A punch indicator for a portion of the reference signal within the unpunched portion of the reference signal.

Abstract

Technologies related to wireless communication systems are disclosed, in which a network node (e.g., a base station, a gNB, etc.) may be allowed to puncture a reference signal (RS) to deliver high priority data (e.g., URLLC data) to a user equipment (UE) that is not currently being served by the network node. The RS may include a puncture-able subset and a non-puncture-able subset. The puncture-able subset may include resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-able subset may include resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The network node may send the RS so that the non-puncture-able subset indicates whether the puncture-able subset of the RS has been punctured. In this way, the network node can quickly notify whether the RS has been punctured to carry high priority data.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Greek patent application No. 20190100353, filed on August 13, 2019, entitled “PUNCTURING INDICATOR OF A PORTION OF A REFERENCE SIGNAL WITHIN AN UNPUNCTURED PORTION THE REFERENCE SIGNAL,” and U.S. formal patent application No. 16 / 991,959, filed on August 12, 2020, entitled “PUNCTURING INDICATOR OF A PORTION OF A REFERENCE SIGNAL WITHIN AN UNPUNCTURED PORTION THE REFERENCE SIGNAL,” both of which are assigned to the present assignee and are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003]

[0013] Various aspects described herein relate generally to wireless communications. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems have evolved over many generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including intermediate 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data internet enabled wireless service, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), global system for mobile access (GSM), and the like.

[0005] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), calls for higher data transmission speeds, more connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5G standard according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users and 1 gigabit per second to dozens of employees on an office floor. To support large sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, the spectrum efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly enhanced compared to the current 4G standard. In addition, signaling efficiency should be enhanced and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard. Summary of the invention

[0006] A simplified overview of one or more aspects disclosed herein is provided below. Therefore, the following overview should not be considered an exhaustive overview of all expected aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or important elements related to all expected aspects, or to describe the scope associated with any particular aspect. Therefore, the sole purpose of the following overview is to present certain concepts related to one or more aspects related to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form before the detailed description presented below.

[0007] One or more aspects may be directed to a network entity. The network entity may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. The processor may be configured to configure a reference signal (RS) so that the RS may be punctured by another physical layer signal. The RS may include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The RS may be configured so that when the RS is transmitted, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured. The processor may also be configured to provide an RS configuration to a user equipment (UE) via a transceiver. The RS configuration may indicate a resource configuration of the RS.

[0008] One or more aspects may be directed to a method for wireless communication performed by a network entity. The method may include configuring an RS so that the RS can be punctured by another physical layer signal. The RS may include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The RS may be configured so that when the RS is sent, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured. The method may also include providing an RS configuration to a UE. The RS configuration may indicate a resource configuration of the RS.

[0009] One or more aspects may also be directed to a network entity. The network entity may include a component for configuring an RS so that the RS can be punctured by another physical layer signal. The RS may include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The RS may be configured so that when the RS is sent, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured. The network entity may also include a component for providing an RS configuration to a UE. The RS configuration may indicate a resource configuration of the RS.

[0010] One or more aspects may also be directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a network entity. The computer-executable instructions may include one or more instructions for causing the network entity to configure the RS so that the RS can be punctured by another physical layer signal. The RS may include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The RS may be configured so that when the RS is sent, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured. The computer-executable instructions may also include causing the network entity to provide the RS configuration to the UE. The RS configuration may indicate one or more instructions for the resource configuration of the RS.

[0011] One or more aspects may be directed to a UE. The UE may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. The processor may be configured to receive an RS from a non-serving cell via a transceiver. The RS may include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The processor may also be configured to determine whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset. The processor may also be configured to exclude the puncturable subset when processing the RS when it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured. The processor may also be configured to include the puncturable subset when processing the RS when it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured.

[0012] One or more aspects may be directed to a method for wireless communication performed by a UE. The method may include receiving an RS from a non-serving cell. The RS may include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The method may also include determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset. The method may also include excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS when it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured. The method may also include including the puncturable subset when processing the RS when it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured.

[0013] One or more aspects may also be directed to a UE. The UE may include a component for receiving an RS from a non-serving cell. The RS may include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The UE may also include a component for determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset. The UE may also include a component for excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS when it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured. The UE may also include a component for including the puncturable subset when processing the RS when it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured.

[0014] One or more aspects may also be directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a UE. The computer-executable instructions may also include one or more instructions for causing the UE to receive an RS from a non-serving cell. The RS may include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The computer-executable instructions may also include one or more instructions for causing the UE to determine whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset. The computer-readable instructions may also include one or more instructions for causing the UE to exclude the puncturable subset when processing the RS when it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured. The computer-readable instructions may also include one or more instructions for causing the UE to include the puncturable subset when processing the RS when it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured.

[0015] One or more aspects may be directed to a network node. The network node may include a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. The processor may be configured to send an RS to a UE that is not currently served by the network node via the transceiver. The RS may include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The non-puncturable subset may indicate whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured by another physical layer signal.

[0016] One or more aspects may be directed to a method of a network node. The method may include sending an RS to a UE that is not currently served by the network node. The RS may include a puncture-enabled subset and a non-puncture-enabled subset. The puncture-enabled subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-enabled subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The non-puncture-enabled subset may indicate whether the puncture-enabled subset of the RS has been punctured by another physical layer signal.

[0017] One or more aspects may also be directed to a network node. The network node may include a component for sending an RS to a UE that is not currently served by the network node. The RS may include a puncture-enabled subset and a non-puncture-enabled subset. The puncture-enabled subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-enabled subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The non-puncture-enabled subset may indicate whether the puncture-enabled subset of the RS has been punctured by another physical layer signal.

[0018] One or more aspects may also be directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a network node. The computer-executable instructions may include one or more instructions for causing the network node to send an RS to a UE that is not currently being served by the network node. The RS may include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The non-puncturable subset may indicate whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured by another physical layer signal.

[0019] Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The accompanying drawings are provided to aid in describing examples of one or more aspects of the disclosed subject matter and are provided solely to illustrate these examples and not to limit these examples:

[0021] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Figure 2A and 2B An example wireless network structure according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0024] Figure 4 and Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example frame structure and channels within the frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 6 is a diagram of an exemplary positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for PRS transmission of a given base station according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] 7A to 7C Example techniques for indicating that ongoing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) traffic has been punctured by ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) traffic according to aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0027] Figure 8 A representation of an example downlink control indicator (DCI) in DCI format 2_1 is shown according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Fig. 9 An exemplary wireless communication system according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] FIG. 10A to FIG. 10E An example configuration of a reference signal (RS) according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0030] Fig.11 A flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of a network entity according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0031] Figures 12 to 17 A flow chart of an exemplary method of a UE according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0032] Fig.18 A flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of a network node according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] Various aspects described herein relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more specifically, to indicating whether a reference signal (RS) is punctured. In one aspect, a network node (e.g., a base station, a gNB, etc.) may be allowed to puncture a reference signal (such as a positioning reference signal (PRS)) to deliver high priority data (incoming ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) data) to a user equipment (UE), even if the UE is not currently being served by the network node. Specifically, the RS may be configured to include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The network node may send the RS so that the non-puncturable subset indicates that the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured. In this way, the network can quickly notify whether the RS has been punctured to carry high priority data.

[0034] These and other aspects of the present disclosure are provided below in the description and related drawings of various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail, or well-known elements of the present disclosure will be omitted to avoid blurring the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0035] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0036] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the following specification may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0037] In addition, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. In addition, the sequences of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or instruct the associated processor of the device to perform the functions described herein. Thus, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for various aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any of these aspects may be described herein as, for example, "logic" that is "configured to" perform the described actions.

[0038] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any specific radio access technology (RAT). In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a tracking device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headsets, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. The UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" is interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber equipment", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or UT, "mobile device", "mobile terminal", "mobile station" or variations thereof. In general, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (eg, based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), and so on.

[0039] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs for communicating with a UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a new radio (NR) NodeB (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may be primarily used to support wireless access for a UE, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UE. In some systems, a base station may provide a pure edge node signaling function, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control and / or network management functions. A communication link through which a UE may send a signal to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a base station may send a signal to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0040] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit receive point (TRP), or may or may not be a plurality of collocated physical TRPs. For example, where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term "base station" refers to a plurality of collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an antenna array of a base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where a base station employs beamforming). Where the term "base station" refers to a plurality of non-collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-collocated physical TRPs may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and a neighboring base station for which the UE is measuring its reference RF signal (or simply "reference signal"). Because the TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood to refer to the specific TRP of that base station.

[0041] In some implementations of supporting UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access of a UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections of a UE), but may send a reference signal to be measured by the UE to the UE, and / or may receive and measure signals sent by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when sending a signal to a UE) and / or as a position measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring signals from a UE).

[0042] "RF signals" include electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transmit information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may send a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same RF signal sent on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply as a "signal", where it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to either a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0043] According to various aspects, Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system 100 is shown. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base station may include an eNB and / or ng-eNB corresponding to an LTE network of the wireless communication system 100, or a gNB in ​​which the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network, or a combination thereof, and the small cell base station may include a femtocell, a picocell, a microcell, etc.

[0044] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via a backhaul link 122 and connect to one or more location servers 172 (which may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170) via the core network 170. The base stations 102 may perform, among other functions, functions related to one or more of: transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and device tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC / 5NGC) via a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0045] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, base station 102 can support one or more cells in each coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity for communicating with a base station (e.g., on a certain frequency resource referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI)) for distinguishing cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) or others), and different protocol types can provide access for different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" can refer to one or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting it, depending on the context. In addition, because a TRP is typically a physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to a geographic coverage area (eg, sector) of a base station, as long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communications within some portion of the geographic coverage area 110 .

[0046] Although the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handoff region), some geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with a larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' may have a coverage area 110' that is substantially the same as the coverage area 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cells and macrocell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0047] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the downlink than for the uplink).

[0048] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a WLAN station (STA) 152 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz) via a communication link 154. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure prior to communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0049] The small cell base station 102' can operate in a licensed spectrum and / or an unlicensed spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' can adopt LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' using LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum can enhance the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, License Assisted Access (LAA) or MulteFire.

[0050] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate at mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies for communicating with UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. The frequency range of EHF is 30GHz to 300GHz, and the wavelength is 1 mm to 10 mm. The radio waves in this band can be called millimeter waves. Near mmW can extend down to a frequency of 3GHz and a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3GHz and 30GHz and is also called centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands have high path losses and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 180 and UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on ​​the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path losses and short distances. In addition, it should be understood that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 can also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Therefore, it should be appreciated that the foregoing diagrams are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0051] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectional). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device. In order to change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that broadcast the RF signal. For example, a network node can use an antenna array (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates an RF beam that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antenna. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to each antenna in the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas are added together to increase the radiation in the desired direction while canceling to suppress the radiation in the unwanted direction.

[0052] The transmit beams can be quasi-collocated, meaning that they appear to have the same parameters to a receiver (e.g., a UE) regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network nodes themselves are physically collocated. In NR, there are four types of quasi-collocated (QCL) relationships. More specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived from information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver may use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0053] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, a receiver may increase a gain setting and / or adjust a phase setting of an antenna array in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase the gain level) RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is considered to be beamforming in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to beam gains along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest in that direction relative to all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR), etc.) for the RF signal received from that direction.

