Method and apparatus for a sounding reference signal for positioning

Abstract

The sounding reference signal (SRS) transmitted by the UE (e.g., for positioning or channel estimation) can be configured for one or both of frequency subcarrier level cyclic shift and symbol level code, which enables, for example, multiplexing of a larger number of UEs. The frequency subcarrier level cyclic shift is generated by jointly processing multiple symbols with an extended cyclic shift structure. The SRS can be configured to use a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with the cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level, which increases the multiplexing opportunity. The symbol level code can further indicate an extended cyclic shift, which indicates a linear increase in phase rotation across subcarriers in the symbols associated with the symbol group level.

Description

[0001] Priority Claim under 35 U.S.C.§119

[0002] This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 067,841, filed on August 19, 2020, and entitled "METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SOUNDING REFERENCE SIGNALS FOR POSITIONING", U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 068,948, filed on August 21, 2020, and entitled "METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SOUNDING REFERENCE SIGNALS FOR POSITIONING", and U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 17 / 404,884, filed on August 17, 2021, and entitled "METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SOUNDING REFERENCE SIGNALS FOR POSITIONING", all of which have been assigned to the assignee of this application and the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0003] Field :

[0004] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to sounding reference signals (SRS) transmitted by a mobile device, and more particularly to the configuration of SRS.

[0005] Information :

[0006] The location of a mobile device, such as a cellular phone, may be useful or essential for several applications including emergency calls, navigation, wayfinding, asset tracking, and Internet services. The location of the mobile device can be estimated based on information collected from various systems. For example, in a cellular network implemented according to 4G (also known as fourth generation) Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access or 5G (also known as fifth generation) "New Radio" (NR), a base station may transmit positioning reference signals (PRSs) that can be received and measured by the mobile device. For example, a UE may generate positioning measurements (such as reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), and receive and transmit (RX-TX) time difference measurements) based on downlink (DL) PRSs, and these positioning measurements can be used for downlink positioning methods (such as DL-time difference of arrival (TDOA), DL-angle of departure (AOD)). Similarly, the mobile device may transmit reference signals that are received and measured by the base station, for example, sounding reference signals (SRSs). The base station may generate positioning measurements (such as RSTD and Rx-Tx) based on uplink (UL) SRSs, which can be used for uplink positioning methods (such as UL-TDOA, UL-AoA). Additionally, combined measurements using PRS and SRS (such as Rx-Tx) can be used for positioning based on combined DL and UL, including for example round-trip time (RTT), which can be (multi-RTT) with one or more neighboring base stations.

[0007] The mobile device is provided with SRS configuration information to generate SRSs, and the base station uses this configuration information to process the SRSs received from the mobile device. When using SRSs for positioning, it may be necessary to multiplex multiple mobile devices. Therefore, improvements to the configuration of SRSs may be desirable.

[0008] Overview

[0009] A sounding reference signal (SRS) transmitted by a UE (e.g., for positioning or channel estimation) can be configured for one or both of frequency-tone level cyclic shift and symbol level code, which for example enables multiplexing of a greater number of UEs. The frequency-tone level cyclic shift is generated by jointly processing multiple symbols with an extended cyclic shift structure. The SRS can be configured to use a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with the cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level, which increases the multiplexing opportunity. The symbol level code can further indicate an extended cyclic shift, which indicates a linear increase in phase rotation across tones in the symbols associated with the symbol group level.

[0010] In one implementation, a method for supporting wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, performed by the UE, includes: receiving, from a base station, a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code; and transmitting the SRS to one or more base stations.

[0011] In one implementation, a UE configured to support wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network includes: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with an entity in the wireless network; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, via the wireless transceiver, from a base station a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; prepare the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code; and transmit the SRS to one or more base stations via the wireless transceiver.

[0012] In one implementation, a UE configured to support wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network includes: means for receiving, from a base station, a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; means for preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code; and means for transmitting the SRS to one or more base stations.

[0013] In one implementation, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) configured to support wireless transmission of the UE in a wireless network, the program code including instructions for: receiving, from a base station, a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code; and transmitting the SRS to one or more base stations.

[0014] In one implementation, a method for supporting wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, performed by a serving base station, includes: sending to the UE a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; receiving the SRS from the UE; and processing the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code.

[0015] In one implementation, a base station configured to support wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, the base station being the serving base station of the UE, includes: an external interface configured to communicate wirelessly with entities in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: send to the UE via the external interface a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; receive the SRS from the UE via the external interface; and process the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code.

[0016] In one implementation, a serving base station for supporting wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network includes: means for sending to the UE a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; means for receiving the SRS from the UE; and means for processing the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code.

[0017] In one implementation, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a serving base station to support wireless transmission of the user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, the program code including instructions for: sending to the UE a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; receiving the SRS from the UE; and processing the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code.

[0018] Based on the accompanying drawings and the detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] The accompanying drawings are provided to assist in describing the aspects of the present disclosure, and are provided only for illustration of the aspects and not for limitation thereof.

[0021] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system is illustrated, in which one or both of frequency subcarrier level cyclic shift and symbol level code may be implemented.

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

[0023] Figure 3 Illustrates a block diagram of the design of a base station and a user equipment (UE) that can be one of the base stations and one of the user equipments (UEs) in Figure 1 among others.

[0024] Figure 4 The structure of an example subframe sequence for positioning reference signal (PRS) is shown.

[0025] Figure 5 An exemplary sequence of a 4-symbol 4-comb sounding reference signal (SRS) with traditional non-interleaved cyclic shift is illustrated.

[0026] Figure 6 An exemplary sequence of a 4-symbol 4-comb SRS with traditional interleaved cyclic shift is illustrated.

[0027] Figure 7 An example of a 4-symbol 4-comb SRS configured with frequency subcarrier level cyclic shift by jointly processing cyclic shift on multiple combined symbols is illustrated.

[0028] Figure 8 An example of a 4-symbol 4-comb SRS configured with frequency subcarrier level cyclic shift and symbol level code by jointly processing cyclic shift on multiple combined symbols and implementing an outer code is illustrated.

[0029] Figure 9 Another example of a 4-symbol 4-comb SRS configured with frequency subcarrier level cyclic shift and symbol level code by jointly processing cyclic shift on multiple combined symbols and implementing an outer code is illustrated.

[0030] Figure 10 An example of a 4-symbol 4-comb SRS configured with symbol level code by implementing an outer code is illustrated.

[0031] Figure 11is a message flow illustrating messaging between a location server, a base station, and a user equipment (UE) for positioning using a UL SRS configured for one or both of frequency tone level cyclic shifts and symbol level outer codes.

[0032] Figure 12 A schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a UE capable of supporting configuration of SRS with frequency tone level cyclic shift and / or symbol level code is shown.

[0033] Figure 13 A schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a base station capable of supporting configuration of SRS for frequency tone level cyclic shift and / or symbol level code is shown.

[0034] Figure 14 A flow chart of an exemplary method performed by a UE for supporting wireless transmission of the UE in a wireless network is shown.

[0035] Figure 15 A flow chart of an exemplary method performed by a serving base station for supporting wireless transmission of a UE in a wireless network is shown.

[0036] Detailed Description

[0037] Various aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings for various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, well-known elements in the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid obscuring the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0038] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or superior to other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0039] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the following description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0040] In addition, many aspects are described in the form of sequences of actions performed by elements of, for example, a computing device. It will be recognized that the various actions described herein can be performed by special purpose circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequences of actions described herein can be considered to be fully embodied within any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause or direct the associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the present disclosure can be embodied in several different forms, all of which are contemplated as being within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each aspect described herein, any corresponding form of such aspect can be described herein as, for example, “logic configured to perform the described actions.”

[0041] As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not intended to be dedicated to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise specified. In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, tracking device, wearable device (e.g., smart watch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headsets, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. 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 device,” “wireless device,” “subscriber equipment,” “subscriber terminal,” “subscriber station,” “user terminal” or “UT,” “mobile terminal,” “mobile station,” “mobile device,” or variations thereof. In general, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN and, through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are possible for a UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.).

[0042] A base station can operate according to one of several RATs when communicating with a UE depending on the network in which it is deployed and can alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, B node, evolved B node (eNB), New Radio (NR) B node (also referred to as gNB), etc. Additionally, in some systems, the base station can provide a pure edge node signaling function, while in other systems, the base station can provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which a UE can send signals to the base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link by which the base station can send signals to the UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to a UL / reverse or DL / forward traffic channel.

[0043] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit and receive point (TRP) or can refer to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, in the case where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the base station antenna corresponding to the cell of the base station. In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or in the case where the base station employs beamforming). In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs can be the serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and a neighbor base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring.

[0044] To support positioning of a UE, two broad categories of location solutions have been defined: the control plane and the user plane. With control plane (CP) location, signaling related to positioning and positioning support can be carried on existing network (and UE) interfaces and using existing protocols dedicated to carrying signaling. With user plane (UP) location, protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) can be used to carry signaling related to positioning and positioning support as part of other data.

[0045] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has defined control plane location solutions for UEs using radio access according to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) (2G), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) (3G), Long Term Evolution (LTE) (4G), and New Radio (NR) of the fifth generation (5G). These solutions are defined in 3GPP Technical Specifications (TS) 23.271 and 23.273 (common parts), 43.059 (GSM access), 25.305 (UMTS access), 36.305 (LTE access), and 38.305 (NR access). The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) has similarly defined a User Plane location solution called Secure User Plane Location (SUPL), which can be used to locate UEs accessing any of several radio interfaces supporting IP packet access (such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) in GSM, GPRS in UMTS, or IP access in LTE or NR).

[0046] Both CP and UP location solutions can employ a location server to support positioning. The location server can be part of or accessible from the serving network or home network of the UE, or can simply be accessed via the Internet or a local intranet. If the UE needs to be located, the location server can initiate a session with the UE (e.g., a location session or a SUPL session), and coordinate the location measurements made by the UE and the determination of the estimated location of the UE. During the location session, the location server can request the positioning capabilities of the UE (or the UE can provide these capabilities without being requested), can provide assistance data to the UE (e.g., upon request by the UE or without request), and can request location estimates or location measurements from the UE for various positioning techniques (e.g., for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), Round Trip Time (RTT), or Multi-Cell RTT (Multi-RTT) and / or Enhanced Cell ID (ECID) positioning methods). The assistance data can be used by the UE to capture and measure GNSS and / or PRS signals (e.g., by providing the expected characteristics of these signals (such as frequency, expected time of arrival, signal coding, signal Doppler)). Additionally or alternatively, the UE can be provided with SRS configuration information and be instructed to transmit SRS for positioning. One or more base stations can receive and process the transmitted SRS based on the configuration information and perform various positioning measurements on the SRS, which can be provided to network entities (such as the location server or the UE) for positioning estimation, e.g., using UL-TDOA or RTT or Multi-RTT.

[0047] In a UE-based operation mode, the assistance data can be additionally or alternatively used by the UE to help determine a position estimate from the resulting position measurements (e.g., in the case of GNSS positioning where the assistance data provides satellite ephemeris data or in the case of terrestrial positioning using, e.g., TDOA, AoD, Multi-RTT, etc., where the assistance data provides base station location and other base station characteristics such as PRS timing).

[0048] In a UE-assisted operation mode, the UE may return position measurements to a position server, which may determine an estimated position of the UE based on these measurements and also possibly based on other known or configured data (e.g., satellite ephemeris data for GNSS positioning or base station characteristics (including base station location and possibly PRS timing) in the case of terrestrial positioning using, e.g., TDOA, AoD, multi-RTT, etc.).

[0049] In another self-standing operation mode, the UE may perform position-related measurements without any positioning assistance data from a position server and may further calculate a position or a change in position without any positioning assistance data from a position server. Positioning methods that may be used in the self-standing mode include GPS and GNSS (e.g., in the case where the UE obtains satellite orbit data from data broadcast by GPS and GNSS satellites themselves) and sensors.

