

The identification of the at least one partial RF band provided by UE <NUM> at actions <NUM> and <NUM> may comprise a bit string, a set of integers, a set of identifiers or any combination thereof. In one implementation, the UE <NUM> may specify frequencies or frequency ranges, that comprise the at least one partial RF band that is supported within a complete RF band, via a bit string, where the bit string may have a bit for each frequency within the frequency band. For example, in LTE band <NUM>, which spans the frequency range <NUM> to <NUM> with a bandwidth of <NUM>, if the first <NUM> comprise the partial band supported by UE <NUM> then UE may provide a bit string containing <NUM> bits with the first <NUM> bits each set to one to indicate support of the first <NUM> and the remaining <NUM> bits each set to zero to indicate no support for the remaining <NUM>.

In another aspect, the at least one partial RF band may be indicated by UE <NUM> at stages <NUM> and <NUM> by providing an integer or set of integers. For example, integers at odd positions within a set of integers (e.g. the first, third, fifth integers etc.) may indicate numbers of consecutive RBs which are supported by UE <NUM>, while integers at even positions within the set of integers (e.g. the second, fourth integers etc.) may indicate numbers of consecutive RBs which are not supported by UE <NUM>. Thus, for an RF band that comprises <NUM> consecutive RBs, UE <NUM> may provide a set of integers comprising (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), to indicate support for the first <NUM> consecutive RBs in the RF band, non-support for the next RB, support for the next <NUM> RBs and non-support for the next and final <NUM> RBs. In a variant of this aspect, the indication of support and non-support may be reversed such that a first integer in a set of integers indicates a number of non-supported RBs starting from a first RB for an RF band. UE <NUM> support and non-support for SCs and/or frequency ranges may be indicated in a similar manner using a set of integers.

Based on the positioning capabilities received by LMF <NUM> from UE <NUM> at action <NUM>, LMF <NUM> may determine at block <NUM> one or more position methods to be used for location of UE <NUM>. For example, LMF <NUM> may determine position methods at block <NUM> that do not depend on the partial RF bands supported by UE <NUM> or that can be supported reliably and accurately by UE <NUM> using the partial RF bands supported by UE <NUM> and may not determine position methods at block <NUM> that require support of one or more RF bands by UE <NUM> but cannot be supported reliably and accurately using the partial RF bands supported by UE <NUM>.

The LMF <NUM> may then send an NRPPa Information Request message at action <NUM> to AMF <NUM>, which may be relayed to the serving node gNB <NUM>-<NUM> by the AMF <NUM> at action <NUM>. The NRPPa Information Request may request location-related information for the gNB <NUM>-<NUM> to enable support of one or more of the position methods determined at block <NUM>. For example, in the case of the OTDOA position method, the requested location information may include the location of the gNB <NUM>-<NUM> and PRS configuration parameters for gNB <NUM>-<NUM>. The serving gNB <NUM>-<NUM> responds with an NRPPa Information Response message, at action <NUM>, which may be relayed to the LMF <NUM> via the AMF <NUM> at action <NUM>. The NRPPa Information Response may provide some or all of the requested location-related information such as the PRS configuration parameters for the gNB <NUM>-<NUM>. Actions <NUM>-<NUM> may be repeated by the LMF <NUM> to obtain similar location information (e.g. PRS configuration parameters) from other gNB <NUM> nearby to UE <NUM>, such as gNBs <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> (not shown in <FIG>).

Based on the positioning capabilities received by LMF <NUM> from UE <NUM> at action <NUM> and/or the location related information obtained for gNBs <NUM> at actions <NUM>-<NUM>, LMF <NUM> may determine at block <NUM> one or more location measurements or types of location measurements for one or more of the position methods determined at block <NUM>, and/or may determine assistance data to be sent to UE <NUM> to assist the determined position methods, the determined location measurements and/or determination of a location estimate for UE <NUM> by UE <NUM>. As part of the determination at block <NUM>, LMF <NUM> may make use of any indication of partial RB band support provided by UE <NUM> at actions <NUM> and <NUM>, as described previously. For example, LMF <NUM> may determine location measurements at block <NUM> that can be supported by UE <NUM> using the partial RF bands supported by UE <NUM> and may not determine location measurements at block <NUM> that cannot be supported by UE <NUM> using the partial RF bands supported by UE <NUM>. Similarly, LMF <NUM> may determine assistance data at block <NUM> that may include location related information received at action <NUM> and/or that may assist UE <NUM> to obtain the location measurements determined at block <NUM> given the indicated support of UE <NUM> for partial RF bands.

As one example of the determination at block <NUM>, LMF <NUM> may determine to request an OTDOA RSTD measurement from UE <NUM> for a neighbor cell supported by gNB <NUM>-<NUM>, where the neighbor cell supports multiple PRS configurations, which have different bandwidth, different frequencies (e.g. use different RBs) and may in some cases use frequency hopping. LMF <NUM> may then only include assistance data for those PRS configurations whose bandwidth, frequencies and any frequency hopping use one or more of the partial RF bands supported by UE <NUM> and do not use RF bands and portions of RF bands that are not supported by UE <NUM>. In an aspect, where a PRS configuration for the neighbor cell uses frequency hopping over an entire RF band and where UE <NUM> supports only a portion of the entire RF band, LMF <NUM> may (i) determine assistance data that identifies PRS positioning occasions for the PRS configuration whose bandwidth is entirely contained within the portion of the RF band supported by UE <NUM>, and may (ii) omit assistance data that identifies PRS positioning occasions for the PRS configuration whose bandwidth lies partially or completely outside the portion of the RF band supported by UE <NUM>. This aspect may enable UE <NUM> to measure all of the PRS positioning occasions for the PRS configuration for the neighbor cell that are included by LMF <NUM> in the assistance data. In one example, PRS positioning occasions for the PRS configuration for the neighbor cell may have a periodicity of <NUM> and may use frequency hopping in a cyclic manner over four separate frequency ranges with only one of the frequency ranges being entirely contained within the portion of the RF band supported by UE <NUM>. In this example, LMF <NUM> can indicate to UE <NUM> that the periodicity of this PRS configuration is <NUM> (i.e. four times <NUM>) rather than <NUM> in order for UE <NUM> to only measure every fourth PRS positioning occasion, which LMF <NUM> can align with the particular positioning occasions which use the frequency range supported by UE <NUM> (e.g. via other PRS configuration parameters such as a starting subframe number).

