Method and apparatus for wireless communication

Abstract

Various techniques for wireless communications are disclosed. In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) transmits, to a serving base station, a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter related to scheduling the downlink scheduling gap; receives, from a neighboring base station, a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, and transmits, in response to receiving the DL-PRS, an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS) during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs.

Description

[0001] Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This Patent Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 059,139, entitled “REQUEST OF NO-DOWNLINK-SCHEDULING GAPS AND SOUNDING REFERENCE SIGNAL (SRS) POSITIONING TRANSMISSION FOR PRIORITIZED AND EFFICIENT POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL (PRS) PROCESSING” filed July 30, 2020, and U.S. Nonprovisional Application No. 17 / 374,580, entitled “REQUEST OF NO-DOWNLINK-SCHEDULING GAPS AND SOUNDING REFERENCE SIGNAL (SRS) POSITIONING TRANSMISSION FOR PRIORITIZED AND EFFICIENT POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL (PRS) PROCESSING” filed July 13, 2021, both of which are assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

[0003] DISCLOSURE

[0004] 1. Field of the Disclosure

[0005] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication.

[0006] 2. Description of Related Art

[0007] Wireless communication systems have developed through several generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephones, second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephones, third-generation (3G) high speed data wireless systems, and fourth-generation (4G) wireless communication systems. There are many different types of wireless communication systems in current use, including cellular and personal communication service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), etc.

[0008] A fifth generation (5G) wireless standard (referred to as New Radio (NR)) calls for higher data transfer speeds, larger numbers of connected devices, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5G standard is designed to deliver data rates up to 100 times faster than provided by current 4G systems by improving spectral efficiency, reducing costs, and improving services. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide mobile data transfer rates of hundreds of megabits per second to every person having a device on the network. It is also expected that the 5G standard will be capable of providing data transfer rates of gigabits per second to support

[0009] SUMMARY

[0010] The following presents a simplified summary related to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be deemed to identify key or critical elements relating to all contemplated aspects or delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the following summary has the sole purpose to present certain concepts relating to one or more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form to precede the detailed description presented below.

[0011] In an aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) includes transmitting, to a serving base station, a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter related to scheduling the downlink scheduling gap; and receiving, from a neighboring base station, a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, wherein: the UE does not receive any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap within the one or more active BWPs, or the UE ignores any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, or the UE prioritizes DL-PRS processing over any other downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs.

[0012] In an aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a base station includes receiving, from a UE, a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active BWPs of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter of the downlink scheduling gap; and refraining from transmitting to the UE during the downlink scheduling gap.

[0013] In an aspect, a UE includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to cause the at least one transceiver to transmit, to a serving base station, a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active BWPs of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter related to scheduling the downlink scheduling gap; and receive, from a neighboring base station via the at least one transceiver, a DL-PRS during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, wherein: the UE does not receive any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap within the one or more active BWPs, or the UE ignores any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, or the UE prioritizes DL-PRS processing over any other downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs.

[0014] In an aspect, a base station includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receive, from a UE, a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active BWPs of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter of the downlink scheduling gap; and cause the at least one transceiver to refrain from transmitting to the UE during the downlink scheduling gap.

[0015] In an aspect, a UE includes means for transmitting, to a serving base station, a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active BWPs of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter related to scheduling the downlink scheduling gap; and means for receiving, from a neighboring base station, DL-PRS during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, wherein: the UE does not receive any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap within the one or more active BWPs, or the UE ignores any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, or the UE prioritizes DL-PRS processing over any other downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs.

[0016] In an aspect, a base station includes means for receiving, from a UE, a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active BWPs of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter of the downlink scheduling gap; and means for refraining from transmitting to the UE during the downlink scheduling gap.

[0017] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer- executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions comprising computer- executable instructions for: instructing a UE to transmit, to a serving base station, a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active BWPs of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter related to scheduling the downlink scheduling gap; and instructing the UE to receive, from a neighboring base station, DL-PRS during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, wherein: the UE does not receive any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap within the one or more active BWPs, or the UE ignores any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, or the UE prioritizes DL-PRS processing over any other downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs.

[0018] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer- executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions comprising computer- executable instructions for receiving, by a base station, from a UE, a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active BWPs of the UE, the request comprising at least a time domain parameter of the downlink scheduling gap; and refraining, by the base station, from transmitting to the UE during the downlink scheduling gap.

[0019] Other objectives and advantages of aspects associated with the disclosure will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of aspects of the present disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain principles of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 2A And Figure 2B An example wireless network structure is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 3A 、 3B And 3C are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspects of a component that can be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0025] Figure 4A is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 4B is a diagram illustrating various downlink channels within an example downlink slot in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 4C is a diagram illustrating various uplink channels within an example uplink slot in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 5 is a diagram of an example positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for PRS transmissions by a given base station in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating how parameters in a measurement gap configuration specify a pattern of measurement gaps in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 7is a diagram illustrating how the length of a measurement gap can affect the time difference between a downlink PRS (DL-PRS) and a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning.

[0031] Figure 8 is a diagram of an example sequence of slots in which DL-PRS and measurement gaps are configured.

[0032] Figure 9 is a diagram of an example sequence of slots in which DL-PRS and no downlink scheduling gaps are configured.

[0033] Figure 10 is a diagram of an example in which the timeline for channel state information (CSI) processing is extended by the length of a no downlink scheduling gap.

[0034] Figure 11 is a diagram of an example in which the timeline for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) processing is extended by the length of a no downlink scheduling gap.

[0035] Figure 12 and 13 An example method of wireless communication is described according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0036] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings directed to various examples provided for illustration purposes. Alternative aspects can be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

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

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

[0040] Moreover, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described hereininaid be performed by specific circuits, for example, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or both. Additionally, these sequence of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein

[0041] As used herein, the terms“user equipment” (UE) and“base station” are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset-positioning device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communications 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 referred to interchangeably as an“access terminal” or“AT,”“client device,”“wireless device,”“subscriber device,”“subscriber terminal,”“subscriber station,”“user terminal” or“UT,”“mobile device,”“mobile terminal,”“mobile station,” or variations thereof. Generally, UEs can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network the UEs can take part in communication with one another via the core network and with external

[0042] A base station can operate according to one of a number of RATs to communicate with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed, and can alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station can be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems a base station can provide pure edge node signaling functionality, whereas in other systems it can provide additional control and / or network management functionality. A communication link through which UEs can send signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which the base station can send signals to UEs is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0043] The term “base station” can refer to a single physical transmission-reception point (TRP) or can refer to multiple physical TRPs that can or can not be co-located. For example, where the term “base station” refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be a base station antenna that corresponds to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). Where the term “base station” refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical 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 receiving the measurement report from the UE and a neighbor base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signals the UE is measuring. As used herein, a transmission or reception from or to a base station is understood to be from or to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0044] In some implementations that support positioning of UEs, a base station can not support wireless access by UEs (e.g., can not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections with UEs), but can instead transmit reference signals to UEs to be measured by the UEs, and / or can receive and measure signals transmitted by UEs. Such a base station can be referred to as a positioning tower (e.g., in cases where signals are transmitted to UEs) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., in cases where signals from UEs are received and measured).

[0045] An “RF signal” comprises electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that convey information over space in time between a sender and a receiver. As used herein, a sender can transmit a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals over multi-path channels, the receiver can receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the sender and receiver can be referred to as a “multi-path” RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal can also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal,” where it is clear from the context that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0046] Figure 1 An example wireless communications system 100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communications system 100, which can also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WW AN), can include various base stations 102, labeled as “BS” and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 can include macro cell base stations (high power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macro cell base station can include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations can include femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, and the like.

[0047] The base stations 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) through backhaul links 122, and through the core network 170 to one or more location servers 172 (e.g., location management function (LMF) or secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)). The location server 172 can be part of the core network 170 or can be external to the core network 170. The location server 172 can be integrated with the base stations 102. The UEs 104 can communicate directly or indirectly with the location server 172. For example, the UEs 104 can communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 that is currently serving the UEs 104. The UEs 104 can also communicate with the location server 172 through another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), and / or the like. The communication between the UEs 104 and the location server 172 can be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with intervening nodes (if any) omitted from the signaling diagrams for the sake of clarity.

[0048] In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 can perform functions related to one or more of delivering user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, non-access stratum (NAS) message transfer, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 can communicate with one another directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC / 5GC) over backhaul links 134, which can be wired or wireless.

[0049] The base stations 102 can wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more of the cells can be supported by the base station 102 in each of the geographic coverage areas 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to provide communication coverage for a particular area in a network and can be associated with a tag that identifies the cell, such as a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), and the like. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types, such as machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others, which can provide access for different types of UEs. Since cells are supported by particular base stations, the term “cell” can refer to either of or both of a logical communication entity and a base station supporting the logical communication entity, depending on context. In addition, since a TRP is typically the physical transmission point for a cell, the terms “cell” and “TRP” can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term “cell” can also refer to a geographic coverage area of a base station (e.g., a sector), in the sense that a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a certain portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0050] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of the neighboring macro cell base stations 102 can partially overlap (e.g., in a handoff area), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 can substantially overlap. For example, small cell base stations 102' (depicted as “SC” for “small cell”) can have substantially overlapping geographic coverage areas 110' with one or more of the macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell and macro cell base stations 102 can be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network can also include Home eNBs (HeNBs), which can provide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG). The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104 can include uplink (UL) channels from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and downlink (DL) channels, from a base station 102 to a UE 104. The UEs 104 can transmit and receive information to and from the base stations 102 over the communication links 120. The communication links 120 can be established via one or more wireless communication technologies, such as radio frequency (RF), free-to-air (FTA), infrared (IR) or other similar technologies.

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

[0052] Wireless communications system 100 can further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication with WLAN stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 can perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel is available.

[0053] The small cell base stations 102' can operate in a licensed and / or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base stations 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base stations 102' employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum can boost coverage and / or increase capacity for the access network. NR in an unlicensed frequency spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed frequency spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, License Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0054] The wireless communications system 100 can further include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that can operate in mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies in communication with a UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range from 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band can be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW can extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW / near mmW radio frequency band have high path loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Further, it will be appreciated that, in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 can also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as being limiting of the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0055] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing the RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts a signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omni-directionally). 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 for the receiving device. To change the direction of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node can use an array of antennas (known as a “phased array” or “antenna array”) that creates a beam of RF waves that can be “steered” to point in different directions, without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase the radiation in a desired direction, while cancelling to suppress radiation in undesired directions.

[0056] The transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning that they have the same parameters as seen by the receiving party (e.g., a UE), regardless of whether the network node’s transmit antennas themselves are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, the receiving party can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receiving party can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiving party can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiving party can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial receive parameter of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

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

[0058] The transmit beams and receive beams can be spatially related. Spatial relation means that parameters of a second beam (e.g., a transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the base station based on parameters of the receive beam.

