Reducing overhead of reporting measurements and transmission reception point (TRP) identifiers in positioning state information (PSI)

Abstract

Techniques for reducing overhead of lower layer positioning reports are disclosed. In an aspect, a user equipment (UE), during a positioning session, performs at least one positioning measurement of at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmission reception point (TRP) and reports, via lower layer signaling, to a positioning entity a relative value of the at least one positioning measurement relative to an expected value of the at least one positioning measurement, where the relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is a difference between the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement and a measured value of the at least one positioning measurement.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 025,754, filed May 15, 2020, entitled “Reducing the overhead of reporting Measurement and Transmission Receiver Point (TRP) Identifiers in Positioning Status Information (PSI),” and U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 17 / 317,718, filed May 11, 2021, entitled “Reducing the overhead of reporting Measurement and Transmission Receiver Point (TRP) Identifiers in Positioning Status Information (PSI),” both of which have been assigned to the assignee of this application and are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The various aspects of this disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. Background Technology

[0004] Wireless communication systems have been developed through various generations, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, wireless services capable of connecting to the internet, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (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 Communications (GSM), etc.

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

[0006] The following is a brief overview relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, this overview should not be considered a broad summary relating to all hypothetical aspects, nor should it be considered as identifying key or essential elements relating to all hypothetical aspects or detailing the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of this overview is to present, in a simplified form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects involving the mechanisms disclosed herein, before the detailed descriptions that follow.

[0007] In one aspect, the wireless positioning method performed by the user equipment (UE) includes: performing at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit receiving point (TRP) during a positioning session; and reporting to a positioning entity via low-layer signaling a relative value of the at least one positioning measurement relative to an expected value of the at least one positioning measurement, wherein the relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is the difference between the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement and the measured value of the at least one positioning measurement.

[0008] In one aspect, the wireless positioning method performed by the user equipment (UE) includes: receiving positioning assistance information including a plurality of transmit receiving points (TRPs) from a positioning entity; reporting a subset of the plurality of TRPs to the positioning entity; performing at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one TRP in the subset of the plurality of TRPs; and reporting the identifier of at least one TRP relative to the subset of the plurality of TRPs to the positioning entity via lower-layer signaling.

[0009] In one aspect, the wireless positioning method performed by the user equipment (UE) includes: performing at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit receiving point (TRP) during a positioning session; transmitting a positioning report including the value of at least one positioning measurement to a positioning entity via low-layer signaling; reporting the quality metric step size of all positioning measurements applied to the positioning report to the positioning entity; and reporting the quality metric of at least one positioning measurement to the positioning entity via low-layer signaling, wherein the field representing the quality metric in the low-layer signaling does not include the quality metric step size of the quality metric.

[0010] In one aspect, the 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: perform at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit receiving point (TRP) during a positioning session; and report, via the at least one transceiver, via low-layer signaling, a relative value of the at least one positioning measurement relative to an expected value of the at least one positioning measurement, wherein the relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is the difference between the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement and the measured value of the at least one positioning measurement.

[0011] In one aspect, the 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 positioning assistance information including a plurality of Transmitter Receiving Points (TRPs) from a positioning entity via the at least one transceiver; report a subset of the plurality of TRPs to the positioning entity via the at least one transceiver; perform at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one TRP in the subset of the plurality of TRPs; and report an identifier of at least one TRP relative to the subset of the plurality of TRPs to the positioning entity via low-layer signaling via the at least one transceiver.

[0012] In one aspect, the 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: perform at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit receiving point (TRP) during a positioning session; transmit a positioning report including the value of at least one positioning measurement to a positioning entity via low-layer signaling via the at least one transceiver; report the quality metric step size of all positioning measurements applied to the positioning report to the positioning entity via the at least one transceiver; and report the quality metric of at least one positioning measurement to the positioning entity via low-layer signaling via the at least one transceiver, wherein the field representing the quality metric in the low-layer signaling does not include the quality metric step size of the quality metric.

[0013] In one aspect, the user equipment (UE) includes a means for performing at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit receiving point (TRP) during a positioning session; and a means for reporting to a positioning entity via lower-layer signaling a relative value of at least one positioning measurement relative to an expected value of at least one positioning measurement, wherein the relative value of at least one positioning measurement is the difference between the expected value of at least one positioning measurement and the measured value of at least one positioning measurement.

[0014] In one aspect, the user equipment (UE) includes components for receiving positioning assistance information including a plurality of transmit reception points (TRPs) from a positioning entity; components for reporting a subset of the plurality of TRPs to the positioning entity; components for performing at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one TRP in the subset of the plurality of TRPs; and components for reporting an identifier of at least one TRP relative to the subset of the plurality of TRPs to the positioning entity via lower-layer signaling.

[0015] In one aspect, the user equipment (UE) includes components for performing at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit receiving point (TRP) during a positioning session; components for transmitting a positioning report including the value of at least one positioning measurement to a positioning entity via low-layer signaling; components for reporting to the positioning entity the quality metric step size applied to all positioning measurements in the positioning report; and components for reporting to the positioning entity the quality metric of at least one positioning measurement via low-layer signaling, wherein the field representing the quality metric in the low-layer signaling does not include the quality metric step size of the quality metric.

[0016] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions, including: at least one instruction instructing a user equipment (UE) to perform at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit receiving point (TRP) during a positioning session; and at least one instruction instructing the UE to report, via lower-layer signaling, to a positioning entity a relative value of the at least one positioning measurement relative to an expected value of the at least one positioning measurement, wherein the relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is the difference between the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement and the measured value of the at least one positioning measurement.

[0017] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions, including: at least one instruction instructing a user equipment (UE) to receive positioning assistance information including a plurality of transmit reception points (TRPs) from a positioning entity; at least one instruction instructing the UE to report a subset of the plurality of TRPs to the positioning entity; at least one instruction instructing the UE to perform at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one TRP in the subset of the plurality of TRPs; and at least one instruction instructing the UE to report an identifier of at least one TRP relative to the subset of the plurality of TRPs to the positioning entity via lower-layer signaling.

[0018] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions, including: at least one instruction instructing a user equipment (UE) to perform at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit receiving point (TRP) during a positioning session; at least one instruction instructing the UE to transmit a positioning report including the value of at least one positioning measurement to a positioning entity via low-layer signaling; at least one instruction instructing the UE to report to the positioning entity a quality metric step size applied to all positioning measurements in the positioning report; and at least one instruction instructing the UE to report a quality metric of at least one positioning measurement to the positioning entity via low-layer signaling, wherein the field representing the quality metric in the low-layer signaling does not include the quality metric step size of the quality metric.

[0019] Based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Attached Figure Description

[0020] The accompanying drawings are provided to help describe various aspects of this disclosure, and are provided merely to illustrate the aspects and not to limit them.

[0021] Figure 1 Example wireless communication systems according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0022] Figure 2A and Figure 2B An example wireless network architecture according to aspects of this disclosure is illustrated.

[0023] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C It is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that can be adopted and configured in user equipment (UE), base station and network entity respectively to support the communications taught herein.

[0024] Figures 4A to 4DThis is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure and a channel within the frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0025] Figure 5 An example wireless network architecture is illustrated, demonstrating higher-level architectural enhancements for low-latency positioning.

[0026] Figures 6A to 6C Examples are shown of various LTE Location Protocol (LPP) Information Elements (IEs) that a UE can use to report location measurements to a location server.

[0027] Figure 7 Another example of an IE that a UE can use to report location measurements to a location server is shown.

[0028] Figures 8 to 10 Example methods for wireless positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. Detailed Implementation

[0029] Various aspects of this disclosure are provided for illustrative purposes in the following description and accompanying drawings. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, well-known elements of this disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

[0030] As used herein, the terms “exemplary” and / or “example” mean “serving as an instance, example, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other aspects. Similarly, the term “aspects of this disclosure” does not require that all aspects of this disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed.

[0031] Those skilled in the art will understand that the information and signals described below can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, and in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0032] Furthermore, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by elements of, for example, a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), program instructions executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. Furthermore, the sequences of actions described herein can be considered fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding computer instruction set, which, when executed, will cause or instruct the associated processor of the device to perform the functions described herein. Therefore, aspects of this disclosure can be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are contemplated within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect can be described herein as, for example, “logic, configured to” perform the described actions.

[0033] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific or limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet, laptop, consumer asset positioning device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be 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 Equipment”, “Wireless Equipment”, “Subscriber Equipment”, “Subscriber Terminal”, “Subscriber Station”, “User Terminal” or “UT”, “Mobile Equipment”, “Mobile Terminal”, “Mobile Station”, or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and a UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and other UEs through the core network. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, etc.), and so on.

