Determination of the Transition of the Active Bandwidth Portion During a Location Session

Abstract

In one aspect, the UE receives a configuration of PRS or SRS-P resources for a positioning session from a network entity, receives a configuration of at least one BWP from a serving BS, identifies a time domain period of the positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to achieve a first positioning accuracy requirement. The UE performs positioning measurements on one or more of the PRS resources during the positioning session or transmits on one or more of the SRS-P resources during the positioning session. The UE determines an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 004,986, filed on April 3, 2020, entitled “MONITORING A SET OF BANDWIDTH PART PARAMETERS FOR A POSITIONING SESSION” and U.S. Non - Provisional Application No. 17 / 127,360, filed on December 18, 2020, entitled “DETERMINATION OF AN ACTIVE BANDWIDTH PART TRANSITION DURING A POSITIONING SESSION”, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present application and are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Field of the Disclosure

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication, and more particularly, to determining an active bandwidth part (BWP) transition during a positioning session. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems have evolved through several generations, including first - generation analog wireless telephone services (1G), second - generation (2G) digital wireless telephone services (including interim 2.5G networks), third - generation (3G) high - speed data, Internet - enabled wireless services, and fourth - generation (4G) services (e.g., LTE or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are 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), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile access (GSM) TDMA variants, etc.

[0005] The fifth - generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second for each of tens of thousands of users and data rates of 1 gigabit per second for dozens of employees on an office floor. To support large - scale wireless deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communication should be significantly enhanced compared to current 4G standards. In addition, compared to current standards, signaling efficiency should be enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following presents a brief summary of the invention related to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Accordingly, the following summary should not be considered as an extensive overview related to all contemplated aspects, nor as identifying key or critical elements related to all contemplated aspects or depicting the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present in a simplified form certain concepts related to one or more aspects regarding the mechanisms disclosed herein prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0007] In one aspect, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) includes: receiving, from a network entity, a configuration of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for a positioning session; receiving, from a serving base station (BS), a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP); identifying a time-domain period of the positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to achieve a first positioning accuracy requirement; performing positioning measurements on one or more of the PRS resources during the positioning session; determining an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters; and transmitting a PRS measurement report based on the positioning measurements.

[0008] In another aspect, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) includes: receiving, from a network entity, a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning (SRS-P) resource for a positioning session; receiving, from a serving base station (BS), a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP); identifying a time-domain period of the positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to achieve a first positioning accuracy requirement; transmitting on one or more of the SRS-P resources during the positioning session; and determining an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters.

[0009] In another aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: means for receiving, from a network entity, a configuration of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for a positioning session; means for receiving, from a serving base station (BS), a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP); means for identifying a time-domain period of the positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to achieve a first positioning accuracy requirement; means for performing positioning measurements on one or more of the PRS resources during the positioning session; means for determining an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters; and means for transmitting a PRS measurement report based on the positioning measurements.

[0010] On the other hand, for a user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving from a network entity a configuration of a positioning sounding reference signal (SRS) (SRS-P) resource for a positioning session; means for receiving from a serving base station (BS) a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP); means for identifying a time domain period of the positioning session, in which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to meet a first positioning accuracy requirement; means for transmitting, during the positioning session, on one or more of the SRS-P resources; and means for determining an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters.

[0011] On the other hand, for a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a configuration of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for a positioning session from a network entity; receive, via the at least one transceiver, a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) from a serving base station (BS); identify, via the at least one processor, a time domain period of the positioning session, in which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to meet a first positioning accuracy requirement; perform, via the at least one processor, positioning measurements on one or more of the PRS resources during the positioning session; determine, via the at least one processor, an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a PRS measurement report based on the positioning measurements.

[0012] On the other hand, a user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) (SRS-P) resource for positioning from a network entity for a positioning session; receive, via the at least one transceiver, a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) from a serving base station (BS); identify, via the at least one processor, a time-domain period of the positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to meet a first positioning accuracy requirement; transmit, via the at least one transceiver, on one or more of the SRS-P resources during the positioning session; and determine, via the at least one processor, an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters.

[0013] On the other hand, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to perform operations, the instructions including: at least one instruction that causes the UE to receive a configuration of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for a positioning session from a network entity; at least one instruction that causes the UE to receive a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) from a serving base station (BS); at least one instruction that causes the UE to identify a time-domain period of the positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to meet a first positioning accuracy requirement; at least one instruction that causes the UE to perform positioning measurements on one or more of the PRS resources during the positioning session; at least one instruction that causes the UE to determine an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters; and at least one instruction that causes the UE to transmit a PRS measurement report based on the positioning measurements.

[0014] On the other hand, for a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to perform operations, the instructions including: at least one instruction that causes the UE to receive from a network entity a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource for positioning (SRS-P) for a positioning session; at least one instruction that causes the UE to receive from a serving base station (BS) a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP); at least one instruction that causes the UE to identify a time-domain period of the positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to achieve a first positioning accuracy requirement; at least one instruction that causes the UE to transmit on one or more of the SRS-P resources during the positioning session; and at least one instruction that causes the UE to determine an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters.

[0015] Based on the figures and the detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The drawings are presented to assist in describing aspects of the present disclosure, and are provided only for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

[0017] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system is shown in accordance with various aspects.

[0018] Figure 2A and Figure 2B An example wireless network structure is shown in accordance with various aspects.

[0019] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an exemplary UE in accordance with various aspects.

[0020] Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of a frame structure for use in a wireless telecommunication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 5 is a diagram showing an exemplary technique for determining the location of a UE using information obtained from multiple base stations.

[0022] Figure 6 is a diagram showing an exemplary timing of round-trip time (RTT) measurement signals exchanged between a base station and a UE in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 7 An exemplary wireless communication system is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 8 An exemplary wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] Figure 9 is a diagram showing an exemplary timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station and a UE in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 10 FIG. 1000 shows an exemplary timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (e.g., any base station described herein) and a UE (e.g., any UE described herein) in accordance with other aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 11 FIG. 1100 shows an exemplary timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (gNB) (e.g., any base station described herein) and a UE (e.g., any UE described herein) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 12 An exemplary wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] Figure 13 The PRS resource distribution in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0030] Figure 14 The PRS resource distribution in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0031] Figure 15 The configuration of an exemplary PRS instance in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0032] Figure 16 A positioning session including a series of PRS instances in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0033] Figure 17 The active bandwidth part (BWP) transition of a UE during a positioning session in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0034] Figure 18 An exemplary method of wireless communication in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0035] Figure 19 The PRS instances of a positioning session in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0036] Figure 20 The active BWP transition during a positioning session in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] Figure 21 The active BWP transition during a positioning session in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0038] Figure 22 illustrates an exemplary method of wireless communication in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings that pertain to various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0040] As used herein, the words "exemplary" and / or "example" mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Similarly, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0041] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different technologies and techniques may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced in the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, in part depending on the particular application, in part depending on the desired design, in part depending on the corresponding technology, and so forth.

[0042] Furthermore, many aspects are described in terms of action sequences to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the action sequences described herein may be considered to be fully embodied within any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause or direct an associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms, all of which are considered to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each aspect described herein, any such corresponding form of the aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic" configured to perform the described action.

[0043] As used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be dedicated to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device that a user uses to communicate through a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a tracking device, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can be (e.g., at certain times) stationary 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 equipment", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or "UT", "mobile terminal", "mobile station" or variants thereof. Generally, a 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 a UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible, such as through a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), and so on.

[0044] Depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, the base station can operate according to one of several RATs for communicating with the UE and can alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. Additionally, in some systems, the base station can provide a pure edge node signaling function, while in other systems, it can provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which the UE sends signals to the base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the base station sends signals to the UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to a UL / reverse or DL / forward traffic channel.

[0045] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmission point, or to multiple physical transmission points, which may or may not be co-located. For example, in the case where the term "base station" refers to a single physical transmission point, the physical transmission point can be the antenna of the base station corresponding to the base station cell. In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical transmission points, the physical transmission points can be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or when beamforming is employed by the base station). In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, the physical transmission points can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a spatially separated antenna network connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical transmission points can be the serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE, and an adjacent base station whose reference RF signal the UE is measuring.

[0046] An "RF signal" includes an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that conveys a message through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter can send a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel, a receiver can receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and the receiver can be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal.

[0047] In accordance with various aspects, Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system 100 is shown. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) can include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 can include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base stations can include eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or can include gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to a 5G network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations can include femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, etc.

[0048] Base stations 102 can together form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a next generation core (NGC)) via a backhaul link 122 and interface with one or more positioning servers 172 via the core network 170. Among other functions, base stations 102 can perform functions involving one or more of the following: transfer of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, delivery of positioning and warning messages. Base stations 102 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC / NGC) via a backhaul link 134 (which can be wired or wireless).

[0049] Base stations 102 can communicate wirelessly with UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographical coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by the base stations 102 in each coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity for communicating with a base station (e.g., via some frequency resources, called carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) for differentiating cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that can provide access for different types of UEs. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographical coverage area (e.g., a sector) of a base station, as long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within some parts of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0050] Although the geographical coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 can partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some geographical coverage areas 110 can substantially overlap with larger geographical coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' can have a geographical coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network including both small cells and macro cell base stations can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network can also include a home eNB (HeNB) that can provide service to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0051] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include UL (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may pass through one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to the DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the DL than for the UL).

