Multi-port measurement feedback

Abstract

A UE includes: a transceiver configured to receive a positioning signal from a positioning signal source; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the processor being configured to: measure a plurality of positioning signals from a plurality of ports across a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols to obtain a plurality of multi-port measurements; determine, based on the plurality of multi-port measurements, that a particular effective beam among a plurality of effective beams associated with the plurality of ports corresponds to an earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE; and send, via the transceiver, a beam indication for indicating the particular effective beam to a first network entity.

Description

Background Art

[0001] Wireless communication systems have evolved through generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephone services (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone services (including intermediate 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-capable wireless services, fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax), fifth-generation (5G) services, and so on. There are currently many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (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), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), GSM variants of TDMA, and the like.

[0002] The fifth-generation (5G) mobile standard requires higher data transfer speeds, a larger number of connections and better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide a data rate of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, with a data rate of 1 gigabit per second to dozens of employees on an office floor. To support large-scale sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, compared with the current 4G standard, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communication should be significantly enhanced. In addition, compared with the current standard, the signaling efficiency should be enhanced and the latency should be significantly reduced. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) includes: a transceiver configured to receive a positioning signal from a positioning signal source; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the processor being configured to: measure multiple positioning signals from multiple ports across a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols to obtain multiple multi-port measurements; determine, based on the multiple multi-port measurements, that a particular effective beam among multiple effective beams associated with the multiple ports corresponds to the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE; and transmit, via the transceiver, a beam indication for indicating the particular effective beam to a first network entity.

[0004] Implementations of such a UE may include one or more of the following features. To determine a particular valid beam among multiple valid beams corresponding to the earliest arrival time, the processor is configured to: select a particular valid beam from a codebook based on multiple multi-port measurements, the codebook including multiple steering vectors, and the beam indication including a beam index that indicates a particular steering vector among the multiple steering vectors corresponding to the particular valid beam. The processor is configured to: receive at least one codebook configuration value from a second network entity via a transceiver; and calculate the multiple steering vectors of the codebook based on the at least one codebook configuration value. The processor is configured to: receive an oversampling factor from the second network entity; and further calculate the multiple steering vectors based on the oversampling factor. A memory stores the multiple steering vectors.

[0005] Additionally or alternatively, implementations of such a UE may include one or more of the following features. The beam indication is the angle of transmission from a positioning signal source of a particular valid beam. The particular valid beam is a first valid beam, and wherein the processor is further configured to: determine an in-phase factor for the particular valid beam and a second valid beam among the multiple valid beams, the particular valid beam and the second valid beam corresponding to different polarizations; and transmit the in-phase factor to the second network entity via a transceiver. The processor is configured to: transmit the in-phase factor such that a single value of the in-phase factor corresponds to an entire bandwidth associated with multiple positioning signals. The processor is further configured to: transmit a quality metric to the second network entity, the quality metric indicating whether the particular valid beam is a line-of-sight beam between the positioning signal source and the UE.

[0006] Additionally or alternatively, implementations of such a UE may include one or more of the following features. The multiple positioning signals include a multi-port PRS resource (multi-port positioning reference signal resource), and wherein the processor is configured to: obtain an expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resource; and determine the earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resource. To obtain the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resource, the processor is configured to: measure a single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource to obtain a single-port measurement; and use the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource as a quasi-colocation (QCL) reference for the multi-port PRS resource. The processor is configured to: use the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource as a QCL reference for at least one of an average delay of the multi-port PRS resource or the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resource. To obtain the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resource, the processor is configured to: receive an explicit indication of the arrival time via a transceiver.

[0007] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of such a UE may include one or more of the following features. To determine that a particular valid beam among a plurality of valid beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time from a positioning signal source to the UE, the processor is configured to: determine the impulse response corresponding to each of the plurality of valid beams; and determine the impulse response with the earliest arrival time. The processor is configured to: measure a plurality of positioning signals according to a channel state information reference signal resource element pattern for channel state information acquisition. The plurality of positioning signals are in a single resource. The plurality of positioning signals include a plurality of single-port PRS resources, and wherein the processor is configured to: obtain the expected arrival time for each of the plurality of single-port PRS resources; and determine the earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time for each of the plurality of single-port PRS resources.

[0008] In another embodiment, a UE includes: a receiving unit for receiving a positioning signal from a positioning signal source; a measuring unit for measuring a plurality of positioning signals from a plurality of ports across a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols to obtain a plurality of multi-port measurements; a determining unit for determining that a particular valid beam among a plurality of valid beams associated with the plurality of ports corresponds to the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE based on the plurality of multi-port measurements; and a transmitting unit for transmitting a beam indication for indicating the particular valid beam to a first network entity.

[0009] An implementation of such a UE may include one or more of the following features. The determining unit is used to select a particular valid beam from a codebook based on a plurality of multi-port measurements to determine that a particular valid beam among a plurality of valid beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time, wherein the codebook includes a plurality of steering vectors, and wherein the transmitting unit is used to select a beam index as the beam indication, and the beam index indicates a particular steering vector among the plurality of steering vectors corresponding to the particular valid beam. The UE includes: a unit for determining the transmission angle of the particular valid beam from the positioning signal source as the beam indication. The particular valid beam is a first valid beam, and the UE includes: a phase unit for determining the in-phase factor for the particular valid beam and a second valid beam among the plurality of valid beams, the particular valid beam and the second valid beam corresponding to different polarizations, and the transmitting unit is further used to transmit the in-phase factor to a second network entity. The transmitting unit is used to transmit the in-phase factor such that a single value of the in-phase factor corresponds to the entire bandwidth associated with the plurality of positioning signals. The UE includes: a quality unit for determining a quality metric for indicating whether the particular valid beam is a line-of-sight beam between the positioning signal source and the UE, and the transmitting unit is further used to transmit the quality metric to a second network entity.

[0010] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of such a UE may include one or more of the following features. The plurality of positioning signals includes multi-port PRS resources (multi-port positioning reference signal resources), and the UE includes: a unit for obtaining the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources, wherein a determination unit is configured to determine the earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources. The unit for obtaining the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources includes: a unit for measuring single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources to obtain single-port measurements; and a usage unit for using the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources as a quasi-co-location (QCL) reference for the multi-port PRS resources. The usage unit is configured to use the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources as a QCL reference for at least one of the average delay of the multi-port PRS resources or the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources.

[0011] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of such a UE may include one or more of the following features. The determination unit is configured to perform the following operations: determining the impulse response corresponding to each of the plurality of effective beams; and determining the impulse response with the earliest arrival time.

[0012] In another embodiment, a method for providing multi-port measurement feedback includes: measuring, at a UE, a plurality of positioning signals from a positioning signal source, from a plurality of ports, across a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols to obtain a plurality of multi-port measurements; determining, based on the plurality of multi-port measurements, that a specific effective beam among a plurality of effective beams associated with the plurality of ports corresponds to the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE; and sending, from the UE to a first network entity, a beam indication for indicating the specific effective beam.

[0013] An implementation of such a method may include one or more of the following features. Determining that a specific effective beam among the plurality of effective beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time includes: selecting the specific effective beam from a codebook based on the plurality of multi-port measurements, wherein the codebook includes a plurality of steering vectors, and wherein the beam indication includes a beam index that indicates a specific steering vector among the plurality of steering vectors corresponding to the specific effective beam. The method includes: receiving, at the UE, at least one codebook configuration value from a second network entity; and calculating, at the UE, the plurality of steering vectors of the codebook based on the at least one codebook configuration value.

[0014] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of this method may include one or more of the following features. The beam indication is the angle of transmission from the positioning signal source for a particular valid beam. The particular valid beam is a first valid beam, and the method includes: determining an in-phase factor for the particular valid beam and a second valid beam among a plurality of valid beams, where the particular valid beam and the second valid beam correspond to different polarizations; and sending the in-phase factor to a second network entity. Sending the in-phase factor includes: sending a single value of the in-phase factor to correspond to the entire bandwidth of a plurality of positioning signals.

[0015] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of this method may include one or more of the following features. The plurality of positioning signals include multi-port PRS resources (multi-port positioning reference signal resources), and the method includes: obtaining the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources; and determining the earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources. Obtaining the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources includes: measuring single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources to obtain single-port measurements; and using the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources as a quasi-co-location (QCL) reference for the multi-port PRS resources. The single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources are used as a QCL reference for at least one of the average delay of the multi-port PRS resources or the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources.

[0016] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of this method may include one or more of the following features. Determining that a particular valid beam among a plurality of valid beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE includes: determining the impulse response corresponding to each valid beam among the plurality of valid beams; and determining the impulse response with the earliest arrival time. Measuring the plurality of positioning signals is performed according to a channel state information reference signal resource element pattern for channel state information acquisition.

[0017] In another embodiment, a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions to cause a processor of a UE to perform the following operations: measuring a plurality of positioning signals from a positioning signal source, from a plurality of ports, across a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols to obtain a plurality of multi-port measurements; determining that a particular valid beam among a plurality of valid beams associated with the plurality of ports corresponds to the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE based on the plurality of multi-port measurements; and sending a beam indication for indicating the particular valid beam from the UE to a first network entity.

[0018] The implementation of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features. Instructions for causing a processor to determine that a particular valid beam among a plurality of valid beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time include instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations: select a particular valid beam from a codebook based on a plurality of multi-port measurements, and the codebook includes a plurality of steering vectors, and wherein the beam indication includes a beam index that indicates a particular steering vector among the plurality of steering vectors corresponding to the particular valid beam. The storage medium includes instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations: receive at least one codebook configuration value from a second network entity; and calculate a plurality of steering vectors of the codebook based on the at least one codebook configuration value.

[0019] In addition or alternatively, the implementation of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features. The storage medium includes instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operation: determine the emission angle of a particular valid beam from a positioning signal source as a beam indication. The particular valid beam is a first valid beam, and the storage medium includes instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations: determine an in-phase factor for the particular valid beam and a second valid beam among the plurality of valid beams, the particular valid beam and the second valid beam corresponding to different polarizations; and send the in-phase factor to a second network entity. The storage medium includes instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operation: send the in-phase factor such that a single value of the in-phase factor corresponds to the entire bandwidth of a plurality of positioning signals.

[0020] In addition or alternatively, the implementation of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features. The plurality of positioning signals include multi-port PRS resources (multi-port positioning reference signal resources), and the storage medium includes instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations: obtain the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources; and determine the earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources. Instructions for causing the processor to obtain the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources include instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations: measure a single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource to obtain a single-port measurement; and use the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource as a quasi-collocated reference for the multi-port PRS resources. The storage medium includes instructions for causing the processor to use the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource as a QCL reference for at least one of the average delay of the multi-port PRS resources or the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources.

[0021] Additionally or alternatively, an implementation of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features. Instructions for causing a processor to determine that a particular valid beam among a plurality of valid beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time from a positioning signal source to a UE include instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations: determining an impulse response corresponding to each of the plurality of valid beams; and determining the impulse response with the earliest arrival time. Instructions for causing a processor to measure a plurality of positioning signals include instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations: measuring the plurality of positioning signals according to a channel state information reference signal resource element pattern for channel state information acquisition. Description of the Drawings

[0022] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0023] Figure 2 is in Figure 1 is a block diagram of components of an example user equipment shown in

[0024] Figure 3 is in Figure 1 is a block diagram of components of an example transmit / receive point shown in

[0025] Figure 4 is in Figure 1 is a block diagram of components of an example server shown in

[0026] Figure 5 is a block diagram of an example user equipment.

[0027] Figure 6A is an example of a simplified comb-2, 2-symbol transmission schedule.

[0028] Figure 6B is an example of a simplified comb-4, 4-symbol transmission schedule.

[0029] Figure 6C is an example of a simplified comb-6, 6-symbol transmission schedule.

[0030] Figure 6D is an example of a simplified comb-12, 12-symbol transmission schedule.

[0031] Figure 6E is an example of a simplified comb-2, 12-symbol transmission schedule.

[0032] Figure 6F is an example of a simplified comb-4, 12-symbol transmission schedule.

[0033] Figure 7 is a table of channel state information reference signal patterns.