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

[0060] In 5G, the frequency 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). The mmW frequency bands generally include the FR2, FR3, and FR4 frequency ranges. As such, the terms “mmW” and “FR2” or “FR3” or “FR4” can generally be used interchangeably.

[0061] In a multi-carrier system, such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell" and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and in the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates a RRC connection reestablishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common control channels as well as UE-specific control channels, and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2), can be configured once the RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and can be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier can contain only necessary signaling information and signals, e.g., UE-specific signaling information and signals can not be present in the secondary carrier, since both the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on the different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier that a certain base station is using for communication, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," "carrier frequency," and the like can be used interchangeably.

[0062] For example, still referring to Figure 1 One of the frequencies utilized by a macrocell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell") and other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can 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 compared to the data rate obtained by a single 20 MHz carrier would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz).

[0063] The wireless communications system 100 can further include a UE 164 that can be in communication with the macro cell base station 102 on a communication link 120 and / or the mmW base station 180 on a mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 can support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 can support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0064] In Figure 1 In an example, any of the illustrated UEs (shown as a single UE 104 for simplicity in Figure 1 may receive signals 124 from one or more Earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In an aspect, the SVs 112 can be part of a satellite positioning system of which the UEs 104 can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned in orbit about the Earth that transmit signals (e.g., signals 124) that a receiver (e.g., a UE 104) can use to determine its location on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on known locations of the transmitters and the times the signals were transmitted. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of set number of chips. While the transmitters are typically located in SVs 112, they can sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. The UEs 104 can include one or more specialized receivers designed specifically to receive the signals 124 from the SVs 112 to derive geographic location information.

[0065] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals 124 can be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which can be associated with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems or otherwise enabled to work with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, an SBAS can include augmentation systems(s) that provides integrity information, differential corrections, etc. to the signals 124, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS) Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN), and / or the like. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system can include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems associated with one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0066] In an aspect, the SVs 112 can additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, the SVs 112 are connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway) that in turn is connected to elements in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without terrestrial antennas) or a network node in the 5GC. This element in turn will provide access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user equipment. In this way, the UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signals 124) from the SVs 112 as an alternative or supplement to receiving communication signals from the ground base stations 102.

[0067] Wireless communications system 100 can further include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that access one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “sidelinks”). For example, UE 1 can communicate directly with UE 2 using a D2D P2P Figure 1 In an example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (through which the UE 190 can indirectly get cellular connectivity), and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (through which the UE 190 can indirectly get WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported with any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, and so on.

[0068] Figure 2A ​An example wireless network architecture 200 is illustrated. For example, 5GC 210 (also known as Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally considered to include control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which operate in conjunction to form the core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNBs 222 to 5GC 210, specifically to user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In additional configurations, ng-eNBs 224 can also connect to 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to control plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212. Furthermore, ng-eNBs 224 can communicate directly with gNBs 222 via backhaul connections 223. In some configurations, the next generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more ng-eNBs 224 and one or more gNBs 222. The gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0069] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can be in communication with the 5GC 210 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 spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). In addition, the location server 230 can be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively can be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0070] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 250 is illustrated. 5GC 260 (which may correspond to Figure 2AThe 5GC 210) can be viewed functionally as control plane functions (provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264) and user plane functions (provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262), which operate cooperatively to form the core network (i.e., the 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, session management (SM) message transfer between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, short message service (SMS) message transfer between a UE 204 and the short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and a UE 204 to receive an intermediate key that was established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In cases where the authentication is UMTS (Universal Mobile

[0071] The functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra- / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as a external protocol data unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding of one or more “end markers.” The UPF 262 can also support transfer of location service messages between a UE 204 and a location server, such as the SLP 272, over the user plane.

[0072] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, traffic steering configuration for routing traffic to the correct destination at the UPF 262, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface that the SMF 266 uses to communicate with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0073] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that can be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). The SLP 272 may support similar functionality as the LMF 270, but while the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signaling messages but not voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP) on the user plane. Figure 2B (not shown) communications.

[0074] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260 (and in particular, the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively) to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via the backhaul connection 223, which is referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 over a radio interface, which is referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0075] The functionality of the gNB 222 is divided between the gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226 and one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DUs) 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions such as user data delivery, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, and session management, in addition to those functions specifically assigned to the gNB-DU 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols for the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), and Physical (PHY) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. Therefore, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, and communicates with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers.

[0076] Figure 3A 、 3B and 3C illustrate that a UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent thereof) may be included. Figure 2A and 2B 20 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure, such as a dedicated network, to support file transfer operations as taught herein (represented by corresponding blocks). It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of devices (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.) in different implementations. The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Furthermore, a given device may include one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0077] The UEs 302 and the base stations 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, to provide device(s) for communicating (e.g., devices for transmitting, devices for receiving, devices for measuring, devices for tuning, devices for refraining from transmitting, etc.) via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, and so on. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., via a wireless communication medium (e.g., a set of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum) according to one or more designated RATs (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RATs, in various ways.

[0078] At least in some cases, the UEs 302 and the base stations 304 each also include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide device(s) for communicating via one or more designated RATs (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth, NFC, etc.) over a short range. In some cases, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 are configured like the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, but operate at distances shorter than the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350. For example, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can implement local wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11 (including any versions and / or extensions thereof such as 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ad / af / ae), and / or NFC. Z- devices (e.g., devices for transmitting, devices for receiving, devices for measuring, devices for tuning, devices for refraining from transmitting, etc.) that communicate via the wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., one or more of a cellular radio access technology (RAT), a wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT, a personal area network (PAN) RAT, a Bluetooth® RAT, a ZigBee® RAT, a Thread® RAT, a PC5, a dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), a vehicle environment wireless access (WAVE), a near-field communication (NFC), etc.) with other network nodes such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be variously configured to respectively transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) and respectively receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) in accordance with a designated RAT. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 respectively include one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for respectively transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, and respectively one or more receivers 322 and 362 for respectively receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368. As particular examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be WiFi transceivers, transceivers, and / or Z- transceivers, NFC transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0079] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and can respectively provide means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378. Where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. Where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) sourced from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can each include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 request information and operations from other systems as appropriate, and at least in some cases perform calculations to determine the respective locations of the UE 302 and the base station 304 using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.

[0080] The base stations 304 and network entities 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, a base station 304 can employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, a network entity 306 can employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or with other network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0081] A transceiver can be configured to communicate over wired or wireless links. A transceiver, whether a wired or wireless transceiver, includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). The transceiver may, in some implementations, be an integrated device (e.g., implementing transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device), may, in some implementations, include separate transmitter circuitry and separate receiver circuitry, or may, in other implementations, be implemented in other ways. The transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390, in some implementations) can be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) can include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which permits the respective device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) can include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which permits the respective device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry can share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the respective device can either transmit or receive at a given time, but not both. Wireless transceivers (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) can also include a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0082] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) can be generally characterized as “transceivers,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers,” as used herein. As such, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver can be inferred from the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers generally involve signaling via wired transceivers, while wireless communications between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) generally involve signaling via wireless transceivers.

[0083] The UEs 302, the base stations 304, and the network entities 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operation as disclosed herein. The UEs 302, the base stations 304, and the network entities 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, for providing functionality as described herein, as well as for providing other processing functionality. The processors 332, 384, and 394, can therefore provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In an aspect, the processors 332, 384, and 394 can include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry, or various combinations thereof.

[0084] The UE 302, the base stations 304, and the network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively (e.g., each including a memory device), for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, and the like). The memories 340, 386, and 396 can thus provide a means for storing, a means for retrieving, a means for maintaining, and the like. In some cases, the UE 302, the base stations 304, and the network entity 306 can each include positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be hardware circuits that are part of, or coupled to, the processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that when executed cause the UE 302, the base stations 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, and the like). Alternatively, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be memory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, and the like) cause the UE 302, the base stations 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations for the positioning component 342 are illustrated, which can be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the memory 340, the one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component. Figure 3B Possible locations for the positioning component 388 are illustrated, which can be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, the memory 386, the one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations for the positioning component 398 are illustrated, which can be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, the memory 396, the one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component.

[0085] The UE 302 can include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the one or more processors 332 to provide a means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or the satellite signal receiver 330. As examples, the sensor(s) 344 can include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical- mechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensor(s) 344 can include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, the sensors 344 can use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and orientation sensors to provide the ability to compute position in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0086] Additionally, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 providing a means for providing indications (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) to a user and / or a means for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device such as a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 can also include user interfaces.

[0087] Referring to the one or more processors 384 in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 can be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 can implement functionality for a RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 384 can provide RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks (SIBs)) broadcast, RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0088] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 can implement Layer-1 (LI) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer-1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, can include error detection on transmission channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transmission channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to signal constellations, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to a orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator can be used to determine the coding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate can be

[0089] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement Layer-1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they can be combined by the receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates computed by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and de-interleaved to recover the data and control signals transmitted on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the one or more processors 332, which implement Layer-3 (L3) and Layer-2 (L2) functionality.

[0090] In the uplink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0091] Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provide RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0092] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from the reference signals or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 can be used by the transmitter 314 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 can be provided to different antenna 316. The transmitter 314 can modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0093] The uplink transmission is processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives information from its respective antenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors 384.

[0094] In the uplink, the one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. IP packets from the one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0095] For convenience, the UE 302, base station 304, and / or network entity 306 Figure 3A , 3Band 3C are shown to include various components that can be configured in accordance with the various examples described herein. It will be appreciated, however, that the illustrated components can have different functionality in different designs. In particular, Figures 3A to 3C Various components in the are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that can vary due to design choice, cost, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in the case of Figure 3A , a particular implementation of the UE 302 can omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet or PC or laptop can have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capability without cellular capability), or can omit short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or can omit satellite signal receiver 330, or can omit sensors 344, and so forth. In another example, in the case of Figure 3B , a particular implementation of the base station 304 can omit WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi “hotspot” access point without cellular capability), or can omit short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or can omit satellite receiver 370, and so forth. For brevity, illustration of various alternative configurations has not been provided herein, but would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0096] The various components of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can be communicatively coupled to each other over data buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. In an aspect, data buses 334, 382, and 392 can form, or be part of, a communication interface of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are implemented in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), data buses 334, 382, and 392 can provide communication therebetween.

[0097] Figure 3A , 3B The various components of the can be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and / or the network entity 306 can each be implemented in one or more circuits such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which can include one or more processors). Here, each circuit can use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by that circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 can be implemented by a processor and memory component of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor component). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 can be implemented by a processor and memory component of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor component). Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 can be implemented by a processor and memory component(s) of the network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor component). For simplicity, various operations, acts, and / or functions are described herein as being performed by the UE, the base station, the network entity, and / or the like. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, acts, and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, the base station 304, the network entity 306, and / or the like, such as the processors 332, 384, 394, the transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, the memories 340, 386, and 396, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398, and / or the like.

