Supplementary timing information for positioning reference signals for non-terrestrial networks

Abstract

A technique for positioning is disclosed. A receiver receives supplemental timing information associated with a repetition of a positioning reference signal (PRS) sequence. The supplemental timing information distinguishes a repetition of the PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions of the PRS sequence. Based on the supplemental timing information associated with different PRSs from different non-ground vehicles indicating that the PRSs are transmitted during the same radio frame, the receiver can determine an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) between the PRSs received from the corresponding non-ground vehicles.

Description

[0001] Public background

[0002] 1. Public Domain

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications.

[0004] 2. Description of related technologies

[0005] Wireless communication systems have evolved over several generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G networks), third generation (3G) high-speed data wireless service with Internet capabilities, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., LTE or WiMax). There are many different types of wireless communication systems in use today, 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) TDMA variants, and the like.

[0006] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transmission speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard 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. Hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported to support large wireless sensor deployments. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. In addition, signaling efficiency should be improved and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard.

[0007] Overview

[0008] A simplified summary of one or more aspects disclosed herein is given below. Thus, the following summary should neither be considered an exhaustive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be considered to identify key or decisive elements related to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present certain concepts related to one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form prior to the detailed description given below.

[0009] In one aspect, a method of operating a receiving device includes: measuring a time of arrival (ToA) of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a first positioning reference signal (PRS) sequence among multiple repetitions of the first PRS sequence transmitted by a first non-ground vehicle; receiving first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence, wherein the first supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the first PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions of the multiple repetitions of the first PRS sequence; measuring a ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of the second PRS sequence among multiple repetitions of the second PRS sequence transmitted by a second non-ground vehicle; receiving a first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence, wherein the first supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the first PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions of the multiple repetitions of the first PRS sequence; second supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the second PRS sequence, wherein the second supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the second PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence; and determining an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) between the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence as a difference between a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence based on the first supplemental timing information and the second supplemental timing information.

[0010] In one aspect, a method of operating a non-ground vehicle includes: transmitting at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a PRS sequence among multiple repetitions of the PRS sequence; and transmitting supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the PRS sequence, wherein the supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions of the multiple repetitions of the PRS sequence.

[0011] In one aspect, a receiving device includes: a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: measure a ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a first PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence transmitted by a first non-ground vehicle; receive, via the at least one transceiver, first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence, wherein the first supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the first PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence; measure a ToA of the repetition of the second PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence transmitted by a second non-ground vehicle; receiving, via the at least one transceiver, second supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the second PRS sequence, wherein the second supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the second PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence; and determining an OTDOA between the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence as a difference between the ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence based on the first supplemental timing information and the second supplemental timing information.

[0012] In one aspect, a non-ground vehicle includes: a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: cause the at least one transceiver to transmit at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of the PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence; and cause the at least one transceiver to transmit supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the PRS sequence, wherein the supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence.

[0013] In one aspect, a receiving device includes: means for measuring the ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a first PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence transmitted by a first non-ground vehicle; means for receiving first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence, wherein the first supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the first PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence; means for measuring the ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of the second PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence transmitted by a second non-ground vehicle; means for receiving a first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence, wherein the first supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the first PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence; means for measuring the ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of the second PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence transmitted by a second non-ground vehicle; and means for receiving a first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence. means for determining, based on the first supplemental timing information and the second supplemental timing information, an OTDOA between the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence as a difference between a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence.

[0014] In one aspect, a non-ground vehicle includes: means for transmitting at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence; and means for transmitting supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the PRS sequence, wherein the supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence.

[0015] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a receiving device includes computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions including: at least one instruction to instruct the receiving device to measure a ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a first PRS sequence among multiple repetitions of the first PRS sequence transmitted by a first non-ground vehicle; at least one instruction to instruct the receiving device to receive first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence, wherein the first supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the first PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions of the first PRS sequence in the multiple repetitions; and at least one instruction to instruct the receiving device to measure a ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of the second PRS sequence among multiple repetitions of the second PRS sequence transmitted by a second non-ground vehicle. at least one instruction instructing the receiving device to receive second supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the second PRS sequence, wherein the second supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the second PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence; and at least one instruction instructing the receiving device to determine, based on the first supplemental timing information and the second supplemental timing information, an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) between the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence as a difference between the ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence.

[0016] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a non-ground vehicle includes computer-executable instructions including: at least one instruction instructing the non-ground vehicle to transmit at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a PRS sequence among multiple repetitions of the PRS sequence; and at least one instruction instructing the non-ground vehicle to transmit supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the PRS sequence, wherein the supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the multiple repetitions of the PRS sequence.

[0017] Other objects and advantages associated with the various 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

[0019] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in describing various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for the purpose of illustrating these aspects and not limiting thereof.

[0020] Figure 1

[0013] An exemplary wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects is illustrated.

[0021] Figure 2A and Figure 2B

[0013] Example wireless network structures in accordance with various aspects are illustrated.

[0022] Figures 3A to 3C is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a UE, a space / air vehicle, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 4A and Figure 4B is a diagram illustrating examples of frame structures and channels within these frame structures in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 5 Exemplary PRS configurations for cells supported by a wireless node are illustrated.

[0025] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary technique for determining the location of a mobile device using information obtained from multiple satellites.

[0026] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the ambiguity of measuring PRS from different satellites, where the PRS periodicity is shorter than the propagation time between the satellite and the receiver.

[0027] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating exemplary locations of supplemental timing information transmission according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

[0028] Fig. 9 and Fig.10 Various exemplary methods according to various aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0029] Detailed Description

[0030] Various aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings for 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 in the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid obscuring the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0031] 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 superior to 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.

[0032] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the following description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical 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.

[0033] In addition, many aspects are described in the form of a sequence of actions performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein can be performed by a dedicated circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. In addition, the sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transient computer-readable storage medium, which stores a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, will cause or instruct the associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in several different forms, all of which have been conceived to fall within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0034] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be dedicated to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise specified. 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, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) head-mounted device, 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 on 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" can be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber equipment", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or UT, "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 the like.

[0035] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs when in communication with a UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be referred to alternatively as an access point (AP), a network node, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. In addition, in some systems, a base station may provide pure edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by 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.). The communication link by 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 a UL / reverse or DL / forward traffic channel.

[0036] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit receive point (TRP) or may refer to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be a base station antenna corresponding to a cell of the base station. Where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located 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 the base station employs beamforming). Where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located 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-co-located physical TRPs may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE and a neighbor base station for which the UE is measuring a reference RF signal. Since the TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmissions from or receptions at a base station should be understood as references to the specific TRP of that base station.

[0037] An "RF signal" includes an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of each RF signal through a multipath channel, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same RF signal transmitted on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal.

[0038] According to various aspects, Figure 1 Exemplary wireless communication system 100 is illustrated. 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. 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 (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or a gNB (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include a femtocell, a picocell, a microcell, etc.

[0039] 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 next generation core (NGC)) through a backhaul link 122, and interface to one or more location servers 172 through the core network 170. The base stations 102 may also perform functions related to one or more of delivery of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (such as 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 equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and alert messages, among other functions. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / NGC) over a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0040] Base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with UEs 104. Each base station 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells may be supported by base stations 102 in each coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a certain frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" may refer to either or both of a logical communication entity and a base station supporting the logical communication entity, depending on the context. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to a geographic coverage area (eg, a sector) of a base station, in the sense that a carrier frequency may be detected and used for communications within some portion of geographic coverage area 110 .

[0041] 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 be substantially overlapped by a larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' may have a coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell 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 service to a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0042] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include UL (also known as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known 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 DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to DL than to UL).

[0043] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk procedure to determine whether the channel is available before communicating.

