WO2024207459A1

WO2024207459A1 - Positioning enhancements

Info

Publication number: WO2024207459A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/086976
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yan Meng; Tao Tao; Jianguo Liu
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2023-04-07
Filing date: 2023-04-07
Publication date: 2024-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 2025-10-07
Also published as: CN120826947A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to positioning enhancements. In an aspect, a first device receives, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal (PRS) configurations, where the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations in those cells. Moreover, the first device activates, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell. Then the first device performs at least one measurement on a PRS resource set of the activated PRS configuration. In this way, it is allowed to avoid additional signal overhead, latency, and power consumption, and thus improve resource utilization and transmission flexibility.

Description

POSITIONING ENHANCEMENTS

FIELD

Various example embodiments relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer readable storage media for positioning enhancements.

BACKGROUND

In communication technology, there is a constant evolution ongoing in order to provide efficient and reliable solutions for utilizing wireless communication networks. Each new generation has its own technical challenges for handling different situations and processes that are needed to connect and serve devices connected to wireless networks. To meet the demand for increased wireless data traffic since the deployment of 4th generation (4G) communication systems, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5th generation (5G) , pre-5G, or 5G-advanced communication system. The new communication systems can support various types of service applications for terminal devices.

In a 5G system, location services for user equipment (UE) may be supported by a location management function (LMF) . For example, a UE may obtain location measurements and sends the location measurements to the LMF. Accordingly, the LMF may determine a location of the UE based on the location measurements obtained from the UE. However, there are still some open problems in such location determination procedure that will be studied in the near future.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution related to positioning enhancements.

In a first aspect, there is provided a first device. The first device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to: receive, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; activate, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell; and perform at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.

In a second aspect, there is provided a second device. The second device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device at least to: determine a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; and transmit, to a terminal device, the plurality of PRS configurations.

In a third aspect, there is provided a third device. The third device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the third device at least to: receive, from a second device, a position reference signal, PRS, resource configuration request; determine a PRS resource configuration; and transmit, to the second device, the PRS resource configuration.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises receiving, at a first device, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; activating, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell; and performing at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises determining, at a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; and transmitting, to a terminal device, the plurality of PRS configurations.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises receiving, at a third device, from a second device, a position reference signal, PRS, resource configuration request; determining a PRS resource configuration; and transmitting, to the second device, the PRS resource configuration.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a first device. The first device comprises means for receiving, at a first device, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; means for activating, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell; and means for performing at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a second device. The second device comprises means for determining a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; and means for transmitting, to a terminal device, the plurality of PRS configurations.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a third device. The third device comprises means for receiving, at a third device, from a second device, a position reference signal, PRS, resource configuration request; means for determining a PRS resource configuration; and means for transmitting, to the second device, the PRS resource configuration.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to any one of the above fourth to sixth aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to perform at least the method according to any one of the above fourth to sixth aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a first device. The first device comprises receiving circuitry configured to receive, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; activating circuitry configured to activate, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell; and performing circuitry configured to perform at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.

In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a second device. The second device comprises determining circuitry configured to determine a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; and transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to a terminal device, the plurality of PRS configurations.

In a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a third device. The third device comprises receiving circuitry configured to receive, from a second device, a position reference signal, PRS, resource configuration request; determining circuitry configured to determine a PRS resource configuration; and transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to the second device, the PRS resource configuration.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

FIG. 1A illustrates an example environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 1B illustrates an example discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle associated with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling flow among a first device, a second device, and a third device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example PRS resource set configuration according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of PRS measurement according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example communication process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a third device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

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

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It shall be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof. As used herein, “at least one of the following: <a list of two or more elements>” and “at least one of <a list of two or more elements>” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or” , mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) :

(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

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

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

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR) , Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a New Radio (NR) NB (also referred to as a gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE) , a Subscriber Station (SS) , a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS) , or an Access Terminal (AT) . The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery) , an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device” , “communication device” , “terminal” , “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

The term “first device” refers to a device capable of communicating with the second device and providing services to the terminal device in a core network. Examples of the first device may include user plane functions (UPFs) , application servers, Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs) , MMEs, Operation and Management (O&M) nodes, Operation Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organization Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes such as Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs) , Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) , a Common Control Network Function (CCNF) , an Access and mobility Management Function (AMF) , a Session Management Function (SMF) , a Policy Control Function (PCF) , a LMF, a Gateway Mobile Location Centre (GMLC) and/or a Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) .

Hereinafter, principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Reference is first made to FIG. 1A, which illustrates an example environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The environment 100, which may be a part of a communication network, comprises a first device 110, a second device 120, and a third device 130. The communication among the first device 110, the second device 120 and the third device 130 may be direct or indirect. As an example, the first device 110, the second device 120, and/or the third device 130 may communicate with one or more further devices not shown in FIG. 1A.

The devices 110, 120, and 130 may be implemented by any suitable devices in the communication network. In some example embodiments, some of the devices 110, 120 and 130 may be implemented by one or more terminal devices and the others may be implemented by one or more network devices, or vice versa. In some other example embodiments, the devices 110, 120, and 130 may be all implemented by terminal devices or network devices.

Just for the purpose of discussion, in some example embodiments, the device 110 will be taken as an example of a terminal device, the device 120 will be taken as an example of an LMF, and the third device 130 will be taken as an example of a base station. For example, the second device 120 may be implemented by a separate device. Alternatively, the second device 120 may be physically integrated with the first device 110 or the third device 130 and, for example, implemented as a function or entity physically integrated into the first device 110 or the third device 130. In this case, the second device 120 may communicate with the first device 110 or the third device 130 through internal wiring. Moreover, in this case, to transmit data and/or control information, the first device 110 may perform communications with the third device 130. A link from the third device 130 to the first device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL) , while a link from the first device 110 to the third device 130 is referred to as an uplink (UL) .