[0098] In some designs, the network entity 306 can be implemented as a component of a core network. In other designs, the network entity 306 can be distinct from a network operator or operator of the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., the NG RAN 220 and / or the 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 can be a component of a private network that can be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independent of the base station 304 (e.g., over a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0099] NR supports several cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, a UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from pairs of base stations, known as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports these differences to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives the identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in assistance data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity can estimate the location of the UE.

[0100] For DL-AoD positioning, a positioning entity uses beam reports from a UE regarding received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station(s). The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle and the known locations of the transmitting base stations.

[0101] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but it is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from a UE on one or more uplink receive beams. A positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angles of the receive beams to determine the angle between the UE and the base station(s). Based on the determined angle and the known locations of the base stations, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0102] Downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods include Enhanced Cell-ID (E-CID) positioning and Multilateration (also referred to as “Multicell RTT”). In RTT procedures, an initiating party (a base station or a UE) transmits RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRSs or SRSs) to a responding party (a UE or a base station), which transmits RTT response signals (e.g., SRSs or PRSs) back to the initiating party. The RTT response signals include a difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signals and the transmission time of the RTT response signals (referred to as the receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference). The initiating party calculates a difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signals and the ToA of the RTT response signals (referred to as the transmit-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference). The propagation time (also referred to as the “time of flight”) between the initiating party and the responding party can be calculated from the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx time differences. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiating party and the responding party can be determined. For Multicell RTT positioning, a UE performs RTT procedures with multiple base stations to enable the location of the UE to be determined based on the known locations of the base stations (e.g., using multilateration). RTT and Multicell RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques, such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD, to improve location accuracy.

[0103] E-CID positioning methods are based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, a UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and identifiers, estimated timing, and signal strength of detected neighbor base stations. The location of the UE is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0104] To assist in positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) can provide assistance data to a UE. For example, the assistance data can include identifiers of base stations (or cells / TRPs of base stations) from which to measure reference signals, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., number of consecutive positioning subframes, periodicity of positioning subframes, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data can originate directly from the base stations themselves (e.g., in periodically broadcasted overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, a UE can be able to detect neighbor network nodes without the use of assistance data.

[0105] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, the assistance data can further include an expected RSTD value and an associated uncertainty, or a search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the value range of the expected RSTD can be + / - 500 microseconds (ps). In some cases, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD can be + / - 32 ps when any resources used for the positioning measurements are in FR1. In other cases, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD can be + / - 8 ps when all resources used for the positioning measurements are in FR2.

[0106] A location estimate can be referred to by other names, such as a position estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, and the like. A location estimate can be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or can be civic and include a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of a location. A location estimate can be further defined relative to some other known location or defined in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A location estimate can include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included with some specified or default confidence).

[0107] Various frame structures can be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 4A FIG. 400 is a diagram 400 illustrating an example frame structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The frame structure can be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies can have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0108] LTE, and in some cases NR, utilizes OFDM on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. Different from LTE, however, NR also has an option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones, subcarriers, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing of adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can be dependent on the system bandwidth. The spacing of adjacent subcarriers can be 15 kilohertz (kHz) in some cases. The minimum resource allocation can be 12 subcarriers (or even one resource block), in some cases. Consequently, the nominal FFT size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024 or 2048 for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth can also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband can cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there can be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0109] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR can support multiple numerologies (μ), e.g., subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz (μ = 0), 30 kHz (μ = 1), 60 kHz (μ = 2), 120 kHz (μ = 3), and 240 kHz (μ = 4) or greater can be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For 15 kHz SCS (μ = 0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, a slot duration of 1 millisecond (ms), a symbol duration of 66.7 microseconds (μs), and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size of 50. For 30 kHz SCS (μ = 1), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, a slot duration of 0.5 ms, a symbol duration of 33.3 μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size of 100. For 60 kHz SCS (μ = 2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, a slot duration of 0.25 ms, a symbol duration of 16.7 μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size of 200. For 120 kHz SCS (μ = 3), there are eight slots per subframe, 80 slots per frame, a slot duration of 0.125 ms, a symbol duration of 8.33 μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size of 400. For 240 kHz SCS (μ = 4), there are 16 slots per subframe, 160 slots per frame, a slot duration of 0.0625 ms, a symbol duration of 4.17 μs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size of 800.

[0110] In Figure 4A examples, a 15 kHz numerology is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equal size subframes, each of 1 ms, and each subframe includes one slot. In Figure 4A time is increasing from left to right, and frequency is increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0111] A resource grid can be used to represent the time slots, each time slot including one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE can correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In Figure 4AFor normal cyclic prefix, an RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For extended cyclic prefix, an RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0112] Some of the REs can carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). These reference signals can include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communication. Figure 4A Example locations of REs carrying reference signals are illustrated (labeled “R”).

[0113] A set of resource elements (REs) used for transmission of a PRS is referred to as a “PRS resource.” A set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and ‘N’ (such as 1 or more) consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0114] The transmission of a PRS resource within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also referred to as “comb density”). The comb size ‘N’ represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size ‘N’, the PRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of one symbol of the PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) are used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 are supported for DL-PRS. Figure 4A An example PRS resource configuration for comb-4 (which spans 4 symbols) is illustrated. That is, the locations of the shaded REs (labeled “R”) indicate the comb-4 PRS resource configuration.

[0115] Currently, DL-PRS resources use a full frequency domain interlace pattern that can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot. A DL-PRS resource can be configured in any downlink or flexible (FL) symbol of a slot that is configured by higher layers. There can be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. The following are the per-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 over 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb-2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 6-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 12-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3} (as in the example of Figure 4A {0, 2, 1, 3} (as in the example of

[0116] A “PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as “PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor”) across slots. The periodicity is the time from a first repetition of a first PRS resource of a first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of a next PRS instance. The periodicity can have a length selected from 2^m * {4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots, where m = 0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor can have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0117] The PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (wherein a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus, a "PRS resource" (or simply "resource") may also be referred to as a "beam." Note that this does not imply whether the UE knows the TRP and beam in which the PRS is transmitted.

[0118] A "PRS instance" or "PRS opportunity" is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive time slots) in which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS opportunity may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning opportunity," "PRS positioning instance," "positioning opportunity," "positioning instance," "positioning repetition," or simply "opportunity," "instance," or "repetition."

[0119] A "positioning frequency layer" (also referred to simply as a "frequency layer") is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets with the same values ​​for certain parameters across one or more TRPs. Specifically, the set of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all parameter designs supported by the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported by PRS), the same point A, the same value for the downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" stands for "Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number") and is an identifier / code that specifies a pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth can have a granularity of 4 PRBs, with a minimum value of 24 PRBs and a maximum value of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers are defined, and up to two PRS resource sets can be configured per frequency layer per TRP.

[0120] The concept of frequency layers is somewhat similar to the concepts of component carriers and bandwidth parts (BWPs), but the difference is that component carriers and BWPs are used by one base station (or macrocell base station and small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while frequency layers are used by several (often three or more) base stations to transmit PRSs. The UE can indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when it sends its positioning capabilities to the network (such as during an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) session). For example, the UE can indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0121] Figure 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating various downlink channels within an example downlink time slot. Figure 4BIn , time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top. Figure 4B In the example of , a parameter design of 15 kHz is used. Therefore, in the time domain, the illustrated time slot length is 1 millisecond (ms), divided into 14 code elements.

[0122] In NR, the channel bandwidth or system bandwidth is divided into multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs). A BWP is a set of contiguous RBs selected from a contiguous subset of common RBs designed for given parameters for a given carrier. In general, a maximum of 4 BWPs can be specified in the downlink and uplink. That is, a UE can be configured to have up to 4 BWPs on the downlink and up to 4 BWPs on the uplink. Only one BWP (uplink or downlink) can be active at a given time, which means that the UE can only receive or transmit on one BWP at a time. On the downlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be equal to or greater than the bandwidth of the SSB, but it may or may not contain the SSB.

[0123] Reference Figure 4B , the primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by the UE to determine the subframe / symbol timing and the physical layer identity. The secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and the radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the position of the aforementioned DL-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also known as SS / PBCH). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the downlink system bandwidth, and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information that is not transmitted through the PBCH (such as the system information block (SIB)), and paging messages.

[0124] The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries downlink control information (DCI) in one or more control channel elements (CCEs). Each CCE includes one or more RE group (REG) bundles (which can span multiple symbols in the time domain). Each REG bundle includes one or more REGs, each REG corresponding to 12 resource elements (one resource block) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain. The set of physical resources used to carry PDCCH / DCI is called a control resource set (CORESET) in NR. In NR, the PDCCH is confined to a single CORESET and transmitted with its own DMRS. This enables UE-specific beamforming for the PDCCH.

[0125] In Figure 4B examples, there is one CORESET per BWP and the CORESET spans three symbols in the time domain (although it can be only one symbol or two symbols). Unlike LTE control channels, which occupy the entire system bandwidth, in NR, the PDCCH channel is localized to a specific region in the frequency domain (i.e., a CORESET). As such, Figure 4B The frequency component of the PDCCH shown in

[0126] DCI within the PDCCH carries information about uplink resource allocation (persistent and non-persistent) and descriptions of downlink data transmitted to the UE (referred to as uplink and downlink grants, respectively). More specifically, the DCI indicates resources scheduled for downlink data channels (e.g., PDSCH) and uplink data channels (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)). Multiple (e.g., up to 8) DCIs can be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIs can have one of multiple formats. For example, there are different DCI formats for uplink scheduling, for downlink scheduling, for uplink transmit power control (TPC), etc. The PDCCH can be transmitted by 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs in order to accommodate different DCI payload sizes or coding rates.

[0127] In an aspect, the reference signal carried on the RE labeled “R” in Figure 4A “SRS” can be a sounding reference signal (SRS). SRS transmitted by a UE can be used by a base station to obtain channel state information (CSI) for transmitting to the UE. The CSI describes how RF signals propagate from the UE to the base station and represents the combined effects of scattering, fading, and power decay with distance. The system uses SRS for resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management, etc.

[0128] The set of REs used for transmission of SRS is referred to as an “SRS resource” and can be identified by the parameter “SRS-ResourceId.” The set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and ‘N’ (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, an SRS resource occupies one or more consecutive PRBs. An “SRS resource set” is a set of SRS resources used for transmission of SRS signals and is identified by an SRS resource set ID (“SRS-ResourceSetId”).