[0034] Depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, it may operate according to one of several RATs (Regional Access Points) that communicate with the UE, and may be alternatively referred to as an Access Point (AP), Network Node, NodeB, Evolved NodeB (eNB), Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) NodeB (also known as gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station may primarily be used to support the UE's radio access, including supporting the data, voice, and / or signaling connections of the supported UE. In some systems, the base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions, while in others it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which the UE can send signals to the base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse flow channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the base station can send signals to the UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward flow channel, etc.). The term flow channel (TCH) used herein may refer to either the uplink / reverse or downlink / forward flow channel.

[0035] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit / receive point (TRP), or it can refer to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be cooperatively located. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be the antenna of a base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple cooperatively located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be the antenna array of the base station (e.g., in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-cooperatively located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio headend (RRH) (a remote base station connected to the serving base station). Alternatively, a non-cooperatively located physical TRP may be the serving base station from which the UE receives measurement reports and a neighboring base station from which the UE is measuring its reference radio frequency (RF) signal. As used herein, because a TRP is a point where a base station transmits and receives radio signals, references to transmissions from or receptions at a base station are to be understood as referring to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0036] In some implementations that support UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's radio access (e.g., it may not support the UE's data, voice, and / or signaling connections), but instead may transmit reference signals to the UE for measurement by the UE, and / or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting signals to the UE) and / or a location measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0037] An “RF signal” comprises electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transmit information through space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver can be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal,” where, clearly from the context, the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0038] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (denoted as "BS") and various UEs 104. Base station 102 may 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 station may include an eNB and / or ng-eNB in ​​the case of the wireless communication system 100 corresponding to an LTE network, or a gNB in ​​the case of the wireless communication system 100 corresponding to an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0039] Base station 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with core network 170 (e.g., Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or 5G Core (5GC)) via backhaul link 122, and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., Location Management Function (LMF) or Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP)) via core network 170. Location server 172 can be part of core network 170 or external to core network 170. Among other functions, base station 102 can also perform one or more related functions such as transferring user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, location, and warning message delivery. Base stations 102 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) through a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0040] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110 can support one or more cells. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via some frequency resources referred to as carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), Enhanced Cell Identifier (ECI), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCI), Cell Global Identifier (CGI), etc.). In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), etc.). Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, depending on the context, the term “cell” can refer to one or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it. Furthermore, because the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms “cell” and “TRP” can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographic coverage area of ​​a base station (e.g., a sector), provided that the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within certain portions of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0041] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover areas), some geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (designated "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small and macro cell base stations can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs) that can provide service to restricted groups referred to as closed subscriber groups (CSGs).

[0042] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technologies, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transport diversity. The communication link 120 may use one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric for downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

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

[0044] Small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell base station 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as WLAN AP 150. Employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum can improve access network coverage and / or increase access network capacity. NR in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0045] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter-wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate at mmW and / or near-mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that contains radio frequency (RF). The EHF range is from 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band can be referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW can extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz, where the wavelength is 100 mm. The ultra-high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using mmW / near-mmW radio bands has high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it will be understood that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near-mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it will be understood that the foregoing descriptions are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this document.

[0046] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectional). Using 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, thus providing the receiving device with a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal. 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 broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an antenna array (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates a beam that can be "steered" to point RF waves in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to individual antennas with the correct phase relationship, causing the radio waves from the separate antennas to add together to increase radiation in the desired direction while canceling out radiation in undesired directions.

[0047] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-localized, meaning they appear to have the same parameters to the receiver (e.g., UE), regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network nodes are physically co-localized. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-localization (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived from information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0048] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, a receiver may increase a gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of an antenna array in a specific direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase the gain level). Therefore, when a 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 gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in all other directions available to that receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0049] Transmit and receive beams can be spatially correlated. Spatial correlation means that the parameters of the second beam (e.g., transmit or receive beam) of the second reference signal can be derived from information about the first beam (e.g., receive or transmit 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. The UE can then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

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

[0051] In 5G, the spectrum operated by wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) 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). The mmW band typically includes the FR2, FR3, and FR4 frequency ranges. Therefore, the terms "mmW" and "FR2" or "FR3" or "FR4" are often used interchangeably.

[0052] In multi-carrier systems (such as 5G), one of the carrier frequencies is called the "primary carrier," "anchor carrier," "primary serving cell," or "PCell," while the remaining carrier frequencies are called "secondary carriers," "secondary serving cells," or "SCell." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by UE 104 / 182 and the cell, in which UE 104 / 182 performs the initial Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all public and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier on a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2). Once an RRC connection is established between UE 104 and the anchor carrier, the secondary carrier can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier on an unlicensed frequency. Secondary carriers may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier, since both the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 within a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. For example, this is done to balance the load on different carriers. Because a "serving cell" (PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier that a base station is communicating on, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" are used interchangeably.

[0053] For example, still refer to Figure 1 One of the frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), while the other frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers (SCell). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, compared to the data rate achieved by a single 20MHz carrier, the aggregation of two 20MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a data rate increase of up to twice (i.e., 40MHz).

[0054] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which can communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support PCells and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0055] exist Figure 1 In the examples, any of the UEs shown (for simplicity, in) Figure 1 A single UE 104 (shown as a single UE 104) may receive signal 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting spacecraft (SV) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, SV 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system, which the UE 104 may use as a separate source of location information. The satellite positioning system typically includes a transmitter system (e.g., SV 112) positioned such that receivers (e.g., UEs 104) can determine their location on or above the Earth based at least in part on positioning signals (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a set number of repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) codes. While transmitters are typically located in SV 112, they may sometimes be located at ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signal 124 for deriving geographic location information from SV 112.

[0056] In satellite positioning systems, the use of Signal 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which can be associated with or be used with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS can include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential correction, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), GPS-assisted Geographic Augmentation Navigation, or GPS and Geographic Augmentation Navigation System (GAGAN). Therefore, as used herein, a satellite positioning system can include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with one or more such satellite positioning systems.

[0057] On one hand, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In the NTN, SV 112 connects to an earth station (also called a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn connects to elements in the 5G network, such as the modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or network nodes in the 5GC. This element will then provide access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as internet web servers and other user equipment. Thus, UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112, rather than or additionally from receiving communication signals from terrestrial base station 102.

[0058] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as 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 (referred to as "side links"). Figure 1 In the example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., through D2D P2P link 192, UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through D2D P2P link 194, UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based internet connectivity). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported with any known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, etc.

[0059] Figure 2AAn example wireless network architecture 200 is illustrated. For instance, the 5GC 210 (also known as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally configured to cooperate in forming the core network's control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.). The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In another configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also connect to the 5GC 210, connected to control plane functions 214 via NG-C 215, and connected to user plane functions 212 via NG-U 213. Furthermore, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next-generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either or both of the gNBs 222 or ng-eNBs 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0060] Another optional aspect may include location server 230, which can communicate with 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to UE 204. Location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. Location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for UE 204, which UE 204 may connect to location server 230 via core network 5GC 210 and / or via the Internet (not shown). Furthermore, location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or service server).

[0061] Figure 2B Another example wireless network architecture 250.5GC 260 is illustrated (which can correspond to...). Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 in the document can be functionally considered as cooperating to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260), comprising control plane functions provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and user plane functions provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262. The AMF 264 functions include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any UE described herein) and the Session Management Function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between UE 204 and the Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and the Security Anchor Function (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with the Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204, and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204's authentication process. In the case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The AMF 264 also includes Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF and uses this key to derive access network-specific keys. The AMF 264 also includes location service management for supervisory services, transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), transmission of location service messages between NG-RAN 220 and LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interaction with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Furthermore, the AMF 264 supports functions for non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0062] The functions of UPF 262 include serving as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable), as an external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session point for interconnection with a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., strobing, redirection, traffic redirection), legitimate eavesdropping (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, user plane Quality of Service (QoS) processing (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflected QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and delivering and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 can also support the transfer of location service messages on the user plane between UE 204 and a location server (such as SLP 272).

[0063] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic redirection at UPF 262 to route traffic to appropriate destinations, control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0064] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network 5GC 260 and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 can support similar functionality to the LMF 270, but the LMF 270 can communicate with the AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 through the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to convey signaling messages rather than voice or data), while the SLP 272 can communicate with the UE 204 and external clients through the user plane. Figure 2B (not shown) to communicate (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0065] User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect 5GC 260, specifically UPF 262 and AMF 264, to one or more gNB 222 and / or NG-eNB 224 in NG-RAN 220, respectively. The interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, and the interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 of NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via backhaul connection 223, referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 through a radio interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0066] The functionality of gNB 222 is divided between gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226 and one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228. The interface 232 between gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. In addition to the functions specifically allocated to gNB-DU 228, gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions such as transfer of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, location, and session management. More specifically, gNB-CU 226 hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of gNB 222. gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC), and Physical Layer (PHY) of gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and a cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. Therefore, UE 204 communicates with gNB-CU226 via RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, and with gNB-DU 228 via RLC, MAC, and PHY layers.