In some examples, the first device 110 may receive a PRS from the third device 130. The first device 110 may receive a PRS configuration from the second device 120. Moreover, the first device 110 may transmit a positioning measurement report to the second device 120.

Although the first device 110, the second device 120, and the third device 130 are described in the communication environment 100 of FIG. 1A, embodiments of the present disclosure may equally apply to any other suitable communication devices in communication with one another. That is, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the exemplary scenarios of FIG. 1A. In this regard, it is noted that although the first device is schematically depicted as a mobile phone and the third device 130 is schematically depicted as a base station in FIG. 1A, it is understood that these depictions are exemplary in nature without suggesting any limitation. In other embodiments, the first device 110, the second device 120, and the third device 130 may be any other communication devices, for example, any other wireless communication devices.

It is to be understood that the particular number of various communication devices and the particular number of various communication links as shown in FIG. 1A is for illustration purpose only without suggesting any limitations. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of communication devices and any suitable number of communication links for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. In addition, it should be appreciated that there may be various wireless as well as wireline communications (if needed) among all of the communication devices.

The communications in the environment 100 may follow any suitable communication standards or protocols, which are already in existence or to be developed in the future, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) , long term evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , the fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) , Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, and employs any suitable communication technologies, including, for example, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) , time division multiplexing (TDM) , frequency division multiplexing (FDM) , code division multiplexing (CDM) , Bluetooth, ZigBee, and machine type communication (MTC) , enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) , massive machine type communication (mMTC) , ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) , Carrier Aggregation (CA) , Dual Connectivity (DC) , and New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) technologies.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example DRX cycle associated with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Similar to long term evolution (LTE) , DRX is introduced in 5G NR to save power resources and increase the battery lifetime of the UE. The UE may have DRX in a radio access control (RRC) idle mode (also referred to as an RRC_IDLE state) and an RRC inactive mode (also referred to as an RRC_INACTIVE state) in order to reduce power consumption. As shown in FIG. 1B, the UE needs to monitor a physical data control channel (PDCCH) at the beginning of each subframe, that is, during the on duration time period, in order to receive the data from the gNB. The UE stops monitoring during the remaining inactive time period in the DRX cycle. As the UE does not receive data in each subframe, the gNB configures the DRX parameter (for example, using an RRC signaling) based on the application type in order to improve the power and radio resource efficiency.

In release 16 (Rel-16) , the positioning procedure considered the PRS configuration independent of the radio access network (RAN) configured DRX configuration. It means when the UE in the RRC inactive mode is configured with DRX, the UE shall wake up to measure the DL PRS during the DRX inactive time period if the PRS configuration is not aligned with the DRX on the duration time period. Obviously, it would increase UE power consumption, which is against the power-saving intention of NR positioning in an RRC inactive state.

In a newly approved release 18 (Rel-18) work item description (WID) on the study on expanded and improved NR positioning, an objective to specify enhancements for enabling low power high accuracy positioning (LPHAP) use case was identified as follows.

This WID shows that RAN2 is supposed to support alignment between enhanced DRX (eDRX) and PRS configurations to make the PRS reception to be performed during the active time period when the UE is configured with DRX (for example, e-DRX) in the RRC_INACTIVE or RRC_IDLE state.

The inventors noticed that there are two directions of DRX/PRS alignment, that is, PRS alignment with fixed DRX, or DRX alignment with fixed PRS. Support of the PRS configuration alignment with DRX configuration may include a couple of issues. An issue is that it is difficult to ensure each PRS measurement aligns with the DRX active time, for example, due to the reason that DRX cycles may be different in different cells. Therefore, the cells that provide DRX configuration may not only comprise the serving cell, but also neighboring cells around the UE in the same positioning area. Cell selection may happen due to mobility and the PO in the time domain will change upon cell reselection since some of eDRX parameters are cell-specific, e.g., the paging frame offset. So, after cell reselection, the PRS configuration of the UE may be not aligned with the DRX configuration of the reselected cell. Thus, it’s necessary to adjust the PRS configuration to align the DRX configuration of the new serving cell when cell reselection happens, which would introduce additional signal overhead, latency, and power consumption.

As of now, there is no effective way to support the DRX/PRS alignment. Optimizing the positioning procedure to support the DRX/PRS alignment is still an important issue to be solved. Considering the advantages of the PRS alignment with fixed DRX, the inventors consider some enhancements on the solution of PRS alignment with fixed DRX.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a scheme for positioning enhancements, especially, a scheme of PRS alignment with fixed DRX is provided. With this scheme, a first device receives, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal (PRS) configurations, where the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations in those cells. Moreover, the first device activates, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell. Then the first device performs at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.

This scheme optimizes the positioning procedure by associating the plurality of PRS resource sets with the plurality of DRX configurations of a plurality of cells. This scheme efficiently supports the PRS configuration to align with the DRX configuration, for example, when the first device moves from a source serving cell to the target cell, for example, in case of cell reselection. This scheme provides effective power saving at the first device by avoiding the PRS configuration update, for example, in case of cell reselection. In this way, it is allowed to avoid additional signal overhead, latency, and power consumption, and thus improve resource utilization and transmission flexibility.

FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling flow 200 among the first device, the second device, and the third device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the signaling flow 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1A. As an example, the first device 110 comprises a terminal device, the second device 120 comprises a location management function, and the third device 130 comprises a base station.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second device 120 determines (205) a plurality of PRS configurations. For example, the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on DRX configurations in those cells. For example, the cells may be in an area (i.e., a positioning area) . For example, a PRS resource set with a PRS configuration among the plurality of PRS configurations may be associated with one or more DRX configurations of one or more cells. The DRX configuration may comprise a cell-specific DRX cycle and/or a UE-specific DRX cycle.

