SISTEMA E ESQUEMA PARA INDICAÇÃO DE TEMPORIZAÇÃO PARA TEMPORIZAÇÃO DE QUADRO

Abstract

Aspects of the present application relate to enabling an apparatus to achieve improved frame alignment. The apparatus may receive a timing realignment indication message and use information included in the message to determine a timing reference point. By transmitting with timing based on the timing reference point, the apparatus may achieve improved frame alignment. The timing realignment indication message may be provided to the apparatus as part of communication to a plurality of such apparatus or as part of communication that is specifically directed to the apparatus.

Description

1 / 61 SYSTEM AND SCHEME FOR INDICATING TIMING FOR PANEL TIMING FIELD OF TECHNIQUE

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to mobile wireless communication and, in particular embodiments, to frame timing alignment. BACKGROUND

[0002] In current mobile wireless communication networks, known methods of establishing frame timing alignment are adequate to serve the applications that are used in these networks. However, it can be shown that it is challenging to establish frame timing alignment between distinct frame structures so that the frame timing alignment is adequate to serve some of the applications that are considered for future mobile wireless communication networks.

[0003] An example application that is considered for future mobile wireless communication networks is integrated communication and detection. In integrated communication and detection, a first bandwidth portion can use single-carrier orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM) for detection and a second bandwidth portion can use multi-carrier OFDM for communication. It can be shown that there will be design constraints if an effort is made to ensure that the two types of signals are always aligned in timing based on their respective frames (slots / symbols). SUMMARY

[0004] Aspects of the present application relate to enabling an apparatus to achieve improved frame alignment. Notably, frame timing alignment may comprise timing alignment in terms of a boundary (e.g., a start boundary or an end boundary) of a symbol, a slot or a subframe within a frame; or a frame. The apparatus may receive an indication message. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 8 / 78 2 / 61 timing realignment and use information included in the message to determine a timing reference point. By transmitting with timing based on the timing reference point, the device can achieve improved frame alignment. The timing realignment indication message can be provided to the device as part of communication to a plurality of such devices or as part of communication that is specifically directed to the device.

[0005] Conveniently, aspects of the present application can be shown as supporting distinct frame / symbol / numerology schemes for different services without problems related to flexible frame timing alignment. In addition to frame alignment, collateral benefits of aspects of the present application can be shown as relating to improved clock accuracy. A result of improved frame alignment and improved clock accuracy can be improved bistatic / multistatic detection accuracy. Additionally, power-saving mode can comprise a reduction in the duration of uplink synchronization procedures. Improved frame alignment can be shown as reducing interference in time-division duplexing applications.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes receiving, by the apparatus, signaling that carries a timing realignment indication message, the timing realignment indication message including information enabling the apparatus to determine a timing reference point for realignment, and transmitting, by the apparatus, traffic in a frame, the transmission initiating from the timing reference point that has been determined based on the information.

[0007] According to one aspect of the disclosure, a non-transient, computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 9 / 78 3 / 61 instructions that, when executed by a device's processor, enable the device to perform a method as described above.

[0008] According to one aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus is provided comprising: a memory storing computer-readable instructions; a receiver; a transmitter; and a processor which is impelled, when executing the instructions, to perform a method as described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] For a fuller understanding of the present embodiments and their advantages, reference is now made, by way of example, to the following descriptions considered in combination with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 illustrates, in a schematic diagram, a communication system in which modes of disclosure can occur, the communication system including multiple example electronic devices and multiple example transmission / reception points along with various networks; FIGURE 2 illustrates, in a block diagram, the communication system of FIGURE 1, the communication system including multiple example electronic devices, an example terrestrial transmission-reception point and an example non-terrestrial transmission-reception point together with various networks; FIGURE 3 illustrates, as a block diagram, elements of an example electronic device from FIGURE 2, elements of an example terrestrial transmission-reception point from FIGURE 2, and elements of an example non-terrestrial transmission-reception point from FIGURE 2, according to aspects of the present application; FIGURE 4 illustrates, as a block diagram, various modules that can be included in an example electronic device, an example terrestrial transmission-reception point and an example non-terrestrial transmission-reception point, according to aspects of the present application; Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 10 / 78 4 / 61 FIGURE 5 illustrates, as a block diagram, a detection management function, in accordance with aspects of the present application; FIGURE 6 illustrates various pluralities of frames transmitted by a transmission-reception point and an electronic device in context with a timing reference point defined in relative terms, according to aspects of the present application; FIGURE 7 illustrates various pluralities of frames transmitted by a transmission-reception point and an electronic device in context with a timing reference point defined in absolute terms, according to aspects of the present application; FIGURE 8 illustrates the respective timelines for a transmission / reception point and an electronic device, according to aspects of the present application; FIGURE 9 illustrates various pluralities of frames transmitted by a transmission-reception point and an electronic device in context with a timing reference point defined both in relative and absolute terms, according to aspects of the present application; and FIGURE 10 illustrates the respective timelines for a transmission point reception and an electronic device for the electronic device transmitting a request, according to aspects of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] For illustrative purposes, specific example modalities will now be explained in more detail in combination with the figures.

[0011] The embodiments shown in this document represent sufficient information to practice the claimed subject matter and illustrate ways of practicing such subject matter. By reading the following description and considering the attached figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the claimed subject matter and recognize applications of those concepts not discussed. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 11 / 78 5 / 61 particularly in this document. It should be understood that these concepts and applications are included within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims.

[0012] Furthermore, it will be understood that any module, component or device disclosed in this document that executes instructions may include or otherwise have access to a non-transient computer / processor-readable storage medium or means for storing information, such as instructions, data structures, program modules and / or other computer / processor-readable data.A non-exhaustive list of examples of non-transient computer / processor readable storage media includes magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, optical discs such as compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital video discs or digital versatile discs (i.e., DVDs), Blu-ray Disc™, or other optical storage, volatile and non-volatile removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology. Any such non-transient computer / processor storage media may be part of a device or accessible from or connectable to it.Computer / processor-readable / executable instructions for implementing an application or module described in this document may be stored or otherwise retained by such non-transient computer / processor-readable storage media.

[0013] Referring to FIGURE 1, as an illustrative example without limitation, a simplified schematic illustration of a communication system is provided. The communication system 100 comprises a radio access network 120. The radio access network 120 may be a next-generation radio access network (e.g., sixth generation, 6G, or later), or a radio access network Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 12 / 78 6 / 61 legacy (e.g., 5G, 4G, 3G, or 2G). One or more communication electrical devices (EDs) 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, 110e, 110f, 110g, 110h, 110i, 110j (generically referred to as 110) may be interconnected to each other or connected to one or more network nodes (170a, 170b, generically referred to as 170) in the radio access network 120. A core network 130 may be a part of the communication system and may be dependent on or independent of the radio access technology used in the communication system 100. Also, the communication system 100 comprises a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, the Internet 150, and other networks 160.

[0014] FIGURE 2 illustrates an example communication system 100. In general, communication system 100 enables multiple wireless or wired elements to communicate data and other content. The purpose of communication system 100 may be to provide content, such as voice, data, video and / or text, by means of broadcast, multicast and unicast, etc. Communication system 100 may operate by sharing resources, such as carrier spectrum bandwidth, among its constituent elements. Communication system 100 may include a terrestrial communication system and / or a non-terrestrial communication system. Communication system 100 may provide a wide range of communication services and applications (such as terrestrial monitoring, remote sensing, passive sensing and positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.).The 100 communication system can provide a high degree of availability and robustness through the joint operation of a terrestrial communication system and a non-terrestrial communication system. For example, integrating a non-terrestrial communication system (or components thereof) into a terrestrial communication system can result in what can be considered a heterogeneous network comprising multiple layers. Compared to conventional communication networks, the heterogeneous network can achieve better overall performance through the efficient joint operation of multiple links. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 13 / 78 7 / 61 more flexible functionality sharing and faster physical layer link switching between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks.

[0015] The terrestrial communication system and the non-terrestrial communication system can be considered as subsystems of the communication system. In the example shown in FIGURE 2, the communication system 100 includes the electronic devices (EDs) 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d (generically referred to as ED 110), the radio access networks (RANs) 120a, 120b, a non-terrestrial communication network 120c, a core network 130, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, the Internet 150 and other networks 160. The RANs 120a, 120b include their respective base stations (BSs) 170a, 170b, which can be generically referred to as the terrestrial transmission and / or reception points (T-TRPs) 170a, 170b. The 120c non-terrestrial communication network includes an access node 172, which can be generically referred to as a non-terrestrial transmission and reception point (NT-TRP) 172.More generally, we can refer to either T-TRP or NT-TRP as a base station that serves as a control node for wireless communications.

[0016] Any ED 110 can be configured alternatively or additionally to interface with, access, or communicate with any of the T-TRP 170a, 170b, and NT-TRP 172, the Internet 150, the core network 130, the PSTN 140, the other networks 160, or any combination thereof. In some examples, ED 110a can communicate an uplink and / or downlink transmission via a ground air interface 190a with T-TRP 170a. In some examples, EDs 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d can also communicate directly with each other via one or more side-link air interfaces 190b. In some examples, the ED 110d can communicate an uplink and / or downlink transmission via a 190c non-terrestrial air interface with the NT-TRP 172.

[0017] Air interfaces 190a and 190b can use technology Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 14 / 78 8 / 61 of similar communication, such as any suitable radio access technology. For example, the 100 communication system may implement one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), space division multiple access (SDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spreading OFDMA (DFT-OFDMA) on air interfaces 190a and 190b. Air interfaces 190a and 190b may utilize other larger-dimensional signal spaces, which may involve a combination of orthogonal and / or non-orthogonal dimensions.

[0018] The 190c non-terrestrial air interface can enable communication between the ED 110d and one or more NT-TRPs 172 via a wireless link or simply a link. As some examples, the link is a dedicated connection for unicast transmission, a connection for broadcast transmission, or a connection between a group of EDs 110 and one or more NT-TRPs 175 for multicast transmission.

[0019] RANs 120a and 120b are in communication with core network 130 to provide EDs 110a, 110b, and 110c with various services such as voice, data, and other services. RANs 120a and 120b and / or core network 130 may be in direct or indirect communication with one or more other RANs (not shown), which may or may not be directly served by core network 130 and may or may not employ the same radio access technology as RAN 120a, RAN 120b, or both. The core network 130 can also serve as a gateway access between (i) RANs 120a and 120b or EDs 110a, 110b, 110c or both, and (ii) other networks (such as PSTN 140, the Internet 150 and other networks 160). Furthermore, some or all EDs 110a, 110b, 110c may include functionality to communicate with different wireless networks via different wireless links using different wireless technologies and / or protocols. Instead of wireless communication Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 15 / 78 9 / 61 (or in addition to this), EDs 110a, 110b, 110c can communicate via wired communication channels to a service provider or switch (not shown) and to the Internet 150. PSTN 140 may include circuit-switched telephone networks to provide traditional telephone service (POTS). The Internet 150 may include a computer network and subnets (intranets) or both and incorporate protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP). EDs 110a, 110b, 110c may be multimode devices capable of operating according to multiple radio access technologies and may incorporate multiple transceivers necessary for such support.