[0054] The receive beams may be spatially correlated. The spatial relationship means that the parameters of the transmit beam of the second reference signal may be derived from the information about the receive beam of the first reference signal. For example, the UE may receive one or more reference downlink reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signal (PRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), cell-specific reference signal (CRS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.) from a base station using a specific receive beam. The UE may then form a transmit beam for sending one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), PTRS, etc.) to the base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0055] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, if a base station is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if a UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, if a base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0056] In 5G, the spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges, FR1 (from 450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are called "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2), which can be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and can be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only the necessary signaling information, and since both the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific, for example, those UE-specific signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. For example, this is done to balance the load on different carriers. Because a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier on which a base station communicates, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0057] For example, still refer to Figure 1 , one of the frequencies used by macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate achieved with a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0058] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “sidelinks”). Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In the example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be provided by any well-known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth etc.) to support.

[0059] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 over the communication link 120 and / or communicate with the mmW base station 180 over the mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0060] According to various aspects, Figure 2A An example wireless network architecture 200 is shown. For example, the 5GC 210 (also referred to as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally viewed as a control plane function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which operate in conjunction to form a core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, and specifically to the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212. In another configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214, and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. In addition, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. The gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1204). Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed on multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, and the UE 204 may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not shown). Moreover, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network.

[0061] According to various aspects, Figure 2B Another example wireless network architecture 250 is illustrated. For example, the 5GC 260 can be functionally viewed as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, and a user plane function provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate in cooperation to form a core network (i.e., the 5GC 260). The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the ng-eNB 224 to the 5GC 260, and specifically to the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively. In another configuration, the gNB 222 can also be connected to the 5GC 260 via a control plane interface 265 to the AMF 264 and a user plane interface 263 to the UPF 262. In addition, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223 with or without a gNB direct connection to the 5GC 260. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. The gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 The base station of the new RAN 220 communicates with the AMF 264 via the N2 interface and communicates with the UPF 262 via the N3 interface.

[0062] The functions of AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between UE 204 and session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between UE 204 and short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). AMF 264 also interacts with authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204, and receives intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), AMF 264 retrieves security materials from AUSF. The functions of AMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). SCM receives keys from SEAF for deriving keys specific to access networks. The functions of AMF 264 also include location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and location management function (LMF) 270 (which acts as location server 230), transmission of location service messages between new RAN 220 and LMF 270, allocation of Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifiers for interworking with EPS, and notification of mobility events of UE 204. In addition, AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP access networks.

[0063] The functions of the UPF 262 include serving as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (if applicable), serving as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection with a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, user plane quality of service (QoS) processing (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in downlink), uplink traffic verification (traffic data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support the transmission of location service messages on the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server (such as a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP) 272).

[0064] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuring traffic steering at UPF 262 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, controlling partial policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0065] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed on multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server. The location server 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can be connected to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support functionality similar to that of the LMF 270, but whereas the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the new RAN 220, and the UE 204 via a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP) via a user plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry voice and / or data such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP). Figure 2B Communicate with the

[0066] In one aspect, the LMF 270 and / or SLP 272 may be integrated into a base station such as a gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224. When integrated into a gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224, the LMF 270 and / or SLP 272 may be referred to as a "location management component" or "LMC." However, as used herein, references to the LMF 270 and SLP 272 include both the case where the LMF 270 and SLP 272 are components of a core network (e.g., 5GC 260) and the case where the LMF 270 and SLP 272 are components of a base station.

[0067] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CSeveral exemplary components (represented by corresponding boxes) are shown, which may be incorporated into UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270) to support the file transfer operations described herein. It will be understood that these components can be implemented in different types of devices in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.). The components shown may also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to the components described to provide similar functionality. Moreover, a given device may include one or more components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0068] UE 302 and base station 304 each include a wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver 310 and 350, respectively, which are configured to communicate via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, and / or similar networks. WWAN transceiver 310 and WWAN transceiver 350 can be connected to one or more antennas 316 and antennas 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc. via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a certain set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum). WWAN transceiver 310 and WWAN transceiver 350 can be configured differently according to the designated RAT for sending and encoding signals 318 and signals 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), respectively, and conversely for receiving and decoding signals 318 and signals 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.), respectively. Specifically, the transceiver 310 and the transceiver 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding the signal 318 and the signal 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding the signal 318 and the signal 358, respectively.

[0069] UE 302 and base station 304 also include, at least in some cases, wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and antennas 366, respectively, for communicating via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The WLAN transceiver 320 and the WLAN transceiver 360 may be configured differently according to the specified RAT to transmit and encode the signal 328 and the signal 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), respectively, and conversely to receive and decode the signal 328 and the signal 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.), respectively. Specifically, the transceiver 320 and the transceiver 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding the signal 328 and the signal 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding the signal 328 and the signal 368, respectively.

[0070] The transceiver circuitry including at least one transmitter and at least one receiver may include an integrated device (e.g., a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit embodied as a single communication device) in some implementations, may include a separate transmitter device and a separate receiver device in some implementations, or may be embodied in other ways in other implementations. In one aspect, the transmitter may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antenna 316, antenna 326, antenna 356, antenna 366) such as an antenna array, which allow the corresponding device to perform transmit "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the receiver may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antenna 316, antenna 326, antenna 356, antenna 366) such as an antenna array, which allow the corresponding device to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antenna 316, antenna 326, antenna 356, antenna 366) so that the corresponding device can only receive or transmit at a given time, rather than both at the same time. The wireless communication devices of UE 302 and / or base station 304 (eg, transceivers 310 and 320 and / or one or both of transceivers 350 and 360) may also include a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0071] UE 302 and base station 304 also include, at least in some cases, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 330 and a receiver 370. SPS receiver 330 and receiver 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and antennas 376, respectively, for receiving SPS signals 338 and signals 378, such as global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian regional navigation satellite system (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. SPS receiver 330 and receiver 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing SPS signals 338 and signals 378, respectively. SPS receiver 330 and receiver 370 request information and operations from other systems as appropriate, and use measurements obtained by any appropriate SPS algorithm to perform calculations required to determine the location of UE 302 and base station 304.

[0072] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include at least one network interface 380 and a network interface 390 for communicating with other network entities. For example, the network interface 380 and the network interface 390 (e.g., one or more network access ports) can be configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wired or wireless backhaul connection. In some aspects, the network interface 380 and the network interface 390 can be implemented as a transceiver configured to support wired or wireless signal communication. The communication can involve, for example, sending and receiving messages, parameters and / or other types of information.

[0073] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302 includes processor circuitry that implements processing system 332, which is used to provide, for example, functions related to wireless communications and to provide other processing functions. Base station 304 includes processing system 384, which is used to provide, for example, functions related to wireless communications disclosed herein and to provide other processing functions. Network entity 306 includes processing system 394, which is used to provide, for example, functions related to wireless communications disclosed herein and to provide other processing functions. In one aspect, processing system 332, processing system 384, and processing system 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors, field programmable gate arrays, or other programmable logic devices or processing circuits.

[0074] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include memory circuits implementing memory component 340, memory component 386, and memory component 396 (e.g., each including a memory device), respectively, for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may include puncturing component 342, puncturing component 388, and puncturing component 398, respectively. Puncturing component 342, puncturing component 388, and puncturing component 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to processing system 332, processing system 384, and processing system 394, respectively, which, when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, punching component 342, punching component 388, and punching component 398 can be external to processing system 332, processing system 384, and processing system 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, punching component 342, punching component 388, and punching component 398 can be memory modules (e.g., memory modules 340, memory modules 386, and memory modules 396, respectively) stored in memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively. Figure 3A-3C ), when executed by processing system 332, processing system 384, and processing system 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), the memory module causes UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein.

[0075] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to processing system 332 to provide motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received from WWAN transceiver 310, WLAN transceiver 320, and / or SPS receiver 330. As an example, sensor 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. In addition, sensor 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate a location in a 2D and / or 3D coordinate system.

[0076] In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 for providing indications to the user (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user activates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0077] Referring to the processing system 384 in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processing system 384. The processing system 384 may implement the functions of the RRC layer, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The processing system 384 may provide RRC layer functions associated with system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks (SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with transmission of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, prioritization, and logical channel prioritization.

[0078] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 can implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, can include error detection on the transmission channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transmission channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time domain and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from reference signals and / or channel condition feedback sent by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0079] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives the signal through its corresponding antenna 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement the Layer-1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 312. The receiver 312 then transforms the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point sent by the base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally sent on the physical channel by the base station 304. The data and control signals are then provided to a processing system 332 that implements Layer-3 and Layer-2 functions.

[0080] In the uplink, the processing system 332 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The processing system 332 is also responsible for error detection.

[0081] Similar to the functions described in conjunction with the downlink transmission of the base station 304, the processing system 332 provides RRC layer functions associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression, and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with transmission of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs to transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0082] The transmitter 314 may select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing using channel estimates derived by a channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback sent by the base station 304. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0083] The uplink transmission is processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives the signal through its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 384.

[0084] In the uplink, the processing system 384 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the processing system 384 may be provided to the core network. The processing system 384 is also responsible for error detection.

[0085] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 may be configured to: Figure 3A-3C 1 and 2. The schematic diagram of the embodiment of the present invention is shown as including various components according to various example configurations described herein. However, it is to be understood that the blocks shown may have different functions in different designs.

[0086] The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may communicate with each other via the data bus 334, the data bus 382, ​​and the data bus 392, respectively. Figure 3A-3C The components of can be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, Figure 3A-3CThe components may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or combine at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the function. For example, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate codes and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate codes and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Moreover, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate codes and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions and / or functions are described herein as being performed by "UE," "by base station," "by positioning entity," etc. However, as will be understood, such operations, actions and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE, base station, positioning entity, etc., such as processing system 332, processing system 384, processing system 394, transceiver 310, transceiver 320, transceiver 350 and transceiver 360, memory component 340, memory component 386 and memory component 396, punching component 342, punching component 388 and punching component 398, etc.

[0087] NR supports a variety of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning process, the UE measures the difference between the arrival time (ToA) of the reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, NRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from paired base stations, which is called the reference signal time difference (RSTD) or arrival time difference (TDOA) measurement, and reports them to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in the auxiliary data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known positions of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity can estimate the position of the UE. For DL-AoD positioning, a base station measures the angle of a downlink transmit beam used to communicate with a UE and other channel properties (eg, signal strength) to estimate the position of the UE.

[0088] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) sent by the UE. For UL-AOA positioning, the base station measures the angle and other channel properties (e.g., gain level) of the uplink receive beam used to communicate with the UE to estimate the UE's position.

[0089] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include enhanced cell ID (E-CID) positioning and multi-round trip time (RTT) positioning (also known as "multi-cell RTT"). In the RTT process, the initiator (base station or UE) sends an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to the responder (UE or base station), and the responder sends an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the initiator. The RTT response signal includes the difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal, which is called the received to transmitted (Rx-Tx) measurement. The initiator calculates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response signal, which is called the "Tx-Rx" measurement. The propagation time (also known as "flight time") between the initiator and the responder can be calculated from the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx measurements. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and the responder can be determined. For multi-RTT positioning, the UE performs an RTT process with multiple base stations so that its position can be triangulated based on the known positions of the base stations. RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD to improve positioning accuracy.

[0090] The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identifiers, estimated timing, and signal strength of detected neighboring base stations. The UE's position is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0091] To assist the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include an identifier of a base station (or a cell / TRP of a base station) from which a reference signal is to be measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning slots, the periodicity of the positioning slots, a muting sequence, a frequency hopping sequence, a reference signal identifier (ID), a reference signal bandwidth, a slot offset, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may come directly from the base station itself (e.g., in a periodically broadcast overhead message, etc.). In some cases, the UE 104 may be able to detect neighboring network nodes itself without using assistance data.

[0092] The location estimate may be referred to by other names, such as location estimate, location, location, location calibration, calibration, etc. The location estimate may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or may be urban and include a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. The location estimate may also be defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). The location estimate may include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included, with some specified or default confidence level).

