GB2636770A

GB2636770A - Wireless positioning

Info

Publication number: GB2636770A
Application number: GB2319740.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kumar Dileep; Tayyab Muhammad
Original assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2023-12-21
Filing date: 2023-12-21
Publication date: 2025-07-02
Also published as: GB202319740D0; WO2025131607A1

Abstract

Apparatus receiving or determining a location service request, for a network to determine a location of a user equipment, and, on determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination, instructing that base node to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment. The user equipment may be served by the apparatus. Apparatus receiving from a fixed network node instruction to transition from an energy saving state to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and in response, transitioning and participating in the determination of a location of a user equipment.

Description

WIRELESS POSITIONING

FIELD

[1] The present disclosure relates to wireless positioning.

BACKGROUND

[2] In wireless communication systems, positioning services are used to determine geographic locations of user equipments, UEs, to facilitate various use cases such as vehicular navigation and geographic tracking, for example.

[003] Positioning typically involves participation of the TIE and plural base stations of the wireless communication system in a multilateration process to determine an estimate of the UE location.

SUMMARY

[004] According to some aspects, there is provided the subject-matter of the independent claims. Some embodiments are defined in the dependent claims. The scope of protection sought for various embodiments of the invention is set out by the independent claims. The embodiments, examples and features, if any, described in this specification that do not fall under the scope of the independent claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding various embodiments of the invention.

1005] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network, determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment, instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

[006] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being served by the apparatus, determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment, instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

1007] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to receive, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible, transition to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and participate in the determination of a location of a user equipment.

[8] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method, comprising receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network, determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment, instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

[9] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method, comprising receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being served by the apparatus, determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment, instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

10010] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method, comprising receiving, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible, transitioning to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and participating in the determination of a location of a user equipment.

[0011] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network, determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment, instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

[0012] According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being served by the apparatus, determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment, instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

10013] According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for receiving, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible, transitioning to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and participating in the determination of a location of a user equipment.

[0014] According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network, determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment, instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

[0015] According to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being served by the apparatus, determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment, instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

[0016] According to a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least receive, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible, transition to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and participate in the determination of a location of a user equipment.

[0017] According to a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to receive, from a node, a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in a measurement process the requested measurement gap information relates to, instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where it can transmit signals for the measurement process, and provide, to the node, the requested measurement gap information.

10018] According to a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to receive or determine a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, the user equipment being served by the apparatus, provide the request for measurement gap information to a core network node and receive the measurement gap information from the core network node, the measurement gap information comprising information on at least one base node instructed, responsive to the request provided from the apparatus, to transition from an energy saving state to a state where signal transmission is possible, and provide to the user equipment a measurement gap configuration based at least in part on the measurement gap information.

[0019] According to a fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method comprising receiving, from a node, a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in a measurement process the requested measurement gap information relates to, instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where it can transmit signals for the measurement process, and providing, to the node, the requested measurement gap information.

[0020] According to a sixteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method, comprising receiving or determining a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, the user equipment being served by the apparatus, providing the request for measurement gap information to a core network node and receive the measurement gap information from the core network node, the measurement gap information comprising information on at least one base node instructed, responsive to the request provided from the apparatus, to transition from an energy saving state to a state where signal transmission is possible, and providing to the user equipment a measurement gap configuration based at least in part on the measurement gap information.

[0021] According to a seventeenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for receiving, from a node, a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in a measurement process the requested measurement gap information relates to, instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where it can transmit signals for the measurement process, and providing, to the node, the requested measurement gap information.

[0022] According to an eighteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for receiving or determining a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, the user equipment being served by the apparatus, providing the request for measurement gap information to a core network node and receive the measurement gap information from the core network node, the measurement gap information comprising information on at least one base node instructed, responsive to the request provided from the apparatus, to transition from an energy saving state to a state where signal transmission is possible, and providing to the user equipment a measurement gap configuration based at least in part on the measurement gap information.

[0023] According to a nineteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least receive, from a node, a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in a measurement process the requested measurement gap information relates to, instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where it can transmit signals for the measurement process, and provide, to the node, the requested measurement gap information.

[0024] According to a twentieth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least receive or determine a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, the user equipment being served by the apparatus, provide the request for measurement gap information to a core network node and receive the measurement gap information from the core network node, the measurement gap information comprising information on at least one base node instructed, responsive to the request provided from the apparatus, to transition from an energy saving state to a state where signal transmission is possible, and provide to the user equipment a measurement gap configuration based at least in part on the measurement gap information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIGURE 1 illustrates an example system in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention; [0026] FIGURE 2A illustrates an example multilateration process capable of supporting at least some embodiments of the present invention; [0027] FIGURE 2B illustrates an example location service request in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention; [0028] FIGURE 2C illustrates an example measurement gap set in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention; [0029] FIGURE 3 illustrates an example apparatus capable of supporting at least some embodiments of the present invention; [0030] FIGURE 4A illustrates signalling in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention; [0031] FIGURE 4B illustrates signalling in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention, and [0032] FIGUREs 5 -6 are flow graphs of a method in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention.