[0020] FIGURE 3 illustrates another example of an ED 110 and a 170a, 170b and / or 170c base station. The ED 110 is used to connect people, objects, machines, etc. The ED 110 can be widely used in various scenarios, for example, cellular communications, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), point-to-point (P2P), machine-to-machine (M2M), machine-type communications (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), metaverse, digital twin, industrial control, self-driving, remote medical, smart power grid, smart mobile, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.

[0021] Each ED 110 represents any end-user device suitable for wireless operation and may include such devices (or may be referred to as) a user equipment / device (UE), a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a mobile phone, a station (STA), a machine-type communication device (MTC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a computer, a tablet, a wireless sensor, Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 16 / 78 10 / 61 a consumer electronic device, wearable devices such as a watch, head-mounted equipment, a pair of glasses, a smart book, a vehicle, a car, a truck, a bus, a train, or an IoT device, an industrial device, or appliance (e.g., communication module, modem, or chip) in the foregoing devices, among other possibilities. Future generation EDs 110 may be referred to using other terms. Base stations 170a and 170b and each T-TRP will henceforth be referred to as T-TRP 170. Also shown in FIGURE 3, an NT-TRP will henceforth be referred to as NT-TRP 172. Each ED 110 connected to T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172 can be switched on (i.e., established, activated or enabled), switched off (i.e., released, deactivated or disabled) and / or configured dynamically or semi-statically in response to one of more than: connection availability and connection need.

[0022] The ED 110 includes a transmitter 201 and a receiver 203 coupled to one or more antennas 204. Only one antenna 204 is illustrated. One, some, or all of the antennas 204 may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 201 and the receiver 203 may be integrated, for example, as a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to modulate data or other content for transmission via at least one antenna 204 or via a network interface controller (NIC). The transceiver may also be configured to demodulate data or other content received via at least one antenna 204. Each transceiver includes any structure suitable for generating signals for wireless or wired transmission and / or processing signals received wirelessly or via wire. Each antenna 204 includes any structure suitable for transmitting and / or receiving wireless or wired signals.

[0023] The ED 110 includes at least one 208 memory. The 208 memory stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the ED 110. For example, the 208 memory may store instructions or software modules configured to implement some or all of them. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 17 / 78 11 / 61 the functionalities and / or modes described in this document and which are executed by one or more processing units (for example, a processor 210). Each memory 208 includes any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile storage and retrieval device. Any suitable type of memory may be used, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk, optical disk, subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory card, secure digital memory card (SD), processor cache and the like.

[0024] The ED 110 may additionally include one or more input / output devices (not shown) or interfaces (such as a wired Internet interface 150 in FIGURE 1). Input / output devices allow interaction with a user or other devices on the network. Each input / output device includes any structure suitable for providing information to, or receiving information from, a user, such as by operating as a speaker, a microphone, a mini-keyboard, a keyboard, a display or a touch screen, including network interface communications.

[0025] The ED 110 includes processor 210 to perform operations including those related to preparing a transmission for uplink transmission to the NT-TRP 172 and / or the T-TRP 170, those related to processing downlink transmissions received from the NT-TRP 172 and / or the T-TRP 170, and those related to processing sidelink transmission to and from another ED 110. Processing operations related to preparing a transmission for uplink transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulation, transmission beamforming, and transmission symbol generation. Processing operations related to processing downlink transmissions may include operations such as reception beamforming, demodulation, and decoding of received symbols. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 18 / 78 12 / 61 Depending on the mode, a downlink transmission may be received by receiver 203, possibly using receive beamforming, and processor 210 may extract signaling from the downlink transmission (e.g., by detecting and / or decoding the signaling). An example of signaling may be a reference signal transmitted by NT-TRP 172 and / or T-TRP 170. In some modes, processor 210 implements transmit beamforming and / or receive beamforming based on beam direction indication, e.g., beam angle information (BAI), received from T-TRP 170. In some modes, processor 210 may perform operations relating to network access (e.g., initial access) and / or downlink synchronization, such as operations relating to detecting a synchronization sequence, decoding and obtaining system information, etc.In some modes, the 210 processor can perform channel estimation, for example, using a reference signal received from the NT-TRP 172 and / or the T-TRP 170.

[0026] Although not shown, processor 210 may form part of transmitter 201 and / or part of receiver 203. Although not shown, memory 208 may form part of processor 210.

[0027] Each of the processor 210, the transmitter processing components 201, and the receiver processing components 203 may be implemented by the same or by one or more different processors that are configured to execute instructions stored in a memory (for example, in memory 208). Alternatively, each of some or all of the processor 210, the transmitter processing components 201, and the receiver processing components 203 may be implemented using dedicated circuitry, such as a programmed field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0028] The T-TRP 170 may be known by other names in some Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 19 / 78 13 / 61 implementations, such as a base station, a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a network node, a network device, a network-side device, a transmit / receive node, a B-node, an evolved B-node (eNodeB or eNB), a Home eNodeB, a next-generation B-node (gNB), a transmission point (TP), a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, a relay station, a remote radio head, a land node, a land network device, a land base station, a baseband unit (BBU), a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), a remote radio head (RRH), a central unit (CU), a distribution unit (DU), a positioning node, among other possibilities. The T-TRP 170 can be a macro BS, a pico BS, a relay node, a donor node, or similar, or combinations thereof.T-TRP 170 may refer to the earlier devices or to the device (e.g., a communication module, a modem, or a chip) in the earlier devices.

[0029] In some embodiments, parts of the T-TRP 170 may be distributed. For example, some of the T-TRP 170 modules may be located distant from the equipment housing the 256 antennas for the T-TRP 170, and may be coupled to the equipment housing the 256 antennas via a communication link (not shown) sometimes known as a fronthaul, such as a common public radio interface (CPRI). Therefore, in some embodiments, the term T-TRP 170 may also refer to network-side modules that perform processing operations, such as determining the location of the ED 110, resource allocation (scheduling), message generation, and encoding / decoding, and which are not necessarily part of the equipment housing the 256 antennas of the T-TRP 170. The modules may also be coupled to other T-TRPs.In some configurations, T-TRP 170 may actually be a plurality of T-TRPs operating together to serve ED 110, for example, through the use of multi-point transmissions. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, p. 20 / 78 14 / 61 coordinates.

[0030] As illustrated in FIGURE 3, the T-TRP 170 includes at least one transmitter 252 and at least one receiver 254 coupled to one or more antennas 256. Only one antenna 256 is illustrated. One, some, or all of the antennas 256 may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 252 and the receiver 254 may be integrated as a transceiver. The T-TRP 170 additionally includes a processor 260 to perform operations including those related to: preparing a transmission for downlink transmission to the ED 110; processing an uplink transmission received from the ED 110; preparing a transmission for backhaul transmission to the NT-TRP 172; and processing a transmission received via backhaul from the NT-TRP 172.Processing operations related to preparing a transmission for downlink or backhaul transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulation, pre-encoding (e.g., multi-input, multi-output pre-encoding, MIMO), transmission beamforming, and transmission symbol generation. Processing operations related to processing transmissions received on the uplink or via backhaul may include operations such as reception beamforming, received symbol demodulation, and received symbol decoding. The 260 processor may also perform operations related to network access (e.g., initial access) and / or downlink synchronization, such as generating the content of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), generating system information, etc.In some embodiments, the 260 processor also generates a beam direction indication, for example, BAI, which can be scheduled for transmission by a 253 scheduler. The 260 processor performs other network-side processing operations described in this document, such as determining the location of ED 110, determining where to deploy NT-TRP 172, etc. In some embodiments, the 260 processor can... Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, p. 21 / 78 15 / 61 generate signaling, for example, to configure one or more parameters of ED 110 and / or one or more parameters of NT-TRP 172. Any signaling generated by processor 260 is sent by transmitter 252. Note that signaling, as used in this document, may alternatively be called control signaling. Dynamic signaling may be transmitted on a control channel, for example, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and static or semi-static upper-layer signaling may be included in a packet transmitted on a data channel, for example, on a shared physical downlink channel (PDSCH).

[0031] Scheduler 253 can be coupled to processor 260. Scheduler 253 can be included in the T-TRP 170 or operated separately from it. Scheduler 253 can schedule uplink, downlink, and / or backhaul transmissions, including issuing scheduling grants and / or configuring schedule-free resources (configured grant). The T-TRP 170 additionally includes a memory 258 for storing information and data. Memory 258 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the T-TRP 170. For example, memory 258 can store instructions or software modules configured to implement some or all of the functionalities and / or modes described in this document and executed by processor 260.

[0032] Although not shown, processor 260 may form part of transmitter 252 and / or part of receiver 254. Also, although not shown, processor 260 may implement scheduler 253. Although not shown, memory 258 may form part of processor 260.

[0033] Each of the processor 260, the scheduler 253, the transmitter processing components 252 and the receiver processing components 254 may be implemented by the same or by one or more different processors that are configured to execute instructions stored in a memory, for example, Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 22 / 78 16 / 61 in memory 258. Alternatively, some or all of the processor 260, the scheduler 253, the transmitter processing components 252, and the receiver processing components 254 can be implemented using dedicated circuitry, such as an FPGA, a CPU, a GPU, or an ASIC.

[0034] Notably, the NT-TRP 172 is illustrated as a drone only as an example, and the NT-TRP 172 can be implemented in any suitable non-terrestrial form, such as a high-altitude platform, satellite, high-altitude platform such as international mobile telecommunication base stations and unmanned aerial vehicles, the forms of which will be discussed later. Also, the NT-TRP 172 may be known by other names in some implementations, such as a non-terrestrial node, a non-terrestrial network device, or a non-terrestrial base station. The NT-TRP 172 includes a transmitter 272 and a receiver 274 coupled to one or more antennas 280. Only one antenna 280 is illustrated. One, some, or all of the antennas may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 272 and the receiver 274 may be integrated as a transceiver.The NT-TRP 172 additionally includes a 276 processor to perform operations including those related to: preparing a transmission for downlink transmission to ED 110; processing an uplink transmission received from ED 110; preparing a transmission for backhaul transmission to T-TRP 170; and processing a transmission received via backhaul from T-TRP 170. Processing operations related to preparing a transmission for downlink or backhaul transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulation, pre-coding (e.g., MIMO pre-coding), transmission beamforming, and transmission symbol generation. Processing operations related to processing transmissions received on the uplink or in backhaul may include operations such as reception beamforming, demodulation of received signals, and... Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 23 / 78 17 / 61 Decoding of received symbols. In some embodiments, processor 276 implements transmission beamforming and / or reception beamforming based on beam direction information (e.g., BAI) received from T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, processor 276 may generate signaling, for example, to configure one or more parameters of ED 110. In some embodiments, NT-TRP 172 implements physical layer processing but does not implement upper layer functions such as functions in the medium access control (MAC) layer or radio link control (RLC). As this is just one example, more generally, NT-TRP 172 may implement upper layer functions in addition to physical layer processing.