[0067] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C Examples are shown for UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively, may be independent of UE 302). Figure 2A and Figure 2B The description includes several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) of the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure (such as a private network) to support file transfer operations as taught herein. It will be understood that these components can be implemented in different types of devices in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-a-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Similarly, a given device may contain one or more components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0068] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, providing components (e.g., components for transmitting, receiving, measuring, tuning, suppressing transmission, etc.) for communication via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356 for communication with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNB, GNB), etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) on a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum). According to the specified RAT, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured differently to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) respectively, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358 respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358 respectively.

[0069] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also each include one or more short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360. The short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide access via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth, Zigbee) over a wireless communication medium of interest. Components (e.g., components for transmitting, receiving, measuring, tuning, and suppressing transmission, etc.) that communicate with other network nodes such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., including PC5, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), Wireless Access for Vehicle Environment (WAVE), Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.). According to the specified RAT, short-range transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured differently to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) respectively, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, short-range transceivers 320 and 360 each include one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368 respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be WiFi transceivers, transceiver and / or Transceiver, NFC transceiver, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceiver.

[0070] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may each provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378. Where satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. Where satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can request appropriate information and operations from other systems, and in at least some cases, perform calculations to determine the locations of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively, using measurements obtained through any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.

[0071] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, providing components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or to communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0072] Transceivers can be configured to communicate via wired or wireless links. A transceiver (whether wired or wireless) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some embodiments, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., transmitter and receiver circuitry embodied in a single device); in some embodiments, the transceiver may include separate transmitter and receiver circuitry; or in other embodiments, the transceiver may be otherwise embodied. The transmitter and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some embodiments) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366) such as an antenna array, allowing corresponding devices (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmission beamforming as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366) such as an antenna array, allowing corresponding devices (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform reception beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, transmitter and receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the corresponding devices can only receive or transmit at a given time, and cannot receive and transmit simultaneously. Wireless transceivers (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include network listening modules (NLMs) for performing various measurements.

[0073] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some embodiments, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some embodiments) can generally be characterized as "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Therefore, whether a particular transceiver is wired or wireless can be inferred from the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers would typically involve signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) would typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0074] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operation disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394 for providing functions related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functions. Processors 332, 384, and 394 can therefore provide components for processing, such as components for determining, components for calculating, components for receiving, components for transmitting, components for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0075] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for storing information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Therefore, memories 340, 386, and 396 can provide components for storage, retrieval, and retention. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may each include positioning components 342, 388, and 398. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be part of processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, or hardware circuitry coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, which, when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other respects, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by processors 332, 384, and 394 (or the modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations of the positioning component 342 are illustrated. The positioning component 342 may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332 or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3B Possible locations of the positioning component 388 are illustrated. The positioning component 388 may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384 or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations of the positioning component 398 are illustrated. The positioning component 398 may be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394 or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

[0076] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide components for sensing or detecting motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. For example, sensor 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, sensor 344 may include a variety of different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate positioning in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0077] In addition, UE 302 includes a user interface 346, which provides components for providing instructions to the user (e.g., auditory and / or visual instructions) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touchscreen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0078] Referring more specifically to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 can be provided to processor 384. One or more processors 384 can implement the functions of the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide RRC layer functions associated with 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 broadcasting of measurement configurations for UE measurement reports; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with upper-layer PDU transfer, error correction via Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC Service Data Units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0079] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 can implement Layer 1 (L1) functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, can include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying the time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator can be used to determine the coding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates can be derived from the reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by UE 302. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. Transmitter 354 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate an RF carrier for transmission.

[0080] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 302, receiver 312 can combine them into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal comprises separate OFDM symbol streams for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. By determining the most probable signal constellation points transmitted by base station 304, symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. Then, data and control signals are provided to one or more processors 332 that implement the functions of layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2).

[0081] In the uplink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0082] Similar to the functions described in the downlink transmission description of base station 304, one or more processors 332 provide RRC layer functions associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connectivity, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with upper-layer PDU transfer, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs to transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0083] Transmitter 314 can use channel estimation derived by a channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by base station 304 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. Transmitter 314 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate an RF carrier for transmission.

[0084] At base station 304, uplink transmissions are processed in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver function at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 384.

[0085] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from UE 302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0086] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 are in Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The text is shown as including various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it will be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionalities in different designs. Specifically, Figures 3A to 3C The various components are optional in alternative configurations, and aspects include configurations that can vary due to design choices, cost, equipment usage, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In certain scenarios, specific implementations of UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., wearable devices, tablets, PCs, or laptops may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but no cellular capabilities), or the short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., cellular only), or the satellite signal receiver 330, or the sensor 344, etc. In another example, in... Figure 3B In certain implementations of base station 304, the WWAN transceiver 350 may be omitted (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or the short-range wireless transceiver 360 may be omitted (e.g., cellular only), or the satellite receiver 370 may be omitted, etc. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0087] Various components of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can form communication interfaces for UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, or portions thereof. For example, in cases where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functions are combined into the same base station 304), data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can provide communication between them.

[0088] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components can be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or combine at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the functionality. For example, some or all of the functions represented by boxes 310 to 346 can 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 functions represented by boxes 350 to 388 can 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). Furthermore, some or all of the functions represented by boxes 390 to 398 can 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", "by the base station", "by the network entity", etc. However, it will be understood that such operations, actions and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memories 340, 386 and 396, positioning components 342, 388 and 398, etc.

[0089] In some designs, network entity 306 can be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 can be differentiated from the operation of the network operator or cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, network entity 306 can be a component of a private network that can be configured to communicate with UE 302 via base station 304 or independently of base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0090] Various frame structures can be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 4A Figure 400 illustrates an example of a downlink frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 4B Figure 430 illustrates an example of a channel within a downlink frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 4C Figure 450 illustrates an example of an uplink frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 4D Figure 480 illustrates an example of a channel within an uplink frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0091] LTE, and in some cases NR, utilizes OFDM on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option to use OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are often referred to as tones, frequency bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Typically, OFDM is used to transmit modulation symbols in the frequency domain, and SC-FDM is used to transmit modulation symbols in the time domain. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing can be 15 kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Therefore, for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, the nominal FFT size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth can also be partitioned into sub-bands. For example, a sub-band can cover 1.08MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20MHz, there can be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 sub-bands, respectively.

[0092] LTE supports a single number of digits (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR can support multiple digits (μ), for example, subcarrier spacings of 15kHz (μ=0), 30kHz (μ=1), 60kHz (μ=2), 120kHz (μ=3), and 240kHz (μ=4) or larger are available. Within each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For a 15kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, a slot duration of 1 millisecond (ms), a symbol duration of 66.7 microseconds (μs), and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size of 50. For a 30kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, a slot duration of 0.5ms, a symbol duration of 33.3μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size of 100. For a 60kHz SCS (μ=2), there are 4 time slots per subframe, 40 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 0.25ms, a symbol duration of 16.7μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size. For a 120kHz SCS (μ=3), there are 8 time slots per subframe, 80 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 0.125ms, a symbol duration of 8.33μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size. For a 240kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 time slots per subframe, 160 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 0.0625ms, a symbol duration of 4.17μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size.

[0093] exist Figures 4A to 4D In the example, 15kHz MHz was used. Therefore, in the time domain, a 10ms frame was divided into 10 equal-sized subframes, each 1ms in size, and each subframe included one time slot. Figures 4A to 4D In the diagram, the horizontal axis represents time (on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, while the vertical axis represents frequency (on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0094] A resource grid can be used to represent time slots, each of which includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also known as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is also divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE can correspond to a symbol length in the time domain and a subcarrier in the frequency domain. Figures 4A to 4DIn digital modulation, for a normal cyclic prefix (RB), the frequency domain (RB) can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix (EB), the RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0095] Some REs carry downlink reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS). DL-RS may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSB), etc. Figure 4A An example location of an RE carrying a PRS (labeled "R") is shown.

[0096] The set of resource elements (REs) used to transmit PRS is called a "PRS resource". The set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and "N" (such as one or more) consecutive symbols in a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, the PRS resource occupies a consecutive PRB in the frequency domain.

[0097] The transmission of PRS resources within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also known as "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size "N", the PRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol in the PRB. For example, for comb 4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the PRS resource. Currently, DL-PRS supports comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12. Figure 4A An example PRS resource configuration for a comb 6 (which spans six symbols) is shown. That is, the position of the shaded RE (labeled "R") indicates the comb 6 PRS resource configuration.