[0129] Transmission of SRS resources within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also referred to as “comb density”). The comb size ‘N’ indicates the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the SRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size ‘N’, the SRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of one symbol of the PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each symbol of the SRS resource configuration, the REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) are used to transmit the SRS of the SRS resource. In Figure 4A the example illustrated, the SRS is comb-4 over four symbols. That is, the locations of the shaded SRS REs indicate a comb-4 SRS resource configuration.

[0130] Currently, SRS resources with a comb size of comb-2, comb-4, or comb-8 can span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot. The following are the per-symbol frequency offsets for the currently supported SRS comb patterns. 1-symbol comb-2: {0}; 2-symbol comb-2: {0, 1}; 2-symbol comb-4: {0, 2}; 4-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3} (as in the example of Figure 4A FIG. 1); 8-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 12-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 4-symbol comb-8: {0, 4, 2, 6}; 8-symbol comb-8: {0, 4, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 7}; and 12-symbol comb-8: {0, 4, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 7, 0, 4, 2, 6}.

[0131] Generally, as mentioned above, a UE transmits SRS to enable a receiving base station (a serving base station or a neighboring base station) to measure the channel quality (i.e., CSI) between the UE and the base station. However, SRS can also be specifically configured as an uplink positioning reference signal for uplink-based positioning procedures, such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), round trip time (RTT), uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA), etc. As used herein, the term “SRS” can refer to SRS configured for channel quality measurement or SRS configured for positioning purposes. When it is necessary to distinguish between the two types of SRS, the former can be referred to herein as “SRS-for-communication” and / or the latter can be referred to as “SRS-for-positioning.”

[0132] Several enhancements to the previously defined SRS have been proposed for “SRS-for-positioning” (also referred to as “UL-PRS”), such as new staggering patterns within an SRS resource (in addition to single-symbol / comb-2), new comb types for SRS, new sequences for SRS, larger number of SRS resource sets per component carrier, and larger number of SRS resources per component carrier. In addition, the parameters “SpatialRelationInfo” and “PathLossReference” are to be configured based on downlink reference signals or SSBs from neighboring TRPs. Further, one SRS resource can be transmitted outside the active BWP, and one SRS resource can span multiple component carriers. Furthermore, SRS can be configured in RRC connected state and transmitted only within the active BWP. Also, there can be no frequency hopping, repetition factor, single antenna port, and new lengths of SRS (e.g., 8 and 12 symbols). There can also be open loop power control and no closed loop power control, and comb-8 (i.e., SRS transmitted every eighth subcarrier in the same symbol) can be used. Finally, a UE can transmit through the same transmit beam from multiple SRS resources for UL-AoA. All of these are features outside of the current SRS framework, which is configured by RRC higher layer signaling (and potentially triggered or activated by MAC control element (MAC-CE) or DCI).

[0133] Figure 4C is a diagram 450 illustrating various uplink channels within an example uplink slot. In Figure 4C , time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), with time increasing from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top. In Figure 4C , an example, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, the length of the slot illustrated is 1 millisecond (ms), divided into 14 symbols.

[0134] A random access channel (RACH), also referred to as a physical random access channel (PRACH), can be within one or more slots within a frame based on a PRACH configuration. The PRACH can include 6 consecutive pairs of RBs within a slot. The PRACH allows a UE to perform initial system access and achieve uplink synchronization. A physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) can be located at the edge of the uplink system bandwidth. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, CSI reports, channel quality indicators (CQIs), precoding matrix indicators (PMIs), rank indicators (RIs), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. A physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) carries data and can additionally be used to carry buffer status reports (BSRs), power headroom reports (PHRs), and / or UCI.

[0135] Note that the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” can also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to: PRS as defined in LTE and NR, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. Additionally, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” can refer to downlink or uplink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise indicated by context. If further differentiation of the type of PRS is needed, downlink positioning reference signals can be referred to as “DL-PRS,” while uplink positioning reference signals (e.g., positioning SRS, PTRS) can be referred to as “UL-PRS.” Additionally, for signals that can be transmitted in both uplink and downlink (e.g., DMRS, PTRS), these signals can be prepended with “UL” or “DL” to differentiate the direction. For example, “UL-DMRS” can be differentiated from “DL-DMRS.”

[0136] Figure 5 is a diagram of an example PRS configuration 500 for PRS transmissions of a given base station in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 5 , time is represented horizontally, increasing from left to right. Each long rectangle represents a slot, while each short (hatched) rectangle represents an OFDM symbol. In Figure 5 , the PRS resource set 510 (labeled “PRS Resource Set 1”) includes two PRS resources, a first PRS resource 512 (labeled “PRS Resource 1”) and a second PRS resource 514 (labeled “PRS Resource 2”). The base station transmits PRS on the PRS resources 512 and 514 of the PRS resource set 510.

[0137] The PRS resource set 510 has an occasion length of two slots (N PRS) and a periodicity of, for example, 160 slots or 160 milliseconds (ms) (T PRS) for a 15 kHz subcarrier spacing. As such, both PRS resources 512 and 514 are two consecutive slots in length and repeat every T PRS slots, starting from the slot in which the first symbol of the respective PRS resource occurs. In Figure 5 In the example, PRS resource 512 has a symbol length of two symbols (N symb) and PRS resource 514 has a symbol length of four symbols (N symb). PRS resource 512 and PRS resource 514 can be transmitted on separate beams of the same base station.

[0138] Each instance of the PRS resource set 510 (illustrated as instances 520a, 520b, and 520c) includes an occasion of length “2” (i.e., N PRS = 2) for each PRS resource 512, 514 in the PRS resource set. PRS resources 512 and 514 repeat every T PRS slots until a muting sequence periodicity T REP (T REPEAT). As such, a bitmap of length T REP would be needed to indicate which occasions of instances 520a, 520b, and 520c of the PRS resource set 510 are muted (i.e., not transmitted).

[0139] In an aspect, there can be additional constraints on PRS configuration 500. For example, for all PRS resources (e.g., PRS resources 512, 514) of a PRS resource set (e.g., PRS resource set 510), a base station can configure the following parameters to be the same: (a) occasion length (T PRS), (b) number of symbols (N symb), (c) comb type, and / or (d) bandwidth. Additionally, for all PRS resources in all PRS resource sets, the subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix can be configured to be the same for one base station or for all base stations. Whether for one base station or for all base stations can depend on the UE’s capability to support the first and / or second options.

[0140] There are various UE capabilities related to the processing and buffering requirements for DL-PRS. The DL-PRS can be configured and scheduled to match the UE’s processing capability to measure the DL-PRS, or it can only be expected that the UE measures the portion of the DL-PRS that it is capable of measuring. One parameter of the DL-PRS that can be configured based on the UE capability includes a limit on the maximum number of DL-PRS resources configured to the UE for all TRPs within a measurement window. Another parameter is the duration (in ms) of DL-PRS symbols that the UE can process per T ms, assuming the maximum PRS bandwidth. These parameters are illustrated in Table 1 for LTE and NR.

[0141]

[0142] Table 1

[0143] The following table illustrates additional parameters of DL-PRS that can be configured based on the capability of the UE.

[0144]

[0145] Table 2

[0146] The UE can report the following parameters to indicate its DL-PRS processing capability.

[0147] • Duration of DL-PRS symbols (in ms) that the UE can process per Tms (assuming maximum DL-PRS bandwidth in MHz), which depends on the frequency range. For FR1 bands, the duration (in ms) can be selected from the set {5, 10, 20, 40, 50, 80, 100}. For FR2 bands, the duration (in ms) can be selected from the set {50, 100, 200, 400}. T can be selected from the set {8, 16, 20, 30, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280}. N is the duration of DL-PRS symbols in ms and can be selected from the set {0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50}.

[0148] 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50}.

[0149] • Maximum number of positioning frequency layers supported by the UE. The value can be selected from the set {1, 2, 3, 4}.

[0150] • Maximum number of DL-PRS resources that the UE can process in a slot. For FR1 bands, the maximum number of DL-PRS resources can be selected from the set {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64} for each SCS (specifically 15 kHz, 30 kHz, and 60 kHz). For FR2 bands, the maximum number of DL-PRS resources can be selected from the set {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64} for each SCS (specifically 15 kHz, 30 kHz, and 60 kHz).

[0151] The above parameters are reported assuming that the maximum ratio of configured measurement gap and measurement gap length (MGL) / measurement gap repetition period (MGRP) does not exceed ‘X’ percent. A measurement gap is a configured period of time during which the serving cell refrains from transmitting to the UE so that the UE can receive transmissions (e.g., downlink reference signals) from other cells.

[0152] Figure 6 is a diagram 600 illustrating how parameters in a measurement gap configuration specify a pattern of measurement gaps according to aspects of the present disclosure. The measurement gap offset (MGO) is the offset between the start of this gap pattern and the start of a time slot or subframe within the measurement gap repetition period (MGRP). There are currently about 160 offsets, but not all of these values are applicable for all periodicities. More specifically, the value of this offset is in the range from 0 to 1 less than the MGRP. Thus, for example, if the MGRP is 20 ms, the range of this offset can be from 0 to 19.

[0153] The measurement gap length (MGL) is the measurement gap length in milliseconds. In NR Rel-15, the measurement gap length can have a value selected from the set {1.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5.5, 6} (in milliseconds). In NR Rel-16, the measurement gap length can have a value selected from the set {10, 18, 20, 34, 40, 50} (in milliseconds). The MGRP defines the periodicity of the measurement gap repetition (in ms). Although Figure 6 Although not shown in Table 1, the measurement gap configuration can also include a measurement gap timing advance (MGTA) parameter. If configured, the MGTA indicates the amount of time before the occurrence of the time slot or subframe in which the measurement gap is configured to start. Currently, the MGTA can be 0.25 ms for FR2, or 0.5 ms for FR1.

[0154] There is one type of measurement gap in NR, meaning that the same type of measurement gap will be used for both radio resource management (RRM) measurements (i.e., measurements needed for RRM reporting) and PRS measurements. In NR, the serving cell configures the UE to have periodic measurement gaps during which the UE is expected to perform RRM measurements. In contrast, the UE requests measurement gaps for PRS measurements. It is up to the UE implementation to prioritize PRS measurements over RRM measurements, as by default, RRM measurements will have higher priority and the UE can not be able to perform both simultaneously.

[0155] The UE needs a measurement gap for PRS reception to enable it to allocate all of its processing capability to perform PRS measurements. In legacy technologies, such as LTE, only inter-frequency or inter-RAT measurements require a measurement gap. As such, at the start of the measurement gap, the UE tunes to the target frequency, then performs the measurements, and then tunes back to the source frequency at the end of the gap. No uplink transmission is permitted within the measurement gap when the UE is not synchronized to the uplink timing for the inter-frequency or inter-RAT cell. This applies to both FDD and TDD structures. As with LTE, in NR, no uplink transmission is permitted within the measurement gap.