EMBODIMENTS

[0033] Method are herein described which enable obtaining a meaningful trade-off between positioning of user equipments in a cellular network on the one hand, and energy saving requirements of the cellular network on the other hand. In detail, a location service request which requests that a geographic location of a user equipment is determined may received in a location management function, LMF, which may be enabled to decide whether or not to serve this request. If the EMI decides to serve the request, it may select one or more base nodes which are in a low-energy state to be switched to a normal energy state to serve the location service request. Alternatively to a LMF handling a location service request, another network node, such as an AMF, may handle a request from a user equipment, UE, where the UE requests measurement gaps to be assigned to itself The node, such as the AMF, may select one or more base nodes which are in a low-energy state to be switched to a normal energy state to transmit during the measurement gaps, to enable measurements in the UE. The low-energy state is an energy saving state.

[0034] FIGURE 1 illustrates an example system in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention. This system includes base stations 130, 135 and 137 configured to communicate with UEs, such as UE 110. A radio link connects base station 130 with UE 110, The radio link may be bidirectional, comprising an uplink, UL, to convey information from UE 110 toward base station 130 and a downlink, DL, to convey information from the base station 130 toward UE 110. A cellular communication system may comprise hundreds or thousands of base stations, of which only three are illustrated in FIGURE 1 for the sake of clarity of the illustration. The base stations may be distributed in that they comprise a centralized unit, CU, and one or more distributed unit, DU. Base stations (e.g. gNBs) are examples of base nodes. Based node may alternatively be referred to as access node or network node.

[0035] Base stations may be in a normal energy state where communication with UEs is possible or in a low-energy state in which the base station does not transmit signals or the transmission of signals is reduced compared to the normal energy state, for example, by limiting to a subset of active transceivers, or by limiting to a part only of a nominal bandwidth. A state where only a subset of transceivers are active, or only a subset of available bandwidth is used, is a partly active state. A further example of a low-energy state is a state where transmission power is limited, or where power spectral density, PSD, of transmitted signals is limited by adapting the slots occupied by signals. Thus the low-energy state may involve limiting base station function in terms of antenna bandwidth, power and/or time. For example, in case there are no active UEs, or only few active UEs, in a coverage area of any cell controlled by a base station, this base station may enter, or be instructed to enter, the low-energy state to reduce energy consumption by the network. If a UE in a coverage area of a cell controlled by such a base station then becomes active, it may transmit a wake-up signal, WUS, to this base station to trigger it to switch back to the normal energy state. On the other hand, the UE may be unable to send a wake-up signal to other base stations, such as those neighbouring the sewing base station. A base station may detect a WUS using a separate low-energy receiver, for example, to enable responding to the WUS by activating a cellular transceiver of the base station. A base station may be awakened also by another radio-access network node, such as a peer base station using an inter-base station interface, or by a core network node, such as an AMF or EMI, for example.

[0036] Base station 130 is further coupled communicatively with core network node 140, which may comprise, for example, a mobility management entity, MME, or an access and mobility management function, AMF. The core network node 140 may be coupled with further core network nodes, such as location management function, LMF, 150. The system may communicate with further networks via gateways comprised in core network 101. Examples of the further core network nodes, which are not illustrated in FIGURE 1 for the sake of clarity, include subscriber information repositories and policy enforcement functions. Core network nodes may be virtualized in the sense that they may run as software modules on computing substrates, such that more than one virtualized network node may run on a same physical computing substrate. The network may be configured to function in accordance with a suitable cellular standard such as long term evolution, LTE, fifth generation, 5G, which is also known as New Radio, NR, or sixth generation, 60 standards as defined by the the 3rd generation partnership project, 3GPP. To obtain interoperation, UEs attaching to the network are configured to support a same standard as the network.

[0037] Base station 130 controls, in the example of FIGURE 1, cells 130A and 130B, of which UE 110 is in the situation illustrated in FIGURE 1 attached with cell 130A, and base station 135 controls, in the example of FIGURE 1, cells 135A and 135B. Base station 137 may likewise control at least one cell, these cells not being illustrated in FIGURE 1 to protect clarity of the drawing. The number of cells, or beams, may be in excess of what is illustrated in FIGURE 1. It is also possible that a base station has a single cell or beam. While illustrated as sector-shaped, cells of a same base station may be omnidirectional and operate on different frequencies, for example. A mobility event may comprise a switch from one beam to another beam of the same cell, or a switch from one cell to another cell. To support mobility procedures, UEs, including UE 110, are configured to conduct mobility measurements to measure signal strengths of adjacent beams and/or cells, and report results of these measurements to the network, which may then take a decision concerning a mobility event, such as a beam change or a cell switch. Mobility measurements be performed by a UE during measurement gaps configured in the UE by the network. During a measurement gap the UE may interrupt communications with its serving base station, to measure signals on other frequency bands or radio-access technologies, for example. Initially, in the situation of FIGURE 1, base stations 135 and 137 are in the low-energy state, that is, partially or fully switched off, to conserve energy use of the network.

[0038] In order to realize cellular positioning techniques, a positioning reference signal, PRS, needs to be transmitted and received over the cellular interfaces either in the uplink or the downlink. Many positioning methods are based on differential techniques, that is, multilateration, where offsets or errors are mitigated by using a difference of measurements of multiple, at least three, reference points.

[0039] A UE may transmit a wake-up signal, WUS, to a serving base station of the UE to trigger a switch of the serving base station from the low-energy state to the normal energy state where the serving base station can receive and transmit normal cellular signals. While this is useful for initiating communication from the UE, if the HE needs positioning sending a WUS to the serving base station may be insufficient if other nearby base stations, needed in positioning of the UE, are in the low-energy state. Waking the base stations from the low-energy state, while useful for positioning of UEs, increases energy consumption in the network and the base stations have been configured into the low-energy state to conserve energy. Likewise if the UE needs to measure signals from nearby base stations in the low-energy state, the UE cannot provide the WUS to these base stations, and thus measurements cannot be conducted unless these base station are awakened.