[0093] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (eg, base stations and UEs). Figure 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a downlink frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example of channels in a downlink frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0094] LTE, and in some cases NR, utilizes OFDM on the downlink and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing of the subcarriers can be 15kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180kHz). Therefore, the nominal FFT size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (ie, 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0095] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing, symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR can support multiple numerologies (μ), for example, 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, 120kHz, and 240kHz or larger subcarrier spacings are available. Table 1 provided below lists some of the different parameters for different NR numerologies.

[0096]

[0097] Table 1

[0098] exist Figure 4 and Figure 5 In , a 15kHz parameter set is used. Therefore, in the time domain, a 10 millisecond (ms) frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of 1 millisecond (ms) each, and each subframe includes one time slot. Figure 4 and Figure 5 In the figure, time is represented horizontally (for example, on the X-axis), and time increases from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (for example, on the Y-axis), and frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0099] A resource grid can be used to represent a time slot, each of which includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also called physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). One RE can correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. Figure 4 and Figure 5 In the parameter set of , for a normal cyclic prefix, one RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, one RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0100] Some REs carry downlink reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS). DL-RS may include PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, etc. Figure 4 Exemplary locations of REs carrying PRSs (labeled "R") are shown.

[0101] A set of resource elements (REs) used for PRS transmission is called a "PRS resource". A set of resource elements may span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain, and N (e.g., 1 or more) consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0102] The transmission of PRS resources within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also called "comb density"). The comb size 'N' represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for comb size 'N', PRS is transmitted in every N subcarriers of a symbol of a PRB. For example, for comb-4, for every fourth symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the PRS of the PRS resource is transmitted using REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (e.g., subcarriers 0, 4, 8). Currently, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 are supported for DL-PRS. Figure 4 An exemplary PRS resource configuration for comb-6 (which spans six symbols) is shown. That is, the positions of the shaded REs (labeled "R") indicate the comb-6 PRS resource configuration.

[0103] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used for transmission of a PRS signal, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a specific TRP (identified by the TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (e.g., PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor) across time slots. A period is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The period may have a value selected from 2 μ · A length of {4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots, where μ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0104] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore, a "PRS resource" or simply a "resource" may also be referred to as a "beam". Note that this has no effect on whether the UE knows the TRP and beam on which the PRS is transmitted.

[0105] A "PRS instance" or "PRS opportunity" is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a group of one or more consecutive time slots) in which a PRS is expected to be sent. A PRS opportunity may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning opportunity," "PRS positioning instance," "positioning opportunity," "positioning instance," "positioning repetition," or simply "opportunity," "instance," or "repetition."

[0106] A "positioning frequency layer" (also referred to as a "frequency layer") is a set of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values ​​for certain parameters. Specifically, the set of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all parameter sets supported for PDSCH are also supported for PRS), the same Point A, the same downlink PRS bandwidth value, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The Point A parameter takes the value of the parameter ARFCN-ValueNR (where "ARFCN" stands for "Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number") and is an identifier / code that specifies a pair of physical radio channels for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth can have a granularity of four PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource sets can be configured per TRP per frequency layer.

[0107] The concept of frequency layer is a bit like the concept of component carrier and bandwidth part (BWP), but the difference is that component carrier and BWP are used by one base station (or macro cell base station and small cell base station) to send data channels, while frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to send PRS. The UE can indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when it sends its positioning capabilities to the network, such as during an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) session. For example, the UE can indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0108] Figure 5 An example of various channels within a downlink timeslot of a radio frame is shown. In NR, the channel bandwidth or system bandwidth is divided into multiple BWPs. A BWP is a contiguous set of PRBs selected from a contiguous subset of common RBs for a given parameter set on a given carrier. Generally, up to four BWPs can be specified in the downlink and uplink. That is, a UE can be configured with up to four BWPs on the downlink and up to four BWPs on the uplink. At a given time, only one BWP (uplink or downlink) can be active, which means that the UE can only receive or transmit through one BWP at a time. On the downlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be equal to or greater than the bandwidth of the SSB, but it may or may not contain SSBs.

[0109] refer to Figure 5, the UE uses the primary synchronization signal (PSS) to determine the subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identification. The UE uses the secondary synchronization signal (SSS) to determine the physical layer cell identification group number and the radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identification and the physical layer cell identification group number, the UE can determine the PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the above-mentioned DL-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the MIB can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also called SS / PBCH). The MIB provides the downlink system bandwidth and the number of RBs in the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not sent through the PBCH (such as system information blocks (SIBs)), and paging messages.

[0110] The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries downlink control information (DCI) in one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE includes one or more RE group (REG) bundles (which can span multiple symbols in the time domain), each REG bundle includes one or more REGs, each REG corresponds to 12 resource elements (one resource block) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain. The set of physical resources used to carry PDCCH / DCI is called a control resource set (CORESET) in NR. In NR, one PDCCH is confined to a single CORESET and is transmitted with its own DMRS. This enables UE-specific beamforming for PDCCH.

[0111] exist Figure 5 In the example in NR, there is one CORESET per BWP, and the CORESET spans three symbols in the time domain (although it could be just one or two symbols). Unlike LTE control channels, which occupy the entire system bandwidth, in NR, the PDCCH channel is localized to a specific region (i.e., CORESET) in the frequency domain. Therefore, Figure 5 The frequency components of the PDCCH shown in are illustrated as being smaller than a single BWP in the frequency domain. Note that although the illustrated CORESET is continuous in the frequency domain, it does not have to be continuous. In addition, the span of the CORESET in the time domain may be smaller than three symbols.

[0112] The DCI within the PDCCH carries information about uplink resource allocations (persistent and non-persistent) and a description of downlink data sent to the UE. Multiple (e.g., up to eight) DCIs can be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIs can have one of a variety of formats. For example, there are different DCI formats for uplink scheduling, for non-MIMO downlink scheduling, for MIMO downlink scheduling, and for uplink power control. The PDCCH can be transmitted by 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs to accommodate different DCI payload sizes or coding rates.

[0113] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a diagram of an exemplary PRS configuration 600 for PRS transmission of a given base station according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 6 , time is represented horizontally, increasing from left to right. Each long rectangle represents a time slot, and each short (shaded) rectangle represents an OFDM symbol. The PRS configuration 600 identifies PRS resources 612 and 614 of a PRS resource set 610 during which the base station transmits a PRS. The PRS resource set 610 has an opportunity length N of two (2) time slots. PRS and T PRS Therefore, both PRS resources 612 and 614 are two consecutive time slots in length and are repeated every T from the time slot in which the first symbol of the corresponding PRS resource appears. PRS subframes.

[0114] exist Figure 6 In the example of FIG. 6 , the PRS resource set 610 includes two PRS resources, the first PRS resource 612 (in Figure 6 ) and a second PRS resource 614 (in Figure 6 612 and PRS resource 614 may be transmitted on separate beams of the same base station. PRS resource 612 has a symbol length N of two (2) symbols. symb , and the PRS resource 614 has a symbol length N of four (4) symbols symb .

[0115] Each instance of a PRS resource set 610, as shown in instances 630a, 630b, and 630c, includes a length of '2' (ie, N PRS =2). PRS resource 612 and PRS resource 614 are each T PRS subframes are repeated until the silent sequence period T REP Therefore, a length of T will be required REPA bitmap is used to indicate which times of instances 630a, 630b, and 630c are muted.

[0116] In one aspect, there may be a PRS configuration such as Figure 1 For example, for all PRS resources (e.g., PRS resources 612, 614) of a PRS resource set (e.g., PRS resource set 610), the base station may configure the following parameters to be the same: (a) opportunity length (e.g., T PRS ), (b) the number of symbols (e.g. N symb ), (c) comb type, and / or (d) bandwidth. In addition, for all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets, the subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix can be configured to be the same for one base station or for all base stations. Whether it is for one base station or for all base stations may depend on the ability of the UE to support the first and / or second options.

[0117] In 5G NR, multiple service types can be supported, including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). An ongoing eMBB transmission may be punctured or interrupted to send a higher priority URLLC transmission. Puncturing is a technique that cancels the transmission of a lower priority signal in a symbol or time slot when the lower priority signal in the symbol or time slot overlaps (collides) with a higher priority signal. This may result in a loss of phase coherence between two eMBB transmission durations that have been made discontinuous by URLLC transmission. For example, when URLLC transmissions have different transmit powers, phase coherence loss may occur in the uplink. As another example, when URLLC transmissions are scheduled in different component carriers (CCs) or BWPs, the UE may have to tune away from the ongoing eMBB communication to receive (on the downlink) or send (on the uplink) ULRRC services, and then tune back for eMBB services. This results in a loss of phase coherence.

[0118] Punching can be indicated by a multiplexing method. Such an indication-based multiplexing method can benefit both ULRRC UE and eMBB UE at the expense of indicator overhead. When an ongoing eMBB service is preempted or punctured by a URLLC service, a preemption indication (PI) DCI can be used to notify that puncturing has occurred. Unless otherwise specified, "punching" and "preemption" can be used synonymously. Therefore, "PI" can also refer to "punching indication".

[0119] Fig. 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7CDifferent ways of indicating that ongoing eMBB traffic has been punctured by URLLC traffic are shown. In these figures, it can be assumed that the "mini-slots" allocated for eMBB traffic are punctured to carry URLLC traffic. Fig. 7A Schematic diagram 700 of an example of a current indication of a URLLC service. In this case, the PI DCI resource (i.e., the indication channel resource) spans the entire time slot. Therefore, the PI DCI indicating the punctured resource can be provided in the same time resource (e.g., the same time slot) as the punctured resource.

[0120] Figure 7B 710 is a diagram of an example of post indication for both URLLC services and eMBB services. In this example, the PI DCI resource (indication channel) is illustrated as a resource of the next eMBB timeslot. Figure 7C Schematic diagram 720 of an example of a post indication about URLLC services, but currently about eMBB services. In this example, the PI DCI resources are illustrated as occupying resources of the current eMBB timeslot, but occupying time resources (symbols) after the resources punctured by the URLLC services.

[0121] Currently, DCI format 2_1 is used to signal PRBs and OFDM symbols where the UE can assume that there are no transmissions destined for the UE. For example, the gNB can schedule an eMBB UE during a slot. When a packet for a URLLC UE (the same or different from the eMBB UE) arrives in the middle of a slot, the gNB can schedule and send the packet to the URLLC UE in a subset of the resource blocks (RBs) / slots scheduled for the eMBB UE. The gNB then indicates to the eMBB UE via the DL PI (e.g., in the next slot) which portion of the RB / symbol is punctured (for the URLLC UE).

[0122] The eMBB UE may use this information to improve the chances of decoding data traffic. For example, the eMBB UE may zero the log likelihood ratio (LLR) of the punctured resources. This may result in better decoding performance of the eMBB traffic in the remaining unpunctured resources.

[0123] The following information may be sent via DCI in DCI format 2_1 with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by an interrupt radio network temporary identifier (INT-RNTI):

[0124] PI_1 (punch indication 1), PI_2 (punch indication 2), ..., PI_N (punch indication N).

[0125] • Each puncturing indication may be some number of bits (eg, 14 bits). For each UE, different preemption indications may correspond to different component carriers (serving cells).

[0126] Figure 8 800 is a schematic diagram of an example DCI in DCI format 2_1, where N=4. Note that DCI 2_1 is group common. However, the interpretation for different UEs may be different. This means that each UE can read any information related to the UE. For example:

[0127] ·UE1: CC1→PI_1, CC2→PI_2, CC3→PI_4.

[0128] UE2: CC1 → PI_3.

