Method, apparatus and system for defining positioning configuration in a wireless network
First Claim
1. A method for defining positioning configuration in the wireless network, wherein some or all cells of the network are capable of wirelessly transmitting positioning reference signals (PRS) during positioning occasions, the PRS being usable to determine a location of a user equipment (UE), each positioning occasion being composed of a predetermined number NPRS consecutive subframes having a predetermined periodicity of N subframes, N>
- NPRS, such that the NPRS positioning subframes repeat every N subframes, both N and NPRS being integers greater than zero, the method comprising;
determining, by a first network node, muting patterns of one or more cells of the wireless network; and
providing assistance information from a second network node to the UE,wherein the muting pattern of a cell indicates a plurality of positioning occasions in which the cell will transmit its PRS and a plurality of positioning occasions in which the cell will mute its transmission of the PRS,wherein a number of muted positioning occasions is greater than zero, andwherein the assistance information includes the muting pattern of at least one cell determined by the first network node.
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Accused Products
Abstract
GPS and A-GPS based positioning methods can be used to determine UE locations to enable location based services to be provided. However, if a UE does not have such receivers or the wireless network is not able to provide assistance, these methods will not be applicable. An alternative is to use OTDOA measurements using positioning reference signals transmitted by cells of the network. By optimizing the set of cells transmitting their positioning reference signals on different positioning occasions and properly configuring the muting patterns, interference can be minimized and the UE location can be readily determined.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. A method for defining positioning configuration in the wireless network, wherein some or all cells of the network are capable of wirelessly transmitting positioning reference signals (PRS) during positioning occasions, the PRS being usable to determine a location of a user equipment (UE), each positioning occasion being composed of a predetermined number NPRS consecutive subframes having a predetermined periodicity of N subframes, N>
- NPRS, such that the NPRS positioning subframes repeat every N subframes, both N and NPRS being integers greater than zero, the method comprising;
determining, by a first network node, muting patterns of one or more cells of the wireless network; and providing assistance information from a second network node to the UE, wherein the muting pattern of a cell indicates a plurality of positioning occasions in which the cell will transmit its PRS and a plurality of positioning occasions in which the cell will mute its transmission of the PRS, wherein a number of muted positioning occasions is greater than zero, and wherein the assistance information includes the muting pattern of at least one cell determined by the first network node. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
- NPRS, such that the NPRS positioning subframes repeat every N subframes, both N and NPRS being integers greater than zero, the method comprising;
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25. A network node for defining positioning configuration in a wireless network, wherein some or all cells of the network are capable of wirelessly transmitting positioning reference signals (PRS) during positioning occasions, the PRS being usable to determine a location of a user equipment (UE), each positioning occasion being composed of a predetermined number NPRS consecutive subframes having a predetermined periodicity of N subframes, N>
- NPRS, such that the NPRS positioning subframes repeat every N subframes, both N and NPRS being integers greater than zero, the network node comprising;
a muting pattern determining unit arranged to determine muting patterns of one or more cells of the wireless network; and a communication unit arranged to communicate the muting pattern of at least one cell to another network node; wherein the muting pattern of a cell indicates a plurality of positioning occasions in which the cell will transmit its PRS and a plurality of positioning occasions in which the cell will mute its transmission of the PRS, and wherein a number of muted positioning occasions is greater than zero. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
- NPRS, such that the NPRS positioning subframes repeat every N subframes, both N and NPRS being integers greater than zero, the network node comprising;
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44. A method of determining a location of a user equipment (UE) based on positioning reference signals (PRS) wirelessly transmitted from cells of a wireless network, wherein some or all cells of the network are capable of wirelessly transmitting the PRS during positioning occasions, each positioning occasion being composed of a predetermined number NPRS consecutive subframes having a predetermined periodicity of N subframes, N>
- NPRS, such that the NPRS positioning subframes repeat every N subframes, both N and NPRS being integers greater than zero, the method comprising;
receiving, by the UE, the PRS transmitted from a plurality of network nodes corresponding to a plurality of cells; and determining, by the UE, an observed timed difference of arrival (OTDOA) of the PRS transmissions from the plurality of network nodes based on muting patterns of the plurality of cells, the muting patterns of the plurality of cells having been provided to the UE by the network, wherein the muting pattern of a cell indicates a plurality of positioning occasions in which the cell will transmit its PRS and a plurality of positioning occasions in which the cell will mute its transmission of the PRS, and wherein a number of muted positioning occasions of the cell is greater than zero. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46)
- NPRS, such that the NPRS positioning subframes repeat every N subframes, both N and NPRS being integers greater than zero, the method comprising;
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47. A user equipment (UE) arranged to its location based on positioning reference signals (PRS) wirelessly transmitted from cells of a wireless network, wherein some or all cells of the network are capable of wirelessly transmitting the PRS during positioning occasions, each positioning occasion being composed of a predetermined number NPRS consecutive subframes having a predetermined periodicity of N subframes, N>
- NPRS, such that the NPRS positioning subframes repeat every N subframes, both N and NPRS being integers greater than zero, the UE comprising;
a communication unit arranged to receive the PRS transmitted from a plurality of network nodes corresponding to a plurality of cells; and an observed timed difference of arrival (OTDOA) determining unit arranged to determine OTDOA of the PRS transmissions from the plurality of network nodes based on muting patterns of the plurality of cells, the muting patterns of the plurality of cells having been provided to the UE by the network, wherein the muting pattern of a cell indicates a plurality of positioning occasions in which the cell will transmit its PRS and a plurality of positioning occasions in which the cell will mute its transmission of the PRS, and wherein a number of muted positioning occasions of the cell is greater than zero. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49)
- NPRS, such that the NPRS positioning subframes repeat every N subframes, both N and NPRS being integers greater than zero, the UE comprising;
Specification