In one implementation, LMF <NUM> determines assistance data at block <NUM> based on the at least one partial RF band indicated in the positioning capabilities received at action <NUM>. For example, if the at least one partial RF band is specified as <NUM> to <NUM>, then the assistance data may be limited to this partial RF band (e.g. may include configuration parameters for PRS signals that are transmitted by one or more gNBs <NUM> within this partial RF band) and may not include assistance data for the associated complete RF band (e.g. LTE band <NUM>) (e.g. may not include configuration parameters for PRS signals which are transmitted by one or more gNBs <NUM> using the entire RF band). The assistance data determined at block <NUM> may include location related information received by LMF <NUM> at actions <NUM>-<NUM> and/or other assistance data already known to the LMF <NUM> or obtained from other sources (e.g. such as a GNSS or RTK reference station or reference network),.

The LMF <NUM> then sends the assistance data determined at block <NUM> to UE <NUM>. The assistance data is sent in an LPP/NPP Provide Assistance Data message sent to the AMF <NUM> at action <NUM>, and relayed to the UE <NUM> in a <NUM> NAS transport message at action <NUM>. In the case of OTDOA positioning, the assistance data can include the identities of a reference cell and neighbor cells supported by gNBs <NUM> and may include information for each cell, such as the cell carrier frequency, and Reference Signal (RS) or PRS configuration parameters for the cell (e.g. including PRS bandwidth, periodicity and duration of PRS positioning occasions, PRS code sequence, PRS muting etc.).

In one implementation, LMF <NUM> may indicate which portions of assistance data sent at actions <NUM> and <NUM> are relevant to the UE <NUM> based on the at least one partial RF band in the positioning capabilities received at action <NUM>. For example, complete assistance data may be sent by LMF <NUM> at actions <NUM> and <NUM> for the positioning method(s) determined at block <NUM> for various complete RF bands that may be transmitted (e.g. as PRS signals) by one or more wireless nodes (e.g. gNBs <NUM>, ng-eNB <NUM>, etc.). In this case, the LMF <NUM> may also indicate to the UE <NUM> in the LPP/NPP Provide Assistance Data message sent at actions <NUM> and <NUM> which portions of the assistance may be relevant to the UE <NUM>, given the UE <NUM> support for the at least one partial RF band.

The LPP/NPP Provide Assistance Data message sent at actions <NUM> and <NUM> can be followed by an LPP/NPP Request Location Information message, again sent from the LMF <NUM> to the AMF <NUM>, at action <NUM>, which is relayed to the UE <NUM> in a <NUM> NAS transport message by the AMF <NUM> at action <NUM>. The LPP/NPP Request Location Information message may request one or more location measurements from the UE <NUM> as determined at block <NUM> and/or a location estimate. The location measurements may for example include Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurements for OTDOA and/or pseudorange (or code phase) measurements for A-GNSS.

At block <NUM> the UE <NUM> can subsequently obtain some or all of the location measurements (and other information such as a location estimate) requested at actions <NUM> and <NUM>. The location measurements may be obtained based, at least in part, on PRS signals transmitted by the various cells detected by the UE <NUM>. The location measurements may be obtained by UE <NUM> using one or more partial RF bands supported by UE <NUM> which may be assisted by the assistance data received at action <NUM>. In one implementation, the UE <NUM> may obtain some or all of the location measurements independent of a request from the LMF (e.g. with actions <NUM> and <NUM> not occurring). For example, the UE <NUM> may perform UE-based OTDOA without network involvement if it has assistance data to perform the measurement.

In some embodiments, at least some of the location measurements, and/or other location information (e.g. a location estimate), obtained by the UE <NUM> at block <NUM> are provided in an LPP/NPP Provide Location Information message, which is sent from the UE <NUM> to the AMF <NUM> in a <NUM> NAS transport message at action <NUM>. The AMF <NUM> extracts the LPP/NPP Provide Location Information message from the <NUM> NAS transport message, and relays it to the LMF <NUM> at action <NUM>. With this information, the LMF <NUM> may determine the UE location (or determine a location approximation), at block <NUM>, and provide a location response containing the determined location to the requesting entity at action <NUM>. As noted, in some embodiments, at least some of the location determination operations may be performed at the UE <NUM>.

In <FIG>, the LMF <NUM> may request the UE <NUM> to obtain OTDOA RSTD measurements at actions <NUM> and <NUM>, and the OTDOA RSTD measurements obtained at block <NUM> may be obtained by UE <NUM> by measuring PRS signals transmitted from gNBs <NUM> (e.g. gNBs <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM>). The OTDOA RSTD measurements may be obtained by UE <NUM> at block <NUM> only for PRS and other RS signals that are contained within the partial RF bands supported by UE <NUM>, due to LMF <NUM> ensuring at block <NUM> that the requested location measurements can be supported by these partial RF bands.