[0129] ·UE3: CC1→PI_1, CC2→PI_2.

[0130] Fig. 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7C A situation in which the transmission of data is preempted is shown, i.e., data resources (e.g., PDSCH) may be punctured. However, reference signals (RS) may also be punctured. URLLC services should have priority over signals received by the UE from a serving cell or a neighboring cell. For example, URLLC services should take precedence over receiving PRS on the downlink. Fig. 9 900 is a diagram of an example scenario including a first UE 910, a second UE 920, a first gNB 930, a second gNB 940, and a LMF 950. Fig. 9 In the scenario, we can assume the following:

[0131] The first gNB 930 serves the first UE 910. Therefore, the first and second gNBs 930 and 940 may also be referred to as a serving gNB and a neighboring gNB, respectively.

[0132] The first UE 910 is receiving eMBB services from both the serving gNB 930 and the neighboring gNB 940. Therefore, the first UE 910 may be referred to as an eMBB UE 910.

[0133] The neighboring gNB 940 needs to deliver URLLC data to the second UE 920. Therefore, the second UE 920 can be referred to as a URLLC UE 920.

[0134] A network entity such as the LMF 950 or the serving gNB 930 may configure the PRS resources for the UE 910, 920, for example, via one or more configuration messages (e.g., almanac messages). In one aspect, the network entity may also configure the gNB 930, 940 so that the gNB 930, 940 knows which resources are allowed to be punctured.

[0135] As shown, the serving gNB 930 may transmit a first PRS signal labeled “PRS1” and the neighboring gNB 940 may transmit a second PRS signal labeled “PRS2”. The eMBB UE 910 may perform positioning-related measurements (e.g., OTDOA, RSTD, RTT, AoA, AoD, etc.) based on the “PRS1” and “PRS2” signals transmitted by the serving and neighboring gNBs 930, 940. However, when the neighboring gNB 940 wants to transmit URLLC data, it may puncture some “PRS2” resources to deliver the URLLC data to the URLLC UE 920 to comply with the low latency standard for URLLC services.

[0136] Typically, it is not practical for a cell to directly contact a UE of another cell (eg, via downlink PI DCI) to inform the UE about puncturing. Fig. 9 In the scenario of FIG. 9A , it may not be practical for the neighboring gNB 940 to directly contact (e.g., via downlink PI DCI) the eMBB UE 910 because the eMBB UE 910 is being served by another cell, namely, by the serving gNB 930. The neighboring gNB 940 may notify the serving gNB 930 - e.g., via higher layer signaling via the LMF 950 - about the puncturing of "PRS2" so that the serving gNB 930 may in turn notify the eMBB UE 910. However, this is likely to result in a large latency such that when the information is finally received by the eMBB UE 910, the information will no longer be useful. For example, the eMBB UE 910 may have performed PRS processing on the entire PRS resource including the punctured resources.

[0137] One caveat is that if the neighboring gNB 940 is one of the gNBs in a multi-TRP scenario, it is possible for the neighboring gNB 940 to directly contact the eMBB UE 910. In such an instance, the neighboring gNB 940 may be able to use Fig. 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7C The eMBB UE 910 may be contacted by any of the methods shown in .

[0138] The present disclosure provides a technique in which a neighboring gNB 940 is able to notify an eMBB UE 910 without forwarding the PI to the serving gNB 930 through the LMF 950. In one or more aspects, it is proposed that the neighboring gNB 940 embeds an indication of whether "PRS2" is punctured into "PRS2" itself. Since the indication is embedded in "PRS2" itself, the eMBB UE 910 can be notified in a timely manner.

[0139] In the proposed method, the UE may be configured via a higher layer (e.g., a layer above the physical layer) regarding the resources (frequency, time, and / or space (i.e., port) domains) of a reference signal (RS). The configuration may be received via an RRC and / or MAC control element (CE) message. For PRS, the configuration may also be received via an LPP message. RS resources may be divided into a "perforable" subset and a "non-perforable" subset. A perforable subset may be a subset of RS resources that are allowed to be punctured by other PHY signals (e.g., a PHY channel carrying URLLC data or control information). However, it is not required to puncture the perforable subset resources. Conversely, a non-perforable subset may be a subset of RS resources that are prohibited from being punctured. In other words, for a non-perforable subset, the UE may assume that puncturing will not occur. In one aspect, a non-perforable subset may include all remaining RS resources that are not in a perforable subset.

[0140] A higher layer configuration may indicate which RS resources are in the puncturable subset and which resources are in the non-puncturable subset. If the RS resources are divided so that each resource is in one subset or the other, only one subset may be indicated. To indicate which resources are puncturable / non-puncturable, the configuration may include puncturable and / or non-puncturable subset indications, where each indication may include (not necessarily exhaustive):

[0141] A puncture-capable (non-puncturable) frequency bitmap indicating one or more frequency domain resources (e.g., PRB index, PRB group index, etc.) of the puncturable (non-puncturable) subset;

[0142] a puncture-able (non-puncturable) time bitmap indicating one or more time domain resources (e.g., OFDM symbols, OFDM symbol regions, time slots, subframes, frames, occasions if the RS is a PRS, instances if the RS is a PRS) of a puncturable (non-puncturable) subset; and / or

[0143] • A puncturable (non-puncturable) spatial bitmap indicating one or more spatial domain resources (eg, ports) of a puncturable (non-puncturable) subset.

[0144] Higher layer configuration may also configure the UE to use the non-puncturable subset to identify whether the puncturable subset has actually been punctured. Before proceeding further, the following should be noted. Fig. 9 In the scenario, it is assumed that the URLLC UE 920 is different from the eMBB UE 910. However, the two may be the same. That is, the intended destination of the URLLC data may be the eMBB UE 910. Nevertheless, the characteristics of the UL RRC transmission may be very different. That is, when puncturing is present, the characteristics of the puncturable subsets (e.g., transmit power, phase, sequence, code, etc.) may be very different. Therefore, many of the proposed methods and techniques may still be applicable even when the URLLC data is destined for the same UE.

[0145] FIG. 10A to FIG. 10E Different examples of puncturable subsets 1010 and non-puncturable subsets 1020 of resources of RS 1000 are shown. Fig. 10A An example manner in which the resources of RS 1000 may be configured is shown. In this example, it may be assumed that RS 1000 is a PRS. In this instance, the RS 1000 resources are illustrated as including some bandwidth in the frequency domain (e.g., PRBs, PRB groups, etc.) and two symbols in the time domain. The RS resources may include a puncturable subset 1010 and a non-puncturable subset 1020. If there is no puncturing, i.e., the puncturable subset 1010 is not punctured by another PHY signal, the UE may use all resources, i.e., resources of both the puncturable subset 1010 and the non-puncturable subset 1020, to perform PRS-related measurements (e.g., OTDOA, RSTD, RTT, AoA, AoD, etc.). However, if there is puncturing, i.e., the puncturable subset 1010 is punctured, the UE may only use the non-puncturable subset 1020 for PRS-related measurements. For example, the UE may zero the LLR of the puncturable subset 1010.

[0146] In one aspect, a higher layer configuration may indicate to the UE multiple scrambling identifiers (IDs) to be applied to the configured RS 1000. For example, the higher layer configuration may configure the UE with a first scrambling ID and a second scrambling ID for the RS 1000. The first scrambling ID may correspond to a case where no puncturing occurs, and the second scrambling ID may correspond to a case where puncturing occurs. In other words, if the gNB punctures the puncturable subset 1010 (e.g., via a PHY signal carrying URLLC data or control information), the gNB may scramble the transmitted PRS based on the first scrambling ID. On the other hand, if the gNB does not puncture the puncturable subset 1010, the gNB may scramble the transmitted PRS based on the second scrambling ID. The c scrambling initialization for scrambling at the beginning of each OFDM symbol init The formula is provided below:

[0147]

[0148] in, represents the number of symbols per time slot, represents the time slot index within a frame for the parameter set indicated by μ, and l represents the symbol index within the time slot. In this formula, two N ID To distinguish the first scrambling ID from the second scrambling ID. In one aspect, all of the transmitted RS 1000 - both the scrambling subset and the non-scrambling subset 1010, 1020 - may be scrambled based on the first / second scrambling ID.

[0149] During operation, when the UE receives a PRS from the gNB, the UE may apply the first and / or second scrambling ID to the received PRS to determine whether the PRS is punctured. In one aspect, the first and / or second scrambling ID may be applied to the entire received PRS, i.e., to both the puncturable subset and the non-puncturable subset 1010, 1020. As an illustration, the UE may determine a first quality measurement (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), SINR, error rate (ER), etc.) of the received PRS based on the first scrambling ID, and determine a second quality measurement of the received PRS based on the second scrambling ID. If the first quality measurement is better (e.g., first SNR>second SNR, first SINR>second SINR, first ER>second ER, etc.), the UE may determine that the PRS has not been punctured. Otherwise, the UE may determine that the PRS has been punctured.

[0150] Alternatively, a difference threshold may be applied to the quality measurement. For example, if an SNR measurement is made, a "SNR_thresh" (e.g., in dB) may be defined. In this case, if the first SNR is greater than the second SNR plus the "SNR_thresh", the UE may determine that the PRS has not been punctured. On the other hand, if the second SNR is greater than the first SNR plus the "SNR_thresh", the UE may determine that the PRS has been punctured. If the first and second SNRs are within "SNR_thresh" of each other, i.e., if the difference between the first SNR and the second SNR is less than "SNR_thresh", an error may be indicated.

[0151] On the other hand, the higher layer configuration may again indicate to the UE multiple scrambling IDs to be applied to the configured RS 1000. However, in this aspect, the higher layer configuration may configure the UE with three scrambling IDs: a u-scrambling ID (corresponding to the non-puncturable subset 1020), a first p-scrambling ID (corresponding to the puncturable subset 1020 when not punctured), and a second p-scrambling ID (corresponding to the puncturable subset 1020 when punctured).

[0152] During operation, when the UE receives a PRS from the gNB, the UE may apply the u-scrambling ID to the non-puncturable subset 1020. The UE may also apply the first and / or second p-scrambling IDs to the puncturable subset 1010 to determine whether the PRS is punctured. As an illustration, the UE may determine a u-quality measurement (e.g., SNR, SINR, error rate, etc.) of the non-puncturable subset 1020 based on the u-scrambling ID, determine a first p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset 1010 based on the first p-scrambling ID, and determine a second p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset 1010 based on the second p-scrambling ID. If the first p-quality measurement is closer to the u-quality measurement (e.g., |first p-SNR-u-SNR|<|second p-SNR-u-SNR|, |first p-SINR-u-SINR|<|second p-SINR-u-SINR|, |first p-ER-u-ER|<|second p-ER-u-ER|, etc.), the UE may determine that the PRS has not been punctured. Otherwise, the UE may determine that the PRS has not been punctured.

[0153] In one alternative, the first and second p-quality measurements themselves may be used without the u-quality measurement. For example, if the first p-SNR is greater than the second p-SNR, the UE may determine that the PRS has not been punctured. As another alternative, a difference threshold may be applied.

[0154] Note that in another aspect, two scrambling IDs may be configured instead of configuring the UE with three scrambling IDs. In this aspect, the u-scrambling ID and the first p-scrambling ID may be one and the same. Therefore, the two scrambling IDs may be referred to as the u-scrambling ID (corresponding to the non-puncturable subset 1020 and the puncturable subset 1010 when not punctured) and the p-scrambling ID (corresponding to the puncturable subset 1020 when punctured). Further details are omitted for this aspect because the aspects described above are directly adopted to this aspect.