[0050] In the case of 3GPP CP positioning, the position server may be an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) in the case of LTE access, a Self-standing SMLC (SAS) in the case of UMTS access, a Serving Mobile Location Center (SMLC) in the case of GSM access, or a Location Management Function (LMF) in the case of 5G NR access. In the case of OMA SUPL positioning, the position server may be a SUPL Location Platform (SLP), which may act as any one of the following: (i) a Home SLP (H-SLP) (in the case of being in or associated with the UE's home network or in the case of providing a permanent subscription for location services to the UE); (ii) a Discovered SLP (D-SLP) (in the case of being in or associated with some other (non-home) network or in the case of not being associated with any network); (iii) an Emergency SLP (E-SLP) (in the case of supporting positioning for an emergency call initiated by the UE); or (iv) a Visited SLP (V-SLP) (in the case of being in or associated with the UE's serving network or current local area).

[0051] During a positioning session, a location server and a UE may exchange messages defined according to a certain positioning protocol in order to coordinate the determination of an estimated location. Possible positioning protocols may include, for example, the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) defined by 3GPP in 3GPP TS 36.355 and the LPP Extension (LPPe) protocol defined by OMA in OMA TS OMA-TS-LPPe-V1_0, OMA-TS-LPPe-V1_1, and OMA-TS-LPPe-V2_0. The LPP and LPPe protocols may be used in combination, where an LPP message contains an embedded LPPe message. The combined LPP and LPPe protocols may be referred to as LPP / LPPe. LPP and LPP / LPPe may be used to help support 3GPP control plane solutions for LTE or NR access, in which case LPP or LPP / LPPe messages are exchanged between the UE and the E-SMLC or between the UE and the LMF. LPP or LPPe messages may be exchanged between the UE and the E-SMLC via the UE's Serving Mobility Management Entity (MME) and Serving eNodeB. LPP or LPPe messages may also be exchanged between the UE and the LMF via the UE's Serving Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) and Serving NR B Node (gNB). LPP and LPP / LPPe may also be used to help support OMA SUPL solutions for many types of wireless access that support IP messaging (such as LTE, NR, and WiFi), in which case LPP or LPP / LPPe messages are exchanged between a SUPL Enabled Terminal (SET) (SET is the term used in SUPL for a UE) and an SLP and may be transported within a SUPL message (such as a SUPL POS or SUPL POS INIT message).

[0052] A location server and a base station (e.g., an eNodeB for LTE access) may exchange messages so that the location server can: (i) obtain positioning measurements for a specific UE from the base station, or (ii) obtain location information (such as the location coordinates of the base station's antenna), the cells supported by the base station (e.g., cell identity), the cell timing of the base station, and / or parameters of a signal transmitted by the base station (such as a PRS signal) from a base station not associated with a specific UE. In the case of LTE access, the LPP A (LPPa) protocol may be used to transfer such messages between the base station as an eNodeB and the location server as an E-SMLC. In the case of NR access, the NRPPA protocol may be used to transfer such messages between the base station as a g B Node and the location server as an LMF. Note that the terms "parameter" and "Information Element" (IE) are synonyms and may be used interchangeably herein.

[0053] In addition to positioning, the SRS transmitted by the UE can be used for other purposes, such as channel estimation. The requirements for SRS for channel estimation and SRS for positioning do not exactly coincide. For example, it is desirable to configure the SRS for positioning to multiplex a larger number of UEs. Traditionally, SRS is configured based on bandwidth, number of symbols, number of combs, and cyclic shift. The SRS can be configured using an interleaved comb pattern to multiplex more UEs, which is acceptable for positioning because the SRS for positioning does not require the same level of accuracy as the SRS for channel estimation.

[0054] In some implementations, additional SRS configuration parameters can be implemented to further increase the number of UEs that can use the SRS. In one implementation, the SRS can be configured for frequency-tone-level cyclic shift, for example, where multiple SRS symbols are combined to handle an extended cyclic shift structure. For example, the SRS can be configured using a symbol-group level indicating the number of symbols combined to produce the cyclic shift structure and an extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in phase rotation across tones in the symbols combined according to the symbol-group level. In one implementation, the SRS can be configured additionally or alternatively using symbol-level codes. For example, the SRS configuration parameter can be an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level. The extended cyclic shift and the outer code selected for the UE can be used to identify the UE and increase the multiplexing opportunity.

[0055] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system 100 is illustrated, in which one or both of frequency-tone-level cyclic shift and symbol-level codes can be implemented, as discussed herein. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) can include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 can include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base stations can include eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to a 5G network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations can include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc. The architecture of the gNB can be divided into functional parts, which for example include one or more of a gNB central unit (gNB-CU), one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DU), and one or more gNB remote units (gNB-RU), and any of these functional parts can be physically co-located or physically separated from other parts of the gNB.

[0056] Each base station 102 can jointly form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a next generation core (NGC)) via a backhaul link 122, and interface to one or more location servers 172 via the core network 170. In addition to other functions, the base station 102 can also perform functions related to one or more of transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and device tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. The base stations 102 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC / NGC) on the backhaul link 134, which can be wired or wireless.

[0057] The base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with the UE 104. Each base station 102 can provide communication coverage for its respective geographical coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by the base station 102 in each coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a certain frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells 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), or others). In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographical coverage area (e.g., a sector) of a base station in the sense that a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a certain part of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0058] Although the geographical coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 can partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some geographical coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by larger geographical coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' can have a coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network including both small cells and macro cell base stations can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network can also include a home eNB (HeNB), which can provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0059] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include UL (also known as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to DL compared to UL).

[0060] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) before communicating to determine whether the channel is available.

[0061] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or 5G technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as that used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' adopting LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum may boost the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U (LTE Unlicensed), Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0062] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate in mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. The extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. The EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. The radio waves in this frequency band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW may extend down to 3 GHz frequencies with a 100 millimeter wavelength. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using the mmW / near mmW radio frequency band has high path loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Additionally, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more of the base stations 102 may also use mmW or near mmW and beamforming for transmission. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the foregoing explanations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0063] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing RF signals in a specific direction. Conventionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, the network node broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device. To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node may control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an antenna array (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that generates a beam of RF waves, and the beam of RF waves can be steered to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas add together in the desired direction to increase radiation, while canceling in the undesired directions to suppress radiation.

[0064] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting of the antenna array and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a specific direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Thus, when the receiver is said to perform beamforming in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is higher relative to the beam gains in other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength for the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.).

[0065] In 5G, the spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (from 450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier operates on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and on the cell where the UE 104 / 182 performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection reestablishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels. The secondary carrier is a carrier that operates on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) and can be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and this carrier can be used to provide additional radio resources. The secondary carrier may only contain necessary signaling information and signals. For example, UE-specific signaling information and signals may not exist in the secondary carrier because both the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same holds for the uplink primary carriers. 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. Since the "serving cell" (whether it is a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier that a certain base station is using for communication, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0066] For example, still referring to Figure 1 , one of the frequencies utilized by the macro cell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and other frequencies utilized by the macro cell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate obtained by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0067] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) that are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. In Figure 1 the example of , the UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with a UE 104 connected to a base station 102 (e.g., the UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through it), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (the UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through it). In one example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported using any well-known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), etc.).

[0068] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a UE 164 that can communicate with the macro cell base station 102 on a communication link 120 and / or communicate with the mmW base station 180 on an mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0069] Figure 2AAn example wireless network structure 200 is explained. For example, NGC 210 (also referred to as "5GC") can be functionally regarded as a control plane function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to the data network, IP routing, etc.), which operate cooperatively to form the core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to NGC 210, particularly to the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212. In an additional configuration, the eNB 224 can also be connected to NGC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. In addition, the eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 can have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include both one or more eNBs 224 and one or more gNBs 222. The gNB 222 or the eNB 224 can communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 any UE depicted in). Another optional aspect can include one or more location servers 230a, 230b (sometimes collectively referred to as location server 230) (which can correspond to location server 172), which can be in communication with the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212 in NGC 210 respectively to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules scaled across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, and the UE 204 can be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, NGC 210, and / or via the Internet (not shown). In addition, the location server 230 can be integrated into the components of the core network, or alternatively can be external to the core network (e.g., in the new RAN 220).

[0070] Figure 2BAnother example wireless network structure 250 is illustrated. For example, NGC 260 (also referred to as “5GC”) can be functionally regarded as consisting of a control plane function provided by an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264, a User Plane Function (UPF) 262, a Session Management Function (SMF) 266, an SLP 268, and an LMF 270, which operate cooperatively to form a core network (i.e., NGC 260). User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect ng-eNB 224 to NGC 260, particularly to UPF 262 and AMF 264 respectively. In an additional configuration, gNB 222 can also be connected to NGC 260 via a control plane interface 265 to AMF 264 and a user plane interface 263 to UPF 262. Additionally, eNB 224 can communicate directly with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223, whether or not there is direct gNB connectivity to NGC 260. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 can have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include both one or more ng-eNBs 224 and one or more gNBs 222. gNB222 or eNB 224 can communicate with UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 any UE depicted in

[0071] The base stations of the new RAN 220 communicate with AMF 264 on the N2 interface and with UPF 262 on the N3 interface.The functions of the AMF include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, session management (SM) message passing between the UE 204 and the SMF 266, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, short message service (SMS) message passing between the UE 204 and the short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF also interacts with the authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives the intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives the key from the SEAF, which is used by the SCM to derive the access network - specific key. The functionality of the AMF also includes location service management for regulatory services, location service message passing between the UE 204 and the location management function (LMF) 270 (which may correspond to the location server 172) and between the new RAN 220 and the LMF 270, EPS bearer identifier allocation for interworking with the evolved packet system (EPS), and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF also supports the functionality of non - 3GPP access networks.

[0072] The functions of the UPF include: acting as an anchor for intra - RAT / inter - RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for the interconnection to the data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling of the user plane (e.g., UL / DL rate enforcement, reflexive QoS marking in DL), UL traffic verification (mapping of service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow), transport - level packet marking in UL and DL, DL packet buffering and DL data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node.

[0073] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of the user plane function, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF for routing traffic to the correct destination, control of parts of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface on which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0074] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the NGC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spanning multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, and the UE 204 is capable of connecting to the LMF 270 via the core network, the NGC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated).

[0075] Figure 3 A block diagram of a design 300 of a base station 102 and a UE 104 is shown, which may be Figure 1 one of each of the base stations and one of each of the UEs in. The base station 102 may be equipped with T antennas 334a to 334t, and the UE 104 may be equipped with R antennas 352a to 352r, where generally T≥1 and R≥1.

[0076] At the base station 102, a transmit processor 320 may receive data for one or more UEs from a data source 312, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for the UE at least in part based on the channel quality indicator (CQI) received from each UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for the UE at least in part based on the selected MCS(s) for each UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. The transmit processor 320 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI), etc.) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, etc.), and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 320 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 330 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols where applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MOD) 332a to 332t. Each modulator 332 may process its respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 332 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The T downlink signals from the modulators 332a to 332t may be transmitted via the T antennas 334a to 334t, respectively. According to various aspects described in more detail below, location coding may be utilized to generate synchronization signals to convey additional information.

[0077] At the UE 104, antennas 352a through 352r may receive downlink signals from the base station 102 and / or other base stations and may provide the received signals to demodulators (DEMOD) 354a through 354r, respectively. Each demodulator 354 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, down-convert, and digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 354 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 356 may obtain the received symbols from all R demodulators 354a through 354r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols when applicable, and provide detected symbols. The receive processor 358 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide the decoded data for the UE 104 to the data sink 360, and provide the decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 380. The channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP), a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a channel quality indicator (CQI), etc. In some aspects, one or more components of the UE 104 may be included in a housing.

[0078] On the uplink, at the UE 104, the transmit processor 364 may receive and process data from the data source 362 and control information from the controller / processor 380 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.). The transmit processor 364 may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 364 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 366 when applicable, further processed by modulators 354a through 354r (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 102. At the base station 102, the uplink signals from the UE 104 and other UEs may be received by the antenna 334, processed by the demodulator 332, detected by the MIMO detector 336 when applicable, and further processed by the receive processor 338 to obtain the decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 104. The receive processor 338 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 339 and provide the decoded control information to the controller / processor 340. The base station 102 may include a communication unit 344 and communicate with the network controller 389 via the communication unit 344. The network controller 389 may include a communication unit 394, a controller / processor 390, and a memory 392.