<FIG> shows a structure of an example LTE subframe sequence <NUM> with PRS positioning occasions. While <FIG> provides an example of a subframe sequence for LTE in association with an EPS, similar or identical subframe sequence implementations may be realized for other communication technologies / protocols, such as <NUM> NR. For example, support of PRS transmission by a gNB <NUM> or ng-eNB <NUM> in communication system <NUM> may be similar or identical to that described for LTE in an EPS with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>. In <FIG>, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on an X axis) with time increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on a Y axis) with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top. As shown in <FIG>, downlink and uplink LTE Radio Frames <NUM> may be of <NUM> milliseconds (ms) duration each. For downlink Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) mode, Radio Frames <NUM> are organized, in the illustrated embodiments, into ten subframes <NUM> of <NUM> duration each. Each subframe <NUM> comprises two slots <NUM>, each of, for example, <NUM> duration.

In the frequency domain, the available bandwidth may be divided into uniformly spaced orthogonal subcarriers <NUM>. For example, for a normal length cyclic prefix using, for example, <NUM> spacing, subcarriers <NUM> may be grouped into a group of twelve (<NUM>) subcarriers. Each grouping, which comprises the <NUM> subcarriers <NUM>, is termed a resource block (RB) and, in the example above, the number of subcarriers in the resource block may be written as <MAT>. For a given channel bandwidth, the number of available resource blocks on each channel <NUM>, which is also called the transmission bandwidth configuration <NUM>, is indicated as <MAT>. For example, for a <NUM> channel bandwidth in the above example, the number of available resource blocks on each channel <NUM> is given by <MAT>.

In the communication system <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, a gNB <NUM>, such as any of the gNBs <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, or <NUM>-<NUM>, or an ng-eNB <NUM> may transmit frames, or other physical layer signaling sequences, supporting PRS signals (i.e. a downlink (DL) PRS) according to frame configurations similar or identical to that shown in <FIG> and (as described later) in <FIG>, which may be measured and used for UE (e.g., UE <NUM>) position determination. As noted, other types of wireless nodes and base stations may also be configured to transmit PRS signals configured in a manner similar to that depicted in <FIG> and <FIG>. Since transmission of a PRS by a wireless node or base station is directed to all UEs within radio range, a wireless node or base station can also be considered to transmit (or broadcast) a PRS.

A PRS, which has been defined in 3GPP LTE Release-<NUM> and later releases, may be transmitted by wireless nodes (e.g. eNBs) after appropriate configuration (e.g., by an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) server). A PRS may be transmitted in special positioning subframes (also referred to as PRS subframes) that are grouped into positioning occasions (also referred to as PRS positioning occasions). For example, in LTE, a PRS positioning occasion can comprise a number NPRS of consecutive positioning subframes where the number NPRS may be between <NUM> and <NUM> (e.g. may include the values <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> as well as other values). The PRS positioning occasions for a cell supported by a wireless node may occur periodically at intervals, denoted by a number TPRS, of millisecond (or subframe) intervals where TPRS may equal <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> (or any other appropriate value). As an example, <FIG> illustrates a periodicity of positioning occasions where NPRS <NUM> equals <NUM> and TPRS <NUM> is greater than or equal to <NUM>. In some embodiments, TPRS may be measured in terms of the number of subframes between the start of consecutive positioning occasions.

Within each positioning occasion, a PRS may be transmitted with a constant power. A PRS can also be transmitted with zero power (i.e., muted). Muting, which turns off a regularly scheduled PRS transmission, may be useful when PRS signals between different cells overlap by occurring at the same or almost the same time. In this case, the PRS signals from some cells may be muted while PRS signals from other cells are transmitted (e.g. at a constant power). Muting may aid signal acquisition and RSTD measurement, by UEs (such as the UE <NUM> depicted in <FIG>), of PRS signals that are not muted (by avoiding interference from PRS signals that have been muted). Muting may be viewed as the non-transmission of a PRS for a given positioning occasion for a particular cell. Muting patterns may be signaled (e.g. using LPP or NPP) to a UE <NUM> using bit strings. For example, in a bit string signaling a muting pattern, if a bit at position j is set to '<NUM>', then the UE <NUM> may infer that the PRS is muted for a jth positioning occasion.

To further improve hearability of PRS, positioning subframes may be low-interference subframes that are transmitted without user data channels. As a result, in ideally synchronized networks, PRSs may receive interference from other cell PRSs with the same PRS pattern index (i.e., with the same frequency shift), but not from data transmissions. The frequency shift, in LTE, for example, is defined as a function of a PRS ID (denoted as <MAT>) for a cell or Transmission Point (TP) or as a function of a Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) (denoted as <MAT>) if no PRS ID is assigned, which results in an effective frequency re-use factor of <NUM>, as described in 3GPP TS <NUM>.

To also improve hearability of a PRS (e.g., when PRS bandwidth is limited such as with only <NUM> resource blocks corresponding to <NUM> bandwidth), the frequency band for consecutive PRS positioning occasions (or consecutive PRS subframes) may be changed in a known and predictable manner via frequency hopping. In addition, a cell supported by a wireless node may support more than one PRS configuration, where each PRS configuration comprises a distinct sequence of PRS positioning occasions with a particular number of subframes (NPRS) per positioning occasion and a particular periodicity (TPRS). Further enhancements of a PRS may also be supported by a wireless node.

As discussed herein, in some embodiments, OTDOA assistance data may be provided to a UE <NUM> by a location server (e.g., the LMF <NUM> of <FIG>, an E-SMLC, etc.) for a "reference cell" and one or more "neighbor cells" or "neighboring cells" relative to the "reference cell. " For example, the assistance data may provide the center channel frequency of each cell, various PRS configuration parameters (e.g., NPRS, TPRS, muting pattern, frequency hopping sequence, code sequence, PRS ID, PRS bandwidth), a cell global ID, and/or other cell related parameters applicable to OTDOA or some other positioning procedure.