[0040] The UE, or a network node such as ANTE, may initiate a location service request concerning the UE, requesting that a location of the UE is determined. This request may be routed to an LMF, which may either be configured to serve all incoming requests, or to determine on a request by request basis, whether to serve or not serve each request.

When the LW' decides to serve a request, it may determine that one or more base stations in the low-energy state will be awakened to the normal-energy state so they may participate in the positioning process. The LMF may signal to these base stations to wake them up in time to transmit or receive PRS in the positioning process with the UE.

[0041] Another example of a case where the network may awaken base station(s) from the low-energy state or network energy saving state for a UE is to enable the UE to make use of measurement gaps configured in the UE by the network. For example, the UE may require a set of measurement gaps to enable measurements, and to have a signal to measure during these gaps base stations need to be in the normal-energy state to provide this signal.

The UE may request a new measurement gap configuration, or the UE may request that an already existing measurement gap configuration be changed by the network. Thus the network, when determining the gaps, may signal to the base stations that are to be measured during the gaps, to wake the base station(s) up, and to instruct them to transmit during the gaps, to enable the measurement by the UE. The base stations need not transmit when the gaps are not occurring, which enables an energy saving in the network. Once the measurement gaps end, the base stations may revert back to the low-energy state. Thus the awakened base stations may be provided with information which defines when the measurement gaps occur and when the last one ends, so that the awakened base station(s) may transmit only during the gaps and not between the gaps, and the base station(s) may likewise be enabled to switch itself back to the low-energy state after the measurement gaps end.

100421 The UE may request a measurement gap configuration from the network, or the serving base station may determine a need for a measurement gap configuration. For example, this determination may be based on one or more of the following: a priority associated with communication with a serving cell, a priority associated with the cell measurements, a priority associated with data, a buffer status, a historical mobility pattern of the UE, a signal strength of the serving cell, a variation of the signal strength of the serving cell, and a quality of the serving cell associated with the UE.

[0043] In some embodiments, the base station(s) do not revert to the low-energy state after the measurement gaps end, since it is possible that the UE may be switched to a cell controlled by such a base station as a result of the measurement process.

[0044] The node in the network which awakens base stations from the low-energy state may be the AMF, or alternatively it may be the serving base station, which may signal to a neighboring base station, for example via an inter-base station interface such as an Xn interface, to switch it from the low-energy state to an at least partly active state.

[0045] In an alternative option, if the TIE has UE-determined MGs, the UE needs to get the knowledge of the pre-configured neighboring base station low-energy state and wake-up occasions to decide on measurement gaps. In other words, the serving base station may be configured to provide to the user equipment information on at least one neighbouring base station of the serving base station, the at least one peer base station being in the energy saving state to enable the user equipment to derive user equipment-determined measurement gaps. In this case, after the AMF or serving base station wakes up the low-energy state base station(s), the serving base station informs the UE that these base station (s) are now available for the measurements.

[0046] Concerning the wake-up signal, WUS, design and mechanism, these are implementation specific and specifications do not mandate the implementation of any specific type(s). Example cases are discussed below.

[0047] Option 1: the WUS may be a simple signal of 1 or 2 bits to indicate the wake up of the sleeping base stations' wake-up receiver with full capabilities, such as all transmit and receive antennas, full bandwidth and with full power operation.

[0048] Option-2: the WUS may have the additional bit or bits (e.g. according to Option 1) to indicate wake-up but still maintain other states of low-energy mode e.g. wake-up the sleeping base station to operate on half the number of active transmit and receive antennas, and/or 3dB lower transmit power, and/or half bandwidth, etc. In this way, the sleeping base station in the low-energy state wakes up, but will still have energy saving gains in comparison to a full transition to normal-energy mode as in Option-1. Further options, and combinations of different options, may be derived for specific embodiments. In particular, a network may be configured to support both Option-1 signalling and Option-2 signalling.

[0049] In summary, there can be many use-cases and scenarios, wherein, the UE is incapable to wake up low-energy state assisting base stations, and thus, a network-controlled procedures to wake these base stations up may be used.

[0050] FIGURE 2A illustrates an example multilateration process capable of supporting at least some embodiments of the present invention. Like numbering denotes like structure as in FIGURE 1. In detail, in the multilateration process wireless transmissions between UE 110 and base stations 130, 135 and 137 are present as transmissions 210, 215 and 217, respectively, as illustrated. While three participating base stations are illustrated in FIGURE 2A, the process is not limited thereto, rather, more than three base stations may be configured to participate in the multilateration process. Transmissions 210, 215 and 217 are transmissions of a PRS.

[0051] In the multilateration process, either base stations 130, 135, 137 transmit and LIE 110 receives, or UE 110 transmits and base stations 130, 135, 137 receive. The receiving node records precise receive times of the signal(s) it receives as part of the multilateration process, enabling solving the location of UE 110. When the DE 110 is the node transmitting in the multilateration process, the location determining method is an uplink, UL, method. When the base stations transmit in the multilateration process, the location determining method is a downlink, DL, method. When UE 110 is the receiving node, it may report information concerning measurements it has performed on transmissions 210, 215, 217 and report them to the network, such as to the LMF, for analysis and determination of the location of UE 110. Of interest in network energy saving is that the UL method conserves some energy in the network side, since it consumes less energy in the base station to receive than to transmit. When transmitting the positioning reference signal in the multilateration process, a positioning reference signal configuration received in the transmitting node is used. As is herein described, the LMF may determine to use less than all available resources, such as bandwidth, in the multilateration process to conserve energy.