[0052] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0053] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrums. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may adopt LTE or 5G technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as that used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' adopting LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum may improve the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U), licensed-assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0054] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180, which may operate at mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this frequency band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz and a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using the mmW / near mmW radio frequency band has high path loss and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmission and / or reception) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short distances. Additionally, it will be understood that in alternative configurations, one or more of the base stations 102 may also use mmW or near mmW and beamforming for transmission. Thus, it will be understood that the foregoing description is merely an example and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0055] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Conventionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines the location of a given target device (e.g., a UE) relative to the transmitting network node and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device. To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (also referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array"), which creates RF waves that can be "manipulated" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationships such that the radio waves from the individual antennas add together to increase the radiation in the desired direction while canceling to suppress the radiation in the undesired directions.

[0056] The transmit beams can be quasi - co - located, which means that they appear to have the same parameters to the receiver (e.g., UE), regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network node are physically co - located or not. In NR, there are four types of quasi - co - location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived from information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is of QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0057] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify the RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting of the antenna and / or adjust the phase setting in a specific direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase the gain level of the RF signal). Thus, when the receiver is said to be beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gains in other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength for the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal - to - interference - plus - noise ratio (SINR), etc.).

[0058] Receive beams can be spatially correlated. The spatial relationship means that the parameters of the transmit beam of the second reference signal can be derived from information about the receive beam of the first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. Then, the UE can form a transmit beam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0059] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming the downlink beam, it is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0060] In 5G, the spectrum in which radio nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges, FR1 (from 450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which either the UE 104 / 182 performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment process or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment process. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels. The secondary carrier is the carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and this secondary carrier can be used to provide additional radio resources. The secondary carrier may only contain the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, those UE-specific information and signals may not exist in the secondary carrier because the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carriers. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. For example, this is done to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier on which a certain base station is communicating, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0061] For example, still referring to Figure 1, one of the frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers (or "SCells"). The simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, compared with the data rate achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier, two aggregated 20 MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a two-fold increase in the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz).

[0062] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs (such as the UE 190), which are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. In Figure 1 the example, the UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., the UE 190 can obtain cellular connectivity indirectly through this link), and a D2D P2P link 194 with the WLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (the UE 190 can obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity indirectly through this link). In the example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), etc.).

[0063] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which can communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via a communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via an mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 can support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 can support one or more SCells for the UE 164. In one aspect, the UE 164 may include a positioning component 166 that can enable the UE 164 to perform the UE operations described herein. Note that although Figure 1 only one UE is shown as having a fully interleaved SRS component 166 in Figure 1 any UE in

[0064] According to various aspects, Figure 2AFIG. 200 shows an exemplary wireless network architecture. For example, NGC 210 (also referred to as "5GC") can be functionally regarded as a control plane function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which cooperate to form a core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB 222 to NGC 210, and specifically to the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212. In an additional configuration, eNB 224 can also be connected to NGC 210, and specifically to the control plane function 214 via NG-C 215 and to the user plane function 212 via NG-U 213. In addition, eNB 224 can communicate directly with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 can have only one or more gNB 222s, while other configurations include one or more of eNB 224 and gNB 222. gNB 222 or eNB 224 can communicate with UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 any of the UEs depicted in). Another optional aspect can include a positioning server 230, which can communicate with NGC 210 to provide positioning assistance for UE 204. The positioning server 230 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server. The positioning server 230 can be configured to support one or more positioning services for UE 204, and UE 204 can be connected to the positioning server 230 via the core network, NGC 210, and / or via the Internet (not shown). In addition, the positioning server 230 can be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively can be external to the core network.

[0065] According to various aspects, Figure 2BAnother exemplary wireless network structure 250 is shown. For example, the NGC 260 (also referred to as "5GC") can be functionally regarded as the control plane function provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) / User Plane Function (UPF) 264, and the user plane function provided by the Session Management Function (SMF) 262, which cooperate to form the core network (i.e., NGC 260). The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the eNB 224 to the NGC 260, and specifically connect to the SMF 262 and the AMF / UPF 264 respectively. In an additional configuration, the gNB 222 can also be connected to the NGC 260 via the control plane interface 265 to the AMF / UPF 264 and the user plane interface 263 to the SMF 262. In addition, the eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223, regardless of whether the gNB is directly connected to the NGC 260. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 can have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the eNB 224 can communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 any of the UEs depicted in). The base stations of the new RAN 220 communicate with the AMF side of the AMF / UPF 264 via the N2 interface and with the UPF side of the AMF / UPF 264 via the N3 interface.

[0066] The functions of the AMF include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between the UE 204 and the SMF 262, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF also interacts with the authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives the intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF also include security context management (SCM). SCM receives the key from the SEAF, which it uses to derive the access network-specific key. The functionality of the AMF also includes positioning service management for regulatory services, transmission of positioning service messages between the UE 204 and the positioning management function (LMF) 270 and between the new RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifiers for interworking with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF also supports the functionality of non-3GPP access networks.

[0067] The functions of the UPF include acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection with the data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., UL / DL rate enforcement, reflected QoS marking in DL), UL traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport layer packet marking in UL and DL, DL packet buffering and DL data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node.

[0068] The functions of the SMF 262 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuring traffic steering at the UPF to route traffic to the appropriate destination, control of partial policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 262 communicates with the AMF side of the AMF / UPF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0069] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may communicate with an NGC 260 to provide positioning assistance for a UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more positioning services for the UE 204, which may be connected to the LMF 270 via a core network, the NGC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown).

[0070] Figure 3 Shown are several example components (represented by the corresponding boxes) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including a positioning server 230 and an LMF 270) to support the file transfer operations taught herein. It will be understood that these components may be implemented in different types of devices in different embodiments (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The shown components may also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to the described components to provide similar functionality. Moreover, a given device may include one or more of such components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0071] The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include at least one wireless communication device (represented by communication devices 308 and 314 (and communication device 320 if the device 304 is a relay)) for communicating with other nodes via at least one specified RAT. For example, the communication devices 308 and 314 may communicate with each other via a wireless communication link 360, which may correspond to Figure 1The communication link 120 therein. Each communication device 308 includes at least one transmitter (represented by transmitter 310) for transmitting and encoding signals (such as messages, indications, information, etc.) and at least one receiver (represented by receiver 312) for receiving and decoding signals (such as messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Similarly, each communication device 314 includes at least one transmitter (represented by transmitter 316) for transmitting signals (such as messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) and at least one receiver (represented by receiver 318) for receiving signals (such as messages, indications, information, etc.). If the base station 304 is a relay station, each communication device 320 may include at least one transmitter (represented by transmitter 322) for transmitting signals (such as messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) and at least one receiver (represented by receiver 324) for receiving signals (such as messages, indications, information, etc.).

[0072] The transmitter and receiver may include integrated devices in some embodiments (such as transmitter circuits and receiver circuits embodied as a single communication device, commonly referred to as a "transceiver"), may include separate transmitter devices and separate receiver devices in some embodiments, or may be embodied in other ways in other embodiments. The wireless communication device of the base station 304 (such as one of a plurality of wireless communication devices) may also include a network listening module (NLM) and the like for performing various measurements.

[0073] The network entity 306 (and the base station 304 if it is not a relay station) includes at least one communication device (represented by communication device 326 and optionally 320) for communicating with other nodes. For example, the communication device 326 may include a network interface configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wired or wireless-based backhaul 370 (which may correspond to Figure 1 the backhaul link 122 therein). In some aspects, the communication device 326 may be implemented as a transceiver configured to support wired or wireless signal communication, and the transmitter 328 and the receiver 330 may be integrated units. Such communication may involve, for example, transmitting and receiving: messages, parameters, or other types of information. Thus, in Figure 3 the example, the communication device 326 is shown to include a transmitter 328 and a receiver 330. Alternatively, the transmitter 328 and the receiver 330 may be separate devices within the communication device 326. Similarly, if the base station 304 is not a relay station, the communication device 320 may include a network interface configured to communicate with one or more network entities 306 via a wired or wireless-based backhaul 370. Like the communication device 326, the communication device 320 is shown to include a transmitter 322 and a receiver 324.

[0074] Devices 302, 304, and 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the file transfer operations disclosed herein. UE 302 includes a processing system 332 for providing functionality related to UE operations as described herein, for example, and for providing other processing functionality. Base station 304 includes a processing system 334 for providing functionality related to base station operations as described herein, for example, and for providing other processing functionality. Network entity 306 includes a processing system 336 for providing functionality related to network function operations as described herein, for example, and for providing other processing functionality. Devices 302, 304, and 306 each include memory components 338, 340, and 342 (e.g., each includes a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Additionally, UE 302 includes a user interface 350 for providing indications to a user (e.g., auditory and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user activates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, devices 304 and 306 may also include a user interface.

[0075] Referring more specifically to processing system 334, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 can be provided to processing system 334. Processing system 334 can implement the functionality of the radio resource control (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, and media access control (MAC) layer. Processing system 334 can provide: RRC layer functionality associated with the broadcast of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with the mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0076] The transmitter 316 and the receiver 318 may implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving on the physical channel, rate matching, mapping, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 316 disposes of the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols may then be divided into parallel streams. Then, each stream may be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time domain and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is space precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the encoding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from reference signals transmitted by the UE 302 and / or channel condition feedback. Then, each spatial stream may be provided to one or more different antennas. The transmitter 316 may modulate an RF carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0077] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives signals via its corresponding antennas. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 332. The transmitter 310 and the receiver 312 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by the receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then uses a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to convert the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on the channel estimates computed by the channel estimator. Then, the soft decisions are decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the processing system 332 that implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

[0078] In the UL, the processing system 332 provides demultiplexing between the transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The processing system 332 is also responsible for error detection.