[0079] The controller / processor 340 of the base station 102, the controller / processor 380 of the UE 104, the controller 390 of the network controller 389 (which may be the location server 172), and / or Figure 3Any other component(s) of may perform one or more techniques associated with SRS configuration of either or both of frequency tuning level cyclic shift and symbol level code, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 380 of the UE 104, the controller / processor 340 of the base station 102, and / or Figure 3 any other component of may execute or direct operations of processes 1400 and 1500, for example, Figure 14 and 15 and other processes as described herein. Memories 342, 382, and 392 may store data and program codes for the base station 102, the UE 104, and the network controller 389, respectively. In some aspects, memory 342 and / or memory 382 and / or memory 392 may include non-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more instructions for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE 104 and the base station 102, may execute or direct operations of processes 1400 and 1500, for example, Figure 14 and 15 and other processes as described herein. The scheduler 346 may schedule the UE for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0080] As indicated above, Figure 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from the example described with respect to Figure 3 .

[0081] Figure 4 FIG. shows the structure of an exemplary subframe sequence 400 with positioning reference signal (PRS) positioning occasions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The subframe sequence 400 may be applicable to the broadcast of PRS signals from a base station (e.g., any base station described herein) or other network nodes. The subframe sequence 400 may be used in an LTE system, and the same or similar subframe sequences may be used in other communication technologies / protocols (such as 5G and NR). In Figure 4 , time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top. As Figure 4 shows, the downlink and uplink radio frames 410 may each have a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms). For the downlink frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, in the illustrated example, the radio frame 410 is organized into ten subframes 412 each having a duration of 1 ms. Each subframe 412 includes two time slots 414, each time slot having a duration of 0.5 ms, for example.

[0082] In the frequency domain, the available bandwidth may be divided into evenly spaced orthogonal subcarriers 416 (also referred to as "tones" or "bins"). For example, for a normal length cyclic prefix (CP) using, for example, 15 kHz spacing, the subcarriers 416 may be grouped into groups of twelve (12) subcarriers. A resource (represented as a block of subframes 412) of one OFDM symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain is referred to as a resource element (RE). Each grouping of 12 subcarriers 416 and 14 OFDM symbols is referred to as a resource block (RB), and in the above example, the number of subcarriers in a resource block may be written as For a given channel bandwidth, the number of available resource blocks on each channel 422 (which is also referred to as a transmission bandwidth configuration 422) is represented as For example, for the 3 MHz channel bandwidth in the above example, the number of available resource blocks on each channel 422 is given by Given. Note that the frequency components of a resource block (eg, 12 subcarriers) are called physical resource blocks (PRBs).

[0083] The base station can Figure 4 , or other physical layer signaling sequences that can be measured and used for positioning estimation by a UE (e.g., any UE described herein). Other types of wireless nodes in a wireless communication network (e.g., a distributed antenna system (DAS), a remote radio head (RRH), a UE, an AP, etc.) may also be configured to transmit signals that support a PRS signal (i.e., a downlink (DL) PRS) in a similar or identical frame configuration as shown in FIG. Figure 4 The PRS signal may be configured in a manner similar to (or identical to) that described in .

[0084] The set of resource elements used to transmit a PRS signal is referred to as a "PRS resource". The set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and can span N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot 414 in the time domain. For example, the cross-hatched resource elements in the time slot 414 can be examples of two PRS resources. A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used to transmit a PRS signal, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource identifier (ID). In addition, the PRS resources in the PRS resource set are associated with the same transmit receive point (TRP). The PRS resource ID in the PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (wherein the TRP can transmit one or more beams). Note that this does not have any implication as to whether the TRP and beam transmitting the signal are known to the UE.

[0085] The PRS can be transmitted in special positioning subframes grouped into positioning occasions. A PRS occasion is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., consecutive time slots) in which the PRS is expected to be transmitted. Each periodically repeating time window may include a group of one or more consecutive PRS occasions. Each PRS occasion may include a number N PRS of consecutive positioning subframes. The PRS positioning occasions for a cell supported by a base station may occur periodically at an interval (indicated by a number T PRS milliseconds or subframes). As an example, Figure 4 illustrates the periodicity of the positioning occasions, where N PRS equals 4 (418), and T PRS is greater than or equal to 20 (420). In some aspects, T PRS can be measured in terms of the number of subframes between the starts of consecutive positioning occasions. Multiple PRS occasions may be associated with the same PRS resource configuration, in which case each such occasion is referred to as an "occasion of the PRS resource", etc.

[0086] The PRS can be transmitted at a constant power. The PRS can also be transmitted at zero power (i.e., be silenced). When PRS signals between different cells overlap due to occurring at the same time or almost the same time, silencing of the regularly scheduled PRS transmissions can be useful. In this case, the PRS signals from some cells may be silenced while the PRS signals from other cells are transmitted (e.g., at a constant power). Silencing can assist the UE in signal acquisition of the non-silenced PRS signals and time of arrival (TOA) and reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements (by avoiding interference from the silenced PRS signals). Silencing can be considered as not transmitting the PRS for a given positioning occasion of a particular cell. A bit string can be used to signal (e.g., using the LTE positioning protocol (LPP)) the silencing mode (also referred to as the silencing sequence). For example, in the bit string signaled to indicate the silencing mode, if the bit at position j is set to '0', the UE can infer that the PRS is silenced for the jth positioning occasion.

[0087] To further improve the audibility of the PRS, the positioning subframe can be a low-interference subframe transmitted without user data channels. As a result, in an ideally synchronized network, the PRS may be interfered with by the PRS of other cells having the same PRS pattern index (i.e., having the same frequency shift), but not by interference from data transmissions. The frequency shift can be defined as a function of the PRS ID for a cell or other transmission point (TP) (labeled as ) or as a function of the physical cell identifier (PCI) in the case where no PRS ID is assigned (labeled as ), which results in an effective frequency reuse factor of six (6).

[0088] Also, to improve the audibility of the PRS (e.g., when the PRS bandwidth is limited to, for example, only 6 resource blocks corresponding to a 1.4 MHz bandwidth), the frequency band for consecutive PRS positioning occasions (or consecutive PRS subframes) can be changed via frequency hopping in a known and predictable manner. Additionally, a cell supported by a base station can support more than one PRS configuration, where each PRS configuration can include a unique frequency shift (vshift), a unique carrier frequency, a unique bandwidth, a unique code sequence, and / or a unique sequence of PRS positioning occasions with a specific number of subframes per positioning occasion (N PRS ) and a specific periodicity (T PRS ). In some implementations, one or more PRS configurations supported in a cell can be used for directional PRS and can subsequently have additional unique properties (such as a unique transmission direction, a unique horizontal angle range, and / or a unique vertical angle range).

[0089] Signal the above-described PRS configuration including the PRS transmission / silence schedule to the UE so that the UE can perform PRS positioning measurements. It is not desirable for the UE to blindly perform detection of the PRS configuration.

[0090] Note that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" can sometimes refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in LTE / NR systems. However, as used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" refer to any type of reference signal intended for positioning.

[0091] Similar to the DL PRS transmitted by the base station discussed above, the UE can transmit an UL sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning. The UL SRS transmitted by the UE can be used for purposes other than positioning, such as channel estimation.

[0092] Using the DL PRS received from the base station and / or the UL SRS transmitted to the base station for positioning, the UE and / or the base station can perform various positioning measurements, such as reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements for time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning techniques, received signal strength reference power (RSRP) measurements for TDOA, angle of departure, and round-trip time (RTT) or multi-cell RTT (multi-RTT) positioning techniques, time difference between reception and transmission of a signal (Rx-Tx) for multi-RTT positioning techniques, etc.

[0093] Various positioning techniques rely on DL PRS and / or UL SRS. For example, positioning techniques using reference signals include downlink-based positioning, uplink-based positioning, and positioning based on a combination of downlink and uplink. For example, downlink-based positioning includes positioning methods such as DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning includes positioning methods such as UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. Positioning based on downlink and uplink includes positioning methods such as RTT (multiple RTT) with one or more neighboring base stations. There are other positioning methods, including methods that do not rely on PRS. For example, enhanced cell ID (E-CID) is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements.

[0094] Figure 5 An exemplary sequence of a 4-symbol 4-comb SRS 500 with a conventional cyclic shift consistent with 3GPP technical specification (TS) 38.211 version 15 is illustrated. It can be seen that the comb pattern in SRS 500 is not interleaved. In Figure 5 phase information e jan illustrates the cyclic shift. The cyclic shift in SRS 500 is based on each respective symbol. For example, SRS 500 is illustrated as employing a frequency with 24 tones and 4 combs. The cyclic shift in SRS 500 is based on each individual symbol, as Figure 5 illustrated, providing 6 cyclic shifts in 6 tones, labeled e jα0 、e jα1 、e jα2 、e jα3 、e jα4 、e jα5 , where j is the imaginary unit and a is the cyclic shift. The maximum number of cyclic shifts a that 6 tones can support is 6 different cyclic shifts.

[0095] Figure 6 Another exemplary sequence of a 4-symbol 4-comb SRS 600 with a conventional cyclic shift consistent with 3GPP TS 38.211 version 16 is illustrated. As Figure 6 shown, the cyclic shift in SRS 600 is similar to Figure 5 that shown for SRS 500, but SRS 600 is configured with an interleaved comb pattern. Figure 6 The interleaved comb pattern shown in Figure 5 allows for multiplexing additional UEs, which is acceptable for positioning since SRS 600 is used for positioning and does not require the same accuracy level as the SRS used for channel estimation. However, similar to SRS500, the cyclic shift in SRS 600 is based on each respective symbol, which limits the cyclic shift. For example, similar to Figure 6The SRS 600 described in the text provides six cyclic shifts in six tones, labeled as e jα0 、e jα1 、e jα2 、e jα3 、e jα4 、e jα5 。The maximum number of cyclic shifts a that six tones can support is six different cyclic shifts.

[0096] In one implementation, the cyclic shifts used in the SRS can be extended by jointly processing the cyclic shifts over multiple symbols, which is referred to herein as extended cyclic shift. For example, instead of processing the cyclic shifts on N individual symbols, several of the N symbols can be associated for joint processing, and the extended cyclic shift linearly increases the phase rotation across tones in the associated symbols to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0097] For example, Figure 7 illustrates a 4-symbol 4-comb SRS 700 configured with frequency-tone level cyclic shifts by jointly processing cyclic shifts over multiple associated symbols. Figure 7 illustrates an SRS 700 with an extended configuration of cyclic shifts transmitted by the UE 104 and received by the base station 102. Figure 7 Additionally shown are the associated symbols 710, which visually illustrate the combination of the four symbols of the SRS 700 for joint processing, where the extended cyclic shift linearly increases the phase rotation across tones in the combined symbols 710 to generate the cyclic shift structure of the SRS 700. The associated symbols 710 may sometimes be referred to herein as combined symbols 710. It should be understood that the combined symbols 710 are only shown as an illustration of multiple symbols combined and processed based on the extended cyclic shift (e.g., by the UE 104 before transmitting the SRS 700 or by the base station 102 receiving the SRS 700), and the UE 104 transmits the SRS 700 rather than the combined symbols 710.

[0098] As Figure 7 is illustrated, the cyclic shifts of the SRS 700 are not based on each respective symbol (as Figure 5 and Figure 6 shown, performed in the conventional SRS 500 and SRS 600). The extended cyclic shift used with the SRS 700 is processed based on the association of the symbols in the SRS 700, as illustrated by the combined symbols 710. For example, Figure 7It is explained that 4 symbols of SRS 700 can be combined into 1 combined symbol 710, and the extended cyclic shift linearly increases the phase rotation across all subcarriers in the combined symbol 710. For example, SRS700 is explained as using 4 symbols, with a frequency having 24 subcarriers and 4 combs. By combining 4 symbols of SRS 700 to handle the extended cyclic shift, as illustrated by the combined symbol 710, SRS 700 generates 24 ideal cyclic shifts among 24 subcarriers, labeled as e jα0 e jα1 e jα2 e jα3 e jα4 e jα5 e jα6 e jα7 …e jα23 。Therefore, it can be seen that, compared with the handling of cyclic shift based on individual symbols as illustrated in Figure 5 and Figure 6 , the joint handling of cyclic shift on multiple combined symbols as illustrated in Figure 7 significantly increases the number of cyclic shifts.