[0034] Figure 8 is a resource element pattern of 16 ports with four groups for channel state information reference signals, where each group has a CDM4 configuration.

[0035] Figure 9 is a resource element pattern of 32 ports with eight groups for channel state information reference signals, where each group has a CDM4 configuration.

[0036] Figure 10 is a resource element pattern of 32 ports with four groups for channel state information reference signals, where each group has a CDM8 configuration.

[0037] Figure 11 is a table of beam indices and steering matrices.

[0038] Figure 12 is a signaling and procedure flow for measuring multi-port positioning reference signals and providing feedback.

[0039] Figure 13 is a simplified diagram of the effective beams of multi-port positioning reference signals transmitted by a transmit / receive point.

[0040] Figure 14 is related to Figure 13 the impulse response diagram corresponding to the effective beams shown.

[0041] Figure 15 is a block flow diagram of a method for providing multi-port measurement feedback. Detailed Implementation

[0042] This document discusses techniques for measuring multi-port positioning signals and providing feedback on the measurements (e.g., information derived from the measurements). For example, a user equipment measures multi-port positioning signals to obtain measurements, and applies multiple steering vectors to the measurements to determine the earliest arriving effective beams at the user equipment. The user equipment can determine the in-phase factor corresponding to the phase difference between effectively polarized beams. The user equipment can report information based on the measured multi-port positioning signals. For example, the user equipment can report information from which the emission angle of the effective beam can be determined or information including the emission angle itself. The information can include the index of the steering vector matrix and the in-phase factor. These are examples, and other examples can be implemented.

[0043] The projects and / or technologies described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities and other capabilities not mentioned. The emission angle of the positioning signal can be determined based on the measurement of the positioning signal. Other capabilities may be provided, and not every implementation according to the present disclosure must provide any of the capabilities discussed, let alone all of the capabilities discussed.

[0044] Obtaining the location of a mobile device accessing a wireless network may be useful for many applications, such as emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating friends or family members, and so on. Existing positioning methods include methods based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices or entities (including artificial satellites (SVs)) and terrestrial wireless sources in a wireless network (e.g., base stations and access points). It is expected that the standardization for 5G wireless networks will include support for various positioning methods that can utilize reference signals transmitted by base stations in a manner similar to how location determination is currently performed in LTE wireless networks using positioning reference signals (PRSs) and / or cell-specific reference signals (CRSs).

[0045] This description may refer to, for example, a sequence of actions performed by elements of a computing device. The various actions described herein may be performed by a specific circuit (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. The sequence of actions described herein may be embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a corresponding set of computer instructions stored thereon, which when executed will cause the associated processor to perform the functions described herein. Accordingly, the various aspects described herein may be embodied in many different forms, all of which are within the scope of the present disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0046] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). In general, such a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). 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 "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or "UT", "mobile terminal", "mobile station" or variants thereof. In general, the UE can communicate with a core network via the 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 the UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible, such as via a wired access network, a WiFi network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.).

[0047] The base station can operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with the UE (depending on the network in which it is deployed), and can alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), general Node B (gNodeB, gNB), etc. Additionally, in some systems, the base station can provide a pure edge node signaling function, while in other systems, the base station can provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0048] The UE can be embodied by any of several types of devices, including but not limited to a printed circuit (PC) card, a compact flash device, an external or internal modem, a wireless or wired telephone, a smart phone, a tablet device, a consumer asset tracking device, an asset tag, etc. The communication link by which the UE sends signals to the RAN can be referred to as an uplink channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link by which the RAN sends signals to the UE can be referred to as a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0049] As used herein, the term "cell" or "sector" can correspond to one of multiple cells of a base station or the base station itself, depending on the context. The term "cell" can refer to a logical communication entity for communicating with a base station (e.g., on a carrier), and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) for differentiating adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier can support multiple cells, and different cells can be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that can provide access for different types of devices. In some examples, the term "cell" can refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) over which a logical entity operates.

[0050] Reference Figure 1 , examples of the communication system 100 include UEs 105, 106, a radio access network (RAN) 135 (here a fifth generation (5G) next generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN)) and a 5G core network (5GC) 140. UEs 105 and / or 106 can be, for example, IoT devices, location tracker devices, cellular phones, vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, buses, ships, etc.) or other devices. The 5G network can also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network; the NG-RAN 135 can be referred to as a 5G RAN or an NR RAN; and the 5GC 140 can be referred to as an NG core network (NGC). Standardization of the NG-RAN and 5GC is ongoing in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, the NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 can comply with current or future standards from 3GPP for 5G support. The RAN 135 can be another type of RAN, e.g., a 3G RAN, a 4G long term evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. UE 106 can be similarly configured and coupled to UE 105 to send signals to and / or receive signals from similar other entities in the system 100, but for simplicity of the figure, in Figure 1Such signaling is not shown. Similarly, for simplicity, the discussion focuses on UE 105. Communication system 100 may use information from constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 for a satellite positioning system (SPS) (e.g., a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or Beidou or some other local or regional SPS, such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Additional components of communication system 100 are described below. Communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0051] As Figure 1 shown, NG-RAN 135 includes NR node Bs (gNBs) 110a, 110b, and next-generation eNodeBs (ng-eNBs) 114, and 5GC 140 includes an access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, a session management function (SMF) 117, a location management function (LMF) 120, and a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNBs 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, each configured to perform two-way wireless communication with UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to AMF 115 and configured to perform two-way communication with AMF 115. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNBs 114 may be referred to as base stations (BSs). The AMF 115, SMF 117, LMF 120, and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client 130. The SMF 117 may serve as an initial contact point for a service control function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions. The BSs 110a, 110b, 114 may be macro cells (e.g., high-power cellular base stations) or small cells (e.g., low-power cellular base stations) or access points (e.g., short-range base stations that are configured to communicate with short-range technologies such as WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), - Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, etc.). One or more of the BSs 110a, 110b, 114 may be configured to communicate with UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of the BSs 110a, 110b, 114 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic area (e.g., a cell). Each cell may be divided into multiple sectors based on the base station antenna.

[0052] Figure 1A general illustration of various components is provided, any one or all of which can be used as appropriate, and each of which can be replicated or omitted as needed. Specifically, although only one UE 105 is shown, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) can be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 can include a greater (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190 - 193 shown), gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external clients 130, and / or other components. The connections shown connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which can include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Additionally, the components can be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted according to the desired functionality.

[0053] Although Figure 1 a 5G-based network is shown, similar network implementations and configurations can be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), etc. The implementations described herein (regardless of whether they are for 5G technology and / or one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) can be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105), receive and measure directional signals, and / or provide location assistance to the UE 105 (via the GMLC 125 or other location server), and / or calculate the location of the UE 105 at a location-capable device (such as the UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, or LMF 120) based on measurements of such directional transmission signals received at the UE 105. The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114, and gNB (gNodeB) 110a, 110b are examples, and in various embodiments can be replaced by various other location server functions and / or base station functions respectively or can respectively include various other location server functions and / or base station functions.

[0054] System 100 is capable of wireless communication because the components of System 100 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via BS110a, 110b, 114, and / or Network 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other base transceiver stations)) (at least sometimes using a wireless connection). For indirect communication, the communication can be changed during transmission from one entity to another, e.g., changing the header information of a data packet, changing the format, etc. UE 105 can include multiple UEs and can be a mobile wireless communication device, but can communicate wirelessly and via a wired connection. UE 105 can be any of a variety of devices, e.g., a smartphone, a tablet computer, a vehicle-based device, etc., but these are just examples because UE 105 is not required to be any of these configurations and other configurations of the UE can be used. Other UEs can include wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart jewelry, smart glasses or headphones, etc.). Other UEs can also be used, whether currently existing or developed in the future. Additionally, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) can be implemented within System 100 and can communicate with each other and / or with UE 105, BS 110a, 110b, 114, Core Network 140, and / or External Client 130. For example, such other devices can include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. Core Network 140 can communicate with External Client 130 (e.g., a computer system), e.g., to allow External Client 130 to request and / or receive location information about UE105 (e.g., via GMLC 125).

[0055] UE 105 or other devices can be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or use various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, multiple frequencies of Wi-Fi communication, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything, e.g., V2P (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian), V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.). V2X communication can be cellular (Cellular-V2X (C-V2X)) and / or Wi-Fi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications)). System 100 can support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can simultaneously transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal can be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on a different carrier and can carry pilots, overhead information, data, etc. UEs 105, 106 can communicate with each other through UE-to-UE sidelink (SL) communication by transmitting on one or more sidelink channels such as the Physical Sidelink Synchronization Channel (PSSCH), Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), or Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH).

[0056] UE 105 can include and / or can be referred to as a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), Secure User Plane Location (SUPL)-enabled terminal (SET), or some other name. Additionally, UE 105 can correspond to a mobile phone, smartphone, laptop computer, tablet device, PDA, consumer asset tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, asset tracker, health monitor, security system, smart city sensor, smart meter, wearable tracker, or some other portable or mobile device. Generally, but not necessarily, UE 105 can support wireless communication using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Speed Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi (also known as Wi-Fi), (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc. UE 105 may support wireless communication using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) that may be connected to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or Packet Cable. Using one or more of these RATs may allow UE 105 to communicate with an external client 130 (e.g., via Figure 1 elements of 5GC 140 not shown, or possibly via GMLC 125) and / or allow the external client 130 to receive location information about UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 125).

[0057] UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network where the user may use audio, video, and / or data I / O (Input / Output) devices and / or body sensors, as well as separate wired or wireless modems. The estimation of the location of UE 105 may be referred to as location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geographical, thus providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for UE 105, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., elevation, height above or below ground, floor, or basement). Alternatively, the location of UE 105 may be represented as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or the designation of a point or small area within a building, such as a specific room or floor). The location of UE 105 may be represented as an area or volume (geographically or in civic form) within which it is expected that UE 105 is located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of UE 105 may be represented as a relative location, including, for example, the distance and direction from a known location. The relative location may be represented as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) that are defined relative to an origin at a known location, which may be defined, for example, geographically, in civic terms, or by reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the descriptions contained herein, unless otherwise indicated, the use of the term location may include any of these variations. When calculating the location of a UE, local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved for, and then, if needed, the local coordinates are converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and height above or below mean sea level).

[0058] UE 105 can be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of techniques. UE 105 can be configured to indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. Any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT) (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), etc.) can support D2D P2P links. One or more UEs in a group of UEs using D2D communication can be within the geographical coverage area of a transmit / receive point (TRP) (such as one or more of gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114). Other UEs in such a group can be outside such a geographical coverage area or may otherwise be unable to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication can utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without involving a TRP. One or more UEs in a group of UEs using D2D communication can be within the geographical coverage area of a TRP. Other UEs in such a group can be outside such a geographical coverage area or may otherwise be unable to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication can utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP can facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without involving a TRP.

[0059] Figure 1 The base stations (BSs) in the illustrated NG-RAN 135 include NR node Bs, referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b. Each pair of gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 can be connected to each other via one or more other gNBs. Wireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of gNBs 110a, 110b provides access to the 5G network for the UE 105, and the gNBs 110a, 110b can provide wireless communication access to the 5GC 140 on behalf of the UE 105 using 5G. In Figure 1 , although it is assumed that the serving gNB for the UE 105 is gNB 110a, another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) can act as the serving gNB in the case where the UE 105 moves to another location or can act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to the UE 105.

[0060] Figure 1The base station (BS) in the NG-RAN 135 shown may include an ng-eNB 114, also known as a next-generation evolved Node B. The ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 may be configured to act as a positioning beacon only, which may send signals to assist in determining the location of the UE 105, but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or from other UEs.

[0061] Each of the BSs 110a, 110b, 114 may include one or more TRPs. For example, although each sector within a cell of a BS may include a TRP, multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., share a processor, but have separate antennas). The system 100 may include only macro TRPs, or the system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as, for example, macro TRPs, pico TRPs, and / or femto TRPs, etc. A macro TRP may cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., with a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access for terminals with service subscriptions. A pico TRP may cover a relatively small geographical area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access for terminals with service subscriptions. A femto or home TRP may cover a relatively small geographical area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access for terminals associated with that femto cell (e.g., terminals for users in a home).