[0155] In one aspect, the non-puncturable subset may be configured to observe one or more configuration thresholds. Such configuration thresholds may include any one or more of the following:

[0156] min_unpuncturable_ratio, which sets the lower limit of the ratio of the unpuncturable subset resources of the RS to all resources, that is, the configured unpunctured_ratio of the RS must be min_unpunctured_ratio or greater;

[0157] min_PRB, which sets a lower limit on the number of PRBs in the non-punctured subset, i.e. the number of PRBs in the non-punctured subset must be min_PRB or more; and

[0158] min_RE_symbol, min_RE_slot, min_RE_occasion and / or min_RE_instance, which set (not all need to be set) the minimum number of resource elements in a symbol, slot, occasion or instance, respectively.

[0159] The non-puncturable subset 1020 may be configured to enhance performance and / or reduce complexity. For example, the non-puncturable subset 1020 may be configured to be larger than the puncturable subset 1010. That is, the min_unpuncturable_ratio may be set to 50% or greater. In some cases, the min_unpuncturable_ratio may be set to as high as 90% or higher.

[0160] As another example, non-puncturable subset 1020 may be configured to be contiguous in time and / or frequency, to the extent possible. Fig. 10A An example is shown where the non-puncturable subset 1020 is continuous in both time and frequency. Fig. 10B Another example of how the resources of RS 1000 may be configured is shown. Fig. 10B In the embodiment, the non-puncturable subset 1020 is not continuous in frequency.

[0161] Although RS 1000 can Fig. 10B The configuration shown, Fig. 10A The configuration can provide better performance. Fig. 10A The non-punctured subset 1020 in is continuous in frequency, and it is sufficient to perform only one FFT per symbol. Fig. 10B In the example, each symbol may need to perform FFS twice—one for the non-puncturable subset 1020 above the puncturable subset 1010 and another for the non-puncturable subset 1020 below the puncturable subset 1010. Fig. 10A A simpler configuration might yield Fig. 10B better performance (e.g., more accurate in PRS related measurements) for the configuration.

[0162] Fig. 10A The configuration of is also advantageous because it can allow for more accurate detection of the puncturable subset 1010. Since the non-puncturable subset 1020 is guaranteed to remain unpunctured, the UE can perform channel estimation based on the non-puncturable subset 1020. The UE can then use the channel estimation to detect whether the puncturable subset 1010 has indeed been punctured. Due to its simple features, Fig. 10AThe configuration may result in better channel estimates, which in turn may result in more accurate quality measurements (eg, SNR, SINR, error rate, etc.) of the puncturable subset 1010 .

[0163] Fig. 10C Yet another example of how the resources of RS 1000 may be configured is shown. Fig. 10C An example configuration is shown in which, for one or more symbols, the non-puncturable subset 1020 includes the entire bandwidth of the RS 1000. More generally, the non-puncturable subset 1020 may include the entire bandwidth of the RS 1000 at least for a certain duration (e.g., symbol, time slot, subframe, etc.). Fig. 10C In FIG. 1 , the non-punctured subset 1020 is shown to include the entire bandwidth of the RS 1000 during the duration of the first symbol. This means that the UE will be able to use the entire bandwidth of the RS 1000 to perform channel estimation during the first symbol.

[0164] The puncturable subset 1010 may also be configured. In one aspect, the puncturable subset 1010 may be configured as a two-dimensional block in the time and frequency dimensions. The puncturable subset 1010 may be contiguous in the frequency domain, the time domain, or both. For example, if the PRS is four symbols long, and if the first and third symbols are puncturable, it may be preferred that the second symbol is also puncturable. That is, it is generally desirable to avoid having a non-puncturable symbol between puncturable symbols.

[0165] As described above, the UE may receive higher layer configuration information through any one or more of RRC, MAC CE, and LPP (for PRS). Using the scrambling ID to indicate whether the puncturable subset 1010 is actually punctured may be considered an example of implicit indication.

[0166] However, if the RS resource is sent by the serving gNB, the UE may be explicitly notified via a PI DCI applied to the RS resource. The PI DCI may specify a puncture-capable subset. The puncture-capable subset specified in the PI DCI does not need to comply with the puncture-capable subset configured via higher layer signaling. That is, the PI DCI may define its own independent puncture-capable subset and does not require implicit indication via a scrambling code. For example, it may be allowed that the puncture-capable subset may be the entire RS resource. The PI DCI may be received within a maximum time domain distance from the punctured RS resource—e.g., the number of symbols, time slots, same timing, same subframe, same frame, same instance. In one aspect, the UE may indicate its ability to receive the PI DCI and indicate its maximum time distance.

[0167] It is of course conceivable that if the RS configured by higher layers is sufficient, the serving gNB can use implicit indication via the scrambling ID as described.

[0168] Fig. 10D shows yet another example of how the resources of RS 1000 can be configured. In particular, Fig. 10D A technique for embedding multiple bits in the non-punctured subset 1020 is shown. Fig. 10D In FIG. 10 , the puncturable subset 1010 may include multiple puncturable subset regions 1010-k (where k=1 to n), and the non-puncturable subset 1020 may include associated multiple non-puncturable subset regions 1020-k (where k=1 to n). In FIG. 10 , n=4. For each non-puncturable subset region 1010-k, a flag (e.g., one bit) indicating whether the associated puncturable subset region 1010-k is actually punctured may be embedded in the associated non-puncturable subset region 1020-k, for example, in an OFDM pilot sequence. Any constraints on the length of the non-puncturable subset 1020 may be defined separately for each region to ensure that the UE can detect the correct sequence.

[0169] Fig.10E Yet another example of how the resources of RS 1000 may be configured is shown. In one aspect, multiple puncturable subsets may be configured. Fig.10E An example is shown in which three puncturable subsets 1010A, 1010B, and 1010C are configured. Each puncturable subset 1010 may be continuous in time and / or frequency. However, the puncturable subsets 1010 themselves do not necessarily have to be connected to each other.

[0170] In this case, multiple scrambling IDs may be configured. For example, two scrambling IDs may be configured for each puncturable subset 1010—one indicating that a puncture has been made and one indicating that a puncture has not been made. In more detail, the scrambling ID may include a u-scrambling ID corresponding to the non-puncturable subset 1020. For each puncturable subset 1010, the scrambling ID may also include a first p-scrambling ID and a second p-scrambling ID. The u-scrambling ID of each puncturable subset 1010 and the first p-scrambling ID and the second p-scrambling ID may be similar to when the puncturable subset 1010 is described above. Fig. 10A The method is applied in the same manner as when three scrambling IDs (for example, u-scrambling ID, first p-scrambling ID, second p-scrambling ID) are applied.

[0171] Alternatively, the number of scrambling IDs may be minimized by configuring a u-scrambling ID common to all puncturable subsets 1010 for use when the puncturable subset 1010 is not punctured, and a separate p-scrambling ID for each puncturable subset. In this alternative, the u-scrambling ID and p-scrambling ID for each puncturable subset 1010 may be similar to that described above with respect to Fig. 10AThe method uses two scrambling IDs (eg, u-scrambling ID and p-scrambling ID) for application.

[0172] Fig.11 A flow chart of an exemplary method 1100 of a network entity (eg, location server, LMF, base station, etc.) is shown.

[0173] In block 1110, the network entity may configure the RS. In one aspect, where the network entity is a base station, block 1110 may be performed by WWAN transceiver 350, processing system 384, memory component 386, and / or punch component 388, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the block. Where the network entity is a location server, block 1110 may be performed by network interface 390, processing system 394, memory component 396, and / or punch component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the block.

[0174] The RS may be configured so that the RS may be punctured by another physical layer (PHY) signal having a higher priority than the RS. For example, a PHY channel carrying URLLC data or control information may have priority relative to the RS. The RS may be a PRS, CRS, CSI-RS, SSB, TRS, etc. The RS may include a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset. The puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The RS may be configured so that when the RS is transmitted, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured.

[0175] In block 1120, the network entity may provide the RS configuration to the UE (e.g., any UE described herein). The RS configuration may indicate the resource configuration of the RS. In one aspect, where the network entity is a base station, block 1120 may be performed by the WWAN transceiver 350, the processing system 384, the memory component 386, and / or the punching component 388, any one or all of which may be considered as a component for performing the block. Where the network entity is a location server, block 1120 may be performed by the network interface 390, the processing system 394, the memory component 396, and / or the punching component 398, any one or all of which may be considered as a component for performing the block.

[0176] The RS configuration may be provided in a higher layer signaling (e.g., a layer above the physical layer) message such as an RRC message, a MAC CE message, an LPP message, or any combination thereof. The RS configuration may include a puncturable and / or non-puncturable subset indication. The puncturable subset indication may indicate the resources of the puncturable subset, and the non-puncturable subset indication may indicate the resources of the non-puncturable subset.

[0177] In one aspect, the RS configuration may include multiple scrambling IDs, including a first scrambling ID and a second scrambling ID. When a puncturable subset of the RS is punctured, the RS may be scrambled based on the first scrambling ID. When a puncturable subset of the RS is not punctured, the RS may be scrambled based on the second scrambling ID.

[0178] In one aspect, the RS configuration may include multiple scrambling IDs, including a u-scrambling ID and a first p-scrambling ID and a second p-scrambling ID. The non-puncturable subset may be scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID. When the puncturable subset of the RS is punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS may be scrambled based on the first p-scrambling ID. When the puncturable subset of the RS is not punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS may be scrambled based on the second p-scrambling ID.

[0179] In one aspect, the RS configuration may include multiple scrambling IDs, including u-scrambling ID and p-scrambling ID. The non-puncturable subset may be scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID. When the puncturable subset of the RS is punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS may be scrambled based on the p-scrambling ID. When the puncturable subset of the RS is not punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS may be scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID.

[0180] In one aspect, the puncturable subset may include multiple puncturable subset regions, and the non-puncturable subset may include multiple non-puncturable subset regions associated with the multiple puncturable subset regions. Moreover, a flag (e.g., one bit) may be embedded in each non-puncturable subset region of the RS to indicate whether each associated puncturable subset region of the RS has been punctured. For each non-puncturable subset region of the RS, the flag may be embedded in the OFDM pilot sequence of the non-puncturable subset region.

[0181] In one aspect, the RS may be configured to include a plurality of puncturable subsets, and the RS configuration may include a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID for each puncturable subset, and a first p-scrambling ID and a second p-scrambling ID. The non-puncturable subset of the RS may be scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID. For each puncturable subset of the RS, when the puncturable subset is punctured, the puncturable subset may be scrambled based on the first p-scrambling ID of the puncturable subset. For each puncturable subset of the RS, when the puncturable subset is not punctured, the puncturable subset may be scrambled based on the second p-scrambling ID of the puncturable subset.

[0182] In one aspect, the RS may be configured to include multiple puncturable subsets, and the RS configuration may include multiple scrambling IDs, the multiple scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID and a p-scrambling ID for each puncturable subset. The non-puncturable subset of the RS may be scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID. For each puncturable subset of the RS, when the puncturable subset is punctured, the puncturable subset may be scrambled based on the p-scrambling ID of the puncturable subset. For each puncturable subset of the RS, when the puncturable subset is not punctured, the puncturable subset may be scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID.

[0183] Fig.12 A flow diagram of an exemplary method 1200 of a UE (eg, any UE described herein) is shown.

[0184] In block 1210, the UE may receive an RS configuration from a network entity (e.g., a location server, LMF, base station, etc.). The RS configuration may be received via higher layer signaling and may indicate a resource configuration of the RS. In one aspect, block 1210 may be performed by WWAN transceiver 310, processing system 332, memory component 340, and / or puncturing component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the block.

[0185] In block 1220, the UE may receive an RS from a non-serving cell. The RS may include a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset. The puncture-permitted subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. In one aspect, block 1220 may be performed by WWAN transceiver 310, processing system 332, memory component 340, and / or puncture component 342, any one or all of which may be considered as a means for performing the block.