[0044] The small cell base station 102' may operate in a licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as that used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum may boost coverage and / or increase capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0045] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate in mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW can be extended downward to a 3 GHz frequency with a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on ​​the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. In addition, it will be appreciated that in an alternative configuration, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near mmW and beamforming for transmission. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the foregoing explanation is merely an example, and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0046] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Conventionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, the network node broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). 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 directivity 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 are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node can use an antenna array (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that generates a beam of RF waves, and the beam of the RF wave can be "guided" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas in the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas are added together in the desired direction to increase the radiation, while canceling out in the undesired direction to suppress the radiation.

[0047] The transmit beams can be quasi-colocated, which means that they appear to the receiver (e.g., UE) to have the same parameters, regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network nodes themselves are physically colocated. In NR, there are four types of quasi-colocation (QCL) relationships. 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. Therefore, 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 transmitted 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 transmitted 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 transmitted 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.

[0048] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, a receiver may increase the gain setting of an antenna array and / or adjust the phase setting of an antenna array in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase its gain level) RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is referred to as performing beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction for 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 plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.) for the RF signal received from that direction.

[0049] The receive beams may be spatially correlated. The spatial relationship means that the parameters of the transmit beam for the second reference signal may be derived from information about the receive beam for the first reference signal. For example, the UE may use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE may then form a transmit beam based on the parameters of the receive beam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the base station.

[0050] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving downlink reference signals. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0051] 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 referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and on 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 control channels and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that 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 necessary signaling information and signals, for example, signaling information and signals that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier, because both the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. This is also 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. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier that a base station is using for communication, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0052] For example, still referring to Figure 1 , one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the 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 by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0053] The wireless communication system 100 may further 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) or peer-to-peer (P2P) links. Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with a UE 104 connected to a base station 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity therefrom), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity therefrom). In an example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can use any well-known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), etc.) to support.

[0054] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a UE 164 that may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 over the communication link 120 and / or 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.

[0055] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more satellites 112 of a non-terrestrial network (NTN). Due to the wide service coverage capability and the reduced vulnerability of space / air vehicles (e.g., satellites 112) to physical attacks and natural disasters, the NTN may be used to provide 5G NR services in non-service areas (e.g., isolated / remote areas, onboard aircraft or spacecraft, etc.) that are not covered by terrestrial 5G networks and in underserved areas, so as to upgrade the performance of limited terrestrial networks in a cost-effective manner. Figure 1, satellite 112 is in communication with UE 114 outside the coverage area of ​​base station 102 (representing UEs in an area not served by the terrestrial 5G network), and is in communication with UE 116 (representing UEs that are underserved by the terrestrial 5G network) within the coverage area of ​​base station 102. Thus, satellite 112 can act as a serving base station for UE 114, and act as a primary cell or a secondary cell for UE 116 (depending on the services provided by base station 102 to UE 116).

[0056] NTN can also be used to enhance 5G service reliability by providing service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) and / or IoT devices or passengers on board mobile platforms (e.g., passenger vehicles such as aircraft, ships, high-speed trains, buses, etc.), or ensuring service availability anywhere (especially for critical communications). NTN can also enable 5G network scalability by providing efficient multicast / broadcast resources for data delivery towards the network edge or even UEs.

[0057] The NTN includes one or more gateways (illustrated as gateway 118) between a space / air platform (e.g., satellite(s) 112) and a core network (e.g., core network 170). The radio link between a UE (e.g., UE 114, 115) and a space / air platform (e.g., satellite 112) is referred to as a "service link" (e.g., service link 124). In addition, the UE may also support a radio link with a ground-based RAN, as illustrated by a communication link 120 between a base station 102 and a UE 116. The radio link between a gateway (e.g., gateway 118) and a space / air platform (e.g., satellite 112) is referred to as a "feeder link" (e.g., feeder link 126).

[0058] Note that although Figure 1 Satellite 112 is illustrated as an exemplary space / air platform, but as will be appreciated, satellite 112 may be any type of manned or unmanned non-ground (i.e., air or space) vehicle capable of providing 5G services to UEs in its coverage area. Figure 1 Only a single satellite 112 and a single gateway 118 are illustrated, but as will be appreciated, this is merely exemplary and there may be any number of satellites 112 connected to any number of gateways 118. Further details regarding NTN may be found in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 38.811, which is publicly available and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0059] According to various aspects, Figure 2AAn example wireless network structure 200 is illustrated. For example, NGC 210 (also referred to as "5GC") can be functionally viewed as control plane functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which operate in coordination to form a core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB 222 to NGC 210, in particular to control plane functions 214 and user plane functions 212. In additional configurations, eNB 224 can also be connected to NGC 210 via NG-C 215 to control plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212. In addition, eNB 224 can communicate directly with gNB 222 via backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include both one or more eNBs 224 and one or more gNBs 222. The gNB 222 or the eNB 224 may be associated with a UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 204). Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that may be in communication with the NGC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across 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, which may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the NGC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). In addition, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network.

[0060] Figure 2A Also illustrated is a satellite 112 as part of the example wireless network architecture 200. The satellite 112 may be connected to a reference Figure 1 The satellites illustrated and described are the same. UE 204 may communicate with satellite 112 over service link 124, as described above with reference to Figure 1As with the eNB 224 and gNB 222, the satellite 112 may communicate with the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212 via a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 and a user plane interface (NG-U) 213, respectively. However, the satellite 112 communicates with the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212 via a gateway between the satellite 112 and the NGC 210 (e.g., gateway 118 (not shown)). In some cases, the satellite 112 may also communicate with the eNB 224 and the gNB 222 via a wireless backhaul link (not shown) (similar to the communication between the eNB 224 and the gNB 222 on the backhaul link 223).

[0061] According to various aspects, Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 250 is illustrated. For example, the NGC 260 (also referred to as "5GC") can be functionally considered as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) / user plane function (UPF) 264, and a user plane function provided by a session management function (SMF) 262, which operate in coordination to form a core network (i.e., NGC 260). The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the eNB 224 to the NGC 260, in particular to the SMF 262 and the AMF / UPF 264, respectively. In an additional configuration, the gNB 222 may also be connected to the NGC 260 via a control plane interface 265 to the AMF / UPF 264 and a user plane interface 263 to the SMF 262. In addition, the eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223, whether or not there is gNB direct connectivity with the NGC 260. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include both one or more eNBs 224 and one or more gNBs 222. A gNB 222 or an eNB 224 may communicate with a UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 The base station of the new RAN 220 communicates with the AMF side of the AMF / UPF 264 through the N2 interface, and communicates with the UPF side of the AMF / UPF 264 through the N3 interface.

[0062] and Figure 2A Same, Figure 2B Also illustrated is a satellite 112 as part of the example wireless network architecture 250. The satellite 112 may be connected to the reference Figure 1 and Figure 2A The satellites illustrated and described are the same. UE 204 may communicate with satellite 112 over service link 124, as described above with reference to Figure 1The satellite 112 may communicate with the gateway 118 over the feeder link 126, and the gateway 118 may communicate with the NGC 260 over the backhaul link 122. Like the eNB 224 and the gNB 222, the satellite 112 may communicate with the AMF / UPF 264 and the SMF 262 via a control plane interface and a user plane interface, respectively (not shown). However, unlike the eNB 224 and the gNB 222, the satellite 112 communicates with the AMF / UPF 264 and the SMF 262 via the gateway 118.

[0063] There are different types of satellite communication architectures, two of which are the "processing payload" type and the "bent pipe" type. In the case of the processing payload type, all or at least a portion of the eNB / gNB functionality is performed at the satellite 112. Figure 2A and Figure 2B 1 illustrates this scenario by including the satellite 112 in the new RAN 220. In a bent pipe type scenario, the satellite 112 acts as a relay and the entire eNB / gNB functionality is performed at the gateway 118. In this scenario, the gateway 118 may be included in the new RAN 220. The present disclosure is not limited to any one type of satellite communication architecture.

[0064] The functions of AMF include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, session management (SM) messaging between UE204 and SMF 262, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, short message service (SMS) messaging between UE 204 and short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). AMF 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 retrieves security materials from AUSF. The functions of AMF also include security context management (SCM). SCM receives keys from SEAF, which are used by SCM to derive keys that vary from access network to access network. The functionality of the AMF also includes location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the location management function (LMF) 270 and between the new RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of EPS bearer identifiers for interworking with the Evolved Packet System (EPS), and notification of mobility events for the UE 204. In addition, the AMF also supports the functionality of non-3GPP access networks.