[0062] As mentioned, although Figure 1 nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol are depicted, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (e.g., the LTE protocol or the IEEE 802.11x protocol) may be used. For example, in an evolved packet system (EPS) that provides LTE radio access to the UE 105, the RAN may include an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations that include evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may include an evolved packet core (EPC). The EPS may include E-UTRAN plus EPC, where E-UTRAN corresponds to Figure 1 the NG-RAN 135 in Figure 1 and the EPC corresponds to

[0063] gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 can communicate with AMF 115, which communicates with LMF 120 for positioning functions. AMF 115 can support the mobility of UE 105 (including cell changes and handovers), and can participate in supporting the signaling connection to UE 105 and potentially the data and voice bearers for UE 105. LMF 120 can communicate directly with UE 105, for example, via wireless communication, or directly with BSs 110a, 110b, 114. LMF 120 can support the positioning of UE 105 when UE 105 accesses NG-RAN 135, and can support location procedures / methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., Downlink (DL) OTDOA or Uplink (UL) OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), and / or other location methods. LMF 120 can process location service requests for UE 105 received, for example, from AMF 115 or from GMLC 125. LMF 120 can be connected to AMF 115 and / or GMLC 125. LMF 120 can be referred to by other names such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value-Added LMF (VLMF). The node / system implementing LMF 120 can additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules such as Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least a part of the positioning function (including the derivation of the location of UE 105) can be performed at UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements of signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 obtained by UE 105, and / or auxiliary data provided to UE 105 by LMF 120, for example). AMF 115 can act as a control node for handling signaling between UE 105 and the core network 140, and can provide QoS (Quality of Service) flow and session management. AMF 115 can support the mobility of UE 105 (including cell changes and handovers), and can participate in supporting the signaling connection to UE 105.

[0064] The GMLC 125 can support location requests for the UE 105 received from an external client 130 and can forward such location requests to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120, or can forward the location request directly to the LMF 120. A location response from the LMF 120 (e.g., containing a location estimate for the UE 105) can be returned to the GMLC 125 directly or via the AMF 115, and the GMLC 125 can then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130. Although the GMLC 125 is shown connected to both the AMF 115 and the LMF 120, in some implementations, the 5GC 140 can support only one of these connections.

[0065] As Figure 1 further shown, the LMF 120 can communicate with the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114 using the New Radio Positioning Protocol A (which can be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa) that can be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. The NRPPa can be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, where NRPPa messages are transmitted between the gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and the LMF 120 and / or between the ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115. As Figure 1As further shown in [FIGURE], LMF 120 and UE 105 may communicate using the LTE positioning protocol (LPP) which may be defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. LMF 120 and UE 105 may also or alternatively communicate using a New Radio positioning protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transmitted between UE 105 and LMF 120 via AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, 110b or serving ng-eNB 114 for UE 105. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transmitted between LMF 120 and AMF 115 using the 5G Location Service Application Protocol (LCS AP), and may be transmitted between AMF 115 and UE 105 using the 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocol may be used to support the positioning of UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support the positioning of UE 105 using network-based positioning methods such as E-CID (e.g., when used in conjunction with measurements obtained by gNB 110a, 110b or ng-eNB 114), and / or may be used by LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining the directional SS transmission from gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114. LMF 120 may be collocated or integrated with a gNB or TRP, or may be arranged to be remote from the gNB and / or TRP, and is configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or TRP.

[0066] Using UE-assisted positioning methods, UE 105 may obtain position measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) to compute a position estimate for UE 105. For example, the position measurements may include one or more of received signal strength indication (RSSI), round-trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), and / or reference signal received quality (RSRQ) for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN AP. The position measurements may also or alternatively include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase for SVs 190-193.

[0067] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE 105 can obtain positioning measurements (e.g., which can be the same as or similar to the positioning measurements of a UE-assisted positioning method), and can calculate the position of UE 105 (e.g., with the aid of assistance data received from a positioning server such as LMF 120 or broadcast by gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, or other base stations or APs).

[0068] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs can obtain positioning measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or time-of-arrival (ToA) measurements of signals transmitted by UE 105) and / or can receive measurements obtained by UE 105. One or more base stations or APs can send the measurements to a positioning server (e.g., LMF 120) for calculating a position estimate for UE 105.

[0069] The information provided by gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 to LMF 120 using NRPPa can include timing and configuration information for directional SS transmission and position coordinates. LMF 120 can provide some or all of this information to UE 105 as assistance data in LPP and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140.

[0070] The LPP or NPP message sent from LMF 120 to UE 105 can instruct UE 105 to perform any one of a variety of things according to the desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message can contain instructions for UE 105 to obtain measurements of GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message can instruct UE 105 to obtain one or more measurement quantities of a directional signal transmitted within a specific cell supported by one or more of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station such as an eNB or a WiFi AP) (e.g., beam ID, beam width, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements). UE 105 can send the measurement quantities back to LMF 120 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message) via serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and AMF 115.

[0071] As mentioned, although the communication system 100 is described with respect to 5G technology, the communication system 100 can be implemented to support other communication technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.) that are used to support and interact with mobile devices such as UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functions). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 can be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the 5GC 140 can use the non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF, Figure 1 not shown in) in the 5GC 150 to connect to a WLAN. For example, the WLAN can support IEEE802.11WiFi access for the UE 105 and can include one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF can be connected to the WLAN and other elements in the 5GC140, such as the AMF 115. In some embodiments, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 can be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in EPS, the NG-RAN 135 can be replaced by an E-UTRAN including eNBs, and the 5GC 140 can be replaced by an EPC including a mobility management entity (MME) (instead of the AMF 115), an E-SMLC (instead of the LMF 120), and a GMLC that can be similar to the GMLC 125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC can use LPPa (instead of NRPPa) to send location information to and receive location information from the eNBs in the E-UTRAN, and can use LPP to support the positioning of the UE 105. In these other embodiments, the positioning of the UE 105 using the directional PRS can be supported in a manner similar to the way described herein for the 5G network, except that: in some cases, the functions and processes described herein for the gNB110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 can alternatively be applied to other network elements, such as eNBs, WiFi APs, MMEs, and E-SMLCs.

[0072] As mentioned, in some embodiments, the positioning function can be implemented at least in part using the directional SS beams transmitted by base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) within the range of the UE (e.g., Figure 1 the UE 105). In some cases, the UE can use the directional SS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB114, etc.) to calculate the position of the UE.

[0073] Also refer to Figure 2, UE 200 is an example of one of UEs 105, 106, and includes a computing platform that includes a processor 210, a memory 211 that includes software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215 (including a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning device (PD) 219. The processor 210, the memory 211, the sensors 213, the transceiver interface 214, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, and the positioning device 219 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 220 (e.g., which may be configured for optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., one or more sensors among the camera 218, the positioning device 219, and / or the sensors 213) may be omitted from the UE 200. The processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 210 may include multiple processors, including a general-purpose / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of the processors 230 - 234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, the sensor processor 234 may include processors for, e.g., radar, ultrasonic, and / or lidar, etc. The modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, a SIM (subscriber identity module or user identification module) may be used by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), while another SIM may be used by the end user of the UE 200 for connectivity. The memory 211 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 211 stores software 212 that may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code that contains instructions configured to cause the processor 210 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 212 may not be directly executable by the processor 210, but may be configured to cause the processor 210 (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions. Although the description may only mention the processor 210 performing functions, this includes other implementations such as the processor 210 executing software and / or firmware. The description may mention the processor 210 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more of the processors 230 - 234 performing the function. The description may mention the UE 200 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the UE 200 performing the function.In addition to and / or instead of memory 211, processor 210 may include a memory with stored instructions. The functions of processor 210 are discussed more fully below.

[0074] The configuration of UE 200 shown in Figure 2 is an example of the present invention (including the claims) and not a limitation thereof, and other configurations may be used. For example, example configurations of a UE include one or more of processors 230-234 in processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Other example configurations include one or more of processors 230-234 in processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver 240, and one or more of sensor 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PD 219, and / or wired transceiver 250.

[0075] UE 200 may include a modem processor 232 that is capable of performing baseband processing on signals received and downconverted by transceiver 215 and / or SPS receiver 217. Modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing on signals to be upconverted for transmission by transceiver 215. Additionally or alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by processor 230 and / or DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0076] UE 200 may include a sensor 213, which may include, for example, one or more of various types of sensors, such as one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors, etc. For example, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include one or more accelerometers (e.g., jointly responsive to the acceleration of UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscopes). Sensor 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometers) to determine an orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north) that may be used for any of a variety of purposes (e.g., to support one or more compass applications). Environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more atmospheric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones, etc. Sensor 213 may generate analog and / or digital signal indications that may be stored in memory 211 and processed by DSP 231 and / or processor 230 to support one or more applications such as, for example, applications involving positioning and / or navigation operations.

[0077] The sensor 213 can be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, etc. The information detected by the sensor 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based position determination, and / or sensor-assisted position determination. The sensor 213 can be used to determine whether the UE 200 is fixed (stationary) or moving and / or whether to report certain useful information about the mobility of the UE 200 to the LMF 120. For example, based on the information obtained / measured by the sensor, the UE 200 can notify / report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movement or the UE 200 has moved, and report the relative displacement / distance (e.g., dead reckoning achieved via the sensor 213 or sensor-based position determination or sensor-assisted position determination). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensor / IMU can be used to determine the angle and / or orientation, etc., of another device relative to the UE 200.

[0078] The IMU can be configured to provide measurements of the motion direction and / or motion speed of the UE 200, which can be used for relative position determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU can respectively detect the linear acceleration and rotational speed of the UE 200. The linear acceleration and rotational speed measurements of the UE 200 can be integrated over time to determine the instantaneous motion direction and displacement of the UE 200. The instantaneous motion direction and displacement can be integrated to track the position of the UE 200. For example, the reference position of the UE 200 at a certain moment can be determined, for example, using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means), and the measurements from the accelerometers and gyroscopes after that moment can be used for dead reckoning to determine the current position of the UE 200 based on the movement (direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to the reference position.

[0079] The magnetometer can determine the magnetic field strength in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of the UE 200. For example, this orientation can be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer can be a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect the magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions and provide an indication of the magnetic field strength. Alternatively, the magnetometer can be a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect the magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions and provide an indication of the magnetic field strength. The magnetometer can provide a unit for sensing the magnetic field and, for example, providing an indication of the magnetic field to the processor 210.

[0080] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250, both of which are configured to communicate with other devices via a wireless connection and a wired connection, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to one or more antennas 246 for transmitting and / or (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) receiving wireless signals 248 and converting signals from the wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 248. Thus, the wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to transmit signals (e.g., with a TRP and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Zigbee, etc. The New Radio may use millimeter wave frequencies and / or frequencies below 6 GHz. The wired transceiver 250 may include, for example, a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 for the network 135. The wired transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 254 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, for example, via an optical and / or electrical connection. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with the transceiver 215.

[0081] The user interface 216 may include one or more of several devices, such as a speaker, a microphone, a display device, a vibration device, a keyboard, a touch screen, etc. The user interface 216 may include more than one of any of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications hosted by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 for processing by the DSP 231 and / or the general-purpose processor 230 in response to an action from the user. Similarly, an application hosted on the UE 200 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 to present an output signal to the user. The user interface 216 may include audio input / output (I / O) devices, which include, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a digital-to-analog circuit, an analog-to-digital circuit, an amplifier, and / or a gain control circuit (including more than one of any of these devices). Other configurations of the audio I / O devices may be used. Additionally or alternatively, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors responsive to touch and / or pressure, such as on a keyboard and / or a touch screen of the user interface 216.

[0082] The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) is capable of receiving and acquiring the wireless signal 260 via the SPS antenna 262. The antenna 262 is configured to convert the SPS signal 260 into a wired signal (e.g., an electrical signal or an optical signal), and may be integrated with the antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process all or part of the acquired SPS signal 260 for estimating the location of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 by using trilateration of the SPS signal 260. The general-purpose processor 230, the memory 211, the DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown) may be used to process all or part of the acquired SPS signal and / or calculate the estimated location of the UE 200 in conjunction with the SPS receiver 217. The memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of the SPS signal 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from the wireless transceiver 240) for performing positioning operations. The general-purpose processor 230, the DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors and / or the memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for processing the measurements to estimate the location of the UE 200.