[0035] The NT-TRP 172 additionally includes a memory 278 for storing information and data. Although not shown, the processor 276 may form part of the transmitter 272 and / or part of the receiver 274. Although not shown, the memory 278 may form part of the processor 276.

[0036] Each of the processor 276, the transmitter processing components 272, and the receiver processing components 274 may be implemented by the same or by one or more different processors that are configured to execute instructions stored in a memory, for example, in memory 278. Alternatively, some or all of the processor 276, the transmitter processing components 272, and the receiver processing components 274 may be implemented using dedicated circuitry, such as a programmed FPGA, a CPU, a GPU, or an ASIC. In some embodiments, the NT-TRP 172 may actually be a plurality of NT-TRPs that are operating jointly to serve the ED 110, for example, by means of coordinated multipoint transmissions.

[0037] The T-TRP 170, the NT-TRP 172 and / or the ED 110 may include other components, but these are omitted for clarity. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 24 / 78 18 / 61

[0038] One or more steps of the embodiments provided in this document may be performed by corresponding units or modules, as shown in FIGURE 4. FIGURE 4 illustrates units or modules in a device, such as the ED 110, the T-TRP 170, or the NT-TRP 172. For example, a signal may be transmitted by a transmitting unit or a transmitting module. A signal may be received by a receiving unit or a receiving module. A signal may be processed by a processing unit or a processing module. Other steps may be performed by an artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) module. The respective units or modules may be implemented using hardware, one or more components or devices running software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more of the units or modules may be an integrated circuit, such as a programmed FPGA, a CPU, a GPU, or an ASIC.It will be understood that where modules are implemented using software for execution by a processor, for example, the modules may be retrieved by a processor, wholly or partially as needed, individually or jointly for processing, in single or multiple instances, and that the modules themselves may include instructions for further deployment and instantiation.

[0039] Additional details regarding EDs 110, T-TRP 170, and NT-TRP 172 are known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, these details are omitted here.

[0040] An air interface typically includes a number of components and associated parameters that collectively specify how a transmission is to be sent and / or received over a wireless communications link between two or more communication devices. For example, an air interface may include one or more components defining the waveform(s), frame structure(s), multiple access scheme(s), protocol(s), encoding scheme(s), and / or modulation scheme(s) to carry Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 25 / 78 19 / 61 Information (e.g., data) via a wireless communications link. The wireless communications link may support a link between a radio access network and user equipment (e.g., a Uu link), and / or the wireless communications link may support a device-to-device link, such as between two user equipment (e.g., a side link), and / or the wireless communications link may support a link between a non-terrestrial (NT) communication network and user equipment (UE). The following content provides some examples of the components indicated above.

[0041] A waveform component can specify a configuration and shape of a signal being transmitted. Waveform options can include orthogonal multiple access waveforms and non-orthogonal multiple access waveforms. Non-limiting examples of such waveform options include Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Spreading Direct Fourier Transform OFDM (DFT-OFDM), Filtered OFDM (f-OFDM), Time Window OFDM, Filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC), Universal Filtered Multicarrier (UFMC), Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing (GFDM), Small Wave Packet Modulation (WPM), Faster than Nyquist Waveform (FTN), and Low Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR WF low) waveform.

[0042] A frame structure component can specify a configuration for a frame or a group of frames. The frame structure component can indicate one or more time, frequency, pilot signature, code, or other parameters of the frame or group of frames. More details about frame structure will be discussed later.

[0043] A multiple access scheme component may specify multiple access technical options, including technologies defining how communication devices share a common physical channel, such as: TDMA; FDMA; CDMA; Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 26 / 78 20 / 61 SDMA; OFDMA; SC-FDMA; Low-Density Subscription Carrier Multiple CDMA (LDS-MC-CDMA); Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA); Pattern Division Multiple Access (PDMA); Network Partition Multiple Access (LPMA); Resource Spread Multiple Access (RSMA); and Sparse Code Multiple Access (SCMA). Additionally, technical options for multiple access may include: scheduled access versus unscheduled access, also known as grant-free access; non-orthogonal multiple access versus orthogonal multiple access, for example, through a dedicated channel resource (e.g., without sharing between multiple communication devices); contention-based shared channel resources versus non-contentation-based shared channel resources; and cognitive radio-based access.

[0044] A hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) protocol component can specify how a transmission and / or retransmission is to be performed. Non-limiting examples of transmission and / or retransmission mechanism options include those that specify a scheduled data channel size, a signaling mechanism for transmission and / or retransmission, and a retransmission mechanism.

[0045] A coding and modulation component may specify how information being transmitted can be encoded / decoded and modulated / demodulated for transmission / reception purposes. Coding may refer to error detection and early error correction methods. Non-limiting examples of coding options include lattice turbo codes, product turbo codes, source codes, low-density parity check codes, and polar codes. Modulation may refer simply to the constellation (including, for example, the modulation technique and order), or more specifically to various types of advanced modulation methods such as hierarchical modulation and low PAPR modulation.

[0046] In some modes, the air interface may be a Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 27 / 78 21 / 61 concept of “one size fits all.” For example, it may be that the components within the air interface cannot be changed or adapted once the air interface is defined. In some implementations, only limited parameters or modes of an air interface, such as a cyclic prefix length (CP) or a MIMO mode, can be configured. In some embodiments, an air interface design may provide a unified or flexible framework to support frequencies below known 6 GHz bands and frequencies beyond the 6 GHz bands (e.g., mmWave bands) for both licensed and unlicensed access. As an example, the flexibility of a configurable air interface provided through scalable numerology and symbol duration may allow transmission parameter optimization for different spectrum bands and for different services / devices.As another example, a unified air interface can be self-contained within a frequency domain, and a self-contained frequency domain design can support more flexible RAN slicing through channel resource sharing between different services in both frequency and time.

[0047] A frame structure is a feature of the physical layer of wireless communication that defines a time-domain signal transmission structure to, for example, allow timing reference and timing alignment of basic time-domain transmission units. Wireless communication between communication devices can occur over time-frequency resources governed by a frame structure. The frame structure may sometimes be referred to as a radio frame structure instead.

[0048] Depending on the frame structure and / or the frame configuration within the frame structure, frequency division duplex (FDD) and / or time division duplex (TDD) and / or full duplex (FD) communication may be possible. FDD communication is when transmissions are in different directions (e.g., uplink). Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 28 / 78 22 / 61 versus downlink) communication occurs in different frequency bands. TDD communication is when transmissions in different directions (e.g., uplink versus downlink) occur over different time durations. FD communication is when transmission and reception occur on the same time-frequency resource; that is, a device can both transmit and receive on the same frequency resource simultaneously.

[0049] An example of a frame structure is a frame structure specified for use in known long-term evolution (LTE) cellular systems, having the following specifications: each frame is 10 ms long; each frame has 10 subframes, each of the subframes is 1 ms long; each subframe includes two slots, each of these slots is 0.5 ms long; each slot is for the transmission of seven OFDM symbols (assuming normal CP); each OFDM symbol has a particular symbol duration and bandwidth (or partial bandwidth or bandwidth partition) related to the number of subcarriers and subcarrier spacing; the frame structure is based on OFDM waveform parameters such as subcarrier spacing and CP length (where the CP has a fixed length or limited length options);The switching gap between uplink and downlink in TDD is specified as the integer duration of the OFDM symbol.

[0050] Another example of a frame structure is a frame structure specified for use in known new radio (NR) cellular systems, having the following specifications: multiple subcarrier spacings are supported, each subcarrier spacing corresponding to a respective numerology; the frame structure depends on the numerology, but in any case, the frame length is defined as 10 ms and each frame consists of ten subframes, each subframe being 1 ms long; a slot is defined as 14 OFDM symbols; and slot length depends on the numerology. For example, the NR frame structure for Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 29 / 78 23 / 61 normal CP 15 kHz subcarrier spacing (“numerology 1”) and the NR frame structure for normal CP 30 kHz subcarrier spacing (“numerology 2”) are different. For 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, the slot length is 1 ms, and for 30 kHz subcarrier spacing, the slot length is 0.5 ms. The NR frame structure may have more flexibility than the LTE frame structure.

[0051] Another example of a frame structure is, for example, for use in a 6G network or a later network. In a flexible frame structure, a symbol block can be defined to have a duration that is the minimum time duration that can be scheduled in the flexible frame structure. A symbol block can be a transmission unit having an optional redundancy portion (e.g., CP portion) and an information portion (e.g., data). An OFDM symbol is an example of a symbol block. A symbol block can alternatively be called a symbol. Modalities of flexible frame structures include different parameters that can be configured, e.g., frame length, subframe length, symbol block length, etc.A non-exhaustive list of possible configurable parameters, in some modalities of a flexible frame structure, includes: frame length; subframe duration; slot configuration; subcarrier spacing (SCS); flexible transmission duration of basic transmission unit; and flexible switching clearance.

[0052] The frame length need not be limited to 10 ms and the frame length may be configurable and change over time. In some embodiments, each frame includes one or more downlink synchronization channels and / or one or more downlink broadcast channels and each synchronization channel and / or broadcast channel may be transmitted in a different direction by means of different beamforming. The frame length may be greater than a possible value and Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 30 / 78 24 / 61 configured based on the application scenario. For example, autonomous vehicles may require relatively fast initial access, in which case the frame length can be set to 5 ms for autonomous vehicle applications. As another example, smart meters in homes may not require fast initial access, in which case the frame length can be set to 20 ms for smart meter applications.

[0053] A subframe may or may not be defined in the flexible frame structure, depending on the implementation. For example, a frame may be defined to include slots but not subframes. In frames where a subframe is defined, for example, for time-domain alignment, the subframe duration may be configurable. For example, a subframe may be configured to have a length of 0.1 ms or 0.2 ms or 0.5 ms or 1 ms or 2 ms or 5 ms, etc. In some embodiments, if a subframe is not required in a particular scenario, then the subframe length may be set to be the same as the frame length or not set.