[0065] The functions of the UPF include: acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to 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) handling (e.g., UL / DL rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in DL), UL traffic verification (mapping of service data flows (SDFs) to QoS flows), transport level packet marking in UL and DL, DL packet buffering and DL data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node.

[0066] The functions of SMF 262 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering for routing traffic to the correct destination at UPF, control of part of policy implementation and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 262 communicates with the AMF side of AMF / UPF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0067] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that may be in communication with the NGC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may be connected to the LMF 270 via the core network, the NGC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated).

[0068] Figure 3A , 3B3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) that may be incorporated into UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), non-ground vehicle 304 (which may correspond to any non-ground vehicle described herein, such as satellite 112), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or implement any network function described herein, including location server 230, LMF 270, gateway 112, etc.) to support file transfer operations as taught herein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of devices (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.) in different implementations. The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. In addition, a given device may include one or more of these 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.

[0069] UE 302 includes at least one NR transceiver 310 configured to communicate via a 5G NR network. Similarly, non-ground vehicle 304 includes at least one NR transceiver 350 configured to communicate via a 5G NR network. NR transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), non-ground vehicles, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a certain set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.). NR transceivers 310 and 350 may be configured in various ways according to the designated RAT to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.), respectively. Specifically, the NR transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and include one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0070] At least in some aspects, the UE 302 also includes a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver 320. The WLAN transceiver 320 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 for communicating via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, The WLAN transceiver 320 may be configured in various ways to transmit and encode signals 328 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the WLAN transceiver 320 includes one or more transmitters 324 for transmitting and encoding signals 328, and one or more receivers 322 for receiving and decoding signals 328.

[0071] The non-ground vehicle 304 includes at least one NR backhaul transceiver 370. The NR backhaul transceiver(s) 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 376 to wirelessly communicate with a gateway (e.g., gateway 118) and / or other non-ground vehicles over a wireless communication medium of interest. The NR backhaul transceiver(s) 370 may be configured in various ways to transmit and encode signals 378 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT (e.g., NR), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 378 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the NR backhaul transceiver(s) 370 include one or more transmitters 374 for transmitting and encoding signals 378, and one or more receivers 372 for receiving and decoding signals 378. Note that although illustrated as separate components, the NR backhaul transceiver 370 may be the same as or included in the NR transceiver 350.

[0072] The transceiver circuitry including the transmitter and the receiver may include an integrated device (e.g., a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit implemented 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 implemented in other ways in other implementations. In one aspect, the transmitter may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 376) such as an antenna array, which permits the respective device to perform transmit "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the receiver may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 376) such as an antenna array, which permits the respective device to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and the receiver may share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 376) so that the respective device can only receive or transmit at a given time, but not both at the same time. The wireless communication devices of apparatus 302 and / or 304 (eg, one or both of transceivers 310 and 320 and / or one or both of transceivers 350 and 370) may also include a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0073] At least in some aspects, UE 302 also includes a global positioning system (GPS) receiver 330. GPS receiver 330 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 to receive GPS signals 338. GPS receiver 330 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing GPS signals 338. GPS receiver 330 requests information and operations from other systems as appropriate, and performs calculations necessary to determine the location of UE 302 using measurements obtained through any suitable GPS algorithm.

[0074] The network entity 306 includes at least one network interface 390 for communicating with other network entities. For example, the network interface(s) 390 (e.g., one or more network access ports) may be configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wire-based backhaul connection or a wireless backhaul connection. In some aspects, the network interface 390 may be implemented as one or more transceivers configured to support wire-based signal communication and / or wireless signal communication (e.g., where the network entity 306 is a gateway in communication with the non-ground vehicle 340). The communication may involve, for example, sending and receiving: messages, parameters, or other types of information.

[0075] The devices 302, 304, and 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. The UE 302 includes a processor circuit system that implements a processing system 332 for providing, for example, functionality related to positioning measurements of NTN reference signals as disclosed herein, and for providing other processing functionality. The non-ground vehicle 304 includes a processing system 384 for providing, for example, functionality related to transmitting reference signals as disclosed herein, and for providing other processing functionality. The network entity 306 includes a processing system 394 for providing, for example, functionality related to NTN reference signals configured for positioning measurements as disclosed herein, and for providing other processing functionality. In one aspect, the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices or processing circuit systems.

[0076] Apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). In some cases, apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 may include location modules 342, 388, and 398, respectively. Location modules 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to processing systems 332, 384, and 394, respectively, which, when executed, cause apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Alternatively, location modules 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules (e.g., memory modules stored in memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively) that are stored in memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively. Figure 3A -C), which, when executed by processing systems 332, 384, and 394, cause devices 302, 304, and 306 to perform the functionality described herein.

[0077] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to processing system 332 to provide movement and / or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by NR transceiver 310, WLAN transceiver 320, and / or GPS receiver 330. As an example, sensor(s) 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(s) 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate positioning in a 2D and / or 3D coordinate system.

[0078] In addition, 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 actuates a sensing device (such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.) Although not shown, devices 304 and 306 may also include a user interface.

[0079] 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 via the NR backhaul transceiver(s) 370. The processing system 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The processing system 384 may provide RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), 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 functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, cipher decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with transmission of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through 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 functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0080] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer-1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles 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 decoded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time 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 stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from reference signals and / or channel condition feedback transmitted 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.

[0081] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives the signal through its corresponding antenna(s) 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to processing system 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement layer-1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 302. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for UE 302, they may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by receiver 312. Receiver 312 then converts 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 on each subcarrier, as well as the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the signal constellation point most likely transmitted by non-ground vehicle 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. These soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted on the physical channel by the non-ground vehicle 304. These data and control signals are then provided to a processing system 332 that implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

[0082] In the UL, the processing system 332 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher decoding, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The processing system 332 is also responsible for error detection.

[0083] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with DL transmissions performed by non-ground vehicles 304, the processing system 332 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) capture, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality 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 functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0084] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by non-ground vehicle 304 may be used by transmitter 314 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by transmitter 314 may be provided to different antenna(s) 316. Transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0085] UL transmissions are processed at the non-ground vehicle 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 corresponding antenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 384.

[0086] In the UL, the processing system 384 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher decoding, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the processing system 384 can be provided to the core network. The processing system 384 is also responsible for error detection.

[0087] For convenience, devices 302, 304 and / or 306 are Figure 3A -C is shown as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it will be appreciated that the illustrated blocks may have different functionality in different designs.

[0088] The various components of devices 302, 304, and 306 may communicate with each other via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. Figures 3A-3C The components of can be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, Figures 3A-3C The components may be implemented in one or more circuits (e.g., 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 incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by a processor and (or) memory components of the UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by a processor and memory components of the non-ground vehicle 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). In addition, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by a processor and (or) memory components of the network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by a UE," "by a base station," "by a positioning entity," etc. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, actions, and / or functions may actually be performed by a specific component or combination of components of the UE, base station, positioning entity, etc., such as the processing systems 332, 384, 394, the transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 370, the memory components 340, 386, and 396, the positioning modules 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0089] Figure 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a DL frame structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating an example of channels within a DL frame structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0090] LTE and in some cases NR utilize 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 often referred to as frequency modulation, frequency bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain for OFDM and in the time domain for 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, for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), the nominal FFT size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned 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.

[0091] LTE supports a single parameter set (subcarrier spacing, symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple parameter designs, for example, subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, 120kHz, and 204kHz or greater may be available. Table 1 provided below lists some of the various parameters for different NR parameter sets.

[0092]

[0093] surface 1

[0094] exist Figure 4A and Figure 4B In the example of , a parameter design of 15 kHz is used. Therefore, in the time domain, a frame (e.g., 10 ms) is divided into 10 equally sized subframes, each subframe is 1 ms, and each subframe includes one time slot. Figure 4A and 4B , time is represented horizontally (eg, on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (eg, on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0095] A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, each of which includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. Figure 4A and 4B In the parameter design of , for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain (OFDM symbols for DL ​​and SC-FDMA symbols for UL), for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may 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.