[0099] Although Figure 7 illustrates that 4 symbols in SRS 700 are combined into 1 combined symbol 710 to handle cyclic shift, it should be understood that 4 symbols in SRS 700 can be combined into different numbers of combined symbols. For example, 4 symbols can be combined into 2 symbols to handle cyclic shift. The number of symbols combined to generate the cyclic shift structure can be configured by the symbol group level parameter in the SRS configuration information. The symbol group level indicates the number of combined symbols for joint processing and can be a function of the number of symbols and the number of combs. For example, Figure 7 illustrates the handling of 1 combined symbol, so the symbol group level can be 1. If configured to have a symbol group level of 2, 4 symbols in SRS 700 will be combined into 2 combined symbols, and each combined symbol is jointly processed. If configured to have a symbol group level of 4, 4 symbols in SRS 700 will be combined into 4 combined symbols (i.e., equivalent to not combining symbols), and each combined symbol is jointly processed, which is consistent with the conventional processing (e.g., as illustrated in Figure 6 ). Therefore, using the symbol group level to configure SRS is backward compatible.

[0100] For example, Table 1 provides the comb interleaving offset of SRS version 16 as a function of the number of combs K TC and the OFDM symbol index l’ and the number of SRS OFDM symbols . For example, Figure 6 shows and K TC An interleaving pattern 0, 2, 1, 3 with K = 4. When the combined symbol has a frequency comb structure, adjacent SRS symbols can be combined.

[0101]

[0102] Table 1

[0103] For an SRS with 2 symbols, a symbol group level of 1 or 2 can be used, indicating that 2 symbols can be combined and treated as 1 symbol, or 2 symbols can be treated as 2 symbols.

[0104] For example, as Figure 7 explained, for an SRS with 4 symbols and 4 combs, a symbol group level of 1 or 2 or 4 can be used, indicating that 4 symbols can be combined and treated as 1 symbol, or combined and treated as 2 symbols, or 4 symbols can be treated as 4 symbols.

[0105] For an SRS with 4 symbols, a symbol group level of 1 or 2 can be used, indicating that 2 symbols can be combined and treated as 1 symbol, or 2 symbols can be treated as 4 symbols.

[0106] For an SRS with 4 symbols and 8 combs, a symbol group level of 1 or 2 or 4 can be used, indicating that 4 symbols can be combined and treated as 1 symbol, or 4 symbols can be combined and treated as 2 symbols, or 4 symbols can be treated as 4 symbols.

[0107] For an SRS with 8 symbols and 4 combs, a symbol group level of 2 or 4 or 8 can be used, indicating that 8 symbols can be combined and treated as 2 symbols, or 8 symbols can be combined and treated as 4 symbols, or 8 symbols can be treated as 8 symbols.

[0108] For an SRS with 8 symbols and 8 combs, a symbol group level of 1 or 2 or 4 or 8 can be used, indicating that 8 symbols can be combined and treated as 1 symbol, or 8 symbols can be combined and treated as 2 symbols, or 8 symbols can be combined and treated as 4 symbols, or 8 symbols can be treated as 8 symbols.

[0109] For an SRS with 12 symbols and 4 or 8 combs, a symbol group level of 3 or 6 or 12 can be used, indicating that 12 symbols can be combined and treated as 3 symbols, or 12 symbols can be combined and treated as 6 symbols, or 12 symbols can be treated as 12 symbols.

[0110] Combined with the symbol group level, the SRS configuration includes an extended cyclic shift, which indicates an increase in the phase rotation across subcarriers in the symbols combined according to the symbol group level. The extended cyclic shift increases the feasible values of α. For example, in Figure 5 and 6 , the cyclic shift of α can be selected from {0, 2π / 6, … 2π×5 / 6}, ideally with 6 subcarriers. In Figure 7 , the cyclic shift of α can be selected from {0, 2π / 24, … 2π×23 / 24}, ideally with 24 subcarriers.

[0111] Therefore, the SRS generated and transmitted by the UE 104 and received and processed by the base station can be configured based on the symbol group size, the extended cyclic shift, and conventional parameters such as bandwidth, number of symbols, and comb size, for example, as detailed in 3GPP TS38.211.

[0112] As Figure 7 illustrates, combining 4 symbols into 1 combined symbol to handle the extended cyclic shift may not be applicable to all UEs. For example, for high Doppler UEs, combining 4 symbols into 1 combined symbol may result in unacceptable performance degradation. Therefore, as discussed above, 4 symbols can be combined into 2 separate symbols, and each of the 2 combined symbols is processed with the extended cyclic shift.

[0113] In another implementation, the two pairs of 2 symbols corresponding to the 2 combined symbols can be further separated based on an outer code indicating the multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level. For example, the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by acting as an identifier of the UE relative to the identifiers of other UEs, where the other UEs use the same symbol group level and the same extended cyclic shift but have different outer codes to transmit the SRS.

[0114] For example, Figure 8 illustrates a 4-symbol 4-comb SRS 800 configured with cyclic shift at the subcarrier level and codes at the symbol level by jointly processing the cyclic shift on multiple associated symbols and implementing the outer code. Figure 8 Illustrates the SRS800 with the configured extended cyclic shift transmitted by the UE 104 and received by the base station 102 and additionally illustrates the associated symbols 810, which intuitively illustrates that the 4 symbols of the SRS 800 are combined into two associated symbols 812 and 814 for joint processing, where the extended cyclic shift linearly increases the phase rotation across subcarriers in the pair of combined symbols 812, 814, thereby generating the cyclic shift structure of the SRS 800. The associated symbols 810, 812, and 814 may sometimes be referred to as combined symbols 810, 812, and 814 herein. With Figure 7Similarly, it should be understood that the combined symbol 810 is only shown as an illustration of multiple symbols based on extended cyclic shift combining and processing (e.g., performed by the UE 104 before transmitting the SRS 800 or by the base station 102 receiving the SRS 800), and the UE 104 transmits the SRS 800 instead of the combined symbol 810.

[0115] As Figure 8 illustrated, two pairs of symbols in the SRS 800 are combined, symbol 1 and symbol 2 are combined to form the combined symbol 812 (represented by symbol 1+2), and symbol 3 and symbol 4 are combined to form the combined symbol 814 (represented by symbol 3+4). Thus, for example, the SRS 800 can be configured based on symbol group level 2 and based on the extended cyclic shift α.

[0116] In addition, the SRS 800 can be further configured using the outer code 820 to, for example, increase the multiplexing capacity of the SRS 800. The outer code 820 is a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level. For example, as Figure 8 illustrated, the outer code 820 can be [1, 1] or [1, -1]. Thus, for the outer code 820, symbol 1 and 2 are multiplied by 1, and symbol 3 and 4 are multiplied by 1. On the other hand, for the outer code 820, symbol 1 and 2 are multiplied by 1, while symbol 3 and 4 are multiplied by -1. Other multipliers can be used if needed. Figure 8 The use of the outer code 820 as shown in

[0117] doubles the multiplexing capacity of the SRS 800.

[0118] Therefore, the UE 104 can be identified from the SRS 800 based on the selection of the extended cyclic shift α and the outer code 820 [1, 1] or [1, -1]. In some implementations, the SRS configuration information including the available options of symbol group level, extended cyclic shift, and outer code can be provided to the UE 104, and the UE 104 can select a combination as an identifier. For example, the UE 104 can provide an indication of the selection to the serving base station 102. In other implementations, the serving base station 102 can select a combination of parameters for the UE 104 and transmit the selected symbol group level, extended cyclic shift, and outer code in the SRS configuration information to the UE 104.

[0118] Therefore, the SRS generated and transmitted by the UE 104 and received and processed by the base station can be configured based on symbol group size, extended cyclic shift, and outer code as well as conventional parameters such as bandwidth, number of symbols, and comb size, as detailed in, for example, 3GPP38.211.

[0119] As Figure 8 illustrated, the phase of the first tone in symbols 2 and 4 is affected by the extended cyclic shift, and thus, Figure 8 the configuration as illustrated inFigure 6 The received version 16 is not backward compatible. In some implementations, an outer code can be used to provide backward compatibility. For example, a common phase shift can be included in the outer code, and the configured SRS can be consistent with version 16.

[0120] For example, Figure 9 illustrates a 4-symbol 4-comb SRS 900 configured with frequency bin-level cyclic shifts and symbol-level codes by jointly processing cyclic shifts over multiple combined symbols and implementing an outer code including a common phase. Figure 9 Similar to Figure 8 , and illustrates an SRS 900 with configured extended cyclic shifts transmitted by UE 104 and received by base station 102 and additionally illustrates combined symbols 810, which, as Figure 8 shown, intuitively illustrates the combination of 4 symbols of SRS 800 into two combined symbols 812 and 814 for joint processing, where the cyclic shift linearly increases the phase rotation across frequency bins in the pair of combined symbols 812 and 814. As with Figure 7 , it should be understood that combined symbols 810 are only shown as an illustration of multiple symbols combined and processed based on extended cyclic shifts (e.g., by UE 104 before transmitting SRS 900 or by base station 102 receiving SRS 900), and UE 104 transmits SRS 900 instead of combined symbols 910.

[0121] Combined symbols 810 can be used to generate SRS 900 and an outer code 920 that includes a common phase shift of at least a portion of the combined symbols, which acts as a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level. For example, as Figure 9 illustrated, the outer code 920 can be [1, e jα1 , 1, e jα1 or [1, e jα1 , -1, -e jα1 . Thus, for the outer code 920 [1, e jα1 , 1, e jα1 , symbol 1 is multiplied by 1, symbol 2 is multiplied by e ja1 , symbol 3 is multiplied by 1, and symbol 4 is multiplied by e jα1 . On the other hand, for the outer code 920 [1, e jα1 , -1, -e j α1 , symbol 1 is multiplied by 1, symbol 2 is multiplied by e jα1 , symbol 3 is multiplied by -1, and symbol 4 is multiplied by -e jα1 . Thus, as Figure 8As shown, SRS 900 with outer code 920 is equivalent to SRS 800 with outer code 820. Advantageously, SRS 900 doubles the feasible values of α because 2 symbols are combined by cyclic shift, thus increasing the multiplexing capacity. In addition, SRS 900 (without outer code 920) has the same pattern as that shown in SRS600 and is thus backward compatible.

[0122] Therefore, UE104 can be identified from SRS 900 based on the selection of the extended cyclic shift α and outer code 920. In some implementations, SRS configuration information including available options for symbol group level, extended cyclic shift, and outer code can be provided to UE 104, and UE 104 can select a combination as an identifier. For example, UE 104 can provide an indication of the selection to serving base station 102. In other implementations, serving base station 102 can select a combination of parameters for UE 104 and transmit the selected symbol group level, extended cyclic shift, and outer code in the SRS configuration information to UE 104.

[0123] If desired, other multipliers can be used. In addition, the outer code used may depend on the symbol group level. For example, for symbol group level 1, for example, as Figure 7 illustrated, since there is 1 combined symbol, it may not be desirable to use SRS700 to implement the outer code.

[0124] For example, Figure 10 illustrates an example of a 4-symbol 4-comb SRS 1000 configured with symbol-level codes by implementing an outer code. Figure 10 The SRS 1000 in Figure 6 can be the same as that shown in Figure 10 but also includes an outer code 1020, which can be one of several possible outer codes, such as [1,1,1,1], [1,j,-1,-j], [1,-j -1,j] or [1,-1,1,-1]. Other outer codes are also possible. For example, a set of possible outer codes can be a set or subset of orthogonal bases including Fourier bases and Hadamard bases. The use of multiple outer codes 1020 as shown in

[0125] increases the multiplexing capacity of SRS 1000 while maintaining backward compatibility. Therefore, UE 104 can be identified from SRS 1000 based on the selection of the outer code 1020, which can be selected by UE 104 or serving base station 102.

[0125] Therefore, the SRS generated and transmitted by UE 104 and received and processed by the base station can be configured based on the outer code and conventional parameters such as bandwidth, number of symbols, and comb size, as detailed in, for example, 3GPP 38.211.