As an example, a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations may comprise a time-frequency resource. As another example, the PRS configuration may comprise one or more cell identifiers of one or more PRS signals in a PRS resource set with the PRS configuration, or in other words, one or more cell identifiers belonging to the PRS resource set. As a further example, the PRS configuration may comprise one or more associated cell identifiers of the PRS resource set, or in other words, one or more cell identifiers associated with the PRS resource set, which may indicate that this PRS resource set is associated with one or more DRX configurations of the one or more cells with the associated one or more cell identifiers. Alternatively or additionally, the PRS configuration may comprise an index of the PRS resource set.

For example, FIG. 3 illustrates an example PRS resource set configuration according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the cell#1 and the cell#2 belong to the PRS resource set#1, and the cell#2 and the cell#3 belong to the PRS resource set#2. The PRS resource set #1 is associated with a DRX configuration of cell#1, and the PRS resource set #2 is associated with a DRX configuration of cell#2.

The following Table 1 gives an example configuration of PRS resource sets based on FIG. 3.

Table 1: Example configuration of multiple PRS resource sets

In some example embodiments, before determining the plurality of PRS configurations for a plurality of PRS resource sets, the second device 120 may need to collect DRX configuration information of the cells. As an example, the second device 120 may transmit, to the third device 130, a request for one or more DRX configurations of one or more cells of the third device 130. The third device 130 may transmit, to the second device 120, the one or more DRX configurations. As an example, the third device 130 may provide a cell-specific DRX cycle and/or UE-specific DRX cycle to the second device 120, that is, a DRX configuration of the one or more DRX configurations may comprise the cell-specific DRX cycle and/or the UE-specific DRX cycle. For example, the one or more DRX configurations may be transmitted via a radio positioning protocol, for example, an NR Positioning Protocol a (NRPPa) protocol. Likewise, the second device 120 may obtain one or more DRX configurations from one or more other base stations.

Then, referring back to FIG. 2, the second device 120 may transmit (210) a PRS resource configuration request to the third device 130. Accordingly, the third device 130 may receive (215) the PRS resource configuration request from the second device 120. Alternatively or additionally, the second device 120 may transmit the PRS resource configuration request to one or more other base stations. For example, the PRS resource configuration request may be transmitted via the radio positioning protocol, for example, the NRPPa protocol.

As an example, the PRS resource configuration request may comprise a suggested time-domain PRS pattern associated with one or more DRX configurations among the DRX configurations. The suggested time-domain PRS pattern may be aligned with the DRX configuration for a cell, or in other words, aligned with the DRX configuration of the third device 130. As another example, the PRS resource configuration request may comprise a positioning accuracy requirement for at least one first device, for example, the first device 110. The positioning accuracy requirement may comprise the PRS bandwidth, the PRS periodicity, etc.

On the access network side, upon reception of the PRS resource configuration request, the third device 130 may determine (220) a PRS resource configuration. For example, the PRS resource configuration may be determined based on the PRS resource configuration request (for example, the suggested time-domain PRS pattern, and/or the positioning accuracy requirement comprised in the PRS resource configuration request) , a resource usage, and/or its preferences.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the third device 130 may transmit (225) the PRS resource configuration to the second device 120. Accordingly, the second device 120 may receive (230) the PRS resource configuration from the third device 130. As an example, the PRS resource configuration may be transmitted via the radio positioning protocol, for example, the NRPPa protocol. Alternatively, one or more other base stations may determine one or more PRS resource configurations likewise and then transmit the one or more PRS resource configurations to the second device 120.

After obtaining the one or more PRS resource configurations, the second device 120 may determine the plurality of PRS resource sets based on the received one or more PRS resource configurations. In other words, the second device 120 may group the PRS resource into multiple PRS resource sets based on the DRX configurations of multiple cells, such that a PRS resource set among the plurality of PRS resource sets may have some characteristics. For example, the PRS resource set may be associated with one or more paging occasions (POs) of one or more cells, or in other words, the PRS resource set may be aligned with the one or more POs of the one or more cells. The alignment may mean that the one or more PRS resource sets are near to the one or more POs. As another example, the PRS resource set among the plurality of PRS resource sets may include one or more resources of one or more cells. As a further example, a plurality of PRS resources used in a plurality of PRS resource sets may serve one or more terminal devices, for example, the first device 110. In this way, there is no resource waste, and thus resource efficiency may be improved.

With reference to FIG. 3 again, the PRS resource set #1 is configured to be aligned with the PO of the cell#1, the PRS resource #2 is configured to be aligned with the PO of the cell#2. For the PRS resource set #1, the PRS may be from the cell#1 and the cell#2, and for the PRS resource set#2, the PRS may be from the cell#2 and the cell#3.

Then, referring back to FIG. 2, after the determination of the plurality of PRS configurations, the second device 120 transmits (235) the plurality of PRS configurations to the first device 110. Accordingly, the first device 110 receives (240) the plurality of PRS configurations from the second device 120.

As an example, the plurality of PRS configurations may be comprised in a positioning protocol message, for example, an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) message. For example, the plurality of PRS configurations may be comprised as a part of assistance data in the ProvideAssistanceData message. The positioning protocol message may be transmitted in a case that the first device 110 is in an RRC connected mode, before the first device 110 enters an RRC inactive/idle mode. Alternatively or additionally, the positioning protocol message may be transmitted in a case that the first device 110 is in an RRC inactive mode based on a small data transmission (SDT) from the third device 130. In this case, for example, the positioning protocol message may be transmitted in a DL media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU) along with an RRC release message when the first device 110 has initiated a UL SDT.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit, to the first device 110, at least one indication of a respective PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations associated with a respective set of cells. In this case, associations between a plurality of PRS resource sets and a plurality of DRX configurations of a plurality of cells may be transmitted together with the plurality of PRS configurations. Alternatively or additionally, the plurality of PRS configurations may indicate the associations between the plurality of PRS resource sets and the plurality of DRX configurations of a plurality of cells. In this case, the associations are comprised in the PRS configurations, such that there is no need for an additional indication for the associations.