[0054] A slot may or may not be defined in the flexible frame structure, depending on the implementation. In frames where a slot is defined, then the definition of a slot (e.g., in time duration and / or in number of symbol blocks) may be configurable. In one embodiment, the slot configuration is common to all UEs 110 or to a group of UEs 110. In this case, the slot configuration information may be transmitted to the UEs 110 on a common broadcast channel or control channel(s). In other embodiments, the slot configuration may be UE-specific, in which case the slot configuration information may be transmitted on a UE-specific control channel. In some embodiments, slot configuration signaling may be transmitted together with frame configuration signaling and / or subframe configuration signaling. In other embodiments, slot configuration may be transmitted independently of Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 31 / 78 25 / 61 Frame configuration signaling and / or subframe configuration signaling. In general, slot configuration can be system common, base station common, EU group common, or EU specific.

[0055] The SCS can vary from 15 kHz to 480 kHz. The SCS can vary with the frequency of the spectrum and / or maximum UE speed to minimize the impact of the Doppler effect and phase noise. In some examples, there may be separate transmit and receive frames, and the symbol SCS in the receive frame structure may be configured independently of the symbol SCS in the transmit frame structure. The SCS in a receive frame may be different from the SCS in a transmit frame. In some examples, the SCS of each transmit frame may be half the SCS of each receive frame. If the SCS between a receive frame and a transmit frame is different, the difference does not necessarily have to scale by a factor of two, for example, if more flexible symbol durations are implemented using discrete inverse Fourier transform (IDFT) instead of fast Fourier transform (FFT).Additional examples of frame structures can be used with different SCSs.

[0056] The basic transmission unit can be a symbol block (alternatively called a symbol), which generally includes a redundancy portion (referred to as the CP) and an information portion (e.g., data). In some embodiments, the CP may be omitted from the symbol block. The CP length can be flexible and configurable. The CP length can be fixed within a frame or flexible within a frame, and the CP length can possibly change from one frame to another, or from one group of frames to another group of frames, or from one subframe to another subframe, or from one slot to another slot, or dynamically from one schedule to another schedule. The information portion (e.g., data) can be flexible and configurable. Another possible parameter relating to a symbol block is Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 32 / 78 26 / 61 can be defined as the CP duration to information duration (e.g., data) ratio. In some modes, the symbol block length can be adjusted according to: a channel condition (e.g., multipath delay, Doppler); and / or a latency requirement; and / or an available time duration. As another example, a symbol block length can be adjusted to fit with an available time duration in the frame.

[0057] A frame may include both a downlink portion, for downlink transmissions from a base station 170, and an uplink portion, for uplink transmissions from UEs 110. A gap may be present between each uplink and downlink portion, which gap is referred to as a switching gap. The length (duration) of the switching gap may be configurable. A switching gap duration may be fixed within a frame or flexible within a frame, and a switching gap duration may possibly change from one frame to another, or from one group of frames to another group of frames, or from one subframe to another subframe, or from one slot to another slot, or dynamically from one schedule to another schedule.

[0058] A device, such as a 170 base station, can provide coverage in a cell. Wireless communication with the device can occur on one or more carrier frequencies. A carrier frequency will be referred to as a carrier. A carrier may alternatively be called a component carrier (CC). A carrier can be characterized by its bandwidth and by a reference frequency, for example, the center frequency, the lowest frequency, or the highest frequency of the carrier. A carrier may be in a licensed spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum. Wireless communication with the device may also, or instead, occur in one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs). For example, a carrier may have one or more BWPs. More generally, wireless communication with the Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, p. 33 / 78 27 / 61 device can occur via spectrum. The spectrum may comprise one or more carriers and / or one or more BWPs.

[0059] A cell may include one or multiple downlink resources and, optionally, one or multiple uplink resources. A cell may include one or multiple uplink resources and, optionally, one or multiple downlink resources. A cell may include both one or multiple downlink resources and one or multiple uplink resources.As an example, a cell may include only one downlink carrier / BWP, or only one uplink carrier / BWP, or multiple downlink carriers / BWPs, or multiple uplink carriers / BWPs, or one downlink carrier / BWP and one uplink carrier / BWP, or one downlink carrier / BWP and multiple uplink carriers / BWPs, or multiple downlink carriers / BWPs and one uplink carrier / BWP, or multiple downlink carriers / BWPs and multiple uplink carriers / BWPs. In some embodiments, a cell may instead or additionally include one or more side-link resources, including side-link transmit and receive resources.

[0060] A BWP is a set of contiguous or non-contiguous frequency subcarriers on a carrier, or a set of contiguous or non-contiguous frequency subcarriers on multiple carriers, or a set of non-contiguous or contiguous frequency subcarriers, which may have one or more carriers.

[0061] In some embodiments, a carrier may have one or more BWPs, for example, a carrier may have a bandwidth of 20 MHz and consist of one BWP, or a carrier may have a bandwidth of 80 MHz and consist of two adjacent contiguous BWPs, etc. In other embodiments, a BWP may have one or more carriers, for example, a BWP may have a bandwidth of 40 MHz and Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, p. 34 / 78 28 / 61 consists of two adjacent contiguous carriers, each carrier having a bandwidth of 20 MHz. In some embodiments, a BWP may comprise non-contiguous spectrum features, which consist of multiple non-contiguous carriers, where the first carrier of the multiple non-contiguous carriers may be in the mmW band, the second carrier may be in a low band (such as the 2 GHz band), the third carrier (if it exists) may be in the THz band, and the fourth carrier (if it exists) may be in the visible light band. Features on a carrier belonging to the BWP may be contiguous or non-contiguous. In some embodiments, a BWP has non-contiguous spectrum features on a carrier.

[0062] Wireless communication can occur in an occupied bandwidth. The occupied bandwidth can be defined as the width of a frequency band such that, below the lower frequency limit and above the upper frequency limit, each of the average emitted powers is equal to a specified percentage, β / 2, of the total average transmitted power, for example, the value of β / 2 is considered to be 0.5%.

[0063] The carrier, BWP, or occupied bandwidth may be signaled by a network device (e.g., by a base station 170) dynamically, for example, in physical layer control signaling such as the known downlink control information (DCI) channel, or semi-statically, for example, in radio resource control (RRC) signaling or in signaling at the medium access control (MAC) layer, or be predefined based on the application scenario; or be determined by UE 110 as a function of other parameters known to UE 110, or may be fixed, for example, by a standard.

[0064] EU position information is frequently used in cellular communication networks to improve various network performance metrics. Such performance metrics, for example, Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 35 / 78 29 / 61 can include capacity, agility, and efficiency. Improvement can be achieved when network elements exploit the UE's position, behavior, mobility pattern, etc., in the context of a priori information describing the wireless environment in which the UE is operating.

[0065] A sensing system can be used to help collect UE position information, including UE location in a global coordinate system, UE speed and direction of movement in the global coordinate system, orientation information, and information about the wireless environment. Location is also known as position, and these two terms may be used interchangeably in this document. Examples of well-known sensing systems include RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). Although the sensing system is typically separate from the communication system, it can be advantageous to collect the information using an integrated system, which reduces the hardware (and cost) in the system as well as the time, frequency, or spatial resources needed to perform both functionalities.However, using communication system hardware to perform UE position and environment information detection is a highly challenging and open-ended problem. The difficulty of the problem relates to factors such as the limited resolution of the communication system, the dynamic nature of the environment, and the enormous number of objects whose electromagnetic properties and positions must be estimated.

[0066] Therefore, integrated detection and communication (also known as integrated communication and detection) is a desirable feature in existing and future communication systems.

[0067] Any or all of the EDs 110 and BS 170 can be detection nodes in system 100. Detection nodes are network entities that perform detection by transmitting and receiving detection signals. Some detection nodes are communication devices that perform both communication and detection. However, it Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, p. 36 / 78 30 / 61 It is possible that some detection nodes do not perform communication and instead are dedicated to detection. Detection agent 174 is an example of a detection node that is dedicated to detection. Unlike EDs 110 and BS 170, detection agent 174 does not transmit or receive communication signals. However, detection agent 174 can communicate configuration information, detection information, signaling information, or other information within the communication system 100. Detection agent 174 can remain in communication with the core network 130 to communicate information to the rest of the communication system 100. As an example, detection agent 174 can determine the location of ED 110a and transmit this information to base station 170a via the core network 130. Although only one detection agent 174 is shown in FIGURE 2, any number of detection agents can be implemented in the communication system 100.In some configurations, one or more detection agents can be implemented in one or more of the RANs 120.

[0068] A detection node can combine detection-based techniques with reference signal-based techniques to enhance UE position determination. This type of detection node may also be known as a detection management function (SMF). In some networks, the SMF may also be known as a location management function (LMF). The SMF can be implemented as a physically independent entity located in the core network 130 with connection to the multiple BSs 170. In other aspects of the present application, the SMF can be implemented as a logical entity colocalized within a BS 170 by means of logic executed by processor 260.

[0069] As shown in FIGURE 5, an SMF 176, when implemented as a physically independent entity, includes at least one processor 290, at least one transmitter 282, at least one receiver 284, one or more antennas 286, and at least one memory 288. A transceiver, not shown, may be used instead. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 37 / 78 31 / 61 of the transmitter 282 and the receiver 284. A scheduler 283 can be coupled to the processor 290. The scheduler 283 can be included in the SMF 176 or operated separately from it. The processor 290 implements various processing operations of the SMF 176, such as signal encoding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, or any other functionality. The processor 290 can also be configured to implement some or all of the functionalities and / or modes described above in more detail. Each processor 290 includes any suitable processing or computing device configured to perform one or more operations. Each processor 290, for example, may include a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array, or application-specific integrated circuit.

[0070] A position determination technique based on a reference signal belongs to an active position estimation paradigm. In an active position estimation paradigm, the position information querier (e.g., UE 110) participates in the querier's position determination process. The querier can transmit or receive (or both) a specific signal for the position determination process. Positioning techniques based on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as the well-known Global Positioning System (GPS), are other examples of the active position estimation paradigm.

[0071] In contrast, a radar-based detection technique, for example, can be considered as belonging to a passive position determination paradigm. In a passive position determination paradigm, the target is uninvolved in the position determination process.

[0072] By integrating detection and communication in a system, the system does not need to operate according to only one paradigm. Thus, the combination of detection-based techniques and reference signal-based techniques can produce determination of Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 38 / 78 32 / 61 improved position.

[0073] Enhanced position determination, for example, can include obtaining UE channel subspace information, which is particularly useful for UE channel reconstruction at the detection node, especially for beam-based operation and communication. The UE channel subspace is a subset of the entire algebraic space, defined in the spatial domain, in which the entire TP-to-UE channel lies. Therefore, the UE channel subspace defines the TP-to-UE channel with very high precision. Signals transmitted through other subspaces result in a negligible contribution to the UE channel. Knowledge of the UE channel subspace helps reduce the effort required for channel measurement at the UE and channel reconstruction on the network side. Therefore, combining detection-based techniques and reference signal-based techniques can enable UE channel reconstruction with much less overhead compared to traditional methods.Subspace information can also facilitate subspace-based detection to reduce detection complexity and improve detection accuracy.