[0079] Similar to the functionality described in connection with DL transmission of base station 304, processing system 332 provides: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and re-ordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs into transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0080] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from reference signals or feedback transmitted by base station 304 can be used by transmitter 310 to select appropriate decoding and modulation schemes and assist in spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by transmitter 310 can be provided to different antennas. Transmitter 310 can modulate RF carriers with the respective spatial streams for transmission.

[0081] UL transmission is processed at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at UE 302. Receiver 318 receives signals via its respective antennas. Receiver 318 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carriers and provides the information to processing system 334.

[0082] In the UL, processing system 334 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from UE 302. The IP packets from processing system 334 can be provided to the core network. Processing system 334 is also responsible for error detection.

[0083] In one aspect, devices 302, 304, and 306 may each include positioning components 344, 348, and 349. It should be understood that the functionality of the various positioning components 344, 348, and 349 may vary based on the device implementing it. The positioning components 344, 348, and 349 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to processing systems 332, 334, and 336, respectively, and when executed, cause devices 302, 304, and 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Alternatively, the positioning components 344, 348, and 349 may be memory modules stored in memory components 338, 340, and 342, respectively, that when executed by processing systems 332, 334, and 336, cause devices 302, 304, and 306 to perform the functionality described herein.

[0084] For convenience, devices 302, 304, and / or 306 are shown in Figure 3 as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it will be understood that the boxes shown may have different functionality in different designs.

[0085] The various components of devices 302, 304, and 306 may communicate with each other via data buses 352, 354, and 356, respectively. Figure 3 The components of Figure 3The components of can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 308, 332, 338, 344, and 350 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 314, 320, 334, 340, and 348 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Additionally, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 326, 336, 342, and 349 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being "performed by the UE", "performed by the base station", "performed by the positioning entity", etc. However, as will be understood, such operations, actions, and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE, base station, positioning entity, etc., such as processing systems 332, 334, 336, communication devices 308, 314, 326, positioning components 344, 348, and 349, etc.

[0086] Various frame structures can be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 4 An example of a downlink frame structure 400 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. However, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, the frame structure for any particular application may vary depending on any number of factors. In Figure 4 it, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis), with time increasing from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top. In the time domain, a frame 410 (10 ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes 420 (1 ms). Each subframe 420 includes two consecutive time slots 430 (0.5 ms).

[0087] A resource grid can be used to represent two time slots 430, each time slot 430 including one or more resource blocks (RBs) 440 (also referred to as “physical resource blocks” or “PRBs”) in the frequency domain. In LTE, and in some cases in NR, a resource block 440 contains 12 consecutive subcarriers 450 in the frequency domain, and for the normal cyclic prefix (CP) in each OFDM symbol 460, contains 7 consecutive OFDM symbols 460 in the time domain. The resource of one OFDM symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain (represented as a block of the resource grid) is referred to as a resource element (RE). Thus, in Figure 4 the example of

[0088] LTE and in some cases NR utilize OFDM on the downlink and single-carrier frequency-division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, different from LTE, NR can also choose to use OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers 450, which are usually also referred to as tones, frequency bands, etc. Each subcarrier 450 can be modulated with data. Generally, modulation symbols are transmitted in the frequency domain using OFDM and in the time domain using SC-FDM. The interval between adjacent subcarriers 450 can be fixed, and the total number (K) of subcarriers 450 can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the interval of subcarriers 450 can be 15 kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) can be 12 subcarriers 450 (or 180 kHz). Therefore, for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), the size of the nominal FFT can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 respectively. The system bandwidth can also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband can cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, there can be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands respectively.

[0089] LTE supports a single parameter set (subcarrier spacing, symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR can support multiple parameter sets. For example, subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 204 kHz or greater can be available. Table 1 provided below lists some different parameters of different NR parameter sets.

[0090]

[0091] Table 1

[0092] Continuing to refer to Figure 4, some resource elements indicated as R0 and R1 include downlink reference signals (DL-RS). The DL-RS can include cell-specific RS (CRS) (sometimes also referred to as common RS) and UE-specific RS (UE-RS). The UE-RS is only transmitted on the resource blocks 440 where the corresponding physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is mapped. The number of bits carried by each resource element depends on the modulation scheme. Therefore, the more resource blocks 440 the UE receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate for the UE.

[0093] In one aspect, the DL-RS can be a positioning reference signal (PRS). The base station can transmit radio frames (e.g., radio frame 410) or other physical layer signaling sequences so as to support the PRS signal according to a frame configuration similar to or the same as Figure 4 the frame configuration shown, and these frame configurations can be measured and used for the position estimation of the UE (e.g., any UE described herein). Other types of wireless nodes in the wireless communication network (e.g., distributed antenna system (DAS), remote radio head (RRH), UE, AP, etc.) can also be configured to transmit PRS signals configured in a manner similar to (or the same as) Figure 4 the manner depicted.

[0094] The set of resource elements used to transmit the PRS is referred to as the "PRS resource". The set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., 1 or more) consecutive symbols 460 within the time slots 430 in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol 460, the PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs. The PRS resource is described by at least the following parameters: PRS resource identifier (ID), sequence ID, comb size - N, resource element offset in the frequency domain, start time slot and start symbol, number of symbols per PRS resource (i.e., the duration of the PRS resource), and QCL information (e.g., QCL with other DL reference signals). Currently, one antenna port is supported. The comb size indicates the number of subcarriers carrying the PRS in each symbol. For example, a comb size of comb-4 means that every four subcarriers of a given symbol carry the PRS.

[0095] A "PRS resource set" is a collection of PRS resources used to transmit PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. Additionally, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same transmit-receive point (TRP). The PRS resource IDs in a PRS resource set are associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (where the TRP can transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam, and for this reason, a "PRS resource" can also be referred to as a "beam". Note that this has no impact on whether the UE knows the TRP and the beam on which the PRS is transmitted. A "PRS occasion" is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a set of one or more consecutive time slots) during which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion can also be referred to as a "PRS positioning occasion", a "positioning occasion", or simply an "occasion".

[0096] Note that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" can sometimes refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in an LTE system. However, as used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS signals in LTE, navigation reference signals (NRS) in 5G, transmitter reference signals (TRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), SSBs, etc.

[0097] Figure 5 An exemplary DL PRS 500 processed by a wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In Figure 5 , the PRS transmission beams are transmitted by a cell (or transmit-receive point (TRP)) on a series of beam-specific positioning occasions in corresponding time slots / symbols during a positioning session (T PRS ). These PRS transmission beams are received at the UE as PRS reception beams and then processed (e.g., the UE performs various positioning measurements, etc.).

[0098] Figure 6 An exemplary wireless communication system 600 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In Figure 6 , eNB1, eNB2, and eNB3 are synchronized with each other such that TOA (e.g., TDOA) measurements (denoted as T1, T2, and T3) can be used to generate a positioning estimate for the UE. Multiple TDOA measurements can be used for triangulation (e.g., 4 or more cells or eNBs). In a TDOA-based positioning scheme, network synchronization error is a major bottleneck in terms of positioning accuracy.

[0099] Another positioning technique that requires cell (or satellite) synchronization is based on Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA). An exemplary OTDOA-based positioning scheme is GPS, whose accuracy is limited to 50 - 100 ns (e.g., 15 - 30 meters).

[0100] In NR, there is no requirement for precise timing synchronization of the entire network. Instead, it is sufficient to have a rough time synchronization on the gNB (e.g., within the cyclic prefix (CP) duration of an OFDM symbol). RTT-based methods generally only require rough timing synchronization, and for this reason, are preferred positioning methods in NR.

[0101] In network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station (e.g., base station 102) instructs the UE (e.g., UE 104) 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 send RTT measurement signals on low-reuse resources (e.g., resources used by the base station to send system information) allocated by the network (e.g., positioning server 230, LMF 270). The UE records the arrival time (also referred to as the 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 signal received from its serving base station), and sends a common or individual RTT response message (e.g., SRS, UL-PRS) to one or more base stations (e.g., when instructed by its serving base station), and may include in the payload of each RTT response message the difference T between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message Rx→Tx (e.g., Figure 9 the T in Rx→Tx 912). The RTT response message will include a reference signal from which the base station can infer the ToA of the RTT response. By comparing the difference T between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response reported to the UE Rx→Tx of the difference T Tx→Rx (e.g., Figure 9 the T in Tx→Rx 922), the base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE, from 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.

[0102] UE - centered RTT estimation is similar to network - based methods, except that the UE sends uplink RTT measurement signals (e.g., when directed by the serving base station), which are received by multiple base stations in the vicinity of the UE. Each of the involved base stations 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 RTT response message payload.

[0103] For both network - centered and UE - centered processes, the side (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 side 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.

[0104] Figure 7 An exemplary wireless communication system 700 is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 7 the example, UE 704 (which may correspond to any UE described herein) is attempting to calculate an estimate of its location, or assist another entity (e.g., a base station or core network component, another UE, a positioning server, a third - party application, etc.) in calculating an estimate of its location. UE 704 can wirelessly communicate with multiple base stations 702 - 1, 702 - 2, and 702 - 3 (collectively referred to as base stations 702, and which may correspond to any base station described herein) using RF signals and standardized protocols for RF signal modulation and information packet exchange. By extracting different types of information from the exchanged RF signals and leveraging the layout of the wireless communication system 700 (i.e., the location, geometry, etc. of the base stations), UE 704 can determine its location in a predefined reference coordinate system, or assist in determining its location. In one aspect, UE 704 can use a two - dimensional coordinate system to specify its location; however, aspects disclosed herein are not limited thereto, and can also be applied to using a three - dimensional coordinate system to determine location if additional dimensions are required. Additionally, although Figure 7 one UE 704 and three base stations 702 are shown, it will be understood that there can be more UE 704s and more base stations 702.