As shown in FIG. 2, for example, in case of cell reselection, the first device 110 activates (245) a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell. Then, the first device 110 performs (250) at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may then provide the measured report for the at least one measurement to the second device 120, for example, via the positioning protocol message such as the LPP protocol.

In the embodiments wherein the indications for the associations are indicated to the first device 110 separately, the first device 110 may activate the PRS configuration based on the received respective indication. In the embodiments wherein the associations are indicated in the PRS configurations, the first device 110 may activate the PRS configuration based on the associations indicated in the plurality of PRS configurations.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may determine a measurement rule to indicate the first device 110 to perform at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with a PRS configuration associated with an activated DRX configuration of a target cell, for example, in case of cell selection. For example, the measurement rule may be that when the first device 110 has camped to a new target cell, the first device 110 may only perform PRS measurement (s) on a set of PRS resources that is associated with the DRX configuration of the new target cell. Then, the second device 120 may transmit the measurement rule (also referred to as a measurement indication) to the first device 110. The measurement indication may be transmitted in the positioning protocol message.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of PRS measurement according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, according to the measurement rule, when the first device 110 (for example, a UE) is in the coverage of the cell#1, the first device 110 should measure the PRS resource set #1 since the PRS resource set #1 is aligned with the PO of the cell#1, and when the first device 110 moves to a new cell (i.e., the cell#2) , the first device 110 should only measure the PRS resource set #2 because the PRS resource set #2 is aligned with the PO of the cell#2. Alternatively or additionally, the measurement rule may be pre-defined, pre-determined, or default.

In some example embodiments, the third device 130 may transmit, to the first device 110, a PRS signal based on the determined PRS resource configuration. Moreover, one or more other base stations may transmit one or more PRS signals based on the determined one or more PRS resource configurations. For example, these third devices may transmit one or more PRS signals at different times or different frequency/subcarriers according to the one or more PRS resource configurations. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, for the PRS resource set#1, the PRS signal of the cell#1 and the cell#2 may be transmitted in different time occasions or different frequencies (i.e., sub-carriers) . The PRS resource set#1 and the PRS resource set #2 may be aligned with different POs of different cells. No matter which PRS resource set is activated at one or more terminal devices, the one or more base stations may always transmit the PRSs of all the PRS resource sets based on the PRS resource configurations. Thus, the one or more base stations may not need to know which PRS resource set is activated at the one or more terminal devices, when the one or more terminal devices have reselected a new cell. In addition, multiple PRS resource sets may be configured to one or more terminal devices, thus, there is no problem of resource waste.

Thus, when a cell-reselection condition is met, the first device 110 may be triggered to perform PRS measurement on the PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration, which is associated with the PO of the new target cell. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the PRS resource set #1 is activated when the first device 110 is in the coverage of the cell#1, which means the first device 110 only performs the at least one measurement on the PRS resource set #1 when the first device is in the cell#1 because the PRS resource set #1 is aligned with the PO of cell#1. And when the first device 110 moves from the cell#1 to the cell#2, the PRS resource set #2 is activated when the first device 110 is in the coverage of the cell#2, it means the first device 110 may only perform the at least one measurement on the PRS resource set #2 when the first device 110 moves to the cell#2, because the PRS resource set #2 is aligned with the PO of the cell#2.

It is to be noted that multiple PRS resource sets may be configured to one or more terminal devices. Thus, each of the one or more terminal devices may activate the different PRS resource sets because the first device may be camped to different serving cells. Thus, resource utilization is maximized.

In this way, it is possible to efficiently supports the PRS configuration to align with the DRX configuration. This scheme provides effective power saving at the first device by avoiding the PRS configuration update, for example, in case of cell reselection. Moreover, it is allowed to avoid additional signal overhead, latency, and power consumption, and thus improve resource utilization and transmission flexibility.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example communication process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It would be appreciated that the process flow 500 may be considered as an example of the signaling flow 200 as shown in FIG. 2. Accordingly, the UE 501 may be an example of the first device 110, the LMF 503 may be an example of the second device 120, and the gNB 505 may be an example of the third device 130.

As shown in FIG. 5, at 510, the LMF 503 request a DRX configuration by transmitting a DRX configuration to the gNB 505. At 512, the gNB 505 provides the DRX configuration to the LMF 503. Likewise, the LMF 503 may obtain one or more DRX configurations from one or more other gNBs.

Then, during the PRS resource set determination, at 514, the LMF 503 transmits a PRS resource configuration request to the gNB 505. At 516, the gNB 505 determines a PRS resource configuration. At 518, the gNB 505 transmits the determined PRS resource configuration to the LMF 503. Likewise, the LMF 503 may obtain one or more PRS resource configurations from one or more other gNBs. At 520, the LMF 503 groups the PRS resource into multiple PRS resource sets based on the PRS resource configurations. On this basis, the LMF 503 determines multiple PRS configurations.

At 522, the LMF 503 determines a measurement rule. The measurement rule may indicate the UE 501 to perform at least one measurement on a PRS resource set among the multiple PRS resource sets associated with a DRX configuration of a target cell, for example, in case of cell selection. At 524, the LMF 503 provides the multiple PRS configurations and the measurement rule to the UE 501.