[0083] The UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or moving images. For example, the camera 218 may include, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device or a CMOS imager), a lens, analog-to-digital circuitry, a frame buffer, etc. The general-purpose processor 230 and / or the DSP 231 may perform additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of the signals representing the captured images. Additionally or alternatively, the video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of the signals representing the captured images. The video processor 233 may decode / decompress the stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown), such as the user interface 216.

[0084] The positioning device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200, the movement of the UE 200, and / or the relative location of the UE 200, and / or time. For example, the PD 219 may communicate with the SPS receiver 217 and / or include some or all of the SPS receiver 217. The PD 219 may work in conjunction with the processor 210 and the memory 211, as appropriate, to perform at least a portion of one or more positioning methods, but the description herein may only refer to the PD 219 being configured to perform or the PD 219 performing according to the positioning method. The PD 219 may also or alternatively be configured to use ground-based signals (e.g., at least some of the signals 248) for trilateration, for assisting in obtaining and using the SPS signals 260, or both, to determine the location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may be configured to use one or more other techniques (e.g., relying on the self-reported location of the UE (e.g., a part of the positioning beacon of the UE)) to determine the location of the UE 200, and may use a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS and ground positioning signals) to determine the location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may include one or more of the sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, etc.), which may sense the orientation and / or movement of the UE 200 and provide an indication thereof, where the processor 210 (e.g., the processor 230 and / or the DSP 231) may be configured to use these indications to determine the movement of the UE 200 (e.g., the velocity vector and / or the acceleration vector). The PD 219 may be configured to provide an indication of the uncertainty and / or error in the determined location and / or movement. The functionality of the PD 219 may be provided in various ways and / or configurations, such as by the general-purpose / application processor 230, the transceiver 215, the SPS receiver 262, and / or another component of the UE 200, and may be provided by hardware, software, firmware, or various combinations thereof.

[0085] Also refer to Figure 3, Examples of the TRP 300 of BS 110a, 110b, 114 include a computing platform that includes a processor 310, a memory 311 that includes software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, the memory 311, and the transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 320 (e.g., which may be configured for optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., a wireless interface) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may include multiple processors (e.g., including general-purpose / application processors, DSPs, modem processors, video processors, and / or sensor processors as shown in Figure 2 ). The memory 311 is a non-transitory storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 311 stores software 312 that may be processor-readable and processor-executable software code, the software code including instructions configured to cause the processor 310 to perform various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 312 may not be directly executable by the processor 310, but may be configured to cause the processor 310 (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions. Although the description may only mention the processor 310 performing functions, this includes other implementations such as the processor 310 executing software and / or firmware. The description may mention the processor 310 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more of the processors included in the processor 310 performing the function. The description may mention the TRP 300 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the TRP 300 (and thus, the TRP 300 of one of BS 110a, 110b, 114) performing the function. In addition to and / or instead of the memory 311, the processor 310 may include a memory with stored instructions. The functions of the processor 310 are discussed more fully below.

[0086] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350, both of which are configured to communicate with other devices via a wireless connection and a wired connection, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting and / or (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) receiving wireless signals 348 and converting signals from the wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 348. Thus, the wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 may be configured to transmit signals (e.g., to the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Zigbee, etc.). The wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, e.g., which may be a network interface used to communicate with the network 135 to, for example, send communications to the LMF 120 (e.g., and / or one or more other network entities) and receive communications from the LMF 120 (e.g., and / or one or more other network entities). The wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured for, e.g., optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0087] In Figure 3The configuration of the TRP 300 shown is an example of the present invention (including the claims) and not a limitation thereof, and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses the TRP 300 being configured to perform several functions or the TRP 300 performing several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0088] Additionally referring Figure 4 , the server 400, as an example of the LMF 120, includes a computing platform that includes a processor 410, a memory 411 that includes software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. The processor 410, the memory 411, and the transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 420 (e.g., which may be configured for optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., the wireless interface) may be omitted from the server 400. The processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 410 may include multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor as shown in Figure 2 . The memory 411 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 411 stores software 412 that may be processor-readable and processor-executable software code that includes instructions configured to cause the processor 410 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410 but may be configured to cause the processor 410 (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the function. Although the description may only mention the processor 410 performing the function, this includes other implementations such as the processor 410 executing software and / or firmware. The description may mention the processor 410 performing the function as a shorthand for one or more of the processors included in the processor 410 performing the function. The description may mention the server 400 performing the function as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the server 400 performing the function. In addition to and / or instead of the memory 411, the processor 410 may include a memory with stored instructions. The functions of the processor 410 are discussed more fully below.

[0089] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450, both of which are configured to communicate with other devices via a wireless connection and a wired connection, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting and / or (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) receiving wireless signals 448 and converting signals from the wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 448. Thus, the wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 may be configured to transmit signals (e.g., to the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Zigbee, etc.). The wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, e.g., which may be a network interface used to communicate with the network 135 to, for example, send communications to the TRP 300 (e.g., and / or one or more other network entities) and receive communications from the TRP 300 (e.g., and / or one or more other network entities). The wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured for, e.g., optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0090] The description herein may refer only to the processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as the processor 410 executing software (stored in the memory 411) and / or firmware. The description herein may abbreviate the performance of functions by one or more appropriate components of the server 400 (e.g., the processor 410 and the memory 411) as the server 400 performing the functions.

[0091] Positioning technology

[0092] For the terrestrial positioning of a UE in a cellular network, techniques such as Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) and Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) typically operate in a "UE-assisted" mode, in which the UE measures reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) transmitted by base stations and then provides that measurement to a location server. The location server then calculates the location of the UE based on that measurement and the known locations of the base stations. Since these techniques use the location server rather than the UE itself to calculate the location of the UE, these positioning techniques are not often used in applications such as automotive or mobile phone navigation, which typically rely on satellite-based positioning instead.

[0093] The UE can use a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) to perform high-precision positioning using Precise Point Positioning (PPP) or Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) techniques. These techniques use auxiliary data, such as measurements from ground stations. LTE Release 15 allows the data to be encrypted so that only UEs subscribed to the service can read the information. Such auxiliary data changes over time. Thus, a UE subscribed to the service cannot easily "break" the "encryption" for other UEs by passing the data to other UEs that have not paid for the subscription. The transfer needs to be repeated each time the auxiliary data changes.

[0094] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measurements (e.g., TDOA, Angle of Arrival (AoA), etc.) to a location server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The location server has a Base Station Almanac (BSA), which contains a number of "entries" or "records", one record per cell, where each record contains the geographical cell location but may also include other data. Identifiers of "records" within the multiple "records" in the BSA can be referenced. The BSA and the measurements from the UE can be used to calculate the location of the UE.

[0095] In conventional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own position, thus avoiding sending measurements to the network (e.g., a location server), which in turn improves latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of a gNB (more generally, a base station)). The BSA information can be encrypted. However, since the BSA information changes much less frequently than, for example, the PPP or RTK assistance data described previously, it may be easier to make the BSA information (compared to PPP or RTK information) available to UEs that have not subscribed to and paid for the decryption key. The transmission of reference signals by the gNB enables crowd-sourcing or war-driving to access the BSA information, thereby substantially enabling the generation of BSA information based on in-the-field and / or over-the-top observations.

[0096] Positioning techniques can be characterized and / or evaluated based on one or more criteria such as position determination accuracy and / or latency. Latency is the time elapsed between an event that triggers the determination of location-related data and the availability of that data at the positioning system interface (e.g., the interface of the LMF 120). At the initialization of the positioning system, the latency for the availability of location-related data is referred to as the time to first fix (TTFF), and the latency after the TTFF is greater. The reciprocal of the time elapsed between two consecutive availabilities of location-related data is referred to as the update rate, i.e., the rate at which location-related data is generated after the first fix. Latency can depend on, for example, the processing capabilities of the UE. For example, the UE can report its processing capabilities regarding the UE's ability to process every T time amount (e.g., T ms) (assuming 272 PRB (physical resource block) allocation) as the duration of the DL PRS symbol (in time units (e.g., milliseconds)). Other examples of capabilities that can affect latency are the number of TRPs from which the UE can process the PRS, the number of PRSs the UE can process, and the UE's bandwidth.

[0097] One or more of a number of different positioning techniques (also referred to as positioning methods) can be used to determine the location of an entity (e.g., one of UEs 105, 106). For example, known location determination techniques include RTT, multi-RTT, OTDOA (also referred to as TDOA and including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), enhanced cell identification (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses the time for a signal to travel from one entity to another entity and back to determine the range between the two entities. The location of a second entity in the entities can be determined using the range plus the known location of the first entity in the entities and the angle (e.g., azimuth angle) between the two entities. In multi-RTT (also referred to as multi-cell RTT), the location of an entity can be determined using multiple ranges from one entity (e.g., UE) to other entities (e.g., TRP) and the known locations of the other entities. In TDOA techniques, the time difference of arrival between one entity and other entities can be used to determine the relative range from the other entities, and these relative ranges can be combined with the known locations of the other entities to determine the location of an entity. The angle of arrival and / or angle of departure can be used to assist in determining the location of an entity. For example, the angle of arrival or angle of departure of a signal can be combined with the range between devices (determined using signals (e.g., the travel time of the signal, the received power of the signal, etc.)) and the known location of one of these devices to determine the location of the other device. The angle of arrival or angle of departure can be the azimuth angle relative to a reference direction (e.g., true north). The angle of arrival or angle of departure can be the zenith angle relative to directly upward from an entity (i.e., radially outward from the center of the earth). E-CID uses the identification of the serving cell, timing advance (i.e., the difference between the reception time and the transmission time at the UE), the estimated timing and power of detected neighbor cell signals, and possibly the angle of arrival (e.g., the angle of arrival of a signal from a base station at the UE and vice versa) to determine the location of the UE. In TDOA, the time difference of arrival of signals from different sources at a receiving device, along with the known location of the sources and the known offset of the transmission time from the sources, is used to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0098] In network - centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on the serving cells of two or more neighboring base stations (and typically the serving base station, as at least three base stations are required). One or more base stations transmit the RTT measurement signals on low - reuse resources (e.g., resources used by the base station to transmit system information) allocated by the network (e.g., a location server such as LMF 120). The UE records the arrival time (also known as receive time, reception time, received time, or time - of - arrival (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE's current downlink timing (e.g., derived by the UE from the DL signals received from its serving base station), and sends a common or individual RTT response message (e.g., SRS (sounding reference signal) for positioning, i.e., UL - PRS) to one or more base stations (e.g., when instructed by its serving base station), and may include the time difference T between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message in the payload of each RTT response message Rx→Tx (i.e., UET Rx-Tx or UE Rx-Tx ). The RTT response message will include a reference signal based on which the base station can infer the ToA of the RTT response. By comparing the difference T Tx→Rx between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT response at the base station Rx→Tx with the time difference T reported by the UE, the base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE, based on which the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station by assuming the speed of light during that propagation time.

[0099] UE - centric RTT estimation is similar to the network - based method, except that the UE sends an uplink RTT measurement signal (e.g., when instructed by the serving base station), which is received by multiple base stations near the UE. Each involved base station responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal at the base station and the transmission time of the RTT response message from the base station in the payload of the RTT response message.

[0100] For both network - centric and UE - centric procedures, the entity (network or UE) that performs the RTT calculation typically (but not always) sends a first message or signal (e.g., an RTT measurement signal), and the other entity responds with one or more RTT response messages or signals, which may include the difference between the ToA of the first message or signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message or signal.

[0101] Multiple RTT techniques can be used to determine location. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) can send out one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and multiple second entities (e.g., other TSPs such as base stations and / or UEs) can receive the signals from the first entity and respond to the received signals. The first entity receives the responses from the multiple second entities. The first entity (or another entity such as an LMF) can use the responses from the second entities to determine the ranges to the second entities, and can use the multiple ranges and the known locations of the second entities to determine the location of the first entity by trilateration.

[0102] In some cases, additional information can be obtained in the form of an angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD) that is used to define a straight - line direction (e.g., which can be in a horizontal plane or three - dimensionally) or a range of possible directions (e.g., for a UE, from the location of a base station). The intersection of the two directions can provide another estimate of the location of the UE.