[0186] In block 1230, the UE may determine whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another PHY signal based on the non-puncturable subset. In one aspect, block 1230 may be performed by WWAN transceiver 310, processing system 332, memory component 340, and / or puncturing component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the block.

[0187] Fig.13 A flow chart is shown for an example process for implementing block 1230. In one aspect, the RS configuration may include a plurality of scrambling IDs including a first scrambling ID and a second scrambling ID.

[0188] In block 1310, the UE may measure the RS based on the first scrambling ID to determine a first quality measurement. The first quality measurement may include a first SNR, a first SINR, a first error rate, and the like.

[0189] In block 1320, the UE may measure the RS based on the second scrambling ID to determine a second quality measurement. The second quality measurement may include a second SNR, a second SINR, a second error rate, and the like.

[0190] In block 1330, the UE may determine whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the first quality measurement and the second quality measurement. For example, when the first SNR is greater than (less than) the second SNR, when the first SINR is greater than (less than) the second SINR, when the first error rate is less than (greater than) the second error rate, etc., the UE may determine that the puncturable subset has been punctured (has not been punctured).

[0191] Fig.14 A flow chart is shown for another example process for implementing block 1230. In this aspect, the RS configuration may include a plurality of scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID and a first scrambling ID and a second scrambling ID.

[0192] In block 1410, the UE may measure the non-puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a u-quality measurement. The u-quality measurement may include u-SNR, u-SINR, u-error rate, and the like.

[0193] In block 1420, the UE may measure the puncturable subset based on the first p-scrambling ID to determine a first p-quality measurement. The first p-quality measurement may include a first p-SNR, a first p-SINR, a first p-error rate, and the like.

[0194] In block 1430, the UE may measure the puncturable subset based on the second p-scrambling ID to determine a second p-quality measurement. The second p-quality measurement may include a second p-SNR, a second p-SINR, a second p-error rate, and the like.

[0195] In block 1440, the UE may determine whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the u-quality measurement and the first p-quality measurement and the second p-quality measurement. In block 1440, the UE may determine that the puncturable subset has been punctured (has not been punctured) when the first SNR difference is less than (greater than) the second SNR difference, when the first SINR difference is less than (greater than) the second SINR difference, when the first error rate difference is greater than (less than) the second error rate difference, and the like. The first SNR difference and the second SNR difference may be the difference between the u-SNR and the first SNR and the second SNR, respectively. The first SINR and the second SINR difference may be the difference between the u-SINR and the first SINR and the second SINR, respectively. The first error rate difference and the second error rate difference may be the difference between the u-error rate and the first error rate and the second error rate, respectively.

[0196] When there are multiple puncturable subsets, the multiple scrambling IDs may include a first p-scrambling ID and a second p-scrambling ID for each puncturable subset, and Fig.14 The process shown in can be adapted relatively directly. Therefore, further details are omitted.

[0197] Fig.15 A flow chart is shown for another example process for implementing block 1230. In this aspect, the RS configuration may include a plurality of scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID and a p-scrambling ID.

[0198] In block 1510, the UE may measure the non-puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a u-quality measurement. The u-quality measurement may include u-SNR, u-SINR, u-error rate, and the like.

[0199] In block 1520, the UE may measure the puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a first p-quality measurement. The first p-quality measurement may include a first p-SNR, a first p-SINR, a first p-error rate, and the like.

[0200] In block 1530, the UE may measure the puncturable subset based on the p-scrambling ID to determine a second p-quality measurement. The second p-quality measurement may include a second p-SNR, a second p-SINR, a second p-error rate, and the like.

[0201] In block 1540, the UE may determine whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the u-quality measurement and the first p-quality measurement and the second p-quality measurement. In block 1540, the UE may determine that the puncturable subset has been punctured (has not been punctured) when the first SNR difference is less than (greater than) the second SNR difference, when the first SINR difference is less than (greater than) the second SINR difference, when the first error rate difference is greater than (less than) the second error rate difference, and the like. The first SNR difference and the second SNR difference may be the difference between the u-SNR and the first SNR and the second SNR, respectively. The first SINR and the second SINR difference may be the difference between the u-SINR and the first SINR and the second SINR, respectively. The first error rate difference and the second error rate difference may be the difference between the u-error rate and the first error rate and the second error rate, respectively.

[0202] When there are multiple puncturable subsets, the multiple scrambling IDs may include a p-scrambling ID for each puncturable subset, and Fig.15 The process shown in can be adapted relatively directly. Therefore, further details are omitted.

[0203] Fig.16A flow chart of another example process for implementing block 1230 is shown.

[0204] In block 1610, the UE may estimate a channel between the UE and a non-serving cell by measuring the non-puncturable subset.

[0205] In block 1620, the UE may make measurements on the puncturable subset based on the estimated channel.

[0206] In block 1630, the UE may determine whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the measurement of the puncturable subset.

[0207] Fig.17 A flow chart is shown for another example process for implementing block 1230. In this aspect, the puncturable subset may include a plurality of puncturable subset regions, and the non-puncturable subset may include a plurality of non-puncturable subset regions associated with the plurality of puncturable subset regions.

[0208] In block 1710, the UE may determine, for each puncture-capable subset region, whether the puncture-capable subset region has been punctured based on a flag (eg, one bit) embedded in a non-puncture-capable subset region associated with the puncture-capable subset region.

[0209] Back to reference Fig.12 In block 1240, the UE may also exclude the puncturable subset when processing the RS when determining that the puncturable subset has been punctured. In one aspect, block 1240 may be performed by WWAN transceiver 310, processing system 332, memory component 340, and / or puncturing component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the block.

[0210] In block 1250, when it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, the UE may include the puncturable subset when processing the RS. In one aspect, block 1250 may be performed by WWAN transceiver 310, processing system 332, memory component 340, and / or puncturing component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the block.

[0211] In one aspect, regardless of whether the puncturable subset is excluded (as in block 1240) or included (as in block 1250) when the RS is processed, information from the RS processing may be used to determine the location of the UE. The UE location may be determined by the UE itself (e.g., based on the UE). Alternatively or in addition, the UE may provide the processed RS information to the network (e.g., to the LMF, serving base station, etc.) so that the network may determine the UE location (i.e., UE assisted). The location may be determined based on any one or more of RTT, OTDOA, AoA, AoD, etc.

[0212] Fig.18 A flow chart of an exemplary method 1800 of a network node (e.g., a cell, a base station, a gNB, etc.) is shown.

[0213] In block 1810, the network node may send a RS to a UE (e.g., any UE described herein). In one aspect, where the network node is a base station, block 1810 may be performed by the WWAN transceiver 350, the processing system 384, the memory component 386, and / or the puncturing component 388, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the block.

[0214] In this regard, it is possible that the UE is not currently being served by the network node. The RS may include a puncture-enabled subset and a non-puncture-enabled subset. The puncture-enabled subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-enabled subset may include one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured. The non-puncture-enabled subset may indicate whether the puncture-enabled subset of the RS has been punctured (e.g., punctured by another PHY signal).

[0215] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above specification may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0216] In addition, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software or a combination of the two. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits and steps have been generally described above in terms of their functions. Whether this functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the entire system. The technician can implement the described functions in a varying manner for each specific application, but this implementation decision should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0217] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0218] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be directly embodied as hardware, software modules executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. The software module may reside in a random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and can write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside in a user terminal as discrete components.

[0219] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, these functions can be stored on a computer-readable medium or sent on a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, and communication media include any media that helps to transfer a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. As an example and not a limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or can be used to carry or store required program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and any other media that can be accessed by a computer. Moreover, any connection is properly referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is sent from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves are included in the definition of the medium. Disk and disc as used herein include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0220] Although the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and / or actions of the methods claimed in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. In addition, although the elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural form is contemplated unless it is explicitly stated that it is limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A network entity, comprising: Transceiver; Memory; as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, Wherein, the processor is configured to: configuring a reference signal RS so that the RS can be punctured by another physical layer signal, the RS includes a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset, the puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, and the RS is configured so that when the RS is transmitted, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured; and providing, via the transceiver, an RS configuration to a user equipment UE, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes multiple scrambling IDs, and the multiple scrambling IDs include u-scrambling ID and p-scrambling ID. wherein the non-puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID, wherein, when the puncturable subset of the RS is punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the p-scrambling ID, and When the puncturable subset of the RS is not punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID.

2. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein: The RS is a Positioning Reference Signal PRS.

3. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein: The another physical layer signal is a physical layer channel carrying higher priority information.

4. The network entity according to claim 3, wherein: The higher priority information includes ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) data or control information.

5. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein: The RS configuration is provided to the UE via higher layer signaling, which is signaling via one or more layers above the physical layer.

6. The network entity according to claim 5, wherein: The RS configuration is provided to the UE via one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages, one or more medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) messages, one or more long term evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) messages, or any combination thereof.

7. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein: The RS configuration includes: a puncturable subset indication indicating the resources of the puncturable subset, a non-puncture subset indication indicating the resources of the non-puncture subset, or Both.

8. The network entity according to claim 7, in, When included in the RS configuration, the puncturable subset indication includes: a puncturable frequency bitmap indicating one or more frequency domain resources of the puncturable subset, a puncture-capable time bitmap indicating one or more time domain resources of the puncture-capable subset, a punctureable space bitmap indicating one or more space domain resources of the punctureable subset, or Any combination thereof, and Wherein, when included in the RS configuration, the non-puncturable subset indication includes: a non-puncturing frequency bitmap indicating one or more frequency domain resources of the non-puncturing subset, a non-puncturing time bitmap indicating one or more time domain resources of the non-puncturing subset, a non-puncture spatial bitmap indicating one or more spatial domain resources of the non-puncture subset, or Any combination thereof.

9. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein: The RS is configured such that the puncturable subset is contiguous in at least one of time or frequency.

10. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein: The RS is configured such that the non-puncturable subset is continuous in at least one of time or frequency.

11. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein: The RS is configured such that, within at least one symbol duration, the non-puncturable subset includes an entire bandwidth of the RS within the at least one symbol duration.

12. The network entity according to claim 1, in, The RS is configured such that the puncturable subset includes a plurality of puncturable subset areas, and the non-puncturable subset includes a plurality of non-puncturable subset areas associated with the plurality of puncturable subset areas, and A flag is embedded in each non-puncturable subset area of ​​the RS to indicate whether each associated puncturable subset area of ​​the RS has been punctured.

13. The network entity according to claim 12, wherein: For each non-punctured subset region of the RS, the flag is embedded into the OFDM pilot sequence of the non-punctured subset region.

14. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein: The RS is configured to include a plurality of puncturable subsets, the plurality of puncturable subsets including the puncturable subset.

15. A network entity, comprising: Transceiver; Memory; as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, Wherein, the processor is configured to: configuring a reference signal RS so that the RS can be punctured by another physical layer signal, the RS includes a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset, the puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, and the RS is configured so that when the RS is transmitted, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured; and providing, via the transceiver, an RS configuration to a user equipment UE, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID, a first p-scrambling ID, and a second p-scrambling ID, wherein the non-puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID, wherein when the puncturable subset of the RS is punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the first p-scrambling ID, and When the puncturable subset of the RS is not punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the second p-scrambling ID.