[0105] To support location estimation, base station 702 may be configured to broadcast reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, NRS, CRS, TRS, CSI-RS, PSS, SSS, etc.) to UE 704 in its coverage area so that UE 704 can measure the characteristics of such reference RF signals. For example, UE 704 may measure the ToA of a specific reference RF signal (e.g., PRS, NRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) transmitted by at least three different base stations 702 and may use the RTT positioning method to report these ToAs (and additional information) back to the serving base station 702 or another positioning entity (e.g., positioning server 230, LMF 270).

[0106] In one aspect, although described as UE 704 measuring reference RF signals from base station 702, UE 704 may measure reference RF signals from one of multiple cells supported by base station 702. In the case where UE 704 measures reference RF signals transmitted by a cell supported by base station 702, at least two other reference RF signals measured by UE 704 to perform the RTT process will be from cells supported by a base station 702 different from the first base station 702 and may have good or poor signal strength at UE 704.

[0107] To determine the location (x, y) of UE 704, the entity determining the location of UE 704 needs to know the location of base station 702, which can be represented in a reference coordinate system as (x k , y k ), where k = 1, 2, 3 in the example of Figure 7 . In the case where one of the base stations 702 (e.g., the serving base station) or UE 704 determines the location of UE 704, the location of the involved base station 702 can be provided to the serving base station 702 or UE 704 by a positioning server with knowledge of network geometry (e.g., positioning server 230, LMF 270). Alternatively, the positioning server may use the known network geometry to determine the location of UE 704.

[0108] Either UE 704 or the corresponding base station 702 may determine the distance (d k , where k = 1, 2, 3) between UE 704 and the corresponding base station 702. In one aspect, the determination of the RTT 710 of the signals exchanged between UE 704 and any base station 702 may be performed and converted into a distance (d k)。As further discussed below, RTT techniques can measure the time between sending a signaling message (e.g., a reference RF signal) and receiving a response. These methods can utilize calibration to eliminate any processing delays. In some environments, it can be assumed that the processing delays of UE 704 and base station 702 are the same. However, such an assumption may not hold in practice.

[0109] Once each distance d is determined k , UE 704, base station 702, or a positioning server (e.g., positioning server 230, LMF 270) can solve for the location (x, y) of UE 704 by using various known geometric techniques (e.g., trilateration). From Figure 7 it can be seen that the location of UE 704 ideally lies at the common intersection of three semi - circles, each semi - circle defined by a radius d k and a center (x k , y k ), where k = 1, 2, 3.

[0110] In some cases, additional information can be obtained in the form of an angle of arrival (AoA) or an angle of departure (AoD), which defines a straight - line direction (e.g., in a horizontal plane or in three dimensions) or a range of possible directions (e.g., for UE 704, the location from base station 702). The intersection of two directions at or near the point (x, y) can provide another estimate of the location of UE 704.

[0111] A location estimate (e.g., for UE 704) can be referred to by other names, such as a positioning estimate, a localization, a location, a position fix, a fix, etc. A location estimate can be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or it can be cadastral and include a street address, a postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. A location estimate can also be defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A location estimate can include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included at a certain specified or default confidence level).

[0112] Figure 8 FIG. 800 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system 800 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. While Figure 7 depicting an example of a multi - cell RTT positioning scheme, Figure 8 it depicts an example of a single - cell RTT positioning scheme. In Figure 8 , RTT1 and an AoD1 associated with the beam for sending the DL PRS from the cell to the UE are measured. Figure 9The overlapping area of ​​RTT1 and AoD1 depicted in FIG. 1 provides a coarse positioning estimate for the associated UE.

[0113] Figure 9 900 is a diagram illustrating exemplary timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station 902 (e.g., any base station described herein) and a UE 904 (e.g., any UE described herein) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 9 In the example of FIG. 1 , the base station 902 sends an RTT measurement signal 910 (eg, PRS, NRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) to the UE 904 at time T1. When the RTT measurement signal 910 travels from the base station 902 to the UE 904, it has some propagation delay T Prop At time T2 (ToA of RTT measurement signal 910 at UE 904), UE 904 receives / measures RTT measurement signal 910. After some UE processing time, UE 904 sends RTT response signal 920 at time T3. Prop Thereafter, the base station 902 receives / measures the RTT response signal 920 from the UE 904 at time T4 (ToA of the RTT response signal 920 at the base station 902 ).

[0114] In order to identify the ToA (e.g., T2) of a reference signal (e.g., RTT measurement signal 910) sent by a given network node (e.g., base station 902), the receiver (e.g., UE 904) first jointly processes all resource elements (REs) on the channel on which the transmitter sends the reference signal, and performs an inverse Fourier transform to convert the received reference signal to the time domain. The conversion of the received reference signal to the time domain is called an estimate of the channel energy response (CER). The CER shows peaks on the channel that vary over time, and therefore the earliest "significant" peak should correspond to the ToA of the reference signal. Typically, the receiver will use a noise-related quality threshold to filter out pseudo-local peaks, thereby approximately correctly identifying important peaks on the channel. For example, the receiver can select a ToA estimate that is the earliest local maximum of the CER, at least X dB higher than the median of the CER, and at most Y dB lower than the main peak on the channel. The receiver determines the CER for each reference signal from each transmitter in order to determine the ToA of each reference signal from different transmitters.

[0115] The RTT response signal 920 may explicitly include the difference between time T3 and time T2 (ie, T Rx→Tx912). Alternatively, it can be derived from the timing advance (TA), i.e., the relative UL / DL frame timing and canonical positioning of the UL reference signal. (Note that TA is typically the round-trip time (RTT) between the base station and the UE, or twice the propagation time in one direction.) Using this measurement and the difference between time T4 and time T1 (i.e., T Tx→Rx 922), the base station 902 (or other positioning entity, such as positioning server 230, LMF 270) can calculate the distance to the UE 904 as follows:

[0116]

[0117] where c is the speed of light.

[0118] Figure 10 FIG. 1000 showing an exemplary timing of the RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (e.g., any base station described herein) and a UE (e.g., any UE described herein) in accordance with other aspects of the present disclosure. In particular, Figure 10 1002 - 1004 represent the frame delay portions associated with the Rx - Tx difference measured at the gNB and the UE, respectively.

[0119] Another source of delay or error is due to the UE and gNB hardware group delays for position location. Figure 11 FIG. 1100 shows an exemplary timing of the RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (gNB) (e.g., any base station described herein) and a UE (e.g., any UE described herein) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 11 In some aspects similar to Figure 9 . However, in Figure 11 , the UE and gNB hardware group delays (which are mainly due to the internal hardware delays between the baseband (BB) components and the antennas at the UE and the gNB) are shown relative to 1102 - 1108 (denoted as ΔRx and ΔTx). As will be appreciated, both the Tx - side path - specific or beam - specific delays and the Rx - side path - specific or beam - specific delays affect the RTT measurement.

[0120] Figure 12 FIG. 1200 shows an exemplary wireless communication system 1200 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 1200 is similar to Figure 6 the wireless communication system 600. However, the wireless communication system 1200 also depicts the beams associated with the respective TOA (e.g., TDOA) measurements (denoted as T1, T2, and T3). As will be appreciated, both the Rx - side path - specific or beam - specific delays and the Tx - side path - specific or beam - specific delays affect the DL TDOA measurement. Although not explicitly shown, the Tx - side path - specific or beam - specific delays affect the UL TDOA measurement in a similar manner.

[0121] On the UE side, the accuracy of the location estimate at the UE is limited by how fine the group delay / timing error can be maintained. For example, a 1 ns error in ΔRx and ΔTx can result in an accuracy limitation of approximately 2 feet. Some 3GPP standards aim for location accuracy of less than 3 m (for Rel-16) and less than 1 m (for general commercial of Rel-17). Knowledge of the UE and / or gNB hardware group delay can thus help improve location accuracy.

[0122] As used herein, a positioning session can include multiple PRS instances, where each PRS instance includes a PRS resource set. The PRS resource set in turn includes multiple PRS resources. For example, in some embodiments, a positioning session can span approximately 20 seconds, while each PRS instance can span approximately 160 ms. DL PRS resources can be repeated to facilitate Rx beam sweeping across different repetitions, combine the gain of coverage extension, and / or mute within an instance. In some designs, the PRS configuration can support multiple repetition counts (PRS-resource rection factor) and multiple time gaps (PRS-ResourceTimeGap), as shown in Table 2:

[0123]

[0124] Table 2

[0125] Figure 13 Shows a PRS resource distribution 1300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The PRS resource distribution 1300 reflects a DL-PRS resource set with 4 resources, a PRS-resource rection factor value of 4, and a PRS-ResourceTimeGap value of 1 time slot.

[0126] Figure 14 Shows a PRS resource distribution 1400 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The PRS resource distribution 1400 reflects a DL-PRS resource set with 4 resources, a PRS-resource rection factor value of 4, and a PRS-ResourceTimeGap value of 4 time slots.

[0127] Figure 15Shows the configuration of an exemplary PRS instance 1500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The PRS instance 1500 is configured with FR1 TDD, 8 PRS resources per TRP, 30 KHz, and the DDDSU format (2.5 milliseconds). For the PRS resources with a comb-6 / 6 symbol having a repetition factor of 4, all 8 PRS resources can span a time window of 2.5 * 8 = 20 milliseconds. Assuming that the PRS resource is on for 1 out of X time slots, the above 20-millisecond "PRS instance" will be suitable for all beams of 6 * X beams from different TRPs that are completely silent, and the rest are non-orthogonal (e.g., X = 4 would mean that the UE can sample all 8 beams of 24 TRPs that are completely silent). In FR2, the time span of the PRS instance can easily span a 40-millisecond time window.