[0052] FIGURE 2B illustrates an example location service request in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention. The location service request 201 comprises an indication 220 whether location service request 201 is mandatory or non-mandatory. For example, indication 220 may be an indication whether the request is or is not mandatory outright, or indication 220 may comprise an indication of one or more of the following: whether or not the location service request is conditional, whether or not the location service request is provisional, a priority of the location service request, a user equipment class of the user equipment, a user equipment category of the user equipment, a mobility profile of the user equipment and information on previous location measurements of the user equipment. The priority may indicate either a normal priority or a reduced priority, for example. The indication of conditionality may indicate the request is conditional or that the request is not conditional. The indication the request is or is not provisional may indicate the request is provisional or that the request is not provisional. Yet further, statistical information concerning current or previous measurement slots assigned to the UE may be used to classify the request as non-mandatory. The LMF may use indication 220 in deciding whether or not to serve the request 201 in embodiments where the LMF does not serve all requests.

[0053] A UE class may comprise, for example, a power class of the UE indicating a maximum transmit power of the UE. A UE category may indicate an extent of multiple input multiple output, MEMO, operation the UE is configured to support, such as a number of MIMO layers the UE supports. A higher number of MIMO layers results in a larger data throughput. A mobility profile of the UE may indicate a speed at which the UE is moving, and optionally also a speed at which the UE was moving at a point in the past as well.

[0054] FIGURE 2C illustrates an example measurement gap set in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention. In 3GPP 5G standards, the UE requires measurement gaps, MGs, to identify and measure infra-frequency cells and/or inter-frequency cells and/or inter-RAT E-UTRAN cells, for example for handover purposes. The UE receives an MG configuration from the network through RRC signalling. During these gaps, the UE stops transmission and reception with the serving cell and measures signals from neighboring cells. MG may be configured as repeating with a periodicity, called measurement gap repetition period, MGRP, which may be, for example, selected from the group of {20, 40, 80, 160} milliseconds. Similarly, each measurement gap may be configured to last a fixed duration called measurement gap length, MGL, which may be configured by selecting from the list {1.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5.5, 6} milliseconds. An illustration for MGRP and MGL is presented in FIGURE 2C where MGRP is fixed to 20 milliseconds, ms, and MGL 4 ms. The combinations of different MGL and MGRP may be configured and is called MG pattern. In the figure, gaps 230 occur every 20 milliseconds and each system frame is 10 milliseconds long.

[0055] The MGRP may be set to match exactly a synchronization signal block, SSB, periodicity and MGL is set to match the duration of the neighbor SSBs that the UE needs to measure. During the MGL the serving cell knows not to schedule the UE for DL resources but whether a measurement is done within a measurement gap or not may be left up to UE implementation.

[0056] FIGURE 3 illustrates an example apparatus capable of supporting at least some embodiments of the present invention. Illustrated is device 300, which may comprise, for example, a UE 110 or, in applicable parts, an AIVIF 140 or LMF 150 of FIGURE 1. Comprised in device 300 is processor 310, which may comprise, for example, a single-or multi-core processor wherein a single-core processor comprises one processing core and a multi-core processor comprises more than one processing core. Processor 310 may comprise, in general, a control device. Processor 310 may comprise more than one processor. When processor 310 comprises more than one processor, device 300 may be a distributed device wherein processing of tasks takes place in more than one physical unit. Processor 310 may be a control device. A processing core may comprise, for example, a Cortex-A8 processing core manufactured by ARM Holdings or a Zen processing core designed by Advanced Micro Devices Corporation. A processing core or processor may be, or may comprise, at least one qubit. Processor 310 may comprise at least one Qualcomm Snapdragon and/or Intel Atom processor. Processor 310 may comprise at least one application-specific integrated circuit, ASIC. Processor 310 may comprise at least one field-programmable gate array, FPGA. Processor 310, optionally together with memory and computer instructions, may be means for performing method steps in device 300, such as processing, determining, transmitting, activating, selecting, providing, including, receiving or participating. Processor 310 may be configured, at least in part by computer instructions, to perform actions.

[0057] Device 300 may comprise memory 320. Memory 320 may comprise random-access memory and/or permanent memory. Memory 320 may comprise at least one RAM chip. Memory 320 may be a computer readable medium. Memory 320 may comprise solid-state, magnetic, optical and/or holographic memory, for example. Memory 320 may be at least in part accessible to processor 310. Memory 320 may be at least in part comprised in processor 310. Memory 320 may be means for storing information. Memory 320 may comprise computer instructions that processor 310 is configured to execute. When computer instructions configured to cause processor 310 to perform certain actions are stored in memory 320, and device 300 overall is configured to run under the direction of processor 310 using computer instructions from memory 320, processor 310 and/or its at least one processing core may be considered to be configured to perform said certain actions. Memory 320 may be at least in part external to device 300 but accessible to device 300. Memory 320 may be transitory or non-transitory. The term "non-transitory", as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (that is, tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (for example, RAIVI vs. ROM).