[0098] Currently, DL-PRS resources can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a time slot with a fully frequency-domain interleaved mode. DL-PRS resources can be configured in downlink or flexible (FL) symbols in any higher-level configuration of the time slot. For all REs of a given DL-PRS resource, there can be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE). Below are the frequency offsets between symbols with comb sizes of 2, 4, 6, and 12 across 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb 2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol comb 2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 6-symbol comb 2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 12-symbol comb 2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb 4: {0, 2, 1, 3}; 12-symbol comb 4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 6-symbol comb 6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; 12-symbol comb 6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; and 12-symbol comb 12: {0, 6, 3, 9, 1, 7, 4, 10, 2, 8, 5, 11}.

[0099] A “PRS resource set” is a collection of PRS resources used to transmit PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. Furthermore, PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and associated with a specific TRP (identified by a TRP ID). Additionally, PRS resources in a PRS resource set share the same periodicity, a common silence mode configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as “PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor”) across time slots. The period is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource in the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource in the next PRS instance. The periodicity can have a length selected from 2^μ*{4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} time slots, where μ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor can have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0100] In a PRS resource set, a PRS resource ID is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP can transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam; therefore, a "PRS resource," or simply a "resource," can also be referred to as a "beam." Note that this provides no indication of whether the UE is aware of the TRP and the beam transmitting the PRS.

[0101] A “PRS instance” or “PRS timing” is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (such as a set of one or more consecutive time slots) in which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS timing may also be referred to as a “PRS positioning timing,” “PRS positioning instance,” “positioning timing,” “positioning instance,” “positioning repetition,” or simply “timing,” “instance,” or “repetition.”

[0102] A “positioning frequency layer” (also simply “frequency layer”) is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that share the same values ​​for certain parameters. Specifically, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning all digitization supported by PDSCH is also supported by PRS), the same point A, the same downlink PRS bandwidth value, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The point A parameter takes the value of the parameter “ARFCN-ValueNR” (where “ARFCN” stands for “Absolute Radio Channel Number”) and is an identifier / code specifying a pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth can have a granularity of 4 PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and each TRP within each frequency layer can be configured with up to two PRS resource sets.

[0103] The concept of a frequency layer is somewhat similar to that of component carriers and bandwidth portions (BWPs), but the difference is that component carriers and BWPs are used by a single base station (or a macro cell base station and a small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while a frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRS (Positioning Signals). When a UE sends its positioning capabilities to the network, such as during an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) session, the UE can indicate the number of frequency layers it can support. For example, the UE can indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0104] Figure 4BExamples of various channels within a downlink time slot of a radio frame are illustrated. In NR, the channel bandwidth, or system bandwidth, is divided into multiple BWPs. A BWP is a set of consecutive PRBs selected from a consecutive subset of common RBs for a given number on a given carrier. Generally, a maximum of four BWPs can be specified in both the downlink and uplink. That is, a UE can be configured to use up to four BWPs on the downlink and up to four BWPs on the uplink. At any given time, only one BWP (uplink or downlink) can be active, meaning that the UE can only receive or transmit on one BWP at a time. On the downlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be equal to or greater than the bandwidth of the SSB, but it may or may not include an SSB.

[0105] Reference Figure 4B The UE uses the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identity. The UE uses the Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) to determine the physical layer cell identifier group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and physical layer cell identifier group number, the UE can determine the PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the aforementioned DL-RS. The Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) carrying the MIB can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also known as SS / PBCH). The MIB provides multiple RBs and system frame numbers (SFNs) in the downlink system bandwidth. The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data and broadcast system information not transmitted via the PBCH, such as System Information Blocks (SIBs) and paging messages.

[0106] The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries downlink control information (DCI) within one or more Control Channel Elements (CCEs). Each CCE includes one or more RE Group (REG) bundles (which can span multiple symbols in the time domain). Each REG bundle includes one or more REGs, and each REG corresponds to 12 resource elements (one resource block) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain. The physical resource set used to carry the PDCCH / DCI is called the Control Resource Set (CORESET) in NR. In NR, the PDCCH is confined to a single CORESET and transmitted using its own DMRS. This enables UE-specific beamforming for the PDCCH.

[0107] exist Figure 4BIn the example, each BWP has a CORESET, and the CORESET spans three symbols in the time domain (although it may only have one or two symbols). Unlike the LTE control channel, which occupies the entire system bandwidth, in NR, the PDCCH channel is confined to a specific region in the frequency domain (i.e., the CORESET). Therefore, Figure 4B The frequency components of the PDCCH shown are illustrated as smaller than a single BWP in the frequency domain. Note that although the illustrated CORESET is continuous in the frequency domain, this is not mandatory. Furthermore, the CORESET can span fewer than three symbols in the time domain.

[0108] The DCIs within the PDCCH carry information about uplink resource allocation (persistent and non-persistent) and descriptions of downlink data transmitted to the UE, referred to as uplink and downlink grants, respectively. More specifically, the DCI indicates resources scheduled for downlink data channels (e.g., PDSCH) and uplink data channels (e.g., PUSCH). Multiple (e.g., up to eight) DCIs can be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIs can have one of several formats. For example, there are different DCI formats for uplink scheduling, downlink scheduling, uplink transport power control (TPC), etc. The PDCCH can be transported with 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs to accommodate different DCI payload sizes or coding rates.

[0109] like Figure 4C As illustrated, some REs (denoted as "R") carry DMRS for channel estimation at the receiver (e.g., a base station, another UE, etc.). The UE may additionally transmit SRS in, for example, the last symbol of a timeslot. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may transmit the SRS on one of the comb structures. Figure 4C In the example, the illustrated SRS is a comb-shaped symbol 2. The base station can use the SRS to obtain Channel State Information (CSI) for each UE. The CSI 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 the SRS for resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management, and more.

[0110] Currently, SRS resources can span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 consecutive symbols within time slots of comb size 2, 4, or 8. The following are the inter-symbol frequency offsets for the currently supported SRS comb patterns: 1-symbol comb 2: {0}; 2-symbol comb 2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol comb 2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb 4: {0, 2, 1, 3}; 8-symbol comb 4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 12-symbol comb 4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 4-symbol comb 8: {0, 4, 2, 6}; 8-symbol comb 8: {0, 4, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 7}; and 12-symbol comb 8: {0, 4, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 7, 0, 4, 2, 6}.

[0111] The set of resource elements used for transmitting SRS is called an "SRS resource" and can be identified by the parameter "SRS-ResourceId". The set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, SRS resources occupy consecutive PRBs. An "SRS resource set" is the set of SRS resources used for transmitting SRS signals and is identified by the SRS resource set ID ("SRS-ResourceSetId").

[0112] Typically, a UE transmits a SRS to enable the receiving base station (serving base station or neighboring base station) to measure the channel quality between the UE and the base station. However, an SRS can also be specifically configured as an uplink positioning reference signal for uplink-based positioning procedures, such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), round-trip time (RTT), uplink angle of arrival (UL-AOA), etc. As used herein, the term "SRS" can refer to an SRS configured for channel quality measurement or an SRS configured for positioning purposes. When it is necessary to distinguish between the two types of SRS, the former may be referred to herein as "SRS for communication," and / or the latter may be referred to herein as "SRS for positioning."

[0113] Several enhancements to the previous definition of SRS have been proposed for SRS used for positioning (also known as "UL-PRS"), such as new interleaving patterns within SRS resources (in addition to single symbol / comb 2), new comb types for SRS, new sequences of SRS, a higher number of SRS resource sets per component carrier, and a higher number of SRS resources per component carrier. Furthermore, the parameters "SpatialRelationInfo" and "PathLossReference" are configured based on the SSB or downlink reference signal from adjacent TRPs. Additionally, an SRS resource can be transmitted outside the active BWP, and an SRS resource can span multiple component carriers. Furthermore, SRS can be configured in RRC connected state and transmitted only within the active BWP. Furthermore, there can be no frequency hopping, no repetition factor, a single antenna port, and new lengths for SRS (e.g., 8 and 12 symbols). Open-loop power control and non-closed-loop power control are also possible, and comb 8 (i.e., SRS transmitted every eighth subcarrier in the same symbol) can be used. Finally, for UL-AOA, the UE can transmit through the same transmit beam from multiple SRS resources. All of these are additional features of the current SRS architecture, which is configured via higher-level RRC signaling (and potentially triggered or activated via the MAC control unit (CE) or DCI).