[0128] Figure 16 Shows a positioning session 1600 including a series of PRS instances according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Ideally, all measurements for generating a positioning fix should be performed simultaneously. If measurements are performed at different time points to generate a positioning fix, UE movement as well as changes in the UE clock and the gNB clock may result in measurement errors that will ultimately produce a position error. For example, for two measurements separated by 1 second, a UE clock drift of ten parts per billion (ppb) will produce a measurement error of 1 s * 10 ns / s = 10 ns ~ 3 m. UE movement, UE clock drift, and gNB clock drift can all result in significant errors in measurements that are performed separately in time but are all used to generate the same positioning fix. In some designs, if the SRS-time-offset and SRS-periodicity parameters configured for the SRS resources used for positioning are such that any SRS transmission is within [-X, X] milliseconds of at least one DL PRS resource from each TRP in the assistance data (e.g., in some designs, X = 25 milliseconds), then the core measurements and performance requirements for the UE Rx-Tx time difference apply.

[0129] Figure 17 Shows the active bandwidth part (BWP) transition 1700 of a UE during a positioning session according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As Figure 17 shown, the PRS bandwidth 1702 associated with the PRS resources in one or more PRS resource sets across one or more PRS instances overlaps with the initially active BWP 1704. However, the active BWP then transitions to BWP 1706 and then to BWP 1708, none of which completely overlap with the PRS bandwidth 1702.

[0130] In some designs, when the active DL BWP of the UE (e.g., its bandwidth, parameter set, DRX configuration, etc.) remains completely unchanged during a positioning session, the PRS-RSTD and PRS-RSRP measurement requirements apply. In some designs, when the active DL and UL BWPs of the UE (e.g., its bandwidth, parameter set, DRX configuration, etc.) remain completely unchanged during a positioning session, the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement requirements apply.

[0131] However, not all BWP changes will substantially affect the accuracy of the positioning session. In some embodiments, with respect to active BWP switching and accuracy / measurement requirements for positioning measurements (e.g., RSTD, RSRP, Rx-Tx, etc.) when a measurement gap is not configured (e.g., as in Figure 13 ), the accuracy requirement can be defined for positioning measurements that use resources within a time domain period and are derived assuming a particular set of BWP parameters has not changed during that time domain period. In some aspects, the set of parameters can cover all BWP parameters such that no active BWP transitions are allowed during the time domain period while maintaining the accuracy requirement. However, in other aspects, the set of parameters can include a selected subset of BWP parameters (e.g., those parameters that, if changed, would substantially affect the accuracy of a particular measurement and / or the overall positioning fix) such that some active BWP transitions are allowed during the time domain period while maintaining the accuracy requirement. As will be described in more detail below, both the time domain period and the set of parameters are configurable and can be tuned to accommodate the positioning accuracy requirements of a particular application. Determining active BWP transitions during such a time domain period of a positioning session can provide various technical advantages, such as adaptable accuracy requirements, improved accuracy, and / or knowledge of potential positioning errors due to BWP switching, among others.

[0132] Figure 18 An exemplary method 1800 of wireless communication in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. Method 1800 can be performed by a UE (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0133] At 1810, the UE (e.g., receiver 312, etc.) receives a configuration of positioning reference signal (PRS) resources for a positioning session from a network entity. In some designs, the network entity corresponds to the serving base station of the UE. In other designs, the network entity can correspond to a core network component.

[0134] At 1820, the UE (e.g., receiver 312, etc.) receives a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) from the serving base station (BS). If the at least one BWP includes multiple BWPs (e.g., due to an active BWP transition), the reception at 1820 can include multiple reception operations during the positioning session.

[0135] In 1830, a UE (e.g., receiver 312, memory component 338, processing system 332, positioning component 344, etc.) identifies a time-domain period of a positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with at least one BWP will remain constant to achieve a first positioning accuracy requirement. In some designs, the time-domain period and the set of parameters can be application-specific and customized to meet the first positioning accuracy requirement.

[0136] In 1840, the UE (e.g., receiver 312, memory component 338, processing system 332, positioning component 344, etc.) performs positioning measurements on one or more of the PRS resources during the positioning session. In 1850, the UE (e.g., processing system 332, positioning component 344, etc.) determines an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters. In 1860, the UE (e.g., transmitter 310) sends a PRS measurement report based on the positioning measurements. In some designs, the frequency of the PRS measurement report can be based on the time slot when the report is ready to be sent (e.g., the upper layer message ready concept), or the time slot when the PRS measurement report starts to be sent (e.g., more suitable for low-layer reports such as MAC-CE or UCI-based).

[0137] Reference Figure 18 , in some designs, some or all of the positioning sessions and / or the time-domain periods of the positioning sessions can be associated with (e.g., aligned with) a configured measurement gap (e.g., a configured period of time during which the UE suppresses uplink transmissions and / or downlink data traffic communications to facilitate the measurement of reference signals), during which the set of parameters associated with at least one BWP will remain constant to achieve a first positioning accuracy requirement. In other designs, the positioning sessions and / or the time-domain periods of the positioning sessions can be not associated with (e.g., not aligned with) a configured measurement gap, during which the set of parameters associated with at least one BWP remains constant to achieve a first positioning accuracy requirement. Thus, the entire positioning session (or the part of the positioning session including the time-domain window) can be associated with a configured measurement gap, any part of the positioning session (or the part of the positioning session including the time-domain window) can be not associated with a configured measurement gap, or the first part of the positioning session can be associated with a configured measurement gap while another part of the positioning session can be not associated with a configured measurement gap.

[0138] Reference Figure 18, in some designs, the UE may optionally report an indication of a set of time domain periods and / or parameters to a network entity (e.g., the serving base station of the UE, core network components, etc.). In this case, the network entity may take certain actions to adapt the UE's positioning session (e.g., avoid any BWP transitions that would violate the first positioning accuracy requirement, etc.). In an example, the optional report may be part of the UE capability message. In an example, the optional report may be implemented per frequency band or per frequency (e.g., FR1 specific, FR2 specific, etc.) or per combination of frequency bands.

[0139] Reference Figure 18 , as described above, a positioning session includes multiple PRS instances, and the PRS instance includes a corresponding set of PRS resources. The time domain period associated with the first positioning accuracy requirement can be defined in a positioning session in various ways, including but not limited to:

[0140] · From the earliest PRS resource in the PRS resource set for the earliest PRS instance to the latest PRS resource in the PRS resource set for the latest PRS instance (e.g., across the entire positioning session), or

[0141] · From the earliest PRS resource in the first PRS resource set to the latest PRS resource in the first PRS resource set (e.g., the same PRS resource set) or the second PRS instance (e.g., across multiple PRS instances, such as multiple complete PRS instances between the previous measurement report and the upcoming measurement report), or

[0142] · From the earliest PRS resource in the PRS resource set associated with a specific frequency layer (FL) for the first PRS instance to the latest PRS resource in the PRS resource set associated with that specific FL for the first PRS instance (e.g., the same PRS resource set) or the second PRS instance (e.g., across multiple PRS instances, such as multiple complete PRS instances between the previous measurement report and the upcoming measurement report), or

[0143] · From the earliest repetition of a PRS resource in the PRS resource set for a PRS instance to the latest repetition of the same PRS resource for the same PRS instance, or

[0144] · A specified number of time slots (e.g., in the case of aperiodic PRS, using time slots to define the time domain period can be particularly advantageous, although the LMF and gNB may need to coordinate to reduce uncertainties in the implementation).

[0145] Reference Figure 18, in an example, the execution at 1840 may include measuring a first subset of PRS resources when the first BWP is active and a set of parameters remains constant. In an example, the determination at 1850 may be reported (e.g., to a network entity such as a serving base station or a core network component). In some designs, in response to the detection, the UE may relax or eliminate the target positioning accuracy requirement from a first positioning accuracy requirement to a second positioning accuracy requirement, and then continue to measure a second subset of PRS resources when the second BWP is active (e.g., according to the second positioning requirement accuracy requirement). In some designs, the second positioning requirement accuracy requirement may be an actual positioning requirement accuracy requirement. In other designs, the second positioning requirement accuracy requirement may have no accuracy requirement at all (e.g., effectively eliminating the previous target positioning accuracy requirement).

[0146] Reference Figure 18 , in response to the active BWP transition determination at 1850, in some designs, when the first BWP is active for a positioning session, the UE may extend the duration of a first time domain period required to derive a set of measurements (e.g., to provide additional time to perform at least one positioning measurement according to the first positioning accuracy requirement). For example, the first time domain period may be extended to a second time domain period, and the duration of the second time domain period is based on the number of times the BWP switching delay associated with the determined active BWP transition overlaps with any DL PRS resources within the time domain period (e.g., if more DL PRS resources are lost due to the active BWP transition, the time domain period is further extended). In some designs, this extension is at least partially based on whether a measurement gap is configured for the positioning session.

[0147] Reference Figure 18 , in an example, the set of parameters monitored to facilitate the determination at 1850 may include any of the following:

[0148] · Each parameter associated with at least one BWP such that the same BWP remains active throughout the positioning session,

[0149] · The bandwidth of at least one BWP,

[0150] · The central part of the bandwidth of at least one BWP,

[0151] · The bandwidth of at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with multiple PRS instances,

[0152] · The parameter set of at least one BWP,

[0153] · The DRX configuration of at least one BWP, or

[0154] · Any combination thereof.

[0155] Reference Figure 18 , in an example, the first positioning accuracy requirement may include a positioning measurement accuracy requirement (e.g., RSRP, RSTD, Rx - Tx, etc.), a positioning fixed accuracy requirement (e.g., 6 meters, 3 meters, 3 feet, etc.), or a combination thereof.

[0156] Figure 19 FIG. shows a PRS instance of a positioning session 1900 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 19 , there is no active BWP transition during the positioning session. Thus, across the entire time domain period (however the time domain period is defined), the set of determined parameters does not change (however the set of parameters is defined).