[0126] Figure 11Message flow 1100 illustrates the messaging between the LMF 270, gNBs 102, and UE 104, which is used for positioning using UL SRS configured for frequency subcarrier level cyclic shift and symbol level outer code, as Figure 7 - 10 discussed in. Serving gNB 102-1 and multiple neighboring gNBs 102-2 and 102-3 may sometimes be collectively referred to as gNB 102. Figure 11 The process illustrated is for UL SRS for positioning measurements of gNB 102, e.g., for RSTD for UL-TDOA, UL AoA, Rx-Tx time difference measurements. In some implementations, additional signaling may be performed for DL measurements of UE 104 (e.g., Rx-Tx time difference measurements), which may be used together with UL SRS measurements for RTT or multi-RTT positioning techniques. Additionally, although Figure 11 shown in the context of positioning of UE 104 is the SRS for extended cyclic shift and symbol level outer code as Figure 7 - 10 discussed in, it should be understood that SRS may be used for non-positioning purposes such as channel estimation. Additional, different, or fewer messages shown in message flow 1100 may be used for positioning. For example, additional messages may be used to initiate and end a positioning session, e.g., in a Mobile Terminal Location Request (MT-LR) or Mobile Originated Location Request (MO-LR), or in a periodic or triggered positioning procedure.

[0127] In phase 1, the LMF 270 may use an LPP capability transfer procedure to request the positioning capability of UE 104.

[0128] In phase 2, UE 104 may send an LPP provide capability message, which may indicate that UE 104 supports extended cyclic shift and / or symbol level outer code. For example, the LPP provide capability message may provide an indication that UE 104 supports SRS, which may be configured using symbol group level and extended cyclic shift, outer code, or a combination thereof.

[0129] In phase 3, the LMF 270 sends an NRPPa positioning information request message to the serving gNB 102-1 to request UL information of UE 104.

[0130] In phase 4, the serving gNB 102-1 determines the resources available for UL SRS and configures UE 104 with a UL-SRS resource set in phase 4a. UE 104 may be configured with SRS configuration information such as bandwidth, number of symbols, number of combs, and symbol group level and extended cyclic shift, outer code, or a combination thereof.

[0131] In phase 5, serving gNB 102-1 provides UL SRS configuration information to LMF 270 in an NRPPa Location Information Response message. Serving gNB 102-1 provides SRS configuration information to LMF 270 including symbol group level and extended cyclic shift, outer code, or a combination thereof.

[0132] In phase 6a, LMF 270 may send an NRPPa Request UE SRS Activation message to serving gNB 102-1. In phase 6b, serving gNB 102-1 may activate UE SRS transmission.

[0133] In phase 7, LMF 270 may provide UL information to the selected gNB 102 in an NRPPa Measurement Request message. The message may include SRS configuration information of UE 104, including symbol group level and extended cyclic shift, outer code, or a combination thereof.

[0134] In phase 8a, UE 104 prepares SRS according to the SRS configuration information (including symbol group level and extended cyclic shift, outer code, or a combination thereof) and sends the SRS to gNB 102. In phase 8b, each gNB 102 configured in phase 7 receives the SRS transmitted by UE104, processes the SRS based on the SRS configuration information of UE 104 (including symbol group level and extended cyclic shift, outer code, or a combination thereof), and performs the requested UE SRS measurement.

[0135] In phase 9, each gNB 102 reports UE SRS measurement to LMF 270 in an NRPPa Measurement Response message.

[0136] In phase 10, LMF 270 may use the SRS measurement values received in phase 9 and any positioning measurements of DL PRS performed by UE 104 and received by LMF270 from UE 104 (not shown) to determine the positioning estimate of UE 104. In some implementations, gNB 102 may report UE SRS measurement to UE 104 in phase 9, and UE 104 may determine the positioning estimate based on the UE SRS measurement and any positioning measurements of DL PRS performed by UE 104.

[0137] Figure 12 A schematic block diagram showing certain exemplary features of UE 1200 (which may be, for example, the UE 104 shown in Figure 1 ), the UE 1200 being capable of supporting SRS configurations with frequency subcarrier level cyclic shift and / or symbol level codes (e.g., using symbol group level and extended cyclic shift, outer code, or a combination thereof) as described herein, for example, in Figure 7 - 11 ). UE 1200 may be configured to performFigure 14 The process flow shown in. The UE 1200 may include, for example, one or more processors 1202, a memory 1204, an external interface (such as a transceiver 1210, for example, a wireless network interface), which may be operably coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1220 and the memory 1204 by one or more connections 1206 (such as buses, lines, optical fibers, links, etc.). The UE 1200 may further include additional items not shown, such as a user interface through which a user may dock with the UE, which may include, for example, a display, a keypad, or other input devices (such as a virtual keypad on the display), or a satellite positioning system receiver. In some example implementations, all or part of the UE 1200 may take the form of a chipset or the like. The transceiver 1210 may include, for example, a transmitter 1212 implemented to be capable of transmitting one or more signals on one or more types of wireless communication networks, and a receiver 1214 that receives one or more signals transmitted on the one or more types of wireless communication networks.

[0138] In some embodiments, the UE 1200 may include an antenna 1211, which may be internal or external. The UE antenna 1211 may be used to transmit and / or receive signals processed by the transceiver 1210. In some embodiments, the UE antenna 1211 may be coupled to the transceiver 1210. In some embodiments, measurements of the signals received (transmitted) by the UE 1200 may be performed at the connection point between the UE antenna 1211 and the transceiver 1210. For example, the measurement reference point for the received (transmitted) RF signal measurement may be the input (output) terminal of the receiver 1214 (transmitter 1212) and the output (input) terminal of the UE antenna 1211. In a UE 1200 having multiple UE antennas 1211 or an antenna array, the antenna connector may be regarded as a virtual point representing the aggregated output (input) of the multiple UE antennas. In some embodiments, the UE 1200 may measure received signals (including signal strength and TOA measurements), and the raw measurements may be processed by one or more processors 1202.

[0139] The one or more processors 1202 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1202 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein by implementing one or more instructions or program codes 1208 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (such as the medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204). In some embodiments, the one or more processors 1202 may represent one or more circuits configured to perform at least a part of the data signal calculation procedures or processes related to the operation of the UE 1200.

[0140] The medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 may store instructions or program code 1208 that includes executable code or software instructions that, when executed by one or more processors 1202, cause the one or more processors 1202 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As illustrated in the UE 1200, the medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by the one or more processors 1202 to perform the methodology described herein. Although the components or modules are illustrated as software in the medium 1220 executable by the one or more processors 1202, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in the memory 1204 or may be special-purpose hardware in or outside of the one or more processors 1202. Several software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 and be utilized by the one or more processors 1202 to manage both the communication and functionality described herein. It should be appreciated that the organization of the content of the medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 as shown in the UE 1200 is merely exemplary, and as such, the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or structured in different ways depending on the implementation of the UE 1200.

[0141] The medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 may include a UL SRS module 1222 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1202, configures the one or more processors 1202 to, for example, receive an SRS configuration via the transceiver 1210 and prepare an SRS according to the configuration, e.g., as Figure 7 - 10 discussed herein. For example, the one or more processors 1202 may be configured to generate an SRS based on: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with generating a cyclic shift structure, an extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in phase rotation across frequency tones in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level. The one or more processors 1202 may be configured to generate an SRS based on configuration parameters such as bandwidth, number of symbols, and comb size. The one or more processors 1202 may be configured to transmit the SRS via the transceiver 1210, for example.

[0142] The medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 may include an extended cyclic shift module 1224, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1202, configures the one or more processors 1202 to receive and determine frequency tuning level cyclic shifts based on: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with generating a cyclic shift structure, and an extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in phase rotation across frequency tones in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, which is used to generate the SRS, e.g., as discussed in reference Figure 7 - 10 discussed. For example, the symbol group level may be based on the number of symbols and the comb size.

[0143] The medium 1220 and / or the memory 1204 may include an outer code module 1226, which, when implemented by one or more processors 1202, configures the one or more processors 1202 to receive and determine a symbol level code, e.g., based on an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level, e.g., as discussed in reference Figure 8 - 10 discussed. For example, one or more processors 1202 may be configured to include a common phase shift of at least a portion of the symbols associated with the symbol group level in the outer code.

[0144] The methodologies described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, these methodologies may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the one or more processors 1202 may be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

[0145] For a firmware and / or software implementation, these methodologies may be implemented using modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used to implement the methodologies described herein. For example, software code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1220 or memory 1204 connected to and executed by one or more processors 1202. The memory may be implemented within or external to the one or more processors. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory, and is not limited to any particular type of memory or number of memories, or the type of medium on which memories are stored.

[0146] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions can be stored as one or more instructions or program codes 1208 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (such as medium 1220 and / or memory 1204). Examples include a computer-readable medium encoded with a data structure and a computer-readable medium encoded with computer program code 1208. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium including program code 1208 stored thereon may include program code 1208 for supporting SRS configured with tone adjustment frequency level cyclic shift and / or symbol level code, for example, using symbol group level and extended cyclic shift, outer code, or a combination thereof in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. The non-transitory computer-readable medium 1220 includes a physical computer storage medium. The storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code 1208 in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer; as used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with a laser. The above combinations should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0147] In addition to being stored on the computer-readable medium 1220, the instructions and / or data may also be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in a communication device. For example, the communication device may include a transceiver 1210 having signals indicating the instructions and data. These instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium having signals indicating information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0148] The memory 1204 may represent any data storage mechanism. The memory 1204 may include, for example, a main memory and / or a secondary memory. The main memory may include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, etc. Although illustrated as separate from one or more processors 1202 in this example, it should be understood that all or part of the main memory may be located within one or more processors 1202 or otherwise co-located / coupled with one or more processors 1202. The secondary memory may include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as the main memory and / or one or more data storage devices or systems (such as, by way of example, disk drives, optical disc drives, tape drives, solid-state memory drives, etc.).

[0149] In some implementations, the secondary memory may be operably housed or otherwise configurable to be coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium 1220. Thus, in some example implementations, the methods and / or apparatuses presented herein may take the form of all or a portion of a computer-readable medium 1220 that may include computer-executable program code 1208 stored thereon, which may be operably implemented to perform all or a portion of the example operations described herein when executed by one or more processors 1202. The computer-readable medium 1220 may be a part of the memory 1204.

[0150] Figure 13 FIG. shows a schematic block diagram illustrating certain exemplary features of a base station 1300 (e.g., Figure 1 the base station 102 in ), the base station 1300 being capable of supporting SRS configurations for frequency-tuning level cyclic shift and / or symbol-level codes (e.g., using symbol-group level and extended cyclic shift, outer codes, or combinations thereof), as described herein, for example, in Figure 7 - 11 . The base station 1300 may be an eNB or a gNB. The base station 1300 may be configured to perform Figure 15 the process flows shown in. The base station 1300 may, for example, include one or more processors 1302, a memory 1304, an external interface that may include a transceiver 1310 (e.g., a wireless network interface) and a communication interface 1316 (e.g., a wired or wireless network interface to other base stations and / or entities in the core network, such as a location server), which may be operably coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium 1320 and the memory 1304 by one or more connections 1306 (e.g., buses, lines, optical fibers, links, etc.). The base station 1300 may further include additional items not shown, such as a user interface by which a user may dock with the base station, the user interface may include, for example, a display, a keypad, or other input devices (such as a virtual keypad on the display). In some example implementations, all or a portion of the base station 1300 may take the form of a chipset, etc. The transceiver 1310 may, for example, include a transmitter 1312 implemented to be capable of transmitting one or more signals on one or more types of wireless communication networks, and a receiver 1314 that receives one or more signals transmitted on the one or more types of wireless communication networks. The communication interface 1316 may be a wired or wireless interface capable of connecting to other base stations or network entities in the RAN, such as Figure 1 the location server 172 shown in.