[0096] like Figure 4A As explained in FIG, some REs carry DL reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. DL-RS may include a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), with exemplary locations at Figure 4A are marked with an "R".

[0097] Figure 4B An example of various channels within a DL subframe of an explanation frame. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DL control information (DCI) within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE includes 9 RE groups (REGs), and each REG includes 4 consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. The primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by the UE to determine the subframe / symbol timing and the physical layer identity. The secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and the radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the aforementioned DL-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the MIB can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB. The MIB provides the number of RBs in the DL system bandwidth, and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information (such as system information blocks (SIBs)) that is not transmitted through the PBCH, and paging messages.

[0098] In some cases, Figure 4AThe DL RS illustrated in the figure may be a positioning reference signal (PRS). A set of resource elements used to transmit a PRS is referred to as a "PRS resource". The set of resource elements may span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., 1 or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs. A PRS resource is described by at least the following parameters: a PRS resource identifier (ID), a sequence ID, a comb size N, a resource element offset in the frequency domain, a starting time slot and a starting symbol, the number of symbols per PRS resource (i.e., the duration of the PRS resource), and QCL information (e.g., QCL with other DL reference signals). Currently, one antenna port is supported. The comb size indicates the number of subcarriers carrying PRS in each symbol. For example, a comb size of -4 means that every fourth subcarrier of a given symbol carries a PRS.

[0099] 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 can be associated with a specific TRP (identified by a cell ID) transmitted by an antenna panel of a base station. The PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (wherein a TRP can transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam, and thus, a "PRS resource" (or simply "resource") may also be referred to as a "beam". Note that this does not have any implication as to whether the UE knows the TRP and the beam on which the PRS is transmitted.

[0100] 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 transmitted. A PRS opportunity may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning opportunity", "PRS positioning instance", "positioning opportunity", "positioning instance", or simply "opportunity" or "instance".

[0101] Figure 5 An exemplary PRS configuration 500 for a cellular cell supported by a wireless node, such as a base station 102 or a satellite 112, is illustrated. Again, although Figure 5 PRS transmission for LTE is assumed in Figure 5 As shown in and for Figure 5 The same or similar aspects of the described PRS transmission may be applicable to NR and / or other wireless technologies. Figure 5 shows how the PRS positioning opportunity is determined by the system frame number (SFN), the subframe offset (ΔPRS )552 and PRS periodicity (T PRS ) 520. Typically, the cell-specific PRS subframe configuration is determined by a “PRS configuration index” included in the observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) assistance data. PRS PRS periodicity (T PRS )520 and the subframe offset (Δ PRS ) is based on PRS configuration index I PRS As explained in Table 2 below.

[0102]

[0103]

[0104] Table 2

[0105] The PRS configuration is defined with reference to the system frame number (SFN) of the cell transmitting the PRS. PRS The first subframe of the downlink subframe including the first PRS positioning opportunity, the PRS instance may satisfy:

[0106]

[0107] where n f is SFN, where 0≤n f ≤1023, n s By n f The number of slots within a defined radio frame, where 0 ≤ n s ≤19, T PRS is the PRS periodicity 520, and Δ PRS It is the subframe offset 552 which varies from cell to cell.

[0108] like Figure 5 As shown, the subframe offset Δ varies from cell to cell. PRS 552 may be defined in terms of the number of subframes starting from system frame number 0 (time slot "number 0", denoted as time slot 550) to the start of transmission of the first (subsequent) PRS positioning opportunity. Figure 5 In the example of FIG. 5 , the number of consecutive positioning subframes (N) in each consecutive PRS positioning opportunity 518a, 518b, and 518c is PRS ) is equal to 4. That is, each shaded block representing the PRS positioning opportunities 518a, 518b, and 518c represents four subframes.

[0109] In some aspects, when a UE receives a PRS configuration index I in the OTDOA assistance data for a particular cell, PRS When the UE can use Table 1 to determine the PRS periodicity TPRS 520 and PRS subframe offset Δ PRS The UE may then determine the radio frames, subframes, and time slots when the PRS is scheduled in the cell (e.g., using equation (1)). The OTDOA assistance data may be determined, for example, by the location server 170 and include assistance data for a reference cell and several neighbor cells supported by each wireless node.

[0110] Typically, the PRS opportunities from all cells in the network that use the same frequency are aligned in time and may have a fixed known time offset (e.g., a cell-specific subframe offset 552) relative to other cells in the network that use different frequencies. In a SFN synchronous network, all wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102) may be aligned on both frame boundaries and system frame numbers. Thus, in a SFN synchronous network, all cells supported by various wireless nodes may use the same PRS configuration index for any particular frequency of PRS transmission. On the other hand, in a SFN asynchronous network, various wireless nodes may be aligned on frame boundaries but not on system frame numbers. Thus, in a SFN asynchronous network, the PRS configuration index for each cell may be individually configured by the network so that the PRS opportunities are aligned in time.

[0111] If the UE 104 can obtain the cell timing (e.g., SFN) of at least one cell (e.g., a reference cell or a serving cell), the UE can determine the timing of the PRS opportunities of the reference cell and neighbor cells for OTDOA positioning. The timing of other cells can then be derived by the UE 104, for example, based on an assumption that PRS opportunities from different cells overlap.

[0112] For LTE systems, the subframe sequence used to transmit PRS (e.g., for OTDOA positioning) can be characterized and defined by several parameters (as described above), including:

[0113] (i) reserved bandwidth (BW) block; (ii) configuration index I PRS (iii) duration N PRS ; (iv) an optional silent mode; and (v) a silent sequence periodicity T REP , when present, may be implicitly included as part of the muting pattern in (iv). In some cases, at fairly low PRS duty cycles, N PRS =1,T RPS = 160 subframes (equivalent to 160 ms), and BW = 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20 MHz. To increase the PRS duty cycle, N PRS The value increases to 6 (i.e. NPRS =6), and the bandwidth (BW) value can be increased to the system bandwidth (ie, BW = LTE system bandwidth in the LTE case). PRS (e.g., greater than six) and / or shorter T PRS (eg, less than 160 ms) of the extended PRS (up to the full duty cycle (ie, N PRS =T PRS )) can also be used for later versions of the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP). The directional PRS can be configured as just described, and can use a low PRS duty cycle (e.g., N PRS =1,T RPS =160 subframes) or high duty cycle.

[0114] Figure 6 The DL-OTDOA positioning procedure in an exemplary wireless communication system 600 according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. Figure 6 In the example of , UE 604 (which may correspond to any UE described herein) is attempting to calculate an estimate of its position, or assist another entity (e.g., a base station or core network component, another UE, a location server, a third-party application, etc.) in calculating an estimate of its position. UE 604 may wirelessly communicate with a plurality of satellites 602-1, 602-2, and 602-3 (collectively referred to as satellites 602, and which may correspond to any satellite described herein) using RF signals and standardized protocols for modulating the RF signals and exchanging information packets. By extracting different types of information from the exchanged RF signals and utilizing the layout of the wireless communication system 600 (e.g., base station locations, geometry, etc.), UE 604 may determine its position, or assist in determining its position in a predefined reference coordinate system. In one aspect, UE 604 may specify its position using a two-dimensional (2D) coordinate system; however, the aspects disclosed herein are not limited thereto, and may also be applicable to determining a position using a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system where additional dimensions are desired. Additionally, although Figure 6 One UE 604 and three satellites 602 are illustrated, but as will be appreciated, there may be more UEs 604 and more or fewer satellites 602.

[0115] To support positioning estimation, satellites 602 may be configured to broadcast positioning reference signals (e.g., PRS) to UEs 604 in their coverage areas to enable UEs 604 to measure characteristics of such reference signals. For example, the OTDOA positioning method is a multi-lateration positioning method in which UEs 604 measure time differences (referred to as reference signal time differences (RSTDs)) between specific reference signals (e.g., PRS) transmitted by different pairs of satellites 602, and report these time differences to a location server (such as location server 230 or LMF 270) or calculate position estimates based on these time differences on their own.