[0157] Figure 20 FIG. shows an active BWP transition during a positioning session 2000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 20 , the active BWP, during the positioning session 2000, the active BWP changes from a first BWP (BWP1) to a second BWP (BWP2). The active BWP transition can occur during a particular PRS instance or between PRS instances. Depending on how the time domain period and / or the set of parameters are defined, the active BWP transition may or may not violate the first positioning accuracy requirement of 1930. In this case, the PRS bandwidth overlaps with the bandwidths of both BWP1 and BWP2. Thus, as an example, if the set of parameters includes only the bandwidth of at least one BWP that is aligned with the bandwidths associated with multiple PRS instances, then in this case, the active BWP transition does not violate the first positioning accuracy requirement.

[0158] Figure 21 FIG. shows an active BWP transition during a positioning session 2100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 21 , the active BWP, during the positioning session 2000, the active BWP changes from a first BWP (BWP1) to a second BWP (BWP2). The active BWP transition can occur during a particular PRS instance or between PRS instances. Depending on how the time domain period and / or the set of parameters are defined, the active BWP transition may or may not violate the first positioning accuracy requirement of 1930. In this case, the bandwidths of both BWP1 and BWP2 are the same, but other parameters can be different (e.g., DRX, parameter set, etc.). Thus, as an example, if the set of parameters includes only the bandwidth of at least one BWP, then in this case, the active BWP transition does not violate the first positioning accuracy requirement.

[0159] While many of the above figures relate to DL PRS-based positioning sessions, other embodiments of the present disclosure relate to UL SRS-based positioning procedures, as will now be described.

[0160] SRS is an uplink-only signal that the UE transmits to help the base station obtain the channel state information (CSI) of each user. The channel state information describes how the RF signal propagates from the UE to the base station and represents the combined effects of scattering, fading, and power attenuation with distance. The system uses SRS for resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management, etc.

[0161] Several enhancements to the previously defined SRS have been proposed for SRS for positioning (SRS-P), such as a new interleaving pattern within the SRS resource, a new comb type for SRS, a new sequence for SRS, a greater number of SRS resource sets per component carrier, and a greater number of SRS resources per component carrier. Additionally, the parameters "SpatialRelationInfo" and "PathLossReference" will be configured based on the DL RS from adjacent TRPs. Additionally, an SRS resource can be transmitted outside the active bandwidth part (BWP), and an SRS resource can span multiple component carriers. Finally, for UL-AoA, the UE can transmit through the same transmission beam from multiple SRS resources. All of these are additional features to the current SRS framework, which is configured by RRC high-layer signaling (and can be triggered or activated by MAC control element (CE) or downlink control information (DCI)).

[0162] As described above, the sounding reference signal (SRS) in NR is a UE-specific configured reference signal transmitted by the UE for the purpose of sounding the uplink radio channel. Similar to CSI-RS, such sounding provides various levels of knowledge of the radio channel characteristics. In one extreme case, the SRS can be used at the gNB only to obtain signal strength measurements, for example, for the purpose of UL beam management. In another extreme case, the SRS can be used at the gNB to obtain detailed amplitude and phase estimates as a function of frequency, time, and space. In NR, compared to LTE, channel sounding using SRS supports a more diverse set of use cases (e.g., for downlink CSI acquisition for reciprocal gNB transmit beamforming (downlink MIMO); for uplink CSI acquisition for link adaptation and codebook / non-codebook-based precoding for uplink MIMO, uplink beam management, etc.).

[0163] The SRS can be configured using various options. The time / frequency mapping of the SRS resource is defined by the following characteristics.

[0164] · Duration N symb SRS — The duration of the SRS resource can be 1, 2, or 4 consecutive OFDM symbols within a time slot, which is different from LTE where only a single OFDM symbol per time slot is allowed.

[0165] · Starting symbol positioning 10 — The starting symbol of the SRS resource can be located anywhere within the last 6 OFDM symbols of the time slot, as long as the resource does not cross the time slot end boundary.

[0166] · Repetition factor R — For SRS resources configured with frequency hopping, repetition allows the set of subcarriers to be probed in R consecutive OFDM symbols before the next hop occurs (as used herein, "hop" specifically refers to frequency hopping). For example, the value of R is 1, 2, 4, where R

[0167] ≤ N symb SRS 。

[0168] · Transmission comb spacing K TC and comb offset k TC — The SRS resource can occupy resource elements (REs) of a frequency domain comb structure, where the comb spacing is 2 or 4 REs, similar to LTE. Such a structure allows frequency domain multiplexing of different SRS resources of the same or different users on different comb structures, where different comb structures are offset from each other by an integer number of REs. The comb offset is defined relative to the PRB boundary and can take values in the range of 0, 1, …, K TC -1 REs. Thus, for comb spacing K TC =2, if needed, 2 different comb structures are available for multiplexing, and for comb spacing K TC =4, 4 different available comb structures.

[0169] · Periodicity and time slot offset in the case of periodic / semi-persistent SRS.

[0170] · Probing bandwidth within the bandwidth part.

[0171] Figure 22 An exemplary method 2200 of wireless communication according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. Method 2200 can be performed by a UE (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0172] At 2210, the UE (e.g., the receiver 312, etc.) receives a configuration of a positioning SRS (SRS-P) resource for a positioning session from a network entity. In some designs, the network entity corresponds to the serving base station of the UE. In other designs, the network entity can correspond to a core network component.

[0173] At 2220, a UE (e.g., receiver 312, etc.) receives the configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) from a serving base station (BS). If the at least one BWP includes multiple BWPs (e.g., due to an active BWP transition), the reception at 2220 can include multiple reception operations during a positioning session.

[0174] At 2230, a UE (e.g., receiver 312, memory component 338, processing system 332, positioning component 344, etc.) identifies a time-domain period of a positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to achieve a first positioning accuracy requirement. In some designs, the time-domain period and the set of parameters can be application-specific and customized to meet the first positioning accuracy requirement. In some designs, the time-domain period and the set of parameters identified at 2230 for a UL SRS-based positioning session can be the same as the time-domain period and the set of parameters identified at 1830 for a DL PRS-based positioning session. However, in other designs, the time-domain period and the set of parameters identified at 2230 for a UL SRS-based positioning session can be different from the time-domain period and the set of parameters identified at 1830 for a DL PRS-based positioning session. For example, for a DL PRS-based positioning session, the UE may need to maintain the same BWP within the corresponding time-domain period, while for a UL SRS-based positioning session, it may be sufficient for the UE to maintain the same bandwidth only during an active BWP transition.

[0175] At 2240, a UE (e.g., transmitter 310) transmits on one or more SRS-P resources during a positioning session. At 2250, a UE (e.g., processing system 332, positioning component 344, etc.) determines an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, where the active BWP transition is associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters. Although not explicitly shown, one or more TRPs (e.g., serving cell, neighboring cell, etc.) can receive the SRS-P transmission and perform positioning measurements thereon. The UE can receive a PRS measurement report in response to these positioning measurements.

[0176] Reference Figure 22 , in some designs, the UE can optionally report an indication of the time-domain period and / or the set of parameters to a network entity (e.g., the serving base station of the UE, core network component, etc.). In this case, the network entity can take certain actions to accommodate the UE's positioning session (e.g., avoid any BWP transition that would violate the first positioning accuracy requirement, etc.). In an example, the optional report can be part of a UE capability message. In an example, the optional report can be implemented per frequency band or per frequency (e.g., FR1-specific, FR2-specific, etc.) or per combination of frequency bands.

[0177] Reference Figure 22 , the positioning session includes multiple SRS-P instances (similar to the PRS instances described above), and these instances include corresponding SRS-P resource sets (similar to the PRS resource sets described above). The time domain period associated with the first positioning accuracy requirement can be defined in the positioning session in multiple ways, including but not limited to:

[0178] · From the earliest SRS-P resource in the SRS-P resource set for the earliest SRS-P instance to the latest SRS-P resource in the SRS-P resource set for the latest SRS-P instance (e.g., spanning the entire positioning session), or

[0179] · From the earliest SRS-P resource in the first SRS-P resource set to the latest PRS resource in the first SRS-P resource set (e.g., the same SRS-P resource set) or the second SRS-P instance (e.g., spanning multiple SRS-P instances, such as multiple complete SRS-P instances between a previous measurement report and an upcoming measurement report), or

[0180] · From the earliest SRS-P resource in the SRS-P resource set associated with a specific frequency layer (FL) for the first SRS-P instance to the latest SRS-P resource in the SRS-P resource set associated with the specific FL for the first SRS-P instance (e.g., the same SRS-P resource set) or the second SRS-P instance (e.g., spanning multiple SRS-P instances, such as multiple complete SRS-P instances between a previous measurement report and an upcoming measurement report), or

[0181] · From the earliest repetition of the SRS-P resource in the SRS-P resource set for the SRS-P instance to the latest repetition of the same SRS-P resource for the same SRS-P instance, or

[0182] · A specified number of time slots (e.g., in the case of aperiodic SRS-P, using time slots to define the time domain period can be particularly advantageous, although the LMF and gNB may need to coordinate to reduce uncertainties in the implementation).

[0183] Reference Figure 22, in an example, the transmission at 2240 may include transmitting on a first subset of PRS resources when the first BWP is active and a set of parameters remains constant. In an example, the determination at 2250 may be reported (e.g., to a network entity such as a serving base station or a core network component). In some designs, in response to the detection, the UE may relax or eliminate the target positioning accuracy requirement from a first positioning accuracy requirement to a second positioning accuracy requirement, and then continue transmitting on a second subset of SRS-P resources according to the second positioning requirement accuracy requirement when the second BWP is active. In some designs, the second positioning requirement accuracy requirement may be an actual positioning requirement accuracy requirement. In other designs, the second positioning requirement accuracy requirement may have no accuracy requirement at all (e.g., effectively eliminating the previous target positioning accuracy requirement).