[0156] The UE should be informed of when DL-PRS is scheduled to be transmitted by the serving base station and any neighboring base stations involved in the positioning session. This information can be obtained from the location server in the PRS configuration, as described above with reference to Figure 5 Thus, the UE can determine when to request a measurement gap.

[0157] The measurement gap defined in NR is similar to the measurement gap defined in LTE. There is a protocol between the UE and the serving base station that (1) the UE will not perform any uplink transmissions during the measurement gap, and (2) the base station will not transmit any downlink data during the measurement gap. This applies to both TDD and FDD types of measurements.

[0158] For RTT type of measurements, the UE needs to decode the DL-PRS (RTT measurement signal) and transmit the SRS for positioning (RTT response signal) to compute the UE Rx-Tx measurement. To achieve high accuracy of positioning, the DL-PRS and SRS should be scheduled to be very close to each other in time domain. If the DL-PRS and SRS are not close in time, the propagation delay and / or channel properties of one or both signals can change, which can lead to poor position estimates. The DL-PRS-to-SRS (DL-PRS to SRS) time difference will be related to the measurement gap length configured by the base station. For NR, the gap length can be on the order of 6ms to 50ms.

[0159] Figure 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating how the length of the measurement gap can affect the time difference between the DL-PRS and the SRS for positioning. As shown in Figure 7 the DL-PRS is scheduled near the beginning of the measurement gap and the SRS cannot be scheduled until after the measurement gap. Thus, there can be a 6ms to 50ms between the DL-PRS and the SRS, which can be unacceptable for high accuracy positioning scenarios.

[0160] As another example, Figure 8 is a diagram 800 of an example sequence of slots in which DL-PRS and measurement gaps are configured. The example slot pattern includes three downlink slots (labeled “D”), followed by a special slot (labeled “S”), followed by an uplink slot (labeled “U”). Due to the high processing requirements of NR, it is likely that the UE will request a measurement gap that is significantly longer than the DL-PRS instance. Thus, in the example of Figure 8 the DL-PRS is transmitted in slots 2, 3, 6, and 7 (which can represent one PRS instance of four slots or two PRS instances of two slots each), and the measurement gap spans slots 1 to 12.

[0161] If the UE participates in RTT type of positioning procedures, it would be preferable to transmit SRS for positioning in slots 4 or 5 due to proximity to DL-PRS transmissions. However, in the current implementation of measurement gaps, the first opportunity to transmit SRS would be in slots 14 and 15 (first special and uplink slots after the last slot of the measurement gap).

[0162] Consider the case where the DL-PRS BWP, SCS, and center frequency are the same for the DL-PRS to be measured during the measurement gap as they are for the serving cell. This means that the UE, which is on the same frequency throughout and the measurement gap is only for ensuring the UE has full PRS processing capability, will not perform any tune-in and tune-out within the measurement gap even though there is a measurement gap for DL-PRR measurements.

[0163] Accordingly, in this scenario, instead of requesting a measurement gap, the UE can instead request a no-downlink-scheduling gap (or PRS prioritization gap). Similar to a measurement gap, during the no-downlink-scheduling gap, the serving base station will not transmit any downlink data to the UE, but unlike a measurement gap, the UE can transmit uplink data, such as SRS for positioning. The no-downlink-scheduling gap can have the same parameters as a measurement gap (e.g., length, periodicity, offset, etc.). This signaling ensures that the reported UE capability for measurement gap configuration still applies.

[0164] Figure 9 is a diagram 900 of an example sequence of slots where a DL-PRS and a no-downlink-scheduling gap are configured. Similar to the slot pattern illustrated in Figure 8 , the example slot pattern in Figure 9 includes three downlink slots (labeled “D”), followed by a special slot (labeled “S”), followed by an uplink slot (labeled “U”). In Figure 9 , the DL-PRS is transmitted in slots 3, 4, 6, and 7 (which can represent one four-slot PRS instance or two two-slot PRS instances). Further, as illustrated in Figure 8 , the measurement gap can be configured to span slots 1 to 12, but instead, a no-downlink-scheduling gap (labeled “No-DL-Sch GP”) is requested and configured during this time period. This is represented by the 0s and Is in the No-DL-Sch GP row.

[0165] During the no downlink scheduling gap, the base station will not transmit any PDSCH, PDCCH, CSI-RS, or other downlink data in slots 1-12. Alternatively, if downlink transmission occurs during this time, the UE is not required to process PDSCH, PDCCH, CSI-RS, or other downlink signaling. Instead, the UE will only decode DL-PRS scheduled in slots 1-12 (as illustrated by the 1 in slots 3, 4, 6, and 7 of the No-DL-Sch GP row) or will prioritize DL-PRS over any other downlink signaling in this band during this time period. However, unlike the measurement gap, the UE can transmit SRS during the no downlink scheduling gap and the base station receives the SRS during the no downlink scheduling gap. Thus, for example, if the UE is participating in an RTT type of positioning procedure, the UE can transmit SRS for positioning in slot 5 for the DL-PRS received in slots 3 and 4 and in slot 9 or 10 for the DL-PRS received in slots 6 and 7 (the first special and / or uplink slot after the last slot of DL-PRS transmission). As will be appreciated, being able to transmit SRS so close to the corresponding DL-PRS can significantly improve positioning performance (e.g., accuracy). Moreover, this signaling will be easier and faster to configure than the measurement gap configuration, as shown below.

[0166] The UE can request the no downlink scheduling gap using new signaling between the UE and the base station or using existing signaling. To use existing signaling, the UE can use the existing mechanism to request a measurement gap. The request can include an additional information element (IE) in the RequestMeasurementGapConfiguration message. This additional IE can be an SRSAllowed field with a Boolean value. A value of “true” (e.g., bit value 1) can indicate that SRS is allowed within the measurement gap. A value of “false” (e.g., bit value 0) can indicate that SRS is not allowed within the measurement gap (which is the legacy behavior). The base station will then act based on the value of this IE.

[0167] The new signaling requesting a downlink scheduling gap can include various parameters defining the downlink scheduling gap. For example, the request can specify a "downlink scheduling window" or "PRS priority window" of length T ms. The request can also specify the start of the downlink scheduling gap using a "downlink scheduling window offset" parameter with value T_start. For measurement gaps in LTE and NR, the start time can indicate an offset from a radio frame or SFN. Alternatively, the offset can be defined with respect to a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the downlink scheduling gap request, or any combination thereof. For example, if the UE sends the request in slot n, the downlink scheduling gap can be implicitly expected in slot n + K, where K is defined in the applicable standards or configured by higher layers at the UE. The UE can transmit the request (i.e., values of T and T_start) to the serving base station in a MAC control element (MAC-CE). There are various differences between a measurement gap (as defined in LTE and NR) and a downlink scheduling gap (as described herein), some of which have been described above. In addition, the UE can only process DL-PRS in its active BWP within the downlink scheduling gap - it does not perform any tuning in or out of any other frequency bands or bandwidths. Furthermore, the UE is not required to perform RRM measurements during the downlink scheduling gap (although it can in the active BWP). However, the UE can transmit SRS in the active BWP during this time period. In contrast, as described above, during a measurement gap, the UE can have to tune in or out of different frequency bands, it cannot transmit SRS, and it can need to perform RRM measurements. In both cases, the UE can be assumed to have the same processing capability.

[0168] In some cases, CSI processing can be active before the downlink scheduling gap is configured. In this case, as a first option, the active CSI processing(s) can be dropped (e.g., the UE is expected to drop the CSI report). As a second option, the timeline of the CSI processing(s) can be extended to the length of the window scheduled by the downlink scheduling gap. The reason to avoid CSI processing during the downlink scheduling gap, even after the CSI-RS resources are measured, is that CSI processing takes away resources from PRS processing.

[0169] Figure 10 is an example of extending the timeline of CSI processing by the length of the downlink scheduling gap. As Figure 10In the example of FIG. 10, the CSI-RS resource is scheduled and measured before the start of the downlink scheduling gap (labeled "DL scheduling gap"). Because the CSI processing is suspended during the downlink scheduling gap, the CSI processing timeline is extended by the length of the downlink scheduling gap. As such, instead of ending the CSI processing timeline during the downlink scheduling gap, the CSI processing timeline is extended beyond the downlink scheduling gap, and the UE can resume CSI processing once the downlink scheduling gap ends.

[0170] Similarly, in some cases, PDSCH processing can be active before the configured downlink scheduling gap. In this case, as a first option, the active PDSCH processing can be dropped (e.g., the UE is expected to report a negative acknowledgement (NACK)). As a second option, the PDSCH processing timeline can be extended by the length of the window scheduled by the downlink scheduling gap. Similar to CSI processing, PDSCH processing is avoided during the downlink scheduling gap even after receiving the PDSCH data because PDSCH processing takes away resources from PRS processing.

[0171] Figure 11 FIG. 11 is a diagram 1100 of an example in which the timeline of PDSCH processing is extended by the length of the downlink scheduling gap. In this example, the UE receives PDSCH before the start of the downlink scheduling gap (labeled "DL scheduling gap"). Because the PDSCH processing is suspended during the downlink scheduling gap, the PDSCH processing timeline is extended by the length of the downlink scheduling gap. As such, instead of ending the PDSCH processing timeline during the downlink scheduling gap, the PDSCH processing timeline is extended beyond the downlink scheduling gap, and the UE can resume PDSCH processing and appropriately send an acknowledgement (ACK) or NACK once the downlink scheduling gap ends. Figure 11

[0172] Although the downlink scheduling gap has been described above as having a slot-level granularity (i.e., a slot length), the gap can instead have a symbol-level granularity or a symbol group-level granularity (i.e., a symbol length or a symbol group length). In other words, the UE can request that no other downlink signals should be scheduled within the requested symbols. Furthermore, the downlink scheduling gap can be associated with at least one or more specific component carriers, or band indices, or BWP indices, or it can apply to all component carriers, bands, or active BWP across all active component carriers of the UE.

[0173] Figure 12 ​An example wireless communication method 1200 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1200 can be performed by a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0174] At 1210, the UE transmits, to a serving base station (e.g., any of the base stations described herein), a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active BWPs (e.g., up to four) of the UE, the request including at least a time-domain parameter (e.g., length and offset) related to scheduling the downlink scheduling gap. In an aspect, operation 1210 can be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the positioning component 342, any or all of which can be considered means for performing this operation.

[0175] At 1220, the UE receives, from a neighboring base station (e.g., any other base station described herein), a DL-PRS in the one or more active BWPs during the downlink scheduling gap. In an aspect, the UE does not receive any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap within the one or more active BWPs, or the UE ignores any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, or the UE prioritizes the DL-PRS over any other downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs. In an aspect, operation 1220 can be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the positioning component 342, any or all of which can be considered means for performing this operation.

[0176] Figure 13 An example wireless communication method 1300 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1300 can be performed by a base station (e.g., any of the base stations described herein).