[0116] Generally speaking, in a reference cell (e.g., Figure 6 ) and one or more neighboring cells (e.g., those supported by satellite 602-1 in the example of Figure 6 RSTD is measured between cells supported by satellites 602-2 and 602-3 in the example of UE 604). For any single positioning use of OTDOA, the reference cell remains the same for all RSTDs measured by the UE 604, and will typically correspond to the serving cell of the UE 604 or another nearby cell with good signal strength at the UE 604. In an aspect, a neighbor cell will typically be a cell supported by a different satellite 602 than the satellite 602 used for the reference cell, and may have good or poor signal strength at the UE 604. The position calculation may be based on the measured time difference (e.g., RSTD) and knowledge of the location and relative transmission timing of the network nodes (e.g., whether the network nodes are accurately synchronized or whether each network node transmits with a known time difference relative to the other network nodes).

[0117] To assist in positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270) may provide OTDOA assistance data for a reference cell and neighbor cells relative to the reference cell to UE 604. For example, the assistance data may include an identifier (e.g., PCI, VCI, cell global identity (CGI), etc.) for each cell in a set of cells that UE 604 is expected to measure (here, cells supported by satellite 602). The assistance data may also provide a center channel frequency for each cell, various reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., number of consecutive positioning subframes, periodicity of positioning subframes, silent sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier (ID), reference signal bandwidth), and / or other cell-related parameters applicable to OTDOA. The OTDOA assistance data may indicate the serving cell of UE 604 as the reference cell.

[0118] In some cases, the OTDOA assistance data may also include an "expected RSTD" parameter along with the uncertainty of the expected RSTD parameter, which provides information to the UE 604 regarding the RSTD value that the UE 604 is expected to measure between the reference cell and each neighbor cell at its current location. The expected RSTD along with the associated uncertainty may define a search window for the UE 604 within which the UE 604 is expected to measure RSTD values. The OTDOA assistance information may also include reference signal configuration information parameters that allow the UE 604 to determine when reference signal positioning opportunities occur on signals received from various neighbor cells relative to the reference signal positioning opportunities for the reference cell, and to determine reference signal sequences transmitted from various cells to measure signal arrival time (ToA) or RSTD.

[0119] In an aspect, while a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270) may send assistance data to UE 604, alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the satellite 602 itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages, etc.). Alternatively, UE 604 may detect neighbor satellites on its own without using assistance data.

[0120] UE 604 (e.g., based in part on assistance data if provided) may measure and (optionally) report RSTD between reference signals received from satellites 602. Using RSTD measurements, known absolute or relative transmission timing of each satellite 602, and known positions of reference and neighboring satellites 602, a network (e.g., location server 230 / LMF 270) or UE 604 may estimate the position of UE 604. More specifically, the RSTD of neighbor network node “k” relative to reference network node “Ref” may be given as (ToA k –ToA Ref ), where the ToA value can be measured modulo a subframe duration (1ms) to remove the effect of measuring different subframes at different times. Figure 6In the example of FIG. 6 , the time differences measured between the reference cell of satellite 602-1 and the cells of neighboring satellites 602-2 and 602-3 are represented as τ2−τ1 and τ3−τ1, where τ1, τ2, and τ3 represent the TOA of the reference signals from the transmit antennas of satellites 602-1, 602-2, and 602-3, respectively. UE 604 can then convert the ToA measurements for different network nodes into RSTD measurements and (optionally) send them to location server 230 / LMF 270. By using (i) RSTD measurements, (ii) known absolute or relative transmission timing of each network node, (iii) known locations of physical TRPs for reference satellites and neighboring satellites 602, and / or (iv) directional reference signal characteristics (such as transmission direction), (UE 604 or location server 230 / LMF 270) can determine the location of UE 604.

[0121] Still refer to Figure 6 , when UE 604 uses the time difference measured by OTDOA to obtain a position estimate, the necessary additional data (e.g., the location and relative transmission timing of network nodes) may be provided to UE 604 by a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270). In some implementations, a position estimate for UE 604 may be obtained based on the time difference measured by OTDOA and based on other measurements made by UE 604 (e.g., measurements of signal timing from GPS or other GNSS satellites) (e.g., by UE 604 itself or by location server 230 / LMF 270). In these implementations (referred to as hybrid positioning), OTDOA measurements may contribute to obtaining a position estimate for UE 604, but may not fully determine the position estimate.

[0122] Location information about UEs can help address several key challenges in 5G as a complement to existing and planned technology developments. These challenges include the increase in traffic and number of devices, robustness of mission-critical services, and reduction of overall energy consumption and latency. Knowing the location of the UE is beneficial for more efficient paging, scheduling, beamforming, multicasting, etc.

[0123] Refer to above Figure 6 A method for determining the position of a UE is described. As described above, the UE can measure the difference between the ToAs of positioning reference signals (e.g., PRS) from a pair of satellites (i.e., OTDOA), and these measurements together with the known positions of the transmitting satellites can be used to determine the position of the UE using a hyperbolic multilateral algorithm. However, in existing LTE and NR PRS designs, the PRS sequence is repeated every 10 ms (e.g., PRS periodicity (T PRS)=10ms). More specifically, the PRS sequence generator is initiated by a number that varies with the slot number within a frame, and the duration of the frame is 10ms. Thus, every 10ms, the PRS sequence repeats once.

[0124] For terrestrial networks, this 10ms repetitive pattern is not a problem because in order to detect the PRS from the terrestrial transmitter (e.g., base station), the UE will always be well within the 5ms propagation delay of the transmitter. However, for NTNs, there are scenarios where the propagation delay between the satellite and the UE exceeds 10ms. This can create ambiguity when measuring the ToA of the PRS from the satellite. For example, if there is a 14ms propagation delay between the satellite and the UE and the PRS sequence repeats every 10ms, the UE will not know whether the propagation delay of the PRS is 4ms (i.e., the difference between 10ms and 14ms) or 14ms. That is, the UE may detect the ToA of the PRS from the satellite as occurring 4ms into the PRS sequence, but it will not know that the measured PRS actually propagated from the satellite to the UE for the entire 10ms PRS sequence length before the start of the PRS sequence in which the PRS was measured.

[0125] This becomes more significant when measuring the ToA of PRS from multiple satellites, such as Figure 7 As explained in . Figure 7 700 is a diagram illustrating the ambiguity of measuring PRS from different satellites, where the PRS periodicity is shorter than the propagation time between the satellite and the receiver (eg, UE). Figure 7 As explained in , satellite A 702 (e.g., Figure 6 ) transmits a first PRS sequence 706 that repeats every 10 ms, and satellite B 712 (e.g., Figure 6 Another of the satellites 610 in each of the satellites 610 transmits a second PRS sequence 716 that repeats every 10 ms. Satellite A 702 and satellite B 712 have the same system time and therefore start transmission of their respective PRS sequences at the same time (e.g., at the beginning of the same radio frame). However, due to propagation delays between the satellites and the receiver, the PRS transmissions of the respective PRS sequences arrive at the receiver at different times. Note that although Figure 7 Only two PRS transmissions (also referred to as PRS instances or PRS opportunities) per PRS sequence (also referred to as PRS burst) are illustrated, but as will be appreciated, there may be more than the illustrated two PRS transmissions per sequence.

[0126] exist Figure 7In the example of , to measure the OTDOA of PRS received from satellite A 702 and satellite B 712, the receiver measures the ToA of the first PRS transmission of the PRS sequence from each satellite. Note, however, that because the receiver is configured with the corresponding PRS configuration, the receiver can measure the TOA of any two PRS transmissions transmitted during the same radio frame and adjust the RSTD / OTDOA measurement between the PRS transmissions based on the transmission time difference of the PRS transmissions learned from the corresponding PRS configuration. Figure 7 In the example of FIG. 1 , the receiver receives the first PRS transmission of PRS sequence 716 from satellite B 712 4 ms before it receives the first PRS transmission of PRS sequence 706 from satellite A 702. Thus, the actual OTDOA between the PRS of satellite A 702 and the PRS of satellite B 712 is 4 ms. However, the PRS sequence 716 from satellite B 712 begins to repeat during the measured PRS sequence 706 from satellite A 702. As such, the UE does not know whether the first PRS transmission of PRS sequence 716 is the PRS to be measured or the first PRS transmission of the next PRS sequence is the PRS to be measured.