16. A network entity, comprising: Transceiver; Memory; as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, Wherein, the processor is configured to: configuring a reference signal RS so that the RS can be punctured by another physical layer signal, the RS includes a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset, the puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, and the RS is configured so that when the RS is transmitted, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured; and providing, via the transceiver, an RS configuration to a user equipment UE, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, wherein the RS is configured to observe one or more configured thresholds, the configured thresholds comprising min_unpuncturable_ratio, min_PRB, min_RE_symbol, min_RE_slot, min_RE_occasion, and min_RE_instance, The min_unpuncturable_ratio sets the lower limit of the ratio of the unpuncturable subset resources to all resources of the RS. The min_PRB sets the lower limit of the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the non-punctured subset, and the min_RE_symbol sets the minimum number of resource elements (REs) in a symbol. The min_RE_slot sets the minimum number of REs in a time slot. The min_RE_occasion sets the minimum number of REs in an RS occasion, and The min_RE_instance sets the minimum number of REs in an RS instance.

17. A user equipment UE, comprising: Transceiver; Memory; as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, Wherein, the processor is configured to: Receiving a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell via the transceiver, the RS including a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, the puncture-permitted subset including one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset including one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, including the puncturable subset when processing the RS; and receiving, via the transceiver, an RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs include a first scrambling ID and a second scrambling ID, and The processor is configured to determine whether the punchable subset has been punched by: measuring the RS based on the first scrambling ID to determine a first quality measurement; measuring the RS based on the second scrambling ID to determine a second quality measurement; and It is determined whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the first quality measure and the second quality measure.

18. The UE according to claim 17, wherein: The another physical layer signal is a physical layer channel carrying higher priority information.

19. The UE according to claim 18, wherein: The higher priority information includes ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) data or control information.

20. The UE according to claim 17, wherein: The RS configuration is received through higher layer signaling, which is signaling through one or more layers above the physical layer.

21. The UE according to claim 20, wherein: The RS configuration is received via one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages, one or more medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) messages, one or more long term evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) messages, or any combination thereof.

22. The UE according to claim 17, wherein: RS configuration includes: a puncturable subset indication indicating the resources of the puncturable subset, a non-puncture subset indication indicating the resources of the non-puncture subset, or Both.

23. The UE according to claim 22, in, When included in the RS configuration, the puncturable subset indication includes: a puncturable frequency bitmap indicating one or more frequency domain resources of the puncturable subset, a puncture-capable time bitmap indicating one or more time domain resources of the puncture-capable subset, a punctureable space bitmap indicating one or more space domain resources of the punctureable subset, or Any combination thereof, and Wherein, when included in the RS configuration, the non-puncturable subset indication includes: a non-puncturing frequency bitmap indicating one or more frequency domain resources of the non-puncturing subset, a non-puncturing time bitmap indicating one or more time domain resources of the non-puncturing subset, a non-puncture spatial bitmap indicating one or more spatial domain resources of the non-puncture subset, or Any combination thereof.

24. The UE according to claim 17, in, The first quality measurement comprises a first signal-to-noise ratio SNR or a first signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio SINR, wherein the second quality measurement comprises at least one of a second SNR or a second SINR, The processor is configured to determine that the puncturable subset has been punctured when the first SNR is greater than the second SNR or when the first SINR is greater than the second SINR, and The processor is configured to determine that the puncturable subset has not been punctured when the first SNR is less than the second SNR or when the first SINR is less than the second SINR.

25. The UE according to claim 17, wherein: The processor is configured to determine whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by: estimating a channel between the UE and the non-serving cell by measuring the non-puncturing subset; performing measurements on the puncturable subset based on the estimated channel; as well as A determination is made based on the measurement of the puncturable subset whether the puncturable subset has been punctured.

26. The UE according to claim 25, wherein: The RS is configured such that the non-puncturable subset is continuous in at least one of time or frequency.

27. The UE according to claim 25, wherein: The RS is configured such that, within at least one symbol duration, the non-puncturable subset includes an entire bandwidth of the RS within the at least one symbol duration.

28. The UE according to claim 17, in, The RS is configured such that the puncturable subset includes a plurality of puncturable subset areas, and the non-puncturable subset includes a plurality of non-puncturable subset areas associated with the plurality of puncturable subset areas, and The processor is configured to determine, for each puncturable subset area, whether the puncturable subset area has been punctured based on a flag embedded in the non-puncturable subset area associated with the puncturable subset area.

29. A user equipment UE, comprising: Transceiver; Memory; as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, Wherein, the processor is configured to: Receiving a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell via the transceiver, the RS including a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, the puncture-permitted subset including one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset including one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, including the puncturable subset when processing the RS; and receiving, via the transceiver, an RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID, a first p-scrambling ID, and a second p-scrambling ID, and The processor is configured to determine whether the punchable subset has been punched by: Measuring the non-puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a u-quality measurement; measuring the puncturable subset based on the first p-scrambling ID to determine a first p-quality measurement; measuring the puncturable subset based on the second p-scrambling ID to determine a second p-quality measure; and Whether the puncturable subset has been punctured is determined based on the u-quality measurement, the first p-quality measurement, and the second p-quality measurement.

30. The UE according to claim 29, in, The u-quality measure comprises at least one of a u-signal-to-noise ratio u-SNR or a u-signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio u-SINR, wherein the first quality measurement comprises at least one of a first p-SNR or a first p-SINR, wherein the second quality measurement comprises at least one of a second p-SNR or a second p-SINR, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the puncturable subset has been punctured when a first SNR difference is less than a second SNR difference or when the first SINR difference is less than a second SINR difference, the first SNR difference and the second SNR difference are differences between the u-SNR and the first SNR and the second SNR, respectively, and the first SINR difference and the second SINR difference are differences between the u-SINR and the first SINR and the second SINR, respectively, and The processor is configured to determine that the puncturable subset has not been punctured when the first SNR difference is greater than the second SNR or when the first SINR difference is greater than the second SINR difference.

31. A user equipment UE, comprising: Transceiver; Memory; as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, Wherein, the processor is configured to: Receiving a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell via the transceiver, the RS including a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, the puncture-permitted subset including one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset including one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, including the puncturable subset when processing the RS; and receiving, via the transceiver, an RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs include a u-scrambling ID and a p-scrambling ID, and The processor is configured to determine whether the punchable subset has been punched by: Measuring the non-puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a u-quality measurement; measuring the puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a first p-quality measurement; measuring the puncturable subset based on the p-scrambling ID to determine a second p-quality measure; and Whether the puncturable subset has been punctured is determined based on the u-quality measurement, the first p-quality measurement, and the second p-quality measurement.

32. The UE according to claim 31, in, The u-quality measure comprises at least one of a u-signal-to-noise ratio u-SNR or a u-signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio u-SINR, wherein the first quality measurement comprises at least one of a first p-SNR or a first p-SINR, wherein the second quality measurement comprises at least one of a second p-SNR or a second p-SINR, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the puncturable subset has been punctured when a first SNR difference is less than a second SNR difference or when the first SINR difference is less than a second SINR difference, the first SNR difference and the second SNR difference are differences between the u-SNR and the first SNR and the second SNR, respectively, and the first SINR difference and the second SINR difference are differences between the u-SINR and the first SINR and the second SINR, respectively, and The processor is configured to determine that the puncturable subset has not been punctured when the first SNR difference is greater than the second SNR or when the first SINR difference is greater than the second SINR difference.

33. A user equipment UE, comprising: Transceiver; Memory; as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, Wherein, the processor is configured to: Receiving a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell via the transceiver, the RS including a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, the puncture-permitted subset including one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset including one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, including the puncturable subset when processing the RS; and receiving, via the transceiver, an RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS is configured to include a plurality of puncturable subsets and non-puncturable subsets, each puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID for each puncturable subset, a first p-scrambling ID, and a second p-scrambling ID, and The processor is configured to determine whether each punchable subset has been punched by performing the following operations: Measuring the non-puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a u-quality measurement; for each puncturable subset, measuring the puncturable subset based on the first p-scrambling ID of the puncturable subset to determine a first p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset; For each puncturable subset, measuring the puncturable subset based on the second p-scrambled ID of the puncturable subset to determine a second p-quality measure of the puncturable subset; and For each puncturable subset, it is determined whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the u-quality measurement, the first p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset, and the second p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset.

34. A user equipment UE, comprising: Transceiver; Memory; as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, Wherein, the processor is configured to: Receiving a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell via the transceiver, the RS including a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, the puncture-permitted subset including one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset including one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, including the puncturable subset when processing the RS; and receiving, via the transceiver, an RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS is configured to include a plurality of puncturable subsets and non-puncturable subsets, each puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID and a p-scrambling ID for each puncturable subset, and The processor is configured to determine whether each punchable subset has been punched by performing the following operations: Measuring the non-puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a u-quality measurement; for each puncturable subset, measuring the puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a first p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset; For each puncturable subset, measuring the puncturable subset based on the p-scrambled ID of the puncturable subset to determine a second p-quality measure of the puncturable subset; and For each puncturable subset, it is determined whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the u-quality measurement, the first p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset, and the second p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset.

35. A method of wireless communication performed by a network entity, the method comprising: configuring a reference signal RS so that the RS can be punctured by another physical layer signal, the RS includes a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset, the puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, and the RS is configured so that when the RS is transmitted, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured; as well as providing a RS configuration to a user equipment UE, wherein the RS configuration indicates a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes multiple scrambling IDs, and the multiple scrambling IDs include u-scrambling ID and p-scrambling ID. wherein the non-puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID, wherein, when the puncturable subset of the RS is punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the p-scrambling ID, and When the puncturable subset of the RS is not punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein: The RS is a Positioning Reference Signal PRS.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein: The another physical layer signal is a physical layer channel carrying higher priority information.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein: The higher priority information includes ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) data or control information.

39. The method of claim 35, wherein: The RS configuration is provided to the UE via higher layer signaling, which is signaling via one or more layers above the physical layer.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein: The RS configuration is provided to the UE via one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages, one or more medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) messages, one or more long term evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) messages, or any combination thereof.

41. The method of claim 35, wherein: The RS configuration includes: a puncturable subset indication indicating the resources of the puncturable subset, a non-puncture subset indication indicating the resources of the non-puncture subset, or Both.

42. The method according to claim 41, in, When included in the RS configuration, the puncturable subset indication includes: a puncturable frequency bitmap indicating one or more frequency domain resources of the puncturable subset, a puncture-capable time bitmap indicating one or more time domain resources of the puncture-capable subset, a punctureable space bitmap indicating one or more space domain resources of the punctureable subset, or Any combination thereof, and Wherein, when included in the RS configuration, the non-puncturable subset indication includes: a non-puncturing frequency bitmap indicating one or more frequency domain resources of the non-puncturing subset, a non-puncturing time bitmap indicating one or more time domain resources of the non-puncturing subset, a non-puncture spatial bitmap indicating one or more spatial domain resources of the non-puncture subset, or Any combination thereof.

43. The method of claim 35, wherein: The RS is configured such that the puncturable subset is contiguous in at least one of time or frequency.

44. The method of claim 35, wherein: The RS is configured such that the non-puncturable subset is continuous in at least one of time or frequency.

45. The method of claim 35, wherein: The RS is configured such that, within at least one symbol duration, the non-puncturable subset includes an entire bandwidth of the RS within the at least one symbol duration.

46. ​​The method according to claim 35, in, The RS is configured such that the puncturable subset includes a plurality of puncturable subset areas, and the non-puncturable subset includes a plurality of non-puncturable subset areas associated with the plurality of puncturable subset areas, and A flag is embedded in each non-puncturable subset area of ​​the RS to indicate whether each associated puncturable subset area of ​​the RS has been punctured.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein: For each non-puncturable subset region of the RS, the flag is embedded into an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) pilot sequence of the non-puncturable subset region.

48. The method of claim 35, wherein: The RS is configured to include a plurality of puncturable subsets, the plurality of puncturable subsets including the puncturable subset.