[0114] Figure 4D Examples of various channels within uplink time slots of a frame according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. A random access channel (RACH), also known as a physical random access channel (PRACH), can reside within one or more time slots within a frame configured based on the PRACH. A PRACH can comprise six consecutive RB pairs within a time slot. The PRACH allows the UE to perform initial system access and achieve uplink synchronization. A physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) can reside at the edge of the uplink system bandwidth. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, CSI reports, channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. A physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) carries data and can also be used to carry buffer status reports (BSR), power headroom reports (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0115] Note that the terms “location reference signal” and “PRS” generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms “location reference signal” and “PRS” can also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc., as defined in LTE and NR. Furthermore, the terms “location reference signal” and “PRS” can refer to downlink or uplink positioning reference signals unless the context otherwise indicates. If further differentiation of the type of PRS is required, a downlink positioning reference signal can be referred to as “DL-PRS”, and an uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., SRS, PTRS used for positioning) can be referred to as “UL-PRS”. Additionally, for signals that can be transmitted in both the uplink and downlink (e.g., DMRS, PTRS), the prefix “UL” or “DL” can be added to indicate direction. For example, “UL-DMRS” may differ from “DL-DMRS”.

[0116] NR supports many cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Departure Angle (DL-AOD) in NR. During OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning, the UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (TOA) of reference signals (e.g., Positioning Reference Signals (PRS)) received from a pair of base stations, referred to as Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) or Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in auxiliary data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known locations of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity can estimate the UE's location.

[0117] For DL-AoD positioning, the positioning entity uses beam reports, which measure the received signal strength of multiple downlink transmit beams from the UE, to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the UE's location based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station.

[0118] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurement and the angle of the receive beam to determine the angle between the UE and the base stations. Based on the determined angle and the known location of the base stations, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0119] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) positioning and Multiple Round Trip Time (RTT) positioning (also known as "Multi-Cell RTT"). During RTT, the initiator (base station or UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to the responder (UE or base station), and the responder transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the initiator. The RTT response signal includes the difference between the TOA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal, referred to as the receive-transmit (RX-TX) time difference. The initiator calculates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the TOA of the RTT response signal, referred to as the transmit-receive (TX-RX) time difference. The propagation time (also known as "time of flight") between the initiator and the responder can be calculated using the TX-RX and RX-TX time differences. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and the responder can be determined. For multi-RTT positioning, the UE performs the RTT procedure with multiple base stations, enabling the determination of its location based on the known locations of the base stations (e.g., using multipoint positioning). RTT and multiple RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques, such as UL-AOA and DL-AOD, to improve positioning accuracy.

[0120] The E-CID positioning method is based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and identifiers, estimated timings, and signal strengths of detected neighboring base stations. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0121] To assist in the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP272) can provide auxiliary data to the UE. For example, auxiliary data may include the identifier of the base station (or the cell / TRP of the base station) measuring the reference signal, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning subframes, the periodicity of the positioning subframes, silence sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, auxiliary data may be derived directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes itself without using auxiliary data.

[0122] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, auxiliary data may also include the expected RSTD value and associated uncertainty, or a search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the expected RSTD value may range from + / - 500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any resources used for positioning measurements are in FR1, the expected RSTD uncertainty may range from + / - 32 μs. In other cases, when all resources used for positioning measurements are in FR2, the expected RSTD uncertainty may range from + / - 8 μs.

[0123] Location estimation can be referred to by other names, such as location estimate, location, positioning, fixed location, etc. Location estimation can be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible elevation), or it can be urban and include street addresses, postal addresses, or some other verbal description of the location. Location estimation can also be defined relative to another known location, or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible elevation). Location estimation can include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including the area or volume in which the location is expected to be included at a specified or default confidence level).

[0124] Currently, location measurements are reported via higher-layer signaling, specifically LTE Location Protocol (LPP) signaling and / or RRC signaling. Such reports are referred to as "measurement reports," "location reports," etc. LPP is used point-to-point between the location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) and the UE to locate the UE using location-related measurements obtained from one or more reference sources (e.g., satellites for GPS positioning, base stations for DL-TDOA positioning, WLAN APs for WLAN positioning, etc.). However, to reduce latency, techniques have been introduced in NR to report Location Status Information (PSI) using lower-layer (e.g., Layer 1 (L1) / Layer 2 (L2)) signaling. The PSI report is a low-level positioning report and may include measurements dependent on the RAT, i.e., measurements based on the NR reference signal (e.g., DL-PRS, TRS, SSB, etc.), or measurements independent of the RAT, i.e., measurements or other information derived from a reference source other than the NR reference source (e.g., Bluetooth, barometric sensor, motion sensor, GPS, OTDOA based on LTE PHY signal, E-CID based on LTE PHY signal, etc.).

[0125] Figure 5 Example wireless network architecture 500 is illustrated, demonstrating higher-level architectural enhancements for low-latency localization. Wireless network architecture 500 is a reference point representation of various network entities, similar to... Figure 2B The wireless network architecture in the 250 is described. It has the characteristics of... Figure 2B The network entities in the attached figures are the same as those in the diagram. Figure 5 The network entities in the text correspond to Figure 2B Examples and references Figure 2B The network entities described. For the sake of brevity, these network entities will not be described further here. Except... Figure 2B In addition to the network entities illustrated, the wireless network architecture 500 also includes a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 268 and an External Client / Application Function (AF) 570. The GMLC 268 is the first node for the External Client / AF 570 to access the cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) network and sends location requests to the AMF 264. Furthermore, in Figure 5 In the example, NG-RAN 220 includes service (S) gNB 222 and multiple neighbor (N) gNB 222, each of which may include a location management component (LMC) 274.

[0126] Figure 5An example is illustrated of a control plane path 510 between an external client / AF 570 and UE 204 for establishing a location session with UE 204. Specifically, the external client / AF 570 sends a location request to GMLC 268, which forwards the request to AMF 264. AMF 264 sends the location request to Serving (S) gNB 222 in NG-RAN 220, which transmits the request to UE 204 via the air interface (referred to as the "Uu" interface) between Serving gNB 222 and UE 204. More specifically, LMC 274 at Serving gNB 222 handles the reception and transmission of the location request. The location request may instruct UE 204 to perform specific measurements (e.g., RSTD measurement, Rx-Tx time difference measurement, etc.) or report a location estimate calculated by UE 204 (e.g., based on GPS, WLAN, etc.).

[0127] After performing the requested measurement or calculating the location estimate, UE 204 responds to the location request by sending one or more low-level location reports (e.g., PSI reports) to the serving gNB 222 on the L1 / L2 path 520. More specifically, UE 204 sends the low-level location report to LMC 274 via the L1 / L2 path 520. UE 204 may send the low-level location report via L1 in the uplink control information (UCI) and / or via L2 in the MAC control element (MAC-CE). The low-level location report includes the requested measurement or location estimate.

[0128] LMC 274 encapsulates the low-level location report from UE 204 and transmits it to the external client / AF 570 via user plane path 530. Specifically, LMC 274 sends the low-level location report to UPF 262, and UPF 262 forwards the report to the external client / AF 570. Because LMC 274 is located at gNB 222, it is not necessary to send the low-level location report to the external client / AF 570 via LMC 270.

[0129] As described above, measurement reports (also known as "location reports") are currently reported via LPP signaling (Layer 3). Different Information Elements (IEs) are available in the LPP for reporting each of the three currently supported RAT-dependent location methods (i.e., DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, and Multi-RTT). Specifically, TDOA measurements (i.e., RSTD measurements) are reported in the "NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation" IE, DL-AoD measurements are reported in the "NR-DL-AoD-SignalMeasurementInformation" IE, and Multi-RTT measurements (e.g., UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement) are reported in the "NR-Multi-RTT-SignalMeasurementInformation" IE.

[0130] To reduce latency, it would be beneficial to report the information contained in these IEs via low-level (L1 / L2) signaling (e.g., PSI reports). However, because low-level containers (e.g., UCI and MAC-CE containers) cannot carry as much information as higher-level reports (e.g., LPP IEs), techniques are needed to reduce the overhead of low-level reporting. Therefore, it would be beneficial to determine the typical size of these higher-level measurement reports.

[0131] Figures 6A to 6C Examples of various LPP IEs that a UE can use to report DL-TDOA measurements to a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP272) are illustrated. Specifically, Figure 6A The "NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation" IE 600 and the "NR-DL-TDOA-MeasElement" IE 620 are instantiated. Figure 6B An example is “NR-DL-TDOA-AdditionalMeasurementElement” IE 640, which is used to report additional DL-TDOA measurements that are not compatible with “NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation” IE 600. Figure 6CExamples are given for “NR-TimeStamp” IE 660 and “NR-TimingMeasQuality” IE 680. “NR-TimeStamp” IE 660 is used to report the timestamp of DL-TDOA measurements reported in “NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation” IE 600 and any “NR-DL-TDOA-AdditionalMeasurementElement” IE 620.

[0132] Table 1 below illustrates the various fields in the DL-TDOA measurement report, along with their purpose and size.