[0127] Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a technique for a transmitter (e.g., a satellite, an air vehicle) to transmit supplementary timing information to a receiver (e.g., a UE) when transmitting a PRS to the receiver so that the receiver can avoid the timing ambiguity of not knowing during which radio frame or which PRS sequence the received PRS is transmitted, as described above with reference to Figure 7 As described above. The supplemental timing information provides timing information on a larger scale than a radio frame (a typical length of a PRS sequence). More specifically, the supplemental timing information distinguishes a PRS transmission of a given PRS sequence transmitted by a transmitter (e.g., a satellite) from PRS transmissions of other PRS sequences transmitted by the transmitter. For example, the supplemental timing information may be a SFN or a PRS burst / sequence index.

[0128] The supplemental timing information may be transmitted at different times during the periodicity (e.g., 10 ms) of the PRS sequence. For example, the supplemental timing information may be transmitted once within each PRS periodicity. As another example, the supplemental timing information may be transmitted once for each PRS transmission within each PRS sequence. As yet another example, the supplemental timing information may be transmitted once per subframe or per multiple subframes of a radio frame. As will be appreciated, the more frequently the supplemental timing information is transmitted, the faster the receiver (e.g., UE) will be able to acquire the OTDOA measurement(s), but more signaling overhead will be required.

[0129] Figure 88 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary location of supplemental timing information transmission according to an aspect of the present disclosure. Figure 8 In the example of FIG. 8 , the first PRS sequence 810 is repeated every 10 ms (the length of a radio frame). Each repetition of the PRS sequence 810 includes multiple PRS transmissions 812 (also referred to as PRS opportunities or PRS instances). Note that although Figure 8 Two PRS transmissions 812 per PRS sequence 810 are illustrated, but as will be appreciated, there may be more or fewer PRS transmissions 812 per PRS sequence 810 than the illustrated two PRS transmissions 812. In the example PRS sequence 810, supplemental timing information 814 is transmitted prior to each PRS transmission 812. The supplemental timing information 814 may be the SFN of the radio frame in which the PRS sequence 810 repetition is transmitted, or a sequence index of the PRS sequence 810 repetition. The supplemental timing information 814 may be transmitted in the symbol immediately preceding the first symbol of the PRS transmission 812, the slot immediately preceding the first slot of the PRS transmission 812, a certain number of symbols preceding the first symbol of the PRS transmission 812, or a certain number of slots preceding the first slot of the PRS transmission 812.

[0130] exist Figure 8 In the example of FIG. 8 , the second exemplary PRS sequence 820 is also repeated every 10 ms. Each repetition of the PRS sequence 820 includes multiple PRS transmissions 822. Note that although Figure 8 Two PRS transmissions 822 per PRS sequence 820 are illustrated, but as will be appreciated, there may be more or fewer PRS transmissions 822 per PRS sequence 820 than the illustrated two PRS transmissions 822. In the example PRS sequence 820, supplemental timing information 824 is transmitted at the beginning of each PRS sequence 820. The supplemental timing information 824 may be the SFN of the radio frame in which the PRS sequence 820 repetition is transmitted, or a sequence index of the PRS sequence 820 repetition. The supplemental timing information 824 may be transmitted in the symbol immediately preceding the first symbol of the first PRS transmission 822 of the PRS sequence 820, the slot immediately preceding the first slot of the first PRS transmission 822 of the PRS sequence 820, a number of symbols preceding the first symbol of the first PRS transmission 822, or a number of slots preceding the first slot of the first PRS transmission 822.

[0131] As you will understand, Figure 8 The location of the supplementary positioning information in is only exemplary, and other locations are also possible. For example, the supplementary timing information may be transmitted after each PRS transmission, at the end of the PRS sequence, in each subframe of the PRS sequence, in each time slot of the PRS sequence, etc.

[0132] In an aspect, a receiver (e.g., a UE) may be configured with the location of the supplemental timing information in various ways. For example, a transmitter may broadcast the location of the supplemental timing information transmission in a synchronization signal block, a system information block, etc. Alternatively or additionally, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270) participating in a positioning session with the receiver may transmit the location of the supplemental timing information transmission to the receiver. For example, the location of the supplemental timing information transmission may be part of a PRS configuration (e.g., PRS configuration 500) received from a location server. Alternatively or additionally, the location of the supplemental timing information transmission may be specified in an applicable standard (e.g., a 3GPP technical specification).

[0133] Whether generated by the location server or by the transmitter (e.g., in the case where the transmitter generates the PRS configuration), the transmitter may transmit the supplemental timing information to the receiver on a downlink channel between the transmitter and the receiver. The downlink channel may be a control channel (e.g., PDCCH) or a shared channel (e.g., PDSCH).

[0134] When using PDCCH (see, for example, Figure 4B ) to carry supplementary timing information, the decoding complexity at the receiver should be small. For example, PDCCH can be transmitted in a common search space, making it easier for the receiver to locate and decode it. Figure 4B As described, the PDCCH carries DCI in one or more CCEs, each CCE includes nine REGs, and each REG includes four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. In one aspect, the DCI format for carrying supplemental timing information may be based on, for example, compact DCI, rather than non-fallback DCI including DCI 0-1 and DCI 1-1. In addition, the PDCCH may be scrambled by a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) that varies from cell to cell to enable a receiver (e.g., UE) that is not in RRC connected mode to receive the supplemental timing information.

[0135] When using PDSCH (see, for example, Figure 4B) to carry supplemental timing information, the decoding complexity at the receiver should be small and the additional signaling for scheduling the PDSCH should be limited. For example, when the supplemental timing information is transmitted in the PDSCH, the time domain resource assignment and frequency domain resource assignment information about the supplemental timing information can be transmitted in higher layer parameters (e.g., RRC parameters) or system information (e.g., SIB). Additionally or alternatively, the channel carrying the supplemental timing information can be quasi-co-located with the associated PRS transmission for channel Doppler shift, average Doppler spread, delay spread, average delay shift, spatial reception parameters, or any combination thereof. That is, the channel Doppler shift, average Doppler spread, delay spread, average delay shift, spatial reception parameters, or any combination thereof of the PDSCH carrying the supplemental timing information can be the same as or derived from the associated PRS transmission, and vice versa.

[0136] Based on the supplemental timing information associated with the received PRS transmissions, the receiving device can determine whether the PRS transmissions from two or more different transmitters are transmitted in the same radio frame or different radio frames, and / or in the same repetition of the corresponding PRS sequence or in different repetitions of the corresponding PRS sequence. That is, if the PRS transmissions from two or more transmitters have the same supplemental timing information (e.g., the same SFN, the same PRS sequence index), the receiving device can determine that these PRS transmissions are transmitted during the same radio frame and can therefore be used to determine the accurate / unambiguous OTDOA between these PRS transmissions. If the supplemental timing information indicates that these PRS transmissions are transmitted during different radio frames, the receiving device can adjust any positioning measurements accordingly. For example, if the receiving device receives a first PRS transmission transmitted during a first radio frame and a second PRS transmission transmitted during a second (next) radio frame (as described above with reference to Figure 7 As described above), the receiver may adjust (eg, subtract or add) the RSTD / OTDOA measurement between the two PRSs by the length of one radio frame, thereby eliminating the effect of measuring the PRSs transmitted in adjacent radio frames instead of the same radio frame.

[0137] Fig. 9 An exemplary method 900 of operating a recipient device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In an aspect, the recipient device may be any UE described herein.

[0138] At 910, a receiving device measures a ToA of at least one PRS transmission (e.g., PRS transmission 812) of a repetition of a first PRS sequence (e.g., PRS sequence 810) among a plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence transmitted by a first non-ground vehicle (e.g., a satellite, an air vehicle, etc.). In an aspect, operation 910 may be performed by the NR transceiver 310, the processing system 332, the memory 340, and / or the positioning module 342, any or all of which may be considered as a means for performing the operation.