PRS-based positioning by a UE <NUM> may be facilitated by indicating the serving cell for the UE <NUM> in the OTDOA assistance data (e.g. with the reference cell indicated as being the serving cell). In the case of a UE <NUM> with <NUM> NR wireless access, the reference cell may be chosen by the LMF <NUM> as some LTE cell with good coverage at the expected approximate location of the UE <NUM> (e.g., as indicated by the known <NUM> NR serving cell for the UE <NUM>).

In some embodiments, OTDOA assistance data may also include "expected RSTD" parameters, which provide the UE <NUM> with information about the RSTD values the UE <NUM> is expected to measure at its current location between the reference cell and each neighbor cell, together with an uncertainty of the expected RSTD parameter. The expected RSTD, together with the associated uncertainty, define a search window for the UE <NUM> within which the UE <NUM> is expected to measure the RSTD value. OTDOA assistance information may also include PRS configuration information parameters, which allow a UE <NUM> to determine when a PRS positioning occasion occurs on signals received from various neighbor cells relative to PRS positioning occasions for the reference cell, and to determine the PRS sequence transmitted from various cells in order to measure a signal Time of Arrival (TOA) or RSTD.

Using the RSTD measurements, the known absolute or relative transmission timing of each cell, and the known position(s) of wireless node physical transmitting antennas for the reference and neighboring cells, the UE <NUM>'s position may be calculated (e.g., by the UE <NUM>, by the LMF <NUM>, or by some other node). More particularly, the RSTD for a cell "k" relative to a reference cell "Ref", may be given as (TOAk - TOARef). TOA measurements for different cells may then be converted to RSTD measurements (e.g. as defined in 3GPP TS <NUM> entitled "Physical layer; Measurements") and sent to the location server (e.g., the LMF <NUM> or an E-SMLC) by the UE <NUM>. Using (i) the RSTD measurements, (ii) the known absolute or relative transmission timing of each cell, and (iii) the known position(s) of physical transmitting antennas for the reference and neighboring cells, the UE <NUM>'s position may be determined.

<FIG> illustrates further aspects of PRS transmission for a cell supported by a wireless node (such as an eNB, gNB <NUM> or ng-eNB <NUM>). Again, PRS transmission for LTE in an EPS is assumed in <FIG> although the same or similar aspects of PRS transmission to those shown in and described for <FIG> may apply to <NUM> NR support by a gNB <NUM>, LTE support by an ng-eNB <NUM> and/or other wireless technologies. <FIG> shows how PRS positioning occasions are determined by a System Frame Number (SFN), a cell specific subframe offset (ΔPRS) and the PRS Periodicity (TPRS) <NUM>. Typically, the cell specific PRS subframe configuration is defined by a "PRS Configuration Index" IPRS included in the OTDOA assistance data. The PRS Periodicity (TPRS) <NUM> and the cell specific subframe offset (ΔPRS) are defined based on the PRS Configuration Index IPRS, in 3GPP TS <NUM> entitled "Physical channels and modulation," as illustrated in Table <NUM> below.

A PRS configuration is defined with reference to the System Frame Number (SFN) of a cell that transmits PRS. PRS instances, for the first subframe of the NPRS downlink subframes comprising a first PRS positioning occasion, may satisfy: <MAT> where nf is the SFN with <NUM> ≤ nf ≤ <NUM>, ns is the slot number within the radio frame defined by nf with <NUM> ≤ ns ≤ <NUM>, TPRS is the PRS periodicity, and ΔPRS is the cell-specific subframe offset.

As shown in <FIG>, the cell specific subframe offset ΔPRS <NUM> may be defined in terms of the number of subframes transmitted starting from System Frame Number <NUM> (Slot 'Number <NUM>', marked as slot <NUM>) to the start of the first (subsequent) PRS positioning occasion. In <FIG>, the number of consecutive positioning subframes <NUM> (NPRS) equals <NUM>.

In some embodiments, when a UE <NUM> receives a PRS configuration index IPRS in the OTDOA assistance data for a particular cell, the UE <NUM> may determine the PRS periodicity TPRS and PRS subframe offset ΔPRS using Table <NUM>. The UE <NUM> may then determine the radio frame, subframe and slot when a PRS is scheduled in the cell (e.g., using equation (<NUM>)). The OTDOA assistance data may be determined by, for example, the LMF <NUM> or an E-SMLC and includes assistance data for a reference cell, and a number of neighbor cells supported by various wireless nodes (e.g. eNBs, gNBs <NUM> or ng-eNBs <NUM>).

Typically, PRS occasions from all cells in a network that use the same frequency are aligned in time and may have a fixed known time offset relative to other cells in the network that use a different frequency. In SFN-synchronous networks all wireless nodes (gNBs <NUM>, ng-eNBs <NUM>, eNBs, etc.) may be aligned on both frame boundary and system frame number. Therefore, in SFN-synchronous networks, all cells supported by the various wireless nodes may use the same PRS configuration index for any particular frequency of PRS transmission. On the other hand, in SFN-asynchronous networks, the various wireless nodes may be aligned on a frame boundary, but not system frame number. Thus, in SFN-asynchronous networks the PRS configuration index for each cell may be configured separately by the network so that PRS occasions align in time.

A UE <NUM> may determine the timing of the PRS occasions (e.g., in an LTE network or a <NUM> NR network such as that in communication system <NUM>) of the reference and neighbor cells for OTDOA positioning, if the UE <NUM> can obtain the cell timing (e.g., SFN or Frame Number) of at least one of the cells, e.g., the reference cell or a serving cell (which may be performed at block <NUM> of <FIG>). The timing of the other cells may then be derived by the UE <NUM> based, for example, on the assumption that PRS occasions from different cells overlap.