[0151] In some embodiments, base station 1300 may include antenna 1311, which may be internal or external. Antenna 1311 may be used to transmit and / or receive signals processed by transceiver 1310. In some embodiments, antenna 1311 may be coupled to transceiver 1310. In some embodiments, measurements of signals received (transmitted) by base station 1300 may be performed at the connection point between antenna 1311 and transceiver 1310. For example, the measurement reference point for received (transmitted) RF signal measurements may be the input (output) terminal of receiver 1314 (transmitter 1312) and the output (input) terminal of antenna 1311. In base station 1300 having multiple antennas 1311 or an antenna array, the antenna connector may be regarded as a virtual point representing the aggregated output (input) of the multiple antennas. In some embodiments, base station 1300 may measure received signals (including signal strength and TOA measurements), and the raw measurements may be processed by one or more processors 1302.

[0152] The one or more processors 1302 may be implemented using a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. For example, the one or more processors 1302 may be configured to perform the functions discussed herein by implementing one or more instructions or program code 1308 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as medium 1320 and / or memory 1304. In some embodiments, the one or more processors 1302 may represent one or more circuits that may be configured to perform at least a portion of the data signal computation procedures or processes related to the operation of base station 1300.

[0153] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may store instructions or program code 1308 that includes executable code or software instructions that, when executed by one or more processors 1302, cause the one or more processors 1302 to operate as a special-purpose computer programmed to perform the techniques disclosed herein. As illustrated in base station 1300, the medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include one or more components or modules that may be implemented by the one or more processors 1302 to perform the methodology described herein. Although the components or modules are illustrated as software in the medium 1320 executable by the one or more processors 1302, it should be understood that the components or modules may be stored in the memory 1304 or may be special-purpose hardware in or outside of the one or more processors 1302. Several software modules and data tables may reside in the medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 and be utilized by the one or more processors 1302 to manage both the communication and functionality described herein. It should be appreciated that the organization of the content of the medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 as shown in base station 1300 is merely exemplary, and as such, the functionality of the modules and / or data structures may be combined, separated, and / or structured in different ways depending on the implementation of the base station 1300.

[0154] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include an SRS configuration module 1322 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to generate an SRS configuration for a UE, e.g., as Figure 7 - 10 discussed herein. For example, the one or more processors 1302 may be configured to generate an SRS configuration based on: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with generating a cyclic shift structure, an extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in phase rotation across frequency tones in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level. The one or more processors 1302 may be configured to generate an SRS configuration having parameters such as bandwidth, number of symbols, and comb size. The one or more processors 1302 may be configured to transmit the SRS configuration, e.g., via transceiver 1310.

[0155] The medium 1320 and / or the memory 1304 may include an extended cyclic shift module 1324 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to configure frequency tone level cyclic shifts based on: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with generating a cyclic shift structure, and an extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in phase rotation across frequency tones in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, which is used to configure the SRS, e.g., as referenced Figure 7 - 10as discussed. For example, the symbol group level can be based on the symbol number and the comb size.

[0156] Medium 1320 and / or memory 1304 may include an SRS module 1326 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to receive SRS from a UE via transceiver 1310 and process the SRS according to an SRS configuration that includes a symbol group level, an extended cyclic shift, an outer code, a bandwidth, a symbol number, and a comb size.

[0157] Medium 1320 and / or memory 1304 may include an outer code module 1328 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to generate a symbol level code, e.g., an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level, e.g., as referenced Figure 8 - 10 as discussed. For example, one or more processors 1302 may be configured to include a common phase shift of at least a portion of symbols associated with the symbol group level in the outer code.

[0158] Medium 1320 and / or memory 1304 may include a positioning session module 1330 that, when implemented by one or more processors 1302, configures the one or more processors 1302 to participate in a positioning session for a UE. For example, the one or more processors 1302 may be configured to: transmit and receive LLP messages for the UE 104 and the location server 172 to participate in the positioning session. One or more processors 1302 may be configured to transmit an SRS configuration to the UE and perform positioning measurements for the SRS received from the UE. One or more processors 1302 may be configured to transmit positioning measurements to a network entity such as a location server or a UE via transceiver 1310 or communication interface 1316.

[0159] The methodologies described herein may be implemented by various means depending on the application. For example, these methodologies may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the one or more processors 1302 may be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

[0160] For firmware and / or software implementations, the methodologies may be implemented using modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying the instructions may be used to implement the methodologies described herein. For example, software code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium 1320 or memory 1304 that is connected to and executed by one or more processors 1302. The memory may be implemented within the one or more processors or external to the one or more processors. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to any type of long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory and is not limited to any particular type of memory or number of memories, or type of media on which memories are stored.

[0161] If implemented in firmware and / or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or program code 1308 on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as medium 1320 and / or memory 1304. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encoded with computer program code 1308. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium including program code 1308 stored thereon may include program code 1308 for supporting the configuration of SRS, the configuration having tone frequency level cyclic shift and / or symbol level codes, e.g., using symbol group level and extended cyclic shift, outer codes, or combinations thereof in a manner consistent with the disclosed embodiments. Non-transitory computer-readable medium 1320 includes physical computer storage media. The storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code 1308 in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer; as used herein, "disk" and "disc" include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0162] In addition to being stored on computer-readable medium 1320, the instructions and / or data may also be provided as signals on a transmission medium included in a communication device. For example, the communication device may include a transceiver 1310 having signals indicative of the instructions and data. These instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. That is, the communication device includes a transmission medium having signals indicative of information for performing the disclosed functions.

[0163] Memory 1304 may represent any data storage mechanism. Memory 1304 may include, for example, main memory and / or secondary memory. Main memory may include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, etc. Although illustrated as separate from one or more processors 1302 in this example, it should be understood that all or part of the main memory may be located within one or more processors 1302 or otherwise co-located / coupled with one or more processors 1302. Secondary memory may include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as the main memory and / or one or more data storage devices or systems (such as, by way of example, disk drives, optical disc drives, tape drives, solid-state memory drives, etc.).

[0164] In some implementations, the secondary memory may be operatively housed or otherwise configured to be coupled to non-transitory computer-readable medium 1320. Thus, in some example implementations, the methods and / or apparatuses presented herein may take the form of all or part of a computer-readable medium 1320 that may include computer-executable program code 1308 stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors 1302, may be operatively implemented to perform all or part of the example operations described herein. Computer-readable medium 1320 may be a part of memory 1304.

[0165] Figure 14 A flowchart of an exemplary process 1400 performed by a user equipment (UE) (such as UE 104) to support wireless transmission of the UE in a wireless network is shown in a manner consistent with the disclosed implementations.

[0166] At block 1402, the UE receives a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS) from a base station, and the configuration for the SRS includes: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level, as discussed, for example, in Phase 4a of Figure 11 A device for receiving a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS) from a base station (the configuration for the SRS includes: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level) may include a wireless transceiver 1210 and one or more processors 1202 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions (such as UL SRS module 1222, extended cyclic shift module 1224, and outer code module 1226) in memory 1204 and / or medium 1220 of the UE 1200 shown in Figure 12

[0167] ​At block 1404, the UE may prepare the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS that includes the symbol group level and the outer code. For example, as discussed in stage 8a of Figure 11 and with reference to Figure 7 - 10 discussed. An apparatus for preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS that includes the symbol group level and the outer code may include a wireless transceiver 1010 and one or more processors 1202 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions (such as the extended cyclic shift module 1224) implemented in the memory 1204 and / or the medium 1220 in the UE1200 shown in Figure 12 .

[0168] At block 1406, the UE may transmit the SRS to one or more base stations. For example, as discussed in stage 8a of Figure 11 . For example, the SRS may be transmitted to the one or more base stations for channel estimation or positioning. An apparatus for transmitting the SRS to one or more base stations may include a wireless transceiver 1010 and one or more processors 1202 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions (such as the UL SRS module 1222) implemented in the memory 1204 and / or the medium 1220 in the UE1200 shown in Figure 12 .

[0169] In one implementation, the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by acting as an identifier of the UE relative to the identifiers of other UEs that use the same symbol group level and the same extended cyclic shift but have different outer codes to transmit SRS. For example, the outer code may include a set or subset of orthogonal bases, where the orthogonal bases include one of Fourier bases or Hadamard bases.

[0170] In one implementation, the configuration for the SRS may further include an extended cyclic shift that indicates a linear increase in phase rotation across frequency tones in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, where preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further includes the extended cyclic shift. The combination of the extended cyclic shift and the outer code may act as an identifier for the UE. In one implementation, a common phase shift of at least a portion of the symbols associated with the symbol group level is included in the outer code. The configuration for the SRS may further include bandwidth and comb size. For example, the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level. For example, the symbol group level may be based on the number of symbols and the comb size. In one example, when the number of symbols is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 2 symbols are associated to produce a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 2 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In another example, when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to produce a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to produce a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In another example, when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to produce a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In one example, when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to produce a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to produce a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In one example, when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to produce a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to produce a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In one example, when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to produce a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to produce a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to produce a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In one example, when the number of symbols is 12 and the comb size is 4 or 8, the symbol group level indicates that 12 symbols are associated to produce a triple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are associated to produce a six-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure.

[0171] Figure 15A flowchart of an exemplary process 1500 for supporting wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, performed by a serving base station (such as gNB 102-1) of the UE, is shown in a manner consistent with the disclosed implementations.

[0172] At block 1502, the base station transmits to the UE a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level, as discussed, for example, in Figure 11 phase 4a of []. A device for transmitting to a UE a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS) (the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level) may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions in a memory 1304 and / or a medium 1320 in the base station 1300 as shown in Figure 13 [], such as an SRS configuration module 1322 and an extended cyclic shift module 1324.

[0173] At block 1504, the base station receives the SRS from the UE, as discussed, for example, in Figure 11 phase 8a of []. A device for receiving the SRS from the UE may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions in a memory 1304 and / or a medium 1320 in the base station 1300 as shown in Figure 13 [].

[0174] At block 1506, the base station may process the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code, as discussed, for example, in Figure 11 phase 8a of [], and with reference to Figure 7 - 10 []. A device for processing the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code may include, for example, one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or executable code or software instructions in a memory 1304 and / or a medium 1320 in the base station 1300 as shown in Figure 13 [], such as an SRS module 1326, an extended cyclic shift module 1324, and an outer code module 1328.

[0175] In one implementation, the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by acting as an identifier of the UE relative to the identifiers of other UEs that transmit SRS using the same symbol group level and the same extended cyclic shift but different outer codes. For example, the outer code may include a set or subset of orthogonal bases, where the orthogonal bases include one of Fourier bases or Hadamard bases.

[0176] In one implementation, the configuration for the SRS may further include an extended cyclic shift that indicates a linear increase in phase rotation across subcarriers in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, where processing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further includes the extended cyclic shift. The combination of the extended cyclic shift and the outer code serves as an identifier for the UE. In one implementation, a common phase shift of at least a portion of the symbols associated with the symbol group level is included in the outer code. The configuration for the SRS may further include bandwidth and comb size. For example, the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level. For example, the symbol group level is based on the number of symbols and the comb size. In one example, when the number of symbols is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 2 symbols are associated to produce a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 2 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In one example, when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to produce a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to produce a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In one example, when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to produce a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In one example, when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to produce a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to produce a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In one example, when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to produce a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to produce a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In one example, when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to produce a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to produce a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to produce a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure. In one example, when the number of symbols is 12 and the comb size is 4 or 8, the symbol group level indicates that 12 symbols are associated to produce a triple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are associated to produce a six-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure.

[0177] In one implementation, the SRS received from the UE can be used for channel estimation. In another implementation, the method may further include generating positioning measurements based on the SRS received from the UE. For example, as in Figure 11as discussed in Phase 8b. The apparatus for generating positioning measurements based on the SRS received from the UE may include, for example, one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions (such as a positioning session module 1330) in the memory 1304 and / or medium 1320 in the base station 1300 as shown in Figure 13 . The base station may send the positioning measurements to a network entity for UE positioning estimation, e.g., as discussed in Figure 11 Phase 8b. The apparatus for sending the positioning measurements to a network entity for UE positioning estimation may include, for example, a wireless transceiver 1310 and one or more processors 1302 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions (such as a positioning session module 1330) in the memory 1304 and / or medium 1320 in the base station 1300 as shown in Figure 13 .