[0074] In some integrated detection and communication modes, the same radio access technology (RAT) is used for both detection and communication. This avoids the need to multiplex two different RATs on one carrier spectrum, or avoids the need for two different carrier spectrums for the two different RATs.

[0075] In modes that integrate detection and communication in a RAT, a first set of channels can be used to transmit a detection signal and a second set of channels can be used to transmit a communication signal. In some modes, each channel in the first set of channels and each channel in the second set of channels is a logical channel, a transport channel, or a physical channel.

[0076] In the physical layer, communication and detection can be Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, p. 39 / 78 33 / 61 performed through separate physical channels. For example, a first shared physical downlink channel PDSCH-C is defined for data communication, while a second shared physical downlink channel PDSCH-S is defined for detection. Similarly, separate shared physical uplink channels (PUSCH), PUSCH-C and PUSCH-S, can be defined for uplink communication and detection.

[0077] In another example, the same PDSCH and PUSCH can also be used for both communication and detection, with separate logic layer channels and / or transport layer channels defined for communication and detection. Note also that control channel(s) and data channel(s) for detection may have the same or different channel structures (formats), and may occupy the same or different frequency bands or bandwidth portions.

[0078] In a further example, a common physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a common physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) can be used to carry control information for both detection and communication. Alternatively, separate physical layer control channels can be used to carry separate control information for communication and detection. For example, PUCCH-S and PUCCH-C can be used for uplink control for detection and communication respectively, and PDCCH-S and PDCCH-C for downlink control for detection and communication respectively.

[0079] Different combinations of shared and dedicated channels for detection and communication are possible in each of the physical, transport, and logical layers.

[0080] The term RADAR originates from the expression Radio Detection and Ranging; however, expressions with different forms of capitalization (e.g., Radar and radar) are equally valid and now more common. Radar is typically used to detect the presence and location of an object. A radar system radiates radio frequency energy and receives echoes of the reflected energy in Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, p. 40 / 78 34 / 61 one or more targets. The system determines the position of a given target based on the echoes returned from that target. The radiated energy can be in the form of an energy pulse or a continuous wave, which can be expressed or defined by a particular waveform. Examples of waveforms used in radar include frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) and ultra-wideband (UWB) waveforms.

[0081] Radar systems can be monostatic, bistatic, or multistatic. In a monostatic radar system, the transmitter and receiver of the radar signal are colocated, such as being integrated into a transceiver. In a bistatic radar system, the transmitter and receiver are spatially separated, and the separation distance is comparable to or greater than the presumed target distance (often referred to as the range). In a multistatic radar system, two or more radar components are spatially distinct but share a coverage area. A multistatic radar is also referred to as a network or mesh radar.

[0082] Ground-based radar applications encounter challenges such as multipath propagation and shadowing defects. Another challenge is the problem of identifiability because ground targets have similar physical attributes. Integrating detection into a communication system will likely be subject to these same challenges, and others as well.

[0083] Communication nodes can be half-duplex or full-duplex. A half-duplex node cannot both transmit and receive using the same physical resources (time, frequency, etc.); conversely, a full-duplex node can transmit and receive using the same physical resources. Existing commercial wireless communication networks are all half-duplex. Even if full-duplex communication networks become practical in the future, it is assumed that at least some of the nodes in the network will still be half-duplex nodes because half-duplex devices are less complex and have a lower cost. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, p. 41 / 78 35 / 61 and lower power consumption. In particular, full-duplex implementation is more challenging at higher frequencies, for example, in millimeter wave bands, and very challenging for small, low-cost devices such as femtocell base stations and UEs.

[0084] Limiting half-duplex nodes in the communications network presents additional challenges to integrating detection and communication in communications network devices and systems. For example, both half-duplex and full-duplex nodes can perform bistatic or multistatic detection, but monostatic detection typically requires the detection node to have full-duplex capability. A half-duplex node can perform monostatic detection with certain limitations, such as in a pulsed radar with a specific duty cycle and specific range measurement capability.

[0085] Properties of a detection signal, or of a signal used for both detection and communication, include the signal waveform and the signal frame structure. The frame structure defines the time-domain boundaries of the signal. The waveform describes the shape of the signal as a function of time and frequency. Examples of waveforms that can be used for a detection signal include ultra-wideband pulse (UWB), Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) or chirp, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), cyclic prefix OFDM (CP), and Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT-s) spreading OFDM.

[0086] In one embodiment, the detection signal is a linear chirp signal with bandwidth B and time duration T. Such a linear chirp signal is generally known from its use in FMCW radar systems. A linear chirp signal is defined by an increase in frequency from an initial frequency, fchiiroo, at an initial time, tchilro0f to a final frequency, fChiiroi, at a final time, tchilrol, where the relationship between frequency (f) and time (t) can be expressed as a linear relationship of f - fChilroo = a(t - tchiiro0), where a = ^chilro1fchilro° is defined as the slope of ^chilroi~^chilroO Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 42 / 78 36 / 61 chirp. The bandwidth of the linear chirp signal can be defined as B = fchiVrol— fchiVro0 and the time duration of the linear chirp signal can be defined as T = tchürol— tchüro0. Such a linear chirp signal can be represented as e^^at2 in baseband representation.

[0087] Precoding, as used in this document, may refer to any encoding operation or modulation that transforms an input signal into an output signal. Precoding can be performed in different domains and typically transforms the input signal in a first domain into an output signal in a second domain. Precoding may include linear operations.

[0088] A terrestrial communication system may also be referred to as a land-based or ground-based communication system; however, a terrestrial communication system may also, or instead, be implemented over or on water. Non-terrestrial communication systems can bridge coverage gaps in underserved areas by extending cellular network coverage through the use of non-terrestrial nodes, which will be key to establishing uninterrupted global coverage and providing mobile broadband services to underserved or unserved regions. In the current case, it is hardly possible to implement terrestrial infrastructure of access points / base stations in areas such as oceans, mountains, forests, or other remote areas.

[0089] The terrestrial communication system may be a wireless communication system using 5G technology and / or later generation wireless technology (e.g., 6G or later). In some examples, the terrestrial communication system may also accommodate some legacy wireless technologies (e.g., 3G or 4G wireless technology). The non-terrestrial communication system may be a communication system using satellite constellations, such as conventional Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites, which utilize public or popular broadcast content for a Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 43 / 78 37 / 61 local server. The non-terrestrial communication system may be a communications system using low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which are known to establish a better balance between large coverage area and propagation path loss / delay. The non-terrestrial communication system may be a communications system using satellites stabilized in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) technologies, thereby substantially reducing the costs of launching satellites to lower orbits. The non-terrestrial communication system may be a communications system using high-altitude platforms (HAPs), which are known to provide a low path loss air interface for users with limited power provision.Non-terrestrial communication systems can be communication systems using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) (or unmanned aerial systems, UAS) that achieve dense deployment, as their coverage may be limited to a local area, such as airborne, balloon, quadcopter, drones, etc. In some examples, GEO satellites, LEO satellites, UAVs, HAPs, and VLEOs can be horizontal and two-dimensional. In some examples, UAVs, HAPs, and VLEOs can be coupled to integrate satellite communications with cellular networks. Emerging 3D vertical networks consist of many mobile access points (except geostationary satellites) and high-altitude access points such as UAVs, HAPs, and VLEOs.

[0090] MIMO technology allows a multi-antenna array to perform signal transmissions and receptions to meet high transmission rate requirements. The ED 110 and T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP can use MIMO to communicate using wireless resource blocks. MIMO uses multiple antennas at the transmitter to transmit wireless resource blocks in parallel wireless signals. It follows that multiple antennas can be used at the receiver. MIMO can beam parallel wireless signals for reliable multipath transmission of a wireless resource block. MIMO can link parallel wireless signals. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 44 / 78 38 / 61 which carry different data to increase the data rate of the wireless resource block.

[0091] In recent years, a wireless MIMO (large-scale MIMO) communication system with the T-TRP 170 and / or the NT-TRP 172 configured with a large number of antennas has gained much attention from academia and industry. In the large-scale MIMO system, the T-TRP 170 and / or the NT-TRP 172 are usually configured with more than ten antenna units (see antennas 256 and antennas 280 in FIGURE 3). The T-TRP 170 and / or the NT-TRP 172 are generally operable to serve dozens (such as 40) of EDs 110. A large number of T-TRP 170 and NT-TRP 172 antenna units can significantly increase the spatial freedom of wireless communication, significantly improve transmission rate, spectral efficiency, and power efficiency, and, to a great extent, reduce cell-to-cell interference. Increasing the number of antennas allows each antenna unit to be made in a smaller size at a lower cost.By utilizing the spatial degree of freedom provided by the large-scale antenna units, the T-TRP 170 and NT-TRP 172 of each cell can communicate with many EDs 110 in the cell on the same time-frequency resource simultaneously, thus significantly increasing spectral efficiency. A large number of T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172 antenna units also enables each user to have better spatial directivity for uplink and downlink transmission, so that the transmission power of the T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172 and an ED 110 is reduced and the power efficiency is correspondingly increased. When the number of antennas for the T-TRP 170 and / or the NT-TRP 172 is sufficiently large, random channels between each ED 110 and the T-TRP 170 and / or the NT-TRP 172 can address orthogonality in such a way that interference between cells and users and the noise effect can be reduced.The plurality of advantages described above enables large-scale MIMO to have a magnificent application perspective. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, p. 45 / 78 39 / 61

[0092] A MIMO system may include a receiver connected to a receiving antenna (Rx), a transmitter connected to a transmitting antenna (Tx), and a signal processor connected to both the transmitter and the receiver. Each of the Rx and Tx antennas may include a plurality of antennas. For example, the Rx antenna may have a uniform linear array (ULA) antenna, in which the plurality of antennas are arranged in a line at uniform intervals. When a radio frequency (RF) signal is transmitted via the Tx antenna, the Rx antenna may receive a reflected and returned signal from a direct target.

[0093] A non-exhaustive list of possible units or possible configurable parameters in some embodiments of a MIMO system includes: a panel; and a beam.

[0094] A panel is a unit of a group of antennas, or of an array of antennas or of a sub-array of antennas, which unit can control a Tx beam or an Rx beam independently.

[0095] A beam can be formed by performing amplitude and / or phase weighting on data transmitted or received by at least one antenna port. A beam can also be formed by using another method, for example, adjusting a related parameter of an antenna unit. The beam may include a Tx beam and / or an Rx beam. The transmit beam indicates the signal strength distribution formed in different directions in space after a signal is transmitted through an antenna. The receive beam indicates the signal strength distribution of a wireless signal received from an antenna and that is in different directions in space.Beam information may include a beam identifier, or an antenna port identifier(s), or a channel state information reference signal resource identifier (CSI-RS), or an SSB resource identifier, or a sounding reference signal resource identifier (SRS), or other reference signal resource identifier.