[0139] At 920, the receiving device receives first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence (e.g., supplemental timing information 814). As discussed above, the first supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the first PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions in the plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence. In an aspect, operation 920 may be performed by the NR transceiver 310, the processing system 332, the memory 340, and / or the positioning module 342, any or all of which may be considered as a means for performing the operation.

[0140] At 930, the receiving device measures a ToA of at least one PRS transmission (e.g., PRS transmission 822) of a repetition of a second PRS sequence (e.g., PRS sequence 820) among a plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence transmitted by a second non-ground vehicle (e.g., a satellite, an air vehicle, etc.). In an aspect, operation 930 may be performed by the NR transceiver 310, the processing system 332, the memory 340, and / or the positioning module 342, any or all of which may be considered as a means for performing the operation.

[0141] At 940, the receiving device receives second supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the second PRS sequence (e.g., supplemental timing information 824). As discussed above, the second supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the second PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions in the plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence. In an aspect, operation 940 may be performed by the NR transceiver 310, the processing system 332, the memory 340, and / or the positioning module 342, any or all of which may be considered as a means for performing the operation.

[0142] At 950, based on the first supplemental timing information and the second supplemental timing information, the receiving device determines the OTDOA between the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence as a difference between the ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence. In an aspect, operation 950 may be performed by the NR transceiver 310, the processing system 332, the memory 340, and / or the positioning module 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0143] Fig.10 An exemplary method 1000 of operating a non-ground vehicle in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, the non-ground vehicle may be any satellite, aerial vehicle, etc. described herein.

[0144] At 1010, the non-ground vehicle transmits at least one PRS transmission (e.g., PRS transmission 812, 822) of a repetition of a PRS sequence in a plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence (e.g., PRS sequences 810, 820). In an aspect, operation 1010 may be performed by the NR transceiver 350, the processing system 384, the memory 386, and / or the positioning module 388, any or all of which may be considered as a means for performing the operation.

[0145] At 1020, the non-ground vehicle transmits supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the PRS sequence (e.g., supplemental timing information 814, 824). As discussed above, the supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the PRS sequence from the remaining repetitions in the plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence. In an aspect, operation 1020 may be performed by the NR transceiver 350, the processing system 384, the memory 386, and / or the positioning module 388, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0146] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0147] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. The technician can implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0148] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or executed 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.

[0149] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in 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 and write information from / to the storage medium. In an alternative, a storage medium may be integrated into a processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In an alternative, the processor and storage medium may reside in a user terminal as discrete components.

[0150] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, each function may be stored on or transmitted by a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any media that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. As an example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer. Similarly, any connection is also properly referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted 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. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, wherein disk often reproduces data magnetically, while disc reproduces data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0151] Although the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions in the method claims according to the various aspects of the present disclosure described herein do not have 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 is also contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

Claims

1. A positioning method performed by a receiving device, comprising: Measuring an arrival time ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a first positioning reference signal PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence transmitted by a first non-ground vehicle with a PRS periodicity; receiving first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence at least once per PRS period of the first PRS sequence, wherein the first supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the first PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence; measuring a ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a second PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of a second PRS sequence transmitted with the PRS periodicity by a second non-ground vehicle; receiving second supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the second PRS sequence at least once per PRS period of the second PRS sequence, wherein the second supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the second PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence; and An observed time difference of arrival OTDOA between the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the at least one PRS transmission of the corresponding repetition of the second PRS sequence is determined based on the first supplemental timing information and the second supplemental timing information as a difference between a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the corresponding repetition of the second PRS sequence.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first supplemental timing information comprises a first sequence index of the repetition of the first PRS sequence, and The second supplemental timing information includes a second sequence index of the repetition of the second PRS sequence.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first supplemental timing information comprises a first system frame number of a first radio frame during which the repetition of the first PRS sequence is transmitted, and The second supplemental timing information comprises a second system frame number of a second radio frame during which the repetition of the second PRS sequence is transmitted. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the first system frame number and the first radio frame are the same as the second system frame number and the second radio frame.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein: The first radio frame and the second radio frame are consecutive radio frames, and Determining the OTDOA includes adjusting the OTDOA to a length of a radio frame.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first supplemental timing information is received from the first non-ground vehicle, and The second supplemental timing information is received from the second non-ground vehicle.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein: The first supplemental timing information is received from the first non-ground vehicle on a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and The second supplemental timing information is received on a second PDCCH from the second non-ground vehicle.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein: The first supplemental timing information is received in first downlink control information DCI transmitted on the first PDCCH, and The second supplemental timing information is received in a second DCI transmitted on the second PDCCH.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein: The first PDCCH is scrambled by a first radio network temporary identifier RNTI that is specific to each cell, and The second PDCCH is scrambled by a second RNTI that varies among cells.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving device is not in a radio resource control (RRC) connected mode when receiving the first supplementary timing information and / or the second supplementary timing information.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein: The first supplemental timing information is received from the first non-ground vehicle on a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and The second supplemental timing information is received on a second PDSCH from the second non-ground vehicle. 12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein time domain resource assignment and frequency domain resource assignment information about the first supplementary timing information and the second supplementary timing information are received in higher layer parameters or system information.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein: The first PDSCH is quasi-co-located with the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence, and The second PDSCH is quasi-co-located with the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein: The quasi co-location of the first PDSCH with the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence indicates that the first PDSCH has the same channel Doppler shift, average Doppler spread, delay spread, average delay shift, and spatial reception parameters as the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence, and The quasi-co-location of the second PDSCH with the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence indicates that the second PDSCH has the same channel Doppler shift, average Doppler spread, delay spread, average delay shift, and spatial reception parameters as the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: An estimate of the location of the recipient device is calculated based on the OTDOA.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the recipient device is a user equipment (UE), and the first non-terrestrial vehicle and the second non-terrestrial vehicle are satellites or aerial vehicles.

17. A positioning method performed by a non-ground vehicle, comprising: Transmitting a PRS transmission of a repetition of a positioning reference signal PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence with a PRS periodicity; as well as Supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the PRS sequence is transmitted at least once for each PRS period of the PRS sequence, wherein the supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the supplemental timing information comprises a sequence index of the repetition of the PRS sequence.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the supplemental timing information comprises a system frame number of a radio frame during which the repetition of the PRS sequence is transmitted.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the non-ground vehicle transmits the supplemental timing information on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the non-ground vehicle transmits the supplemental timing information in downlink control information (DCI) transmitted on the PDCCH.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the PDCCH is scrambled by a cell-specific Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI).

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the non-ground vehicle transmits the supplemental timing information on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the non-ground vehicle transmits time domain resource assignment and frequency domain resource assignment information in higher layer parameters or system information.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the PDSCH is quasi co-located with at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of the PRS sequence.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the quasi-co-location of the PDSCH with the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the PRS sequence indicates that the PDSCH has the same channel Doppler shift, average Doppler spread, delay spread, average delay shift, and spatial reception parameters as the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the PRS sequence.

27. The method of claim 17, wherein the non-terrestrial vehicle is a satellite or an aerial vehicle.

28. A receiving device, comprising: Memory; at least one New Radio (NR) transceiver; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory and the at least one NR transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the receiving device to: Measuring an arrival time ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a first positioning reference signal PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence transmitted by a first non-ground vehicle with a PRS periodicity; receiving, via the at least one NR transceiver, first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence at least once per PRS period of the first PRS sequence, wherein the first supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the first PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence; measuring a ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a second PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of a second PRS sequence transmitted with the PRS periodicity by a second non-ground vehicle; receiving, via the at least one NR transceiver, second supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the second PRS sequence at least once per PRS period of the second PRS sequence, wherein the second supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the second PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence; and An observed time difference of arrival OTDOA between the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the at least one PRS transmission of the corresponding repetition of the second PRS sequence is determined based on the first supplemental timing information and the second supplemental timing information as a difference between a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the corresponding repetition of the second PRS sequence.