[0058] Device 300 may comprise a transmitter 330. Device 300 may comprise a receiver 340. Transmitter 330 and receiver 340 may be configured to transmit and receive, respectively, information in accordance with at least one cellular or non-cellular standard. Transmitter 330 may comprise more than one transmitter. Receiver 340 may comprise more than one receiver. Transmitter 330 and/or receiver 340 may be configured to operate in accordance with global system for mobile communication, GSM, wideband code division multiple access, WCDMA, 5G, long term evolution, LTE, IS-95, wireless local area network, WLAN, Ethernet and/or worldwide interoperability for microwave access, Wi MAX, standards, for example.

[0059] Device 300 may comprise a near-field communication, NFC, transceiver 350.

NFC transceiver 350 may support at least one NFC technology, such as NFC, Bluetooth, Wibree or similar technologies.

[0060] Device 300 may comprise user interface, UI, 360. UI 360 may comprise at least one of a display, a keyboard, a touchscreen, a vibrator arranged to signal to a user by causing device 300 to vibrate, a speaker or a microphone. A user may be able to operate device 300 via UI 360, for example to accept incoming telephone calls, to originate telephone calls or video calls, to browse the Internet, to manage digital files stored in memory 320 or on a cloud accessible via transmitter 330 and receiver 340, or via NFC transceiver 350, and/or to play games.

[00611 Device 300 may comprise or be arranged to accept a user identity module 370.

User identity module 370 may comprise, for example, a subscriber identity module, SIM, card installable in device 300. A user identity module 370 may comprise information identifying a subscription of a user of device 300. A user identity module 370 may comprise cryptographic information usable to verify the identity of a user of device 300 and/or to facilitate encryption of communicated information and billing of the user of device 300 for communication effected via device 300.

[00621 Processor 310 may be furnished with a transmitter arranged to output information from processor 310, via electrical leads internal to device 300, to other devices comprised in device 300. Such a transmitter may comprise a serial bus transmitter arranged to, for example, output information via at least one electrical lead to memory 320 for storage therein. Alternatively to a serial bus, the transmitter may comprise a parallel bus transmitter. Likewise processor 310 may comprise a receiver arranged to receive information in processor 310, via electrical leads internal to device 300, from other devices comprised in device 300. Such a receiver may comprise a serial bus receiver arranged to, for example, receive information via at least one electrical lead from receiver 340 for processing in processor 310. Alternatively to a serial bus, the receiver may comprise a parallel bus receiver.

[00631 Device 300 may comprise further devices not illustrated in FIGURE 3. For example, where device 300 comprises a smartphone, it may comprise at least one digital camera. Some devices 300 may comprise a back-facing camera and a front-facing camera, wherein the back-facing camera may be intended for digital photography and the front-facing camera for video telephony. Device 300 may comprise a fingerprint sensor arranged to authenticate, at least in part, a user of device 300. In some embodiments, device 300 lacks at least one device described above. For example, some devices 300 may lack a NFC transceiver 350 and/or user identity module 370.

[0064] Processor 310, memory 320, transmitter 330, receiver 340, NFC transceiver 350, Ul 360 and/or user identity module 370 may be interconnected by electrical leads internal to device 300 in a multitude of different ways. For example, each of the aforementioned devices may be separately connected to a master bus internal to device 300, to allow for the devices to exchange information. However, as the skilled person will appreciate, this is only one example and depending on the embodiment various ways of interconnecting at least two of the aforementioned devices may be selected without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0065] FIGURE 4A illustrates signalling in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention. On the vertical axes are disposed, from the left to the right, UE 110, base station 130, base station 137, AMF 140 and LMF 150, each as illustrated in FIGURE 1. Time advances from the top toward the bottom. Base station 137 is initially in the low-energy state.

[0066] In phase 410, UE 110 initiates a location service request and transmits this request to AMF 140, which forwards it to LMF 150 in phase 420. Alternatively, the process may begin by AMF 140 initiating the location service request by generating the request and transmitting it to LMF 150, or the AMF receiving the location service request from another core network node. For example, in an emergency-call situation a dispatching centre may initiate a location service request concerning a UE which initiates an emergency call. The location service request of phase 410, where present, and phase 420 comprises an indication that it is a non-mandatory request, as discussed herein above.

[0067] In phase 430 LMF 150 processes the request received by LMF 150 in phase 420. LMF 150 may employ in the processing of phase 430 information on base stations which would be needed in the positioning process, in particular LMF 150 may consider whether one or more of these base stations are in the low-energy state. Waking a base station from the low-energy state to participate in a positioning process consumes more energy than directing an already active base station to participate in a positioning process.

[0068] If LMF 150 determines that at least one base station in the low-energy state will be awakened to the normal energy state to serve the request received in phase 420, processing advances to phase 440. In phase 440 LMF 150 provides a wake-up signal (e.g., according to option 1 or option 2 described above) to base station 137, which was in the low-energy state when phase 430 was performed. In this phase, LMF 150 may also instruct base station 137 concerning resources to be used in the positioning process to determine the location of UE 110. Examples of such resources include a sounding bandwidth to be used and a number of active antenna elements to use. Thus, the LMF 150 may instruct the base station 137 to wake up (i.e., to transition to a state in which a positioning procedure, or procedures, are possible). LMF 150 likewise configures base station 130 to participate in the positioning process, phase 450. Phase 460 corresponds to the positioning process between UE 110, at least base stations 130 and 137, and LMF 150.

[0069] FIGURE 4B illustrates signalling in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention. On the vertical axes are disposed, from the left to the right, UE 110, base station 130, base station 137 and AMF 140, each as illustrated in FIGURE 1. Time advances from the top toward the bottom. Base station 137 is initially in the low-energy state.