As defined by 3GPP (e.g., in 3GPP TS <NUM>), for LTE systems, the sequence of subframes used to transmit PRS (e.g., for OTDOA positioning) may be characterized and defined by a number of parameters, as described previously, including: (i) a reserved block of bandwidth (BW); (ii) the configuration index IPRS; (iii) the duration NPRS; (iv) an optional muting pattern; and (v) a muting sequence periodicity TREP which can be implicitly included as part of the muting pattern in (iv) when present. In some cases, with a fairly low PRS duty cycle, NPRS = <NUM>, TPRS = <NUM> subframes (equivalent to <NUM>), and BW = <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM>. To increase the PRS duty cycle, the NPRS value can be increased to six (i.e., NPRS = <NUM>) and the bandwidth (BW) value can be increased to the system bandwidth (i.e., BW = LTE system bandwidth in the case of LTE). An expanded PRS with a larger NPRS (e.g., greater than six) and/or a shorter TPRS (e.g., less than <NUM>), up to the full duty cycle (i.e., NPRS = TPRS), may also be used in later versions of LPP according to 3GPP TS <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a flowchart of an example process <NUM> for locating a mobile device, generally performed at the mobile device such as the UE <NUM>.

At block <NUM>, the process <NUM> includes sending positioning capabilities of the mobile device to a location server (e.g. LMF <NUM>, an E-SMLC or a SUPL Location Platform (SLP)), where the positioning capabilities comprise an identification of at least one partial RF band, where the partial RF band is contained within a complete RF band, and where the partial RF band or the complete RF band is transmitted by a plurality of wireless nodes. Furthermore, the positioning capabilities indicate that the mobile device is configured to measure the at least one partial RF band and is not configured to measure the complete RF band. In one implementation, the mobile device may be capable of measuring the complete RF band; however, it may be configured, via a carrier, OEM, and/or user, to only measure a partial RF band within the complete RF band. In an aspect, the complete RF band may comprise an RF frequency range and the partial RF band may comprise a plurality of one or more non-overlapping RF frequency subranges, where each RF frequency subrange is contained within the RF frequency range. Block <NUM> may correspond to actions <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the mobile device receives location assistance data from the location server, where the location assistance data comprises configuration information for at least one reference signal (RS) in the at least one partial RF band, and where the at least one RS is transmitted by at least one wireless node (e.g. a gNB <NUM>, ng-eNB <NUM> or an eNB). In an aspect, the at least one RS may be a PRS, CRS or TRS. In an aspect, a bandwidth for the at least one RS is contained within the partial RF band. In an aspect, the at least one RS uses frequency hopping over the complete RF band, and the configuration information comprises positioning occasions for the at least one RS, where a bandwidth for each of the positioning occasions is contained within the partial RF band. Block <NUM> may correspond to actions <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the mobile device obtains at least one location measurement from the at least one RS based on the configuration information. In an aspect, the at least one location measurement comprises a measurement of a reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), round trip signal propagation time (RTT), angle of arrival (AOA), time of arrival (TOA), angle of departure (AOD), or any combination thereof. Block <NUM> may correspond to block <NUM> in <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the mobile device sends location information to the location server, where the location information is based on the at least one location measurement. For example, the location information may comprise the at least one location measurement. The location information may be used by the location server to a determine a location of the mobile device (e.g. as at block <NUM> in <FIG>). In one implementation, the mobile device may determine its location based on the at least one location measurement and the location information provided to the location server is the mobile device's location. Block <NUM> may correspond to actions <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG>.

In an aspect of the example process <NUM>, the partial RF band comprises one or more non-overlapping RF frequency subranges, where each RF frequency subrange comprises a plurality of one or more resource blocks (RBs), a plurality of one or more subcarriers (SCs), a plurality of one or more frequency ranges, or any combination thereof. In this aspect, the identification of the at least one partial RF band may comprise at least one of a bit string, a set of integers, a set of identifiers, or any combination thereof. In this aspect, the identification of the at least one partial RF band may include an identification of least one resource block (RB), an identification of at least one subcarrier (SC), an identification of at least one frequency range, an identification of a minimum frequency, an identification of a maximum frequency, an identification of an offset from a minimum frequency, an identification of an offset from a maximum frequency, or any combination thereof.

In another aspect, the example process <NUM> further comprises receiving a request for the positioning capabilities of the mobile device from the location server, where the positioning capabilities are sent to the location server at block <NUM> in response to the request.

<FIG> shows a flowchart of an example process <NUM> for locating a mobile device, generally performed at a location server, such as LMF <NUM>, an E-SMLC or an SLP. Non-limiting examples of wireless access types that may be used in the implementations described herein may include Fifth Generation (<NUM>) wireless access, New Radio (NR) wireless access, Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless access, wireless local area connectivity (WLAN) (e.g. IEEE <NUM>), etc..

At block <NUM>, the location server receives positioning capabilities of the mobile device, where the positioning capabilities comprise an identification of at least one partial RF band, where the partial RF band is contained within a complete RF band, and where the partial RF band or the complete RF band is transmitted by each of a plurality of wireless nodes (e.g. gNBs <NUM>, ng-eNB <NUM>, eNBs), and where the positioning capabilities indicate the mobile device is configured to measure the at least one partial RF band and is not configured to measure the complete RF band. Block <NUM> may correspond to actions <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG>.

In one implementation, the location server may initially request positioning capabilities of the mobile device (prior to block <NUM>), as at actions <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG>, and block <NUM> may be performed in response to the request for positioning capabilities.