[0103] For positioning techniques that use PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) signals (e.g., TDOA and RTT), the PRS signals transmitted by multiple TRPs are measured, and the time of arrival of these signals, the known transmission time, and the known positions of the TRPs are used to determine the range from the UE to the TRP. For example, the RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) can be determined for the PRS signals received from multiple TRPs and used in the TDOA technique to determine the position (location) of the UE. The positioning reference signal can be referred to as PRS or PRS signal. PRS signals are typically transmitted using the same power, and PRS signals having the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency shift) may interfere with each other, such that the PRS signals from a farther TRP may be overwhelmed by the PRS signals from a nearer TRP, and thus the signals from the farther TRP may not be detected. PRS muting can be used to help reduce interference by muting some of the PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signals to, for example, zero and thus not transmitting the PRS signals). In this way, the UE can more easily detect (at the UE) the weaker PRS signals in a situation where the stronger PRS signals do not interfere with the weaker PRS signals. The term RS and its variants (e.g., PRS, SRS) can refer to one reference signal or more than one reference signal.

[0104] Positioning reference signals (PRS) include downlink PRS (DL PRS) and uplink PRS (UL PRS) (which may be referred to as sounding reference signals (SRS) for positioning). The PRS may include PRS resources or a set of PRS resources in a frequency layer. The DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply the frequency layer) is a set of a series of DL PRS resources from one or more TRPs, and this series of DL PRS resource sets has common parameters configured by the higher layer parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer, DL-PRS-ResourceSet, and DL-PRS-Resource. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the set of DL PRS resources and DL PRS resources in that frequency layer. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS cyclic prefix (CP) for the set of DL PRS resources and DL PRS resources in that frequency layer. In 5G, a resource block occupies 12 consecutive subcarriers and a specified number of symbols. Additionally, the DL PRS point A parameter defines the frequency of the reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of this resource block), where the DL PRS resources belonging to the same DL PRS resource set have the same point A, and all DL PRS resource sets belonging to the same frequency layer have the same point A. The frequency layer also has the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size value (i.e., the frequency of the PRS resource elements per symbol, such that for comb N, every Nth resource element is a PRS resource element).

[0105] The TRP can be configured to transmit DL PRS according to a schedule, for example, by instructions received from a server and / or by software in the TRP. According to the schedule, the TRP can transmit DL PRS intermittently (e.g., periodically at consistent intervals starting from the initial transmission). The TRP can be configured to transmit one or more sets of PRS resources. A set of resources is a series of PRS resources across a TRP, where these resources have the same period between time slots, a common silent mode configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor. Each of the PRS resource sets includes a plurality of PRS resources, where each PRS resource includes a plurality of resource elements (REs), and the plurality of REs can be located in a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) within N (one or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot. An RB is a series of REs that span a number of one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain and a number (for 5G RBs, 12) of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. Each PRS resource is configured to have an RE offset, a time slot offset, a symbol offset within the time slot, and the number of consecutive symbols that the PRS resource can occupy within the time slot. The RE offset defines the starting RE offset of the first symbol within the DL PRS resource in frequency. The relative RE offset of the remaining symbols within the DL PRS resource is defined based on the initial offset. The time slot offset is the starting time slot of the DL PRS resource relative to the corresponding resource set time slot offset. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting time slot. The transmitted REs can be repeated across time slots, where each transmission is called a repetition, such that there can be multiple repetitions within the PRS resource. The DL PRS resources in the DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP, and each DL PRS resource has a DL PRS resource ID. The DL PRS resource IDs in the DL PRS resource set are associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (however, the TRP can transmit one or more beams).

[0106] The PRS resources can also be defined by quasi - co - location and starting PRB parameters. The quasi - co - location (QCL) parameters can define any quasi - co - location information of the DL PRS resources with other reference signals. The DL PRS can be configured to be of QCL type D with respect to the DL PRS or SS / PBCH (synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel) block from the serving cell or a non - serving cell. The DL PRS can be configured to be of QCL type C with respect to the SS / PBCH block from the serving cell or a non - serving cell. The starting PRB parameter defines the starting PRB index of the DL PRS resource relative to reference point A. The starting PRB index has a granularity of one PRB and has a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 2176 PRBs.

[0107] A PRS resource set is a number of PRS resources having the same period, the same quiescent mode configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor between time slots. An "instance" is called whenever all repetitions of all PRS resources in a PRS resource set are configured for transmission. Thus, an "instance" of a PRS resource set is a specified number of repetitions for each PRS resource and a specified number of PRS resources within that PRS resource set such that once the specified number of repetitions has been transmitted for each of the specified number of PRS resources, the instance is complete. An instance may also be referred to as an "occasion". A DL PRS configuration including DL PRS transmission scheduling may be provided to a UE to facilitate (or even enable) the UE to measure the DL PRS.

[0108] Multiple frequency layers of a PRS may be aggregated to provide an effective bandwidth larger than any of the individual layers. Multiple frequency layers (which may be contiguous and / or separated) of a component carrier that meet criteria such as quasi - co - location (QCL) and having the same antenna port may be combined to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for both DL PRS and UL PRS), thereby improving time - of - arrival measurement accuracy. Being QCL, different frequency layers behave similarly such that combining the PRS results in a larger effective bandwidth. The larger effective bandwidth (which may be referred to as the bandwidth of the aggregated PRS or the frequency bandwidth of the aggregated PRS) provides better time - domain resolution (e.g., the time - domain resolution of TDOA). Aggregated PRS includes a set of PRS resources, and each PRS resource of the aggregated PRS may be referred to as a PRS component, and each PRS component may be transmitted on different component carriers, frequency bands, or frequency layers or on different parts of the same frequency band.

[0109] RTT positioning is an active positioning technique because RTT uses positioning signals sent from the TRP to the UE and from the UE (participating in RTT positioning) to the TRP. The TRP can send DL-PRS signals received by the UE, and the UE can send SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) signals received by multiple TRPs. The sounding reference signal can be referred to as SRS or SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, coordinated positioning can be used, where the UE sends a single UL-SRS for positioning received by multiple TRPs instead of sending separate UL-SRSs for positioning for each TRP. The TRPs participating in multi-RTT typically search for UEs currently resident on that TRP (served UEs, where the TRP is the serving TRP) as well as UEs resident on adjacent TRPs (neighbor UEs). The neighbor TRP can be a TRP of a single BTS (e.g., gNB), or can be a TRP of one BTS and TRPs of separate BTSs. For RTT positioning (including multi-RTT positioning), the DL-PRS signal and the UL-SRS signal for positioning in the PRS / SRS signal pair for determining RTT (and thus for determining the range between the UE and the TRP) can occur close to each other in time such that errors due to UE movement and / or UE clock drift and / or TRP clock drift are within acceptable limits. For example, the signals in the PRS / SRS signal pair for positioning can be sent from the TRP and the UE respectively within approximately 10 ms of each other. In the case where the UE sends SRS for positioning signals and in the case where the PRS and the SRS for positioning signals are transmitted close to each other in time, it has been found that radio frequency (RF) signal congestion (which may cause excessive noise, etc.) may occur (especially if many UEs attempt positioning simultaneously), and / or computational congestion may occur at the TRP attempting to measure many UEs simultaneously.

[0110] RTT positioning can be UE - based or UE - assisted. In UE - based RTT, the UE 200 determines the RTT, the corresponding distances to each of the TRP 300, and the location of the UE 200 based on the distance to the TRP 300 and the known location of the TRP 300. In UE - assisted RTT, the UE 200 measures the positioning signal and provides measurement information to the TRP 300, and the TRP 300 determines the RTT and the range. The TRP 300 provides the range to a location server (e.g., server 400), and the server (e.g., based on the ranges to different TRP 300s) determines the location of the UE 200. The RTT and / or the range can be determined by the TRP 300 that receives the signal from the UE 200, determined by the TRP 300 in combination with one or more other devices (e.g., one or more other TRP 300s and / or server 400), or determined by one or more devices other than the TRP 300 that receives the signal from the UE 200.

[0111] Various positioning techniques are supported in 5G NR. The NR native positioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL - only positioning methods, UL - only positioning methods, and DL + UL positioning methods. The downlink - based positioning methods include DL - TDOA and DL - AoD. The uplink - based positioning methods include UL - TDOA and UL - AoA. The combined DL + UL - based positioning methods include RTT using one base station and RTT using multiple base stations (multi - RTT).

[0112] Location estimation (e.g., for a UE) may be referred to by other names, such as location estimate, location, position, location fix, fix. Location estimation can be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or can be civic and include a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. Location estimation can also be defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). Location estimation can include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including the area or volume within which the location is expected to be included at a certain specified or default confidence level).

[0113] Downlink PRS

[0114] Refer to Figure 5 and further refer to Figures 1 - 4 , the UE 500 includes a processor 510, an interface 520, and a memory 530 that are communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 540. The UE 500 may includeFigure 5 the components shown in, and may include one or more other components (such as Figure 2 any of the components shown in), such that the UE 200 may be an example of the UE 500. For example, the processor 510 may include one or more of the components of the processor 210. The interface 520 may include one or more of the components of the transceiver 215, for example, the wireless transmitter 242 and the antenna 246, or the wireless receiver 244 and the antenna 246, or the wireless transmitter 242, the wireless receiver 244, and the antenna 246. Additionally or alternatively, the interface 520 may include the wired transmitter 252 and / or the wired receiver 254. The memory 530 may be configured to be similar to the memory 211, for example, including software having processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor 510 to perform functions.

[0115] The description herein may refer only to the processor 510 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as the processor 510 executing software (stored in the memory 530) and / or firmware. The description herein may abbreviate the performance of functions by one or more appropriate components of the UE 500 (e.g., the processor 510 and the memory 530) as the UE 500 performing functions. The processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with the memory 530 and the interface 520 as appropriate) includes a multi-port PRS unit 550, an arrival time unit 560, and a beam indication unit 570. The multi-port PRS unit 550 is configured to measure multi-port PRS. The arrival time unit 560 is configured to determine the effective earliest arrival time beam from the TRP 300 that sends multi-port PRS to the UE 500, and thus determine the shortest time of the traveling beam. The beam indication unit is configured to send a beam indication indicating the earliest arrival time beam and thus indicating the shortest time of the effective traveling beam. The units 550, 560, 570 are further discussed below, and this description may generally refer to the processor 510 or generally refer to the UE 500 performing any functions of the units 550, 560, 570.

[0116] The PRS resources may be sent by the TRP 300 using various transmission schedulings (also referred to as transmission modes). Also refer to Figures 6A - 6F , which shows examples of the transmission schedulings of resources for various combinations of comb types and numbers of symbols. The vertical axis of the scheduling is the subcarrier, and the horizontal axis is the time in symbols, but these axes are only shown and labeled in Figure 6A . Figure 6AShows the transmission scheduling 602 for the resources of Comb-2, 2 symbols in a time slot, which has a symbol offset of 3 symbols. The time slot contains 14 symbols, and each symbol has 12 subcarriers. In the shown transmission scheduling, the columns represent different symbols, the rows represent different subcarriers, and the dark boxes represent the sounding resource elements (symbol-subcarrier combinations) for the TRP. The non-sounding resource elements can be sounded by one or more other TRPs and / or for one or more other signals (in this case, in addition to the PRS). Figure 6B Shows the transmission scheduling 604 for the resources of Comb-4, 4 symbols. Figure 6C Shows the transmission scheduling 606 for the resources of Comb-6, 6 symbols. Figure 6D Shows the transmission scheduling 612 for the resources of Comb-12, 12 symbols. Figure 6E Shows the transmission scheduling 614 for the resources of Comb-2, 12 symbols. Figure 6F Shows the transmission scheduling 616 for the resources of Comb-4, 12 symbols. Figures 6A - 6F Each transmission mode in [ ] has at least one sounding RE in each subcarrier and is thus a fully interleaved transmission mode. If each mode corresponds to a PRS resource, each PRS resource is a fully interleaved resource.

[0117] Reference signals can be sent according to various resource element patterns. For example, many RE patterns have been defined for CSI-RS (Channel State Information-Reference Signal) signaling. Refer to Figure 7 , Table 700 shows the currently supported RE patterns for CSI-RS. Resource elements adjacent in the frequency domain and / or time domain can be defined as groups. Each RE in a group includes a code division multiplexing (CDM) combination of signals from multiple ports.