[0070] In phase 470, initially, UE 110 is attached with base station 130 with an active data connection. In phase 480 the UE determines that a signal strength of a cell controlled by base station 130 is weakening, and neighbour-cell measurements are needed to assess a possible handover. In phase 490, UE 110 requests serving base station 130 to provide the UE with a measurement gaps configuration, which might be required for intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-RAT measurements and reports in potential handover.

[0071] In phase 4100, serving base station 130 request its connected AMF 140 to provide assistance in deciding the requested measurement gap configuration. Specifically, before base station 130 decides on the measurement gaps, it may ask the AMF to activate potential neighbour base stations that are in the low-energy state, and then, assist in determining the measurements gaps accordingly.

[0072] In phase 4110 AMF 140 signals to low-energy state base station 137 to awaken it, and in phase 4120 base station 137 acknowledges to AMF 140 that wake-up from the low-energy state was successful. Alternatively, if base station 137 is configured to a strict energy saving mode, it may reply with a negative ACK, declining to be switched on. The AMF may thus decides to wake up one or more low-energy state neighbour base station(s), if any, to obtain UE radio measurement and configuration, which is useful in determining measurement gaps of requested UE, for example to avoid measurement discontinuities in handover procedures. In phase 4110, the AMF may configure an SSB periodicity in the base station which is being awakened from the low-energy state. The AMP may later advise the serving base station of this periodicity, for determining the measurement gap configuration for UE 110.

[0073] In phase 4130, The AMF provides assistance information to the serving gNB for the configuration of the requested measurements gaps with potential neighbour base station(s), for example, to configure the periodicity and length of the measurement gaps considering the neighboring base station(s) SSB periodicity and/or network energy saving mode.

[0074] The serving base station 130 determines and activates the measurement gap configuration for that particular UE, so the UE measures the neighboring base station(s) following the network-configured measurement gaps.

[0075] After UE 110 receives radio link measurement configurations from the serving cell base station 130, it performs quality measurements on reference signals from neighboring base station (s). During the measurement gaps, the measurements are to be performed on SSBs of the neighbour cells. The network provides the timing of neighbour cell SSBs to serving base station 130, which uses it in the determination of the measurement gap configuration for UE 110, such that the measurements can be successfully conducted.

[0076] FIGURE 5 is a flow graph of a method in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention. The phases of the illustrated method may be performed in an LMF, for example, or in a control device configured to control the functioning thereof, when installed therein.

[0077] Phase 510 comprises receiving, or determining, a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network. Phase 520 comprises determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment. Phase 530 comprises instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible. Finally, phase 530 comprises participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment. For example, positioning procedures are possible when PRS and/or SRS can be transmitted and/or received.

100781 FIGURE 6 is a flow graph of a method in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention. The phases of the illustrated method may be performed in an AMTF, for example, or in a control device configured to control the functioning thereof, when installed therein.

[0079] Phase 610 comprises receiving, from a node, a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment. Phase 620 comprises determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in a measurement process the requested measurement gap information relates to. Phase 630 comprises instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where it can transmit signals for the measurement process. Finally, phase 640 comprises providing, to the node, the requested measurement gap information. The determination of phase 620 may be based on one or more of the following: a priority associated with communication with a serving cell,a priority associated with the cell measurements, a priority associated with data, a buffer status, a historical mobility pattern of the UE, a signal strength of the serving cell, a variation of the signal strength of the serving cell, a quality of the serving cell associated with the UE.

[0080] It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention disclosed are not limited to the particular structures, process steps, or materials disclosed herein, but are extended to equivalents thereof as would be recognized by those ordinarily skilled in the relevant arts. It should also be understood that terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0081] Reference throughout this specification to one embodiment or an embodiment means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Where reference is made to a numerical value using a term such as, for example, about or substantially, the exact numerical value is also disclosed.

[0082] As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary. In addition, various embodiments and example of the present invention may be referred to herein along with alternatives for the various components thereof It is understood that such embodiments, examples, and alternatives are not to be construed as de facto equivalents of one another, but are to be considered as separate and autonomous representations of the present invention.

[0083] Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the preceding description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of lengths, widths, shapes, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.

[0084] While the forgoing examples are illustrative of the principles of the present invention in one or more particular applications, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications in form, usage and details of implementation can be made without the exercise of inventive faculty, and without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the claims set forth below.

[0085] The verbs "to comprise" and "to include" are used in this document as open limitations that neither exclude nor require the existence of also un-recited features. The features recited in depending claims are mutually freely combinable unless otherwise explicitly stated. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the use of "a" or "an", that is, a singular form, throughout this document does not exclude a plurality.

[0086] 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.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0087] At least some embodiments of the present invention find industrial application in wireless positioning.

TECHNICAL CLAUSES: Clause 1. An apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to: receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network; determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 2. The apparatus according to Clause 1, wherein the location service request comprises a request to instruct one or more of the at least one base node to leave the energy saving state.

Clause 3. The apparatus according to any of Clauses 1 -2, wherein the instructing of the at least one base node comprises instructing the at least one base node to participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 4. The apparatus according to any of Clauses 1 -3, wherein the apparatus is configured to perform the determining that the at least one base node in the energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment based at least in part on a location of a base node serving the user equipment.