[0133]

[0134]

[0135] Table 1

[0136] As shown in Table 1, each RSTD measurement can have 45 to 63 bits, plus an additional 7 bits for the quality metric of the reference ToA (i.e., the ToA of the reference signal from the reference TRP). There can be up to 64 RSTD measurements per positioning frequency layer, as there can be up to 64 TRPs per positioning frequency layer. If the UE selects a different reference ToA, an additional eight to 392 bits are needed to identify the new reference TRP. For example, reporting 10 RSTDs in 1 nanosecond (ns) steps and a 30 kHz SCS without changing the reference TRP, where only the TRP for each RSTD measurement is indicated, would require 497 bits (i.e., 49 × 10 + 7 = 497). If the UE selects a new reference TRP, there will be at least eight additional bits of overhead.

[0137] Figure 7 An example “NR-Multi-RTT-SignalMeasurementInformation” IE 700 is illustrated, which a UE can use to report multi-RTT measurements to a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272). The measurement is provided as a list of TRPs, where the first TRP in the list is used as the reference TRP.

[0138] Table 2 below illustrates the various fields in a multi-RTT measurement report, along with their purpose and size.

[0139]

[0140]

[0141] Table 2

[0142] As shown in Table 2, each Rx-Tx time difference measurement may have 45 to 63 bits. Similar to RSTD measurements, there may be up to 64 Rx-Tx time difference measurements per positioning frequency layer, as there may be up to 64 TRPs per positioning frequency layer. For example, reporting 10 Rx-Tx time difference measurements with a step size of 1 ns and a SCS of 30 kHz without changing the reference from the UE, where only the TRP for each RTT measurement is indicated, would require 490 bits (49 × 10 = 490). Each 49 bits consists of eight bits for the TRP ID, 19 bits for the RTT measurement, 15 bits for the timestamp, and seven bits for the quality metric.

[0143] As shown in Table 2, the current step size (configurable) is represented by the variable T, where T = T c 2 k Tc = 0.5 ns, and k is chosen from the set {-1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. For the absolute RSTD range of [-0.5, 0.5] ms, different k values ​​result in step size (T) and overhead (i.e., number of bits), as shown in Table 3 below.

[0144]

[0145] Table 3

[0146] In one aspect, to reduce the overhead of reporting RSTD measurements, this disclosure proposes a configurable RSTD mapping for each TRP pair (i.e., the TRP pair used to calculate RSTD measurements) based on configured “expectedRSTD” and “expectedRSTD-Uncertainty” parameters. The UE receives the “expectedRSTD” and “expectedRSTD-Uncertainty” parameters for each TRP pair for which the UE expects to measure from the network (e.g., a location server, serving base station, LMC of the serving base station). The “expectedRSTD” parameter indicates the expected RSTD measurement between the corresponding TRP pairs. The “expectedRSTD-Uncertainty” parameter indicates the window around the expected RSTD where the actual RSTD between the TRP pairs can be reported. The value of the “expectedRSTD-Uncertainty” parameter is 32 μs for FR1 and 8 μs for FR2. Therefore, for FR1, the reported RSTD measurement is expected to fall within a time window from 32 μs before the expected RSTD to 32 μs after the expected RSTD, while for FR2, the reported RSTD measurement is expected to fall within a time window from 8 μs before the expected RSTD to 8 μs after the expected RSTD.

[0147] Conventionally, the UE reports RSTD measurements as absolute values, i.e., the expected RSTD value plus or minus the amount of time from the expected RSTD value to the actual RSTD measurement. For example, in FR1, if the expected RSTD value is 200 μs, and the UE measures the actual RSTD at 215 μs (within a 32 μs RSTD uncertainty window), the UE reports 215 μs as the RSTD measurement. In this disclosure, because the expected RSTD value is known, and the actual RSTD measurement is relative to that value, the UE can report the RSTD measurement relative to the expected RSTD value, rather than reporting the absolute value of the RSTD measurement. Therefore, in the example above, the UE will report a value of 15 μs instead of a value of 215 μs. This results in at least a 4-bit reduction for each RSTD measurement in FR1, and at least a 6-bit reduction for each RSTD measurement in FR2. More specifically, since the UE only needs to report values ​​from -32μs to +32μs (64μs) for FR1 and from -8μs to +8μs (16μs) for FR2, the UE only needs six bits to report the value in FR1 and four bits to report the value in FR2. For example, for the normal range of [-500, +500]μs, 10 bits are needed to represent the measurement value. However, if the range changes to [-32, +32]μs, the number of bits required for the measurement is reduced to 6 bits, saving four bits. Similarly, if the range changes to [-8, 8]μs, the number of bits required for the measurement is reduced to four bits, saving six bits.

[0148] In one aspect, to reduce the overhead of reporting Rx-Tx measurements, this disclosure proposes a configurable Rx-Tx mapping for each TRP pair based on configured "expectedTOA" and "expectedTOA-Uncertainty" parameters. Similar to "expectedRSTD" and "expectedRSTD-Uncertainty", the UE receives the "expectedTOA" and "expectedTOA-Uncertainty" parameters for each TRP of a multi-RTT positioning process that the UE expects to measure from the network (e.g., a location server, serving base station, LMC of the serving base station). The "expectedTOA" parameter indicates the expected TOA of the reference signal from the corresponding TRP. The "expectedTOA-Uncertainty" parameter indicates the window around the expected TOA where the reference signal can actually be measured. Like "expectedRSTD-Uncertainty", the value of the "expectedTOA-Uncertainty" parameter is 32 μs for FR1 and 8 μs for FR2. Therefore, for FR1, the Rx-Tx measurement is expected to fall within a time window from 32 μs before the expected Rx-Tx to 32 μs after the expected Rx-Tx, while for FR2, the reported Rx-Tx measurement is expected to fall within a time window from 8 μs before the expected Rx-Tx to 8 μs after the expected Rx-Tx.

[0149] Similar to RSTD, conventionally, the UE reports Rx-Tx measurements as absolute values, i.e., the expected Rx-Tx value plus or minus the amount of time between the expected Rx-Tx value and the actual Rx-Tx measurement. For example, in FR1, if the expected Rx-Tx value is 180 μs, and the UE measures the actual Rx-Tx at 205 s (within a 32 μs Rx-Tx uncertainty window), the UE reports 205 μs as the Rx-Tx measurement. In this disclosure, because the expected Rx-Tx value is known, and the actual Rx-Tx measurement is relative to that value, the UE can report the Rx-Tx measurement relative to the expected Rx-Tx value, rather than reporting the absolute value of the Rx-Tx measurement. Therefore, in the example above, the UE will report a value of 25 μs instead of a value of 205 μs. This results in at least a reduction of 4 bits for each Rx-Tx measurement in FR1, and at least 6 bits for each Rx-Tx measurement in FR2.

[0150] On one hand, when the UE performs both the multi-RTT positioning procedure and the DL-TDOA positioning procedure, the UE can be provided with the "expectedTOA" of the reference TRP and the "expectedRSTD" of each TRP pair. Then, the UE can derive the "expectedTOA" of the target TRP (i.e., the non-reference TRP of the TRP pair).

[0151] In another aspect of both the multi-RTT positioning process and the DL-TDOA positioning process performed by the UE, to reduce the overhead of reporting RSTD and Rx-Tx measurements, this disclosure proposes a configurable RSTD / Rx-Tx mapping for each TRP pair based on configured "expectedRSTD", "expectedTOA", "expectedRSTD-Uncertainty", and "expectedTOA-Uncertainty" parameters. In this case, as described above, the UE can report the actual RSTD and Rx-Tx measurements for each TRP pair relative to the expected RSTD and Rx-Tx values ​​of these TRPs, rather than the absolute RSTD and Rx-Tx measurements. It will be understood that this significantly reduces the number of bits required to report the actual measurement values ​​for each TRP pair.

[0152] Reducing the overhead of reporting the TRP ID for each involved (i.e., measured) TRP would also be beneficial. As shown in Tables 1 and 2 above, the current overhead of reporting each TRP ID is eight bits. This is because there can be up to 256 TRPs (i.e., 2...). 8 =256), and the UE reports the absolute value of each TRP identifier. This disclosure provides a technique to reduce the number of bits required to report the identifiers of the TRPs involved by using relative TRP IDs. In one aspect, the UE may be configured (in auxiliary data) with “X” TRPs that it can measure. The UE then reports a subset of its potentially observed (i.e., potentially measured) “Y” TRPs at a higher layer (e.g., LPP), where “Y” is less than or equal to “X”. The higher-layer report will include a mapping between the “Y” TRPs and the “X” TRPs. In the lower-layer report, the UE only reports the TRP IDs from the subset “Y”, using only the number of bits required to report the value of “Y”. For example, if the UE is configured with “X” = 64 TRPs and it reports “Y” = 32 TRPs, then the UE will only need five bits to report the identifier of each TRP (i.e., 256), and the UE will report the absolute value of each TRP identifier (i.e., 256). 5 =32). The location entity (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272, serving base station, etc.) knows the mapping of “Y” TRPs and “X” TRPs, and can then determine which “Y” TRPs were measured from the reported TRP IDs.