[0178] As used throughout this specification, the phrases "an example", "one example", "certain examples", or "exemplary implementations" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the feature and / or example may be included in at least one feature and / or example of the claimed subject matter. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one example", "one example", "in certain examples", or "in certain implementations", or other similar phrases in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same feature, example, and / or limitation. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in one or more examples and / or features.

[0179] Some portions of the detailed descriptions included herein are presented in the form of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on binary digital signals stored within the memory of a specific apparatus or a dedicated computing device or platform. In the context of this particular specification, the term specific apparatus, etc. includes a general-purpose computer that, once programmed, performs specific operations in accordance with instructions from program software. The algorithmic descriptions or symbolic representations are examples of techniques used by those of ordinary skill in the signal processing or related arts to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is herein, and generally, regarded as a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to a desired result or a similar signal processing. In this context, an operation or process involves the physical manipulation of physical quantities. Typically, but not necessarily, such quantities may take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwise manipulated. For reasons of common usage, it has proven convenient at times to refer to such signals as bits, data, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, numerical values, etc. However, it should be understood that all such or similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise specifically stated, as will be apparent from the discussion herein, it should be appreciated that throughout this specification, discussions using terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," etc. refer to the actions or processes of a specific apparatus (such as a dedicated computer, a dedicated computing device, or a similar dedicated electronic computing device). In the context of this specification, therefore, a dedicated computer or a similar dedicated electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals that are typically represented as physical electronic or magnetic quantities within the memory, registers, or other information storage devices, transmission devices, or display devices of that dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device.

[0180] In the foregoing detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods and apparatuses known to those of ordinary skill in the art have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the claimed subject matter.

[0181] As used herein, the terms "and," "or," and "and / or" may include various meanings that also are, at least in part, dependent upon the context in which such terms are used. Generally, "or" when used in connection with a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C (here used in an inclusive sense) as well as A, B, or C (here used in an exclusive sense). Additionally, the term "one or more" as used herein may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular form or may be used to describe plural features, structures, or characteristics or some other combination thereof. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example and the claimed subject matter is not limited to this example.

[0182] Although what are currently considered exemplary features have been illustrated and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various other modifications can be made without departing from the claimed subject matter and equivalents can be substituted. Additionally, many modifications can be made to adapt a particular scenario to the teachings of the claimed subject matter without departing from the central concepts described herein.

[0183] In view of this specification, various embodiments may include different combinations of features. Implementative examples are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0184] Clause 1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) to support wireless transmission of the UE in a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving, from a base station, a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code; and transmitting the SRS to one or more base stations.

[0185] Clause 2. The method according to clause 1, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by serving as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs, the other UEs using the same symbol group level but different outer codes to transmit SRS.

[0186] Clause 3. The method according to any one of clauses 1-2, wherein the outer code includes a set or subset of orthogonal bases, the orthogonal bases including one of Fourier bases or Hadamard bases.

[0187] Clause 4. The method according to any one of clauses 1-3, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes an extended cyclic shift, the extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in phase rotation across frequency tones in symbols associated with the symbol group level, and wherein preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further includes the extended cyclic shift.

[0188] Clause 5. The method according to clause 4, wherein the combination of the extended cyclic shift and the outer code serves as an identifier of the UE.

[0189] Clause 6. The method according to any one of clauses 4-5, wherein a common phase shift of at least a portion of the symbols associated with the symbol group level is included in the outer code.

[0190] Clause 7. The method according to any one of clauses 4-6, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes a bandwidth and a comb size.

[0191] Clause 8. The method as described in Clause 7, wherein the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level.

[0192] Clause 9. The method as described in any one of Clauses 7-8, wherein the symbol group level is based on the number of symbols and the comb size.

[0193] Clause 10. The method as described in Clause 7, wherein when the number of symbols is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 2 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 2 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0194] Clause 11. The method as described in Clause 7, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a two-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0195] Clause 12. The method as described in Clause 7, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a two-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0196] Clause 13. The method as described in Clause 7, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a two-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0197] Clause 14. The method as described in Clause 7, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a two-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a four-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0198] Clause 15. The method as described in Clause 7, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a two-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a four-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0199] Clause 16. The method as described in Clause 7, wherein when the number of symbols is 12 and the comb size is 4 or 8, the symbol group level indicates that 12 symbols are associated to generate a three-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are associated to generate a six-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0200] Clause 17. The method as described in any one of Clauses 1-16, wherein the SRS is transmitted to the one or more base stations for channel estimation or positioning.

[0201] Clause 18. A user equipment (UE) configured to support wireless transmission of the UE in a wireless network, comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with an entity in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, via the wireless transceiver, a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS) from a base station, the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; prepare the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code; and transmit the SRS to one or more base stations via the wireless transceiver.

[0202] Clause 19. The UE as described in Clause 18, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by serving as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs, and the other UEs use the same symbol group level but different outer codes to transmit SRS.

[0203] Clause 20. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 18-19, wherein the outer code includes a set or subset of orthogonal bases, and the orthogonal bases include one of Fourier bases or Hadamard bases.

[0204] Clause 21. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 18-20, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes an extended cyclic shift, and the extended cyclic shift indicates a linear increase in the phase rotation across subcarriers in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, and preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further includes the extended cyclic shift.

[0205] Clause 22. The UE as described in Clause 21, wherein the combination of the extended cyclic shift and the outer code serves as an identifier of the UE.

[0206] Clause 23. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 21-22, wherein a common phase shift of at least a portion of the symbols associated with the symbol group level is included in the outer code.

[0207] Clause 24. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 21 - 23, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes bandwidth and comb size.

[0208] Clause 25. The UE as described in Clause 24, wherein the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level.

[0209] Clause 26. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 24 - 25, wherein the symbol group level is based on the number of symbols and the comb size.

[0210] Clause 27. The UE as described in Clause 24, wherein when the number of symbols is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 2 symbols are associated to generate a single - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 2 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0211] Clause 28. The UE as described in Clause 24, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0212] Clause 29. The UE as described in Clause 24, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0213] Clause 30. The UE as described in Clause 24, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0214] Clause 31. The UE as described in Clause 24, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0215] Clause 32. The UE as described in Clause 24, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0216] Clause 33. The UE as described in Clause 24, wherein when the number of symbols is 12 and the comb size is 4 or 8, the symbol group level indicates that 12 symbols are associated to generate a triple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are associated to generate a six-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0217] Clause 34. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 18 - 33, wherein the SRS is transmitted to the one or more base stations for channel estimation or positioning.

[0218] Clause 35. A user equipment (UE) configured to support wireless transmission of the UE in a wireless network, comprising: means for receiving from a base station a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; means for preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code; and means for transmitting the SRS to one or more base stations.

[0219] Clause 36. The UE as described in Clause 35, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by serving as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs that use the same symbol group level but have different outer codes to transmit SRS.

[0220] Clause 37. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 35 - 36, wherein the outer code comprises a set or subset of orthogonal bases, the orthogonal bases including one of Fourier bases or Hadamard bases.

[0221] Clause 38. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 35 - 37, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes an extended cyclic shift, the extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in the phase rotation across subcarriers in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, and wherein preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further includes the extended cyclic shift.

[0222] Clause 39. The UE as described in Clause 38, wherein the combination of the extended cyclic shift and the outer code serves as an identifier of the UE.

[0223] Clause 40. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 38 - 39, wherein at least a part of the common phase shift of the symbols associated with the symbol group level is included in the outer code.

[0224] Clause 41. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 38 - 40, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes bandwidth and comb size.

[0225] Clause 42. The UE as described in Clause 41, wherein the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level.

[0226] Clause 43. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 41 - 42, wherein the symbol group level is based on the number of symbols and the comb size.

[0227] Clause 44. The UE as described in Clause 41, wherein when the number of symbols is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 2 symbols are associated to generate a single - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 2 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0228] Clause 45. The UE as described in Clause 41, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0229] Clause 46. The UE as described in Clause 41, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0230] Clause 47. The UE as described in Clause 41, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0231] Clause 48. The UE as described in Clause 41, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0232] Clause 49. The UE as described in Clause 41, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0233] Clause 50. The UE as described in Clause 41, wherein when the number of symbols is 12 and the comb size is 4 or 8, the symbol group level indicates that 12 symbols are associated to generate a triple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are associated to generate a six-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0234] Clause 51. The UE as described in any one of Clauses 35 - 50, wherein the SRS is transmitted to the one or more base stations for channel estimation or positioning.

[0235] Clause 52. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a user equipment (UE) configured to support wireless transmission of the UE in a wireless network, the program code including instructions for: receiving from a base station a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code; and transmitting the SRS to one or more base stations.

[0236] Clause 53. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 52, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by acting as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs, the other UEs using the same symbol group level but different outer codes to transmit SRS.

[0237] Clause 54. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any one of Clauses 52 - 53, wherein the outer code includes a set or subset of orthogonal bases, the orthogonal bases including one of a Fourier basis or a Hadamard basis.

[0238] Clause 55. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any one of Clauses 52 - 54, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes an extended cyclic shift, the extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in phase rotation across frequency tones in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, and wherein preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further includes the extended cyclic shift.

[0239] Clause 56. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 55, wherein the combination of the extended cyclic shift and the outer code serves as the identifier of the UE.

[0240] Clause 57. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any one of Clauses 55-56, wherein the common phase shift of at least a part of the symbols associated with the symbol group level is included in the outer code.

[0241] Clause 58. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any one of Clauses 55-57, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes the bandwidth and the comb size.

[0242] Clause 59. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 58, wherein the maximum number of the extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of the symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level.

[0243] Clause 60. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any one of Clauses 58-59, wherein the symbol group level is based on the number of the symbols and the comb size.

[0244] Clause 61. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 58, wherein when the number of the symbols is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 2 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 2 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0245] Clause 62. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 58, wherein when the number of the symbols is 4 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0246] Clause 63. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 58, wherein when the number of the symbols is 4 and the comb size is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0247] Clause 64. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 58, wherein when the number of the symbols is 4 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0248] Clause 65. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 58, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0249] Clause 66. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 58, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0250] Clause 67. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 58, wherein when the number of symbols is 12 and the comb size is 4 or 8, the symbol group level indicates that 12 symbols are associated to generate a triple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are associated to generate a sextuple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0251] Clause 68. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any one of Clauses 52-67, wherein the SRS is transmitted to the one or more base stations for channel estimation or positioning.

[0252] Clause 69. A method for supporting wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network by a serving base station, the method comprising: sending to the UE a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; receiving the SRS from the UE; and processing the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code.

[0253] Clause 70. The method as described in Clause 69, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by serving as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs, and the other UEs use the same symbol group level but different outer codes to transmit SRS.

[0254] Clause 71. The method as described in any one of Clauses 69-70, wherein the outer code includes a set or subset of orthogonal bases, and the orthogonal bases include one of Fourier bases or Hadamard bases.

[0255] Clause 72. A method as described in any one of Clauses 69 - 71, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes an extended cyclic shift that indicates a linear increase in the phase rotation across subcarriers in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, and wherein processing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further includes the extended cyclic shift.

[0256] Clause 73. A method as described in Clause 72, wherein the combination of the extended cyclic shift and the outer code serves as an identifier for the UE.

[0257] Clause 74. A method as described in any one of Clauses 72 - 73, wherein a common phase shift of at least a portion of the symbols associated with the symbol group level is included in the outer code.

[0258] Clause 75. A method as described in any one of Clauses 72 - 74, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes bandwidth and comb size.

[0259] Clause 76. A method as described in Clause 75, wherein the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level.

[0260] Clause 77. A method as described in any one of Clauses 75 - 76, wherein the symbol group level is based on the number of symbols and the comb size.

[0261] Clause 78. A method as described in Clause 75, wherein when the number of symbols is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 2 symbols are associated to produce a single - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 2 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure.

[0262] Clause 79. A method as described in Clause 75, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to produce a single - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to produce a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure.

[0263] Clause 80. A method as described in Clause 75, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to produce a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure.

[0264] Clause 81. A method as described in Clause 75, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to produce a single - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to produce a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to produce a cyclic shift structure.