Clause 5. The apparatus according to any of Clauses 1 -4, wherein the apparatus is further configured to determine positioning resources the at least one base node is to use in the determination of the location of the user equipment, and to indicate these positioning resources to the at least one base node.

Clause 6. An apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to: -receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being served by the apparatus; determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 7. The apparatus according to Clause 6, wherein the apparatus is further configured to determine positioning resources the at least one base node is to use in the determination of the location of the user equipment after transitioning to the state where positioning procedures are possible, and to indicate these positioning resources to the at least one base node.

Clause 8. An apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible; transition to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and participate in the determination of a location of a user equipment.

Clause 9. The apparatus according to Clause 8, wherein the instruction comprises characteristics of positioning resources for use in the determination of the location of the user equipment, and wherein the apparatus is configured to use the characteristics of the positioning resources in the participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 10. A method comprising: receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network; determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 11. The method according to Clause 10, wherein the location service request comprises a request to instruct one or more of the at least one base node to leave the energy saving state.

Clause 12. The method according to any of Clauses 10 -11, wherein the instructing of the at least one base node comprises instructing the at least one base node to participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 13. The method according to any of Clauses 10 -12, wherein the method comprises performing the determining that the at least one base node in the energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment based at least in part on a location of a base node sewing the user equipment.

Clause 14. The method according to any of Clauses 10 -13, wherein the method further comprises determining positioning resources the at least one base node is to use in the determination of the location of the user equipment, and indicating these positioning resources to the at least one base node.

Clause 15. A method, comprising: - receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being sewed by the apparatus; determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; -instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 16. The method according to Clause 15, wherein the method further comprises determining positioning resources the at least one base node is to use in the determination of the location of the user equipment after transitioning to the state where positioning procedures are possible, and indicating these positioning resources to the at least one base node.

Clause 17. A method, comprising: receiving, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible; transitioning to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and participating in the determination of a location of a user equipment.

Clause 18. The method according to Clause 17, wherein the instruction comprises characteristics of positioning resources for use in the determination of the location of the user equipment, and wherein method comprise using the characteristics of the positioning resources in the participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 19. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network; determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 20. An apparatus comprising means for: -receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being served by the apparatus; determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 21. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible; transitioning to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and participating in the determination of a location of a user equipment.

Clause 22. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least: -receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network; determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 23. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least: -receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being served by the apparatus; determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.

Clause 24. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least: receive, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible; transition to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and participate in the determination of a location of a user equipment.

Clause 25. An apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a node, a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment; determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in a measurement process the requested measurement gap information relates to; - instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where it can transmit signals for the measurement process, and - provide, to the node, the requested measurement gap information.

Clause 26. The apparatus according to Clause 25, wherein the request for measurement gap information comprises at least one identifier of the at least one base node in the energy saving state.

Clause 27. The apparatus according to any of Clauses 25 -26, wherein the instructing of the at least one base node comprises instructing the at least one base node to transmit a signal at a time corresponding to at least one measurement gap defined in the measurement gap 25 information.

Clause 28. The apparatus according to any of Clauses 25 -27, wherein the apparatus is configured to receive from the at least one base node in the energy saving state an acknowledgement informing the apparatus that the respective base node will transition, or has transitioned, to the state where it can transmit signals.

Clause 29. The apparatus according to any of Clauses 25 -28, further configured to perform the determining that the at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the measurement process based at least in part on an energy saving configuration of a network in which the apparatus is comprised.

Clause 30. An apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to: -receive or determine a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, the user equipment being served by the apparatus; provide the request for measurement gap information to a core network node and receive the measurement gap information from the core network node, the measurement gap information comprising information on at least one base node instructed, responsive to the request provided from the apparatus, to transition from an energy saving state to a state where signal transmission is possible; provide to the user equipment a measurement gap configuration based at least in part on the measurement gap information.

Clause 31. The apparatus according to Clause 30, wherein the request for measurement gap information comprises at least one identifier of the at least one base node in the energy saving state.

Clause 32. The apparatus according to Clause 30 or 31, further configured to determine that a neighbouring peer apparatus of the apparatus is in the energy saving state, and to instruct the neighbouring peer apparatus to transition to the state where signal transmission is possible.

Clause 33. The apparatus according to Clause 32, configured to perform the instructing of the neighbouring peer apparatus over an Xn interface connecting the apparatus and the neighbouring peer apparatus.

Clause 34. The apparatus according to any of Clauses 30 -31, further configured to provide to the user equipment information on at least one neighbouring peer apparatus of the apparatus which is in the energy saving state to enable the user equipment to derive user equipment-determined measurement gaps.

Clause 35. A method comprising: -receiving, from a node, a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment; determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in a measurement process the requested measurement gap information relates to; instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where it can transmit signals for the measurement process, and providing, to the node, the requested measurement gap information.

Clause 36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the request for measurement gap information comprises at least one identifier of the at least one base node in the energy saving state.

Clause 37. The method according to any of Clauses 35-36, wherein the instructing of the at least one base node comprises instructing the at least one base node to transmit a signal at a time corresponding to at least one measurement gap defined in the measurement gap information.

Clause 38. The method according to any of Clauses 35-37, wherein the method comprises receiving from the at least one base node in the energy saving state an acknowledgement informing the apparatus that the respective base node will transition, or has transitioned, to the state where it can transmit signals.

Clause 39. The method according to any of Clauses 35-38, further comprising performing the determining that the at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the measurement process based at least in part on an energy saving configuration of a network in which the apparatus is complised.