[0177] At 1310, the base station receives, from a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein), a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active BWPs of the UE, the request including at least a time-domain parameter (e.g., length and offset) of the downlink scheduling gap. In an aspect, operation 1310 can be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 350, the one or more processors 384, the memory 386, and / or the positioning component 388, any or all of which can be considered means for performing this operation.

[0178] At 1320, the UE refrains from transmitting to the UE during the no downlink scheduling gap. In an aspect, operation 1320 can be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 350, the one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any or all of which can be considered means for performing this operation.

[0179] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the methods 1200 and 1300 is that the UE can prioritize positioning operations during a no downlink scheduling gap without the drawbacks of requesting a measurement gap.

[0180] In the detailed description above, various specific features are grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should not be treated in a way different than if each and every combination of features thus described was explicitly recited. Thus, the appended claims should not be treated as if they were limited in some way by the various examples given. As will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art, the various features of the examples can be combined, substituted, or deleted, and the scope of the application can be determined based on the claims, the appended claims, and the full description of the application below.

[0181] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0182] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting, to a serving base station, a request for a no downlink scheduling gap in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request including at least a length and an offset of the no downlink scheduling gap; and receiving, from a neighboring base station, a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) during the no downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, wherein: during the no downlink scheduling gap within the one or more active BWPs, the UE does not receive any downlink transmissions from the serving base station, or during the no downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, the UE ignores any downlink transmissions from the serving base station, or during the no downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, the UE prioritizes DL-PRS processing over any other downlink transmissions from the serving base station.

[0183] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, further comprising: transmitting an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS) during the no downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs.

[0184] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the UL-PRS comprises a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning, an SRS configured at least for communication purposes, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

[0185] Clause 4. A method as described in any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein: the request comprises a request for a measurement gap, the length and the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap comprise the length and offset of the measurement gap, and the request includes a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

[0186] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein: a true value of the flag indicates that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap, and a false value of the flag indicates that the UE is not permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

[0187] Clause 6. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

[0188] Clause 7. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the UE remains in the one or more active BWPs for the entire no downlink scheduling gap.

[0189] Clause 8. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the UE is not expected to perform radio resource management (RRM) measurements in the one or more active BWPs during the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0190] Clause 9. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the UE performs RRM measurements in the one or more active BWPs during the no downlink scheduling gap based on the UE's capabilities.

[0191] Clause 10. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 9, wherein the length of the no downlink scheduling gap and the offset are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

[0192] Clause 11. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, the requested transmission time, or any combination thereof.

[0193] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 1 to 11, wherein the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

[0194] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands, or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

[0195] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the UE requests the no downlink scheduling gap based on a DL-PRS configuration for the neighboring base station received from a location server.

[0196] Clause 15. The method of any of clauses 1 to 14, further comprising: measuring channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources before the no downlink scheduling gap; stopping any CSI-related processing of the measured CSI-RS resources during the no downlink scheduling gap; and discarding a CSI report associated with the stopped CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resources.

[0197] Clause 16. The method of any of clauses 1 to 14, further comprising: measuring CSI-RS resources before the no downlink scheduling gap; extending a length of a CSI processing timeline by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmitting a CSI report associated with the CSI-RS resources to the serving base station based at least on the extended CSI processing timeline.

[0198] Clause 17. The method of any of clauses 1 to 16, further comprising: receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) before the no downlink scheduling gap; stopping PDSCH processing during the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmitting a negative acknowledgement (NACK) of the PDSCH to the serving base station.

[0199] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 1 to 16, further comprising: receiving a PDSCH before the no downlink scheduling gap; extending a length of a PDSCH processing timeline by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmitting an acknowledgement associated with the PDSCH to the serving base station based at least on the extended PDSCH processing timeline.

[0200] Clause 19. A method of wireless communication performed by a base station, comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a request for a no downlink scheduling gap in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request comprising at least a length and an offset of the no downlink scheduling gap; and refraining from transmitting to the UE during the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0201] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, wherein: the request comprises a request for a measurement gap, the length and the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap comprise a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the request comprises a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

[0202] Clause 21. The method of clause 20, wherein: a true value of the flag indicates that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap, and a false value of the flag indicates that the UE is not permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

[0203] Clause 22. The method of any of clauses 19 to 21, wherein the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

[0204] Clause 23. The method of any of clauses 19 to 22, wherein the length and the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

[0205] Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 19 to 23, wherein the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request, or any combination thereof.

[0206] Clause 25. The method of any of clauses 19 to 24, wherein the no-downlink-scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

[0207] Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 19 to 25, wherein the no-downlink-scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands, or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

[0208] Clause 27. The method of any of clauses 19 to 26, further comprising: transmitting, to the UE, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource for a CSI report before the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and receiving, from the UE, the CSI report after the no-downlink-scheduling gap, a CSI processing timeline for the UE to transmit the CSI report being extended by a length of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0209] Clause 28. The method of any of clauses 19 to 27, further comprising: transmitting, to the UE, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) before the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and receiving, from the UE, an acknowledgement of the PDSCH after the no-downlink-scheduling gap, a PDSCH processing timeline for the UE to transmit the acknowledgement being extended by a length of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0210] Clause 29. An apparatus comprising: a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the memory, the at least one transceiver, and the at least one processor configured to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 28.

[0211] Clause 30. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any of clauses 1 to 28.

[0212] Clause 31. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, comprising at least one instruction for causing a computer or processor to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 28.

[0213] Each additional implementation example is described in the following numbered clauses.

[0214] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting, to a serving base station, a request for a downlink scheduling gap in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter related to scheduling the downlink scheduling gap; and receiving, from a neighboring base station, downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRSs) during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, wherein: during the downlink scheduling gap within the one or more active BWPs, the UE does not receive any downlink transmissions from the serving base station, or during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, the UE ignores any downlink transmissions from the serving base station, or during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, the UE prioritizes DL-PRS processing over any other downlink transmissions from the serving base station.

[0215] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, further comprising: transmitting, in the one or more active BWPs, uplink positioning reference signals (UL-PRSs) during the downlink scheduling gap.

[0216] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the UL-PRSs comprise sounding reference signals (SRSs) for positioning, SRSs configured at least for communication purposes, demodulation reference signals (DMRSs), physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs), or physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs).

[0217] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein: the request comprises a request for a measurement gap, the time domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap, the length and the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap comprise a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the request comprises a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

[0218] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

[0219] Clause 6. The method of any of clauses 1 to 5, further comprising: remaining in the one or more active BWPs for an entire no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0220] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the UE is not expected to perform radio resource management (RRM) measurements in the one or more active BWPs during the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0221] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, further comprising: performing RRM measurements in the one or more active BWPs during the no-downlink-scheduling gap based on a capability of the UE.

[0222] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the time domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0223] Clause 10. The method of clause 9, wherein the length and the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

[0224] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 9 to 10, wherein the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request, or any combination thereof.

[0225] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 1 to 11, wherein the no-downlink-scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

[0226] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the no-downlink-scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands within at least long term evolution (LTE) or new radio (NR), or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

[0227] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 1 to 13, further comprising requesting the no-downlink-scheduling gap based on a DL-PRS configuration for the neighboring base station received from a location server.

[0228] Clause 15. The method of any of clauses 1 to 14, further comprising measuring a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource before the no-downlink-scheduling gap; ceasing any CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resource during the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and discarding a CSI report associated with the ceased CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resource.

[0229] Clause 16. The method of any of clauses 1 to 14, further comprising measuring a CSI-RS resource before the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and transmitting a CSI report associated with the CSI-RS resource to the serving base station based at least on an extended CSI processing timeline, wherein the extended CSI processing timeline is a length of a CSI processing timeline extended by a length of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0230] Clause 17. The method of any of clauses 1 to 16, further comprising receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) before the no-downlink-scheduling gap; ceasing the PDSCH processing during the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and transmitting a negative acknowledgement (NACK) of the PDSCH to the serving base station.

[0231] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 1 to 16, further comprising receiving a PDSCH before the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and transmitting an acknowledgement associated with the PDSCH to the serving base station based at least on an extended PDSCH processing timeline, wherein the extended PDSCH processing timeline is a length of a PDSCH processing timeline extended by a length of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0232] Clause 19. A method of wireless communication performed by a base station, comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a request for a no-downlink-scheduling gap in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request comprising at least a time domain parameter of the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and refraining from transmitting to the UE during the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0233] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, wherein: the request comprises a request for a measurement gap, the time domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap, the length and the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap comprise a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the request comprises a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

[0234] Clause 21. The method of any of clauses 19-20, wherein the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

[0235] Clause 22. The method of any of clauses 19-21, wherein the time domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the downlink scheduling gap.

[0236] Clause 23. The method of clause 22, wherein the length and the offset of the downlink scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

[0237] Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 22-23, wherein the offset of the downlink scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request, or any combination thereof.

[0238] Clause 25. The method of any of clauses 19-24, wherein the downlink scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

[0239] Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 19-25, wherein the downlink scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands, or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

[0240] Clause 27. The method of any of clauses 19-26, further comprising: transmitting, to the UE, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource for a CSI report before the downlink scheduling gap; and receiving, from the UE, the CSI report after the downlink scheduling gap, a CSI processing timeline in which the UE is permitted to transmit the CSI report is extended by a length of the downlink scheduling gap.

[0241] Clause 28. The method of any of clauses 19-27, further comprising: transmitting, to the UE, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) before the downlink scheduling gap; and receiving, from the UE, an acknowledgement of the PDSCH after the downlink scheduling gap, a PDSCH processing timeline in which the UE is permitted to transmit the acknowledgement is extended by a length of the downlink scheduling gap.

[0242] Clause 29. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a request for a downlink scheduling gap to a serving base station in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter related to scheduling the downlink scheduling gap; and receive, via the at least one transceiver, a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) from a neighboring base station during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, wherein: during the downlink scheduling gap within the one or more active BWPs, the UE does not receive any downlink transmissions from the serving base station, or during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, the UE ignores any downlink transmissions from the serving base station, or during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, the UE prioritizes DL-PRS processing over any other downlink transmissions from the serving base station.

[0243] Clause 30. The UE of clause 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS) during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs.

[0244] Clause 31. The UE of clause 30, wherein the UL-PRS comprises a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning, an SRS configured at least for communication purposes, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

[0245] Clause 32. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 31, wherein: the request comprises a request for a measurement gap, the time domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the downlink scheduling gap, the length and the offset of the downlink scheduling gap comprise a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the request comprises a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit a UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

[0246] Clause 33. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 32, wherein: the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

[0247] Clause 34. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 33, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: remain in the one or more active BWPs for an entire downlink scheduling gap.

[0248] Clause 35. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 34, wherein: the UE is not expected to perform radio resource management (RRM) measurements in the one or more active BWPs during the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0249] Clause 36. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 34, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: perform RRM measurements in the one or more active BWPs during the no downlink scheduling gap based on a capability of the UE.