[0096] In current networks, frame timing and synchronization Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 46 / 78 40 / 61 are established based on synchronization signals, such as a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). Notably, known frame timing and synchronization strategies involve adding a timestamp, for example, (xx0:yy0:zz), to a frame boundary, where xx0, yy0, zz in the timestamp can represent a time format such as hour, minute, and second, respectively.

[0097] It is anticipated that distinct applications and use cases in future networks may involve the use of different frame periods, slots, and symbols to satisfy different Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, functionalities, and types. It follows that using different frame periods to satisfy these applications may present challenges for frame timing alignment between distinct frame structures. Consider, for example, frame timing alignment for a TDD configuration on neighboring frequency band carriers or between sub-bands (or bandwidth portions) of a channel / carrier bandwidth.

[0098] The present disclosure relates generally to mobile wireless communication and, in particular embodiments, to frame timing alignment / realignment, wherein frame timing alignment / realignment may comprise timing alignment / realignment in terms of a symbol boundary, a slot or a subframe within a frame; or a frame (thus frame timing alignment / realignment here is more general, not limited to cases where timing alignment / realignment is only from a frame boundary). Also, in this application, relative timing to a frame or frame boundary shall be interpreted in a more general sense, i.e., frame boundary means a timing point of a frame element with the frame such as (starting or ending at) a symbol, a slot or subframe within a frame, or a frame. In the content Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 47 / 78 41 / 61 below, the expressions “timing alignment or timing realignment (of frame)” and “relative timing for a frame boundary” are used in the more general sense described above.

[0099] Generally, aspects of the present application relate to a network device, such as a base station 170, hereinafter referred to as a TRP 170, transmitting signaling that carries a timing realignment indication message. The timing realignment indication message includes information enabling a receiving UE 110 to determine a timing reference point. Based on the timing reference point, frame transmission by UE 110 can be aligned. In some aspects of the present application, the frames that become aligned are in different sub-bands of a carrier frequency band. In other aspects of the present application, the frames that become aligned are discovered in neighboring carrier frequency bands.

[00100] On the TRP 170 side, aspects of the present application relate to the use of one or more signaling types to indicate the timing realignment (and / or timing correction) message. Two example signaling types are provided here to illustrate the schemes. The first example signaling type may be referred to as cell-specific signaling, examples of which include group common signaling and broadcast signaling. The second example signaling type may be referred to as UE-specific signaling. One of these two signaling types or a combination of the two signaling types may be used to transmit a timing realignment indication message. The timing realignment indication message may be displayed to notify one or more UEs 110 of a timing reference point setting.References to the term "EU 110" can then be understood as representing a broad class of... Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 48 / 78 42 / 61 generic wireless communication devices within a cell (i.e., a network receiving node, such as a wireless device, a sensor, a gateway, a router, etc.), i.e., being served by TRP 170. A timing reference point is a timing reference instant and can be expressed in terms of a relative timing, by virtue of a timing point in a frame, such as (start or end boundary of) a symbol, a slot or a subframe within a frame; or a frame. For a simple description in the following, the term “a frame boundary” is used to represent a boundary possibly of a symbol, a slot or a subframe within a frame; or a frame. Thus, the timing reference point can be expressed in terms of a relative timing, by virtue of a current frame boundary, for example, the start of the current frame.Alternatively, the timing reference point can be expressed in terms of an absolute timing based on a certain standard timing reference such as a GNSS (e.g., GPS), Coordinated Universal Time (“UTC”), etc. In the absolute timing version of the timing reference point, a timing reference point can be explicitly reported.

[00101] The timing reference point can be revealed to allow timing adjustments to be implemented on UE110s. Timing adjustments can be implemented to improve accuracy for a clock on UE110. Alternatively or additionally, the timing reference point can be revealed to allow adjustments to be implemented on future transmissions made from UE110s. Adjustments can be shown to cause realignment of transmitted frames at the timing reference point. Note that realignment of transmitted frames at the timing reference point can comprise timing realignment from (the start boundary of) a symbol, a slot, or a Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 49 / 78 43 / 61 subframe within a frame; or a frame at the timing reference point for one or more UEs and one or more BSs (in a cell or a group of cells), which applies in the following application.

[00102] On the UE 110 side, UE 110 can monitor the timing realignment indication message. In response to receiving the timing realignment indication message, UE 110 can obtain the timing reference point and execute steps to cause frame realignment at the timing reference point. These steps, for example, may include starting transmission of a subsequent frame at the timing reference point.

[00103] In addition, or alternatively, before monitoring the timing realignment indication message, UE 110 can have TRP 170 transmit the timing realignment indication message by transmitting to TRP 170 a request for a timing realignment, i.e., a timing realignment request message.In response to receiving the timing realignment request message, TRP 170 can transmit to UE 110 a timing realignment indication message including information about a timing reference point, thereby enabling UE 110 to implement a timing realignment (and / or a timing adjustment including clock timing error correction), wherein the timing realignment is in terms of (e.g., a start boundary of) a symbol, a slot, or a subframe within a frame; or a frame for UEs and base station(s) in a cell (or in a group of cells).

[00104] According to aspects of the present application, a TRP 170 associated with a given cell may transmit a timing realignment indication message. The timing realignment indication message may include sufficient information to allow a message receiver to obtain a timing reference point. The timing reference point Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 50 / 78 44 / 61 can be used by one or more UEs 110 in the given cell when performing a timing realignment (and / or a timing adjustment including clock timing error correction).

[00105] According to aspects of the present application, the timing reference point may be expressed, within the timing realignment indication message, relative to a frame boundary (wherein, as described above and to be applicable hereafter in the application, a frame boundary may be a boundary of a symbol, a slot, or a subframe with a frame; or a frame). The timing realignment indication message may include a relative timing indication, Δ-t. It can be shown that the relative timing indication, Δ-t, expresses the timing reference point as occurring at a particular duration, i.e., At, subsequent to a frame boundary for a given frame. Since the frame boundary is important to enable UE 110 to determine the timing reference point, it is important that UE 110 be aware of the given frame that has the frame boundary of interest.Therefore, the timing realignment indication message may also include a system frame number (SFN) for the given frame.

[00106] In 5G NR, it is known that the SFN is a value in the range of 0 to 1023, inclusive. Therefore, 10 bits can be used to represent an SFN. When an SFN is ported by an SSB, six of the 10 bits for the SFN can be ported in a Master Information Block (MIB), and the remaining four bits of the 10 bits for the SFN can be ported in a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) payload.

[00107] Optionally, the timing realignment indication message may include other parameters. Other parameters, for example, may include a minimum time offset. The minimum time offset may establish a time duration preceding the timing reference point. UE 110 may rely on the minimum time offset as an indication of DL signaling, including the message of Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 51 / 78 45 / 61 timing realignment indication, will give UE 110 sufficient time to detect the timing realignment indication message to obtain information at the timing reference point.

[00108] FIGURE 6 illustrates a plurality of 600 frames 602-0, 602-1, ..., 602-R, 602-R+1, transmitted by TRP 170 and received by UE 110. The plurality of 600 frames includes reference frames 602-0, ..., 602-R, 602-R+1. Reference frame 602-R is illustrated in FIGURE 6 as having a frame boundary time label, xx0:yy0:zz, indicating the time at which TRP 170 began transmitting reference frame 602-R.

[00109] FIGURE 6 illustrates a first plurality 610 of frames 612-0, 612-1, 612-2, 612-3, transmitted by UE 110 and a second plurality 620 of frames 622-0, 622-1, 622-2, 612-3, 612-4, transmitted by UE 110 or transmitted by a different UE. The first plurality 610 of frames can be understood as being transmitted, by UE 110, in a first bandwidth portion (BWP1). The second plurality 620 of frames can be understood as being transmitted, by UE 110 or by a different UE, in a second bandwidth portion (BWP2). Additionally, there may be cases where BWP1 and BWP2 are transmitted in two sub-bands within a carrier frequency band, or in two sub-bands in adjacent carrier frequency bands.

[00110] FIGURE 6 illustrates a relative timing indication, At, in units of seconds, for example, anchored by the frame boundary with the timestamp xx0:yy0:zz, where the timestamp format (xx0:yy0:zz) can indicate, for example, the number of UTC seconds in 10 ms units, such as (xx0) hours, (yy0) minutes and (zz) seconds, respectively, or such as (xx0) days, (yy0) months and (zz) days, respectively. The UE 110 can monitor DL ​​signaling for a timing realignment indication message associated with the setting of a timing reference point. After receiving the indication message Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 52 / 78 46 / 61 of timing realignment, the UE 110 can adjust its existing frame boundary to be a new frame boundary at a timing reference point 630. FIGURE 6 illustrates the timing reference point 630 that can be configured, in the UE 110, in response to receiving the timing realignment indication message including a relative timing indication, At, and an SFN identifying the reference frame 602-R. The new frame boundary, at timing reference point 630, can be understood as having a time label with a value equivalent to xx0:yy0:zz + At.

[00111] By configuring timing reference point 630, UE 110 can start transmitting traffic in a 612-M frame on BWP1, the transmission starting from timing reference point 630. Additionally, by configuring timing reference point 630, UE 110 or a different UE can start transmitting traffic in a 622-N frame on BWP2, the transmission starting from timing reference point 630.

[00112] According to aspects of the present application, a timing reference point may be expressed using absolute timing based on a timing reference source and clock such as GNSS, UTC, etc. That is, the timing realignment indication message may include absolute timing, wherein the absolute timing may comprise at least one of a time tag (xx1:yy1:ww) and an absolute reference timing. The time tag with the format xx1:yy1:ww may be understood as being the same as the format xx0:yy0:zz described above. The absolute reference timing indicates a time reference with very small time granularity, for example, 10 ns, 5 ns, 2 ns, 1 ns, etc. In one embodiment, an absolute reference timing indicates time reference at a boundary (e.g., a start boundary or an end boundary) of a symbol, slot, subframe, or frame, and so on. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, p. 53 / 78 47 / 61 Indicative information on one or more of the symbol, slot, subframe, and frame that is (or are) associated with absolute reference timing can be sent to a receiving end, for example, by being included in the timing realignment indication message, indicated dynamically, or configured semi-statically. Absolute reference timing may or may not consider pre-compensating RF propagation between a base station and a UE (or UEs), depending on the UE operating configuration in measurement requirements such as UE Rx-Tx time measurement difference. Additionally, absolute reference timing is used to correct clock timing drift or error, and / or to set a frame boundary of an associated / reference frame (e.g., a symbol start or end boundary, a slot or subframe of a frame; or a frame) as a timing and transmission reference in a wireless network.

[00113] FIGURE 7 illustrates a plurality of 700 reference frames 702-0, 702-1,... , 702-R, 702-R+1, transmitted by TRP 170 and received by UE 110.