At 526, the gNB 505 (possibly together with one or more other gNBs) transmits PRS (s) to the UE 501. At 528, the UE 501 activate a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations according to the measurement rule. The determined PRS resource set is associated with the new serving cell (i.e. the target cell) . Then, the UE 501 performs positioning measurements on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration. At 530, the UE 501 provides results of the positioning measurements to the LMF 503.

Operations and features as described above with reference to FIGS. 2-4 are likewise applicable to the process 500 and have similar effects. For the purpose of simplification, the details will be omitted.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart 600 of a method implemented at a first device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the first device 110 with reference to FIG. 1A.

At block 610, the first device 110 receives, from a second device 120, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, where the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells. At block 620, the first device 110 activates, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell. At block 630, the first device 110 performs at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 further receives, from the second device 120, at least one indication of a respective PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations associated with a respective set of cells. In this case, the respective PRS configuration is activated based on the indications.

In some example embodiments, the plurality of PRS configurations indicates associations between a plurality of PRS resource sets and a plurality of DRX configurations of a plurality of cells.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 further receives, from the second device 120, a measurement indication indicating the first device 110 to perform the at least one measurement on the PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration associated with a DRX configuration of a target cell.

In some example embodiments, the PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration among the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more DRX configuration of one or more cells. In some example embodiments, at least one of the following is comprised in a positioning protocol message: the plurality of PRS configurations; or the measurement indication. In some example embodiments, the positioning protocol message is received in a case that the first device 110 is in a radio access control, RRC, connected mode. In some example embodiments, the positioning protocol message is received in a case that the first device 110 is in an RRC inactive mode based on a small data transmission, SDT, from a third device 130.

In some example embodiments, the PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations comprises at least one of the following: a time-frequency resource; one or more cell identifiers of one or more PRS signals in a PRS resource set with the PRS configuration; one or more cell identifiers associated with the PRS resource set; or an index of the PRS resource set.

In some example embodiments, a DRX configuration among the DRX configurations comprises at least one of a cell-specific DRX cycle or a user equipment-specific DRX cycle.

In some example embodiments, the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more paging occasions of one or more cells, and/or the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations includes one or more resources of one or more cells, and/or a plurality of PRS resources used in a plurality of PRS resource sets serve one or more terminal devices comprising the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration is aligned with the one or more paging occasions of the one or more cells.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 comprises a terminal device, the second device 120 comprises a location management function, and the third device 130 comprises a base station.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart 700 of a method implemented at a second device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 700 will be described from the perspective of the second device 120 with reference to FIG. 1A.

At block 710, the second device 120 determines a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, where the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells. At block 720, the second device 120 transmits, to a terminal device, the plurality of PRS configurations.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120 further transmits, to the first device 110, at least one indication of a respective PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations associated with a respective set of cells.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120 further transmits, to the first device 110, a measurement indication indicating the first device 110 to perform at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with an activated PRS configuration associated with a DRX configuration of a target cell.

In some example embodiments, a PRS resource set with a PRS configuration among the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more DRX configuration of one or more cells. In some example embodiments, at least one of the following is comprised in a positioning protocol message: the plurality of PRS configurations; or the measurement indication. In some example embodiments, the positioning protocol message is transmitted in a case that the first device 110 is in a radio access control, RRC, connected mode. In some example embodiments, the positioning protocol message is transmitted in a case that the first device 110 is in an RRC inactive mode based on a small data transmission, SDT, from a third device 130.

In some example embodiments, a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations comprises at least one of the following: a time-frequency resource; one or more cell identifiers of one or more PRS signals in a PRS resource set with the PRS configuration; one or more cell identifiers associated with the PRS resource set; or an index of the PRS resource set.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120 further transmits, to one or more base stations, a request for one or more DRX configurations; and receives, from the one or more base stations, the one or more DRX configurations. In some example embodiments, the one or more DRX configurations are received via a radio positioning protocol.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120 further transmits, to one or more base stations, a PRS resource configuration request; and receives, from the one or more base stations one or more PRS resource configurations. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration request comprises at least one of the following: a suggested time-domain PRS pattern associated with one or more DRX configurations among the DRX configurations; or a positioning accuracy requirement for at least one first device 110. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration request is transmitted via a radio positioning protocol, and/or a PRS resource configuration of the one or more PRS resource configurations is received via the radio positioning protocol. In some example embodiments, the second device 120 further determines a plurality of PRS resource sets based on the received one or more PRS resource configurations.

In some example embodiments, a PRS resource set with a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more paging occasions of one or more cells, and/or a PRS resource set with a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations includes one or more resources of one or more cells, and/or a plurality of PRS resources used in a plurality of PRS resource sets serve one or more terminal devices comprising the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration is aligned with the one or more paging occasions of the one or more cells.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart 800 of a method implemented at a third device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 800 will be described from the perspective of the third device 130 with reference to FIG. 1A.

At block 810, the third device 130 receives, from a second device 120, a position reference signal, PRS, resource configuration request. At block 820, the third device 130 determines a PRS resource configuration. At block 830, the third device 130 transmits, to the second device 120, the PRS resource configuration.

In some example embodiments, the third device 130 further receives, from the second device, a request for one or more discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations of one or more cells of the third device 130; and transmits the DRX configuration to the second device. In some example embodiments, the one or more DRX configurations are transmitted via a radio positioning protocol. In some example embodiments, a DRX configuration of the one or more DRX configurations comprises at least one of a cell-specific DRX cycle or a user equipment-specific DRX cycle. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration request comprises at least one of the following: a suggested time-domain PRS pattern associated with the one or more DRX configurations; or a positioning accuracy requirement for at least one first device 110.

In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration request is received via a radio positioning protocol, and/or the PRS resource configuration is transmitted via the radio positioning protocol.