[0153] Reducing the overhead of reporting quality metrics for each reported measurement would also be beneficial. As shown in Tables 1 and 2 above, the current overhead for reporting quality metrics is seven bits. For each measurement (e.g., RSTD, Rx-Tx), the quality metric has two fields: five bits for the quality value and two bits for the step size. It can be assumed that each TRP, or even the entire measurement report, will have the same step size. Therefore, the UE could report the quality metric step size only once (e.g., via LPP) for the entire measurement report (i.e., the entire low-level positioning report), instead of for each positioning measurement. This would save two bits per measurement.

[0154] On one hand, the network (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272, serving TRP, etc.) can be configured to allow the UE to report the aforementioned relative measurements, TRP ID, and quality metrics. Alternatively, the UE can instruct (e.g., via higher-layer signaling such as LPP) that it will report the measurements as described above. As yet another alternative, it can be specified in applicable criteria whether the UE is expected to report the measurements as described above.

[0155] On one hand, the network node from which the UE receives DL-PRS can be an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, rather than a TRP. An IAB node includes Distributed Unit (DU) functionality that behaves like a gNB towards the UE, and Mobile Terminal (MT) functionality that behaves like a UE towards the parent node of the IAB node (which can be another IAB node, or a DU referred to as an IAB donor connected to the Central Unit (CU) via a wireline). The CU function is similar to a base station. Specifically, the CU and DU are two parts of the base station function, previously considered a single unit, but in NR they can be separate (with an F1-AP interface between them).

[0156] Regarding the technology disclosed herein, if the IAB node receiving the DL-PRS of the UE does not have a location server connected to it (e.g., LMF 270, LMC 274) (e.g., because each gNB 222 includes...), Figure 5 If LMC 274 is specified, then the IAB node needs to forward location measurements from the UE to the location server. To maintain the low latency provided by the disclosed technology, the IAB node should transmit location measurements via the physical / MAC layer, just as the UE does to the IAB node. In this way, the IAB node acts as a gNB towards the UE by transmitting DL-PRS to the UE, and as a UE towards the serving TRP by transmitting location measurements from the UE to the TRP via the same low-layer signaling as the UE transmits location measurements to the IAB node.

[0157] Figure 8An example method 800 for wireless positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 800 can be performed by a UE (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0158] At 810, during a positioning session (e.g., RSTD positioning session, multi-RTT positioning session, etc.), the UE performs at least one positioning measurement (e.g., RSTD, ToA, Rx-Tx, etc.) on at least one DL-PRS received from at least one TRP (e.g., the TRP of any base station described herein). In one aspect, operation 810 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0159] At point 820, the UE reports a relative value of at least one positioning measurement to a positioning entity (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272, LMC 274, etc.) via lower-layer signaling (e.g., MAC-CE, UCI). The relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is the difference (e.g., a time quantity) between the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement and the measured value of the at least one positioning measurement. In one aspect, operation 820 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0160] Figure 9 An example method 900 for wireless positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 900 can be performed by a UE (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0161] At 910, the UE receives location assistance information from a location entity (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272, LMC 274, etc.) including multiple TRPs (e.g., the TRPs of any base station described herein). In one aspect, operation 910 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or location components 342, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0162] At 920, the UE reports a subset of multiple TRPs to the positioning entity. In one respect, operation 920 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0163] At 930, the UE performs at least one positioning measurement (e.g., RSTD, ToA, Rx-Tx, etc.) on at least one DL-PRS received from at least one TRP in a subset of multiple TRPs. In one aspect, operation 930 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0164] At 940, the UE reports the identifier of at least one TRP relative to a subset of multiple TRPs to the positioning entity via lower-layer signaling (e.g., MAC-CE, UCI). In one aspect, operation 940 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0165] Figure 10 An example method 1000 for wireless positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1000 can be performed by a UE (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0166] At 1010, during a positioning session (e.g., RSTD positioning session, multi-RTT positioning session, etc.), the UE performs at least one positioning measurement (e.g., RSTD, ToA, Rx-Tx, etc.) on at least one DL-PRS received from at least one TRP (e.g., the TRP of any base station described herein). In one aspect, operation 1010 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0167] At point 1020, the UE transmits a location report, including the value of at least one location measurement, to a location entity (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272, LMC 274, etc.) via low-level signaling (e.g., MAC-CE, UCI). In one aspect, operation 1020 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or location components 342, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing this operation.

[0168] At 1030, the UE reports the quality metric step size for all positioning measurements applied in the positioning report to the positioning entity. In one aspect, operation 1030 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing this operation.

[0169] At 1040, the UE reports at least one quality metric of the positioning measurement to the positioning entity via low-layer signaling, wherein the field representing the quality metric in the low-layer signaling does not include the quality metric step size. In one aspect, operation 1040 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning components 342, any or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0170] As will be understood, the technical advantage of method 800 to 1000 is that it reduces the overhead of reporting location status information.

[0171] As can be seen in the detailed description above, different features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as an intention to have more features than explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, aspects of this disclosure may include fewer features than those explicitly mentioned in the individual example clauses disclosed. Thus, the following clauses should be considered as included in the specification, wherein each clause may represent a separate example on its own. While each subordinate clause may refer to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, aspects of that subordinate clause are not limited to that specific combination. It will be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of a subordinate clause with the subject matter of any other subordinate or independent clause, or any feature combined with other subordinate and independent clauses. These combinations are explicitly included in the aspects disclosed herein unless explicitly stated or readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an insulator and a conductor). Furthermore, it is also intended that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly subordinate to an independent clause.

[0172] Examples of implementation methods are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0173] Clause 1. A method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: performing at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit receiving point (TRP) during a positioning session; and reporting to a positioning entity via low-layer signaling a relative value of the at least one positioning measurement relative to an expected value of the at least one positioning measurement, wherein the relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is the difference between the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement and the measured value of the at least one positioning measurement.

[0174] Clause 2. As in Clause 1, wherein: at least one positioning measurement includes a time of arrival (ToA) measurement, and the expected value of at least one positioning measurement includes the expected ToA value of at least one DL-PRS.

[0175] Clause 3. As in Clause 2, wherein the absolute value of at least one positioning measurement falls within the ToA uncertainty window.

[0176] Clause 4. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein: at least one TRP includes a first TRP and a second TRP, and at least one DL-PRS includes a first DL-PRS received from the first TRP and a second DL-PRS received from the second TRP.

[0177] Clause 5. The method of Clause 4, wherein: at least one positioning measurement includes a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement between the first DL-PRS and the second DL-PRS, and the expected value of at least one positioning measurement includes the expected RSTD value of the first DL-PRS and the second DL-PRS.

[0178] Clause 6. As in Clause 5, wherein the absolute value of at least one positioning measurement falls within the RSTD uncertainty window.

[0179] Clause 7. The method of any one of clauses 4 to 6, wherein: at least one positioning measurement includes a first ToA measurement of the first DL-PRS and a second ToA measurement of the second DL-PRS, and the expected value of at least one positioning measurement includes a first expected ToA value of the first DL-PRS and a second expected ToA value of the second DL-PRS.

[0180] Clause 8. As in Clause 7, wherein the absolute value of the first ToA measurement falls within the first ToA uncertainty window, and the absolute value of the second ToA measurement falls within the second ToA uncertainty window.

[0181] Clause 9. The method of any one of clauses 4 to 8, wherein: the first TRP is the reference TRP of the positioning session, and the expected value of at least one positioning measurement includes the expected ToA value of the first DL-PRS and the expected RSTD value of the first DL-PRS and the second DL-PRS.

[0182] Clause 10. The method of Clause 9 further includes: determining the expected ToA value of the second DL-PRS based on the expected ToA value of the first DL-PRS and the expected RSTD values ​​of the first DL-PRS and the second DL-PRS.

[0183] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the lower-layer signaling includes one or more Media Access Control Control Elements (MAC-CE) or Uplink Control Information (UCI).

[0184] Clause 12. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 11, wherein: the location entity includes a location management component (LMC) associated with at least one TRP, and at least one TRP is a serving TRP.

[0185] Clause 13. A method for wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving positioning assistance information including a plurality of transmit receiving points (TRPs) from a positioning entity; reporting a subset of the plurality of TRPs to the positioning entity; performing at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one TRP in the subset of the plurality of TRPs; and reporting an identifier of at least one TRP relative to the subset of the plurality of TRPs to the positioning entity via lower-layer signaling.