[0118] Also refer to Figures 8 - 10 , examples of RE groups for configurations supporting 16 ports and 32 ports are shown respectively. The pattern 800 of REs for 16 ports includes four CDM groups 801, 802, 803, 804, each group having a CDM4 (FD2, TD2) configuration (some lines dividing subcarriers and symbols are omitted to help clearly label these groups). The pattern 900 of REs for 32 ports includes eight groups of CDM4 (FD2, TD2) configurations, and the pattern 1000 of REs for 32 ports includes 4 groups of CDM8 (FD2, TD4) configurations. In patterns 800, 900, 1000, the REs shown with horizontal cross-hatching are the anchor REs for their respective CDM groups, which indicate the start of the CDM group. Different RE groups can be specified for the ports of different polarizations of a dual-polarized antenna.

[0119] Codebook - based feedback

[0120] Codebook-based precoding is a type of vector quantization of the channels experienced by the UE. The precoder codebook is a set of precoder matrices, each precoder matrix including a set of precoding weights, the precoding weights including phase values that can be applied to corresponding antenna elements for beam steering of the beams generated by the antennas. Thus, the precoding matrix can be referred to as a steering matrix. The weights of the precoder codebook can be designed to take into account typical cellular propagation channels and antenna deployments. The codebook is typically designed based on one-dimensional or two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform (1D / 2D-DFT) vectors and thus implicitly assumes, for example, the use of a uniform linear or uniform planar array (UPA) at the TRP (e.g., gNB).

[0121] Since a large number of two-dimensional antenna array sizes can be used, the codebook is typically configurable and scalable. The antenna panel's layout of antenna ports (elements) in the vertical (number of rows) and horizontal (number of columns) dimensions (labeled N 1 and N 2 ) can be configured as part of the codebook configuration. For a multi-panel codebook, the number of panels N g is also configured. If dual-polarized antennas are used (which can be assumed), the total number of ports of the codebook for the antennas is given by P = 2N g N 1 N 2 , where P is the number of ports, and for the single-panel case, N g = 1. Currently, up to 32 ports are supported for the NR codebook, but the description herein is not limited to 32 ports. Currently, in NR, the supported antenna port layouts include the following row and column combinations: 1x2, 1x4, 1x6, 1x8, 1x12, 1x16, 2x2, 2x3, 2x4, 2x6, 2x8, 3x4, 4x4, but the description herein is not limited to these configurations. The N1, N2 configurations can be configured for each multi-port PRS resource, or for each set of PRS resources, or for each frequency layer, or associated with one or more TRP300s (e.g., associated with one or more TRP IDs).

[0122] A codebook can be used that includes a constant modulus DFT for dual-polarized, two-dimensional UPA. The codebook can include a combination of two linear precoder vectors. The DFT precoder can be defined as follows, where the precoder vector w is used to precode single-layer transmission using a single-polarized uniform linear array (ULA) with N antennas:

[0123]

[0124] where k = 0, 1, 2, ..., Q(N-1) is a precoder index, and Q is an oversampling factor that can be configured by a network entity (e.g., TRP 300 or server 400). For a two-dimensional UPA, the corresponding precoder matrix can be generated by taking the Kronecker product of two precoder vectors according to the following equation:

[0125]

[0126] where k is the precoder index in one dimension, and l is the precoder index in the other dimension (k = 0, 1, 2, ..., Q(N 1 -1), l = 0, 1, 2, ..., Q(N 2 -1)). This can be extended for a dual-polarized UPA according to the following equation:

[0127]

[0128] where e jφ is the in-phase factor between two dual polarizations (e.g., orthogonal polarizations). A fixed number of φ values can be evaluated (e.g., selected from a QPSK alphabet), where the in-phase factor is the phase difference between signals transmitted through different polarizations of the antenna elements. The in-phase factor between polarizations can vary with frequency, while the beam direction corresponding to one of the precoder matrices in w 2D (k, l) that produces the strongest beam (e.g., for codebook-based CSI feedback) or the line-of-sight (LOS) beam generally remains the same at different frequencies. The precoder matrix can be split into a matrix or beam factor for indicating the beam direction (which can be selected at the broadband level) and a phase factor including polarization in-phase (which can be selected at the sub-band level).

[0129] Referring again to Figure 5 , and further referring to Figures 1 - 4 and 11, the UE 500 can store, for example, multiple codebooks in the memory 530 and / or can be configured to calculate a codebook based on values in the codebook configuration values of N 1 、N 2 、Q, and φ (i.e., the alphabet of φ values). The values of Q, N 2 and / or φ can be omitted as appropriate (e.g., for a one-dimensional antenna array, no oversampling, no dual polarization). For example, the UE 500 can calculate and store a codebook 1100 that includes beam indices 1110 and corresponding steering matrices 1120 (each steering matrix 1120 includes a set of steering vectors). Given for N 1 、N 2For the value of 0, the UE 500 can use equations (1) and (2) to calculate the steering matrix w 1 -w z where Z = (QN 1 *QN 2 ) - 1, and where, in Figure 11 Y = (QN 1 *QN 2 ) - 2. For each value of φ in the alphabet of φ values (e.g., nπ / 2 where n = 0, 1, 2, 3 or nπ / 8 where n = 0, 1,..., 7, but other alphabets of φ values can be used), the UE 500 can further calculate the value of each steering matrix w multiplied by e jφ (according to equation (3)).

[0130] The UE 500 (e.g., the processor 510, possibly in conjunction with the memory 530 and the transceiver 520) is configured to measure the multi - port PRS and determine information about at least one effective beam of the multi - port PRS. The determined information can be used to determine the location of the UE 500. For example, the determined information can be used to determine the AoD of the multi - port PRS as the line of sight from the source of the multi - port PRS (e.g., the TRP 300) to the UE 500, or can be an indication of the AoD itself, or can provide an indication that a particular beam is most likely the line of sight beam from the source of the multi - port PRS to the UE 500.

[0131] Also referring to Figure 12 , the signaling and procedure flow 1200 for measuring the multi - port PRS and providing feedback includes the stages shown. In stage 1210, the server 400 (e.g., the LMF) provides the PRS configuration 1212 to the UE 500 and possibly to the TRP 300. The PRS configuration 1212 provides the scheduling information for the PRS, provides an indication to the UE 500 that the PRS will be a multi - port PRS, and provides codebook configuration values, which include the number of rows and columns N 1 , N 2 , the oversampling factor Q, the alphabet of φ values, and possibly includes which REs correspond to each polarization of the signal transmitted from the TRP 300. Additionally or alternatively, in stage 1214, the TRP 300 can provide the codebook configuration values N 1 , N 2 , Q, φ in the codebook configuration message 1216.

[0132] The TRP 300 is configured to transmit multi-port PRS using multiple (e.g., adjacent) OFDM symbols within a single time slot and multiple PRS ports. For example, the TRP 300 may use the transmission mode supported for CSI-RS (as Figure 7 shown), and transmit multi-port PRS for the corresponding number of ports, an example of which is shown in 8-10. For example, the antenna 346 of the TRP 300 may be configured with 32 elements (ports), including 16 elements of one polarization and 16 elements of another polarization (e.g., cross polarization with respect to other elements), where the elements of each polarization are arranged in a 4x4 array. In the case where the oversampling factor is one (i.e., Q = 1), there will be 16 steering matrices. The TRP 300 may group the ports, perform code division multiplexing on each group, and transmit the CDM'd groups to the UE 500. The TRP 300 may transmit multiple CDM'd groups for each polarization, where the CDM'd ports for one polarization are transmitted in a group different from that of the other polarization. Different groups of the same polarization may be in different PRBs and thus in different subbands.

[0133] In stage 1218, the UE 500 receives and measures the multi-port PRS 1219 transmitted by the TRP 300. The UE 500 is configured to measure a multi-port PRS signal with multiple ports (i.e., multiple positioning signals corresponding to multiple ports) within a single time slot (and possibly within a single resource), but the UE 500 may measure the multi-port PRS resource multiple times (e.g., multiple repetitions of the multi-port PRS resource) to fully measure the signal and obtain the desired information. Thus, the multi-port PRS signal may include multiple signals and may be referred to as multi-port PRS. The multi-port PRS may span a subset of the time slot or, through repetition, multiple time slots.

[0134] In stage 1220, UE 500 analyzes and processes the measured beams to determine feedback information. The feedback information may indicate the beam that will have the earliest arrival time from TRP 300 to UE 500 and thus the shortest travel time (corresponding to the shortest travel path). The beam with the earliest arrival time from UE 500 (and thus the shortest travel time to UE 500, equivalent to the shortest travel path to UE 500) is most likely to be in a LOS relationship with TRP 300. UE 500 is configured to apply the steering matrix w individually to the measured multi-port PRS 1219. UE 500 may remove code division multiplexing from the CDM groups to produce multi-port measurements corresponding to signals for individual channels corresponding to individual ports. UE 500 may obtain the steering matrix w (e.g., by retrieving the matrix from memory 530 or by calculating the matrix) and multiply the steering matrix w with the measured channels (in the frequency domain or convolve in the time domain).

[0135] Also refer to Figure 13 , applying the steering matrix w to the measured channels isolates the energy from the multi-port PRS into effective beams, each effective beam corresponding to each individually applied steering matrix. By configuring the values according to the codebook (N 1 、N 2, Q, φ, etc.) applying the codebook of the precoder matrix, the UE 500 can analyze the multi-port PRS sent by the TRP 300 as if the TRP 300 were sending the PRS in the directional beams (e.g., the effective beams 1310, 1311, 1312, 1313, 1314, 1315, 1316 respectively directed along the lines 1320, 1321, 1322, 1323, 1324, 1325, 1326, but applying the steering matrix w may result in more or fewer effective beams than the shown effective beams). The effective beams are a logical reconstruction based on the received energy in the multi-port PRS and are not necessarily the beams sent by the TRP 300 (i.e., the TRP 300 may not beamform the multi-port PRS). For simplicity of the figure, the shown effective beams 1310 - 1316 are directed in a single plane, but applying the two-dimensional codebook to the PRS will result in effective beams directed in three dimensions. In the shown example, the effective beams 1311, 1312, 1314 all reach the UE 500, where the effective beams 1311, 1314 are multipath signals reflected from the structures 1330, 1340 respectively. Therefore, the path lengths of the effective beams 1311, 1314 are longer than the path length of the effective beam 1312, and the effective beam 1312 is the line-of-sight beam from the TRP 300 to the UE 500. Therefore, the travel time of the effective beam 1312 from the TRP 300 to the UE 500 is shorter than the travel times of the effective beams 1311, 1314 from the TRP 300 to the UE 500, and thus, the arrival time of the effective beam 1312 is earlier than that of the beams 1311, 1314. Since the codebook is used to logically simulate the beams 1310 - 1316, the travel time can be regarded as the effective travel time (the time the multi-port PRS would travel if the multi-port PRS were physically sent in the beams 1310 - 1316). Some beams (here the effective beams 1310, 1313, 1315, 1316) do not reach the UE 500, or the energy reaching the UE 500 from these beams is so low that the energy may be undetectable or at least negligible and thus does not effectively reach the UE 500.

[0136] Also referring to Figure 14 , applying the steering matrix w to the received PRS to isolate the energy of the effective beams generates the impulse response for each effective beam. The UE 500 is configured to analyze the impulse responses of the multiple effective beams of the multi-port PRS to determine which beam arrives first (earliest) and thus has the shortest travel time from the TRP 300 to the UE 500. Due to aliasing from the ports using partial interleaving (i.e., incomplete interleaving), especially at low RE density for each port (e.g., for Figures 8 - 10In the example shown in Figure 1, in the case where the density is one, the impulse response of each effective beam may have multiple peaks in time. As Figure 14 shown, the example graph 1400 of the impulse responses for the effective beams 1311, 1312, 1314 includes three peaks for each effective beam, where the peaks 1411, 1412, 1413 correspond to the effective beam 1312, the peaks 1414, 1415, 1416 correspond to the effective beam 1311, and the peaks 1417, 1418, 1419 correspond to the effective beam 1314.

