Inter-radio access technology positioning measurements in new radio systems

1. An apparatus to be employed in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising:

interface circuitry to receive, from a location management function (LMF), a first positioning protocol message that requests location information; and

processing circuitry, coupled with the interface circuitry to:

encode, based on the first positioning protocol message, a measurement indication or measurement gap request for transmission to a serving next generation nodeB (gNB), wherein the measurement indication or measurement gap request is to include an indication of a gap offset for a measurement gap and an indication of a carrier frequency;

perform, subsequent to a transmission of the measurement indication or measurement gap request, a measurement based on the first positioning protocol message, wherein the measurement is a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement based on a positioning reference signal transmitted on the carrier frequency within the measurement gap; and

encode, based on the measurement, a second positioning protocol message for transmission to the LMF.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the measurement is an inter-radio access technology RSTD measurement.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is to encode the measurement indication or measurement gap request to include an indication of a measurement gap repetition periodicity (MGRP); a measurement gap length (MGL); or a measurement gap pattern identifier.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the indication is of the measurement gap pattern identifier that is selected from an integer between 0-23.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is to encode the measurement indication or measurement gap request to include an indication of a measurement gap type.

6. One or more non-transitory, computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause a user equipment (UE) to:

identify a request, from a location management function (LMF), to perform a positioning measurement;

encode, based on the request, a message to include measurement gap information or positioning reference signal (PRS) information related to the positioning measurement to be performed by the UE wherein the measurement gap information or PRS information includes an indication of a gap offset for a measurement gap and an indication of a carrier frequency; and

transmit the message to a serving next generation nodeB (gNB),

wherein the positioning measurement is a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement based on a PRS to be transmitted on the carrier frequency within the measurement gap.

7. The one or more non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 6 , wherein the positioning measurement is an inter-radio access technology RSTD measurement.

8. One or more non-transitory, computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause a next generation nodeB (gNB) to:

receive, from a user equipment (UE), positioning information that includes inter-radio access technology (RAT) reference signal time difference (RSTD) information, wherein the positioning information includes an indication of a gap offset and an indication of a carrier frequency; and

configure, based on the indication of the gap offset and the indication of the carrier frequency in the positioning information, a measurement gap for the UE to perform RSTD positioning measurements on a positioning reference signal (PRS) to be transmitted in the measurement gap on the carrier frequency.

9. The one or more non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 8 , wherein the gNB is to provide a new radio standalone cell.

10. A user equipment (UE) comprising:

means for transmitting, based on a request from a location management function (LMF), a measurement indication or measurement gap request to a serving next generation nodeB (gNB), wherein the measurement indication or measurement gap request includes an indication of a gap offset for a measurement gap and an indication of a carrier frequency;

means for performing, subsequent to transmitting of the measurement indication or measurement gap request, a measurement based on the request, wherein the measurement is a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement based on a positioning reference signal transmitted on the carrier frequency within the measurement gap; and

means for transmitting, based on the measurement, a measurement report to the LMF.

11. The UE of claim 10 , wherein the measurement is an inter-radio access technology RSTD measurement.