At block <NUM>, the location server determines location assistance data based at least in part on the identification of the at least one partial RF band, where the location assistance data comprises configuration information for at least one reference signal (RS) in the at least one partial RF band, and where the at least one RS is transmitted by at least one wireless node. The at least one RS may be a PRS, CRS or TRS. In an aspect, a bandwidth for the at least one RS is contained within the partial RF band. In an aspect, the at least one RS uses frequency hopping over the complete RF band, and the configuration information comprises positioning occasions for the at least one RS, where a bandwidth for each of the positioning occasions is contained within the partial RF band. Block <NUM> may correspond to block <NUM> in <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the location server provides or sends the location assistance data to the mobile device. Block <NUM> may correspond to actions <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG>.

In an aspect, the example process <NUM> may further include receiving location information from the mobile device (e.g. as at action <NUM> in <FIG>), where the location information is based at least in part on measurement of at least one RS by the mobile device. In this aspect, the location information may comprise a location measurement from the at least one RS, where the location measurement comprises a measurement of a reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), round trip signal propagation time (RTT), angle of arrival (AOA), time of arrival (TOA), angle of departure (AOD), or any combination thereof.

In an aspect of the example process <NUM>, the partial RF band comprises one or more non-overlapping RF frequency subranges, where each RF frequency subrange comprises a plurality of one or more resource blocks (RBs), a plurality of one or more subcarriers (SCs), a plurality of one or more frequency ranges, or any combination thereof. In this aspect, the identification of the at least one partial RF band may comprise at least one of a bit string, a set of integers, a set of identifiers, or any combination thereof. In this aspect, the identification of the at least one partial RF band may include an identification of least one RB, an identification of at least one SC, an identification of at least one frequency range, an identification of a minimum frequency, an identification of a maximum frequency, an identification of an offset from a minimum frequency, an identification of an offset from a maximum frequency, or any combination thereof.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the location server may coordinate with one or more wireless nodes (e.g. gNBs <NUM>, ng-eNB <NUM>, eNB) to obtain location related information, as at actions <NUM>-<NUM> in <FIG>. The location related information may be used to determine assistance data to support a plurality of devices in the area and may not be applicable to every device in the area. The location server may send the determined assistance data to the mobile device at block <NUM> and may provide indications or identifiers, to the mobile device, indicating which portions of the provided assistance data may be relevant to the mobile device. For example, if the mobile device indicates it is configured to use or measure <NUM> to <NUM>, then the location server may indicate that only certain RS or PRS configurations in the assistance data within this frequency range are applicable to the mobile device.

<FIG> shows a block diagram of an example wireless node <NUM>, such as a base station, access point, or server, which may be similar to, and be configured to have a functionality similar to that, of any of the various nodes depicted or described, for example, with reference to <FIG> (e.g., the gNBs <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, an ng-eNB <NUM>, an eNB, an LMF <NUM>, other components of the 5GCN <NUM>). The wireless node <NUM> may include one or more communication modules 710a-n electrically coupled to one more antennas 716a-n for communicating with wireless devices, such as, for example, the UE <NUM> of <FIG>. The each of the communication modules 710a-710n may include a respective transmitter 712a-n for sending signals (e.g., downlink messages and signals, which may be arranged in frames, and which may include positioning reference signals and/or assistance data as described herein) and, optionally (e.g., for nodes configured to receive and process uplink communications) a respective receiver 714a-n. In embodiments in which the implemented node includes both a transmitter and a receiver, the communication module comprising the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a transceiver. The node <NUM> may also include a network interface <NUM> to communicate with other network nodes (e.g., sending and receiving queries and responses). For example, each network element may be configured to communicate (e.g., via wired or wireless backhaul communication) with a gateway, or other suitable device of a network, to facilitate communication with one or more core network nodes (e.g., any of the other nodes and elements shown in <FIG>). Additionally and/or alternatively, communication with other network nodes may also be performed using the communication modules 710an and/or the respective antennas 716a-n.

The node <NUM> may also include other components that may be used with embodiments described herein. For example, the node <NUM> may include, in some embodiments, a processor (also referred to as a controller) <NUM> to manage communications with other nodes (e.g., sending and receiving messages), to generate communication signals (including to generate communication frames, signals and/or messages such as PRS transmissions and assistance data transmissions), and to provide other related functionality, including functionality to implement the various processes and methods described herein.

The processor <NUM> may be coupled to (or may otherwise communicate with) a memory <NUM>, which may include one or more modules (implemented in hardware of software) to facilitate controlling the operation of the node <NUM>. For example, the memory <NUM> may include an application module <NUM> with computer code for various applications required to perform the operations of the node <NUM>. For example, the processor <NUM> may be configured (e.g., using code provided via the application module <NUM>, or some other module in the memory <NUM>) to control the operation of the antennas 716a-n so as to adjustably control the antennas' transmission power and phase, gain pattern, antenna direction (e.g., the direction at which a resultant radiation beam from the antennas 716an propagates), antenna diversity, and other adjustable antenna parameters for the antennas 716a-n of the node <NUM>. In some embodiments, the antennas' configuration may be controlled according to pre-stored configuration data provided at the time of manufacture or deployment of the node <NUM>, or according to data obtained from a remote device (such as a central server sending data representative of the antenna configuration, and other operational parameters, that are to be used for the node <NUM>). The wireless node <NUM> may also be configured, in some implementations, to perform location data services, or performs other types of services, for multiple wireless devices (clients) communicating with the wireless node <NUM> (or communicating with a server coupled to the wireless node <NUM>), and to provide location data and/or assistance data to such multiple wireless devices. Means for performing the functionality at block <NUM>, <NUM> and/or <NUM> can include, for example, the processors <NUM>, network interface <NUM>, one or more communication modules 710a-n, memory <NUM>, neighbor relations controller <NUM>, and/or neighbor list <NUM>.