[0137] To help the UE 500 resolve which of the multiple peaks in the impulse response it should use for each effective beam to determine which effective beam arrives earliest, the UE 500 may be configured to obtain the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS. The expected arrival time may be relative to a reference time that may be a cyclic event (e.g., the start of a time slot). The expected arrival time may be provided to the UE 500 (e.g., by a network entity such as the TRP 300 and / or the server 400), and / or the UE 500 may calculate the expected arrival time. For example, the UE 500 may be configured to receive and measure the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource 1222 in stage 1224 and use the arrival time of this resource as the expected arrival time of the earliest arriving effective beam of the multi-port PRS. An example of such a single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource is shown in Figures 6A - 6F Figure 7. The UE 500 may receive a single-port, fully interleaved reference signal (referred to as the source reference signal) at a time earlier than the target reference signal (i.e., the multi-port PRS). For an on-demand scenario, the UE 500 may send a source / target RS request 1226 in stage 1228, where the source / target RS request 1226 requests the transmission of both the target reference signal and the source reference signal. In this case, the source RS 1222 and the multi-port PRS 1219 (target RS) will be received after stage 1228. For non-periodic / DCI-triggered PRS, joint triggering of the source RS and the target RS may be achieved, and the source RS and the target RS are received and measured by the UE 500. The source RS and the target RS are at least quasi-co-located (QCL) with respect to the average delay to the UE 500 and are part of the same bandwidth, or frequency layer, or frequency band, or component carrier. The UE 500 is configured to determine the arrival time of the source RS and use it as a reference point for the expected arrival time of the earliest effective beam of the multi-port PRS (assuming that the source RS and the target RS have similar / same ToA). As Figure 14As shown, the UE 500 can use the arrival time 1420 of the source RS to establish a window 1430 (e.g., the arrival time 1420 of the source RS plus or minus a threshold time, or plus a threshold time and minus another threshold time). The UE 500 can ignore the impulse response peaks outside the window 1430 and find the earliest peak of the valid beam to determine the valid beam with the earliest arrival time (shortest travel time or shortest travel distance, as they are equivalent) from the TRP 300 to the UE 500, and thus determine the most likely valid beam that is LOS between the TRP 300 and the UE 500. The UE 500 can determine the earliest arrival time of the valid peak relative to a reference time such as the expected arrival time 1420. The reference time can be a cyclic event such as the start of a time slot. In Figure 14 the example shown, the peaks 1412, 1413, 1415 - 1419 of the valid beams 1311, 1312, 1314 are outside the window 1430 and are thus ignored by the UE 500. The peaks 1411, 1414 (for beams 1312, 1311 respectively) are within the window 1430, and the peak 1411 corresponding to the valid beam 1312 is the earliest in time. The UE 500 will determine the valid beam, e.g., the beam index of the combination of k and l corresponding to the earliest arriving valid beam, e.g., Figure 13 and 14 the valid beam 1312 in the example shown. Thus, the UE 500 selects the valid beam 1312 from the codebook based on the measurement of the multi - port PRS resource (e.g., according to the analysis of the logically simulated beams using the codebook).

[0138] The UE 500 is configured to apply the steering matrix w to the received PRS for each polarization of the PRS. The UE 500 can apply each possible φ value for each steering matrix w to determine the earliest arriving valid beam for one of the polarizations (e.g., for the channel corresponding to the REs of one or both of the polarizations). The UE 500 can determine the difference in φ for the valid beams determined to be the earliest arriving for both polarizations. The beam indices for these valid beams should be the same, and if not, the travel times and arrival times of these valid beams should be similar, and if the possible φ values are applied to the steering matrix w only for one of the polarizations, the difference in φ is the φ value of the earliest arriving valid beam (or if φ is determined for each beam, the difference in these two φ values is the difference in φ). The determined difference in φ is the in - phase factor to be reported by the UE 500. The alphabet of φ values (e.g., the number of bits used to describe the in - phase factor) can be configured by a network entity (e.g., the TRP 300 or the server 400), or can be reported by the UE 500 as part of the feedback discussed below.

[0139] The UE 500 may be configured to apply a steering matrix w to the received PRS transmitted in different subbands. The UE 500 may compare the determined value of φ or in-phase factor for the earliest-arriving valid beam based on the analysis of the PRS in different subbands, and determine a quality metric for indicating whether the earliest-arriving valid beam is a line-of-sight (LOS) between the TRP 300 and the UE 500. The quality metric may indicate the difference in the value of φ or in-phase factor determined using the PRS in different subbands. If the difference in the value of φ or in-phase factor is greater than a threshold value or in the case where the earliest-arriving valid beam identified is better characterized by multiple in-phase factors rather than one in-phase factor (either case indicating a scenario where the earliest-arriving valid beam is less likely to have an LOS from the TRP 300 to the UE 500 (e.g., the UE 500 has not identified an LOS valid beam)), the quality metric may have a relatively low value.

[0140] The UE 500 may be configured to determine the angle of departure (AoD) of the earliest-arriving valid beam determined (e.g., valid beam 1312). The steering matrix w corresponding to the earliest-arriving valid beam provides the AoD with respect to the antenna 346 of the TRP 300. The UE 500 may use the position and orientation of the TRP 300 in combination with the steering matrix w corresponding to the earliest-arriving valid beam to determine the AoD with respect to the global coordinate system.

[0141] The UE 500 may be configured to determine one or more other measurements. For example, the UE 500 may determine one or more timing measurements, such as the time of arrival (ToA) for the earliest-arriving valid beam and / or the UE Rx-Tx (the time difference between receiving a signal at the UE 500 and transmitting a corresponding response), and / or the relative spatial and temporal difference (RSTD) of the earliest-arriving valid beam with respect to one or more other TRPs 300 used as a reference. As other examples, the UE 500 may be configured to determine the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the earliest-arriving valid beam and / or the RSRP of the entire channel (i.e., the RSRP of the combination (e.g., average) of all valid beams) and / or the ratio of the RSRP of the earliest-arriving valid beam to the RSRP of the entire channel.

[0142] In stage 1234, the UE may provide feedback determined during stage 1220 to a network entity. For example, UE 500 may use LPP (LTE Positioning Protocol) to provide feedback message 1230 to TRP 300, and TRP 300 may use NRPPa (New Radio Positioning Protocol A) to send the feedback to server 400. Additionally or alternatively, UE 500 may use LPP to provide feedback to server 400 in feedback message 1232. Feedback messages 1230, 1232 may include a beam index (k, l tuple) for the earliest arriving valid beam and an in-phase factor and / or may include the AoD of the earliest arriving valid beam. Feedback messages 1230, 1232 may also include ToA and / or UE Rx-Tx, RSTD, RSRP, and / or quality metrics as discussed above, and / or an oversampling factor Q and / or the number of bits used to describe the in-phase factor.

[0143] In stage 1236, server 400 may use the feedback information to determine the location of UE 500. For example, server 400 may use or determine the AoD for the LOS beam to UE 500 as part of a trilateration determination, e.g., using other AoDs of LOS beams from other TRPs 300 and the locations of the TRPs to determine the location of UE 500.

[0144] Operation

[0145] Referring to Figure 15 and further referring to Figures 1 - 14 , a method 1500 for providing multi-port measurement feedback includes the stages shown. However, method 1500 is merely an example and not restrictive. Method 1500 may be changed, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, executing stages simultaneously, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages.

[0146] In stage 1510, method 1500 may include: measuring, at the UE, multiple positioning signals from a positioning signal source, from multiple ports, across a set of OFDM symbols to obtain multiple multi-port measurements. For example, in stage 1218 of stream 1200, TRP 300 sends multi-port PRS 1219 to UE 500, and UE 500 receives and measures the multi-port PRS resource. The multi-port PRS resource may include multiple positioning signals in a single resource. UE 500 may measure multiple repetitions of the multi-port PRS resource to obtain, for example, multi-port measurements of sufficient quality. TRP 300 may be based on, for example, a CSI-RS RE pattern used for CSI acquisition (such as in Figures 7 - 10In the pattern indicated in , send multi-port PRS to UE 500. UE 500 can remove CDM from the multiplexed signal to reveal the channel signal of the multi-port PRS resource, where the channel signal is a multi-port measurement. Transceiver 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244), antenna 246, and processor 510 (and possibly memory 530) can include units for receiving a positioning signal from a positioning signal source and for measuring a multi-port PRS resource.

[0147] In stage 1520, method 1500 can include: determining, based on the multi-port measurement, that a particular effective beam among a plurality of effective beams associated with a plurality of ports corresponds to the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE. For example, to determine that a particular effective beam among the plurality of effective beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time, method 1500 can include: selecting a particular effective beam from a codebook of steering vectors based on the multi-port measurement, where the codebook results in a particular effective beam corresponding to the shortest travel time and the earliest arrival time at the UE from among the plurality of effective beams. The particular effective beam effectively has the shortest travel time and the earliest arrival time of the beam because applying the codebook provides a prediction result as if the beam were actually transmitted. The steering vectors of the codebook can form a steering matrix including the steering vectors. Determining that a particular effective beam among the plurality of effective beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time can include: determining an impulse response corresponding to each of the effective beams; and determining the impulse response having the earliest arrival time. For example, processor 510 can analyze the peaks of the aliased impulse response (e.g., as Figure 14 shown) to determine the earliest arriving peak and the corresponding effective beam. Processor 510 (and possibly memory 530) can include a unit for determining, based on the multi-port measurement, that a particular effective beam has the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE. Processor 510 (and possibly memory 530) can include a unit for applying a steering vector to the multi-port measurement.

[0148] In stage 1530, method 1500 can include: sending, from the UE to a first network entity, a beam indication for indicating the particular effective beam. For example, the beam indication can be the angle of transmission of the particular effective beam from the positioning signal source. As another example, the beam indication can include a beam index that indicates a particular steering vector corresponding to the particular effective beam. The network entity can be server 400 or TRP 300, or can include multiple entities such as TRP 300 and server 400. Transceiver 520 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242), antenna 246, and processor 510 (and possibly memory 530) can include a unit for sending the beam indication to the network entity.

[0149] Method 1500 may include one or more additional features, including one or more of the following features. For example, method 1500 may include: receiving one or more codebook configuration values (e.g., the number of rows and / or columns of antenna ports, possible phase values, oversampling values) from a second network entity (which may or may not be the same entity as the first network entity); and calculating a steering vector based on the one or more codebook configuration values. For example, UE 500 may receive codebook configuration values from server 400 in PRS configuration 1212 and / or from TRP 300 in message 1216 via transceiver 520 (e.g., via wired receiver 254). UE 500 may calculate the steering vector (e.g., steering matrix) according to one or more of equations (1)-(3) as appropriate. Transceiver 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244), antenna 246, and processor 510 (and possibly memory 530) may include units for receiving at least one codebook configuration value (including units for receiving and for calculating a steering vector based on the at least one codebook configuration value). This includes units for receiving antenna port dimensions N 1 , N 2 , units for receiving an oversampling factor Q, and / or units for receiving one or more indications of possible φ values, and units for calculating a steering vector based on appropriate ones of these configuration values.

[0150] Additionally or alternatively, method 1500 may include one or more of the following features. For example, method 1500 may include: determining an in-phase factor for a particular valid beam and another valid beam, the particular valid beam and the another valid beam corresponding to different polarizations; and sending the in-phase factor to a second network entity (which may or may not be the same entity as the first network entity). A single value of the in-phase factor corresponding to the entire bandwidth of multiple positioning signals may be sent. Processor 510 (and possibly memory 530) may include units for determining the in-phase factor, and transceiver 520 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242), antenna 246, and processor 510 (and possibly memory 530) may include units for sending the in-phase factor. As another example, the multiple positioning signals include multi-port PRS resources, and method 1500 includes: obtaining an expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources; and determining an earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources. For example, the UE may receive an indication of the expected arrival time, or may receive a single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource and use the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource as a QCL reference for the multi-port PRS resources, e.g., with respect to the average delay of the multi-port PRS resources, or the expected arrival time, or both. As discussed herein, the UE may use the expected arrival time to generate a time window in which the arrival time of the determined valid beam of the multi-port PRS resources must arrive to be considered as having the earliest arrival time. The multi-port PRS may span a single time slot (e.g., a subset of a single time slot), or may span multiple time slots by repetition. Transceiver 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244), antenna 246, and processor 510 (and possibly memory 530) may include units for obtaining the expected arrival time, which includes units for measuring a single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource and using the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource as a QCL reference for the multi-port PRS resources. The multiple positioning signals may include multiple single-port PRS resources, and method 1500 may include: obtaining an expected arrival time for each of the multiple single-port PRS resources; and determining an earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time for each of the multiple single-port PRS resources.