[00114] FIGURE 7 illustrates a first plurality 710 of frames 712-0, 712-1, 712-2, 712-3, transmitted by UE 110 and a second plurality 720 of frames 722-0, 722-1, 722-2, 712-3, 712-4, transmitted by UE 110 or by a different UE. The first plurality 710 of frames can be understood as being transmitted, by UE 110, in a first bandwidth portion (BWP1). The second plurality 720 of frames can be understood as being transmitted, by UE 110 or by a different UE, in a second bandwidth portion (BWP2). Additionally, there may be cases where BWP1 and BWP2 are transmitted in two sub-bands within a carrier frequency band, or in two sub-bands in adjacent carrier frequency bands.

[00115] UE 110 can monitor DL ​​signaling for a timing realignment indication message associated with the setting of a timing reference point. In fact, Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 54 / 78 48 / 61 As discussed previously, the timing realignment indication message may include an absolute timing, for example, a timestamp (xx1:yy1:ww), and / or an absolute reference timing (not shown in FIGURE 7). After receiving the timing realignment indication message, the UE 110 may adjust its existing frame boundary to be a new frame boundary at a timing reference point 730 associated with the timestamp (xx1:yy1:ww) and / or may adjust clock timing when correcting clock timing drift or error. FIGURE 7 illustrates the timing reference point 730 that may be configured in the UE 110 in response to receiving the timing realignment indication message.In one embodiment, if the UE 110 has precise local clock timing, because it has a synchronized standard timing source such as a GNSS (e.g., GPS) or has adjusted the clock timing, the UE 110 may only need to obtain the time label, xx1:yy1:ww, (e.g., from the timing realignment indication message) for a new timing realignment of a frame boundary at the timing reference point.

[00116] By configuring timing reference point 730, UE 110 can start transmitting traffic in a 712-M frame on BWP1, the transmission starting from timing reference point 730. Additionally, by configuring timing reference point 730, UE 110 or a different UE can start transmitting traffic in a 722-N frame on BWP2, the transmission starting from timing reference point 730.

[00117] Aspects of the present application relate to the transmission, by TRP 170, of the timing realignment indication message to UE 110. Receipt of the timing realignment indication message may be revealed to cause UE 110 to realign frame transmission to a reference point. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 55 / 78 49 / 61 timing.

[00118] The timing realignment indication message can be transmitted, via TRP 170, as part of DL signaling. In one aspect of the present application, DL signaling can be implemented as cell-specific signaling. Examples of cell-specific signaling include group common signaling and broadcast signaling.

[00119] The term “common group signaling” can be interpreted as a reference to a type of DL control signaling (e.g., DCI) that is directed to a group of UEs. DL control signaling can be related to transmission scheduling. Alternatively or additionally, DL control signaling can be related to notification of some information (e.g., a security warning, or inbound network DL traffic). An example of a notification implementation is paging signaling. It is known that a TRP 170 can schedule the transmission of paging messages to a plurality of UEs 110. Paging signaling (page group-based DCI signaling) can then be used, via PDCCH, to notify the plurality of UEs 110 of the scheduled transmissions of paging messages. Paging messages can be transmitted, by the TRP 170, through a PDSCH (data) channel.

[00120] The term “group common signaling” can be interpreted as a reference to group-based DCI. It is known that example uses of group-based DCI include group feedback, group transmission scheduling, group power control, and group timing advance adjustment.

[00121] TRP 170 can use modified paging signaling, where “modified” means that legacy paging signaling is used with one or more additional / new fields to carry the timing realignment indication message.

[00122] TRP 170 can use newly designed common group signaling specifically with a new Temporary Identifier of Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 56 / 78 50 / 61 Radio Network Information Technology (RNTI). In some embodiments, the newly designed common group signaling is dynamically transmitted with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) that is scrambled by the new RNTI; alternatively, the newly designed common group signaling is transmitted periodically using particular time-frequency resources. Alternatively, one or more of the newly designed common group signals may be omitted, for example, to save transmit and receive power, by means of an indication in a dynamic signaling mode or semi-static configuration. For example, the indication may indicate how many times or periods the common group signaling should be omitted to send the timing realignment indication message or, in response to not receiving the indication, to use a default or predefined configuration of one or a series of timing reference points (defaults or predefined).Note that although a timing reference point is expressed in terms of a timing realignment time point, the timing reference point is associated with a carrier frequency (band), a sub-band, and a numerology that can be configured via RRC or indicated by MAC CE or dynamically in a DCI signaling.

[00123] The TRP 170 can use time-frequency features / occasions for group common signaling, wherein the occasions may comprise one or more parameters, and an example parameter is periodicity. Another example parameter is the signaling location within a frame, such as a symbol offset within a slot or a slot offset within a frame, etc. Other example parameters include a frequency domain feature, which may comprise a sub-band within a carrier, a carrier system bandwidth, the sub-band start location, and a sub-band bandwidth. Additional parameters may comprise waveform. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, pp. 57 / 78 51 / 61 transmission and numerology, such as subcarrier spacing and / or cycle period (CP). A UE can monitor the common group signaling of these time-frequency features and occasions. The time-frequency features / occasions and related parameters can be specifically configured using, for example, SIB1, RRC signaling, or presets in the standards.

[00124] The term “broadcast signaling” can be interpreted as a reference to a type of synchronization information transmission (e.g., in an SSB) and / or as a reference to a type of system information transmission (e.g., in a system information block, i.e., a “SIB”). Broadcast signaling transmission can be considered useful for UE initial access, synchronization, cell selection, metering, etc. Aspects of the present application relate to a UE 110 receiving a timing realignment indication message in broadcast signaling. The TRP 170 can use a modified synchronization signal block (SSB) or SIB (e.g., any of multiple SIBs in a 5G network), wherein a legacy SSB or SIB is used with an additional or added new field to carry the timing realignment indication message.

[00125] In another aspect of the present application, DL signaling is EU-specific signaling. Examples of EU-specific signaling include unicast signaling, modified DCI signaling, modified MAC control element (MAC-CE) signaling, modified semi-static RRC signaling, and modified paging signaling. In addition, TRP 170 may use new, as yet undefined, EU-specific signaling with a new RNTI.

[00126] In one embodiment, the TRP 170 can send paging notification signaling on a DL control channel such as PDCCH, wherein the paging notification signaling indicates that a paging message is coming while the paging notification signaling carries the indication message of Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, pp. 58 / 78 52 / 61 timing realignment. In another embodiment, TRP 170 can send paging notification signaling on a DL control channel such as PDCCH, where the paging notification signaling indicates that there is a paging message to come and TRP 170 can then send the paging message on a data channel (PDSCH) where the paging message carries the timing realignment indication message.

[00127] FIGURE 8 illustrates a timeline for a TRP 170 and a timeline for a UE 110. In a scenario illustrated in FIGURE 8, a timing realignment indication message is transmitted by the TRP 170 at a first time, t1, on the timeline for the TRP 170. The timing realignment indication message is illustrated in FIGURE 8 as being received by the UE 110 at a second time, t2, on the timeline for the UE 110. The timing realignment indication message can be transmitted by the TRP 170 using DL signaling and can, as discussed earlier, indicate a timing reference point 830. The timing reference point 830 is illustrated in FIGURE 8 as corresponding to a third time, t3, on the timeline for the TRP 170.

[00128] Notably, the DL signaling is illustrated as being transmitted at a time offset, Toffset, before the timing reference point 830. The value for the time offset, Toffset, can be determined as a difference between t3 and t1, that is, the time offset Toffset = t3 - t1. It can be shown that, in cases where the time offset, Toffset, is large enough, UE 110 has time to receive and process the timing realignment indication message before performing frame realignment timing. The time offset, Toffset, can be configured to be a minimum time offset greater than the largest propagation delay between TRP 170 and any of the plurality of UE 110s being served in a cell associated with TRP 170. A value Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, page 59 / 78 53 / 61 for the time offset, Tdisplacement, can be configured via RRC signaling. A value for the time offset, Tdisplacement, can be predefined. A value for the time offset, Tdisplacement, can also be included in the timing realignment indication message.

[00129] The new frame timing alignment starts for both UE 110 and TRP 170 from timing reference point 830, where the start frame boundary time tag is xx1:yy1:ww.

[00130] It can be shown that for a particular device, for example, for the TRP 170 or the UE 110 or for an entire cell, a given frame boundary time tag may not be very accurate. In general, the degree to which a frame boundary time tag for a given frame in the TRP 170 is synchronized with a frame boundary time tag for the given frame in the UE 110 can be shown to deteriorate over time. The deterioration can be understood as being due, at least in part, to a drift from a local clock to the UE 110. The deterioration can also be understood as being due to a timing error associated with a cause distinct from the local clock drift.Therefore, in combination with performing steps to cause timing realignment, steps can also be performed to adjust the local clock in order to improve the degree to which the timing frame boundary on the TRP 170 is synchronized with the timing frame boundary on the UE 110.

[00131] According to aspects of the present application, the timing realignment indication message, which, according to aspects of the present application, includes sufficient information for a UE 110 to set a timing reference point to allow a timing realignment in one or more UE 110s in a cell, may also include information that can be used, in the UE 110, to compensate for clock-based timing errors.

[00132] In summary, for any of FIGURES 6-8, the message Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, pp. 60 / 78 54 / 61 timing realignment indication may comprise a relative timing indication and / or an absolute timing indication; in addition, or alternatively, the timing realignment indication message may indicate an absolute reference timing used to correct clock timing deviation or error.

[00133] FIGURE 9 illustrates a plurality of 900 frames 902-R, 902-R+1, transmitted by TRP 170 for reception by UE 110. A frame boundary for a reference frame 902-R, among the plurality of 900 frames, is associated with a reference frame timestamp, xx1:yy1:zz. FIGURE 9 illustrates a plurality of 910 frames 912-M, 912-M+1, transmitted by UE 110 for reception by TRP 170. A frame boundary for a particular frame 912-M, among the plurality of 900 frames, is associated with a particular frame timestamp, xx1:yy1:ee. In fact, it can be considered that UE 110 is out of sync with TRP 170 by a duration that can be obtained by finding a difference, xx1:yy1:ee - xx1:yy1:zz.

[00134] FIGURE 9 illustrates a timing reference point 930 associated with a timing reference point time label, xx1:yy1:ww.

[00135] In one aspect of the present application, the timing realignment indication message can identify timing reference point 930 in two distinct ways. The timing realignment indication message can identify a timing reference point 930 by including, as discussed previously, a relative timing indication, At, to a symbol edge, a slot or a subframe of a reference frame, or a reference frame such as reference frame 902-R. Additionally, the timing realignment indication message can also include a reference frame SFN, so that UE 110 can appropriately identify the reference frame, for example, 902-R. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, pp. 61 / 78 55 / 61 The timing realignment indication message can also identify timing reference point 930 by including, as discussed earlier, an absolute timing indication, for example, the timing reference point time tag, xx1:yy1:ww.