[0184] Reference Figure 22 , in response to the active BWP transition determination at 2250, in some designs, when the first BWP is active for a positioning session, the UE may extend the duration of a first time domain period required to derive a set of measurements (e.g., to provide additional time to perform at least one positioning measurement at one or more TRPs according to the first positioning accuracy requirement). For example, the first time domain period may be extended to a second time domain period, and the duration of the second time domain period is based on the number of times the BWP switching delay associated with the determined active BWP transition overlaps with any UL SRS-P resources within the time domain period (e.g., if more UL SRS-P resources are lost due to the active BWP transition, the time domain period is further extended). In some designs, this extension is at least partially based on whether a measurement gap is configured for the positioning session.

[0185] Reference Figure 22 , in an example, the set of parameters monitored to facilitate the determination at 2250 may include any of the following:

[0186] · Each parameter associated with at least one BWP such that the same BWP remains active throughout the positioning session,

[0187] · The bandwidth of at least one BWP,

[0188] · The central portion of the bandwidth of at least one BWP,

[0189] · The bandwidth of at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with multiple SRS-P instances,

[0190] · The parameter set of at least one BWP,

[0191] · The DRX configuration of at least one BWP, or

[0192] · Any combination thereof.

[0193] Reference Figure 22 , in an example, the first positioning accuracy requirement may include a positioning measurement accuracy requirement (e.g., RSRP, RSTD, Rx - Tx, etc.), a positioning fixed accuracy requirement (e.g., 6 meters, 3 meters, 3 feet, etc.), or a combination thereof.

[0194] Reference Figure 19 , assume that the PRS instance is replaced by an SRS - P instance. In this case, throughout the time - domain period (however the time - domain period is defined), the set of determined parameters does not change (however the set of parameters is defined).

[0195] Reference Figure 20 , assume that the PRS instance is replaced by an SRS - P instance. In this case, depending on how the time - domain period and / or the set of parameters are defined, the active BWP transition may or may not violate the first positioning accuracy requirement of 2230. In this case, the SRS - P bandwidth overlaps with the bandwidths of both BWP1 and BWP2. Thus, as an example, if the set of parameters only includes the bandwidth of at least one BWP that is aligned with the bandwidths associated with multiple SRS - P instances, then in this case, the active BWP transition does not violate the first positioning accuracy requirement.

[0196] Reference Figure 21 , assume that the PRS instance is replaced by an SRS - P instance. In this case, depending on how the time - domain period and / or the set of parameters are defined, the active BWP transition may or may not violate the first positioning accuracy requirement of 2230. In this case, the bandwidths of both BWP1 and BWP2 are the same, but other parameters may be different (e.g., DRX, parameter set, etc.). Thus, as an example, if the set of parameters only includes the bandwidth of at least one BWP, then in this case, the active BWP transition does not violate the first positioning accuracy requirement.

[0197] Procedure 1800 may include additional embodiments, such as any single embodiment described below or any combination of embodiments and / or in combination with one or more other procedures described elsewhere herein.

[0198] In a first embodiment, procedure 1800 includes reporting an indication of the time - domain period and / or the set of parameters.

[0199] In a second embodiment, either alone or in combination with the first embodiment, the report includes a UE capability message.

[0200] In a third embodiment, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second embodiments, the report is implemented by frequency band or by frequency or by a combination of frequency bands.

[0201] In a fourth embodiment, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third embodiments, a positioning session includes a plurality of positioning reference signal (PRS) instances, which include corresponding PRS resource sets, and wherein the time domain period ranges from the earliest PRS resource in the PRS resource set for the earliest PRS instance to the latest PRS resource in the PRS resource set for the latest PRS instance, or from the earliest PRS resource in the first PRS resource set to the latest PRS resource in the first PRS resource set or the second PRS instance, or from the earliest PRS resource in the PRS resource set associated with a specific frequency layer (FL) for the first PRS instance to the latest PRS resource in the PRS resource set associated with the specific FL for the first PRS instance or the second PRS instance, or from the earliest repetition of the PRS resources in the PRS resource set for a PRS instance to the latest repetition of the same PRS resource for the same PRS instance, or a specified number of time slots.

[0202] In a fifth embodiment, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth embodiments, process 1800 includes reporting the determination.

[0203] In a sixth embodiment, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth embodiments, the execution includes measuring a first subset of PRS resources when the first BWP is active and a set of parameters remains constant.

[0204] In a seventh embodiment, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixth embodiments, process 1800 includes relaxing or eliminating a target positioning accuracy requirement from a first positioning accuracy requirement to a second positioning accuracy requirement in response to the determination, and continuing to measure a second subset of PRS resources according to the second positioning requirement accuracy requirement when the second BWP is active.

[0205] In an eighth embodiment, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh embodiments, process 1800 includes extending the duration of a first time domain period required to derive a set of measurements when the first BWP is active for a positioning session in response to the determination.

[0206] In a ninth embodiment, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighth embodiments, the extension extends the first time domain period to a second time domain period, and the duration of the second time domain period is based on the number of times the BWP switching delay associated with the determined active BWP transition overlaps with any DL PRS resources within the time domain period.

[0207] In a tenth embodiment, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to ninth embodiments, the extension is at least partially based on whether a measurement gap is configured for the positioning session.

[0208] In an eleventh embodiment, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth embodiments, the set of parameters includes each parameter associated with at least one BWP such that the same BWP remains active throughout the positioning session; the bandwidth of at least one BWP; the central portion of the bandwidth of at least one BWP; the bandwidth of at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with multiple PRS instances; the parameter set of at least one BWP; the DRX configuration of at least one BWP; or any combination thereof.

[0209] In a twelfth embodiment, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh embodiments, the first positioning accuracy requirement includes a positioning measurement accuracy requirement, a positioning fix accuracy requirement, or a combination thereof.

[0210] In a thirteenth embodiment, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth embodiments, the positioning measurement includes one or more received signal received power (RSRP) measurements, one or more reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, or any combination thereof.

[0211] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any one of a variety of different technologies and techniques may be used to represent information and signals. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0212] Process 2200 may include additional embodiments, such as any single embodiment or any combination of embodiments described below and / or in combination with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0213] In the first embodiment, the positioning session includes a plurality of SRS-P instances, the SRS-P instances include corresponding SRS-P resource sets, and wherein the time domain period ranges from the earliest SRS-P resource in the SRS-P resource set for the earliest SRS-P instance to the latest SRS-P resource in the SRS-P resource set for the latest PRS instance, or from the earliest SRS-P resource in the first SRS-P resource set to the latest SRS-P resource in the first SRS-P resource set or the second SRS-P instance, or from the earliest SRS-P resource in the SRS-P resource set associated with a specific frequency layer (FL) for the first SRS-P instance to the latest SRS-P resource in the SRS-P resource set associated with the specific FL for the first SRS-P instance or the second SRS-P instance, or from the earliest repetition of an SRS-P resource in the SRS-P resource set for an SRS-P instance to the latest repetition of the same SRS-P resource in the same SRS-P resource set for the same SRS-P instance, or a specified number of time slots.

[0214] In the second embodiment, either alone or in combination with the first embodiment, process 2200 includes reporting the determination.

[0215] In the third embodiment, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second embodiments, the transmission is performed on a first subset of SRS-P resources when the first BWP is active and a set of parameters remains constant.

[0216] In the fourth embodiment, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third embodiments, process 2200 includes relaxing or eliminating a target positioning accuracy requirement from a first positioning accuracy requirement to a second positioning accuracy requirement in response to the determination, and continuing the transmission on a second subset of SRS-P resources when the second BWP is active.

[0217] In the fifth embodiment, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth embodiments, process 2200 includes extending the duration of a first time domain period required for a set of cell-derived measurements when the first BWP is active for the positioning session.

[0218] In the sixth embodiment, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth embodiments, extending extends the first time domain period to a second time domain period, and the duration of the second time domain period is based on the number of overlaps with any UL SRS resource within the time domain period associated with the BWP switching delay associated with the determined active BWP transition.

[0219] In the seventh embodiment, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixth embodiments, the extension is at least partially based on whether a measurement gap is configured for the positioning session.

[0220] In the eighth embodiment, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh embodiments, the first positioning accuracy requirement includes a positioning measurement accuracy requirement, a positioning fixing accuracy requirement, or a combination thereof.

[0221] In the ninth embodiment, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighth embodiments, the set of parameters includes each parameter associated with at least one BWP such that the same BWP remains active throughout the positioning session; the bandwidth of at least one BWP; the central portion of the bandwidth of at least one BWP; the bandwidth of at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with a plurality of SRS-P instances; the parameter set of at least one BWP; the DRX configuration of at least one BWP; or any combination thereof.

[0222] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0223] The various illustrative blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or executed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0224] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the various aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software modules may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0225] In one or more exemplary aspects, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage devices, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Additionally, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0226] Although the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or acts of the method claims according to aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Further, although elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is also contemplated unless expressly stated to the contrary.

Claims

1. A method for operating a user equipment (UE), comprising: Receiving, from a network entity, a configuration of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for a positioning session; Receiving, from a serving base station (BS), a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP); Identifying a time-domain period of the positioning session, during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to meet a first positioning accuracy requirement; Performing positioning measurements on one or more of the PRS resources during the positioning session; Determining an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters; And Sending a PRS measurement report based on the positioning measurements, Wherein the positioning session includes a plurality of positioning reference signal (PRS) instances; Wherein the set of parameters includes a subset of parameters associated with the at least one BWP, the subset including one or more of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP and a central part of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP, the bandwidth of the at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with the plurality of PRS instances, the parameter set of the at least one BWP, and the discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration of the at least one BWP.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Reporting an indication of the time-domain period and / or the set of parameters.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The reporting includes a UE capability message.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein The reporting is performed by frequency band or by frequency or by a combination of frequency bands.