49. A method of wireless communication performed by a network entity, the method comprising: configuring a reference signal RS so that the RS can be punctured by another physical layer signal, the RS includes a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset, the puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, and the RS is configured so that when the RS is transmitted, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured; as well as providing a RS configuration to a user equipment UE, wherein the RS configuration indicates a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID, a first p-scrambling ID, and a second p-scrambling ID, wherein the non-puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID, wherein, when the puncturable subset of the RS is punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the first p-scrambling ID, and When the puncturable subset of the RS is not punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the second p-scrambling ID.

50. A method of wireless communication performed by a network entity, the method comprising: configuring a reference signal RS so that the RS can be punctured by another physical layer signal, the RS includes a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset, the puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, and the RS is configured so that when the RS is transmitted, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured; as well as providing a RS configuration to a user equipment UE, wherein the RS configuration indicates a resource configuration of the RS, wherein the RS is configured to observe one or more configured thresholds, the configured thresholds comprising min_unpuncturable_ratio, min_PRB, min_RE_symbol, min_RE_slot, min_RE_occasion, and min_RE_instance, The min_unpuncturable_ratio sets the lower limit of the ratio of the unpuncturable subset resources to all resources of the RS. The min_PRB sets the lower limit of the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the non-punctured subset. The min_RE_symbol sets the minimum number of resource elements RE in a symbol. The min_RE_slot sets the minimum number of REs in a time slot. The min_RE_occasion sets the minimum number of REs in an RS occasion, and The min_RE_instance sets the minimum number of REs in an RS instance.

51. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: receiving a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell, the RS comprising a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, the puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, including the puncturable subset when processing the RS; as well as receiving an RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs include a first scrambling ID and a second scrambling ID, and Wherein, determining whether the punchable subset has been punched includes: measuring the RS based on the first scrambling ID to determine a first quality measurement; measuring the RS based on the second scrambling ID to determine a second quality measurement; and It is determined whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the first quality measure and the second quality measure.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein: The another physical layer signal is a physical layer channel carrying higher priority information.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein: The higher priority information includes ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) data or control information.

54. The method of claim 51, wherein: The RS configuration is received through higher layer signaling, which is signaling through one or more layers above the physical layer.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein: The RS configuration is received via one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages, one or more medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) messages, one or more long term evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) messages, or any combination thereof.

56. The method of claim 51, wherein: The RS configuration includes: a puncturable subset indication of the resource indicating the puncturable subset, an indication of a non-puncturable subset of said resources indicating said non-puncturable subset, or Both.

57. The method according to claim 56, in, When included in the RS configuration, the puncturable subset indication includes: a puncturable frequency bitmap indicating one or more frequency domain resources of the puncturable subset, a puncture-capable time bitmap indicating one or more time domain resources of the puncture-capable subset, a punctureable space bitmap indicating one or more space domain resources of the punctureable subset, or Any combination thereof, and Wherein, when included in the RS configuration, the non-puncturable subset indication includes: a non-puncturing frequency bitmap indicating one or more frequency domain resources of the non-puncturing subset, a non-puncturing time bitmap indicating one or more time domain resources of the non-puncturing subset, a non-puncture spatial bitmap indicating one or more spatial domain resources of the non-puncture subset, or Any combination thereof.

58. The method according to claim 51, in, The first quality measurement comprises at least one of a first signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or a first signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), wherein the second quality measurement comprises at least one of a second SNR or a second SINR, When the first SNR is greater than the second SNR or when the first SINR is greater than the second SINR, it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, and When the first SNR is smaller than the second SNR or when the first SINR is smaller than the second SINR, it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured.

59. The method of claim 51, wherein: Determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured includes: estimating a channel between the UE and the non-serving cell by measuring the non-puncturing subset; performing measurements on the puncturable subset based on the estimated channel; and A determination is made based on the measurement of the puncturable subset whether the puncturable subset has been punctured.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein: The RS is configured such that the non-puncturable subset is continuous in at least one of time or frequency.

61. The method of claim 59, wherein: The RS is configured such that, within at least one symbol duration, the non-puncturable subset includes an entire bandwidth of the RS within the at least one symbol duration.

62. The method according to claim 51, in, The RS is configured such that the puncturable subset includes a plurality of puncturable subset areas, and the non-puncturable subset includes a plurality of non-puncturable subset areas associated with the plurality of puncturable subset areas, and The method further comprises: for each puncturable subset area, determining whether the puncturable subset area has been punctured based on a flag embedded in the non-puncturable subset area associated with the puncturable subset area.

63. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: receiving a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell, the RS comprising a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, the puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, including the puncturable subset when processing the RS; as well as receiving an RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID, a first p-scrambling ID, and a second p-scrambling ID, and Wherein, determining whether the punchable subset has been punched includes: performing a measurement on the non-puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a u-quality measure; measuring the puncturable subset based on the first p-scrambling ID to determine a first p-quality measure; measuring the puncturable subset based on the second p-scrambling ID to determine a second p-quality measure; and Whether the puncturable subset has been punctured is determined based on the u-quality measurement, the first p-quality measurement, and the second p-quality measurement.

64. The method according to claim 63, in, The u-quality measure comprises at least one of a u-signal-to-noise ratio u-SNR or a u-signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio u-SINR, wherein the first quality measurement comprises at least one of a first p-SNR or a first p-SINR, wherein the second quality measurement comprises at least one of a second p-SNR or a second p-SINR, wherein when the first SNR difference is less than the second SNR difference or when the first SINR difference is less than the second SINR difference, it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, the first SNR difference and the second SNR difference are the differences between the u-SNR and the first SNR and the second SNR, respectively, and the first SINR difference and the second SINR difference are the differences between the u-SINR and the first SINR and the second SINR, respectively, and When the first SNR difference is greater than the second SNR difference or when the first SINR difference is greater than the second SINR difference, it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured.

65. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: receiving a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell, the RS comprising a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, the puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, including the puncturable subset when processing the RS; as well as receiving an RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs include a u-scrambling ID and a p-scrambling ID, and Wherein, determining whether the punchable subset has been punched includes: performing a measurement on the non-puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a u-quality measure; measuring the puncturable subset based on the u-scrambled ID to determine a first p-quality measure; measuring the puncturable subset based on the p-scrambling ID to determine a second p-quality measure; and Whether the puncturable subset has been punctured is determined based on the u-quality measurement, the first p-quality measurement, and the second p-quality measurement.

66. The method according to claim 65, in, The u-quality measure comprises at least one of a u-signal-to-noise ratio u-SNR or a u-signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio u-SINR, wherein the first quality measurement comprises at least one of a first p-SNR or a first p-SINR, wherein the second quality measurement comprises at least one of a second p-SNR or a second p-SINR, wherein when the first SNR difference is less than the second SNR difference or when the first SINR difference is less than the second SINR difference, it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, the first SNR difference and the second SNR difference are the differences between the u-SNR and the first SNR and the second SNR, respectively, and the first SINR difference and the second SINR difference are the differences between the u-SINR and the first SINR and the second SINR, respectively, and When the first SNR difference is greater than the second SNR difference or when the first SINR difference is greater than the second SINR difference, it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured.

67. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: receiving a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell, the RS comprising a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, the puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, including the puncturable subset when processing the RS; as well as receiving an RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS is configured to include a plurality of puncturable subsets and non-puncturable subsets, each puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID for each puncturable subset, a first p-scrambling ID, and a second p-scrambling ID, and Wherein, the method further comprises: performing a measurement on the non-puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a u-quality measure; For each puncturable subset, measuring the puncturable subset based on the first p-scrambled ID of the puncturable subset to determine a first p-quality measure of the puncturable subset; For each puncturable subset, measuring the puncturable subset based on the second p-scrambled ID of the puncturable subset to determine a second p-quality measure of the puncturable subset; and For each puncturable subset, it is determined whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the u-quality measurement, the first p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset, and the second p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset.

68. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: receiving a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell, the RS comprising a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, the puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, including the puncturable subset when processing the RS; as well as receiving an RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS is configured to include a plurality of puncturable subsets and non-puncturable subsets, each puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID and a p-scrambling ID for each puncturable subset, and Wherein, the method further comprises: performing a measurement on the non-puncturable subset based on the u-scrambling ID to determine a u-quality measure; For each puncturable subset, measuring the puncturable subset based on the u-scrambled ID to determine a first p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset; For each puncturable subset, measuring the puncturable subset based on the p-scrambled ID of the puncturable subset to determine a second p-quality measure of the puncturable subset; and For each puncturable subset, it is determined whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the u-quality measurement, the first p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset, and the second p-quality measurement of the puncturable subset.

69. A network entity comprising: A component for configuring a reference signal RS so that the RS can be punctured by another physical layer signal, the RS includes a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset, the puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, and the RS is configured so that when the RS is transmitted, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured; as well as a component for providing a RS configuration to a user equipment UE, wherein the RS configuration indicates a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes multiple scrambling IDs, and the multiple scrambling IDs include u-scrambling ID and p-scrambling ID. wherein the non-puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID, wherein, when the puncturable subset of the RS is punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the p-scrambling ID, and When the puncturable subset of the RS is not punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID.

70. A user equipment UE, comprising: A component for receiving a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell, wherein the RS includes a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, wherein the puncture-permitted subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; means for determining, based on the non-puncturable subset, whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal; A component for excluding the puncturable subset when processing the RS when it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured; means for including the puncturable subset in processing the RS when determining that the puncturable subset has not been punctured; as well as means for receiving a RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs include a first scrambling ID and a second scrambling ID, and Wherein, determining whether the punchable subset has been punched includes: measuring the RS based on the first scrambling ID to determine a first quality measurement; measuring the RS based on the second scrambling ID to determine a second quality measurement; and It is determined whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the first quality measure and the second quality measure.

71. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to: configuring a reference signal RS so that the RS can be punctured by another physical layer signal, one or more instructions, the RS includes a puncturable subset and a non-puncturable subset, the puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, the non-puncturable subset includes one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured, and the RS is configured so that when the RS is transmitted, the non-puncturable subset of the RS indicates whether the puncturable subset of the RS has been punctured; and providing one or more instructions for RS configuration to a user equipment UE, wherein the RS configuration indicates resource configuration of the RS, in, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs including a u-scrambling ID and a p-scrambling ID, wherein the non-puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID, wherein, when the puncturable subset of the RS is punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the p-scrambling ID, and When the puncturable subset of the RS is not punctured, the puncturable subset of the RS is scrambled based on the u-scrambling ID.

72. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: Receiving one or more instructions of a reference signal RS from a non-serving cell, the RS comprising a puncture-permitted subset and a non-puncture-permitted subset, the puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are allowed to be punctured, and the non-puncture-permitted subset comprising one or more resources of the RS that are prohibited from being punctured; one or more instructions for determining whether the puncturable subset has been punctured by another physical layer signal based on the non-puncturable subset; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has been punctured, excluding one or more instructions of the puncturable subset when processing the RS; When it is determined that the puncturable subset has not been punctured, one or more instructions for including the puncturable subset in processing the RS; as well as receiving an RS configuration from a network entity, the RS configuration indicating a resource configuration of the RS, The RS configuration includes a plurality of scrambling IDs, the plurality of scrambling IDs include a first scrambling ID and a second scrambling ID, and Wherein, determining whether the punchable subset has been punched includes: measuring the RS based on the first scrambling ID to determine a first quality measurement; measuring the RS based on the second scrambling ID to determine a second quality measurement; and It is determined whether the puncturable subset has been punctured based on the first quality measure and the second quality measure.

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