[00136] Optionally, the timing realignment indication message may include other parameters. The other parameters, for example, may include a time offset, discussed earlier as Toffset. The time offset may establish a duration of time preceding the timing reference point 930. The UE 110 may rely on the time offset, Toffset, as an indication that DL signaling including the timing realignment indication message will give the UE 110 sufficient time to detect / decode the timing realignment indication message to set the timing reference point 930.

[00137] In combination with transmitting the timing realignment indication message, the TRP 170 may perform one or more actions to correct clock timing error on the TRP side with the absolute timing indication, for example, by an amount of xx1:yy1:ww - Δt - xx0:yy0:zz, if applicable.

[00138] In combination with setting the timing reference point 930 based on information received in the timing realignment indication message, UE 110 can also perform one or more actions to correct clock timing error on the UE side with the absolute timing indication, for example, by an amount of xx1:yy1:ww - Δt - xx0:yy0:ee, if applicable.

[00139] According to aspects of the present application illustrated in FIGURE 10, the UE 110 sends a request message on a UL channel, i.e., a control channel or a data channel (with overlap) in a different mode at time t1. The TRP 170 can Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, pp. 62 / 78 56 / 61 detect and decode the received request message from UE 110 at time t2. TRP 170 can send a timing realignment indication message to UE 110 via UE-specific signaling at time t3. UE 110 can detect and decode the received timing realignment indication message at time t4. UE 110 can then perform timing realignment at the timing reference point and / or perform other timing correction, for example, for corresponding clock timing drift or error. Schematic and procedural details are described below.

[00140] In FIGURE 10, UE 110 can transmit a timing realignment request message to TRP 170. The timing realignment request message can be interpreted in TRP 170 as a request for information that will allow UE 110 to establish a new timing reference point for a frame boundary realignment and / or to correct timing errors such as clock timing drift. UE 110 can transmit the timing realignment request message in response to recognizing that UE 110 must perform steps to correct clock timing drift on the UE side or another type of timing error. UE 110 can transmit the timing realignment request message when UE 110 realizes that it has a need for precise reference timing or absolute timing.This need can be seen as UE 110 prepares to carry out a detection operation.

[00141] Three example reasons are considered for UE 110 to transmit the timing realignment request message.

[00142] In a first example reason, it is assumed that the UE 110 has maintained proper frame timing alignment, but that the UE 110 has a perceived need for error correction. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, pp. 63 / 78 57 / 61 clock timing. In a second example, it is assumed that the UE 110 has maintained proper clock synchronization, but that the UE 110 has a perceived need for frame realignment. In a third example, the UE 110 has a perceived need for both frame realignment and clock timing error correction.

[00143] In the context of the first example reason, UE 110 may only indicate a need for clock timing error correction. UE 110 may include, in the timing realignment request message, an indication of an identity (e.g., an SFN) of a given frame as well as a frame boundary time tag (e.g., xx0:yy0:ee) for the given frame.

[00144] In response to receiving the timing realignment request message, TRP 170 may determine a frame boundary timing correction by discovering a difference between the frame boundary timing label (e.g., xx0:yy0:ee) provided by UE 110 for the given frame and a frame boundary timing label (e.g., xx1:yy1:zz) assumed by TRP 170 to have been established for the given frame. TRP 170 may then transmit a timing realignment indication message. The timing realignment indication message may include an indication of a clock timing correction with a value, for example, xx0:yy0:ee - xx1:yy1:zz.

[00145] In the context of the second example reason, UE 110 may transmit a timing realignment request message indicating a need for frame realignment. In response to receiving the timing realignment request, TRP 17 0 may transmit a timing realignment indication message.

[00146] The timing realignment indication message can identify a timing reference point by including, as discussed previously, a Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, pp. 64 / 78 58 / 61 relative timing indication, At, in combination with an SFN, so that UE 110 can appropriately identify the reference frame with the frame boundary that serves as a basis for the relative timing indication At. The timing realignment indication message can alternatively identify a timing reference point 1030 by including, as discussed previously, an absolute timing indication, for example, a timing reference point time tag, xx1:yy1:ww.

[00147] In the context of the third example reason, UE 110 may transmit a timing realignment request message indicating a need for clock timing error correction and a need for frame realignment. In response to receiving the timing realignment request, TRP 17 0 may transmit a timing realignment indication message.

[00148] The timing realignment indication message, as described earlier in this document, can identify a timing reference point in two distinct ways. The timing realignment indication message can identify the timing reference point by including, as discussed earlier, a relative timing indication, At, which is anchored to the frame boundary for a reference frame. Additionally, the timing realignment indication message can also include an SFN, so that UE 110 can appropriately identify the reference frame. It can also identify the timing reference point by including an absolute timing indication, i.e., the timing reference point time tag 1030, xx1:yy1:ww.This trio of information (At, SFN, and time label) can be revealed to allow UE 110 to perform steps both to correct the clock timing error and to perform a frame realignment at the reference point. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, pp. 65 / 78 59 / 61 timing.

[00149] There are many options available for the UE 110 to transmit the timing realignment request message. The UE 110 can use a UL control channel or a data channel. In one option, the UE 110 can transmit the timing realignment request message within a Scheduling Request (SR) message. In another option, the UE 110 can transmit the timing realignment request message within a Temporary Storage Status Report (BSR) message.

[00150] As an additional option, UE 110 can transmit the timing realignment request message as part of a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure. In fact, UE 110 can employ a 2-step RACH procedure or a 4-step RACH procedure. In the case of the 2-step RACH procedure, UE 110 can include the timing realignment request message in RACH MSG A. In the case of the 4-step RACH procedure, UE 110 can include the timing realignment request message in RACH Msg 3.

[00151] It is considered that the timing realignment indication message may include parameters that go beyond the values ​​discussed previously. In addition to the ^t, SFN, and time tag values ​​discussed previously, the timing realignment indication message may include a clock quality indication. That is, the timing realignment indication message may include a clock quality indication parameter indicating an accuracy for the clock on the TRP 170. More particularly, the clock quality indication parameter may indicate that the clock on the TRP 170 is traceable to a GNSS or to UTC. Alternatively, the clock quality indication parameter may indicate that the clock on the TRP 170 is not traceable to an external reference, i.e., that the clock “runs free.” Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, pp. 66 / 78 60 / 61

[00152] The clock quality indication parameter can indicate a synchronization source. For a clock on a UE 110, the synchronization source can be the TRP 170 serving the UE 110. The clock quality indication parameter can indicate that a GNSS is the synchronization source. The clock quality indication parameter can indicate that a UTC is the synchronization source.

[00153] In contrast to the inclusion of these various parameters in the timing realignment indication message, it is further considered that these various parameters may be provided for TRP 170 and UE 110 using RRC signaling. It should be understood that realignment (timing) of transmitted frames at the timing reference point may comprise a timing realignment from (a start or end boundary of) a symbol, a slot, or a subframe within a frame; or a frame at the timing reference point to one or more UEs and one or more BSs (in a cell or in a group of cells); also, relative timing may comprise a timing offset relative to (a start or end boundary of) a symbol, a slot, or a subframe within a reference frame; or a reference frame, wherein the reference number may be indicated by an SFN.

[00154] It should be understood that one or more steps of the embodiments provided in this document may be performed by corresponding units or modules. For example, data may be transmitted by a transmission unit or a transmission module. Data may be received by a receiving unit or a receiving module. Data may be processed by a processing unit or a processing module. The respective units / modules may be hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more of the units / modules may be integrated circuits, such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or integrated circuits. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, pp. 67 / 78 Application-specific 61 / 61 (ASICs). It will be understood that where the modules are software, they can be retrieved by a processor, wholly or partially as required, individually or jointly for processing, in a single or multiple instance as required, and that the modules themselves may include instructions for additional deployment and instantiation.

[00155] Although a combination of features is shown in the illustrated embodiments, not all of them need to be combined to realize the benefits of various embodiments of this disclosure. In other words, a system or method designed according to an embodiment of this disclosure will not necessarily include all the features shown in any of the figures or all the portions shown schematically in the figures. Furthermore, selected features from one example embodiment may be combined with selected features from other example embodiments.

[00156] Although this disclosure has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be interpreted as limiting. Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the disclosure, will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the description. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to cover any such modifications or embodiments. Petition 870250099139, dated 10 / 29 / 2025, pp. 68 / 78

Claims

1 / 3 CLAIMS 1. A method, characterized in that it comprises: receiving, by a device, signaling that carries a timing realignment indication message, the timing realignment indication message including information that allows the device to determine a timing reference point for realignment; and transmitting, by the device, traffic in a frame, the transmission starting from the timing reference point that has been determined based on the information.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the information comprises a relative timing indication and a frame number for a frame to which the relative timing indication relates, wherein the relative timing is relative to a symbol boundary, a slot or subframe of the frame, or the frame.

3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the information comprises an absolute timing indication, the absolute timing indication comprising at least one timestamp and an absolute reference timing.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the signaling comprises common group signaling on a control channel, wherein the control channel comprises a physical downlink control channel.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it further comprises receiving paging notification signaling, wherein the paging notification signaling indicates that there is a paging message to come.

6. Method, according to claim 5, characterized in that the paging notification signaling either displays a timing realignment indication message or indicates that a timing realignment indication message is coming.

7. Method, characterized in that it comprises: transmitting signaling that carries a timing realignment indication message, the timing realignment indication message including information indicating a timing reference point for realignment; and receiving, by the device, traffic in a frame, wherein the traffic is received starting from the timing reference point that has been determined based on the indication message.

8. A method according to claim 7, characterized in that the information comprises a relative timing indication and a frame number for a frame to which the relative timing indication relates, wherein the relative timing is relative to a symbol boundary, a slot or subframe of the frame, or the frame.

9. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that the information comprises an absolute timing indication, the absolute timing indication comprising at least one timestamp and an absolute reference timing.

10. Apparatus, according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the signaling comprises common group signaling on a control channel, wherein the control channel comprises a physical downlink control channel.

11. A method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that it further comprises transmitting paging notification signaling, wherein the paging notification signaling indicates that there is a paging message to transmit. Petition 870250084595, dated 09 / 19 / 2025, page 17 / 25 3 / 3 12. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that the paging notification signal carries the timing realignment indication message or indicates that there is a timing realignment indication message to transmit.

13. Apparatus, characterized in that it comprises means for carrying out a method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 6.

14. Apparatus, characterized in that it comprises means for carrying out a method as defined in any one of claims 7 to 12.

15. Computer-readable medium, characterized in that it stores instructions therein, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform a method as defined in any of claims 1 to 12. Petition 870250084595, dated 09 / 19 / 2025, p. 18 / 25

Images