In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: the suggested time-domain PRS pattern; the positioning accuracy requirement; or a resource usage.

In some example embodiments, a first device capable of performing the method 600 (for example, the first device 110) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the first device comprises means for receiving, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; means for activating, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell; and means for performing at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.

In some example embodiments, the first device further comprises means for receiving, from the second device, at least one indication of a respective PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations associated with a respective set of cells, and in this case, the respective PRS configuration is activated based on the indications.

In some example embodiments, the first device further comprises means for receiving, from the second device, a measurement indication indicating the first device to perform the at least one measurement on the PRS resource set with the activateda PRS configuration associated with a DRX configuration of a target cell.

In some example embodiments, the PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration among the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more DRX configuration of one or more cells. In some example embodiments, at least one of the following is comprised in a positioning protocol message: the plurality of PRS configurations; or the measurement indication. In some example embodiments, the positioning protocol message is received in a case that the first device is in a radio access control, RRC, connected mode. In some example embodiments, the positioning protocol message is received in a case that the first device is in an RRC inactive mode based on a small data transmission, SDT, from a third device.

In some example embodiments, the PRS resource set with a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more paging occasions of one or more cells, and/or the PRS resource set with a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations includes one or more resources of one or more cells, and/or a plurality of PRS resources used in a plurality of PRS resource sets serve one or more terminal devices comprising the first device. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration is aligned with the one or more paging occasions of the one or more cells.

In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device, the second device comprises a location management function, and the third device comprises a base station.

In some embodiments, the first device further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of the method 600. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the first device.

In some example embodiments, a second device capable of performing the method 700 (for example, the second device 120) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 700. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the second device comprises means for determine a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; and means for transmitting, to a terminal device, the plurality of PRS configurations.

In some example embodiments, the second device further comprises means for transmitting, to the first device, at least one indication of a respective PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations associated with a respective set of cells.

In some example embodiments, the second device comprises means for transmitting, to the first device, a measurement indication indicating the first device to perform at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with an activated PRS configuration associated with a DRX configuration of a target cell.

In some example embodiments, a PRS resource set with a PRS configuration among the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more DRX configuration of one or more cells. In some example embodiments, at least one of the following is comprised in a positioning protocol message: the plurality of PRS configurations; or the measurement indication. In some example embodiments, the positioning protocol message is transmitted in a case that the first device is in a radio access control, RRC, connected mode. In some example embodiments, the positioning protocol message is transmitted in a case that the first device is in an RRC inactive mode based on a small data transmission, SDT, from a third device.

In some example embodiments, the second device comprises means for transmitting, to one or more base stations, a request for one or more DRX configurations; and means for receiving, from the one or more base stations, the one or more DRX configurations. In some example embodiments, the one or more DRX configurations are received via a radio positioning protocol.

In some example embodiments, the second device further comprises means for transmitting, to one or more base stations, a PRS resource configuration request; and means for receiving, from the one or more base stations, one or more PRS resource configurations. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration request comprises at least one of the following: a suggested time-domain PRS pattern associated with one or more DRX configurations among the DRX configurations; or a positioning accuracy requirement for at least one first device. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration request is transmitted via a radio positioning protocol, and/or a PRS resource configuration of the one or more PRS resource configurations is received via the radio positioning protocol. In some example embodiments, the second device further comprises means for determining a plurality of PRS resource sets based on the received one or more PRS resource configurations.

In some example embodiments, a PRS resource set with a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more paging occasions of one or more cells, and/or a PRS resource set with a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations includes one or more resources of one or more cells, and/or a plurality of PRS resources used in a plurality of PRS resource sets serve one or more terminal devices comprising the first device. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration is aligned with the one or more paging occasions of the one or more cells.

In some embodiments, the second device further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of the method 700. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the second device.

In some example embodiments, a third device capable of performing the method 800 (for example, the third device 130) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 800. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the third device comprises means for receiving, from a second device, a position reference signal, PRS, resource configuration request; means for determining a PRS resource configuration; and means for transmitting, to the second device, the PRS resource configuration.

In some example embodiments, the third device further comprises means for receiving, from the second device, a request for one or more discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations of one or more cells of the third device; and means for transmitting the DRX configuration to the second device. In some example embodiments, the one or more DRX configurations are transmitted via a radio positioning protocol. In some example embodiments, a DRX configuration of the one or more DRX configurations comprises at least one of a cell-specific DRX cycle or a user equipment-specific DRX cycle. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration request comprises at least one of the following: a suggested time-domain PRS pattern associated with the one or more DRX configurations; or a positioning accuracy requirement for at least one first device.

In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration request is received via a radio positioning protocol, and/or the PRS resource configuration is transmitted via the radio positioning protocol. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration is determined based on at least one of the following: the suggested time-domain PRS pattern; the positioning accuracy requirement; or a resource usage.

In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device, the second device comprises a location management function, and the third device comprises a base station

In some embodiments, the third device further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of the method 800. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the third device.

In some example embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method 600.

In some example embodiments, the program instructions cause the apparatus to: receive, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in the different sets of cells; activate, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell; and perform at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.

In some example embodiments, the program instructions further cause the apparatus to: receive, from the second device, at least one indication of a respective PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations associated with a respective set of cells, and in this case, the respective PRS configuration is activated based on the indications.

In some example embodiments, the program instructions further cause the apparatus to: receive, from the second device, a measurement indication indicating the first device to perform the at least one measurement on the PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration associated with a DRX configuration of a target cell.

In some example embodiments, the PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration among the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more DRX configuration of one or more cells.