[0186] Clause 14. As in Clause 13, where a subset of multiple TRPs is reported via higher-level signaling.

[0187] Clause 15. As in Clause 14, wherein higher-layer signaling includes Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0188] Clause 16. The method, as in any of clauses 13 to 15, further includes: reporting to the location entity a subset of the multiple TRPs and the mapping between the multiple TRPs.

[0189] Clause 17. As in clause 16, where the mapping is reported via higher-level signaling.

[0190] Clause 18. The method of any one of clauses 13 to 17, wherein the number of subsets of the plurality of TRPs is less than or equal to the number of the plurality of TRPs.

[0191] Clause 19. The method of any of clauses 13 to 18, wherein a subset of the plurality of TRPs includes the TRP from which the UE can receive DL-PRS.

[0192] Clause 20. The method of any one of clauses 13 to 19, wherein: each TRP in a subset of the plurality of TRPs is assigned an integer from “0” to one less than the number of subsets of the plurality of TRPs, and the identifier of at least one TRP is reported as one of the integers assigned to the subsets of the plurality of TRPs.

[0193] Clause 21. The method of any of clauses 13 to 20, wherein the lower-layer signaling includes one or more Media Access Control Control Elements (MAC-CE) or Uplink Control Information (UCI).

[0194] Clause 22. The method of any one of clauses 13 to 21, wherein: the location entity includes a location management component (LMC) associated with at least one TRP, and at least one TRP is a serving TRP.

[0195] Clause 23. A method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: performing at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit receiving point (TRP) during a positioning session; transmitting a positioning report including the value of the at least one positioning measurement to a positioning entity via low-layer signaling; reporting to the positioning entity a quality metric step size applied to all positioning measurements in the positioning report; and reporting to the positioning entity a quality metric of the at least one positioning measurement via low-layer signaling, wherein a field representing the quality metric in the low-layer signaling does not include the quality metric step size of the quality metric.

[0196] Clause 24. As in Clause 23, wherein the quality metric step size applied to all positioning measurements in the positioning report is reported via higher-level signaling.

[0197] Clause 25. As in clause 24, wherein higher-layer signaling includes Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0198] Clause 26. The method of any of Clauses 23 to 25, wherein the quality metric step size applied to all positioning measurements in the positioning report is reported only once for the positioning session.

[0199] Clause 27. The method of any of clauses 23 to 26, wherein the lower-layer signaling includes one or more Media Access Control Control Elements (MAC-CE) or Uplink Control Information (UCI).

[0200] Clause 28. The method of any one of clauses 23 to 27, wherein: the location entity includes a location management component (LMC) associated with at least one TRP, and at least one TRP is a serving TRP.

[0201] Clause 29. An apparatus comprising a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and at least one transceiver, the memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor being configured to perform a method according to any one of clauses 1 to 28.

[0202] Clause 30. An apparatus comprising components for performing the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 28.

[0203] Clause 31. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions including at least one instruction for causing a computer or processor to perform the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 28.

[0204] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and skills. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that can be referenced throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or light particles, or any combination thereof.

[0205] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above according to their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0206] The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0207] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be directly embodied in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software module can reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Example storage media is coupled to a processor such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can be integrated onto the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and storage medium can reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0208] In one or more exemplary aspects, the described functionality can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, these functions can be stored on or transmitted through a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium can be any available medium that is accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage 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 is accessible to a computer. Furthermore, any connection is suitably referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio, and microwave), then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio, and microwave) are all included in the definition of medium. The disks and optical discs used in this article include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0209] While the foregoing disclosure illustrates illustrative aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to the aspects of the disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of this disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, plural forms are also contemplated unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Claims

1. A method for wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: During a positioning session, at least one positioning measurement is performed on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit-receive point (TRP). as well as The relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is reported to the positioning entity via low-level signaling, relative to the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement, wherein the relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is the difference between the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement and the measured value of the at least one positioning measurement.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one positioning measurement includes a time of arrival (ToA) measurement. The expected value of the at least one positioning measurement includes the expected ToA value of the at least one DL-PRS.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, The absolute value of the at least one positioning measurement falls within the ToA uncertainty window.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one TRP includes a first TRP and a second TRP, and The at least one DL-PRS includes a first DL-PRS received from a first TRP and a second DL-PRS received from a second TRP.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The at least one positioning measurement includes the reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement between the first DL-PRS and the second DL-PRS, and The expected value of the at least one positioning measurement includes the expected RSTD value of the first DL-PRS and the second DL-PRS.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The absolute value of the at least one positioning measurement falls within the RSTD uncertainty window.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The at least one positioning measurement includes a first ToA measurement of the first DL-PRS and a second ToA measurement of the second DL-PRS, and The expected value of the at least one positioning measurement includes a first expected ToA value of the first DL-PRS and a second expected ToA value of the second DL-PRS.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The absolute value of the first ToA measurement falls within the first ToA uncertainty window, and the absolute value of the second ToA measurement falls within the second ToA uncertainty window.

9. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The first TRP is the reference TRP for locating the session. The expected value of the at least one positioning measurement includes the expected ToA value of the first DL-PRS and the expected RSTD value of the first DL-PRS and the second DL-PRS.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: The expected ToA value of the second DL-PRS is determined based on the expected ToA value of the first DL-PRS and the expected RSTD values ​​of the first and second DL-PRS.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The lower-layer signaling includes one or more Media Access Control (MAC-CE) elements or Uplink Control Information (UCI).

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The positioning entity includes a location management component (LMC) associated with the at least one TRP, and The at least one TRP is a service TRP.

13. A user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory; At least one transceiver; and At least one processor, communicatively coupled to a memory and at least one transceiver, said at least one processor being configured to: During a positioning session, at least one positioning measurement is performed on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit-receive point (TRP). as well as The relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is reported to the positioning entity via at least one transceiver and via low-level signaling, relative to the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement, wherein the relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is the difference between the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement and the measured value of the at least one positioning measurement.

14. The UE according to claim 13, wherein: The at least one positioning measurement includes a time of arrival (ToA) measurement. The expected value of the at least one positioning measurement includes the expected ToA value of the at least one DL-PRS.

15. The UE according to claim 14, wherein, The absolute value of the at least one positioning measurement falls within the ToA uncertainty window.

16. The UE according to claim 13, wherein: The at least one TRP includes a first TRP and a second TRP, and The at least one DL-PRS includes a first DL-PRS received from a first TRP and a second DL-PRS received from a second TRP.

17. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: The at least one positioning measurement includes the reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement between the first DL-PRS and the second DL-PRS, and The expected value of the at least one positioning measurement includes the expected RSTD value of the first DL-PRS and the second DL-PRS.

18. The UE according to claim 17, wherein, The absolute value of the at least one positioning measurement falls within the RSTD uncertainty window.

19. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: The at least one positioning measurement includes a first ToA measurement of the first DL-PRS and a second ToA measurement of the second DL-PRS, and The expected value of the at least one positioning measurement includes a first expected ToA value of the first DL-PRS and a second expected ToA value of the second DL-PRS.

20. The UE according to claim 19, wherein, The absolute value of the first ToA measurement falls within the first ToA uncertainty window, and the absolute value of the second ToA measurement falls within the second ToA uncertainty window.

21. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: The first TRP is the reference TRP for locating the session. The expected value of the at least one positioning measurement includes the expected ToA value of the first DL-PRS and the expected RSTD value of the first DL-PRS and the second DL-PRS.

22. The UE according to claim 21, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: The expected ToA value of the second DL-PRS is determined based on the expected ToA value of the first DL-PRS and the expected RSTD values ​​of the first and second DL-PRS.

23. The UE according to claim 13, wherein, The lower-layer signaling includes one or more Media Access Control (MAC-CE) elements or Uplink Control Information (UCI).

24. The UE according to claim 13, wherein: The positioning entity includes a location management component (LMC) associated with the at least one TRP, and The at least one TRP is a service TRP.

25. A user equipment (UE), comprising: A component for performing at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal DL-PRS received from at least one transmit receiving point TRP during a positioning session. and A component for reporting, via low-level signaling, a relative value of the at least one positioning measurement to a positioning entity relative to an expected value of the at least one positioning measurement, wherein the relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is the difference between the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement and the measured value of the at least one positioning measurement.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions comprising: At least one instruction instructs a user equipment (UE) to perform at least one positioning measurement on at least one downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) received from at least one transmit and receive point (TRP) during a positioning session. and At least one instruction instructs the UE to report, via lower-layer signaling, a relative value of the at least one positioning measurement to a positioning entity, relative to an expected value of the at least one positioning measurement, wherein the relative value of the at least one positioning measurement is the difference between the expected value of the at least one positioning measurement and the measured value of the at least one positioning measurement.

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