Clause 40. A method, comprising: receiving or determining a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, the user equipment being served by the apparatus; providing the request for measurement gap information to a core network node and receive the measurement gap information from the core network node, the measurement gap information comprising information on at least one base node instructed, responsive to the request provided from the apparatus, to transition from an energy saving state to a state where signal transmission is possible; providing to the user equipment a measurement gap configuration based at least in part on the measurement gap information.

Clause 41. The method according to Clause 40, wherein the request for measurement gap information comprises at least one identifier of the at least one base node in the energy saving state.

Clause 42. The method according to Clause 40 or 41, further comprising determining that a neighbouring peer apparatus of the apparatus is in the energy saving state, and to instruct the neighbouring peer apparatus to transition to the state where signal transmission is possible.

Clause 43. The method according to Clause 42, comprising performing the instructing of the neighbouring peer apparatus over an Xn interface connecting the apparatus and the neighbouring peer apparatus.

Clause 44. The method according to any of Clauses 40 -41, further comprising providing to the user equipment information on at least one neighbouring peer apparatus of the apparatus which is in the energy saving state to enable the user equipment to derive user equipment-determined measurement gaps.

Clause 45. An apparatus comprising means for: -receiving, from a node, a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment; determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in a measurement process the requested measurement gap information relates to; instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where it can transmit signals for the measurement process, and providing, to the node, the requested measurement gap information.

Clause 46. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving or determining a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, the user equipment being served by the apparatus; providing the request for measurement gap information to a core network node and receive the measurement gap information from the core network node, the measurement gap information comprising information on at least one base node instructed, responsive to the request provided from the apparatus, to transition from an energy saving state to a state where signal transmission is possible; providing to the user equipment a measurement gap configuration based at least in part on the measurement gap information.

Clause 47. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least: receive, from a node, a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment; determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in a measurement process the requested measurement gap information relates to; instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where it can transmit signals for the measurement process, and provide, to the node, the requested measurement gap information.

Clause 48. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least: receive or determine a request for measurement gap information for a user equipment, the user equipment being served by the apparatus; provide the request for measurement gap information to a core network node and receive the measurement gap information from the core network node, the measurement gap information comprising information on at least one base node instructed, responsive to the request provided from the apparatus, to transition from an energy saving state to a state where signal transmission is possible; provide to the user equipment a measurement gap configuration based at least in part on the measurement gap information.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. An apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to: -receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network; determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the location service request comprises a request to instruct one or more of the at least one base node to leave the energy saving state.
3. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 -2, wherein the instructing of the at least one base node comprises instructing the at least one base node to participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
4. The apparatus according to any of claims t -3, wherein the apparatus is configured to perform the determining that the at least one base node in the energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment based at least in part on a location of a base node serving the user equipment.
5. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 -4, wherein the apparatus is further configured to determine positioning resources the at least one base node is to use in the determination of the location of the user equipment, and to indicate these positioning resources to the at least one base node.
6. An apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at 1 east to: -receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being served by the apparatus; determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the apparatus is further configured to determine positioning resources the at least one base node is to use in the determination of the location of the user equipment after transitioning to the state where positioning procedures are possible, and to indicate these positioning resources to the at least one base node.
8. An apparatus comprising at least one processing core and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible; -transition to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and - participate in the determination of a location of a user equipment.
9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the instruction comprises characteristics of positioning resources for use in the determination of the location of the user equipment, and wherein the apparatus is configured to use the characteristics of the positioning resources in the participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
10. A method comprising: receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network; determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; -instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the location service request comprises a request to instruct one or more of the at least one base node to leave the energy saving state.
12. The method according to any of claims 10 -11, wherein the instructing of the at least one base node comprises instructing the at least one base node to participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
13. The method according to any of claims 10 -12, wherein the method comprises performing the determining that the at least one base node in the energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment based at least in part on a location of a base node serving the user equipment.
14. The method according to any of claims 10 -13, wherein the method further comprises determining positioning resources the at least one base node is to use in the determination of the location of the user equipment, and indicating these positioning resources to the at least one base node.
15. A method, comprising: -receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being served by the apparatus; -determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; -instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and -participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the method further comprises determining positioning resources the at least one base node is to use in the determination of the location of the user equipment after transitioning to the state where positioning procedures are possible, and indicating these positioning resources to the at least one base node.
17. A method, comprising: -receiving, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible; transitioning to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and participating in the determination of a location of a user equipment.
18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the instruction comprises characteristics of positioning resources for use in the determination of the location of the user equipment, and wherein method comprise using the characteristics of the positioning resources in the participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
19. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network; determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participating in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
20. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving or determining a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being served by the apparatus; determining that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instructing the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
21. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible; transitioning to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and participating in the determination of a location of a user equipment.
22. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least: -receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined by a network; determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
23. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at 20 least: receive or determine a location service request which requests that a location of a user equipment is determined, the user equipment being served by the apparatus; determine that at least one base node in an energy saving state will be used in the determination of the location of the user equipment; instruct the at least one base node in the energy saving state to transition to a state where positioning procedures are possible, and participate in the determination of the location of the user equipment.
24. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to at least: receive, from a fixed network node, an instruction to transition from a low-energy state to a state where positioning procedures are possible; transition to the state where positioning procedures are possible as a response to receiving the instruction, and participate in the determination of a location of a user equipment.