5. The method according to claim 1, Among them, The plurality of PRS instances include corresponding sets of PRS resources, and Wherein the time-domain period ranges from: The earliest PRS resource in the set of PRS resources for the earliest PRS instance to the latest PRS resource in the set of PRS resources for the latest PRS instance, or The earliest PRS resource in the first set of PRS resources to the latest PRS resource in the first set of PRS resources or the latest PRS resource of the second PRS instance, or The earliest PRS resource in the set of PRS resources associated with a specific frequency layer (FL) for the first PRS instance to the latest PRS resource in the set of PRS resources associated with the specific FL for the first PRS instance or the second PRS instance, or The earliest repetition of a PRS resource in the set of PRS resources for a PRS instance to the latest repetition of the same PRS resource for the same PRS instance, or A specified number of time slots.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Reporting the determination.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The performing includes measuring a first subset of the PRS resources when the first BWP is active and the set of parameters remains constant.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: In response to the determination: Relaxing or eliminating a target positioning accuracy requirement from the first positioning accuracy requirement to a second positioning accuracy requirement; And Continuing to measure a second subset of the PRS resources according to the second positioning accuracy requirement when the second BWP is active.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In response to the determination, when the first BWP is active for the positioning session, extend the duration of a first time domain period required for an extended set of derived measurements.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The extension extends the first time domain period to a second time domain period, the duration of the second time domain period being based on the number of times within the time domain period that overlap with any DL PRS resources associated with the determined active BWP transition.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The extension is at least partially based on whether a measurement gap is configured for the positioning session.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first positioning accuracy requirement includes a positioning measurement accuracy requirement, a positioning fix accuracy requirement, or a combination thereof.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The positioning measurement includes one or more received signal received power (RSRP) measurements, one or more reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, one or more receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, or any combination thereof.

14. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), comprising: Receiving, from a network entity, a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) SRS-P resource for positioning for a positioning session; Receiving, from a serving base station (BS), a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP); Identifying a time domain period of the positioning session in which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to achieve a first positioning accuracy requirement; Transmitting, during the positioning session, on one or more of the SRS-P resources; And Determining an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters, wherein the positioning session includes a plurality of SRS-P instances; wherein the set of parameters includes a subset of parameters associated with the at least one BWP, the subset including one or more of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP and a central portion of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP, the bandwidth of the at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with the plurality of SRS-P instances, the parameter set of the at least one BWP, the DRX configuration of the at least one BWP.

15. The method according to claim 14, Among them, The plurality of SRS-P instances include corresponding sets of SRS-P resources, and wherein the time domain period ranges from: The earliest SRS-P resource in the set of SRS-P resources for the earliest SRS-P instance to the latest SRS-P resource in the set of SRS-P resources for the latest PRS instance, or The earliest SRS-P resource in the first set of SRS-P resources to the latest SRS-P resource in the first set of SRS-P resources or the second SRS-P instance, or The earliest SRS-P resource in the set of SRS-P resources associated with a specific frequency layer (FL) for the first SRS-P instance to the latest SRS-P resource in the set of SRS-P resources associated with the specific FL for the first SRS-P instance or the second SRS-P instance, From the earliest repetition of the SRS-P resource in the SRS-P resource set for an SRS-P instance to the latest repetition of the same SRS-P resource in the same SRS-P resource set for the same SRS-P instance, or A specified number of time slots.

16. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: Reporting the determination.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein, The sending is performed on a first subset of the SRS-P resources when the first BWP is active and the set of parameters remains constant.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: In response to the determination: Relaxing or eliminating the target positioning accuracy requirement from the first positioning accuracy requirement to a second positioning accuracy requirement; And Continuing to perform the sending on a second subset of the SRS-P resources when the second BWP is active.

19. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: In response to the determination, when the first BWP is active for the positioning session, extending the duration of a first time domain period required for a set of cell-derived measurements.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The extension extends the first time domain period to a second time domain period, and the duration of the second time domain period is based on the number of overlaps of the BWP switching delay associated with the determined active BWP transition within the time domain period with any UL SRS resources.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein The extension is at least partially based on whether a measurement gap is configured for the positioning session.

22. The method according to claim 14, wherein The first positioning accuracy requirement includes a positioning measurement accuracy requirement, a positioning fixing accuracy requirement, or a combination thereof.

23. A user equipment UE, comprising: Components for receiving a configuration of a positioning reference signal PRS resource for a positioning session from a network entity; Components for receiving a configuration of at least one bandwidth part BWP from a serving base station BS; Components for identifying a time domain period of the positioning session, in which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to achieve a first positioning accuracy requirement; Components for performing positioning measurements on one or more of the PRS resources during the positioning session; Components for determining an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters; And Components for sending a PRS measurement report based on the positioning measurement, wherein the positioning session includes a plurality of positioning reference signal PRS instances; wherein the set of parameters includes a subset of parameters associated with the at least one BWP, the subset including one or more of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP and a central part of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP, the bandwidth of the at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with the plurality of PRS instances, the parameter set of the at least one BWP, and the DRX configuration of the at least one BWP.

24. A user equipment UE, comprising: Components for receiving a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) SRS-P resource for positioning for a positioning session from a network entity; A component for receiving a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) from a serving base station (BS); A component for identifying a time domain period of the positioning session, in which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to meet a first positioning accuracy requirement; A component for transmitting on one or more of the SRS-P resources during the positioning session; And A component for determining an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters, wherein the positioning session includes a plurality of SRS-P instances; wherein the set of parameters includes a subset of parameters associated with the at least one BWP, the subset including one or more of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP and the central part of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP, the bandwidth of the at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with the plurality of SRS-P instances, the parameter set of the at least one BWP, and the DRX configuration of the at least one BWP.

25. A user equipment (UE) comprising: A memory; At least one transceiver; And At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: Receive, via the at least one transceiver, a configuration of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for a positioning session from a network entity; Receive, via the at least one transceiver, a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) from a serving base station (BS); Identify, via the at least one processor, a time domain period of the positioning session, in which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to meet a first positioning accuracy requirement; Perform positioning measurements on one or more of the PRS resources during the positioning session via the at least one processor; Determine, via the at least one processor, an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters; And Transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a PRS measurement report based on the positioning measurements, wherein the positioning session includes a plurality of positioning reference signal (PRS) instances; wherein the set of parameters includes a subset of parameters associated with the at least one BWP, the subset including one or more of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP and the central part of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP, the bandwidth of the at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with the plurality of PRS instances, the parameter set of the at least one BWP, and the DRX configuration of the at least one BWP.

26. A user equipment (UE) comprising: A memory; At least one transceiver; And At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: Receiving, via the at least one transceiver, a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) SRS-P resource for positioning from a network entity for a positioning session; Receiving, via the at least one transceiver, a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) from a serving base station (BS); Identifying, via the at least one processor, a time-domain period of the positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to meet a first positioning accuracy requirement; Transmitting, via the at least one transceiver, on one or more of the SRS-P resources during the positioning session; And Determining, via the at least one processor, an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters, wherein the positioning session includes a plurality of SRS-P instances; wherein the set of parameters includes a subset of parameters associated with the at least one BWP, the subset including one or more of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP and a central portion of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP, the bandwidth of the at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with the plurality of SRS-P instances, the parameter set of the at least one BWP, and the DRX configuration of the at least one BWP.

27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to perform operations, the instructions including: At least one instruction that causes the UE to receive a configuration of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource for a positioning session from a network entity; At least one instruction that causes the UE to receive a configuration of at least one bandwidth part (BWP) from a serving base station (BS); At least one instruction that causes the UE to identify a time-domain period of the positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to meet a first positioning accuracy requirement; At least one instruction that causes the UE to perform positioning measurements on one or more of the PRS resources during the positioning session; At least one instruction that causes the UE to determine an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters; And At least one instruction that causes the UE to send a PRS measurement report based on the positioning measurements, wherein the positioning session includes a plurality of positioning reference signal (PRS) instances; wherein the set of parameters includes a subset of parameters associated with the at least one BWP, the subset including one or more of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP and a central portion of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP, the bandwidth of the at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with the plurality of PRS instances, the parameter set of the at least one BWP, and the DRX configuration of the at least one BWP.

28. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a user equipment UE cause the UE to perform operations, the instructions comprising: At least one instruction that causes the UE to receive from a network entity a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) SRS-P resource for positioning for a positioning session; At least one instruction that causes the UE to receive from a serving base station BS a configuration of at least one bandwidth part BWP; At least one instruction that causes the UE to identify a time-domain period of the positioning session during which a set of parameters associated with the at least one BWP will remain constant to meet a first positioning accuracy requirement; At least one instruction that causes the UE to transmit on one or more of the SRS-P resources during the positioning session; And At least one instruction that causes the UE to determine an active BWP transition from a first BWP to a second BWP during the time-domain period, the active BWP transition being associated with one or more changes in the set of parameters, wherein the positioning session includes a plurality of SRS-P instances; wherein the set of parameters includes a subset of parameters associated with the at least one BWP, the subset including one or more of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP and a central part of the bandwidth of the at least one BWP, the bandwidth of the at least one BWP aligned with the bandwidth associated with the plurality of SRS-P instances, the parameter set of the at least one BWP, the DRX configuration of the at least one BWP.

29. A computer program product including computer instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-22.

Images