In addition, in some embodiments, the memory <NUM> may also include neighbor relations controllers (e.g., neighbor discovery modules) <NUM> to manage neighbor relations (e.g., maintaining a neighbor list <NUM>) and to provide other related functionality. In some embodiments, the node <NUM> may also include one or more sensors (not shown in <FIG>) and other devices (e.g., cameras).

<FIG> shows a user equipment (UE) <NUM> for which various procedures and techniques described herein can be utilized. The UE <NUM> may be similar or identical, in implementation and/or functionality, to any of the other UEs described herein, including the UE <NUM> depicted in <FIG> and the mobile device referred to for <FIG> and <FIG>. Furthermore, the implementation illustrated in <FIG> may also be used to implement, at least in part, some of the nodes and devices illustrated throughout the present disclosure, including such nodes and devices and the base stations (e.g. gNBs <NUM>, ng-eNB <NUM>, etc.), location servers, and other components and devices illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>.

The UE <NUM> includes a processor <NUM> (or processor core) and memory <NUM>. The UE <NUM> may optionally include a trusted environment operably connected to the memory <NUM> by a public bus <NUM> or a private bus (not shown). The UE <NUM> may also include a communication interface <NUM> and a wireless transceiver <NUM> configured to send and receive wireless signals <NUM> (which may include LTE, NR, <NUM> or WiFi wireless signals) via a wireless antenna <NUM> over a wireless network (such as the communication system <NUM> of <FIG>). The wireless transceiver <NUM> is connected to the bus <NUM> via the communication interface <NUM>. Here, the UE <NUM> is illustrated as having a single wireless transceiver <NUM>. However, the UE <NUM> can alternatively have multiple wireless transceivers <NUM> and/or multiple wireless antennas <NUM> to support multiple communication standards such as WiFi, CDMA, Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), <NUM>, NR, Bluetooth® short-range wireless communication technology, etc. As described earlier herein, wireless transceiver <NUM> may support (e.g. may be configured to support) one or more partial RF bands and may not support one or more associated complete RF bands. In such a case, UE <NUM> may use one or more of the embodiments described herein (e.g. the example process <NUM>) to enable a location of the UE <NUM> to be obtained by the UE <NUM> or by a location server (e.g. the LMF <NUM> in <FIG>).

Means for performing the functionality at block <NUM> and/or block <NUM> can include, for example, the processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, wireless transceiver <NUM>, communication interface <NUM> and/or wireless antennas <NUM>.

The communication interface <NUM> and/or wireless transceiver <NUM> may support operations on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). Multi-carrier transmitters can transmit modulated signals simultaneously on the multiple carriers. Each modulated signal may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, a Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carry pilot, control information, overhead information, data, etc..

The UE <NUM> may also include a user interface <NUM> (e.g., display, graphical user interface (GUI), touchscreen, keyboard, microphone, speaker), and a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) receiver <NUM> that receives SPS signals <NUM> (e.g., from SPS satellites) via an SPS antenna <NUM> (which may be the same antenna as wireless antenna <NUM>, or may be different). The SPS receiver <NUM> can communicate with a single global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or multiple such systems. A GNSS can include, but is not limited to, Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, Glonass, Beidou (Compass), etc. SPS satellites are also referred to as satellites, space vehicles (SVs), etc. The SPS receiver <NUM> measures the SPS signals <NUM> and may use the measurements of the SPS signals <NUM> to determine the location of the UE <NUM>. The processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, Digital Signal Processor (DSP) <NUM> and/or specialized processor(s) (not shown) may also be utilized to process the SPS signals <NUM>, in whole or in part, and/or to compute (approximately or more precisely) the location of the UE <NUM>, in conjunction with SPS receiver <NUM>. Alternatively, the UE <NUM> may support transfer of the SPS measurements to a location server (e.g., E-SMLC, an LMF, such as the LMF <NUM> of <FIG>, etc.) that computes the UE location instead. Storage of information from the SPS signals <NUM> or other location signals is performed using a memory <NUM> or registers (not shown). While only one processor <NUM>, one DSP <NUM> and one memory <NUM> are shown in <FIG>, more than one of any, a pair, or all of these components could be used by the UE <NUM>. The processor <NUM> and the DSP <NUM> associated with the UE <NUM> are connected to the bus <NUM>. Means for performing the functionality at block <NUM> and/or block <NUM> can include, for example, the processors <NUM>, memory <NUM>, wireless transceiver <NUM>, communication interface <NUM>, wireless antennas <NUM>, DSP <NUM>, SPS receiver <NUM>, and/or SPS antenna <NUM>.

The memory <NUM> can include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (or media) that stores functions as one or more instructions or code. Media that can make up the memory <NUM> include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, FLASH, disc drives, etc. In general, the functions stored by the memory <NUM> are executed by general-purpose processor(s), such as the processor <NUM>, specialized processors, such as the DSP <NUM>, etc. Thus, the memory <NUM> is a processor-readable memory and/or a computer-readable memory that stores software (programming code, instructions, etc.) configured to cause the processor(s) <NUM> and/or DSP(s) <NUM> to perform the functions described (e.g. the functions described previously for the example process <NUM> of <FIG>). Alternatively, one or more functions of the UE <NUM> may be performed in whole or in part in hardware.