In some example embodiments, at least one of the following is comprised in a positioning protocol message: the plurality of PRS configurations; or the measurement indication. In some example embodiments, the positioning protocol message is received in a case that the first device is in a radio access control, RRC, connected mode. In some example embodiments, the positioning protocol message is received in a case that the first device is in an RRC inactive mode based on a small data transmission, SDT, from a third device.

In some example embodiments, the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more paging occasions of one or more cells, and/or the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations includes one or more resources of one or more cells, and/or a plurality of PRS resources used in a plurality of PRS resource sets serve one or more terminal devices comprising the first device. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration is aligned with the one or more paging occasions of the one or more cells.

In some example embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method 700.

In some example embodiments, the program instructions cause the apparatus to: determine a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; and transmit, to a terminal device, the plurality of PRS configurations.

In some example embodiments, the program instructions further cause the apparatus to: transmit, to the first device, at least one indication of a respective PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations associated with a respective set of cells.

In some example embodiments, the program instructions further cause the apparatus to: transmit, to the first device, a measurement indication indicating the first device to perform at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with an activated PRS configuration associated with a DRX configuration of a target cell.

In some example embodiments, the program instructions further cause the apparatus to: transmit, to one or more base stations, a request for one or more DRX configurations; and receive, from the one or more base stations, the one or more DRX configurations. In some example embodiments, the one or more DRX configurations are received via a radio positioning protocol.

In some example embodiments, the program instructions further cause the apparatus to: transmit, to one or more base stations, a PRS resource configuration request; and receive, from the one or more base stations, one or more PRS resource configurations. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration request comprises at least one of the following: a suggested time-domain PRS pattern associated with one or more DRX configurations among the DRX configurations; or a positioning accuracy requirement for at least one first device. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration request is transmitted via a radio positioning protocol, and/or a PRS resource configuration of the one or more PRS resource configurations is received via the radio positioning protocol. In some example embodiments, the program instructions further cause the apparatus to: determine a plurality of PRS resource sets based on the received one or more PRS resource configurations.

In some example embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method 800.

In some example embodiments, the program instructions cause the apparatus to: receive, from a second device, a position reference signal, PRS, resource configuration request; determine a PRS resource configuration; and transmit, to the second device, the PRS resource configuration.

In some example embodiments, the program instructions further cause the apparatus to: receive, from the second device, a request for one or more discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations of one or more cells of the third device; and transmit the DRX configuration to the second device. In some example embodiments, the one or more DRX configurations are transmitted via a radio positioning protocol. In some example embodiments, a DRX configuration of the one or more DRX configurations comprises at least one of a cell-specific DRX cycle or a user equipment-specific DRX cycle. In some example embodiments, the PRS resource configuration request comprises at least one of the following: a suggested time-domain PRS pattern associated with the one or more DRX configurations; or a positioning accuracy requirement for at least one first device.

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device 900 that is suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 900 may be provided to implement the communication device, for example, the first device 110, the second device 120, or the third device 130 as shown in FIG. 1A. As shown, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 920 coupled to the processor 910, and one or more communication modules 940 coupled to the processor 910.

The communication module 940 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 940 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements.

The processor 910 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 900 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

The memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 924, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 930 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 910. The program 930 may be stored in the ROM 924. The processor 910 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 930 into the RAM 922.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 930 so that the device 900 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, the program 930 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 900 (such as in the memory 920) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 900. The device 900 may load the program 930 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 922 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any types of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a computer readable medium 1000 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The computer readable medium 1000 has the program 930 stored thereon. It is noted that although the computer readable medium 1000 is depicted in form of CD or DVD in FIG. 10, the computer readable medium 1000 may be in any other form suitable for carrying or holding the program 930.

Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the method as described above with reference to any of FIGS. 6 to 8. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

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

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

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. The term “non-transitory, ” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM) .

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

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

Claims

A first device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to:

receive, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in the different sets of cells;

activate, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell; and

perform at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first device to:

receive, from the second device, at least one indication of a respective PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations associated with a respective set of cells, and

wherein the respective PRS configuration is activated based on the indications.
The first device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations indicates associations between a plurality of PRS resource sets and a plurality of DRX configurations of a plurality of cells.
The first device of any of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the first device to:

receive, from the second device, a measurement indication indicating the first device to perform the at least one measurement on the PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration associated with a DRX configuration of a target cell.
The first device of any of claims 1-4, wherein the PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration among the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more DRX configuration of one or more cells.
The first device of claim 4, wherein at least one of the following is comprised in a positioning protocol message:

the plurality of PRS configurations; or

the measurement indication.
The first device of claim 6, wherein the positioning protocol message is received in a case that the first device is in a radio access control, RRC, connected mode.
The first device of claim 7, wherein the positioning protocol message is received in a case that the first device is in an RRC inactive mode based on a small data transmission, SDT, from a third device.
The first device of any of claims 1-8, wherein the PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations comprises at least one of the following:

a time-frequency resource;

one or more cell identifiers of one or more PRS signals in a PRS resource set with the PRS configuration;

one or more cell identifiers associated with the PRS resource set; or

an index of the PRS resource set.
The first device of any of claims 1-9, wherein a DRX configuration among the DRX configurations comprises at least one of a cell-specific DRX cycle or a user equipment-specific DRX cycle.
The first device of any of claims 1-10, wherein at least one of the following:

the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more paging occasions of one or more cells;

the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations includes one or more resources of one or more cells; or

a plurality of PRS resources used in a plurality of PRS resource sets serve one or more terminal devices comprising the first device.
The first device of claim 11, wherein the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration is aligned with the one or more paging occasions of the one or more cells.
The first device of any of claims 1-12, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, the second device comprises a location management function, and the third device comprises a base station.
A second device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device at least to:

determine a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; and

transmit, to a terminal device, the plurality of PRS configurations.
The second device of claim 14, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second device to:

transmit, to the first device, at least one indication of a respective PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations associated with a respective set of cells.
The first device of claim 14 or15, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations indicates associations between a plurality of PRS resource sets and a plurality of DRX configurations of a plurality of cells.
The second device of any of claims 14-16, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second device to:

transmit, to the first device, a measurement indication indicating the first device to perform at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with an activated PRS configuration associated with a DRX configuration of a target cell.
The second device of any of claims 14-17, wherein a PRS resource set with a PRS configuration among the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more DRX configuration of one or more cells.
The second device of claim 17, wherein at least one of the following is comprised in a positioning protocol message:

the plurality of PRS configurations; or

the measurement indication.
The second device of claim 19, wherein the positioning protocol message is transmitted in a case that the first device is in a radio access control, RRC, connected mode.
The second device of claim 19, wherein the positioning protocol message is transmitted in a case that the first device is in an RRC inactive mode based on a small data transmission, SDT, from a third device.
The second device of any of claims 14-21, wherein a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations comprises at least one of the following:

a time-frequency resource;

one or more cell identifiers of one or more PRS signals in a PRS resource set with the PRS configuration;

one or more cell identifiers associated with the PRS resource set; or

an index of the PRS resource set.
The second device of any of claims 14-22, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second device to:

transmit, to one or more base stations, a request for one or more DRX configurations; and

receive, from the one or more base stations, the one or more DRX configurations.
The second device of claim 23, wherein the one or more DRX configurations are received via a radio positioning protocol.
The second device of any of claims 14-24, wherein a DRX configuration among the DRX configurations comprises at least one of a cell-specific DRX cycle or a user equipment-specific DRX cycle.
The second device of any of claims 14-25, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second device to:

transmit, to one or more base stations, a PRS resource configuration request; and

receive, from the one or more base stations, one or more PRS resource configurations.
The second device of claim 26, wherein the PRS resource configuration request comprises at least one of the following:

a suggested time-domain PRS pattern associated with one or more DRX configurations among the DRX configurations; or

a positioning accuracy requirement for at least one first device.
The second device of claim 26 or 27, wherein at least one of the following:

the PRS resource configuration request is transmitted via a radio positioning protocol; or

a PRS resource configuration of the one or more PRS resource configurations is received via the radio positioning protocol.
The second device of any of claims 26-28, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the second device to:

determine a plurality of PRS resource sets based on the received one or more PRS resource configurations.
The second device of any of claims 14-29, wherein at least one of the following:

a PRS resource set with a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations is associated with one or more paging occasions of one or more cells;

a PRS resource set with a PRS configuration of the plurality of PRS configurations includes one or more resources of one or more cells; or

a plurality of PRS resources used in a plurality of PRS resource sets serve one or more terminal devices comprising the first device.
The second device of claim 30, wherein the PRS resource set with the PRS configuration is aligned with the one or more paging occasions of the one or more cells.
The second device of any of claims 14-31, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, the second device comprises a location management function, and the third device comprises a base station.
A third device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the third device at least to:

receive, from a second device, a position reference signal, PRS, resource configuration request;

determine a PRS resource configuration; and

transmit, to the second device, the PRS resource configuration.
The third device of claim 33, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the third device to:

receive, from the second device, a request for one or more discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations of one or more cells of the third device; and

transmit the DRX configuration to the second device.
The third device of claim 34, wherein the one or more DRX configurations are transmitted via a radio positioning protocol.
The third device of claim 34 or 35, wherein a DRX configuration of the one or more DRX configurations comprises at least one of a cell-specific DRX cycle or a user equipment-specific DRX cycle.
The third device of any of claims 34-36, wherein the PRS resource configuration request comprises at least one of the following:

a suggested time-domain PRS pattern associated with the one or more DRX configurations; or

a positioning accuracy requirement for at least one first device.
The third device of any of claims 33-37, wherein at least one of the following:

the PRS resource configuration request is received via a radio positioning protocol; or

the PRS resource configuration is transmitted via the radio positioning protocol.
The third device of claim 37, wherein the PRS resource configuration is determined based on at least one of the following:

the suggested time-domain PRS pattern;

the positioning accuracy requirement; or

a resource usage.
The third device of any of claims 33-39, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, the second device comprises a location management function, and the third device comprises a base station.
A method comprising:

receiving, at a first device, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells;

activating, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell; and

performing at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.
A method comprising:

determining, at a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; and

transmitting, to a terminal device, the plurality of PRS configurations.
A method comprising:

receiving, at a third device, from a second device, a position reference signal, PRS, resource configuration request;

determining a PRS resource configuration; and

transmitting, to the second device, the PRS resource configuration.
A first device comprising:

means for receiving, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells;

means for activating, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell; and

means for performing at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.
A second device comprising:

means for determining a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; and

means for transmitting, to a terminal device, the plurality of PRS configurations.
A third device comprising:

means for receiving, from a second device, a position reference signal, PRS, resource configuration request;

means for determining a PRS resource configuration; and

means for transmitting, to the second device, the PRS resource configuration.
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to:

receive, from a second device, a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in the different sets of cells;

activate, a PRS configuration, of the plurality of PRS configurations, associated with at least a target cell; and

perform at least one measurement on a PRS resource set with the activated PRS configuration.
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to:

determine a plurality of position reference signal, PRS, configurations, wherein the plurality of PRS configurations are associated to different sets of cells based on discontinuous reception, DRX, configurations in those cells; and

transmit, to a terminal device, the plurality of PRS configurations.
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to:

receive, from a second device, a position reference signal, PRS, resource configuration request;

determine a PRS resource configuration; and

transmit, to the second device, the PRS resource configuration.