[0151] Other considerations

[0152] Other examples and implementation manners are within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the functions described herein can be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination of these items executed by a processor. The features implementing the functions can also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of the functions are implemented at different physical positions.

[0153] As used herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" also include the plural forms. As used herein, the terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes", and / or "including" specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0154] As used herein, the term RS (reference signal) can refer to one or more reference signals and can be applied to any form of the term RS as appropriate, for example, PRS, SRS, CSI-RS, etc.

[0155] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, a statement that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the stated item or condition and can be based on one or more items and / or conditions in addition to the stated item or condition..

[0156] In addition, as used herein, "or" as used in a list of items (ending with "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C" or "one or more of A, B, or C" means A, or B, or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or combinations with more than one of the features (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a recitation that an item (e.g., a processor) is configured to perform a function with respect to at least one of A or B means that the item can be configured to perform the function with respect to A, or can be configured to perform the function with respect to B, or can be configured to perform the function with respect to A and B. For example, the phrase "a processor is configured to measure at least one of A or B" means that the processor can be configured to measure A (and can be configured to measure B, or may not be configured to measure B), or can be configured to measure B (and can be configured to measure A, or may not be configured to measure A), or can be configured to measure both A and B (and can be configured to select which one or both of A and B to measure). Similarly, a recitation of a unit for measuring at least one of A or B includes: a unit for measuring A (which may or may not be capable of measuring B), or a unit for measuring B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or a unit for measuring both A and B (which is capable of selecting which one or both of A and B to measure). As another example, a recitation that an item (e.g., a processor) is configured to perform at least one of function X or perform function Y means that the item can be configured to perform function X, or can be configured to perform function Y, or can be configured to perform both function X and function Y. For example, the phrase "a processor is configured to measure at least one of X or Y" means that the processor can be configured to measure X (and can be configured or may not be configured to measure Y), or can be configured to measure Y (and can be configured or may not be configured to measure X), or can be configured to measure both X and Y (and can be configured to select which one or both of X and Y to measure).

[0157] Substantial variations can be made in accordance with specific requirements. For example, custom hardware can also be used, and / or specific elements can be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor (including portable software such as applets, etc.), or both. In addition, connections to other computing devices such as network input / output devices can be employed. Unless otherwise stated, components (functionally or otherwise) shown in the figures as and / or discussed herein as being interconnected or in communication are communicatively coupled. That is, they can be directly or indirectly connected to effect communication between them.

[0158] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add individual processes or components as appropriate. For example, the features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of these configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Additionally, technology evolves, and thus many of these elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure or the claims.

[0159] A wireless communication system is a system in which communications are transmitted wirelessly (i.e., propagated through atmospheric space by electromagnetic waves and / or acoustic waves rather than through wires or other physical connections). A wireless communication network may not transmit all communications wirelessly, but is configured to transmit at least some communications wirelessly. Additionally, the term "wireless communication device" or similar terms do not require that the functionality of the device be specifically or regularly primarily used for communication, or that the device be a mobile device, but rather indicate that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (one-way or two-way), e.g., including at least one radio unit for wireless communication (each radio unit being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver).

[0160] Specific details are given in the description to provide a thorough understanding of example configurations, including implementations. However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring the configurations. The description merely provides example configurations and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configurations of the claims. Instead, the preceding description of the configurations provides a description for implementing the described techniques. Various changes may be made in the functionality and arrangement of the elements.

[0161] As used herein, the terms "processor-readable medium", "machine-readable medium", and "computer-readable medium" refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may participate in providing instructions / code to a processor for execution and / or may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as a signal). In many implementations, the processor-readable medium is a physical and / or tangible storage medium. Such media may take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical disks and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media includes but is not limited to dynamic memory.

[0162] After several example configurations have been described, various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents are possible. For example, the above elements can be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the present invention. Additionally, several operations can be performed before, during, or after consideration of the above elements. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0163] A statement that a value exceeds (or is greater than or higher than) a first threshold value is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold value that is slightly greater than the first threshold value. For example, at the resolution of a computing system, the second threshold value is a value that is higher than the first threshold value. A statement that a value is less than a first threshold value (or within or below the first threshold value) is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold value that is slightly lower than the first threshold value. For example, at the resolution of a computing system, the second threshold value is a value that is lower than the first threshold value.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a transceiver configured to receive a positioning signal from a positioning signal source; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the processor being configured to: measure multiple positioning signals from multiple ports across a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols to obtain multiple multi-port measurements; determine, based on the multiple multi-port measurements, that a specific effective beam among multiple effective beams associated with the multiple ports corresponds to the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE; and send, via the transceiver, a beam indication for indicating the specific effective beam to a first network entity; and wherein the multiple positioning signals include multi-port PRS resources (multi-port positioning reference signal resources), and wherein the processor is configured to: obtain an expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources; and determine the earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources; and wherein, to obtain the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources, the processor is configured to: measure single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources to obtain single-port measurements; and use the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources as a quasi-co-location (QCL) reference for the multi-port PRS resources.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein to determine that the specific effective beam among the multiple effective beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time, the processor is configured to select the specific effective beam from a codebook based on the multiple multi-port measurements, wherein the codebook includes multiple steering vectors, and wherein the beam indication includes a beam index indicating a specific steering vector among the multiple steering vectors corresponding to the specific effective beam.

3. The UE according to claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive at least one codebook configuration value from a second network entity via the transceiver; and calculate the multiple steering vectors of the codebook based on the at least one codebook configuration value.

4. The UE according to claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive an oversampling factor from the second network entity; and further calculate the multiple steering vectors based on the oversampling factor.

5. The UE according to claim 2, wherein the memory stores the multiple steering vectors.

6. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the beam indication is the transmission angle of the specific effective beam from the positioning signal source.

7. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the specific effective beam is a first effective beam, and wherein the processor is further configured to: determine an in-phase factor for the specific effective beam and a second effective beam among the multiple effective beams, the specific effective beam and the second effective beam corresponding to different polarizations; and send the in-phase factor to a second network entity via the transceiver.

8. The UE according to claim 7, wherein The processor is configured to: send the in-phase factor such that a single value of the in-phase factor corresponds to an entire bandwidth associated with the plurality of positioning signals.

9. The UE according to claim 7, wherein, the processor is further configured to: send a quality metric to the second network entity, the quality metric indicating whether the specific valid beam is a line-of-sight beam between the positioning signal source and the UE.

10. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, the processor is configured to use the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource as the QCL reference for at least one of an average delay of the multi-port PRS resource or an expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resource.

11. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, to obtain the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resource, the processor is configured to: receive an explicit indication of the arrival time via the transceiver.

12. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, to determine that the specific valid beam among the plurality of valid beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE, the processor is configured to: determine an impulse response corresponding to each valid beam among the plurality of valid beams; and determine the impulse response having the earliest arrival time.

13. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, the processor is configured to measure the plurality of positioning signals according to a channel state information reference signal resource element pattern for channel state information acquisition.

14. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, the plurality of positioning signals are in a single resource.

15. The UE according to claim 1, wherein, the plurality of positioning signals include a plurality of single-port PRS resources, and wherein the processor is configured to: obtain an expected arrival time for each single-port PRS resource among the plurality of single-port PRS resources; and determine the earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time of each single-port PRS resource among the plurality of single-port PRS resources.

16. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a receiving unit for receiving positioning signals from a positioning signal source; a measuring unit for measuring a plurality of positioning signals from a plurality of ports across a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols to obtain a plurality of multi-port measurements; a determining unit for determining that a specific valid beam among a plurality of valid beams associated with the plurality of ports corresponds to the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE based on the plurality of multi-port measurements; and a sending unit for sending a beam indication for indicating the specific valid beam to a first network entity; and wherein the plurality of positioning signals include multi-port PRS resources (multi-port positioning reference signal resources), and the UE further comprises: a unit for obtaining an expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resource; and a unit for determining the earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resource; and Wherein, the unit for obtaining the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resource includes: a unit for measuring a single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource to obtain a single-port measurement; and a usage unit for using the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource as a quasi co-location (QCL) reference for the multi-port PRS resource.

17. The UE according to claim 16, wherein, the determining unit is configured to select the specific effective beam from a codebook based on the plurality of multi-port measurements to determine that the specific effective beam among the plurality of effective beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time, wherein the codebook includes a plurality of steering vectors, and wherein the transmitting unit is configured to select a beam index as the beam indication, the beam index indicating the specific steering vector corresponding to the specific effective beam among the plurality of steering vectors.

18. The UE according to claim 16, further comprising: a unit for determining the transmission angle of the specific effective beam from the positioning signal source as the beam indication.

19. The UE according to claim 16, wherein, the specific effective beam is a first effective beam, and the UE further includes: a phase unit for determining an in-phase factor for the specific effective beam and a second effective beam among the plurality of effective beams, the specific effective beam and the second effective beam corresponding to different polarizations, wherein the transmitting unit is further configured to send the in-phase factor to a second network entity.

20. The UE according to claim 19, wherein, the transmitting unit is configured to send the in-phase factor such that a single value of the in-phase factor corresponds to the entire bandwidth associated with the plurality of positioning signals.

21. The UE according to claim 19, further comprising: a quality unit for determining a quality metric for indicating whether the specific effective beam is a line-of-sight beam between the positioning signal source and the UE, wherein the transmitting unit is further configured to send the quality metric to the second network entity.

22. The UE according to claim 16, wherein, the usage unit is configured to use the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resource as the QCL reference for at least one of the average delay of the multi-port PRS resource or the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resource.

23. The UE according to claim 16, wherein, the determining unit is configured to perform the following operations: determine an impulse response corresponding to each effective beam among the plurality of effective beams; and determine the impulse response having the earliest arrival time.

24. A method for providing multi-port measurement feedback, the method comprising: measuring, at a user equipment (UE), a plurality of positioning signals from a positioning signal source, from a plurality of ports, across a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols to obtain a plurality of multi-port measurements; determining, based on the plurality of multi-port measurements, that a specific effective beam among the plurality of effective beams associated with the plurality of ports corresponds to the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE; and Transmit a beam indication for indicating the specific effective beam from the UE to a first network entity; and wherein the plurality of positioning signals include multi-port PRS resources (multi-port positioning reference signal resources), and wherein the method further includes: obtaining an expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources; and determining the earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources; and wherein the obtaining the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources further includes: measuring single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources to obtain single-port measurements; and using the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources as a quasi-co-location (QCL) reference for the multi-port PRS resources.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein determining that the specific effective beam among the plurality of effective beams corresponds to the earliest arrival time includes: selecting the specific effective beam from a codebook based on the plurality of multi-port measurements, wherein the codebook includes a plurality of steering vectors, and wherein the beam indication includes a beam index that indicates a specific steering vector among the plurality of steering vectors corresponding to the specific effective beam.

26. The method according to claim 25, further including: receiving at least one codebook configuration value at the UE from a second network entity; and calculating the plurality of steering vectors of the codebook at the UE based on the at least one codebook configuration value.

27. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions to cause a processor of a user equipment (UE) to perform the following operations: measure a plurality of positioning signals from a positioning signal source, from a plurality of ports, across a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols to obtain a plurality of multi-port measurements; determine that a specific effective beam among the plurality of effective beams associated with the plurality of ports corresponds to the earliest arrival time from the positioning signal source to the UE based on the plurality of multi-port measurements; and transmit a beam indication for indicating the specific effective beam from the UE to a first network entity; and wherein the plurality of positioning signals include multi-port PRS resources (multi-port positioning reference signal resources), and wherein the processor-readable instructions further cause the processor to perform the following operations: obtain an expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources; and determine the earliest arrival time based on the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources; and wherein the obtaining the expected arrival time of the multi-port PRS resources further includes: measuring single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources to obtain single-port measurements; and using the single-port, fully interleaved PRS resources as a quasi-co-location (QCL) reference for the multi-port PRS resources.

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