29. The receiving device of claim 28, wherein: The first supplemental timing information comprises a first sequence index of the repetition of the first PRS sequence, and The second supplemental timing information includes a second sequence index of the repetition of the second PRS sequence.

30. The recipient device of claim 28, wherein: The first supplemental timing information comprises a first system frame number of a first radio frame during which the repetition of the first PRS sequence is transmitted, and The second supplemental timing information comprises a second system frame number of a second radio frame during which the repetition of the second PRS sequence is transmitted.

31. The receiving device of claim 30, wherein the first system frame number and the first radio frame are the same as the second system frame number and the second radio frame.

32. The recipient device of claim 30, wherein: The first radio frame and the second radio frame are consecutive radio frames, and The at least one processor being configured to determine the OTDOA includes the at least one processor being configured to adjust the OTDOA by a length of a radio frame.

33. The recipient device of claim 28, wherein: The first supplemental timing information is received from the first non-ground vehicle, and The second supplemental timing information is received from the second non-ground vehicle.

34. The recipient device of claim 33, wherein: The first supplemental timing information is received from the first non-ground vehicle on a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and The second supplemental timing information is received on a second PDCCH from the second non-ground vehicle.

35. The recipient device of claim 34, wherein: The first supplemental timing information is received in first downlink control information DCI transmitted on the first PDCCH, and The second supplemental timing information is received in a second DCI transmitted on the second PDCCH.

36. The recipient device of claim 34, wherein: The first PDCCH is scrambled by a first radio network temporary identifier RNTI that is specific to each cell, and The second PDCCH is scrambled by a second RNTI that varies among cells.

37. The receiving device according to claim 36, wherein the receiving device is not in a radio resource control (RRC) connected mode when receiving the first supplementary timing information and / or the second supplementary timing information.

38. The recipient device of claim 33, wherein: The first supplemental timing information is received from the first non-ground vehicle on a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and The second supplemental timing information is received on a second PDSCH from the second non-ground vehicle.

39. The receiving device of claim 38, wherein time domain resource assignment and frequency domain resource assignment information about the first supplementary timing information and the second supplementary timing information are received in a higher layer parameter or system information.

40. The recipient device of claim 38, wherein: The first PDSCH is quasi-co-located with the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence, and The second PDSCH is quasi-co-located with the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence.

41. The recipient device of claim 40, wherein: The quasi co-location of the first PDSCH with the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence indicates that the first PDSCH has the same channel Doppler shift, average Doppler spread, delay spread, average delay shift, and spatial reception parameters as the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence, and The quasi-co-location of the second PDSCH with the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence indicates that the second PDSCH has the same channel Doppler shift, average Doppler spread, delay spread, average delay shift, and spatial reception parameters as the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the second PRS sequence.

42. The recipient device of claim 28, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: An estimate of the location of the recipient device is calculated based on the OTDOA.

43. The recipient device of claim 28, wherein the recipient device is a user equipment (UE), and the first non-terrestrial vehicle and the second non-terrestrial vehicle are satellites or aerial vehicles.

44. A non-ground transportation vehicle, comprising: Memory; At least one NR transceiver; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory and the at least one NR transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the non-ground vehicle to: transmitting, via the at least one NR transceiver, a PRS transmission of a repetition of a positioning reference signal (PRS) sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence with a PRS periodicity; and Supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the PRS sequence is transmitted, via the at least one NR transceiver, at least once for each PRS period of the PRS sequence, wherein the supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence.

45. The non-ground vehicle of claim 44, wherein the supplemental timing information comprises a sequence index of the repetition of the PRS sequence.

46. ​​The non-ground vehicle of claim 44, wherein the supplemental timing information comprises a system frame number of a radio frame during which the repetition of the PRS sequence is transmitted.

47. The non-ground vehicle of claim 44, wherein the at least one processor causes the at least one NR transceiver to transmit the supplemental timing information on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

48. The non-ground vehicle of claim 47, wherein the at least one processor causes the at least one NR transceiver to transmit the supplemental timing information in downlink control information (DCI) transmitted on the PDCCH.

49. The non-ground vehicle of claim 47, wherein the PDCCH is scrambled by a cell-specific Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI).

50. The non-ground vehicle of claim 44, wherein the at least one processor causes the at least one NR transceiver to transmit the supplemental timing information on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

51. The non-ground vehicle of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor causes the at least one NR transceiver to transmit time domain resource assignment and frequency domain resource assignment information in higher layer parameters or system information.

52. The non-ground vehicle of claim 50, wherein the PDSCH is quasi-co-located with the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the PRS sequence.

53. A non-ground vehicle as described in claim 52, wherein the quasi-co-location of the PDSCH with the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the PRS sequence indicates that the PDSCH has the same channel Doppler shift, average Doppler spread, delay spread, average delay shift, and spatial reception parameters as the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the PRS sequence.

54. The non-terrestrial vehicle of claim 44, wherein the non-terrestrial vehicle is a satellite or an aerial vehicle.

55. A receiving device, comprising: means for measuring a time of arrival ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a first positioning reference signal (PRS) sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence transmitted by a first non-ground vehicle with a PRS periodicity; means for receiving first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence at least once per PRS period of the first PRS sequence, wherein the first supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the first PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence; means for measuring a ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a second PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of a second PRS sequence transmitted with the PRS periodicity by a second non-ground vehicle; means for receiving second supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the second PRS sequence at least once per PRS period of the second PRS sequence, wherein the second supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the second PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence; as well as means for determining an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) between the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the at least one PRS transmission of the corresponding repetition of the second PRS sequence as a difference between a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the corresponding repetition of the second PRS sequence based on the first supplemental timing information and the second supplemental timing information.

56. The recipient device of claim 55, wherein: The first supplemental timing information comprises a first sequence index of the repetition of the first PRS sequence, and The second supplemental timing information includes a second sequence index of the repetition of the second PRS sequence.

57. The recipient device of claim 55, wherein: The first supplemental timing information comprises a first system frame number of a first radio frame during which the repetition of the first PRS sequence is transmitted, and The second supplemental timing information comprises a second system frame number of a second radio frame during which the repetition of the second PRS sequence is transmitted.

58. A non-ground transportation vehicle, comprising: Means for transmitting a PRS transmission of a repetition of a positioning reference signal PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence with a PRS periodicity; as well as Means for transmitting supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the PRS sequence at least once per PRS period of the PRS sequence, wherein the supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence.

59. The non-ground vehicle of claim 58, wherein the supplemental timing information comprises a sequence index of the repetition of the PRS sequence.

60. The non-ground vehicle of claim 58, wherein the supplemental timing information comprises a system frame number of a radio frame during which the repetition of the PRS sequence is transmitted.

61. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a recipient device, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor of the recipient device, causing the recipient device to: Measuring an arrival time ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a first positioning reference signal PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence transmitted by a first non-ground vehicle with a PRS periodicity; receiving first supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the first PRS sequence at least once per PRS period of the first PRS sequence, wherein the first supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the first PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the first PRS sequence; measuring a ToA of at least one PRS transmission of a repetition of a second PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of a second PRS sequence transmitted with the PRS periodicity by a second non-ground vehicle; receiving second supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the second PRS sequence at least once per PRS period of the second PRS sequence, wherein the second supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the second PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the second PRS sequence; and An observed time difference of arrival OTDOA between the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and the at least one PRS transmission of the corresponding repetition of the second PRS sequence is determined based on the first supplemental timing information and the second supplemental timing information as a difference between a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the repetition of the first PRS sequence and a ToA of the at least one PRS transmission of the corresponding repetition of the second PRS sequence.

62. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a non-surface vehicle, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor of the non-surface vehicle, causing the non-surface vehicle to: Transmitting a PRS transmission of a repetition of a positioning reference signal PRS sequence among a plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence with a PRS periodicity; and Supplemental timing information associated with the repetition of the PRS sequence is transmitted at least once for each PRS period of the PRS sequence, wherein the supplemental timing information distinguishes the repetition of the PRS sequence from remaining repetitions of the plurality of repetitions of the PRS sequence.

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