[0250] Clause 37. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 36, wherein: the time-domain parameters include a length and an offset of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0251] Clause 38. The UE of clause 37, wherein the length and the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

[0252] Clause 39. The UE of any of clauses 37 to 38, wherein: the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request, or any combination thereof.

[0253] Clause 40. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 39, wherein: the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

[0254] Clause 41. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 40, wherein: the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands within at least long term evolution (LTE) or new radio (NR), or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

[0255] Clause 42. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 41, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: request the no downlink scheduling gap based on a DL-PRS configuration for the neighboring base station received from a location server.

[0256] Clause 43. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 42, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: measure a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource before the no downlink scheduling gap; cease any CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resource during the no downlink scheduling gap; and discard a CSI report associated with the ceased CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resource.

[0257] Clause 44. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 42, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: measure a CSI-RS resource prior to the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a CSI report associated with the CSI-RS resource to the serving base station based at least on an extended CSI processing timeline, wherein the extended CSI processing timeline is a length of a CSI processing timeline extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0258] Clause 45. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 44, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) prior to the no downlink scheduling gap; cease the PDSCH processing during the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a negative acknowledgement (NACK) for the PDSCH to the serving base station.

[0259] Clause 46. The UE of any of clauses 29 to 44, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a PDSCH prior to the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, an acknowledgement associated with the PDSCH to the serving base station based at least on an extended PDSCH processing timeline, wherein the extended PDSCH processing timeline is a length of a PDSCH processing timeline extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0260] Clause 47. A base station, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a request for a no downlink scheduling gap from a common user equipment (UE) in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request comprising at least a time domain parameter of the no downlink scheduling gap; and refrain from transmitting to the UE during the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0261] Clause 48. The base station of clause 47, wherein: the request comprises a request for a measurement gap, the time domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the no downlink scheduling gap, the length and the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap comprise a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the request comprises a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

[0262] Clause 49. The base station of any of clauses 47 to 48, wherein: the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

[0263] Clause 50. The base station of any of clauses 47 to 49, wherein: the time domain parameters comprise a length and an offset of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0264] Clause 51. The base station of clause 50, wherein: the length and the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

[0265] Clause 52. The base station of any of clauses 50 to 51, wherein: the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request, or any combination thereof.

[0266] Clause 53. The base station of any of clauses 47 to 52, wherein: the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

[0267] Clause 54. The base station of any of clauses 47 to 53, wherein: the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands, or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

[0268] Clause 55. The base station of any of clauses 47 to 54, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit, to the UE via the at least one transceiver, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource for a CSI report before the no downlink scheduling gap; and receive, from the UE via the at least one transceiver, the CSI report after the no downlink scheduling gap, a CSI processing timeline in which the UE is permitted to transmit the CSI report is extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0269] Clause 56. The base station of any of clauses 47 to 55, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit, to the UE via the at least one transceiver, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) before the no downlink scheduling gap; and receive, from the UE via the at least one transceiver, an acknowledgement of the PDSCH after the no downlink scheduling gap, a PDSCH processing timeline in which the UE is permitted to transmit an acknowledgement is extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0270] Clause 57. A user equipment (UE), comprising: means for transmitting, to a serving base station, a request for a downlink-scheduled gap in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request including at least a time-domain parameter related to scheduling the downlink-scheduled gap; and means for receiving, from a neighboring base station, downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRSs) during the downlink-scheduled gap in the one or more active BWPs, wherein: the UE does not receive any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink-scheduled gap within the one or more active BWPs, or the UE ignores any downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink-scheduled gap in the one or more active BWPs, or the UE prioritizes DL-PRS processing over any other downlink transmissions from the serving base station during the downlink-scheduled gap in the one or more active BWPs.

[0271] Clause 58. The UE of clause 57, further comprising: means for transmitting, in the one or more active BWPs, uplink positioning reference signals (UL-PRSs) during the downlink-scheduled gap.

[0272] Clause 59. The UE of clause 58, wherein the UL-PRSs comprise sounding reference signals (SRSs) for positioning, SRSs configured at least for communication purposes, demodulation reference signals (DMRSs), physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs), or physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs).

[0273] Clause 60. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 59, wherein: the request comprises a request for a measurement gap, the time-domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the downlink-scheduled gap, the length and the offset of the downlink-scheduled gap comprise a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the request comprises a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRSs during the measurement gap.

[0274] Clause 61. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 60, wherein: the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

[0275] Clause 62. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 61, further comprising: means for remaining in the one or more active BWPs for an entire downlink-scheduled gap.

[0276] Clause 63. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 62, wherein: the UE is not expected to perform radio resource management (RRM) measurements in the one or more active BWPs during the downlink-scheduled gap.

[0277] Clause 64. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 62, further comprising: means for performing RRM measurements in the one or more active BWPs during the no downlink scheduling gap based on a capability of the UE.

[0278] Clause 65. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 64, wherein: the time domain parameters comprise a length and an offset of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0279] Clause 66. The UE of clause 65, wherein the length and the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

[0280] Clause 67. The UE of any of clauses 65 to 66, wherein: the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request, or any combination thereof.

[0281] Clause 68. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 67, wherein: the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

[0282] Clause 69. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 68, wherein: the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands within at least long term evolution (LTE) or new radio (NR), or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

[0283] Clause 70. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 69, further comprising: means for requesting the no downlink scheduling gap based on a DL-PRS configuration for the neighboring base station received from a location server.

[0284] Clause 71. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 70, further comprising: means for measuring a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource before the no downlink scheduling gap; means for stopping any CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resource during the no downlink scheduling gap; and means for discarding a CSI report associated with the stopped CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resource.

[0285] Clause 72. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 70, further comprising: means for measuring a CSI-RS resource before the no downlink scheduling gap; and means for transmitting a CSI report associated with the CSI-RS resource to the serving base station based at least on an extended CSI processing timeline, wherein the extended CSI processing timeline is a length of a CSI processing timeline extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0286] Clause 73. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 72, further comprising: means for receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) prior to the no downlink scheduling gap; means for stopping the PDSCH processing during the no downlink scheduling gap; and means for transmitting a negative acknowledgement (NACK) of the PDSCH to the serving base station.

[0287] Clause 74. The UE of any of clauses 57 to 72, further comprising: means for receiving a PDSCH prior to the no downlink scheduling gap; and means for transmitting an acknowledgement associated with the PDSCH to the serving base station based at least on an extended PDSCH processing timeline, wherein the extended PDSCH processing timeline is a length of a PDSCH processing timeline extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0288] Clause 75. A base station comprising: means for receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a request for a no downlink scheduling gap in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request comprising at least a time domain parameter of the no downlink scheduling gap; and means for refraining from transmitting to the UE during the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0289] Clause 76. The base station of clause 75, wherein: the request comprises a request for a measurement gap, the time domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the no downlink scheduling gap, the length and the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap comprise a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the request comprises a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

[0290] Clause 77. The base station of any of clauses 75 to 76, wherein: the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

[0291] Clause 78. The base station of any of clauses 75 to 77, wherein: the time domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0292] Clause 79. The base station of clause 78, wherein: the length and the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

[0293] Clause 80. The base station of any of clauses 78 to 79, wherein: the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request, or any combination thereof.

[0294] Clause 81. The base station of any of clauses 75 to 80, wherein: the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

[0295] Clause 82. The base station of any of clauses 75 to 81, wherein: the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands, or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

[0296] Clause 83. The base station of any of clauses 75 to 82, further comprising: means for transmitting, to the UE, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource for a CSI report prior to the no downlink scheduling gap; and means for receiving, from the UE, the CSI report after the no downlink scheduling gap, a CSI processing timeline permitting the UE to transmit the CSI report is extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0297] Clause 84. The base station of any of clauses 75 to 83, further comprising: means for transmitting, to the UE, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) prior to the no downlink scheduling gap; and means for receiving, from the UE, an acknowledgement of the PDSCH after the no downlink scheduling gap, a PDSCH processing timeline permitting the UE to transmit the acknowledgement is extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0298] Clause 85. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: transmit, to a serving base station, a request for a no downlink scheduling gap in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter related to scheduling the no downlink scheduling gap; and receive, from a neighboring base station, a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) during the no downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, wherein: during the no downlink scheduling gap within the one or more active BWPs, the UE does not receive any downlink transmissions from the serving base station, or during the no downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, the UE ignores any downlink transmissions from the serving base station, or during the no downlink scheduling gap in the one or more active BWPs, the UE prioritizes DL-PRS processing over any other downlink transmissions from the serving base station.

[0299] Clause 86. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 85, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to: transmit, in the one or more active BWPs, an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS) during the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0300] Clause 87. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 86, wherein the UL-PRS comprises a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning, an SRS configured at least for communication purposes, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

[0301] Clause 88. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85-87, wherein: the request comprises a request for a measurement gap, the time domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap, the length and the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap comprise a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the request comprises a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

[0302] Clause 89. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85-88, wherein: the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

[0303] Clause 90. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85-89, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to: remain in the one or more active BWPs for an entire no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0304] Clause 91. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85-90, wherein: the UE is not expected to perform radio resource management (RRM) measurements in the one or more active BWPs during the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0305] Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85-90, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to: perform RRM measurements in the one or more active BWPs during the no-downlink-scheduling gap based on a capability of the UE.

[0306] Clause 93. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85-92, wherein: the time domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0307] Clause 94. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 93, wherein the length and the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

[0308] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 93-94, wherein: the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request, or any combination thereof.

[0309] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85 to 95, wherein: the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

[0310] Clause 97. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85 to 96, wherein: the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands within at least long term evolution (LTE) or new radio (NR), or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

[0311] Clause 98. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85 to 97, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to: request the no downlink scheduling gap based on a DL-PRS configuration received from a location server for the neighboring base station.

[0312] Clause 99. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85 to 97, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to: measure a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource before the no downlink scheduling gap; cease any CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resource during the no downlink scheduling gap; and discard a CSI report associated with the ceased CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resource.

[0313] Clause 100. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85 to 99, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to: measure a CSI-RS resource before the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmit a CSI report associated with the CSI-RS resource to the serving base station based at least on an extended CSI processing timeline, wherein the extended CSI processing timeline is a length of a CSI processing timeline extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0314] Clause 101. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 85 to 100, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to: receive a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) before the no downlink scheduling gap; cease PDSCH processing during the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmit a negative acknowledgement (NACK) of the PDSCH to the serving base station.