[0265] Clause 82. The method as described in Clause 75, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0266] Clause 83. The method as described in Clause 75, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0267] Clause 84. The method as described in Clause 75, wherein when the number of symbols is 12 and the comb size is 4 or 8, the symbol group level indicates that 12 symbols are associated to generate a triple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are associated to generate a sextuple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0268] Clause 85. The method as described in any one of Clauses 69 - 84, wherein the SRS received from the UE is used for channel estimation.

[0269] Clause 86. The method as described in any one of Clauses 69 - 85, further comprising: generating a positioning measurement based on the SRS received from the UE; sending the positioning measurement to a network entity for positioning estimation of the UE.

[0270] Clause 87. A base station configured to support wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, the base station being the serving base station of the UE, comprising: an external interface configured to perform wireless communication with entities in the wireless network; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: send, via the external interface, a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS) to the UE, the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; receive, via the external interface, the SRS from the UE; and process the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code.

[0271] Clause 88. The base station as described in Clause 87, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by serving as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs, and the other UEs use the same symbol group level but different outer codes to transmit SRS.

[0272] Clause 89. The base station as described in any one of Clauses 87 - 88, wherein the outer code includes a set or subset of orthogonal bases, and the orthogonal bases include one of Fourier bases or Hadamard bases.

[0273] Clause 90. The base station as described in any one of Clauses 87 - 89, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes an extended cyclic shift, and the extended cyclic shift indicates a linear increase in the phase rotation across frequency tones in the symbols associated with the symbol group level. Further processing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS includes the extended cyclic shift.

[0274] Clause 91. The base station as described in Clause 90, wherein the combination of the extended cyclic shift and the outer code serves as an identifier of the UE.

[0275] Clause 92. The base station as described in any one of Clauses 90 - 91, wherein a common phase shift of at least a part of the symbols associated with the symbol group level is included in the outer code.

[0276] Clause 93. The base station as described in any one of Clauses 90 - 92, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes bandwidth and comb size.

[0277] Clause 94. The base station as described in Clause 93, wherein the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level.

[0278] Clause 95. The base station as described in any one of Clauses 93 - 94, wherein the symbol group level is based on the number of symbols and the comb size.

[0279] Clause 96. The base station as described in Clause 93, wherein when the number of symbols is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 2 symbols are associated to generate a single - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 2 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0280] Clause 97. The base station as described in Clause 93, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a double - symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0281] Clause 98. The base station as described in Clause 93, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a dual-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0282] Clause 99. The base station as described in Clause 93, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a dual-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0283] Clause 100. The base station as described in Clause 93, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a dual-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0284] Clause 101. The base station as described in Clause 93, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a dual-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0285] Clause 102. The base station as described in Clause 93, wherein when the number of symbols is 12 and the comb size is 4 or 8, the symbol group level indicates that 12 symbols are associated to generate a triple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are associated to generate a six-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0286] Clause 103. The base station as described in any one of Clauses 87 - 102, wherein the SRS received from the UE is used for channel estimation.

[0287] Clause 104. The base station as described in any one of Clauses 87 - 103, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: generate positioning measurements based on the SRS received from the UE; send the positioning measurements to a network entity via the external interface for positioning estimation of the UE.

[0288] Clause 105. A serving base station for performing wireless transmissions to support a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, comprising: means for sending to the UE a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS comprising: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; means for receiving the SRS from the UE; and means for processing the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS comprising the symbol group level and the outer code.

[0289] Clause 106. The serving base station according to clause 105, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by serving as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs, the other UEs using the same symbol group level but different outer codes to transmit SRS.

[0290] Clause 107. The serving base station according to any one of clauses 105 - 106, wherein the outer code comprises a set or subset of orthogonal bases, the orthogonal bases comprising one of Fourier bases or Hadamard bases.

[0291] Clause 108. The serving base station according to any one of clauses 105 - 107, wherein the configuration for the SRS further comprises an extended cyclic shift, the extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in phase rotation across frequency tones in symbols associated with the symbol group level, wherein processing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further comprises the extended cyclic shift.

[0292] Clause 109. The serving base station according to clause 108, wherein the combination of the extended cyclic shift and the outer code serves as an identifier of the UE.

[0293] Clause 110. The serving base station according to any one of clauses 108 - 109, wherein a common phase shift of at least a portion of the symbols associated with the symbol group level is included in the outer code.

[0294] Clause 111. The serving base station according to any one of clauses 108 - 110, wherein the configuration for the SRS further comprises a bandwidth and a comb size.

[0295] Clause 112. The serving base station according to clause 111, wherein the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols and the comb size and the symbol group level.

[0296] Clause 113. The serving base station according to any one of clauses 111 - 112, wherein the symbol group level is based on the number of symbols and the comb size.

[0297] Clause 114. The serving base station as described in Clause 111, wherein when the number of symbols is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 2 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 2 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0298] Clause 115. The serving base station as described in Clause 111, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0299] Clause 116. The serving base station as described in Clause 111, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0300] Clause 117. The serving base station as described in Clause 111, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0301] Clause 118. The serving base station as described in Clause 111, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0302] Clause 119. The serving base station as described in Clause 111, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0303] Clause 120. The serving base station as described in Clause 111, wherein when the number of symbols is 12 and the comb size is 4 or 8, the symbol group level indicates that 12 symbols are associated to generate a triple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are associated to generate a six-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0304] Clause 121. The serving base station as described in any one of Clauses 105 - 120, wherein the SRS received from the UE is used for channel estimation.

[0305] Clause 122. A serving base station as any one of Clauses 105 - 121 further includes: means for generating positioning measurements based on the SRS received from the UE; means for sending the positioning measurements to a network entity for positioning estimation of the UE.

[0306] Clause 123. A non - transient computer - readable storage medium including program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a serving base station to support wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, the program code including instructions for: sending to the UE a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; receiving the SRS from the UE; and processing the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code.

[0307] Clause 124. The non - transient computer - readable storage medium as recited in Clause 123, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by serving as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs, the other UEs using the same symbol group level but different outer codes to transmit SRS.

[0308] Clause 125. The non - transient computer - readable storage medium as recited in any one of Clauses 123 - 124, wherein the outer code includes a set or subset of orthogonal bases, the orthogonal bases including one of Fourier bases or Hadamard bases.

[0309] Clause 126. The non - transient computer - readable storage medium as recited in any one of Clauses 123 - 125, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes an extended cyclic shift, the extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in phase rotation across frequency tones in symbols associated with the symbol group level, and wherein processing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further includes the extended cyclic shift.

[0310] Clause 127. The non - transient computer - readable storage medium as recited in Clause 126, wherein the combination of the extended cyclic shift and the outer code serves as an identifier of the UE.

[0311] Clause 128. The non - transient computer - readable storage medium as recited in any one of Clauses 126 - 127, wherein a common phase shift of at least a portion of the symbols associated with the symbol group level is included in the outer code.

[0312] Clause 129. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any one of Clauses 126 - 128, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes bandwidth and comb size.

[0313] Clause 130. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 129, wherein the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level.

[0314] Clause 131. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 129, wherein the symbol group level is based on the number of symbols and the comb size.

[0315] Clause 132. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 129, wherein when the number of symbols is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 2 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 2 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0316] Clause 133. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 129, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0317] Clause 134. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 129, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 2, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0318] Clause 135. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 129, wherein when the number of symbols is 4 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 4 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 4 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0319] Clause 136. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 129, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 4, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0320] Clause 137. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 129, wherein when the number of symbols is 8 and the comb size is 8, the symbol group level indicates that 8 symbols are associated to generate a single-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a double-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are associated to generate a quadruple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 8 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0321] Clause 138. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 129, wherein when the number of symbols is 12 and the comb size is 4 or 8, the symbol group level indicates that 12 symbols are associated to generate a triple-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are associated to generate a six-symbol cyclic shift structure, or 12 symbols are not associated to generate a cyclic shift structure.

[0322] Clause 139. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any one of Clauses 123 - 138, wherein the SRS received from the UE is used for channel estimation.

[0323] Clause 140. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any one of Clauses 123 - 139, wherein the program code further includes instructions for: generating positioning measurements based on the SRS received from the UE; sending the positioning measurements to a network entity for positioning estimation of the UE.

[0324] Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is not intended to be limited to the specific examples disclosed, but the claimed subject matter may also include all aspects falling within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE) to support wireless transmission of the UE in a wireless network, the method comprising: Receiving, from a base station, a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; Preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code; and Transmitting the SRS to one or more base stations.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by acting as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs, and the other UEs use the same symbol group level but different outer codes to transmit SRSs.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the outer code comprises a set or subset of orthogonal bases, the orthogonal bases including one of a Fourier basis or a Hadamard basis.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the configuration for the SRS further comprises an extended cyclic shift, the extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in phase rotation across frequency tones in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, and wherein preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further comprises the extended cyclic shift.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the configuration for the SRS further comprises a bandwidth and a comb size.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the SRS is transmitted to the one or more base stations for channel estimation or positioning.

8. A user equipment (UE) configured to support wireless transmission of the UE in a wireless network, comprising: A wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with an entity in the wireless network; At least one memory; At least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: Receive, via the wireless transceiver, from a base station a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; Prepare the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code; and Transmit the SRS to one or more base stations via the wireless transceiver.

9. The UE according to claim 8, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by acting as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs, and the other UEs use the same symbol group level but different outer codes to transmit SRSs.

10. The UE according to claim 8, wherein the outer code comprises a set or subset of orthogonal bases, the orthogonal bases including one of a Fourier basis or a Hadamard basis.

11. The UE according to claim 8, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes an extended cyclic shift, the extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in the phase rotation across subcarriers in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, and wherein preparing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further includes the extended cyclic shift.

12. The UE according to claim 11, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes a bandwidth and a comb size.

13. The UE according to claim 12, wherein the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level.

14. The UE according to claim 8, wherein the SRS is transmitted to the one or more base stations for channel estimation or positioning.

15. A method performed by a serving base station for supporting wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, the method comprising: sending to the UE a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS), the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; receiving the SRS from the UE; and processing the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by acting as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs, the other UEs using the same symbol group level but different outer codes to transmit SRS.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the outer code includes a set or subset of orthogonal bases, the orthogonal bases including one of Fourier bases or Hadamard bases.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes an extended cyclic shift, the extended cyclic shift indicating a linear increase in the phase rotation across subcarriers in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, and wherein processing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further includes the extended cyclic shift.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes a bandwidth and a comb size.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level.

21. The method according to claim 15, wherein the SRS received from the UE is used for channel estimation.

22. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: generating a positioning measurement based on the SRS received from the UE; sending the positioning measurement to a network entity for positioning estimation of the UE.

23. A base station configured to support wireless transmission of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, the base station being the serving base station of the UE, comprising: an external interface configured to wirelessly communicate with entities in the wireless network; At least one memory; At least one processor coupled to the external interface and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: Send, via the external interface, a configuration for a sounding reference signal (SRS) to the UE, the configuration for the SRS including: a symbol group level indicating the number of symbols associated with a cyclic shift structure, and an outer code indicating a multiplier applied to the SRS at the symbol level; Receive the SRS from the UE via the external interface; and Process the SRS received from the UE according to the configuration for the SRS including the symbol group level and the outer code.

24. The base station according to claim 23, wherein the outer code increases the multiplexing capacity by acting as an identifier of the UE relative to other UEs, and the other UEs use the same symbol group level but different outer codes to transmit SRS.

25. The base station according to claim 23, wherein the outer code includes a set or subset of orthogonal bases, and the orthogonal bases include one of Fourier bases or Hadamard bases.

26. The base station according to claim 23, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes an extended cyclic shift, and the extended cyclic shift indicates a linear increase in the phase rotation across frequency tones in the symbols associated with the symbol group level, and processing the SRS according to the configuration for the SRS further includes the extended cyclic shift.

27. The base station according to claim 26, wherein the configuration for the SRS further includes a bandwidth and a comb size.

28. The base station according to claim 27, wherein the maximum number of extended cyclic shifts is based on the number of symbols, the comb size, and the symbol group level.

29. The base station according to claim 23, wherein the SRS received from the UE is used for channel estimation.

30. The base station according to claim 23, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: Generate a positioning measurement according to the SRS received from the UE; Send the positioning measurement to a network entity via the external interface for positioning estimation of the UE.

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