A UE <NUM> can estimate its current position within an associated system using various techniques, based on other communication entities within radio range and/or information available to the UE <NUM>. For instance, the UE <NUM> can estimate its position using information obtained from: base stations and access points (APs) associated with one or more wireless wide area networks (WWANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), personal area networks (PANs) utilizing a short-range wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth® wireless technology or ZIGBEE®, etc.; Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or other Satellite Positioning System (SPS) satellites; and/or map data obtained from a map server or other server (e.g., an LMF, an E-SMLC or SLP). In some cases, a location server, which may be an E-SMLC, SLP, Standalone Serving Mobile Location Center (SAS), an LMF, etc., may provide assistance data to the UE <NUM> to allow or assist the UE <NUM> to acquire signals (e.g., signals from WWAN base stations, signals from WLAN APs, signals from cellular base stations, GNSS satellites, etc.) and make location-related measurements using these signals. The UE <NUM> may then provide the measurements to the location server to compute a location estimate (which may be known as "UE assisted" positioning) or may compute a location estimate itself (which may be known as "UE based" positioning) based on the measurements and possibly based also on other assistance data provided by the location server (e.g. such as orbital and timing data for GNSS satellites, configuration parameters for the PRS signals, the precise location coordinates of WLAN APs and/or cellular base stations, etc.).

In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may include a camera <NUM> (e.g., front and/or back facing) such as, for example, complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors with appropriate lens configurations. Other imaging technologies such as charge-coupled devices (CCD) and back side illuminated CMOS may be used. The camera <NUM> may be configured to obtain and provide image information to assist in positioning of the UE <NUM>. In an example, one or more external image processing servers (e.g., remote servers) may be used to perform image recognition and provide location estimation processes. The UE <NUM> may include other sensors <NUM> which may also be used to compute, or used to assist in computing, a location for the UE <NUM>. The sensors <NUM> may include inertial sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, a compass, any of which may be implemented based on micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS), or based on some other technology), as well as a barometer, thermometer, hygrometer and other sensors.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specific desires.

Configurations may be described as a process which is depicted as a flow diagram or block diagram. Although each may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps not included in the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium. Processors may perform the described tasks.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly or conventionally understood. As used herein, the articles "a" and "an" refer to one or to more than one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. "About" and/or "approximately" as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, and the like, encompasses variations of ±<NUM>% or ±<NUM>%, ±<NUM>%, or +<NUM>% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein. "Substantially" as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, a physical attribute (such as frequency), and the like, also encompasses variations of ±<NUM>% or ±<NUM>%, ±<NUM>%, or +<NUM>% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.

As used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a list of items prefaced by "at least one of" or "one or more of" indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C" means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or combinations with more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Also, as used herein, unless otherwise stated, a statement that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the stated item or condition and may be based on one or more items and/or conditions in addition to the stated item or condition.

As used herein, a mobile device, user equipment (UE), or mobile station (MS) refers to a device such as a cellular or other wireless communication device, a smartphone, tablet, personal communication system (PCS) device, personal navigation device (PND), Personal Information Manager (PIM), Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), laptop or other suitable mobile device which is capable of receiving wireless communication and/or navigation signals, such as navigation positioning signals. The term "mobile station" (or "mobile device". "wireless device" or "user equipment") is also intended to include devices which communicate with a personal navigation device (PND), such as by short-range wireless, infrared, wireline connection, or other connection - regardless of whether satellite signal reception, assistance data reception, and/or position-related processing occurs at the device or at the PND. Also, a "mobile station" or "user equipment" is intended to include all devices, including wireless communication devices, computers, laptops, tablet devices, etc., which are capable of communication with a server, such as via the Internet, WiFi, or other network, and to communicate with one or more types of nodes, regardless of whether satellite signal reception, assistance data reception, and/or position-related processing occurs at the device, at a server, or at another device or node associated with the network. Any operable combination of the above are also considered a "mobile station" or "user equipment. " A mobile device or user equipment (UE) may also be referred to as a mobile terminal, a terminal, a device, a Secure User Plane Location Enabled Terminal (SET), a target device, a target, or by some other name.

While some of the techniques, processes, and/or implementations presented herein may comply with all or part of one or more standards, such techniques, processes, and/or implementations may not, in some embodiments, comply with part or all of such one or more standards.

Claim 1:
A method for location determination at a mobile device (<NUM>), the method comprising:
sending positioning capabilities of the mobile device to a location server (<NUM>), the positioning capabilities comprising an identification of at least one partial Radio Frequency, RF, band, wherein the partial RF band is contained within a complete RF band, the partial RF band or the complete RF band transmitted by a plurality of wireless nodes (<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>), wherein the positioning capabilities indicate that the mobile device is configured to measure the at least one partial RF band and is not configured to measure the complete RF band;
receiving location assistance data from the location server, wherein the location assistance data comprises configuration information for at least one reference signal, RS, in the at least one partial RF band, wherein the at least one RS is transmitted by at least one wireless node;
obtaining at least one location measurement from the at least one RS based on the configuration information; and
sending location information to the location server, wherein the location information is based on the at least one location measurement;
wherein the partial RF band comprises one or more non-overlapping RF frequency subranges, wherein each of the non-overlapping RF frequency subranges comprises a plurality of one or more resource blocks, RBs, a plurality of one or more subcarriers, SCs, one or more frequency ranges, or any combination thereof; characterized in that
the identification of the at least one partial RF band is in form of a set of integers, wherein the integers in the set of integers alternatingly indicate a number of consecutive RBs or SCs which are supported by the mobile device and a number of consecutive RBs or SCs which are not supported by the mobile device;
wherein the integers at odd positions within the set of integers indicate numbers of consecutive RBs or SCs which are supported by the mobile device and the integers at even positions within the set of integers indicate numbers of consecutive RBs or SCs which are not supported by the mobile device, or wherein the integers at even positions within the set of integers indicate numbers of consecutive RBs or SCs which are supported by the mobile device and the integers at odd positions within the set of integers indicate numbers of consecutive RBs or SCs which are nor supported by the mobile device.