[0315] Clause 102. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 85 to 100, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the UE to: receive a PDSCH prior to the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmit an acknowledgement associated with the PDSCH to the serving base station based at least on an extended PDSCH processing timeline, wherein the extended PDSCH processing timeline is a length of a PDSCH processing timeline extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0316] Clause 103. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a base station, cause the base station to: receive, from a user equipment (UE), a request for a no downlink scheduling gap in one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the request including at least a time domain parameter of the no downlink scheduling gap; and refrain from transmitting to the UE during the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0317] Clause 104. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 103, wherein: the request includes a request for a measurement gap, the time domain parameter includes a length and an offset of the no downlink scheduling gap, the length and the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap include a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the request includes a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

[0318] Clause 105. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 103 to 104, wherein: the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

[0319] Clause 106. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 103 to 105, wherein: the time domain parameter includes a length and an offset of the no downlink scheduling gap.

[0320] Clause 107. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 106, wherein the length and the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

[0321] Clause 108. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 106 to 107, wherein: the offset of the no downlink scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request, or any combination thereof.

[0322] Clause 109. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of Clauses 103 to 108, wherein: the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, a frequency band index, or a BWP index.

[0323] Clause 110. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 103 to 109, wherein: the no-downlink-scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands, or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

[0324] Clause 111. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 103 to 110, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the base station to: transmit, to the UE, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource for a CSI report prior to the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and receive, from the UE, the CSI report after the no-downlink-scheduling gap, a CSI processing timeline permitting the UE to transmit the CSI report is extended by a length of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0325] Clause 112. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 103 to 111, wherein the one or more instructions further cause the base station to: transmit, to the UE, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) prior to the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and receive, from the UE, an acknowledgement of the PDSCH after the no-downlink-scheduling gap, a PDSCH processing timeline permitting the UE to transmit the acknowledgement is extended by a length of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

[0326] Clause 113. An apparatus comprising: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the transceiver, the memory, the transceiver, and the processor configured to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 112.

[0327] Clause 114. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any of clauses 1 to 112.

[0328] Clause 115. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions comprising at least one instruction for causing a computer or a processor to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 112.

[0329] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that can be referenced throughout the above description can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0330] Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the functions of the various explanatory logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0331] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an ASIC, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0332] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module can reside in Random-Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, Read-Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal (e.g., an UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium can reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0333] In one or more example aspects, the functions described can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise 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 carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray® disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0334] While the forgoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made therein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and / or actions of the methods described in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the present disclosure can be described or claimed in singular form, plural forms can be used therein as well unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining a configuration of a downlink-scheduling gap for one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the configuration of the downlink-scheduling gap including at least a time-domain parameter related to scheduling the downlink-scheduling gap; and receiving, in the one or more BWPs, a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) of a neighboring network node during the downlink-scheduling gap, wherein the UE is permitted to transmit an uplink signal in the one or more BWPs during the downlink-scheduling gap, and wherein: the UE does not receive any downlink transmissions of a serving network node within the one or more BWPs during the downlink-scheduling gap, or the UE ignores any downlink transmissions of the serving network node in the one or more BWPs during the downlink-scheduling gap, or the UE prioritizes DL-PRS processing over any other downlink transmissions of the serving network node in the one or more BWPs during the downlink-scheduling gap.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, in the one or more BWPs, an uplink signal during the downlink-scheduling gap.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the uplink signal comprises a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning, an SRS configured at least for communication purposes, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the configuration of the downlink-scheduling gap comprises: transmitting, in the one or more BWPs, a request for the downlink-scheduling gap, the request including at least the time-domain parameter related to scheduling the downlink-scheduling gap; and receiving the configuration of the downlink-scheduling gap.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for the downlink-scheduling gap is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: remaining in the one or more BWPs for an entirety of the downlink-scheduling gap.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE is not expected to perform radio resource management (RRM) measurements in the one or more BWPs during the downlink-scheduling gap.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing RRM measurements in the one or more BWPs during the downlink-scheduling gap based on a capability of the UE.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the time-domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the downlink-scheduling gap.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the length and the offset of the downlink-scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots. ​ 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the offset of the downlink scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of a request for the downlink scheduling gap, or any combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, a frequency band index, or a BWP index.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, at least all frequency bands within long term evolution (LTE) or new radio (NR), or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising: requesting the downlink scheduling gap based on a DL-PRS configuration for the neighboring network node received from a location server.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: measuring channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources before the downlink scheduling gap; stopping any CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resources during the downlink scheduling gap; and discarding a CSI report associated with the stopped CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resources.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising: measuring CSI-RS resources before the downlink scheduling gap; and transmitting a CSI report associated with the CSI-RS resources based at least on an extended CSI processing timeline, wherein the extended CSI processing timeline is a length of a CSI processing timeline extended by a length of the downlink scheduling gap.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) before the downlink scheduling gap; stopping PDSCH processing during the downlink scheduling gap; and transmitting a negative acknowledgement (NACK) of the PDSCH.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a PDSCH before the downlink scheduling gap; and transmitting an acknowledgement associated with the PDSCH based at least on an extended PDSCH processing timeline, wherein the extended PDSCH processing timeline is a length of a PDSCH processing timeline extended by a length of the downlink scheduling gap.

19. A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, comprising: receiving a request for a downlink scheduling gap associated with one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) for a user equipment (UE), the request including at least a time domain parameter of the downlink scheduling gap; and refraining from transmitting during the downlink scheduling gap, wherein the UE is permitted to transmit uplink signals during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more BWPs.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein: the request for the downlink scheduling gap comprises a request for a measurement gap, the length and the offset of the downlink scheduling gap include a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the length and the offset of the downlink scheduling gap include a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the request for the downlink scheduling gap includes a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the time domain parameters include a length and an offset of the downlink scheduling gap.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the length and the offset of the downlink scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the offset of the downlink scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request, or any combination thereof.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the downlink scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the downlink scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands, or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

27. The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource for a CSI report before the downlink scheduling gap; and receiving the CSI report after the downlink scheduling gap, a CSI processing timeline permitting the UE to transmit the CSI report is extended by a length of the downlink scheduling gap.

28. The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) before the downlink scheduling gap; and receiving an acknowledgement to the PDSCH after the downlink scheduling gap, a PDSCH processing timeline permitting the UE to transmit the acknowledgement is extended by a length of the downlink scheduling gap.

29. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: determine a configuration of a downlink scheduling gap for one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) of the UE, the configuration of the downlink scheduling gap including at least time domain parameters related to scheduling the downlink scheduling gap; and receive, via the at least one transceiver, a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) of a neighboring network node during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more BWPs, wherein the UE is permitted to transmit an uplink signal during the downlink scheduling gap in the one or more BWPs, and wherein: not receive any downlink transmissions of the serving network node in the one or more BWPs during the no-downlink-scheduling gap, or ignore any downlink transmissions of the serving network node in the one or more BWPs during the no-downlink-scheduling gap, or prioritize DL-PRS processing over any other downlink transmissions of the serving network node in the one or more BWPs during the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

30. The UE of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit an uplink signal in the one or more BWPs during the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

31. The UE of claim 30, wherein the uplink signal comprises a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning, an SRS configured at least for communication purposes, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

32. The UE of claim 29, wherein the configuration of the at least one processor to determine the no-downlink-scheduling gap comprises the at least one processor being further configured to: transmit, in the one or more BWPs, a request for the no-downlink-scheduling gap, the request including at least the time-domain parameter related to scheduling the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and receive the configuration of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

33. The UE of claim 29, wherein the request for the no-downlink-scheduling gap is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

34. The UE of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: remain in the one or more BWPs for the entirety of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

35. The UE of claim 29, wherein the UE is not expected to perform radio resource management (RRM) measurements in the one or more BWPs during the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

36. The UE of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: perform RRM measurements in the one or more BWPs during the no-downlink-scheduling gap based on a capability of the UE.

37. The UE of claim 29, wherein the time-domain parameter comprises a length and an offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

38. The UE of claim 37, wherein the length and the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

39. The UE of claim 37, wherein the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request for the no-downlink-scheduling gap, or any combination thereof.

40. The UE of claim 29, wherein the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

41. The UE of claim 29, wherein the no downlink scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, at least all frequency bands within long term evolution (LTE) or new radio (NR), or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

42. The UE of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: request the no downlink scheduling gap based on a DL-PRS configuration received from a location server for the neighboring network node.

43. The UE of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: measure a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource before the no downlink scheduling gap; stop any CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resource during the no downlink scheduling gap; and discard a CSI report associated with the stopped CSI-related processing of the CSI-RS resource.

44. The UE of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: measure a CSI-RS resource before the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmit a CSI report associated with the CSI-RS resource based at least on an extended CSI processing timeline, wherein the extended CSI processing timeline is a length of a CSI processing timeline extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

45. The UE of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) before the no downlink scheduling gap; stop PDSCH processing during the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmit a negative acknowledgement (NACK) for the PDSCH.

46. The UE of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a PDSCH before the no downlink scheduling gap; and transmit an acknowledgement associated with the PDSCH based at least on an extended PDSCH processing timeline, wherein the extended PDSCH processing timeline is a length of a PDSCH processing timeline extended by a length of the no downlink scheduling gap.

47. A network node, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receive a request for a no downlink scheduling gap associated with one or more active bandwidth parts (BWPs) for a user equipment (UE), the request including at least a time domain parameter of the no downlink scheduling gap; and refrain from transmitting during the no downlink scheduling gap, wherein the UE is permitted to transmit uplink signals during the no downlink scheduling gap in the one or more BWPs.

48. The network node of claim 47, wherein: the request for the no-downlink-scheduling gap comprises a request for a measurement gap, the time-domain parameters comprise a length and an offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap, the length and the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap comprise a length and an offset of the measurement gap, and the request for the no-downlink-scheduling gap comprises a flag indicating that the UE is permitted to transmit UL-PRS during the measurement gap.

49. The network node of claim 47, wherein the request is included in a medium access control control element (MAC-CE).

50. The network node of claim 47, wherein the time-domain parameters comprise a length and an offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

51. The network node of claim 50, wherein the length and the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap are each specified as a number of symbols, a number of symbol groups, or a number of slots.

52. The network node of claim 50, wherein the offset of the no-downlink-scheduling gap is defined relative to a frame boundary, a subframe boundary, a slot boundary, a transmission time of the request, or any combination thereof.

53. The network node of claim 30, wherein the no-downlink-scheduling gap is associated with at least one or more component carriers, frequency band indices, or BWP indices.

54. The network node of claim 30, wherein the no-downlink-scheduling gap is associated with all component carriers, all frequency bands, or all BWPs across all active component carriers of the UE.

55. The network node of claim 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource for a CSI report before the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and receive the CSI report after the no-downlink-scheduling gap, a CSI processing timeline permitted for the UE to transmit the CSI report being extended by a length of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

56. The network node of claim 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) before the no-downlink-scheduling gap; and receive an acknowledgement of the PDSCH after the no-downlink-scheduling gap, a PDSCH processing timeline permitted for the UE to transmit the acknowledgement being extended by a length of the no-downlink-scheduling gap.

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